I love listening to players during the breaks. They’re telling anyone who will listen why they are not doing as well as they expected. For example, a guy with a bedazzled Affliction shirt and bandanna is telling someone on the phone that he’s now established his table image and being lucky on Day 1 is overrated. I think there’s an 80% chance he is gone by the end of the day.
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Mr. Massage confirmed that he’s the rich guy at the table. When I offered him a snack from my backpack, he declined, announcing, apropos of nothing, that he was having dinner at Nobu. He said, “Poker players are cheap, so there won’t be many people from here going there.” He grandly added, “It’s a $500 meal.”
Meanwhile, I plan to have a nice cheeseburger at the dinner break. So there!
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JJ. Boston guy raises it up, and Seat 9 calls. I hate JJ, but I make the call instead of re-raising. Glad I did, because a newly energized Mr. Massage raises to 4200. The first two raisers fold, I show MM my JJ, and he cheerfully shows me his JJ. “These are the worst on Day 1,” he counsels me, as he pulls in the pot.
The scary guy in Seat 8 replies, “AQ is worse.” A spirited debate ensues about which of these premium hands sucks the most.
Two hands later, I look down at AQs. I raise it up and take down the blinds and then show Seat 8 my hand.
“I wasn’t talking about suited ace queen,” he protested, laughing. This is only funny to poker players, but we all laugh with him.
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Getting hot - after showing my JJ, I’ve gotten some hot hands (QQ, the aforementioned AQ, even a humble 10 3 offsuit in the big blind that paired a 3 for the win). I’m now at 71,300!
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K 10. I end up in a hand with MM and the Romanian. The flop was 789, giving me an open-ended straight draw. The Romanian bets 2000. MM and I call. The turn is an A. First to act, I check and so do the other guys. The river is a Q. I got nothing, so naturally, I bet 7000. MM and the Romanian both fold, and MM starts trying to guess my hand.
I don’t give him anything. 82,700.
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Fun hand - 10 6 on the button. Everyone folds around to me. I raise to 1000, MM folds, but Seat 2 calls. The flop is 10 6 4, giving me two pair. I bet 2000, and Seat 2 calls. The next card is kind of scary - a 7 - but I bet 5000 out of turn. The dealer announces my misplay and I tell him, “Sorry. I’m committed.” Seat 2 stews for awhile and mucks his hand.
86,300, and I think I’m becoming the scary player at the table.
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Or not. I look down at A 10h and raise to 1000. The giggling Romanian is the only caller. The flop is 10 high with three clubs. I bet 2000 to see where I’m at. He re-raises to 7000. I run away sobbing.
A few hands later, I have J 10 in the small blind and I call a 1000 raise from Seat 6. The flop is J 8 4, giving me top pair. I check and Seat 6 bets 2000. I raise to 6000. He comes back to 16,000. With some reluctance, I let it go and he tells me, “If you folded your set of 8s, that was a great fold, sir.” I had made him for an overpair, but could he have had the other two jacks? Good Lord - he had the super nuts. Glad I got out of the way. (And at the dinner break, he confirmed that he had the set of jacks.)
68,200.
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Interesting fact: through nearly six hours of play, no one has been knocked out of the tournament at Table 666. The smallest stack appears to be 9,000 in Seat 9, then 41,000 in Seat 3.
Seat 9 is going to have to make a move soon, which means you have to worry that your 1000 preflop raise is going to turn into 9000. While I am still up for the tournament, I can’t take a body blow like that without some pain. So weirdly, I have to be as careful with him as I would be with one of the big stacks at the table.
Meanwhile, the blinds keep coming…
67,100 with 8 minutes to dinner break.
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Last hand before dinner break, I look down at AK on the button. Boston guy raises to 1000, Seat 9 calls, so I raise to 4000, hoping to get Seat 9 to commit his remaining 5000. Boston folds, and Seat 9 goes into the tank and then gives it up. Too bad.
68,300 and off to dinner.
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