Baudib blog: Live poker/return to online in 2014?

After that, the table was pretty boring, except for a brief stint by a really sexy NJ girl of Egyptian descent. The whole table of 50-year-old men were gaga over her, and she actually knew how to play. She found the table boring though, and the table basically broke. I moved to another table, which I won't get into too much, but it was the most obnoxious table ever, and a decent LAG was 2 to my left, so I decided to leave after a couple of hours of being basically even.

I moved to a third table, which was still annoying, but super soft.
Highlights:
-- I somehow managed to build a pretty tight image, and somehow managed to bluff the self-appointed table captain and huge station after I 3-bet pre with Q2s. It was 4-ways and flop was A54 and it checked around. When an A hit turn, I bet, 2 folds and table captain calls. River 4, he checks, I bet about $80 into ~$300ish, he thought a while and said, "I don't think you're 3-betting JT suited" and he shows pocket 9s. I show. That got my stack up to around $500, and although I wasn't the beneficiary, that put Mr. Table Captain on mega tilt, and he basically never folded a hand after that until he got stacked.

-- I begrudgingly got it in pre with KK when a guy limp-reraised to $80 over my raise. I thought about it a bit and jammed on him, effective stacks about $200 to start the hand, he has QQ and I win.

-- I got my stack up to $1,000 but took a couple of losses. I flopped the nut straight in a hand where 3 people had put money in, a guy who $150 jams a flush draw and gets there. I almost made a hero fold of AQ on Q99r when another SS (QQ guy from before) shoves, but I couldn't get away for $70 more and I lose to 98o.

-- Pretty decent player comes to my table, we don't get too involved as I think he is avoiding me. He almost managed to make a hero fold of trips in a hand where I made Broadway but he paid off.

-- Loudmouth kid who was pretty funny stacked off $700 on a flush draw when he jammed over a cbet and old guy behind him (who has him covered) tank calls with top set on 623hh. That kind of killed the table, I ended up the night up only +$400, but I feel I played solidly after the disaster of the night before.

The Broke Pro and the Whale

I don't know what the scene is like in Vegas, but in AC, from my experience, there are almost no decent players at any of the off-casinos. The Borgata is THE poker room in the city. For that reason, I think the best games are probably at Caesars or Showboat, where you will literally never find a competent player. The games at Borgata are still basically soft, but you will run into the occasional good player, even at 1-2 tables. This is especially true during the opens; you can talk about tourney donks being bad cash players, but they are better than your average tourist.

There is a large population of bad regs at Borgata, including a ton of "broke pros." There's like one at every other 1-2 table: "I play (2-5, 5-10) but I'm running bad so I'm playing 1-2."

This guy was pretty typical of the lot: Middle-age, white guy, beard. Nice enough guy, personable, likes to talk about his reads. Also very easy to read and pretty transparent. His story was something like, "I lost $1,500 today. But I won $2,500 yesterday." Sure. You're up $1,000 at your normal stakes over 2 days but decided to drop down.

We happened to have a mega whale at the table; a senior woman who just couldn't find a fold button. The Broke Pro was talking to me and the couple next to him about how "you have to play every pot against her."

That's fine and all, but I was thinking, "I think I want to play a lot of pots against YOU."

I found, however, there was a way to make her fold. She'd call a standard $10-$15 raise with ATC, but she'd fold a ton to 3-bets. So I was 3-betting or ISOing the Broke Pro, but she would fold. I decided I wanted to keep her in the pot when I had hands with nut possibilities.

Here was a hand I played that could have gone differently, but I wanted to keep her in the hand:

3 limps, including Broke Pro in HJ. I make it $12 with
Fish calls from SB, everyone calls. Pot: $48ish

flop:
3 checks, BP bets $20, I call. He says "how can you not raise?", Whale in SB calls, 2 folds.

Turn:
1 check, BP bets $30, I call, SB calls.

River:
Whale checks and sighs disgustedly, bP checks. I bet $75. Whale folds.

BP tanks. He calls clock on himself. I tell him I'm sure he'll make the right decision. He says, "I don't think you can even beat a 3." He folds.

Within an hour, the whale had gotten stacked about 5 times. The table is starting to fill up with young, competent players. The whale apparently has quite a reputation. She was going to move to another table, but I gave her a courtesy double up when she was down to 20 BBs and I flopped top pair from BB with Q7 and ran into her KQ on Qxx. She stayed, reloaded.

It's an atmosphere bordering on collusion. They are avoiding playing big pots each other. I had a hand HU against one where I opened with 99 in EP, and c/f 3 streets on an AKx T x board. Kid checks back river and says, "Ace." I muck.

(cont)