tilted behaviour

I really enjoy playing home games, but it’s been real hard recently while living down in Geelong.

However, thanks to Brendo, we have got a regular Tuesday night game up to keep our home game shenanigans kicking on!

Last Tuesday after hitting the set of the Australian Poker Hero we played a 50c-$1 No Limit Holdem cash game. It was fairly short-handed with only Mat, James, Stefan, Joe and another Brendan coming along.

I ran my $50 into about $90 with no real hands of note except a huge bluff I pulled against Stefan holding K♦ 9♦. I opened to $2.50 and the whole table called – as was usual – to see a 10♣ 5♠ 3♦ flop fall and a bet of $4 follow from Stefan out of the big blind. I made it $8 to go and when it folded back to Stefan he made it $16 total. I really felt I was ahead in the hand and he was in fact bluffing me, or that he held something really weak like bottom pair. Consequently my only move was to push back and announced all in for an additional $42 and change.

Stefan sat in the tank for eternity before I started exchanging friendly banter before beginning to fire every bullet I held in my arsenal. Eventually he reluctantly folded bottom pair, I tabled my bluffed, and I then raked the pot in.

He is a solid player and I’m hoping that I can use that hand to my advantage next time I flop a set or something against him.

That night I finally won the Australian Poker Hero satellite that I had been playing two to three times a day everyday since they started. I’ve ran deep in so many of them, but I finally won one . . . the only problem was that it was under Brendo’s account – but if he does go the whole way I do have 20% of him.

I just can’t believe the run I’m having in those APH satellites as well as other ones I’ve been playing – just getting unlucky while still running deep etc for no result.

On a side note, I made my first online Royal Flush the other day while playing 200-400 Limit Holdem on PokerStars . . . sigh it was just for play money!

The game got up again the following week minus Joe but with the addition of Shayan and Tim.

I lost just under two buy-ins running terrible, but I guess I used all my good luck on one of the first hands against Tim. He opened to $2.50 from early position with K♠ K♥ and I made it $7.25 with A♠ J♠before he made it $13.50 to go. I really wanted to five-bet all in but had about $42 behind, so I think a call can be justified. The flop fell down K♦ Q♠ 9♠ and he fired out $15 before I moved all in for $35.

After deliberating for a few minutes we decided to run it twice, and on the first board saw it run out 10♣ and the 3♣ while on the second saw it fell 4♣ and 3♠ to see me win both.

I pretty much leaked that stack and got into some really crappy spots where I had to fold after being turned or rivered.

Oh well, the home game circuit is back, and I can’t wait to keep grinding away the live micro-limits!

We returned to the final day of the Victorian Poker Championships Main Event with fifteen players and an identical goal of capturing the $190,050 first prize, coveted trophy and title of champion!

We lost players quickly as we reached the final ten with Kane Sherwell holding a commanding lead alongside Jason Gray, Morry Edelstein and Chris Chronis.

After losing Dean McIver on one of the first hands, Sherwell would river both Edelstein and Gary Benson to the rail. Gray continued to accumulate chips, but some bad luck, lost races and unfortunate rivers saw him endure a roller-coaster of a ride.

Matt Rolfe found a three-outer to stay alive against Chronis as Mick Nolton chopped a double on the river as Chronis exited in 7th thanks to a bricked straight and flush draw. Nolton followed in the same fashion to Sherwell’s King-high as Cohen again clipped Gray with a rivered straight to his two-pair.

Albert Amato followed his one-outer earlier against Gray with a three-outer against Sherwell while Rolfe ran flush into flush to hit the rail in 5th. Cohen went next when he made the wrong read / move against Sherwell’s top-pair to see the first-time tournament player hold a near two-to-one advantage over both his opponents.

The remaining players made a deal, and soon after, Gray exited after losing a race holding Ace-King to Sherwell’s snowmen as he took a five-to-three lead into heads-up play.

That lead increased to over a seven-to-two lead before Amato started to claw his way back into the game after doubling with a pair and straight-draw to Sherwell’s straight-draw and two over’s. Sherwell continued to slip before Amato doubled well into the lead with his two-pair against Sherwell’s middle-pair.

Eventually Sherwell would commit his chips drawing dead to just two outs against Amato’s two-pair and flush-draw. No help came on the river and Albert Amato was crowned our 2009 Victorian Poker Champion!

Julian Cohen, Champion Albert Amato, Matt Rolfe, PokerNews Camera-Man Thomas Kinsman, Jason Gray, Kane Sherwell, Dean McIver, The Trophy

With us wrapping up just after midnight and noticing Mat, Joe and Brendo on a $1-2 NLH table . . . there was no way I could resist!

I profited close to $240 for the night, but it was my mega slowroll that was the toast of the night.

Mat straddled to some retarded amount and the whole table called around to me in the small blind with K♠ 3♠. I called, as did the big blind to see a flop of K♣ 3♦ 3♣ land.

I checked and Mat pushed all in for $15 and found two callers before I also made the call as the big blind passed.

The turn landed the Q♦ and I checked to the donkey who bet out $27 odd. This youngish lady called before I moved all in for a little more on top. Both called and the river of the 8♣ was checked.

The donkey turned over Q♣ J♠, only to be bested by the lady’s K♦ 4♦.

I angled my cards towards the muck to signal that I couldn’t beat either of the hands, and Mat slowly sweated out his 9♣ 4♣ for a flush. He slammed it down and stood up with his hands in the air celebrating his new-found chips. I slowly pushed my cards towards the muck before rolling them over once Mat had returned to the table to BOOM him with a slowroll!

Off to Geelong tomorrow for a couple of days before returning to Asian Vegas . . . Macau!