I can not actually remember the last time we had missed Sunday Poker. Sunday Poker has become
almost tradition for us home-game fanatics.
A Hosts can not just cancel because he felt like it or he's a little under the weather without being inundated with questions. Believe me, i have tried! This recent one, though, was a rather important reason. It was my sister and Jee's wedding! So important in fact, TDH had decided to close for business that day. It's funny and ironic at the same time because i remember suggesting that their wedding should
not fall on a Sunday. It was actually the first thing i had said after hearing the news (Like instinctively). As it turned out, Sunday was it!
Perhaps marrying on a Sunday, being one if not the most popular
and important day in KPT or TDH poker, was the right day to get married. Perhaps somehow it was a way to pay homage to what brought the two together in the first place. Perhaps closing for business was the proper thing to do. Perhaps Sunday, in their
own romantic way was the perfect day to do it...
Not surprisingly, i did received a couple of calls on the wedding day about a Poker Game (reminds me of this
fobbishly funny text i once received from one of the guys. "Is there
a Poker today?"). Gerry wanted to know if i were hosting a game at KPT since TDH was closed. Apparently he thought TDH was closed for business for no good reason. I have to say though, that text really made my day (haha!). Sunday Poker, its like my labor of love right? Some of us tend to meander about when Poker ceases to exist for one weekend. Sad but funny as heck.
I have to admit, it feels a bit strange referring to Jee (once upon a time the most troublesome KPT player) as my "Brother In-Law" and also the concept of my sister being married. Not so much because she married one of my poker friends but because I never once in my adult life considered my sister the marrying kind. It's silly i know but i gave up on her a few years ago
lol. And perhaps even more strange is the idea that Hana is now a part of my family. Yup even now after the wedding, i'm still trying to wrap my mind around it. It seems like it all happened too fast, Ya know? I mean not too long ago Jee and i were eating fish Tacos in Mexico at 4 in the morning...
It's kind of a cute love story, these two. Like Hana said in his brief but meaningful speech at the wedding "The two were an unlikely couple because Nols sort of hated his guts". You see Jee is quite a character on the poker tables. He doesn't intend to be demeaning most of the time, but he can be. In fact i remember my sister asking me "What is wrong with that guy?" after another one of Jee's half-amusing confrontations with someone. I remember saying "I don't know and i don't care" (Now he's my brother in law... God has a funny way sometimes i tell ya! lol!). None of us could have imagined these two seemingly different and somewhat opposite individuals would ever go out, let alone marry... Hana concluded his speech by saying that we could only hope we could be just like them two; devoted and completely & utterly in love with each other. There is a thin line between love and hate, they say. And these two are a true testament to that...
Not surprisingly the Donkey House had a light turnout on Thursday, its busiest night
. We presume the regulars were
ALL IN elsewhere, like the mall.
They said Thursday was going to be the busiest shopping day of the Holiday Season anyway (especially online). I don't know how one might predict that, exactly.
At 9:15 there were only 6 of us at the Donk' House waiting for the Tournament which was scheduled at 8:30. Six players as you might imagine would not only be a
boring tournament, but frankly it is not worth it. There's just wouldn't be enough money in the purse to make it all worthwhile. Which really sucks because that meant a cash game would be started in lieu of the Tournament, and we all know that cash games isn't exactly my forte. Besides i didn't bring
enough money for a cash game (with emphasis on
enough if you hadn't noticed...). I was bummed of course, although i wasn't going to head home just yet. I was going to hang out.
Dennis felt the same way...
But before i got the chance to express my intention of
not playing
anymore, Hana made me an offer i couldn't refuse. A Don Corleone offer, if you will... He wanted to stake me $500 in the game - risk free - and a 60-40 split on the profit. Wow! I was silent at first, unsure of what to do or even what to say. I don't think i was worried so much about the amount he was willing to stake me but more a matter of my approach to the game. Would i be tentative knowing i'm being backed by someone? Would i play ultra-loose knowing there's no risk involved? I was ambivalent...
So I sat there for a moment pondering
my good fortune, then Quincy suddenly interrupted my thoughts, "Shit if you don't wanna do it, i will!" he cried... Well, that did it for me. Haha!
So there i was at the tables with $500 at my disposal, feeling like i just made a deal with
Teddy KGB. And though the deal had absolutely no risk to me, i couldn't help but think about
Mother coming after me if i manage to
fuck it all up! Do i skip town like
Worm did?
I lost a $100 of my initial $200 fairly quickly. That's really how things go at these
Donkey games
anyway. Either your doubling up real fast or your losing it all. Deep Pockets are strongly recommended! If you put in perspective, the $2-$4 blinds aren't exactly antes
really because it's negligible
in most hands or in most nights for that matter. It's more like a rite of passage and you have no idea what it entails... My second $100-- well i raised with an AK of diamonds that flopped top pair that unfortunately ran into a
set of 5's. This would be the first of five sets
or trips i would run into that evening. It was actually pretty impressive...
It wasn't just me either. Phil flopped or turned
trips at least four times that crazy night. And all against Cesar
hahaha. But Cesar on the other hand, when he wasn't going up against Phil's trips, was steamrolling everyone else. He took me for about $120 with Trips, Glen for over $300 with a Flush, and a few straights here and there from everyone else. It was like Cesar would take everyone's chips then would turn around and give Phil his Lions Share. Romantic i say...
In my last hand of the night i had Pocket Aces (What else?). And yes you guessed it, i ran into
trips, in some way, oh i don't know, befitting? My night was frustrating and crazy as the day is long.
Luckily Teddy KGB was playing as well and was able to win all of my loses back. Mother did not have to come after Worm...
Man lets play Poker on Christmas Day!
Hana?
Galina, The Donkey House's mirthful dealer made it a point to
remind us that our side of the Poker Table (seats 7, 8, & 9) were playing so
boringly. Amanda and I probably played 1 or 2 hands in the first level while Jason perhaps one of the most colorful and impatient
live players to ever
play in KPT and TDH, was shockingly patient
. He struggled quite a bit because unlike playing online, you half to keep track of the pot-size yourself
. There was not the easy auto-muck or auto-call buttons either which seemed to throw him. It was such an odd tournament to begin with anyway. The action was so lopsided it seemed only half of the table was playing and our side seemed to have been reduced to
spectating. But what was probably even more odd was the fact that there was no ALL-IN
situations through the entirety of the first two levels and halfway through the third level. The tournament was going no where, fast!
I assured Galina, though, that it matters
not what you do in the beginning of a tournament. What matters is how things
work-out towards the late stages. How poker players handles slow nights or a fast starts
for that matter dictates a lot of things. This game is called No-Limit, isn't it? You could lose everything -just like that!-... It's a little tough not having a lot of chips to play with. But in the early stages of a tourney, especially when blinds are still relatively cheap, large or small-stacked, i think you have to be comfortable either way. Not to criticize Jason so much but he almost obsessively counted his chips and worried a lot about being relatively shortest stacked. 'I'm short-stacked" he kept muttering to himself. Although he still had over 1700 in chips with the blinds at 25-50. Yeah can you say a little too worrisome? I tend to think that kind of awareness is self-deprecating, don't ya think?
Let me put it another way. Myself, Amanda, and Jason had a little more than half of Scott's chip-stack despite arriving 58 minutes late-- two hands before the last hand of the rebuy period... But, who says life is fair?...... About an hour later i found myself ALL-IN with a pair of 6's against
Mr. fashionably late himself who had an Ace King offsuit. You can't really like just a pair of 6's when everything is on the line. In certain nights however, when nothing seems to be going your way, any pair is good enough (Or you work with what you've got...). And this night, my side of the table shared nothing but
folding most of our hole cards. More importantly though, Amanda, Jason, and I made no ill-advised moves throughout the tournament... I would survive the ALL-IN.
Amanda's fortunes would eventually turn later on that evening. And when it did, it really turned! She became a tremendous chip leader. So much so that a chop-chop when it was finally down to three players was out of the question. Perhaps the most important knock-out of the night was Mark's somewhat spectacular fall against
the amazing Amanda. He was then the co-chip-leader
and bully f
or the better part of the Tournament when he became victim of a runner-runner flush after flopping the top pair. It was a galloping start for Mark too, chatting through hands and even trying to incite action for himself (and others). But when he was gone, his night ended just as fast as its galloping start... That hand was the beginning of the end for all of us because Amanda would not falter. It was practically over! In fact she would wind up knocking out 7 of the 9 players in the final table. I made work of the other two, Mr. Fashionably late and Mr. Online player Jason.
When it mattered most it was Amanda and I that remained (Nols finished in third place). How about that Galina?! She won every hand but three during the heads-up battle (We played about 10). One when i had a pair of Queens and the other two "King and Q's", all of which she did not bother limping in from the small blind despite a tremendous lead.
I couldn't play last Friday at the Donkey House because i had to work late. I kind of saw it as a good thing though because Friday isn't necessarily my favorite day to play anyway. But i don't do anything on most Fridays so if i hadn't worked that night i'm pretty sure the Donk' House would have been my destination. That said, i had to work so i had rescheduled my Poker Fix for Saturday evening which is my favorite day to play anyway. Later on that Friday evening though, i got a call from the Donk' House Tournament Director. Apparently it was decided the Saturday turnouts were not good enough. Therefore a change had to be decided. The house is now closed on Saturdays and Mondays. Yup not even Monday Night Football could swing the dockets.
Needless to say i was very bummed about Saturday's demise. Incidentally, i have had my best results on Saturdays over the years. And if you recall Saturday Tournaments were a rarity in KPT but whenever we had a Saturday tournament there, i had very good results (In fact i had cashed in the last Five Saturday tourneys in KPT and the last two at the Donk'). Tournament Poker to me isn't only about showing up with buyin money in hand on any given day you see. I like the idea of a Scheduled Tournament Structure. That way i can prepare myself not only financially (Ya know setting money aside and all...) but more importantly, mentally. It seems that i have better results when i feel jovial and stress-free rather than when i have things other than Poker in mind. I had not always been particularly focused on just Poker alone in the 'KPT Sunday' days because of the simple
unavoidable fact that i had to clean-up after the tournament. I mean every time someone spilled a drink i knew it meant i had to mop-up the damn floor some time within the next 24 hours. Dude trust me that's very stressful! Saturdays were no different
of course but there was a lot less stress because i had no work the next day. I think i adopted the role well though. Think about the inherent pressures of hosting a regular tournament-- first one there and last one to leave right? Yup you'd better play good because otherwise your
ass is waiting around watchin people
having fun going All-In and spill drinks for a very
looong time...
The fundamental idea behind KPT was to have a regular scheduled game. The Donk' House basic idea is similar-- tournaments 5 days a week with the addition of (of course) the
lively Cash Games... Right now they are in the midst of discovering what days are best for business. Ya know similar to what i went through
in KPT. A Poker osmosis if you will... Though Saturday at the Donk' House
died, it isn't a huge deal. It's not like i became accustomed to playing every Saturday. Being accustomed would be the Sundays, right? That's right poker friends, Sundays still yield the best turnouts even after relocating to the Donk' House. Thus far it is the only game that has consistently brought in two tables... Shall we refer to it as "Marc's Game"? I've earn that much, haven't I? I'll take all the credit thank you very much!
lol. Hana had become so convinced my Sunday Setup is the most attractive and popular one that he'd decided to adopt it. But not after experimenting with a Single Rebuy tourney on opening weekend. The result? Well let's just say it was less than handsome. Blasphemy! I say...........
lolSo what the hell does all of the above have anything to do with Pocket Aces? I'm getting to that! And if you had read all of the above, i thank you. I tend to write somewhat lengthy sometimes unrelated preambles
hehe... This entry is about Pocket Aces and the tales of three poker players. Phil, myself, and Louis. Yes Louis, the guy who never seems to have Pocket Aces. Ever notice that? He is like the Anti-Pocket-Aces...
Last Sunday... You probably wont believe it but i could tell you all of the hands i had played that night. Probably not in order but i can tell you. Yes every single one of them, including the one's i limped in with and/or raised with and had to fold after an ensuing re-raise. I remember being knocked out in the first level after calling a pre-flop raise with a J-10, the flop being J-8-9. ALL IN? I CALL! Of course my opponent had two pairs, an 8 and a 9. After this knockout hand however i must have thrown away 20 consecutive hands with the exception of small and big blinds. And somewhere in between those 20 hands that i had mucked, Louis had re-bought 5 times. Hew was getting knocked-out and re-buying at such an alarming rate that someone bet $20 he did not finish in the money (Louis would prove him wrong. The same guy would lose a Laker bet that night.... ya not his night).
The next time i found myself involved in a Pot i had two red Aces in the hole
on the button. It was one of those bang-bang situations ya know? Phil had raised from the mid-position which i had just i
smooth called. Louis, probably one of the most volatile players we know went ALL IN over the top which both Phil and i called without a moments pause
lol. Phil had 10's and Louis 9's (Not that it explains why Louis' business in the hand haha)... The rebuy period tends to attract lots of these bang-bang scenarios.
Luckily the best hand preflop held up despite Louis who seems to have a knack for coming up roses in such dire situations (whew!). And not a moment too soon because the next hand was the last hand for Rebuys. Yay!
After the break i don't recall being involved in a lot of hands. Which is to say my chip stack remained stagnant. And that is never good, right? I remember raising pots with a pair of Queens a couple of times but with no callers. Then I remember calling an ALL IN with AK
offsuit against quiet-guy Joe after he had gone over the top on my Raise
around 35% of my stack (I could have folded this particular hand, however i had seen him play A-J's, A-10's, and ever
smaller Aces strongly and AA very slowly. I mean painfully slow). So what happened? Well, we had the same hand. Chop chop... I remember folding Ace-Jack after raising 2K under the gun to Greg (a solid player) who went over the top to push me ALL IN. I thought it was a good fold even though i had
a dwindling $41oo left in the arsenal. I felt i was going up against a bigger Ace or a small to medium pocket pair (Or simply put, i felt i was beat). I remember winning 4 consecutive hands on a preflop raise with no callers though. But that was pretty much it...
But they say good things come to those who wait. And sometimes it even applies to Poker. I doubled up on Louis with a Queen Jack of Hearts. No i did not Push preflop, i limped in
hehe. No one will ever know what he actually had. All we know is that he fired on the flop and once again on the turn to push me ALL IN. I called him down with the middle pair
lol.
Even with this second double-up for the tournament i was still near becoming victim of the increasing blinds. At this point we were down to Five players and only Four would cash out. This was when i got dealt another pair of Aces. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for Phil, he had two 10's in the hole again just like the last time i had Pocket Aces. Wow! Another bang-bang situation... But to Phil's credit he did hang around long enough and would be dealt Two Aces himself and double-up against Joe who called Phil's ALL IN after limping in from the small blind with an Ace-7. Hah! See what i mean?
Greg would soon perish too falling victim to the
blinds. I knocked him out with an offsuit 4-2 against his AK. Of course when he moved ALL IN from the small blind, it was less than double the Big Blind amount. He would be the only player i knocked out that night because as soon as he was gone a chop-chop deal was offered on the table by Luis, the chip leader... He was $140 invested in the tournament i believe. So i guess he thought it would be in his best interest to make a deal...
The Donkey House (www.thedonkeyhouse.net) is due to open this weekend after a long and somewhat arduous preparation. You guys should see this place it is pretty amazing. Chalk that up to Louis' handy work and vision. Conceptually, i had my doubts as i am sure many of us did. There was just too many negative intangibles i thought. But if you really think about it, the concept could really feasibly come into fruition. It shouldn't be too hard to sustain customers especially for the daily reasonably priced tournaments. Think of it as a friendly, relatively high stakes home-cash-game without the hassles of driving on the busy freeways of Los Angeles...
The place has four tables set up currently and could easily fit another two (maybe even four if need be). The poker tables are very nicely done pro'ish and comes with the dealer slot plus chip rack. It's even got the Donkey House logo i created printed on the felt, it's a nice touch. They have done a fairly good job of training their dealers to emulate professionals and i have no doubt in time, they could get really good at it... I thought the rolling chairs were a bit odd at first but if you don't mind bumping into your neighbors every now and then (especially Jee who moves around a lot) you would learn that the wheels are a convenience. The cup holders they've got are the inserts kind like in the WSOP so you wouldn't expect too much spillage unless you're a total klutz-- the Donkey House manager, incidentally, is the biggest spiller in our poker world. Seriously, i can't begin to tell you how many times i've had to mop up after him. In fact i've had to deploy a towel in ready-mode every Sunday because of him... But i digress!
You couldn't really complain too much about this poker room. They've pretty much got everything covered, even down to the serving carts they use in Commerce and the Bike (though i doubt the Candy-Cigarette lady will come... lol). The two water fountains in the yard, although serving a purpose not entirely intended for aesthetics (ask any of the Donks why it's there) is a beautiful addition to an otherwise dull backyard. Overall I like it a lot over there, it is a well planned well thought of project. Perhaps it could use better lighting and may i suggest an automatic sliding door? Just a thought Haha... And can i just say again that i built their website? haha. The Donk manager by the way is one tough customer. I think i must have created 50 different variations and color schemes for the logo on the felt which eventually made its way to the website itself. And that wasn't my intention initially. I suppose i should thank him for that because he squeezed off every ounce of creativeness my not-so-creative graphical mind could muster. And mind you, i have never created logos and or websites for anyone (now i've got a few projects in the works and getting paid for it).
Okay shall we move on to the action? Okay. I guess they had been running cash games to promote the card room for a couple of weeks now without rake. I think that was nice of them to do. You wouldn't often find me on these tables though because it is a bit fast and quite frankly too donkey'ish for me. What do they say? Scared money don't win money? Yea that's me, I'll stick with home tourneys thank you very much... I did decide to drop by a few nights ago to check out the action, or maybe to see how loose it really is. At the door, perhaps surprised they almost turned me away! Apparently it is customary to confirm and reserve a seat at the Donk' House, unlike KPT where people just show up even when no mass text is sent out (lol). The Donk' manager then figured (after 5 minutes) i showed up because a certain pretty girl was allegedly coming to play. I had no prior knowledge of this though ( i swear!). Would i had gone by that reason alone you might wonder? You betcha! lol
I looked down at two Kings on the Big Blind position with two players in. A raise of $20 from Seat # 1 was called by Seat # 2. Poker wisdom has taught us to raise in this situation, and i think most would agree. Because Three-way action to the flop with two Kings would seem to be asking for trouble, wouldn't it? I raised another $75 hoping to go heads-up with seat #1 who'd been playing ultra loose with just about anything. Seat # 2 however called almost instantaneously (I should have known. He'd lost his initial buyin of $200 in a matter of minutes then recharged for another $500, $500!!!). I knew then my Kings would be toppled, if not on the flop on the River i'm sure haha... Perhaps i didn't raise enough or maybe i should have moved all in pre-flop (Wouldda Shouldda right?). $75 more in a $210 pot isn't that hard of a call i suppose, but 9-7 offsuit pre-flop hardly qualifies for a $20 hand. Gees!
Meh this is the Donk House, isn't it? Players shall live up to the house moniker.
Goodluck guys!
