Bond18 - Around the World in 90 Days: Day 15

Posted by Bond18 | Filed under Bond18

Paris, France: Our group catches the subway over to the Aviation club with the intention of playing some single table satellites for the Main Event. When we get there around 5PM we’re informed that all the satellites are done for the day and all the tables will be needed later for an exclusive super satellite that we can’t buy into. We go to ask about cash games but the man running the single table satellites comes to finds us and lets us know he’ll run one more for us.

Timex and I are the only ones who decide to play a 1,650 Euro satellite with 10 players where 1^st pays a seat and 2^nd around 3,500 Euro. We start with 5,000 chips at 25/50 with 10-minute blinds. It is an excessively fast structure.

In the first couple rounds I play a couple of small pots where I raise pre-flop, get a caller, and take it down with a C bet, with one time where I check-fold after getting four callers pre. By the time I get a hand that’s even somewhat interesting the blinds are 200/400:

My stack: ~4,200, Timex: 1,425. LP: 800, I hold A-Qo in MP1

Pre-flop: It folds to me and I raise to 1,000. Timex moves all-in, it folds to LP who moves all in, then folds back to me. I call. Timex shows J-J and LP Ac-Jc.

Board: 8-2-5-4-8

Timex is back in the game but soon plays in a limped pot from the BB where he flops two pair and runs into a flopped flush. The blinds go up to 300/600 and I have only 5 BBs. The first hand I get a chance to open shove is with 5-6o on the CO against total nits behind me. I move in for about 3,200 and the BB insta-calls and tables A-A.

Board: J-5-2-K-K

Wow, that was 1,650 well spent. The satellite was incredibly soft though and I’d say only one other player at the table was likely profitable in a $5 SNG online (yes, I’m being serious.)

We go to play cash and I take a seat in a 5/10 Euro game. I’m not a particularly good cash player and my expectations are kind of fucked due to my being so used to players showing up with tournament ranges, but the games here are absolute wiffleball. A round in, I raise up 8-8 and get an A-Q-8 flop on which I stack a guy for 1,500 on. He sees me writing down the details of the hand and tells me in very broken English:

“There are no need to take notes, it is just lucky time.”

“Uh, no it’s not that. You see I do a lot of writing, so when I play a hand I just write down the details.”

“There is no strategy. You have three of a kind, me two pair. It was just lucky time.”

“Uh, I don’t think I’m explaining myself very well…uhhhh, I’m not really taking notes. It’s for writing, I just need the details.”

He doesn’t seem to comprehend what I’m trying to say and seems a little annoyed that the guy who took his stack is casually taking notes about a hand with zero strategy. It doesn’t help that I unintentionally slow-rolled him. I didn’t know it at the moment, but the 5 euro and 2.50 Euro chips are not considered in play during a hand, so when he bet the turn for 900 I saw numerous chips behind and thought for 3-5 seconds before check-shoving since I thought he had more to call off. Turns out my shove was just a call, and tanking with a set looks like a pretty douchebag move.

A round later I find A-A UTG and raise it up:

My stack: ~3,500, UTG+1: ~1,700. I hold Ah-As.

Pre-flop: I raise to 40, UTG+1 calls, UTG+2 calls, folds to button, button calls, SB calls, BB folds.

Flop: Th-8h-7h

Awkward. Spots like this with stacks these deep aren’t my speciality, but I can’t imagine nitty live players getting it in on this flop where my hand has that good of equity (it’s obviously never that bad), so I elect to check when it’s checked to me. UTG+1 bets 120 and it folds around to me. I call.

Turn: Kd

I check, UTG+1 bets 140, I call.

River: Qs

I check and UTG+1 starts swearing hardcore and slaps the table like he’s been sucked out, for some paranoid reason putting me on a jack. I table A-A and he looks relieved and tables 7-7.

I sit tight for a few rounds then find a spot vs. the most aggressive but pretty spewy player on the table:

My stack: ~3,300, his stack: ~1,800. I hold Qd-Qh on the CO.

Pre-flop: UTG limps, folds to MP2 who raises to 40, HJ folds, I raise to 130, it folds back to MP2 who calls.

Flop: Js-5s-7c

MP2 checks, I fire 220, HJ calls.

Turn: 9d

MP2 checks and I decide I have no idea how to react to a CR here and there’s no way I can get three streets of value in a three-bet pot here so I’ll check behind and try to rep A-K with a “bluff” on the river.

River: 5h

MP2 donks out 30. I’m pretty sure he has a weak hand that is blocking bet me so I can’t raise him for a ton. I make it 300 and he tanks for a while before tossing it in and mucks when I table Q-Q.

Then for a very long time I pay to see flop after flop with small pairs or suited connectors and whiff over and over. I have one unsuccessful small bluff and my stack keeps draining away pre. It’s hard to take down small pots when it’s six ways to a flop and people suck at folding. I never lose a major pot (I lost a medium sized one with top pair vs. trips against a total donk), but despite this, when we stop to go to dinner I’m only up around 400.

I play a little bit more after dinner but very little of interest happens. I decide to register for Day 1a since it seems everyone I know from online here so far (Atimos suddenly showed up at the club with another online player whose screen name I didn’t catch, but they both decided to play day 1b.) Will is also playing the second day and I’m tired of playing with friends. I head home a bit early and, this time, make sure to write down the street name for the cab driver.

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