2/11/09 Lunch Money Game: A Tighter Game, I Play Badly and Win

We had no game last week because Fat Tony was busy moving out of his slum apartment that lacked heat, electricity, and self respect. His new digs are much nicer, and I'm glad he and his future Mrs. were able to find the place and get in there. It was everyone's first game at the new crib. In attendance were myself, Guido, NJM, Eman, "Bob", Fat Tony, Orange, Pinata, and Lady Omaha (back for the first time in about 7 months following some service time overseas). Without BMRK and MH62 at the game, the action was much tighter. There were fewer straddles, not too many reraises preflop, and we didn't see quite as much money flying around. Still, with Guido and Pinata there, anything was possible!

Point of clarification: "Bob" was a whiny crybaby about the fact that I used his last name in other blog entries. As such, I decided to name him "Bob", which is his wife's name... I'm not even kidding.

There were a lot of really interesting hands played last night. I said this many times, and I mean it: I played terribly. Easily my worst live session at the Lunch Money Game in 2009, and probably my worst in 6-8 months. I was playing way too first level, not making reads, missing bets and opportunities to bluff, and I was costing myself money. If it wasn't for immense luck (namely picking up premium hands and getting paid for them), I would have lost my buyins and been on my way. I was up about $25 early, lost and had to buy up, then I zoomed up $80 total thanks to a big KK vs. QQ showdown (more on this later). I had a reawakening and felt like I was playing much better, but I lost some larger pots and was back down to $90 total (on an $80 buyin). Towards the end of the night, I made a great read and won a monster $160+ pot from Pinata.

I expect to post information and analysis on up to 7 hands from last night. Because of how badly I was playing early and how lucky I got late, I seem to be involved in a lot of them. You'll also get to read about the worst side deal made in poker history... which also involved me metaphorically fisting myself out of anywhere up to $40 profit on a single hand.