I was very fortunate to have Good Friday off from my job, so you can guess how I spent my day off. That’s right. I made a trip to the 'Shoe.

I arrived at the 'Shoe around noon and when I walked into the room I was shocked to see that the room was rocking. I went directly to the brush and checked in with them. I then went and scouted the tables and I found out why the room was banging so early in the afternoon. They had a $75+$40+$40 unlimited rebuys for the first 90 minutes tourney going on. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to participate, because there was some fishy play from what I witnessed. They tourney had about 60 runners and first place was $4K. I am already making plans to make that tourney on July 4th. That is the next Friday that I will be off from work.

My wife was coming over to Bossier to meet up with me after she got off work so we could enjoy a night together alone. I knew I didn’t have long to play and when it took me 30 minutes to get seated in a $1-$3NL game I was kind of bummed, but I passed the time donking around in the 4-8 Limit game. I vowed the last time I dumped $300 playing limit poker without winning a hand that I would never play limit again. I played about 2 orbits and lost $8. The only playable hand I had was KK in the SB when it folded to me and I chopped the blinds with the guy next to me.

I was finally seated in my NL game and I noticed 2 regs. They were older men. Pretty much ABC players. You know the kind I am talking about if you play live poker. All you have to do is raise to ISO them and CBET. If they don’t have anything they fold. If they give you any resistance, give it up. The rest of the table was Weak Passive.

I was up about $40 when the first interesting hand came up. I was on the button and follow 4 limpers with 9T. The flop was 778. Checks to me and I semi bluff $10 into the pot. I get two callers. The turn was a 6. BINGO. I filled my straight and when it checked to me again I bet $20 and much to my surprise I got one caller on my right. 3 on the river and he checks to me again. I make a value bet of $25 and then the guy min raises me!!! I pay him off thinking he went runner runner flush on me, but he turns over 78. Well played buddy. Way to maximize your big hands.

I chipped up to +$20 when the following hand happens. A short stack from UTG raises All-In to $6 every folds to a weak passive player on the button who calls. I sweat AK from the SB and I bump it to $26 straight. Button calls and the flop reveals an 8-9-4r. I notice that the button checks out of turn and I fire $40 at the pot. He calls. Uh ohhhh. 2 on the turn and I fire another $85 at the pot, but this time he folds. Whewwwww. I thought I learned my lesson the last time I tried to bluff in a live game. LOL. I drag the nice sidepot, but the All-In raiser turns over 4-4 for a set. Oh well. After the hand I told the guy I knew he didn’t have a strong hand because he checked out of turn. I made $60 off of him, so the coaching lesson wasn’t free for him. I was proud of myself that I picked up on him checking out of turn and I actually followed through with a 2 barrell bluff with AK. He said he J-T for the straight draw.

A couple of orbits go by and my wife calls me and says that she is getting into Bossier. I cash out my $105 win and call it a day. I promptly hand my winnings over to her. Women are the rake guys!!! Don’t forget it.


Good Luck Guys!!!!

I am so tired of banging my head against the wall at PokerStars. I am taking a break from Stars and heading back over to Bodog, where I was beating $100NL @ ~8BB/100. I am a winner over at 'Stars, but its nothing to write home about, ~1BB/100 over 35K hands. I am keeping some money on Stars for some tourneys and WSOP Steps, but I will be concentrating on trying to clear the 100% Reload Bonus on Bodog. I cant wait for the light stackage that is sure to happen. I need to pad my bankroll so I can make the WSOPC in New Orleans.

Tomorrow my son is going under the knife!!!!! He is getting tubes put in his ears. Hopefully the ear infection he has had for 3 months will finally clear up. They say that getting tubes will do wonders. Lets hope so. 2:30 wake up calls are not very fun when you have an 8-5 job.

Good Luck Guys!!!!

Meh day @ the Shoe.

Last Saturday fellow tworagger Landlord79 and I headed over to our home casino to play some live poker. Our regular live game for now is $1-$3NL. We headed out around 9am and arrived at Horseshoe-Bossier City poker room and we were immediately sat at different NL tables. I joined my table which consisted of a mixture of weak tight old men and calling stations. The first hand at my table three people limped and I sweated AKo and I bumped it to $25 straight and an old man to my left cold called and every one else folded. I CBET $40 on a K high flop and took it down. You can’t win them all unless you win the first one right? So I am up about $50 when the following hand comes up. The old man on my direct right who was pretty much fit or fold bumped it to $23 with a couple of limpers and I squeezed AK this time and I 3bet to $60 straight and when it got back to him he announced raise and I quickly mucked my hand face-up before the guy could even get an amount out of his mouth. I got some weird looks from a lot of the players who thought that AKs is the nutz. The old man showed AA. One more for the good guys!!!

I am about even when I sweat AKo once again from LP and I punished the 3 limpers and make it $25 straight. The guy on my left, who had me covered, kept playing every time I would raise and I knew this was going to be a problem unless I made hands vs him. We miss flops to right? Ok, so the guy cold calls me preflop once again. I make a CBET to $40 on the K-4-Qflop, but this time he calls. The turn was 9 and that made a straight possible for people can’t fold JT preflop. I cant give this guy a free card if he is drawing, so I cut out 12 redbirds and was going to see what he was going to do. He called my turn bet pretty quick and now I am getting pretty committed by SPR standards. The river was an offsuit ace and I made a $100 bet and got looked up by A8. I can’t believe that guy looked me, but I will take it. I rake in a nice pot and as I am putting the details into my voice recorder I get a few questions about why I am recording my hands. I reveal that I am taking notes on hands that I play during live poker sessions, so that I can do trip reports for a website I represent, tworags.com obviously. I even passed out a couple of business cards. Edmond don’t worry, I am pimping the site, even though it keeps me from getting action. From then on I was referred to newcomers to the table as a pro, but I kept telling them that I just play poker as a hobby.

I chip up to up about $300 and follow limpers from MP with 88. The flop is 4-A-A rainbow and the 4 players check it around. The 3hits the turn and I make a bad play when a old man leads and I try and take it from him with a nice stiff raise, but when he announced a reraise I was toast and quickly mucked my hand. I was so mad at myself for this spewtarded play. I just dumped close to $80 on a bluff. Everyone knows you don’t bluff live donks. I shrug it off and get back to my A game.

Landlord has made it over to my table and he is unsuccessfully trying to recover some of his losses and we are shooting the bull. Live poker is so much more fun when you can sweat flops and turns with your buddies isn’t it? A few hands after the 88 debacle a couple of loose guys limp from MP position and I look down at AQo in the SB and I make it $26 total and the first limper calls and the second preflop limper shoves the rest of his stack $94 into the pot and when it gets back to me I reraise to $200 to isolate the All-In player. The original limper folds and I can’t a win coin flip vs 99. That hand pretty much made my day. It wasn’t too much longer that Landlord and I had enough for one day and we decided to call it a night.

Even though I only cashed out a small win ($70), I enjoyed my time at one of my favorite poker rooms in the South. My wife and I are making another trip over to the Shoe on Good Friday, but I don’t know how much poker I will be able to get in, with all the shopping she will want to do. I am not sure when Landlord and I will make another trip, but I can’t wait.