Omaha

I've established a routine when going to The International. I will go for a particular tournament but whether I last one hand, or win the thing, my plan is to stay and play the PLO game until the next morning.

"Morning" is a variable concept. The lower bound is about 6am when the trains start running again but if the game continues, then it threatens to become early afternoon.

By the time the game breaks up, I will have been playing in it for between 10 and 18 hours. However, this does not necessarily make me the longest-lasting player ! I'm not sure what the record is but it's certainly not going to be less than 36 hours.

As it turned out, I had a good long run in the tournament so I didn't come back to the PLO until 2am.

I had played for 30mins prior to the start - it wasn't great ..... In the first hand, I saw a cheap flop with AT67 (2 holdem hands ... ) and the flop was nice: 345rainbow. I checked, first to speak, and the action went: bet £10, raise to £30. Rather than re-raise straight away, I decided to call and hopefully see a safe turn. However, the original better now made it £100, clearing out the other raiser.

I again decided I'd like to see a turn with effective stacks left of £200+

The turn paired the three. I checked, and folded when my opponent moved all in. I folded my straight face up and he showed me the same hand 67xx with no redraw at all. grrrrr...

I now doubled Chris H up when I potted my straddle and Chris decided to limp-repot all in for ~ £100. With another caller in between (also all in for <£100), I felt I had better call with AJT9dd. Chris's Kings made a set on the flop and were never in trouble. grrr.....

Next order of business was to get involved in a bottom set vs nut flush debacle also with Chris. grrr.....

And then, to compound things, flop regret: I passed my T933hh hand pre-flop to stiff action (fair enough) but the flop came 993 and THEN the turn came a Ten as well .... action on the flop was brisk as well. grrrr......

So, when I came back into the game, I had already made a start on digging a hole. I sat down, and Gandi informed me he was on tilt.

w.o.w. do I still take any notice of anything he says ! Gandi tilt is a special kind which means he raises with the current nuts rather than waiting till he has the uncounterfeitable stone-cold river nuts.

I re-opened the betting for him to £30, and then when he made it £104, I thought I'd better call his "tilt-raise" with K223ds (only £70 more...). There was another caller in between which seemed to help my odds.

But, it kind of escalated. The in-between guy had £168, so that put up the price of poker. And after Gandi made up this underraise it turned out he had another £61 behind that which he put in blind for the flop and which I really had to call when I hit a King.

So, £250 gone on that hand when Gandi showed (ldo ...) Aces double suited ... grrr....

I tried to get my stack moving - I raised my last £120 all-in with Top pair on a JT2dd board - I had KJ74dd and was facing AKQ2dd -- 22 outs apparently for Barry (not that Barry). None came. Ship it.

That got me back in the hunt, but more regret when with T864dd on a turn of 3-Jd-T-4d, I didn't call £25 with Gandi and Pat already calling and the lead better being a tight player as well. I figured my 2pair was probably already losing to JT, my 8high diamonds were too low and that a 7 would make someone else the higher straight.

So even though I had a bit of everything I convinced myself all of it would be a loser.

In fact, when it came a 4, I would have cleaned up AND it turned out that ALL my outs were live ! QQxx took the pot. grrrr...

OK... let's get it in good.

I've seen a flop 9s7h3s with my hand KcJcTs8s. Looks good but let's see a turn (I am in the SB).

Turn: bingo ! 6h. I have the NUTS with the higher straight draw AND the spade draw.

I bet 10, called twice. Nick makes it 62. I make it £218. Yogi who finds some reason not to call any bet ever, eventually agonisingly calls all in for £85. Now Nick calls as well.

Yogi has a set of 7s. Nick apparently had T8 without a redraw.

River is 6s - not all bad news as I ship the side pot, but Yogi takes the main.

grrr .... wanted the lot.


Now. Ruling anyone? We are playing in the feeder PLO game, but the main game has gone on a communal fag break for 10 minutes. Rob H, not wanting to sit idly by, comes and takes a spare seat in the feeder game. It's not completely clear what chips he brought with him - some say it was half what he was sitting with at the other table. Some controversy over whether the feeder is the same game as the main game and so on.

Rob does not trouble himself with these idiosyncracies, but proceeds to play one hand in which he has Ah5hXX. He leads the flop (Th7hX). I have 6h3h89 so with a small wrap and a flush draw, I decide to call £30.

Yogi makes it £150 and Rob, with the bare nut hearts, instant calls. I don't see how I can call now, so I pass.

The turn is Jh and (I would say unwisely) Rob's check is met by a push for £170 by Yogi and of course a snap call by Rob. No pair up sees Yogi felted and Rob completes a very special kind of hit-n-run by retaking his main game seat as the smokers return ...

Meanwhile I have had to pull up another £500 and concentrate on getting it in good. How much better can I get involved than this:

I have QJ98ss and see a cheap flop: J84. I flat call a bet with my top two pair. Other-Barry and Gary-the-cab are in. Turn: Ten (rainbow board).

OK: I have the nuts, and two pair for a house redraw and as blockers to a set housing up. Check/Check/Gary bets £45. Barry calls. NOW I pot it. Gary calls his last £55 and I get the fold from Barry.

Gary has JT4x. River Ten. grrr......

It's not too easy getting chips, in fact. I check-raise all in with my KQQ9ds on a board of JT78r, and this gets Gary to fold his JT this time !

I manage to keep at around the £500 mark until we go to one main game around 7:30am.

It's a pretty tight game, to be honest, although reasonably deep - Gandi, Disco, Nick, Tom, Erik, Baka, me, Gary, Mo.

A key pot for me came up when I called a raise pre with QQxx (6way at least). The flop ....

JJ ....... Q ! (2 diamonds).

Mo led for £30, I called (headsup now).

Turn King (board all red ...). Mo bets £100. I put him all in for £180 more. He doesn't like it much but calls .... he likes it even less when I show him the QQ. He said "KJ" but we never saw. Blank on the river.

Moving on up now .... and now a lesson on getting it in with Aces ....

I am on the button and blip the £5 straddle to £10. Couple of callers then Tom makes it £55.

I make it £200 and we get it all in for about £500 total. The key is the backhands as we know.

I have AAJ3. Tom has AKKh2h.

Flop: Jd9h3h. Heart draw is now live (I have the bare Ah as it happens - maybe if 4 hearts come I can try to blag it).

Heart on the turn: Jh unfortunately for Tom ! Good old J3 backup .....

I was almost out of it (slightly in profit with the tourney cash). Couple of hands from later on ... no fireworks I'm afraid but a couple that caught my interest:

i) I've called a 3-bet preflop with 77xx. Flop comes 973rainbow and Gary and I check to Nick (who presumably has Aces). He bets £40 and Gary calls.

I check-raise to £200. Nick has about £500, Gary only about £250. Is this the right play ? It "worked" insofar as Nick now folded AAJJ and Gary supposedly folded 97xx.

Should I flat call and if so why ? Should i have led the flop ? If I am re-raised by Nick can I fold ?

ii) Then, one hand that I am really unhappy with.

I have seen a relatively cheap flop with KJ24. Barry has raised pre and is pretty much marked with Aces.

When the flop is Q42hh, I check raise his £30 bet on the button to £100. I think I am beating his Aces and I want it over with.

He thinks FOREVER. Eventually I call the clock (which I hardly ever do). tbh, I am more concerned about the breakfast that has just arrived and wanting to make sure no one nabs mine !

He calls. The turn was Td giving me an up-down and a Jack high flush draw in diamonds.

Obviously I had wanted the hand over on the flop but this now gives me a great place to bang it again - Barry has about £300 back but for some reason (yearning for bacon & eggs?) I check and so does Barry.

The river pairs the Ten and I decide to rep the set on the flop again - I bet £100 and Barry actually calls quite quickly with AA counterfeiting me on the river.

Apparently the dwell had been because he had the bare Ah and was trying to think through the set-up of the bare-Ace bluff.

I am really kicking myself here - he really cannot have a set to think for so long. On the turn I can just rep the set again AND I have picked up a load of outs. Huge error turned a £100 gain into a £200 loss.

Still, I am now in profit for live tournies and live cash for the year - early days, but welcome news nonetheless !