Heartland Poker Tour @ the Gates

Stallion wrote:I'm heading up to try the 6pm qualifier tomorrow. Should be interesting.

Emily is in a constant state of contractions and then no contractions. She has been since monday. It has really been keeping me on my toes as I don't know when labor will actually start so I decided to go back to work since I only work about 2 miles away. It's better than her calling and being in labor with me being up the hill! That would be a great story:

My son: "dad, where were you when I was born?"

me: "gambling son."


My son: "oh."


I do think I have a little degenerate in me, but I can't be up the hill and miss my first borns birth. I guess I am saying I would love to be up there but right now I just can't risk it.

Digital photos are pretty easy to edit these days. There's no reason that the child needs to know the truth.......

GL Danny!

Stallion wrote:Digital photos are pretty easy to edit these days.

GL Danny!

How do you think Danny's had "proof" of cashing last year?

j/k

All the best on a healthy birth -- there's always September for HPT (which is my new mantra, given the slamming I'm getting at work right now)

PoWdA wrote:

Stallion wrote:I'm heading up to try the 6pm qualifier tomorrow. Should be interesting.

Emily is in a constant state of contractions and then no contractions. She has been since monday. It has really been keeping me on my toes as I don't know when labor will actually start so I decided to go back to work since I only work about 2 miles away. It's better than her calling and being in labor with me being up the hill! That would be a great story:

My son: "dad, where were you when I was born?"

me: "gambling son."


My son: "oh."


I do think I have a little degenerate in me, but I can't be up the hill and miss my first borns birth. I guess I am saying I would love to be up there but right now I just can't risk it.

Put your seatbelt on boy, this is just the beginning. Wait until you have teenage daughters... two of them... Good times!

PoWdA wrote:

Stallion wrote:I'm heading up to try the 6pm qualifier tomorrow. Should be interesting.

Emily is in a constant state of contractions and then no contractions. She has been since monday. It has really been keeping me on my toes as I don't know when labor will actually start so I decided to go back to work since I only work about 2 miles away. It's better than her calling and being in labor with me being up the hill! That would be a great story:

Don't worry man. My wife went into labor with my son at 2 am and didn't deliver until 6 pm the next day (16 hours later). With my daughter she was induced at 11 pm and still didn't deliver until after 1 pm the next day (14 hours). She only was in the "pushing" part of labor for about the last 20-30 minutes each time.

You could just be seated (maybe even waitlisted) for a $80 SNG and still have plenty of time to win it before you would need to be at the hospital. Your girlfriend may veto that, but I'm just saying you have the time.

I hate poker.

Played in the $340 tonight. FWIW, if you've got the time and the roll these things are likely well worth the money based on the play that I saw tonight.

I was actually playing pretty well, had chipped up to ~24K about 10 minutes short of the first break (1:50 in). Blinds were 300-600 and I was in MP1, UTG+1 limped and I limped w/ pp7's, button limps, SB folds and BB checks his option. Flop came 7d 4d Qc, check to UTG+1 who bets 1,500, I raise to 5,000, 2 folds and UTG+1 jams. I had her covered, but only by about 500. She had Ad9d and hit her flush on the turn, gg me.

The play at my first table was nuts, particularly for this format. Some crazy bluffs against stations, etc. Solid play should get you in to the top 20% more often than not I think.......unless you suck like me of course

Ouch! That stings Stallion. The gal was just committed to the flop and there was nothing you could do (except for double up of course).

Anyone heading up today? It's about 10:00 AM and it looks like I will be riding the bus due to one car out of commision. I'd like to get up there this afternoon and hope to get into the 6PM qualifier tonight. If anyone is going by 6th and Union, give me a buzz. Otherwise, I'll be taking the bus at noon.

Any good fortune up there this weekend? I know some players were heading up, I was just hoping to live vicariously through everybody. Hope someone makes a deep run like Danny did last year. Good luck to all in this upcoming week and next weekend. Keep us posted.

kkravec wrote:Any good fortune up there this weekend? I know some players were heading up, I was just hoping to live vicariously through everybody. Hope someone makes a deep run like Danny did last year. Good luck to all in this upcoming week and next weekend. Keep us posted.

I am hoping I get to play any 340's at all at this rate. I can't go up the hill and have the baby come. If he shows up in the next few days I should be able to make some sort of a run later this week.

I thought I was going to be able to take Thursday or Friday off work this week to make a last gasp run, but we just scheduled ten depositions over the next two weeks, and I just can't take the time away.

GL to whoever of you do manage to make it up this week!

I have decided I wouldn't be too sad if I missed out this time. I was talking with a player yesterday and she had a good point. They are raking the hell outta everything up there. I never really cared, I was just excited to have a decent sized tourney in my own backyard but she definetly has a point.

Well, my weekend play up there didn't go as planned. Check out the scenario below. I thought about my play all day yesterday, but have come to conclude that my play is correct in this situation.

Sitting on an average chip stack with 40 left. Top 20% is top 28. I look down at "Pocket Rockets, American Airlines, The Nut No Flop" and make a 3.5x raise which was standard for me when the antes kicked in. BB player thinks for a moment and goes all in and after a chip count I am looking at 80% of my chips. We are still pretty far from making the top 20% and even with what I know is the best hand I still think as this is basically for my tournament, but at the same time taking down this pot pretty much ensures that I muck into the top 28. I eventually make the call and announce "No suckout please!" BB flips over KK and of course I am a huge favorite until... the flop of K. My short stack eventually gets pushed around and I exit in 36 place. Sucks!

My thoughts on this at the time. Do I really want to risk an all in here or would it be best to be able to play post flop hands? Then again, if I play post flop I most likely get all my money in the middle any way unless it's obvious I'm beat. Actually my play is right here, but unfortunate. If we were in bubble or bubble +1 territory then I don't risk a huge amount of chips here.

Doesn't look like I will have any other opportunities to get into the ME, but good luck to those of you that have qualified or are looking to qualify this week.

Your play was fine, though if I'm in early position with antes in play, I like to raise a bit more than 3.5 BB, just because the antes invite reraises in that spot. Not that you don't mind a caller, really, and in this spot, BB shoves nearly 100% of the time.

But this hand was standard. You never ever ever fold AA in a headsup spot pf, unless your on the absolute bubble, your stack is safely in the $$$, and it's a bigger stack putting you to the test (and your in a satellite where all the payouts get the same thing).

Just a crappy beat is all. You played it fine IMO. Apparently you and I need to work on getting our chips in the middle as a dog. My ~ 70% favorite went down in flames on Friday and now your ~80% one ups me the next day.

If it makes you feel any better I was doing the exact same thing on Saturday: "how could I have played that differently?", etc. We both managed to get our chips in the middle as substantial favorites which is pretty much the name of the game. Losing sucks, but that - as they say - is poker (I hate people that say that). If you were closer to the bubble and had no reason to take any risk at all, ie. can limp past the bubble, then folding might be an option. No way to fold that here.

Stallion wrote:Just a crappy beat is all. You played it fine IMO. Apparently you and I need to work on getting our chips in the middle as a dog. My ~ 70% favorite went down in flames on Friday and now your ~80% one ups me the next day.

If it makes you feel any better I was doing the exact same thing on Saturday: "how could I have played that differently?", etc. We both managed to get our chips in the middle as substantial favorites which is pretty much the name of the game. Losing sucks, but that - as they say - is poker (I hate people that say that). If you were closer to the bubble and had no reason to take any risk at all, ie. can limp past the bubble, then folding might be an option. No way to fold that here.

Exactly. You had your chips in the middle at the right time and the right position. I think if we each had a nickel for the suck-outs we've each received, we could probably go out to a nice dinner with a super-model of our choice on the French Riviera (and cover the tip).

I had a guy at a home game a while back call my pre-flop all in (I had Aces) with a 3-4 offsuit because he was sick of the fact that people kept raising his blind. The bastard had me covered and managed to flop 2 pair. There is nothing you can do there except make a run to Sam's Club to re-stock your industrial size and grade lube.

Your play was fine. One thing I would add is that even if you are 5 or so off hte bubble, depending on your stack and the chipstacks around you, you might even fold these then ONLY because it is a sattelite and 1st pays the same as 28th. I still don't mind your play. Sucks but it happens.

Update on me: Had appointment with the Dr today. We are inducing on Wednsday @ 6AM if she makes it that far. I may be able to make a last ditch effort thurs or friday @ a 340. For now though no HPT ME for me this year, I get a baby instead.

No worries Danny. They'll be back. Keep us updated on the whole baby thing. The "reset" button is about to be hit in a big bad way on your life. Enjoy!

Thanks for the replies all. I know it was the right play, but it still fucks with your head and makes you want to puke. The questioning only comes from what if... like what if the dealer would have cut the cards differently and given me acey duecey instead and I never get involved with this hand, what if the chick that took me out had kujo instead of the kings, what if I would have cursed at the table and gotten a 5 minute penalty right before this hand... but, I'm not bitter at all. You never second guess yourself until the one decision keeps you from your goal, but of course I would still play it the same.

GL with the baby Danny! Instead of having the opportunity to play for 200k, Danny will be producing life at an average life span cost of 200k.

Good Luck, Danny -- you're embarking on the greatest single -EV act in the world, yet still the most rewarding.

PoWdA wrote:
Update on me: Had appointment with the Dr today. We are inducing on Wednsday @ 6AM if she makes it that far. I may be able to make a last ditch effort thurs or friday @ a 340. For now though no HPT ME for me this year, I get a baby instead.

If she does make it to Wednesday, your son will share his birthday with such fine people as Hugh Hefner, Jenna Jameson, and myself.

Speaking of which, I should check my mailbox to see if I got an invitation to The Mansion.

No HPT for me. I am making a thread detailing why in just a moment.

PoWdA wrote:No HPT for me. I am making a thread detailing why in just a moment.

Dare I guess they have wireless net in the maternity waiting room? Good luck!

Mondogarage wrote:

PoWdA wrote:No HPT for me. I am making a thread detailing why in just a moment.

Dare I guess they have wireless net in the maternity waiting room? Good luck!

Sky Ridge had ethernet in the rooms and wireless in the cafeteria. That was sweet.