I guess I'm running good, huh?

I told MVP last night it wasn't so much a good run as I'm playing well, but in taking a look at my stats, I've got to revise that statement. Sorry, MVP.

We kicked off the new No Limit Budget Tour last night at Boulder Station, for reasons I'll get to later. I've only played there once before, did very nicely, so well in fact that I didn't take notice of the room itself. I shall do so now.

Ugh-friggin'-ugh!

What a crappy room, crappy table, full of crappy players. I didn't even realize that they allow smoking inside the freakin' room! Where was I? I don't think I was wasted at the time. I didn't notice? What else did I miss?

When we got there, after 6 on Sat evening, they had just opened a 1/2 NL game. That's right, sports fans, there was NO NL game going on prior to that! The only other place in town I can think of that doesn't have a low limit NL going on at all times would be Sam's Town, which is truly an awful room, and only is better because they don't allow smoking at al in the room.

We finally got in around 7 or so. I ran good. I did pull of a couple of plays which added to my stack. Had I really been into the game, I could have done even better as I had control over the table--seat 6 to my right, excepted. (MVP ran me out of a couple of pots I should have won. Nice.) I had to lower my initial raises significantly to get any action on my good hands. I think I played okay. MVP feels otherwise, but he was stuck until very late. Thankfully, he dragged a nice pot at the end or the rest of the night would have been even more miserable.

Crappy table + MVP stuck = Total Miserable Experience

When we slipped out of the game, I was up $341 for about 3 hours.

The reason we went to BS in the first place was to see the band. Yellow Brick Road plays every Friday and Sat night at Boulder, and they are worth the effort to get out there. They rock. And it was a great topper to a pretty decent night of poker/rockin' fun. Even drank TWO beers. What a party animal I am.

Decent week. $685 in 4 days for $68.50 an hour. I need to remember this week the next time I'm running bad?

lol donkaments

The last time I played the Sahara tournament, I did pretty well. Not as well as MVP thought I should have, but it was very late and I had to work the next day. Not a problem last night.

MVP and I barely got there before the alleged 7pm start time, so I did the unthinkable; I went to valet parking. Not only did we make it in plenty of time--the tournament started at around 7:15--but valet parking knew something I didn't.

I made it through the first hour and collected my $62 sandwich.

I played tight through the first few orbits, raised with AQo and got 5 callers. So much for tight. The donkeys were in full-throated bray. One guy bought in twice after busting out playing ridiculously stupid. $186 for this tournament is stupid. Like he was D.Negreanu and dumping a bunch of chips on the table was the way for him to go. Wrong. Another guy, the villain in my story, was supposed to go catch a plane at some point and was playing as if it were waiting at the gate for him. He went all--or rather called an all in--twice with A9o. Not exactly great play.

I finally got KK under the gun and raised, knowing I'd get plenty of action. Not a problem. Flop came Q high. I bet out and our A9 crazed future air passenger pushed all in, which made me very happy. He had AQ this time. A rivered Q, however, and I was not so lucky. I had a few hundred chips left and all I could do was hold out long enough to get a sandwich at the break. I managed to pick up a few chips, got JJ in the CO which lost to a rivered flush. (Or ace paird--either of which I couldn't beat). After the break, I pushed my last few remaining chips on 10-3 when the flop came JJT. Third best by the river.

The best part wasn't even when I was in a hand. MVP took a terrible beat the last time we played this donkament. He's been going on about it ever since. When we sat down at the table, I had to suppress a laugh. The donkey who beat him was sitting to my right and MVP--with his remarkable unskilled memory--didn't recognize him. That didn't stop MVP from telling everyone about his bad beat. When said donkey brayed about his great playing ability, I mentioned the bad beat he put on MVP and that started it. They realized they'd played the hand and started in on who was the donkey. I, of course, not being a donkey, enjoyed the thrust and parry of two top-ranked poker minds. Advantage MVP.

It was at least some relief from the bad beats I usually suffer in this tournament. I love playing it, and should probably play it more as I feel I have at least a proper edge over the rest of the field. Good overlay, and lots and lots of dead money. Maybe I will. There's always the promise of a pretty good deli sandwich, too.

Combine it with a $19 loss at the V, and it wasn't a good day, but I'm not complaining. At least I'm not a donkey--compared to the rest. Yikes.

Yellow Brick Road, tonight, and more Budget No Limit before. I love Vegas.

And, btw, what did valet know I didn't? They parked my car at the curb. A 91 VW Fox in front of the Sahara. That's ghetto at it's Vegas finest!

Anytime three people--or two--get together and talk about poker, the subject of the differences between limit and no limit come up. If one is a limit player and the other plays no limit. I guess I'm one of the few people that have played both a lot, as well as tournaments. I tell people that they are three different games played with the same rules. Nothing could be closer to Truth, with a capital T.

The subject came up yesterday in the Wed Poker Discussion Group, as well as in my email box. I have very strong opinions on the subject, and as I needed something to write about, I'll post 'em up as I promised to my friend in email.

"Limit poker is science, while no limit is art. In limit, you are shooting at a target. In no limit, the target can wake up and shoot back." Crandell Addington, oilman and world-class poker player of the Sixties and Seventies

Boy, is he right. We had a really nice discussion on the topic at yesterday's WPDG with Barry Tanenbaum. (That's where my new sig line came from. Cool, huh?) One of the regulars is a pretty good limit player, and her friend who's been playing no limit--(and hopefully not reading this journal)--said he's been playing some low limit games when he gets tired of concentrating so hard when he's playing no limit. As he really doesn't have as much of a clue about no limit as he thinks, he is totally out of his element in limit.

Limit is really mostly the math. If you have the proper pot odds, you play, and if you don't, you don't. It's a gross oversimplification, but still basically true. You can make moves, but they are more rare than no limit players do. You are playing bigger hands, more often high cards, and raising is much more important than limping. Because you are "unable to protect your hands," you need to have the second way to win a pot, and that's getting your opponent to fold. Notice I said the singular opponent, because often when in a multiway pot, you won't get everyone to fold. Different strategies apply when you can't bet enough to fold everyone. Plus, raising, you get more money in the pot.

Building a pot in no limit often backfires. You build a pot for someone else to win. Trapping in no limit is a much more valuable play in no limit than in limit. In limit, because the bets are limited, you don't get more than a couple of bets when trapping. In no limit, you can get a whole stack.

There are many, many ways that the two games are different. Some day, some smart poker author is going to write a book on the differences and it will sell well. Few people really can go back and forth between the games and not lose their ass. I find it easier to go from no limit to limit than from limit to no limit. The game is just easiers in limit. You don't have a million subtleties in limit. You don't have to be on guard at all times. Limit is a game of getting in with small edges, while that's a recipe for disaster in no limit.

With Barry, he said to never forget what the goal is in no limit. Doubling up through your opponent. In limit, you can win 6 small pots and lose the last one and have a good day. In no limit, it's possible to win 6 small pots and lose the last one and go home broke. In limit, you want to win as many pots as you can. If you play a six hour session and win 2 pots, you're going to be going home with less than you came with. But in no limit, you can win 2 pots all day and it can be a really, really good day.

Which do I like more? I get that question a lot. The truth is, I don't know. I like them both. A lot. I perhaps like the difference more than the individual games. I love the strategy of no limit, and the tactics of limit. I like knife thrusts and throwing hand grenades. I guess I just like poker.

I can go on and on with this line, if anyone would like. It's always instructive to think about the differences, because it makes you a better player regardless of which game you prefer to play.

I NEED NAKED MEN ON TOP OF ME.