LAPC Day 2: $350 Omaha 8 or Better @ Commerce

For those of you that didn’t see it when I posted it at 11 PM last night, make sure you scroll down and check out Radio Mike’s Marathon Monday guest blog from the Palace $15/$30 game yesterday. It’s as good and funny as I thought it’d be! Great job, Mike!

Starting stacks in this O8 event are 10k and blinds start at 50/100 with 30 minute levels.Last year it seemed like my starting table had multiple players on a mission to punt their stacks (and one of those players joined my table later and did just that).

This year I didn’t start with any true punters, but I had five opponents and I saw three different players voluntarily limp with these hands in the first few orbits: 9882 (under the gun), J842 (open limp MP), and 8544 (limp along on button). Yum yum!

Some notables I saw in the field today: Miami John Cernuto, actor James Woods, Carol Fuches, Real Grinders founder Raymond Davis, a Commerce reg they call “Taxi” – that I chopped the 8-Game tourney with at Golden Nugget in 2015 – and WSOP bracelet winner Ron Ware.

Notable Hands From L1-L4:

Blinds 100/200; two limps, I raise SB with A832 double suited; four to 843 all club flop (I don’t have clubs); I bet and one player calls; turn pairs the 3 and I get to 3-bet turn and bet river and scoop Ac5cXX.

Blinds 150/300; two limps, I raise button with AQ52 nut spades; the punter I mentioned earlier 3-bets and I call with two others in as well (I would have capped here if recognized the punter); flop is Q76 with one spade and they check to me; I bet and two call; turn is a 4 of spades and I get check-raised by the player in the middle, I 3-bet and they both call; river pairs the 7 and I chop with MP’s 544X.

Blinds 150/300; I limp along with A533 in the cutoff; Punter raises and four of us see the A42 flop. I call, raise the turn, and scoop on A42Q8.

Stack at first break: 15,750

Notable Hands L5-L8:

Blinds 200/400; one player limps, I raise with AK82 double suited and wind up getting scooped by 8322 on A857K when his nut low goes running flush and I whiff my front door flush draw.

Dipped below starting stack here and won a couple small pots to chip back up.

200/400 blinds, I raise with AQ53 nut diamonds; five of us see the K83 flop and it checks around; the turn pairs the 3 and the player to my right leads, I raise, and everybody folds – including a nit’s A42X into the muck.

Blinds 300/500, I raise with AQT2 double suited and two players call me; flop is KJ2 rainbow – giving me a wrap, two backdoor flush draws, and a pair – and a nitty player in the blinds check-raises me; I 3-bet and he calls; turn is 3h, giving me a flush draw and he check-calls; river is an offsuit 9 and he check-calls and I scoop with the nuts. I was not going to bluff the river here. I knew he was calling but I thought I had too much hand to check the turn.

Blinds 300/600, folds to me on the button and I open with 8732 with two clubs and both blinds defend; I wind up calling the big blind down on A53ddc9c4c and get absurdly lucky against his 7642dd, by rivering the same straight and backdooring clubs for three quarters. Yikes!

Blinds 300/600; I limp along on button with AT44 with a nut clubs; pretty marginal but this guy is open-limping J842 – how can I fold? Flop is T84 with two hearts and one of the blinds leads, the limper calls and I call. Turn is a 9 and they both check to me. My hand seems good so I bet and they both call. River is an Ace and they check again and I think I’m good for high so I toss a value bet out. They both call and… I scoop!

Blinds 400/800 and I get a free flop with 8762; flop is 622dd and I bet and only the table nit calls me. I know what card is bad for me… and here it is: an ace! I think check-folding here against this player is defensible, but I just check-call down and pray that I have some piece. He ends up showing A32X and my 87 low escapes for half. Phew!

Chip stack after 8 levels: 27,000

Notable Hands L9-L10:

Blinds 500/1000, a short stack (4 bigs) opens, an aggressive player 3-bets on the button, I defend with AKK3, and the short stack goes all in for a cap; Flop is T96 with two hearts (I have none) and I check-call the button. I hate this spot but the pot is too big to fold just yet. Turn is a Qh and now I do check-fold. Button ends up tabling AQJx with no hearts and I feel a little rage inside before the all in tables KJJx and winds up scooping the main pot.

Blinds 500/1000, a speeder with a huge stack opens on the button and I 3-bet with A973 with a suited ace. He calls and winds up scooping me with A82x when the board runs out A74-J-8.

Blinds 500/1000, speeder opens and I cold call in position with AK53 with a suited K; three of us see the J96 with two heart flop; the speeder bets and I raise with my flush draw, hoping to get it heads up and increase my chances of having the best backdoor low; both players wind up calling though; the turn is a 4 and I’m planning to check back but the speeder donks and we both call; the river is an ace of clubs, completing a backdoor flush draw and we both call the speeder again. I’m good for the low and the speeder has JT97 with clubs – and as soon as I see that hand I’m like wtf am I not 3-betting pre?

Blinds 1000/1500, button opens and I 3-bet with AK32 with nut clubs and the button caps it; I flop a pair of threes and the nut low draw and check-call all the way down and get quartered when we both make lows but he pairs his 5 on the turn with AQ52.

Blinds 1000/1500, very next hand, speeder opens button and I 3-bet with A852 suited Ace from small blind and he calls; flop is JT4 rainbow and I bet and call his raise. Typing this hand out, I hate it. This guy is playing a super wide range. He could easily be all over this flop and I have nothing and it’s going to be hard to develop anything good either. I should just check-fold. But I put in two bets on the flop for some inexplicable reason and get a pretty decent card on the turn with a 7. Now I will likely scoop with a 6, so I check-call again and the river pairs the board, he checks behind and scoops me with KQJx.

Blinds 1000/1500, and I’m down to 8 bigs and post my big blind with AAK2 with a suited ace; a middle player opens, the speeder calls from the SB, and I 3-bet from the big. Flop is KQ4 rainbow; I bet, MP raises, SB cold calls, and I decide I have to go with this hand, so I 3-bet and they both call. I’m all in on the turn, which is a 3 and they both call again. The river is a jack and I’m pretty sure my tournament is over. It is. Small blind scoops with QJT8 and I was losing to MP’s AQ4x anyway.

There were roughly 65 players left when I busted and 22 of us were going to cash. I felt like I played great for the most part but I got torched in the last couple levels with suited A2 hands.

I was a bit undecided what I wanted to do after the tournament but eventually put my name up for $20/$40 LHE and waited until about 8 PM and I was third up. I was only planning to play until midnight and I didn’t want to play a short $20/$40 session so I found immediate seating in an $8/$16 Stud 8/Big O8 mix game instead. I’ve tipped $1 in 90 minutes so far and find myself down ~$150. I’m not going to blog any hands for this session but I’ll mention how I did in my next post.

Update: I finished the Stud 8/Big O game at +$203. I had a crazy Big O hand where I had T9886 in the big blind and the flop was 8x7c6c and I had the Tc8c. The board ran out clean and I ended up losing money in a 3-way pot because someone else had T9 and the other player had a low. I ended up 3-betting the flop and leading turn and river but I’m not sure it’s a great line. I’m drawing dead to half the pot – and I know it – and as robust as my high is I’m still getting freerolled by anyone with bigger clubs and a low.

I’m heading back to Commerce shortly to play the $350 Triple Stud tournament. Cards are in the air in 70 minutes and I haven’t even showered yet!