I got back late on the 5th from my trip to Tunica to cover the WSOP-C for PokerNews.com.  It was a decent trip overall.  I didn’t play poker but twice.  I played one cash game and finished ahead and busted out of the only satellite I played in.  The satellite was just for giggles mostly and to say that I at least played at the circuit this year.

The tournament had a decent turnout, but the numbers were still down from last year.  The field that came out was a strong field nonetheless.  Gavin Smith, Bill Edler, Matt Stout, Kathy Liebert, Allen Kessler,  “Captain” Tom Franklin, and Jason Potter all came out. There were also some tournament regulars there as well that you see all around the circuit.  Heading down to three tables, it looked like we might have a pro stacked final table.  In the end, only Matt Stout and Mike Leah were the only true professionals at the table.  We all were pulling for Stout to take it down, but he was knocked out in third.

I got several compliments on my coverage of the event.  A couple of different people came up to me at the final table and was quoting my blogs back verbatim.  Matt Stout even gave me a shout out in the shout box.  That was appreciated.  Hopefully I will get to cover some other circuit events before the beginning of the WSOP.  Considering that it took 6 months to get this one, the prospects don’t look bright.  However, I am available if needed.

Lately, I have been trying to pull the same type of stunt that both Chris Ferguson and Daniel Negreanu have been doing.  They both started out at micro stakes and tried to build up a bankroll.  The difference is that I am trying to do so in Stud 8 or Better.  I have discovered that I may be in for a long road to hoe.  My sessions have been up and down lately and it is becoming apparent that I need to stick to a tighter strategy.  I have been tinkering with my game a bit in NL and in Stud 8 and I notice that in Stud 8, I am leaking off chips.  Typical beginner leaks that I know are there but I have been ignoring because the leaks may cost me literally a buck at the most when I have them.  Of course, when I am hitting, I am hitting decent.  The problem is that I cannot play like that long term in a limit game and hope to be successful long term.  Honestly, I have already decided what I am going to do, but I just wanted to ramble a little bit.

For the first time in almost two years, I played a home game last night.  A friend of mine hosted five other people and we played a “Dealer’s Choice” home game.  Of course, every hand I dealt was Stud 8.  With the exception of myself and one other player, all of these players were utter novices to poker.  One didn’t even know a flush lost to a straight.  As a result, I played very very loose to begin with.  How loose?  I called with a J-10-9 offsuit in Stud 8 on third with 3 low cards up.  That’s how loose.  I ended up making a straight and nobody made low.

This group play uber loose and somewhat aggressive at times.  They also played a wide mix of games.  The oldest guy at the table played 5 card Draw and 5 card Stud almost every time.  I didn’t play a single hand of 5 Stud.  The guy that didn’t know a flush beat a straight liked to play this wierd Indian Cross poker.  I basically only played the deal unless I hit the board super hard.

The hand that I won the biggest pot on was a variation of blind man’s bluff.  Yes, I am talking about where you take a card and put it on your forehead and bet according to what you see.  Well, the first card was dealt and I looked around and the highest card I saw was a 10.  At this point, I am thinking that I will stick in this hand and take a 2nd card and see what develops.  There is a raise and everyone calls.  Then a 2nd card is dealt.   I take a look around and the best hand is 10-6 out of the other 5 players.  I decided that I would pump the pot at this point, and I did.  I got four bets out of the remaining 4 players in the hand.  When we showed down, I just said “I win” before even looking at my cards.  Everyone was in shock.   I explained that everyone had a 10 high or lower and the odds of my not having a face card were long.  Also, I picked up a non-verbal tell from another player that told me that he feared my hand against everyone else’s.  Oh by the way, my hand was J-10.  I beat them with Jack high!!!

I was up probably double my buy-in and then gave a little of it back on a couple of hands where I had a 4 low in stud 8 and couldn’t catch.  I still finished up 3/4 of a buy-in.  In the end, I called it a night when every hand was being played with wild cards.  When there are wild cards, that eliminates the skill factor and makes it a total game of luck.  The good thing is that I picked up some tells and betting patterns of players.  The next time I go to play in two weeks, I’ll probably do as well or better.