Bond18 – Around the World in 90 Days: Day 6

Posted by Bond18 | Filed under Bond18

Kotokolon Greece, May 4^th – In our journey between Italy and Greece the ship has moved over one time zone. At the end of play last night we went from 11:15PM to 12:15AM, immediately losing an hour of sleep. The ship docked this morning at around 8AM and the tours left shortly afterwards. We didn’t get done playing until almost 12:30 and I didn’t finish writing until past 1. Couple that with the exhaustion of travel and playing, and I was in no condition to try and force myself up this morning to go on a day excursion. Neither was anyone else in the tournament.

There’s a knock at my door while I lay in bed, though I’ve been up for almost 10 minutes now. I go to the door and find the whole group waiting for me.

“You want to go to the pool Bond?”

“Uhh, yea I guess. Let Celina and I grab some breakfast and we’ll meet you guys there.”

“You look dead man.”

“Nah its cool, I was lying awake for about 10 minutes. I’ll be good after a shower. Meet you up there.”

We sprint up to the breakfast buffet before they get the chance to close down without us. Like the majority of cruise ships, ours is packed with the elderly on vacation who maintain a vastly different schedule than the 200 or so poker players on board. Almost the whole of the cruise is populated by people over 65 or under 25, so when I see anyone between those ages I eye them suspiciously and wonder whether they jumped on board illegally at one of the ports looking for easy transportation. The European elderly have the charming tendency to walk painstakingly slow in front of you in narrow hallways while you’re desperately trying to get somewhere, then stop right in the middle of the hall and have a conversation for as long as they fucking please, either oblivious to your existence behind them (which seems unlikely since I tower over them and talk in profanity laden sentences at a decibel that is inappropriate anywhere in Europe) or entirely indifferent to it. Or maybe I just have no respect. As I told Timex; “If these people don’t get the hell out of my way I’m going to threaten to remind them about World War I.”

We lay about the pool and hot tub area for most of the afternoon until the 2PM start time draws near. I go change into a suit and make my way to the poker room, only getting caught behind one group of blabbering French elderly this time. I look over the seating chart and find I am coming in to the day eighth in chips, with three players in the top 15 in chips on the table. I take my seat and size up the table. On my immediate left is a young German guy who has more chips than I do, and two on my right is a 35ish Canadian guy named John I’d meet during the Bari excursion who has around 28K. Cards get in the air and my first pot comes up against John:

My stack: ~33K. John: 28k. Blinds 150/300 with a 25 ante. I hold As-Jh UTG+1

Pre-flop: UTG folds, I raise to 800, and the table folds to John in the BB who calls.

Flop: 2s-Jc-4s

John checks, I bet 1,300, John check raises to 3,600. John seems like an overall straight forward player, but my hand is way too strong to fold at this point, and I feel like he’s the type of player who might over-value top pair with deep stacks. I call.

Turn: Kc

John checks, I check back.

River: 3h

John quickly checks. At this point I think his whole range is Q-J, J-T, and missed flush draws. He absolutely never checks the turn and river with a set or K-J after check-raising the flop. I bet 4,200 and John folds. I think my bet should maybe be a little less there, like 3,600 or something.

A round later, a similar pre-flop situation comes up against John where I raise 6-6 in EP and he calls in the BB. The flop comes J-10-6 and, much to my chagrin, John check folds the flop. I table my hand and start messing with him

“You’re killing me here John, killllllllllllllllllllling me man.”

“Ha ha! I had nothing, totally whiffed it.”

“Play nice and flop top two next time please k?”

The table is overall pretty chatty and friendly. In seat 1 is a guy named Cory from the States who tells me knows Exitonly online and is talking to me quite a lot. John in seat 3 is quite social, and the young German on my left is as well. He tells me he went out and drank way too much last night and I tell him to stop being a pussy and keep going. We then both order a glass of tap water and I tell him “We’re living dangerously now.” The German seems to be playing very well, and so far we are avoiding each other. On my immediate right is a young and short stacked Russian who has the strange tendency to think very long over every single decision, even when just making a fold pre-flop. An hour into the day the blinds have gone up to 200/400. I open 8-8 in EP to 1,100 and the Russian goes all in from the BB for 3,900. He tables J-J and his hand holds.

A couple rounds after the Russian doubles through me, the table to my left breaks and Timex rocks up to the table and sits down two to my left, making the table even more social, but even worse as far as ease of players go. It’s not long after his arrival that Timex and I find ourselves involved, after my having been fairly aggressive in late position:

My stack: ~33K. Timex: ~29K. Blinds 200/400 with a 50 ante. I hold A-Ko on the button.

Pre-flop: Action folds to me on the button, I raise to 1,100, SB folds, Timex in the BB re-raises to 3,400. I think over my options. Folding is obviously out. Shoving seems excessive and there’s no way he calls everything off with A-Q. Flat calling seems to kind of suck. It’s a little weird, but my only option seems to four-bet to an amount that might look like I’m doing something spazish. I four-bet to 9,500. Timex quickly folds.

“I’m going to start instituting Men’s (Men the Master, known for allegedly making his horses cheat/chip dump to him) rules” he says.

A round after our hand the table gets even worse and young German professional, Johannes Strassman, is moved to the table two on my right. Strassman is best known for having three EPT final tables on his resume. In a field of 170 players, there are probably no more than 20 actually good players in the field, if that. Five of them are on my table and I’m stuck in the exact middle of them all. Fuck this table. Dave the assistant tournament director walks past our table

“Hey Dave, I’ll give you 20 euro to break our table.”

“Heh, I’ve heard that one before.”

“Alright, 25 euro.”

The inevitable result of our lineup is a table full of open raises getting three-bet, though outside the one Timex made on me, I haven’t encountered many yet. I soon find myself in a spot vs. the young German:

My stack: ~38K. German: ~45K. Blinds 250/500 with a 50 ante. I hold J-J in the HJ.

Pre-flop: Action folds to me and I raise to 1,300. The German raises to 3,800 and it folds back to me. This is not a fun spot. We’re roughly 80 effective BBs deep and it’s his very first three-bet on the table. It’s also a little on the small side, though not terribly so. Four-betting here seems like a considerable spew, and folding is out of the question. Calling and playing OOP ends up being the lesser of three evils. I call.

Flop: 7-6-3 rainbow

I check, the German bets 6,000, I call.

Turn: 9

I check, the German checks.

River: 2

I think it over. Can I value bet against his range? I decide it’s unlikely since all he can really consider calling with his something like 8-8/T-T and considering I check called a totally dry flop he’s got to give me credit for something semi-decent. I think I have a better chance of getting him to bluff than I do getting him to pay off. I check and he checks behind. I ask the dealer who has to table first and he says the last aggressor does. The German sheepishly tables 9-8o and I drag a considerable pot with the Jacks.

When Strassman joined the table he began raising quite a lot of hands. I three-bet him on the button with Q-8s when he opened the HJ to create a three-betting history/dynamic I could hopefully exploit later. He folded that time and I soon find myself in the situation I had prayed for:

My stack: ~52K. UTG+1: ~12K. Strassman UTG+2: 49K. I hold A-A in MP1. Blinds 300/600 with a 75 ante.

Pre-flop: The action folds to UTG+1 who raises to 1,800. Strassman flat calls right behind, and then it’s folded to me. I think Strassman’s flat call here is very strong considering stack sizes and positions, so flatting here seems totally out of the question. I re-raise to 6,500 (I think making it 7,000 or 7,200 is better since it looks like I want action a bit less) and it folds back to UTG+1. He quickly folds and now it’s up to Strassman. He tanks for quite a while and stares me down a little. Then he counts down his chips and asks me how much I’m playing for. Come on, one time you crazy German one time, stick it in. He stares at me, restacks his chips, then folds. FUCK.

The aggressive flow of the table continues and Timex runs a big check raise semi-bluff with A-K on a Q-J-X flop against two players that gets called by a set, knocking him down to around 12K. Strassman also takes a large chunk out of the German who had a total reversal fortune and is now floating around 10K. I soon find myself in a pot against both players on my left.

My stack: ~58K. German: 10,675. Timex: 10,600. I hold A-Ko in MP2, Blinds 300/600 with a 75 ante

Pre-flop: Action folds to me in MP2 and I raise to 1,600. The German moves all-in behind me, Timex thinks it over and also moves all-in. Action folds back to me and I insta-call my A-K. The German tables 8-8, Timex Q-Q, and I table my A-K.

“When you insta-called I really thought you had K-K plus” says Timex.

“Yea, I intentionally insta-called for maximum terrifying effect. I shoulda slammed over my cards over like I knew they were the nuts.”

“Yea that or flip them up with the Ace concealing the K.”
“I will next time.”

Flop: Q-J-2

Turn: 4

River: 9

I ask Timex how much he has and the dealer counts out his 10,600. I stack up the amount then slam it onto the table with a “FUCK YOU!” The German gets up to leave but the dealer tells him to hold on since he might have Timex covered and his hand held against mine. They count down the stacks and find out the German has 10,675. I pick up three green 25 chips and place them in his hand.

“Two antes, it’s been done before.”

“I can come back, definitely.”

The German busts out next hand. For a moment I think the table will get a little softer, until the seat gets filled a couple rounds later by number two ranked online player ‘Rdcrsn’. This is some bullshit. The blinds go up to 400/800 and I soon find myself involved with Strassman again:

My stack: ~47K. Strassman: ~45K. Blinds 400/800 with a 100 ante. I hold 8-8 in the SB.

Pre-flop: Action folds to Strassman in the CO, who raises to 2,400. The button folds. I think both three-betting and flat calling are workable here, but since Strass opens a ton in late position and plays quite well post-flop (almost certainly better than me, as he’s mostly a cash player) I decide to three-bet. That’s when I fuck up though, I reach for chips and slide out a raise of 7,200, then immediately realize the size is too small (should be like 8,000.) The BB folds and Strassman thinks it over and calls.

Flop: 9-7-3 rainbow

Hmm. I’ve got showdown value here and betting here is basically a bluff since I can’t realistically call a shove from him because I don’t think he’s calling my re-raise that light or anything. This seems like a fairly awkward spot, but I elect to check. He checks behind.

Turn: 2

Hmm. I’m trying to figure out what in his range plays like this. A-Q? A-Js? K-Qs? Medium pairs like 6-6-T-T? Hard to say, as I haven’t played with him that long. I think a bet is correct here, and I fire out 8,800. Strassman calls.

River: Kc

Interesting card. I elect to check. Strassman checks back and I table 8-8 unsure if they’re good, but not terribly confident. He tables 9c-Tc, and for a guy who seems to play very well, I think his pre-flop call is quite questionable.

The very next hand I’m involved again. The UTG player is a weak and straight-forward player who plays extremely honest post-flop:

My stack: ~30K. UTG: ~25K. I hold 9-9 on the button. Blinds 400/800 with a 100 ante, and we’re 8-handed.

Pre-flop: UTG raises to 2,500 and the action folds to me on the button where I elect to flat. I don’t think I have the appropriate implied odds on a set here, but I think having position and 9-9 vs. a player this weak/honest makes the call standard. The blinds fold.

Flop: 6-Q-6 rainbow

UTG checks. I know there’s no way I can bet for value here and I think he might be the type to desperation bluff the turn when he sees weakness from me, so I check back.

Turn: 3

UTG bets 3,200, I call.

River: 9

Now I’m just praying he went into insane slow-play mode with K-K/A-A. UTG checks. Looks unlikely. I bet out 7,500 and UTG folds.

For the rest of 400/800 I try to play fairly straight-forward since I am sandwiched by good players. I open a few pots and get three-bet or called, and have to give up post-flop, and my stack slides down a bit. I’m then faced with an awkward pre-flop spot vs. Strassman and the Russian:

My stack: ~28K. Strassman: ~65K. Russian: 2,200. I hold 8-8 in the CO. Blinds 500/1,000 with a 100 ante.

Pre-flop: Action folds to Strassman in MP2 and he raises to 3,000. The Russian goes all-in from the HJ, and it’s up to me. Let’s see, flatting sucks, three-betting is just weird because with the all-in player, Strassman will never jam and I obviously can’t three-bet/fold to jam. Folding sucks, so I guess that leaves shoving? I move all-in and it folds back to Strassman who folds K-Qo face up. The Russian tables 2-2 and I’m in excellent shape.

Flop: 4-3-4

Turn: 4

River: 6

I tell the Russian good game, he was a polite and nice guy who tells me he’ll be playing in Barcelona as well. He also made one really nice A-K high call down earlier, so some props to him.

Our table becomes 7-handed with myself, Cory, Timex, Rdcrsn, Strassman, and two guys I don’t know. The five of us spend the whole time chatting and making jokes, and our laughter can be heard throughout the room. Strassman is a pretty funny guy who speaks very good English, but occasionally phrases things in amusing ways, such as his constant asking of Timex “How much are you playing for Mike?”

I witness one pretty crazy hand which I was not involved in. Rdcrsn had won a flip vs. Timex and played well to accumulate a stack of over 40K. Strassman is sitting somewhere around 55K-60K, and Cory has somewhere around 20K. The blinds are 500/1,000 with a 100 ante and the following goes down:

Pre-flop: Strassman raises UTG to 3,000 and the action folds to Rdcrsn in MP who flat calls. It then folds to Cory in the SB who says out-loud “This is what Dan Harrington calls a squeeze play,” then makes it 8,500. The BB folds and Strassman now moves all-in. Rdcrsn quickly moves all-in and Cory starts swearing at himself.

“Oh man this is so gross. Am I really gonna fold here with this much of my stack in?”

He thinks it over for a while, then tables Kd-Qd and folds. Strassman tables Q-Q and Rdcrsn K-K.

“Hold please” Rdcrsn says politely.

Flop: A-7-2

Turn: 9

Timex blurts out “You’re a massive favorite here Strassman!”

River: Q

Rdcrsn looks totally disgusted, shakes hands, and wishes us good luck. Strassman goes “You make such sick reads on me Mike!” then spends the next five minutes laughing. A few hands later our table finally breaks and I’m moved to a table where I know absolutely no one. To my left is an older gentleman from Scottsdale, Arizona who tells me he’s played the last four Party Poker Million cruises, and we spend the next half-hour talking about the series. He’s playing pretty tight, so when it folds to me on the button I consider just about any two cards worth raising. The BB is a younger guy who is semi-aggressive and occasionally three-bets my late position raises, but not enough to make being really aggressive in late position very profitable. After a while, I get a chance to shoot back at him:

My stack: ~36K. UTG+1: ~35K. Blinds 600/1,200 with a 200 ante. I hold Ks-Kh in the BB.

Pre-flop: UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 3,000, and the action folds to me in the BB. I call.

Flop: Qh-2h-2c

I check, and UTG+1 confidently fires out 6,000. That’s a pretty damn big continuation bet which makes me think he likes his hand pretty well. I had considered check calling or check raising a smaller bet a nominal amount, but his bet size really makes me think he likes his hand. I decide to try and represent a flush draw or a vastly overplayed top pair medium kicker and check shove on him. He looks disgusted and folds pretty quickly. Oops, bad read.

A round later I see Pacman and Eden enter the room and I go over and chat to them a little bit. I tell them both Will and Timex have busted out (Will got it all in on the turn with A-A vs. K-K and the K hit the river; Timex moved in on a draw and didn’t get there) and I’m the only one left. I see the dealer throwing cards out and I race back to my seat to make sure I don’t get folded. Thank God I made it in time, because I peer down at Q-Q and hear someone to my right say “raise”.

My stack: ~46.5K. HJ: ~55K. MP2: ~20K. Blinds 600/1,200 with a 200 ante. I hold Q-Q.

Pre-flop: Action folds to MP2, who raises to 3,000. HJ re-raises to 8,500. Even though it’s very hard to get called by a worse hand here, there’s only really one option available. I pause for about 10 seconds, then announce all-in. It folds back to the HJ and he tanks for a very long time, then passes.

A round later I get moved and find myself on the direct left of Strassman, who now has over 200,000. I greet him with “Whoa, what THE FUCK have you been doing?”

“Oh yes, I run very good.”

There’s only about half-hour left in the day and Strassman is raising an absolute ton of hands. I haven’t come after him yet, but I finally get a chance with four minutes left in the day:

My stack: ~56K. Strassman: ~200K. BB: 25,300. I hold J-J in the HJ

Pre-flop: Action folds to Strassman, who raises to 3,700. I re-raise to 11,500 hoping Strassman four-bets me, which I will quickly call. It folds to the BB and he goes into the tank. He’s middle-aged and seems pretty unsure of what he’ll do, but he begins counting out his stack. If he’s acting about his lack of confidence, he should get an Oscar. After counting out his stack, looking over at me, he stacks it back up and moves all-in. Strassman folds and I ask for a count; the dealer says it’s 25,300. I think his range is precisely A-K and Q-Q, which means getting 3 to 1. I have to call and he tables Q-Q. Fuck.

Flop: 9-9-2

Turn: 5

River: 6

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” yells the BB. Strange, that’s the first time I’ve seen a European loudly celebrate. I slide over the chips and start swearing under my breath.

A couple hands later the day ends and I find myself at 29,100. It’s really annoying to have nearly 60,000 near the end of the day, then suddenly have all progress washed away. I feel exhausted though, so I guess I’ll sleep on it and try and get my head back in the game for tomorrow.

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