Played crummy and the results (below) show it. Anyway, a big thanks for Poker Stars for offering this fun series.
Below is my busto hand:
Sunday, January 31, 2010
WBCOOP Event #7
Played crummy and the results (below) show it. Anyway, a big thanks for Poker Stars for offering this fun series.
Below is my busto hand:
Why?
On the very first hand, playing in a six-man sit & go, I picked up ♦Q ♥Q on the button. There was one limper to me, so I tried an experiment -- all in to win a $25 pot. This is ridiculous, of course. A donk called with ♣10 ♣9.
Why?
1. "Nobody steals from me."
2. "I have a plane to catch."
3. "Let's gambool, dude."
I just made these up. Add yours in the comments.
UPDATE: Later in the same match, I was all in, again. Notice what the guy had? Yes, 10-9 suited again. They must think it's the nutz. Also notice he hit his flush and still lost.
Heard at the poker table
I went to Harrah's Saturday night. The WSOP Circuit events are still going on. They have the big tournament that starts at noon, then a secondary event at 4 p.m. Finally, they have a lesser tournament at 7 p.m., and that's the one I played in. I bought in for $135, as did 106 other donkeys. We started with $3000 in chips, but the levels were 30 minutes and went up slowly, so it was actually a pretty good structure.
Twelve players would get paid. First was $3000, second was $2000 and change and third was $1350 -- nice. When there were 16 players left, I had a stack of around 17,000 which was average. The blinds were 600/1200/100. Everyone folded to me in the small blind and I completed and the BB checked.
The flop was ♠J ♣5 ♣3. I bet 27,000 and the BB called. His hand was ♠Q ♦9. The turn was a 10. I checked and he moved all in. I called and showed ♥10 ♦3 for two pair. With one card to go, he had eight outs, and I was ~83% to win, but the river was the ♥8, giving him the straight.
Enough said about that. Bad beats just mean you are getting your money in good, as they say. Here are some short stories I heard or saw last night.
Why do men do it?
A lady had come from Atlantic City. She reported that they had a big tournament there at the Borgata, and one of the events was a ladies event. Remember last year when a man entered and ended up winning? This year seven men entered, although I don't think any of them did much (based on what she said). Somebody at our table asked her how she felt about it. She said she had mixed feelings. She said she thought there ought to be a men's event that runs at the same time. She also said she thought the seven men were douche-bags (her word).
They keep making bigger and better idiots
The same lady said she had just come from the tournament at the Mississippi Gulf Coast. There was a fire evacuation at her hotel. Some man with an oxygen tank was smoking in his room and started the fire. What's wrong with this picture?
Live Poker is so rigged
Twice I saw somebody move in with trash hands, both were called and both were winners. The first guy moved with with 5-2 and was called by A-A. He flopped two pair and his hand held up. The second case was like this: There was one limper to the button. He moved all in. The limper has A-J and decided to call. The first guy had to turn over 9-3 in his failed steal attempt. The flop were rags, but the turn was a 3 and the river was a 3.
Tournament Poker 101
There are certain rules in a tournament. Most players know them, but they announce them anyway. One rule is that when you move to a different table, you can't put chips in your pocket -- they must remain in sight. Guess what? A bozo moved to another table and put his chips in his pocket -- all but one 500 chip. It was noticed and they were taken away from him. But also guess what? He went all in and was called by four people and won. The next hand he went all again and had some callers and won that one too. When I left, he was still playing and had a good-sized chip stack. Weird.
What can I say
A lady told us this story. She was riding the shuttle bus from her hotel to Harrah's. A couple were talking in Spanish. The bus driver starting lecturing them. When you move to this country, why don't you learn English, blah, blah, blah. The man said "Well sir, we were both born in the country." I hope they reported him. Casino employees shouldn't treat people like that.
Another bad beat story
Most bad beat stories I don't want to hear, but this one was interesting. A guy at our table had been in the noon tournament that started Friday. He came back today to finish -- there were 24 players. His stack was around 95K. On the first hand, he looked down to see J-J. He raised and another player who had him covered, but barely, moved all in. He thought and finally called.
He was shocked to see the guy who shoved had A-2. Here were the cards that flopped as he watched the dealer uncover them: First he saw a 2, then another 2, then a jack! His heart sunk when he saw the second 2, but the jack gave him a boat. It was a short-lived triumph. When the turn was dealt, it was the last 2.
I couldn't make this stuff up
One more hand. A guy raised from UTG. It folded to a lady who was short-stacked. She held 8-8 and moved all in. It folded to the small blind who also moved all in. The original limper called, and he was all in. The first limper showed ♦A ♥A. The small blind turned over ♣A ♠A. Somebody said out loud: Well the aces can't improve. This isn't true, of course. I've seen (both live and online) this happen and four to a flush were dealt on the board. In this case, however, the two A-A hands held up to split the pot.
Twelve players would get paid. First was $3000, second was $2000 and change and third was $1350 -- nice. When there were 16 players left, I had a stack of around 17,000 which was average. The blinds were 600/1200/100. Everyone folded to me in the small blind and I completed and the BB checked.
The flop was ♠J ♣5 ♣3. I bet 27,000 and the BB called. His hand was ♠Q ♦9. The turn was a 10. I checked and he moved all in. I called and showed ♥10 ♦3 for two pair. With one card to go, he had eight outs, and I was ~83% to win, but the river was the ♥8, giving him the straight.
Enough said about that. Bad beats just mean you are getting your money in good, as they say. Here are some short stories I heard or saw last night.
Why do men do it?
A lady had come from Atlantic City. She reported that they had a big tournament there at the Borgata, and one of the events was a ladies event. Remember last year when a man entered and ended up winning? This year seven men entered, although I don't think any of them did much (based on what she said). Somebody at our table asked her how she felt about it. She said she had mixed feelings. She said she thought there ought to be a men's event that runs at the same time. She also said she thought the seven men were douche-bags (her word).
They keep making bigger and better idiots
The same lady said she had just come from the tournament at the Mississippi Gulf Coast. There was a fire evacuation at her hotel. Some man with an oxygen tank was smoking in his room and started the fire. What's wrong with this picture?
Live Poker is so rigged
Twice I saw somebody move in with trash hands, both were called and both were winners. The first guy moved with with 5-2 and was called by A-A. He flopped two pair and his hand held up. The second case was like this: There was one limper to the button. He moved all in. The limper has A-J and decided to call. The first guy had to turn over 9-3 in his failed steal attempt. The flop were rags, but the turn was a 3 and the river was a 3.
Tournament Poker 101
There are certain rules in a tournament. Most players know them, but they announce them anyway. One rule is that when you move to a different table, you can't put chips in your pocket -- they must remain in sight. Guess what? A bozo moved to another table and put his chips in his pocket -- all but one 500 chip. It was noticed and they were taken away from him. But also guess what? He went all in and was called by four people and won. The next hand he went all again and had some callers and won that one too. When I left, he was still playing and had a good-sized chip stack. Weird.
What can I say
A lady told us this story. She was riding the shuttle bus from her hotel to Harrah's. A couple were talking in Spanish. The bus driver starting lecturing them. When you move to this country, why don't you learn English, blah, blah, blah. The man said "Well sir, we were both born in the country." I hope they reported him. Casino employees shouldn't treat people like that.
Another bad beat story
Most bad beat stories I don't want to hear, but this one was interesting. A guy at our table had been in the noon tournament that started Friday. He came back today to finish -- there were 24 players. His stack was around 95K. On the first hand, he looked down to see J-J. He raised and another player who had him covered, but barely, moved all in. He thought and finally called.
He was shocked to see the guy who shoved had A-2. Here were the cards that flopped as he watched the dealer uncover them: First he saw a 2, then another 2, then a jack! His heart sunk when he saw the second 2, but the jack gave him a boat. It was a short-lived triumph. When the turn was dealt, it was the last 2.
I couldn't make this stuff up
One more hand. A guy raised from UTG. It folded to a lady who was short-stacked. She held 8-8 and moved all in. It folded to the small blind who also moved all in. The original limper called, and he was all in. The first limper showed ♦A ♥A. The small blind turned over ♣A ♠A. Somebody said out loud: Well the aces can't improve. This isn't true, of course. I've seen (both live and online) this happen and four to a flush were dealt on the board. In this case, however, the two A-A hands held up to split the pot.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
WBCOOP Event #6
More of the same: Deep run, but nothing to show for it. After two hours, the average stack was $12K, mine was $4K -- not a good position to put yourself into.
Below is the bust-out hand:
Friday, January 29, 2010
WBCOOP Event #5
I decided to play in the 8-game event at WBCOOP. I'd never heard of 2 to 7 triple redraw, so grabbed Super System 2 and did a quick read. Barely knew how to play some of the other games, so 179th out of 1536 is a moral victory.
Played at a table with the Poker Grump. A maniac donked off a bunch of his chip$ to me. Things like that are so unfair -- why not show some respect for the game, but maybe I'm turning into a grump, too.
The bustout hand wasn't pretty. Battle of the blinds. I raised, he reraised and I reraised him. He had crap but flopped two pair and turned a boat. C'est le vie.
Results posted by Card Player online
They've posted all the results from the WSOP Circuit event I played in last Sunday and Monday. You can see that I finished #20 if you click here.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
WBCOOP Event #4
I played in the WBCOOP Wednesday night and didn't do anything. I tried it again tonight and went deep, busting out 184th. I could have folded to the "money" (153 places), but it's better to try and get to the final table. The prizes there are worthwhile.
One comment: I couldn't get off work early, so it was 5:10 when I got there. There was only one player, the rest were sitouts and he had already doubled up. Poker Stars should figure out some way so that this doesn't happen -- it ruins the integrity of the game, too much luck if you happen to start at a table like this. Ok, any event with this many runners has an element of luck, but ...
Friday is some kind of a mixture of eight games, most of which I don't know hot to play, so likely will pass.
I busted out with the hand of the devil, as OhCaptain calls A-Q:
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
ACBL headquarters to move mid-March
The new ACBL headquarters has a sign!
ACBL is on schedule to move from 2990 Airways Boulevard in Memphis to the new building six or seven miles south in Horn Lake MS. The plans are to move during the middle of March, a time when many of us will be in Reno NV for the Spring North American Bridge championships (called NABC for short).
When I went by the new building today on my way to work, I noticed the new sign. It had an electrical connection, so apparently it will be lit. Click on the image above to enlarge if you're interested.
Notice it says "Promoting the game of bridge since 1937"? I heard some Board of Director members complained about that. Do you spell the word micromanage or micro-manage?
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I love snapping off A-A when they slow play
Playing in a cheap $6 tournament with 1017 runners, there were a bunch of limpers to me in the small blind at the 10/20 level. I had ♣9 ♣7. For 10 bucks more, I might get somebody's stack -- why not?
I flopped the joint and bozo with A-A went broke. If you limp with aces, you don't get any sympathy from me (in most cases).
I flopped the joint and bozo with A-A went broke. If you limp with aces, you don't get any sympathy from me (in most cases).
Who is a bridge expert?
How would you define an expert at bridge? I think I'm a good player, but I know I still make too many mistakes. Are experts the top 2%? The top 1% or even less?
On Bridge Base Online, players rate themselves. There are tons of experts in the world, according to what I see there.
Playing last Saturday night in a 12-board speedball Swiss IMP Pairs, we played the last round (three deals) against one of these so-called experts. Let's watch him in action.
Deal #10 is this exhibit:
South opened a 13 to 15 point 1NT, the expert doubled. His partner passed, as he is supposed to do. The expert led a spade won by North's queen. The diamond finesse lost and the expert shifted to a low heart. South took the king and ran the rest of the tricks. Making six was plus 1180 and good for 11.41 IMPs for our side. Nice double, sir.
After this dazzling performance, I couldn't wait to see what he would do next. I was not disappointed:
The expert opened 2♥ and North overcalled 3♦. East bid 4♥. It passed back to North who bid 5♦. Then East and South passed.
What is one of the cardinal rules of bridge? Don't tell the same story twice. The expert had not heard about that and unilaterally bid 5♥. Guess what? That was down two, and, in fact, was a phantom save -- North-South can't make 5♦.
The expert was lucky. This was only 2.89 IMPs to North-South. It could have been worse if they had doubled.
Had the expert done enough? Oh, no, not even close. This was the third board of the round:
After two passes, East opened 1♦ and South passed. The expert bid 1♥, so far, so good.
North bid 2♣ and East made a support double. South raised to 3♣ and the expert doubled! His partner ran to 3♦ and the expert bid 3♠. He's bidding like he has two extra aces -- maybe he needs new glasses?
That passed out and was down three, losing 1.05 IMPs. Again, it could have been worse, but by now North-South were feeling sorry for the poor expert and gave him a break by not doubling.
If this is an expert, I don't wanna be one.
If you think I made these deals up, I wouldn't blame you, but here's a link: Click here, or here or here.
On Bridge Base Online, players rate themselves. There are tons of experts in the world, according to what I see there.
Playing last Saturday night in a 12-board speedball Swiss IMP Pairs, we played the last round (three deals) against one of these so-called experts. Let's watch him in action.
Deal #10 is this exhibit:
♠ Q 7
♥ 8 7
♦ Q 10 7 5
♣ A Q J 7 5
♠ K J 8 5 ♠ 9 6 4 3 2
♥ A 9 2 ♥ Q J 10 6
♦ K 3 ♦ 9 8
♣ 8 5 3 2 ♣ 10 9
♠ A 10
♥ K 5 4 3
♦ A J 6 4 2
♣ K 6
South opened a 13 to 15 point 1NT, the expert doubled. His partner passed, as he is supposed to do. The expert led a spade won by North's queen. The diamond finesse lost and the expert shifted to a low heart. South took the king and ran the rest of the tricks. Making six was plus 1180 and good for 11.41 IMPs for our side. Nice double, sir.
After this dazzling performance, I couldn't wait to see what he would do next. I was not disappointed:
♠ K 4
♥ J 5
♦ K Q 10 9 8 7 6
♣ A 4
♠ Q 5 2 ♠ J 9 8 3
♥ A Q 10 7 4 3 ♥ K 9 5 2
♦ J 4 ♦ A 2
♣ 10 8 ♣ K J 6
♠ A 10 7 6
♥ 8
♦ 5 3
♣ Q 9 7 5 3 2
The expert opened 2♥ and North overcalled 3♦. East bid 4♥. It passed back to North who bid 5♦. Then East and South passed.
What is one of the cardinal rules of bridge? Don't tell the same story twice. The expert had not heard about that and unilaterally bid 5♥. Guess what? That was down two, and, in fact, was a phantom save -- North-South can't make 5♦.
The expert was lucky. This was only 2.89 IMPs to North-South. It could have been worse if they had doubled.
Had the expert done enough? Oh, no, not even close. This was the third board of the round:
♠ K 2
♥ 9 6
♦ K 10 7 4
♣ A J 7 6 2
♠ 9 8 7 6 ♠ A 4 3
♥ Q 10 8 4 3 ♥ K J 5
♦ A 6 ♦ Q J 9 8 2
♣ 10 4 ♣ 8 5
♠ Q J 10 5
♥ A 7 2
♦ 5 3
♣ K Q 9 3
After two passes, East opened 1♦ and South passed. The expert bid 1♥, so far, so good.
North bid 2♣ and East made a support double. South raised to 3♣ and the expert doubled! His partner ran to 3♦ and the expert bid 3♠. He's bidding like he has two extra aces -- maybe he needs new glasses?
That passed out and was down three, losing 1.05 IMPs. Again, it could have been worse, but by now North-South were feeling sorry for the poor expert and gave him a break by not doubling.
If this is an expert, I don't wanna be one.
If you think I made these deals up, I wouldn't blame you, but here's a link: Click here, or here or here.
Monday, January 25, 2010
WBCOOP Event #1 is in the books
The first WBCOOP event on Poker Stars is over. It was a lot of fun to finish 73rd out of 1740 runners. Obviously with that many players, you have to have some luck.
My favorite hand was this one:
Because I checked the flop, he assumed I had high cards and tried to take it away from me. Besides getting him all in, which was the goal, it sends a message not to frack with me -- just because I check doesn't give him a license to steal.
This one was blind vs. blind. I believe I got the most out of him by how I bet it:
I made the reviled min-raise (something I did several times, actually) from 1200 to 2400 and he called. I bet 2400 on the flop (when I had him crushed), checked the turn (when he was drawing dead) Then I bet 3600 on the river. By then he was hoping I was bluffing or we were chopping and made a crying call. That ended up being an 18,000 pot!
Joxum participated and made the money. Bastin also entered and finished 177th. I haven't seen a list, but other bloggers entered (I believe JoulesDiver and I'm not sure about others.) If you played, let me know via a comment.
UPDATE: Ross Taylor (who is also a bridge player) played, too. He never gained traction, and came in around 450th. Poker Blogger lightning36 entered late, but managed a 574th finish.
Less than I had hoped for
Above: Welcome to my poker tournament. (Entrance to Harrah's Casino)
I finished 20th or 21st in the tournament. I lost a race early: An aggressive player raised to 30,000 and another moved all in for 70,000. The blinds were 3000/6000 with a 1000 ante. I peeked at my cards and saw: ♥A ♦K. My stack was 185,000. What would you do?
I reraised all in. The first guy thought and thought, showed A-J offsuit and folded. A-J off, really? The other guy turned over ♦6 ♣6. It was a race, but excellent for me. There was 18,000 in blinds and antes and the 30,000 from the first bozo who raised with A-J, so this is very +EV for me. Unfortunately, the board bricked out and instead of having 300,000 in chips, I had around 120,000.
Then this hand: There was one limper to me in the small blind. I completed holding ♦Q ♥3 and the big blind checked. The flop was ♥Q ♠J ♣9. I bet 20,000 and the big blind moved all in for 40,000 more. I finally called and he showed ♣10 ♦2 for an OESD. The river was an 8, giving him the straight and crippling my stack.
I built back up to 150,000 when the bust out hand came: The blinds were 4000/8000 with 1000 ante. That means there was 21,000 in the pot preflop. It folded to an aggressive guy on the button who had raised the button almost everytime it was folded to him. He made a predictable 30,000 bet and I was in the small blind with ♠A ♠K. The pot was too big to mess around, so I moved all in. The BB folded and the button thought a little while and called with ♣A ♥J. Players really overvalue a hand like that. I don't mind the bet, but to call an all-in? I guess he hoped I had pocket deuces, lol.
This was so sweet -- if my hand held, I would move well past 300,000 in chip$ and be in position to win the tournament. The flop was X-X-X, the turn was another rag, but the river was a jack. That was so disheartening. Coming on the river only made it hurt worse. I know everybody hates to hear bad beat stories, but I can't help myself.
Anyway, it was certainly exciting, although the conclusion was not what I had hoped. But, hey, that's poker.
Image by MOJO and taken with my P&S.
MOJO's in the money
I went to Harrah's again Sunday to play in the noon tournament. After Saturday's fiasco, there was a bad taste in my mouth that I wanted to do something about.
There were 400 runners, entry fee was $240. The first 12 levels were 30 minutes, then they switched to 40-minutes.
After 21 levels, there are 34 of us left (45 get paid). First place is around $18,000 so, what the hey, think big.
We resume tomorrow at 1 p.m. I had good cards and they held up, so what can I say? Below is a shot of me when the bubble burst. I have $155,000 in chips in front of me. My sweatshirt says "Hardcore Mojo." Can you read it? My arms are covering the Mojo part.
We started at noon. After we broke for the day (at 2:15 a.m., 14 hours later), we bagged our chips. I had $201,000. We started the day with 10,000.
I'm too tired to do much of a recap. I was going to play in the WBCOOP Monday at 4 p.m. central time, but I hope I'm not home in time for it, lol.
UPDATE: KenP mock complained about not knowing the blind structure. See below.
First two images shot with my P&S.
There were 400 runners, entry fee was $240. The first 12 levels were 30 minutes, then they switched to 40-minutes.
After 21 levels, there are 34 of us left (45 get paid). First place is around $18,000 so, what the hey, think big.
We resume tomorrow at 1 p.m. I had good cards and they held up, so what can I say? Below is a shot of me when the bubble burst. I have $155,000 in chips in front of me. My sweatshirt says "Hardcore Mojo." Can you read it? My arms are covering the Mojo part.
We started at noon. After we broke for the day (at 2:15 a.m., 14 hours later), we bagged our chips. I had $201,000. We started the day with 10,000.
I'm too tired to do much of a recap. I was going to play in the WBCOOP Monday at 4 p.m. central time, but I hope I'm not home in time for it, lol.
UPDATE: KenP mock complained about not knowing the blind structure. See below.
First two images shot with my P&S.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
[Click on photos to enlarge.]
I played in the WSOP Circuit Event at Harrah's (see above) today without any success. I was never able to play a big pot with a big hand. Twice I raised 3X the BB, only to have to fold to an all-in bet. Both times I had suited A-Q and was afraid of being up against A-K. Once the villain showed: A-A !
I was finally all in with two pair and the other guy had a flush draw which got there. Stuff happens. The big chip leader at my table (he busted me and two others) was hopeless. He kept betting out of turn and was mostly clueless.
There were 800 runners. Actually I think there were more. They cut it off at 800 and then shuffled in alternates as players busted out. This nice turnout is a good sign that poker is alive and well.
Above is a marquee-type sign near where the tournament was held.
Above is a shot of the main playing area. Sixteen tables spilled over to the regular poker room and out in the hallway.
After I busted out, I wanted to play, but the waiting lists were deep. I saw a friend, Glenn, who played last night. He sat down with $200 and cashed out for $1250. The games are wild and woolly when there is a tournament in town. All sorts of crazies show up.
Heard this: A guy was playing with headphones. Another guy was being a jerk about it, said he was slowing down the game, etc. The poker people didn't want to tell him he couldn't wear headphones, heck, half the players in there wear them.
When the headphones guy went to the bathroom, the jerk took his headphones and put them in the trash can! They guy came back, found out what happened, but didn't say a word. He went over to where you cash in your chips (right next to the poker room), gave them $10 and asked for a roll of quarters.
He went back in the poker room, put the roll in his fist, and started pounding the jerk. Then, cool as could be, he walked out of Harrah's and, on the way, said to the security guard: "You should call security. There's a disturbance in the poker room" and waltzed out the door.
Classic.
I played in the WSOP Circuit Event at Harrah's (see above) today without any success. I was never able to play a big pot with a big hand. Twice I raised 3X the BB, only to have to fold to an all-in bet. Both times I had suited A-Q and was afraid of being up against A-K. Once the villain showed: A-A !
I was finally all in with two pair and the other guy had a flush draw which got there. Stuff happens. The big chip leader at my table (he busted me and two others) was hopeless. He kept betting out of turn and was mostly clueless.
There were 800 runners. Actually I think there were more. They cut it off at 800 and then shuffled in alternates as players busted out. This nice turnout is a good sign that poker is alive and well.
Above is a marquee-type sign near where the tournament was held.
Above is a shot of the main playing area. Sixteen tables spilled over to the regular poker room and out in the hallway.
After I busted out, I wanted to play, but the waiting lists were deep. I saw a friend, Glenn, who played last night. He sat down with $200 and cashed out for $1250. The games are wild and woolly when there is a tournament in town. All sorts of crazies show up.
Heard this: A guy was playing with headphones. Another guy was being a jerk about it, said he was slowing down the game, etc. The poker people didn't want to tell him he couldn't wear headphones, heck, half the players in there wear them.
When the headphones guy went to the bathroom, the jerk took his headphones and put them in the trash can! They guy came back, found out what happened, but didn't say a word. He went over to where you cash in your chips (right next to the poker room), gave them $10 and asked for a roll of quarters.
He went back in the poker room, put the roll in his fist, and started pounding the jerk. Then, cool as could be, he walked out of Harrah's and, on the way, said to the security guard: "You should call security. There's a disturbance in the poker room" and waltzed out the door.
Classic.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Close
First place was over $1 grand.
This (above) was my bust-out hand. If it held up, I would have had plenty of chip$ to work with.
A "grand" time with the robots
Playing with the robots on Bridgebase Online, I held this hand:
♠Q 9 4 ♥A K Q 6 ♦A Q 8 ♣A 9 3.
I was surprised to see my robot partner open 1NT. What would you do? I suppose the proper bid is 5NT, forcing to 6NT and inviting 7NT. Being a little leery about doing that, I bid Gerber, heard partner had the missing ace and bid 7NT.
West led the ♠3. South played the 9 and East contributed the 5. If the spade finesse is on, it's easy to make seven, but you have 13 tricks without repeating it if clubs behave (two spades, four hearts, three diamonds and four clubs).
Robot South lead a heart to his jack, another to the ace, then played a diamond to his king and a club to the ace. That's all four suits in his first five cards played. What will he do next? I could barely wait to see.
South continued with the ♣3 to his king. He led the 2♦ to the queen in dummy, and the ♠4 to his ace! What the . . . ???
Next he led the ♦K to the ace and cashed dummy's two good hearts, discarding the ♠J 10 from his hand. On the last heart East discarded a club, so the jack had to drop now, claiming seven. Here are all four hands (rotated):
Some comments:
1. Why would you lead from a king against 7NT. That's ridiculous. They surely can be programmed better than that.
2. Wouldn't you play the ♠Q at trick one and tempt East to cover? It costs nothing.
3. On the last heart, East had the 13th diamond which he could have discarded instead of a club.
I checked and found that only one other person bid and made 7NT and he dupliated my auction. I also saw, however, that 10 players went set. Why? They bid 1NT 7NT without going through Gerber. In all 10 cases, the West robot lead a heart! I'm not sure why the different auction "tells" him in his simulations to make a different lead. Do you?
In 11 cases, players bid only 6NT, certainly reasonable. Six made all 13 tricks. They had a Gerber auction, found out they were off a king and stopped. They got a spade lead. Five players bid 1NT 6NT and did not get a spade lead (??) and made only six.
One player raised 1NT to 3NT. (Yes, his robot partner made it, lol.) He scored an undeserved 43.48%! If you play online enough, you will see everything.
You can see all the results if you click here.
♠Q 9 4 ♥A K Q 6 ♦A Q 8 ♣A 9 3.
I was surprised to see my robot partner open 1NT. What would you do? I suppose the proper bid is 5NT, forcing to 6NT and inviting 7NT. Being a little leery about doing that, I bid Gerber, heard partner had the missing ace and bid 7NT.
♠ Q 9 4
♥ A K Q 6
♦ A Q 8
♣ A 9 3
==
♠ A J 10 2
♥ J 8
♦ K J 2
♣ K Q 10 6
West led the ♠3. South played the 9 and East contributed the 5. If the spade finesse is on, it's easy to make seven, but you have 13 tricks without repeating it if clubs behave (two spades, four hearts, three diamonds and four clubs).
Robot South lead a heart to his jack, another to the ace, then played a diamond to his king and a club to the ace. That's all four suits in his first five cards played. What will he do next? I could barely wait to see.
South continued with the ♣3 to his king. He led the 2♦ to the queen in dummy, and the ♠4 to his ace! What the . . . ???
Next he led the ♦K to the ace and cashed dummy's two good hearts, discarding the ♠J 10 from his hand. On the last heart East discarded a club, so the jack had to drop now, claiming seven. Here are all four hands (rotated):
♠ Q 9 4
♥ A K Q 6
♦ A Q 8
♣ A 9 3
♠ K 7 6 3 ♠ 8 5
♥ 10 7 5 4 ♥ 9 3 2
♦ 10 7 5 ♦ 9 6 4 3
♣ 8 2 ♣ J 7 5 4
♠ A J 10 2
♥ J 8
♦ K J 2
♣ K Q 10 6
Some comments:
1. Why would you lead from a king against 7NT. That's ridiculous. They surely can be programmed better than that.
2. Wouldn't you play the ♠Q at trick one and tempt East to cover? It costs nothing.
3. On the last heart, East had the 13th diamond which he could have discarded instead of a club.
I checked and found that only one other person bid and made 7NT and he dupliated my auction. I also saw, however, that 10 players went set. Why? They bid 1NT 7NT without going through Gerber. In all 10 cases, the West robot lead a heart! I'm not sure why the different auction "tells" him in his simulations to make a different lead. Do you?
In 11 cases, players bid only 6NT, certainly reasonable. Six made all 13 tricks. They had a Gerber auction, found out they were off a king and stopped. They got a spade lead. Five players bid 1NT 6NT and did not get a spade lead (??) and made only six.
One player raised 1NT to 3NT. (Yes, his robot partner made it, lol.) He scored an undeserved 43.48%! If you play online enough, you will see everything.
You can see all the results if you click here.
Poker players roll into Tunica
The 2010 WSOP Circuit Event Harrah's Tunica (see here) began this week. It plays from Jan. 20 to Feb. 11. Each day, there is an event that begins at 12 noon and another at 4:00 p.m. Then there are secondary tournaments each evening at 7 p.m. Poker, poker and even more poker. It ends with a $5000+ buy-in championship event.
Sunday at noon is a Senior's event (age 50 or greater) that has a $230 buyin. It's tempting, but I want to watch football, so I might go play tomorrow (Saturday) instead. The Saturday noon event has a $340 buyin.
If I do any good, I'llbrag blog about it here. Who knows -- I might even have a photo or two.
Sunday at noon is a Senior's event (age 50 or greater) that has a $230 buyin. It's tempting, but I want to watch football, so I might go play tomorrow (Saturday) instead. The Saturday noon event has a $340 buyin.
If I do any good, I'll
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Don't rush me
I tried the Rush games on Full Tilt tonight. What was it like? Let's just say you need to strap in when you play. I bought in for only $8 and lost most of it fairly early on this cooler (click to enlarge):
The very next hand I was all in when I flopped a set and turned quads. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a pot because I began the hand short-stacked:
Then I stacked another guy who turned top two:
I'm guessing the big winners are the FT guys. Lots of rake is generated.
The very next hand I was all in when I flopped a set and turned quads. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a pot because I began the hand short-stacked:
Then I stacked another guy who turned top two:
I'm guessing the big winners are the FT guys. Lots of rake is generated.
In El Fuerte, we stayed in a hacienda (built in the 1890s) that had been converted into a hotel.
Remember that guy Zorro? He was born in El Fuerte and there are statues of him in several places. Here's a link.
Photos by MOJO and taken with my P&S.
Remember that guy Zorro? He was born in El Fuerte and there are statues of him in several places. Here's a link.
Photos by MOJO and taken with my P&S.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
My train trip to Copper Canyon, Mexico, began in the city of El Fuerte in the state of Sinaloa. It started near sea level and rose to 7600 feet. Along the way the train went through 86 tunnels and over 38 bridges. You can see two of the bridges below. I took one and my brother took the other. Which image do you like better?
First photo was taken by my brother and I took the second. Both are right out of the camera.
First photo was taken by my brother and I took the second. Both are right out of the camera.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Shall we dance?
I'm home from my vacation in Mexico where I took the train to Copper Canyon. Along the way, I saw this:
The Yaqui Indians live mostly in Sonora, Mexico. One of their best-known rituals is the Deer Dance, shown above. The man doing it was friendly, like most Mexican people I met on my trip. From what he said, I could tell that he was proud that he is 64 years old and still dances.
These images were taken with my Canon. I'll post more later from my trip after I have a chance to go through them.
The Yaqui Indians live mostly in Sonora, Mexico. One of their best-known rituals is the Deer Dance, shown above. The man doing it was friendly, like most Mexican people I met on my trip. From what he said, I could tell that he was proud that he is 64 years old and still dances.
These images were taken with my Canon. I'll post more later from my trip after I have a chance to go through them.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Don't fall asleep
South was the declarer on this deal:
South opened 1♣, West overcalled 1♠ and North blasted to 5♣.
West led the ♠Q won by the king in dummy. Declarer played a club taken by West. He returned a spade which was ruffed by East. He still had the ♥A to lose, so was down one.
"That sure was unlucky," whined South to his partner.
What's wrong with this picture?
Declarer had a blind spot. He should win the opening lead in his hand with the ♠A. He can then play the ♦A and discard the ♠K from dummy. Then the contract would be secure unless East-West could maneuver a heart ruff.
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I'm on vacation. I'll resume more regular blogging next week.
♠ K 7
♥ J 10 9 4
♦ ---
♣ K Q 10 9 8 6 3
♠ Q J 10 9 4 2 ♠ 8
♥ A 5 ♥ 8 6 3 2
♦ Q 10 9 6 ♦ K J 8 5 4 3
♣ A ♣ 5 2
♠ A 6 5 3
♥ K Q 7
♦ A 7 2
♣ J 7 4
South opened 1♣, West overcalled 1♠ and North blasted to 5♣.
West led the ♠Q won by the king in dummy. Declarer played a club taken by West. He returned a spade which was ruffed by East. He still had the ♥A to lose, so was down one.
"That sure was unlucky," whined South to his partner.
What's wrong with this picture?
Declarer had a blind spot. He should win the opening lead in his hand with the ♠A. He can then play the ♦A and discard the ♠K from dummy. Then the contract would be secure unless East-West could maneuver a heart ruff.
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I'm on vacation. I'll resume more regular blogging next week.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Poker pearl #35
Bluff magazine (see scan above) reports that once again a man has won a ladies tournament. Greg Sessler irked female poker plays when he played and won the $340 WSOP Circuit Ladies Championship at Harvey's Lake Tahoe.
Sessler said afterwards he only played because it was on his day off. "Me playing in this tournament had nothing to do with trying to take advantage of the ladies or thinking it was a softer field," he said.
He was one of four men who played, but the only one who cashed.
MOJO has one comment: Boo!
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I'm on vacation. I'll resume more regular blogging next week.
Monday, January 11, 2010
poker pearl #34
Mike Cappelletti is one of those players who is good at both poker and bridge. In his column from the latest Card Player magazine (see scan above), he says:
When you find yourself short-stacked, it is usually better to look for a high-percentage gamble rather than wait and pray for the big pocker pair that seldom comes when you need it.
If you wait too long, the other players will be much more likely to call. It's better to make your big moves when your stack is still big enough to command some respect.
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I'm on vacation. I'll resume more regular blogging next week.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
What is a Morton's Fork?
Cardinal John Morton was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of King Henry VII. His tax policy, later known as Morton's Fork, replenished the royal treasury. Morton's reasoning was this:
South opened 1NT, West overcalled 3♥ and North bid 6NT. West led the ♠J.
How was South to make 6NT. If diamonds split, he would have plenty of tricks: five diamonds, five clubs and two top spades. Normally a 3-3 split is around 35.5%, but after West's preempt, it is even less than that.
South found the answer. He won the opening lead in hand, and advanced the ♥5. West was caught in a Morton's Fork Coup.
If West took his ace, that would give declarer two heart tricks, along with two spades, three diamonds and five clubs. Therefore, he ducked. Now South played four rounds of diamonds, conceding one to East. He won East's exit and had two spades, one heart, four diamonds and five clubs for 12 tricks.
If the subject is seen to live frugally, tell him because he is clearly a money saver of great ability he can afford to give generously to the King. If, however, the subject lives a life of great extravagance, tell him he, too, can afford to give largely, the proof of his opulence being evident in his expenditure.
♠ A 9
♥ K 7 6 4
♦ A 5
♣ A J 10 5 3
♠ J 10 3 ♠ Q 9 6 5 2
♥ A J 10 9 8 3 2 ♥ ---
♦ 10 6 ♦ J 9 8 2
♣ 7 ♣ 9 8 4 2
♠ K 7 4
♥ Q 5
♦ K Q 7 4 3
♣ K Q 6
South opened 1NT, West overcalled 3♥ and North bid 6NT. West led the ♠J.
How was South to make 6NT. If diamonds split, he would have plenty of tricks: five diamonds, five clubs and two top spades. Normally a 3-3 split is around 35.5%, but after West's preempt, it is even less than that.
South found the answer. He won the opening lead in hand, and advanced the ♥5. West was caught in a Morton's Fork Coup.
If West took his ace, that would give declarer two heart tricks, along with two spades, three diamonds and five clubs. Therefore, he ducked. Now South played four rounds of diamonds, conceding one to East. He won East's exit and had two spades, one heart, four diamonds and five clubs for 12 tricks.
Friday, January 8, 2010
On vacation
I'm leaving tomorrow on vacation to Mexico. I fly to Phoenix, then catch a tour bus to Mexico, then travel by train around Copper Canyon. It is formed by six rivers and is longer and deeper than the Grand Canyon. The train goes though 86 tunnels and across 39 bridges. Can you say scenic? Can't you already hear my camera clicking away? Snick! Snick!
There is also a rafting trip down the El Fuerte River for bird watching and some other stuff. More photo ops I hope.
I'm going with my two brothers and two sisters. We've started taking one-week vacations each January to someplace warm. Last year it was Key West FL, the Everglades and Miami. In 2008, it was Cancun, Mexico. For both of those, we were on our own -- for this one, we booked through an outfit called Caravan Tours.
I have two poker and two bridge posts scheduled ahead of time for later next week, but mostly it'll be dead in the MOJO section of the blogosphere. I'll be home Sunday, Jan. 17.
The first image is a scan of something sent by the tour company and the second I stole from their web site. See here.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
New ACBL HQ to open this spring
As most bridge players know, the ACBL sold its office building on 2990 Airways Boulevard in Memphis. We're moving six miles south to Horn Lake MS (Memphis is situated right on the Mississippi state line). The building we're moving to was finished on the outside, but not on the inside. Two doctors were building it to be a medical complex, but for some reason it fell through. ACBL got a great deal on it.Yesterday morning, I stopped by there on my way to work and took some photos so you can see how it's coming along.
The workmen in the photo below are connecting the heating and A/C ducts:
The front half of the building will be offices and they are framed in already. The back half (part of which is shown below) will be open with cubicles:
See the power lines below? They are about to go. Part of the ACBL's agreement with the city of Horn Lake MS was that these were to be moved underground. We want our office to be beautiful, right?
Images by MOJO and taken with my P&S.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
How do they find plays like this?
You are playing bridge in a board-a-match team game. Is this a case of restricted choice?
West led the ♣K against 3♥ on the bidding as shown. West continued with a low diamond to the 9 and queen. Declarer played the ♦A and another. This cleared the suit as diamonds split 3-3. East won the ♦K, and exited with the ♠8, taken in dummy.
Declarer ruffed a club to lead a heart to the king, winning the trick. South continued with another heart and East played the ♥10. Because the scoring was B-a-M, overtricks were crucial. Did West start with ♥A J 4 or ♥A 4?
If East had the ♥J 10 6, he would play the jack half the time and the 10 half the time (at least theoretically). That says he doesn't have both. But if West had ♥A J 4, it doesn't matter what you do, so you can throw restricted choice out the window. Declarer decided to duck, hoping his left-hand opponent had a (now) stiff ace -- West showed out! Down one!
East was Italian player Giorgio Duboin. Here are all four hands (rotated):
What happens if Duboin had routinely won the ♥A when South led to the king? Declarer will win the spade continuation and lead the ♥9. When East plays low, declarer would let that run to guarantee his contract at no cost. By ducking, Duboin had given declarer a losing option.
This play allowed Duboin to win the award given by the International Bridge Press Associaton for best defense of the year in 2007.
♠ A K 3
♥ K 9
♦ J 6 3
♣ 10 8 7 6 2
==
♠ J 2
♥ Q 8 7 5 3 2
♦ A Q 7 4
♣ Q
West North East South
1♥
1♠ 2NT Pass 3♥
All Pass
West led the ♣K against 3♥ on the bidding as shown. West continued with a low diamond to the 9 and queen. Declarer played the ♦A and another. This cleared the suit as diamonds split 3-3. East won the ♦K, and exited with the ♠8, taken in dummy.
Declarer ruffed a club to lead a heart to the king, winning the trick. South continued with another heart and East played the ♥10. Because the scoring was B-a-M, overtricks were crucial. Did West start with ♥A J 4 or ♥A 4?
If East had the ♥J 10 6, he would play the jack half the time and the 10 half the time (at least theoretically). That says he doesn't have both. But if West had ♥A J 4, it doesn't matter what you do, so you can throw restricted choice out the window. Declarer decided to duck, hoping his left-hand opponent had a (now) stiff ace -- West showed out! Down one!
East was Italian player Giorgio Duboin. Here are all four hands (rotated):
♠ A K 3
♥ K 9
♦ J 6 3
♣ 10 8 7 6 2
♠ Q 10 9 5 4 ♠ 8 7 6
♥ 4 ♥ A J 10 6
♦ 10 5 2 ♦ K 9 8
♣ A K 4 3 ♣ J 9 5
♠ J 2
♥ Q 8 7 5 3 2
♦ A Q 7 4
♣ Q
What happens if Duboin had routinely won the ♥A when South led to the king? Declarer will win the spade continuation and lead the ♥9. When East plays low, declarer would let that run to guarantee his contract at no cost. By ducking, Duboin had given declarer a losing option.
This play allowed Duboin to win the award given by the International Bridge Press Associaton for best defense of the year in 2007.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Something smells fishy
I haven't figured out yet how the robots "think," but my guess is that it's pretty literal. I used that to my advantage a few days ago playing with them on BBO.
You hold: ♠Q 7 ♥Q 3 ♦K Q 10 6 3 ♣A 10 5 3.
With none vulnerable, your left-hand opponent bid 1♥, partner passed and RHO bid 1♠. You doubled, LHO bid 2♣, partner bid 2♦, RHO passed and you passed. Now, LHO surprised you and bid 6♠ which was passed out. Your lead.
At the table, the hand I gave you was held by a bot. I was the bot's LHO and the one who "cuebid" 2♣, then jumped to slam.
The robot led the ♦K and my robot partner made seven.
Here are all four hands (rotated):
Notice we're off the first two club tricks. If I made the fake cuebid against a human, it's unlikely it would work. Bidding 2♣, then leaping to slam just smells fishy. They need to build a better robot -- one who can smell something that stinks.
You can see the deal if you click here.
You hold: ♠Q 7 ♥Q 3 ♦K Q 10 6 3 ♣A 10 5 3.
With none vulnerable, your left-hand opponent bid 1♥, partner passed and RHO bid 1♠. You doubled, LHO bid 2♣, partner bid 2♦, RHO passed and you passed. Now, LHO surprised you and bid 6♠ which was passed out. Your lead.
At the table, the hand I gave you was held by a bot. I was the bot's LHO and the one who "cuebid" 2♣, then jumped to slam.
The robot led the ♦K and my robot partner made seven.
Here are all four hands (rotated):
♠ A J 10 6 2
♥ A K 9 8 7 6
♦ ---
♣ J 2
♠ Q 7 ♠ 9 8
♥ J 5 2 ♥ Q 3
♦ K Q 10 6 3 ♦ J 9 7 2
♣ A 10 5 3 ♣ K 9 7 6
♠ K 5 4 3
♥ 10 4
♦ A 8 5 4
♣ Q 8 4
Notice we're off the first two club tricks. If I made the fake cuebid against a human, it's unlikely it would work. Bidding 2♣, then leaping to slam just smells fishy. They need to build a better robot -- one who can smell something that stinks.
You can see the deal if you click here.
Monday, January 4, 2010
What the heck is CenterCity?
I've heard of CenterCity in Las Vegas, but didn't really know what is was. The latest issue of Card Player magazine (see scan of cover above) does a good job of explaining it.
First of all, it's an $8.5 billion private development. It opened to the public in early December. Vdara is a condominium hotel that is 57-stories high. There are 1493 suites, all with kitchens. You can rent one for from $140 to $2000 a night
Crystals is a 500,000-foot retail, entertainment and dining complex. It has high-end stores such as Louix Vuitton, Tiffany, Cartier, etc.
The Mandarin Oriental is a 392-room hotel that is said to be luxurious. It better be because rooms start at $545 a night.
Aria is the only establishment that is billed as a gaming property. It is 61 stories high and offers more than 4000 rooms. It has a poker room with 20 tables.
The final property will open late this year -- the Harmon. It will feature 400 rooms and 17,500-square feet of event space. Good place to hold a bridge or poker tournament, no?
CityCenter, a joint project of MGM Mirage and Dubai World, has supposed to have hired 12,000 workers.
To see some photos of the Aria of CityCenter, visit Wolynski here or here.
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