Summary
Positives:
-Learnt a lesson on the importance of patience and self-control
-Improved my live poker skills a little
-Met some friends in Macau
-Saw some interesting parts of Macau
-Heard from Eldo about some soft site + inspired to play some PLO for easy money on Ipoker
-More motivation to work hard and become richer
-Made $5300 USD online
Negatives:
-Lost $8000 USD in the live games
-Damaged my lungs by breathing in 6 days of 2nd-hand cigarette smoke for extended periods of time (7-8 h a day)
Poker
I definitely hate the smoke, and I hate running bad for live poker. At least in online poker u can easily put in a ton of volume and grind away your bad luck by reaching your long-term Expected Value in a short a of time. Also I get pissed off easily when I see players who are much more terrible than I am, getting lucky and picking up the right hands to stack the fish. Patience is something that I am lacking to a very huge extent. I feel that I'm growing old very quickly and want to print some money asap before the games dry up.
Macau
Some things you should know about Macau:
-Currency used is Macau Patacas and Hong Kong Dollars. I think cab drivers may even accept the Chinese Yuan. Exchange rate for Patacas to HKDs is almost 1:1, with 1 MOP = 0.97 HKD.
-Only HKDs can be used in Casinos. They will reject your MOPs.
-Macau has an airport so you can fly Tiger Airways directly there. Or you could go to Zhu Hai or Hong Kong and board the ferry to the ferry terminal.
-Best Hotels in the area are probably Grand Lisboa (5 star). Venetian's interior is one of the nicest but apparently the hotel rooms are only 4 star.
-If you want to stay in a cheap place, find a SPA and sleep there.
-Cabs are cheap (price is slightly cheaper than in Singapore). Starting fare is 13 HKDs and increases by 1.50 HKD
-Food is more expensive than in Singapore by a little, similar to US prices I think
-Tipping is unnecessary, no one ever does it at the poker tables because they already rake so much.
-Macau is divided into 3 parts. Coloane and Taipa (Cotai Strip) are where all the Casinos are located, very much like the Las Vegas Strip.
Expenses
Hotels are really expensive in Macau unless you go sleep in a Spa. Because I was leeching off someone almost every day, I managed to keep my expenses really low.
Day 1
Taxi - 68.50
Lunch in Casino (Beef Kway Teow) - 70
Tip for bell boy - 20
Dinner - 33
Hotel - Free
191.5
Day 2
Breakfast - Shrimp Dumpling Noodles - 36
Lunch in Casino (Beef Bristle Jasmine Rice) - 90
Hotel - Free
126
Day 3
Blizzard - 20
Curry Beef Rice Lunch - 36
Dinner - 85
Hotel - Free
141
Day 4
Cab - 39
Best Western Hotel - 500
Mac Donalds (Dinner) - 39
cab back - 17.50
Internet - 15
610.50
Day 5
7-Eleven - 15
MacDonalds (Breakfast) - 25
Dinner at Portuguese restaurant - 100
Cab - 13
Accomodation - free
153
Day 6
Lunch (Egg beef rice) - 26.50
Dinner (Chicken Masalah Curry with Roti) - 109
Cirque Du Soile - 330
Accomodation - Free
465.50
Day 7
Lunch - Vietnamese Beef ball noodles - 27
Drink - 16
Taxi - 25
Airport food - 15
83
Total Cost: 1770.50 HKD (281 SGD)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Macau Day 7 - Back to Singapore
Spent the whole day sleeping. I woke up at 1100 and used the internet for a while, then it got cut off. Fortunately I downloaded DrGiggy's newest HU video vs TakeChip so that helped me kill one hour. I felt hungry afterwards so I ate some Vietnamese Beef Ball Noodles (27 HKD). I also passed by some bubble tea shop and bought a random Orange Drink that was on offer for 16 HKD. When I returned, Hao Sheng and I had nothing better to do so we talked for a while. He was telling me stories about bribery and corruption in the Philippines, like how he bribed the teachers who were invigilating the exams with a radio and some snacks. He then delegated each exam question to each of the students according to their specialties and they then copied each other and did very well for their high school entrance exams.
We said our goodbyes at around 1615 and took a cab to the airport. The plane was delayed for about 30 mins and I arrived in Singapore at 2210. Fang asked me to buy some duty-free Grey Goose for him so I did.
We said our goodbyes at around 1615 and took a cab to the airport. The plane was delayed for about 30 mins and I arrived in Singapore at 2210. Fang asked me to buy some duty-free Grey Goose for him so I did.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Macau Day 6
Today started off great. I woke up at 0930 to see Dave and JX talking. I had only slept for four hours so I was sleepy. they went to eat breakfast and buy groceries so I turned on the computer to surf the net and download some BFP videos. after that i went out to eat some Egg Beef Rice and went back to sleep at 1200.
The aircon was so cool and comfortable and the couch was quite soft. So I managed to sleep for another 3 hours. I had no idea where everyone went but Dave went out to jog and BirdMan was talking about his bad beats/coolers at the 25/50 tables. I decided to grind out the FTP tables for 2 hours at 2-4/5-10 shallow tables and made quite a bit back. Almost breakeven for the trip at this point in time.
At 1800, Hao Sheng went to make extra keys so I took one and ate Chicken Masalah with Roti at an Indian Restaurant before walking to the Venetian. The scenery on the way there was quite pleasing to the eye and there's a huge lake in the middle with a lot of aquatic plants.
I arrived at about 1900 and bought the cheapest tickets to Cirque Du Soile. It was supposed to be 388 but the lady gave me a discount and charged me 330$, even when i didn't ask for it. the show started at 2000 and ended at 2130. Then I went to sign up at the venetian poker room waiting list again and waited for 1.5 h.
Someone suddenly approached me and he looked familiar. He asked me about online poker and I guessed he was probably Klonoa. I haven't seen him in 5 years since the last time we played in GXL 06. Now he stays in Macau 2/3s of the time and he's a live pro now. He averages 80k HKD a month which is a pretty nice salary. And he says that all of the nitfest regs make about 50k a month. Can't believe those skilless bunch of donks can make so much. All they do is to set-mine and wait for good cards.
1) I started playing at the 25/50 game for a single orbit and I squeezed right away on the very first hand with K5o from the BB after someone raised to 250 and a woman called. She called me again and minraised my 1000 cbet on a JXX board so I lost 2k right away.
2) Pot was straddled and I limp in BU with T9s. Board was K36s9X 3way and I b/c the Flop 300 and 800. The UTG limper who had KQ bet 1700 on the turn again and I thought my pair/trip outs might be good quite often so I called again, hoping he was bluffing.
At this point in time my stack had dwindled down to 12000 which was very nasty. I can't play well in live games when I'm not ultra deep. I switched over to the 50/100 table cos I wanted to play higher anyway and talk to Klonoa who was grinding at the table. A bunch of f-ed up stuff started happening to me.
3) Chinaman (didn't know he was Klonoa's room-mate)isoraise 2 limpers to 600, I 3bet to 1700 with QQ. He 4bets me to 4500 and I tank/fold. We had 12000 HKD which made it quite tough for me, and I had no idea how aggro he was because I had no history with him and from my past experience majority of live players have a 4bet range of KK+. furthermore I had no money left and I didn't want to go home so early so I opted for the tight fold. Klonoa then told me that this guy's range is wider than KK+ and that I should have shoved. He also pointed out that I shouldn't 3bet it in the first place if I wasn't going to 5bet. this may/may not be true. I think if i had called, another 2-3 limpers would have come along for the ride with the favourable pot odds.
Continued losing a bunch of small pots here and there.
4) Isoraise with KK to 250, 4 callers and pot is 5way. Board is JJ7rX and I opted to go for a delayed cbet. given how the players in late position didn't bet and how the early position guys checked again, i figured my overpair was the best hand and I bet 1500 into 2500. The UTG limper shoves over me for another 1200 so I was forced to call but i knew that I was beat here about 80-90% of the time by trip Js. he shows QJo
5) one guy limps in front of me, one poster behind me. I figured that there was a lot of dead mone to attack so I raise with 36s, both of them + the oldman fish called me. I cbet on a AAKs board with absolutely no equity and got called in 2 spots. I wonder if I should just give up. I think I would cbet AA5r board even if its 4way but not too sure about AAKs.
6) Borrowed 10k chip from Klonoa so I was full-stacked again. Isoraise with AA and cbet a 945r board but opponent didn't call the flop cbet
7) I check in BB with some crappy hand in 3way. Klonoa ordered some food for free since he was a reg and had some complementary stuff so he shared it with me. Some Siew mai + Yam cake with Chilli sauce. I look interested in the food which I felt would give me more credit if I made a bluff so I 2barreled on QQ7 board. I mucked on the river so I think villain had the 7 which shows he's a fish.
8) Aggro china guy squeezes my isoraise + a caller to 1500. I thought he was full of it and I 4bet to 3000 but he shoves after 5 seconds of thinking. FML
I'm left with 8000 so I returned 7500 to Klonoa and I will pay the rest through Ibanking. We were talking for a while at the side and he told me more about all the regs and how they grind it out at the casino for a living.
At 0300 I decided to go home
The aircon was so cool and comfortable and the couch was quite soft. So I managed to sleep for another 3 hours. I had no idea where everyone went but Dave went out to jog and BirdMan was talking about his bad beats/coolers at the 25/50 tables. I decided to grind out the FTP tables for 2 hours at 2-4/5-10 shallow tables and made quite a bit back. Almost breakeven for the trip at this point in time.
At 1800, Hao Sheng went to make extra keys so I took one and ate Chicken Masalah with Roti at an Indian Restaurant before walking to the Venetian. The scenery on the way there was quite pleasing to the eye and there's a huge lake in the middle with a lot of aquatic plants.
I arrived at about 1900 and bought the cheapest tickets to Cirque Du Soile. It was supposed to be 388 but the lady gave me a discount and charged me 330$, even when i didn't ask for it. the show started at 2000 and ended at 2130. Then I went to sign up at the venetian poker room waiting list again and waited for 1.5 h.
Someone suddenly approached me and he looked familiar. He asked me about online poker and I guessed he was probably Klonoa. I haven't seen him in 5 years since the last time we played in GXL 06. Now he stays in Macau 2/3s of the time and he's a live pro now. He averages 80k HKD a month which is a pretty nice salary. And he says that all of the nitfest regs make about 50k a month. Can't believe those skilless bunch of donks can make so much. All they do is to set-mine and wait for good cards.
1) I started playing at the 25/50 game for a single orbit and I squeezed right away on the very first hand with K5o from the BB after someone raised to 250 and a woman called. She called me again and minraised my 1000 cbet on a JXX board so I lost 2k right away.
2) Pot was straddled and I limp in BU with T9s. Board was K36s9X 3way and I b/c the Flop 300 and 800. The UTG limper who had KQ bet 1700 on the turn again and I thought my pair/trip outs might be good quite often so I called again, hoping he was bluffing.
At this point in time my stack had dwindled down to 12000 which was very nasty. I can't play well in live games when I'm not ultra deep. I switched over to the 50/100 table cos I wanted to play higher anyway and talk to Klonoa who was grinding at the table. A bunch of f-ed up stuff started happening to me.
3) Chinaman (didn't know he was Klonoa's room-mate)isoraise 2 limpers to 600, I 3bet to 1700 with QQ. He 4bets me to 4500 and I tank/fold. We had 12000 HKD which made it quite tough for me, and I had no idea how aggro he was because I had no history with him and from my past experience majority of live players have a 4bet range of KK+. furthermore I had no money left and I didn't want to go home so early so I opted for the tight fold. Klonoa then told me that this guy's range is wider than KK+ and that I should have shoved. He also pointed out that I shouldn't 3bet it in the first place if I wasn't going to 5bet. this may/may not be true. I think if i had called, another 2-3 limpers would have come along for the ride with the favourable pot odds.
Continued losing a bunch of small pots here and there.
4) Isoraise with KK to 250, 4 callers and pot is 5way. Board is JJ7rX and I opted to go for a delayed cbet. given how the players in late position didn't bet and how the early position guys checked again, i figured my overpair was the best hand and I bet 1500 into 2500. The UTG limper shoves over me for another 1200 so I was forced to call but i knew that I was beat here about 80-90% of the time by trip Js. he shows QJo
5) one guy limps in front of me, one poster behind me. I figured that there was a lot of dead mone to attack so I raise with 36s, both of them + the oldman fish called me. I cbet on a AAKs board with absolutely no equity and got called in 2 spots. I wonder if I should just give up. I think I would cbet AA5r board even if its 4way but not too sure about AAKs.
6) Borrowed 10k chip from Klonoa so I was full-stacked again. Isoraise with AA and cbet a 945r board but opponent didn't call the flop cbet
7) I check in BB with some crappy hand in 3way. Klonoa ordered some food for free since he was a reg and had some complementary stuff so he shared it with me. Some Siew mai + Yam cake with Chilli sauce. I look interested in the food which I felt would give me more credit if I made a bluff so I 2barreled on QQ7 board. I mucked on the river so I think villain had the 7 which shows he's a fish.
8) Aggro china guy squeezes my isoraise + a caller to 1500. I thought he was full of it and I 4bet to 3000 but he shoves after 5 seconds of thinking. FML
I'm left with 8000 so I returned 7500 to Klonoa and I will pay the rest through Ibanking. We were talking for a while at the side and he told me more about all the regs and how they grind it out at the casino for a living.
At 0300 I decided to go home
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Macau Day 5 - Poker Action at the Venetian
5 hours, +$15000 HKD
So I started my session at 2200. On my table we have the same Korean guy from yesterday, the same long hair old uncle across the table, a few tight/passive nit Chinese regs, and 2 Israeli donks on my left. I usually chat with foreigners so they told me that they were in the business of making lady handbags. too bad they quickly donked away their money and left. The Chinese Uncle was still keeping up his bullshit about "Hey my friend my friend, I call you" or "I have AJ, If Flop come A or J, I win, if Flop comes out no A no J you win" in his funny accent. I knew I was running hot when I failed to 3bet light with Kxs/QXs and flopped the nut flush twice so I decided to play a little looser. I also 3betted K3s and got a 733K board but villain folded on the turn.
I won 3000 but decided that the table was really dry so I shifted over to the next table. Right off the bat I spotted the Indian woman. She looks like a rich Northern Indian and she was really nitty. plays the way a woman typically would - don't ever bluff, raise with strong hands. it was so easy to read her. she looked disinterested everytime she was going to fold.
1) I call 64s 150 4way, 587sK board I donk the turn and every one folds. Probably should donk Flop cos it was so likely for everyone to check back when the table is so passive.
2) Isoraise QQ to 450 into 6 players and cbet 700 into 900 on JT9s and opponent folds.
3) I limp in a 6way pot with Q3s, Flop comes out T95sQX and I call the flop 200 (5 callers) and call the turn 825, fold river. I think turn call might not be good with 2 players still acting behind me. stacks weren't all that deep either + the flush completing could get me into trouble.
4) I 3Bet AA SB vs BU 600 over 225. On AJTs I bet 600, villain raises 1800 and I quickly shove to 5000. Villain asks if i had a flushdraw before folding. I show my AA. his line doesnt make sense. and I should stop making snap moves with monsters (i thought he was already committing himself so I didn't bother to balance my timing)
5) call 3bet OOP UTG vs UTG+1 w AQs (might even be a fold but he raised 525->200 and we were 150BB deep so I called). he bets 800 into 1000 on flop and i c/c on Q68sXX, check behind turn and I lead into him on river for 700 and he calls with AA.
6) I isoraise 2 limpers to 350 from CO with JTo and both of them call. Board was QT9s9s8 and I bet the river 500. The old tight Chinese man called me and mucked, after giving me a shocked expression that i was raising with such a terrible hand preflop.
7) I isoraise 250 with 57s. A bad player calls behind me. Board was KJT9Q, I cbet 250 on the flop (should have been a check/fold perhaps? but i bet so small, can bluff really cheaply and i dont need to be balanced in live games. He throws in a 500 chip, intending to raise but he didn't announce so one chip means a call. I picked up the backdoor flushdraw on the turn and I stare at him and give a cautious check. I'm guessing he had AQ already so he bet 200 (sucker bet for me) and I called again. River was the Q which makes the board a 5 straight. he bets 500 and I checkraise super quickly to 3000. Everyone watching said "oh he must have an Ace" which probably clouded villain's judgement to call and split the pot when the backdoor flush obviously completed.
8) Australian guy who played in grand lisboa too isoraise a limper to 250 with KK. I 3bet to 750 with AA (200 BB deep) and he calls. Board was 823s46 and I fire 3 times 800/2000/3000. Halfway in the hand he asked me if I had AA and I said yes after smiling to him. No one ever believes u when u tell the truth.
9) I isoraise with QQ to 250, and I get 3 callers. 4way on Q98r board, first player weak donks 200 into 1000 (I've seen this Chinese man doing it with shit holdings many times), Korean guy flats and I raise to 1000 with top set. Chinese man tanks and calls the raise, Korean backraises to 2000 and I was fucking afraid of the straight but I shipped over his 4200 ALLIN anyway and he flipped over his JT to take the pot down.
I was blinding out the very next hand so I left and went off.
So I started my session at 2200. On my table we have the same Korean guy from yesterday, the same long hair old uncle across the table, a few tight/passive nit Chinese regs, and 2 Israeli donks on my left. I usually chat with foreigners so they told me that they were in the business of making lady handbags. too bad they quickly donked away their money and left. The Chinese Uncle was still keeping up his bullshit about "Hey my friend my friend, I call you" or "I have AJ, If Flop come A or J, I win, if Flop comes out no A no J you win" in his funny accent. I knew I was running hot when I failed to 3bet light with Kxs/QXs and flopped the nut flush twice so I decided to play a little looser. I also 3betted K3s and got a 733K board but villain folded on the turn.
I won 3000 but decided that the table was really dry so I shifted over to the next table. Right off the bat I spotted the Indian woman. She looks like a rich Northern Indian and she was really nitty. plays the way a woman typically would - don't ever bluff, raise with strong hands. it was so easy to read her. she looked disinterested everytime she was going to fold.
1) I call 64s 150 4way, 587sK board I donk the turn and every one folds. Probably should donk Flop cos it was so likely for everyone to check back when the table is so passive.
2) Isoraise QQ to 450 into 6 players and cbet 700 into 900 on JT9s and opponent folds.
3) I limp in a 6way pot with Q3s, Flop comes out T95sQX and I call the flop 200 (5 callers) and call the turn 825, fold river. I think turn call might not be good with 2 players still acting behind me. stacks weren't all that deep either + the flush completing could get me into trouble.
4) I 3Bet AA SB vs BU 600 over 225. On AJTs I bet 600, villain raises 1800 and I quickly shove to 5000. Villain asks if i had a flushdraw before folding. I show my AA. his line doesnt make sense. and I should stop making snap moves with monsters (i thought he was already committing himself so I didn't bother to balance my timing)
5) call 3bet OOP UTG vs UTG+1 w AQs (might even be a fold but he raised 525->200 and we were 150BB deep so I called). he bets 800 into 1000 on flop and i c/c on Q68sXX, check behind turn and I lead into him on river for 700 and he calls with AA.
6) I isoraise 2 limpers to 350 from CO with JTo and both of them call. Board was QT9s9s8 and I bet the river 500. The old tight Chinese man called me and mucked, after giving me a shocked expression that i was raising with such a terrible hand preflop.
7) I isoraise 250 with 57s. A bad player calls behind me. Board was KJT9Q, I cbet 250 on the flop (should have been a check/fold perhaps? but i bet so small, can bluff really cheaply and i dont need to be balanced in live games. He throws in a 500 chip, intending to raise but he didn't announce so one chip means a call. I picked up the backdoor flushdraw on the turn and I stare at him and give a cautious check. I'm guessing he had AQ already so he bet 200 (sucker bet for me) and I called again. River was the Q which makes the board a 5 straight. he bets 500 and I checkraise super quickly to 3000. Everyone watching said "oh he must have an Ace" which probably clouded villain's judgement to call and split the pot when the backdoor flush obviously completed.
8) Australian guy who played in grand lisboa too isoraise a limper to 250 with KK. I 3bet to 750 with AA (200 BB deep) and he calls. Board was 823s46 and I fire 3 times 800/2000/3000. Halfway in the hand he asked me if I had AA and I said yes after smiling to him. No one ever believes u when u tell the truth.
9) I isoraise with QQ to 250, and I get 3 callers. 4way on Q98r board, first player weak donks 200 into 1000 (I've seen this Chinese man doing it with shit holdings many times), Korean guy flats and I raise to 1000 with top set. Chinese man tanks and calls the raise, Korean backraises to 2000 and I was fucking afraid of the straight but I shipped over his 4200 ALLIN anyway and he flipped over his JT to take the pot down.
I was blinding out the very next hand so I left and went off.
Day 5 - Best Day in Macau
So yesterday (3rd June) JX went to sleep at 2100 and I slept at 2300. Since our sleeping schedules were so messed up we woke up at 0600 and the sun was already very bright. We decided to take a stroll in Taipa (the area I explored on my own earlier). Stopped by 7-Eleven to buy drinks, then we went to MacDonalds (again) to eat breakfast. I ate some Chicken Pasta meal which was so un-Macdonalds' like but it was decent. Costs 25 HKD.
We were done eating very early in the morning so we went back to Best Western lobby at 0800 to surf the internet. I was checking my mail and watched 1h of anime. Eventually Eldo came online on Skype and he told us we could go over in 10 mins so I proceeded to checkout. JX being the smartass thought that they wouldn't check the drinks in the fridge and he took a bottle of water. Too bad at the counter they charged him 11.50 HKD for it.
So we went to the apartment, I think it's called Guai2 Low3 Wan1 in Cantonese (Kingsville) and it's a very nice place. The design looks quite pleasant and simple, and the tiny living room has no TV but 5 nice couches which can be extended outwards like a first-class plane seat. We chatted with Eldo for a bit, and of course we had to share the bad beat + tilt stories. Also had some insights from him about transitioning to live, how patience was so important and also how getting a bit drunk might loosen you up and make you enjoy yourself more (so you don't get bored and spew away money). It was kind of him to treat us to lunch at the nearby Japanese restaurant. Ate some Fried Rice, avocardo sushi and salmon sushi while drinking some beer.
We walked back to the apartment and discussed about some softer sites to play at + I watched a little bit of Omaha action. he also showed me how omaha indicator works. it has a point system to rate the starting hands, very similar to what you would need in Razz or Stud (3 cards vs 4 cards) as compared to Hold'em (2 cards) where the number of permutations aren't all that many so you could just have basic charts for starting hands.
At 1530 Eldo had to go back to Zhu Hai cos his kids were giving his wife some trouble. he says that he travels on an Electric bike which goes up to 40km/h, they can't drive there but I don't know why. So we are left with Hao Cheng/Sheng/Eric (can't remember what his name was), some Filipino Chinese in his 30s, Claudia, a korean lady in her 30s, and Kevin (BirdMan), another coach from APA. Some guy called Dave/David/Davis (didn't quite catch his name) from the US but currently lives in Kalimantan with his Indonesian Fiancee, came over too and he's staying in one of the rooms. He says he's a losing/breakeven player at Cake Network playing PLO and FL at 50/100 playing 8 tables. Got all his money from rakeback and rake races. I think Birdman is going to show him how to use all the software tools to improve on his game.
I was playing some online again at FTP. Lost some at the beginning and stopped but I got really lucky at the shallow tables at 5/10 and also some NL400 FR 1 table rush (only had 6players there) and stacked some fish.
Once everyone was done we went to a Portuguese restaurant to eat. The taste was decent but the portions was too small and the price too high. I ordered some Battered Fish and it had many bones in it (didn't look like that in the pic). It costs 90 HKD and wasn't very filling at all.
We came back to the apartment again, to pick Dave up and we cabbed to the Venetian. Hao Sheng went to the Wynn to get some action on his own. We all put our names on the waiting list but 3 of them disappeared after that cos they wanted to chill somewhere else. I chatted with a few Singaporean guys on the couch while waiting, and read a little on Mahjong strategy in the magazine.
Finally got my table at 2200 and played until 0315. Then I got coolered top set vs straight again and decided I was tired + I might potentially tilt (though I did not think I would cos I was still up a lot + I was playing quite well and running hot).
I showed the address to the taxi driver and he got agitated. I kept saying "Wo Ting Bu Dong" (I don't understand but he continued speaking Cantonese to me. The Venetian guy told him something and then told me to get into the cab. After that the taxi driver mumbled some stuff to me again but I did not understand and I just smiled at him, pretending I knew nothing. Ignorance is bliss. My guess is that he was upset to pick me up because it was so damn near (only 13 HKD)
So now at 0430 I am typing this out on the couch. I'm prepared to sleep soon since I'm tired. JX being a noob retard wants to take a shot at the last Macau Cup event again. I on the other hand want to try some cash at the Venetian again tomorrow, but I want to watch a Show (Cirque Du Soile or House on Dancing water) before I leave macau. It was quite disappointing not to watch any show when I went to vegas. actually shows are quite entertaining, like all those I watched in London (Avenue Q, We Will Rock you)
We were done eating very early in the morning so we went back to Best Western lobby at 0800 to surf the internet. I was checking my mail and watched 1h of anime. Eventually Eldo came online on Skype and he told us we could go over in 10 mins so I proceeded to checkout. JX being the smartass thought that they wouldn't check the drinks in the fridge and he took a bottle of water. Too bad at the counter they charged him 11.50 HKD for it.
So we went to the apartment, I think it's called Guai2 Low3 Wan1 in Cantonese (Kingsville) and it's a very nice place. The design looks quite pleasant and simple, and the tiny living room has no TV but 5 nice couches which can be extended outwards like a first-class plane seat. We chatted with Eldo for a bit, and of course we had to share the bad beat + tilt stories. Also had some insights from him about transitioning to live, how patience was so important and also how getting a bit drunk might loosen you up and make you enjoy yourself more (so you don't get bored and spew away money). It was kind of him to treat us to lunch at the nearby Japanese restaurant. Ate some Fried Rice, avocardo sushi and salmon sushi while drinking some beer.
We walked back to the apartment and discussed about some softer sites to play at + I watched a little bit of Omaha action. he also showed me how omaha indicator works. it has a point system to rate the starting hands, very similar to what you would need in Razz or Stud (3 cards vs 4 cards) as compared to Hold'em (2 cards) where the number of permutations aren't all that many so you could just have basic charts for starting hands.
At 1530 Eldo had to go back to Zhu Hai cos his kids were giving his wife some trouble. he says that he travels on an Electric bike which goes up to 40km/h, they can't drive there but I don't know why. So we are left with Hao Cheng/Sheng/Eric (can't remember what his name was), some Filipino Chinese in his 30s, Claudia, a korean lady in her 30s, and Kevin (BirdMan), another coach from APA. Some guy called Dave/David/Davis (didn't quite catch his name) from the US but currently lives in Kalimantan with his Indonesian Fiancee, came over too and he's staying in one of the rooms. He says he's a losing/breakeven player at Cake Network playing PLO and FL at 50/100 playing 8 tables. Got all his money from rakeback and rake races. I think Birdman is going to show him how to use all the software tools to improve on his game.
I was playing some online again at FTP. Lost some at the beginning and stopped but I got really lucky at the shallow tables at 5/10 and also some NL400 FR 1 table rush (only had 6players there) and stacked some fish.
Once everyone was done we went to a Portuguese restaurant to eat. The taste was decent but the portions was too small and the price too high. I ordered some Battered Fish and it had many bones in it (didn't look like that in the pic). It costs 90 HKD and wasn't very filling at all.
We came back to the apartment again, to pick Dave up and we cabbed to the Venetian. Hao Sheng went to the Wynn to get some action on his own. We all put our names on the waiting list but 3 of them disappeared after that cos they wanted to chill somewhere else. I chatted with a few Singaporean guys on the couch while waiting, and read a little on Mahjong strategy in the magazine.
Finally got my table at 2200 and played until 0315. Then I got coolered top set vs straight again and decided I was tired + I might potentially tilt (though I did not think I would cos I was still up a lot + I was playing quite well and running hot).
I showed the address to the taxi driver and he got agitated. I kept saying "Wo Ting Bu Dong" (I don't understand but he continued speaking Cantonese to me. The Venetian guy told him something and then told me to get into the cab. After that the taxi driver mumbled some stuff to me again but I did not understand and I just smiled at him, pretending I knew nothing. Ignorance is bliss. My guess is that he was upset to pick me up because it was so damn near (only 13 HKD)
So now at 0430 I am typing this out on the couch. I'm prepared to sleep soon since I'm tired. JX being a noob retard wants to take a shot at the last Macau Cup event again. I on the other hand want to try some cash at the Venetian again tomorrow, but I want to watch a Show (Cirque Du Soile or House on Dancing water) before I leave macau. It was quite disappointing not to watch any show when I went to vegas. actually shows are quite entertaining, like all those I watched in London (Avenue Q, We Will Rock you)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Day 4 - Patiently waiting
We checked out at 1330 and my friend actually deposited 3000 HKD but those scammers only returned 2000, claiming that they only accepted 1000 or 2000 deposits and that it was not in the record. Either my friend screwed up and recalled the deposit amount wrongly, or the receptionist is a cheating bitch. We then took a cab from our side of the island (can't remember what it's called) to Taipa which is in the midle of Macau and is closer to the airport. The Cab costs 39 HKD (5 USD). After checking our stuff into Best Western (stupid internet site said it had free wireless internet but it doesnt), we went out immediately. My friend headed back to GL for the tourney but he dropped me off at the Venetian first.
So I went to play at the Venetian today. I played really well, so far it was the best day for me. I did not make any bad play as far as I could remember. Ended the session down 9400 in 3 hours at NL 25/50, because I lost KK vs AQ on KJTXX board where the dumb slutty looking HK girl could easily be stacking off with KJ/KT/JT/JJ/TT when she called the flop and shoved the turn. 6000 gone from this hand. I also lost 77 vs 68s on a K75s98 board and 8000 goes down the drain after that. Villain bets out 800 into 1600 with his OESFD in a 4way pot and c/raised the turn 5000 over my 2200 bet. I thought he was already allin so I flip open my cards on the river (but he had 2000+ left) so I did call anyway, knowing i was probably screwed by the straight. Other than that I hit sets another 2 times but did not really get paid off. Like I had 22 on a A2XA board and I potted the turn in a 3way pot, being very confident that at least one of them would have an Ace but they both folded.
The smoke was worse today, at one point all 6 of them were lighting cigarettes. I also explored some of the Venetian and took a few pictures sneakily. There's this Venice-themed shopping area inside, with the river + bridge + boat combo. Exactly the same as the Venetian in Vegas. It also has the Cirque Du Soile (don't remember the spelling) which costs 388 HKD (50 USD). I might want to watch it tomorrow since I really don't feel like gambling anymore.
After I was done with that, I went to the City of Dreams/Hard Rock to explore the place. They have another show there, but I can't remember the name. I ate MacDonalds again and wandered around the Casino, looking for the poker room but apparently it was closed today. The woman kept directing me back to the Baccarat tables.
I left the place at 1800 in a cab which costs 17.50 HKD. Went back to my room to discover that there was no internet. If I had known earlier I would have continued to play poker at the Venetian. So I went to explore the area nearby and walked past many shops. I even entered the park and watched 2 men play Chinese Chess for a few minutes. They each had an Elephant, a Cannon and a horse, and a foot soldier and it was stalemate after a couple of moves. Some little girl was trying to watch the game but all the old men were blocking her view and she whined to her father/uncle/some random man.
I was still looking for an Internet Cafe but couldn't find any so I came back to Best Western at 1910. So here I am in the lobby, paying 15 HKD/30 min typin this out. I'm trying to contact my friend so I can go visit his place but there's no skype here so I'll probably go back to my room to watch some TV, then I'll check out tmr.
So I went to play at the Venetian today. I played really well, so far it was the best day for me. I did not make any bad play as far as I could remember. Ended the session down 9400 in 3 hours at NL 25/50, because I lost KK vs AQ on KJTXX board where the dumb slutty looking HK girl could easily be stacking off with KJ/KT/JT/JJ/TT when she called the flop and shoved the turn. 6000 gone from this hand. I also lost 77 vs 68s on a K75s98 board and 8000 goes down the drain after that. Villain bets out 800 into 1600 with his OESFD in a 4way pot and c/raised the turn 5000 over my 2200 bet. I thought he was already allin so I flip open my cards on the river (but he had 2000+ left) so I did call anyway, knowing i was probably screwed by the straight. Other than that I hit sets another 2 times but did not really get paid off. Like I had 22 on a A2XA board and I potted the turn in a 3way pot, being very confident that at least one of them would have an Ace but they both folded.
The smoke was worse today, at one point all 6 of them were lighting cigarettes. I also explored some of the Venetian and took a few pictures sneakily. There's this Venice-themed shopping area inside, with the river + bridge + boat combo. Exactly the same as the Venetian in Vegas. It also has the Cirque Du Soile (don't remember the spelling) which costs 388 HKD (50 USD). I might want to watch it tomorrow since I really don't feel like gambling anymore.
After I was done with that, I went to the City of Dreams/Hard Rock to explore the place. They have another show there, but I can't remember the name. I ate MacDonalds again and wandered around the Casino, looking for the poker room but apparently it was closed today. The woman kept directing me back to the Baccarat tables.
I left the place at 1800 in a cab which costs 17.50 HKD. Went back to my room to discover that there was no internet. If I had known earlier I would have continued to play poker at the Venetian. So I went to explore the area nearby and walked past many shops. I even entered the park and watched 2 men play Chinese Chess for a few minutes. They each had an Elephant, a Cannon and a horse, and a foot soldier and it was stalemate after a couple of moves. Some little girl was trying to watch the game but all the old men were blocking her view and she whined to her father/uncle/some random man.
I was still looking for an Internet Cafe but couldn't find any so I came back to Best Western at 1910. So here I am in the lobby, paying 15 HKD/30 min typin this out. I'm trying to contact my friend so I can go visit his place but there's no skype here so I'll probably go back to my room to watch some TV, then I'll check out tmr.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Day 3 - Tons of Poker Action, Lost Heavily due to impatience
JX came back to the room at 0830. He has crazy sleeping timing. He whined a little about his losses and I went back to sleep. I woke up at 1300 and felt a little adventurous so I decided to turn left upon exiting Grand Lisboa. That area of Macau was less classy and well-developed but it seemed to be the heartlands. I saw a few Chinese and White students (I should think they are Portugese), and also a couple of residential areas. I came across a Dairy Queen shop and the woman was handing out samples. Being a greedy pig I took one and it tasted really good so I bought a medium-sized Blizzard for 20 HKD. I think it's some strawberry chocolate and they turned it upside down to show that it was well-frozen.
I walked across the street and found a small shop which was selling cheap meals (probably still expensive for Singaporean standards but really cheap compared to Casinos) and I bought curry beef rice for 36 HKD.
Poker at Wynn
I arrived at the Wynn at 1400 and I was third on the waiting list. It had over 10 players but the staff were still unwilling to open a new table and I had to wait until 1515 before I could start playing at 50/100. I must say I ran well but play badly. Also, another thing which I had to learn the hard way (and have my disciple tell me) is that tight passive fishes have calling ranges that are extremely price elastic, which is why all my huge potsize bets with the nuts always get no action. On the other hand, loose passive fish will call down regardless. I also need to remember to take board texture into account while selecting an appropriate bet size.
1) I raise from UTG with 77 to 400 and got called by 4 others. The board was JJJr52 and flop was checked around. I bet the turn 1000 into 1600 and checked the river. Aggro Baldie shows A7 with the backdoor flushdraw. Didn't really like his play cos I could easily have a boat and I wouldn't stab a 5way so readily, or i might be bluffing with the best hand (AK/AQ/AJ)
2) It was limped around in a 5way pot and I had 34o in the BB. Board was K256 doublesuited and I c/r the flop 2000 over the crazy TAG's 600 bet and bet 3500 on the turn. We were both 30k deep and he folds. Not sure if I should have bet slightly smaller cos I look super strong.
3) I isoRaised with 97s and got called in 2 spots. Cbetted the flop on 973s6, betting 1200 into 1500 and they both called me. bet 3700 on the turn and both fold.
4) Isoraised UTG with KJs to 500. AK5s79 board 3way and I hit midpair + flushdraw. I opted to check behind the flop. On the turn, Fat Rock (tight passive) leads out 1200 and bets 3000 on the river. I really felt he had the Ace so I folded. others commented that i probably had an Ace since i tanked on the river for so long but an Ace is the same as a King in this spot cos I doubt he would bet so large with a weak Ace.
5) Pot was straddled and crazy TAG raises to 700 with KQo. I call in the Hijack with AQs and everyone folds. So far this guy knows I have been quite aggressive so he checkraises me 2100 over my 700 bet, bets 5000 on the turn and bets 12000 on the river on a 925s8X board. Funny how all these crazy Chinamen keep doing these 0 equity crazy deep bluffs OOP. They either have a strong physical tell on me that I'm weak or they are just retarded. This hand was majorly tilt-inducing for me but I managed to suppress the tilt until later at Grand Lisboa (will be covered later on)
6) I decided to float the Fat Rock's cbet in a 3way pot on ATXs with KQo when he bets 1500 into 2100 and bluffed the turn to take the pot down.
7) I openraised to 400 with 68s and got 3 callers. Board was K69rXX (I had backdoor draws + bottom pair) so I decided to cbet 1100 into 1600 and 2 of them called me. Turn and river were blanks and we checked it down. The old white man shows A7s which was quite puzzling and other chinese guy mucks what was probably a straightdraw. I open my hand and happily take the pot down.
8) Crazy TAG opens from the BU with AJo and I 3bet from BB with Q9s. I was memorizing my hand (Q9s Q9s Q9s then somehow it became Q7s Q7s Q7s). On a 733s65s board I thought I had the pair and he would float me so I made a delayed cbet 1300 into 2500 and check/called the river cos I was pretty sure he was floating me with shit like ace high and he wouldn't vbet the river thinly. He announced "you win, I have ace high" I happily flipped over my cards and everyone was like WTF Q high??? I was very shocked and if I had waited for that guy to muck I could have possibly taken the pot down. I was distraught over this terrible play and tightened up a little after that to avoid any nasty tilt.
9) I isoraise to 500 with JTo vs a UTG limper and he calls. board was Q428ds9 and I 3barrel 600 on Flop, 1500 on Turn and 3700 on River. He calls me down with some Queen and I show my straight. I am not sure if betting the turn again was a good idea (though I could foresee him folding out a lot of 8X) but I would have probably bluffed some flush completing river which might scare him away.
0315-0745 4h 30min, +$5930
JX arrived after he woke up at 1700 and enjoyed himself in the Jacuzzi within the hotel bathroom for an hour or two. We went back to GL and I placed myself on the waiting list for the 50/100 game there. After that I went to eat Some Salted Pork + vegetables with Fried Rice (50 HKD) while he ate Shui Jiao Mian (shrimp dumpling noodles) again. We also ate some Pork, I forgot what it's called but it's really salty and tasty. So the whole meal costed about 85 HKD for me.
We took about 30 mins to eat our dinner and i was second on the waiting list but it still didn't move. It was only today that I realized that drinks were free so I drank 3 cups of Ice Milk Tea. It tastes EXACTLY the same as Koi and Gong Cha with not too much sugar.
I can't remember too many hands, but I'll post all the big pots.
Poker at Grand Lisboa
The Taiwanese guy from yesterday was sitting on my left again. A nice white man (who stays in Hong Kong) was sitting two seats on my right, some fat headphone wearing Chinese guy who might be from a Western country was sitting on my direct left. I saw him at the Wynn earlier. Then we have the Set Mining Japanese guy from yesterday (he really loves his sets and I know he limps all small PP preflop) 3 seats to my right. across the table we have a bunch of white guys who came and went, except one of them who mentioned that he stays in Thailand. Yeah I dislike this guy cos he was always making stupid comments about my constant raising lol.
So basically Japanese guy was your standard ABC TAG fish, very unwilling to make huge bluffs and usually has the nuts very often when he showed significant strength. Taiwanese guy and Fat Headphone guy were super aggro and were trying to run over the table at the start. So was I cos I'm a table sheriff by nature and I like to be in control (which proved to be the cause of my undoing). Rest of them were a little loose and passive pre, while being tight/passive postflop. Especially the nice old man on my right. I was having a good time raising all his limps and he even folded KJs which was super terrible, given that my isolation range is probably any two cards 9 and above.
1) Called KQs in SB in 4-5 way pot. Board came out KQ88X. I was a little afraid of the turn when I bet out and got called in two spots by some Chinese fish and the Fat headphone dude. After betting 1100 into 1500 on the turn, I bet 1800 on the river cos I felt that I would rep 8X very well if I had bet any larger so the Fat headphone dude called me with what was probably a weaker King.
2) Fat Headphone dude was running over the table, I think he has 3betted 3 times already. He squeezed the 2 passive white guys 1500 over their 300 bet and I cold 4bet to 3000 with JTo. He min5bet me to 6000 (we were 30000 deep) and I tank for 2 minutes before folding. I was counting the seconds in my head to act as though I was just "raising to see where I was at" with QQ/AK. At this point in time my stack was down to 24k and I was feeling a little tilted.
3) This hand was MASSIVE SPEW and I am really regretful about this.
Fat headphone dude raises from Early position with QQ to 400 and I 3bet with T6s to 1500. Wanted to keep him in check again. He calls and board was KQJXX. I bet 2000 and called when he raised to 5000. Then he bet 3800 (very nice play by him) and I couldn't figure out why he was betting so small (probably to get me to call with AK or potentially induce) so I minraised to 7600. He calls after 5-10 seconds of thinking. Now I should have just shutdown and gave up. Instead I ship about 12-13k on the river and he's getting about 20-25% pot odds to call on the river + he always has at least JJ so he says something like "this is my last hand but i have to call". He flips over his hand and the thought "WHAT HAVE I DONE???" was lingering in my head. Whole table goes "WOAHH" and I just smiled at them and headed to the cashier to get another 10k in chips.
This has got to be the largest pot i have ever lost in my entire career (along with the 250 BB 5/10 hand and also the QQ vs AA at 10/20 at Pokerstars). And it was misplayed at EVERY SINGLE STREET. I should have folded preflop. I should have bet/folded the Flop cos he's never checkraising with a middle pocketpair, and probably has twopairs, but more likely sets and straights. I should have folded the turn, cos he would have given up almost all his bluffs. And lastly I should have folded the river, cos the bottom of his range was JJ and it's suicidal to attemping folding out a set unless the board has 4 flush or straight.
After that Fat headphone dude decided to stay, in hopes that I would spew some money to him. I asked him why he was still there but he said after that huge hand he just had to stay on. I didn't, so he left after 1h+.
4) I pick up 22 in the BB and it was 5way. One guy leads out on 852s and another Chinese guy calls and I checkraise 1000 over their 300 bet. First guy folds and second guy calls. I purposely snapbet the turn 3000, trying to act tilted but I think this was a massive mistake by me. If i had taken my time to bet and actually fired a smaller bet, I would have gotten a second call pretty often. But by polarizing my range, I am threatening his entire stack with my quick action and I think he wouldn't feel comfortable calling the turn if the chances of me betting the river was super high.
At this point, the fat headphone dude left so I took his seat. Some Norwegian online grinder (who now stays in macau to grind live poker) sat on my left. He was there yesterday too. I heard him mention to the Taiwanese that he has been staying in macau for the past 1.5 years so I asked him if he plays cards for a living. He shrugs and replies, "Maybe." So it was pretty obvious he did, cos young white guys who hang out in casinos regularly are definitely regulars. Then he asked me if I was an online player. I think it's pretty obvious, given my aggressive style and young age. Most people my age would be more passive and playing lower. We talked a little about poker and he said he played 24 tablse 2-4 up to 25-50 but was breakeven. I asked him for his screenname but he declined, stating that i might know his style. i don't really recall any norwegian at MSNL though.
5) Norwegian raises with some 56s/67s and tight passive white guy raises to 1000. Norwegian had only 10000+ but he calls anyway. Board was 567s and he check/shoves vs the other guy but a king came on the turn to give him a set. I asked the Norwegian whether he had a set cos I figured it would be stupid to call the 3bet OOP when stacks were not deep and when the other guy's range was super narrowly defined as QQ+.
6) At the very next hand, I open 88 and the same guy 3bets me to 1200. I call another 800 and flop came out T8Xs. He bets 1500 and I check/shoved too, thinking that he was never folding his super likely overpair. He says "I don't want to gamble" and folds. I might have misplayed this hand, should have probably made a mincheckraise vs this tight passive fish. My guess is that he would checkback with AK and he probably had JJ in that spot but I can't be too sure.
7) 3-4 limpers, including Japanese guy. I isoraise from sB to 800 and Japanese guy asks me for my stack size (clearly trying to look at his implied odds). I told him I had 10k and he folds after that. Then I told him he was trying to setmine and he laughed, admitting that he had a small pocketpair. I would never pay him off anyway cos I did accurately hand read his holdings twice yesterday when he limped/called and the board had 2 low cards.
After a few more ups and downs I made back another 3.5k. Still felt super terrible but we had to checkout at 1300 on Friday so I went back to the room at 0230.
5 hours, -$25000
I'm down 6k USD for the trip but fortunately I played a little online today when I woke at 1000 hrs. earned maybe 40% of my losses back? I got really lucky, winning two preflop all-ins with AA vs KK and AK vs KK. I'm not too sure about my exact winnings cos I forced myself not to look at my cashier when I was playing and even after my session. Path to poker nirvana is still so far away.
of course I post my sad story in the forums as always, and TwiceT the mindset guru points out that my biggest flaw is my lack of patience which is 50% true. other 50% is that I try too hard to fight against the other guys and don't know when to show restraint.
I walked across the street and found a small shop which was selling cheap meals (probably still expensive for Singaporean standards but really cheap compared to Casinos) and I bought curry beef rice for 36 HKD.
Poker at Wynn
I arrived at the Wynn at 1400 and I was third on the waiting list. It had over 10 players but the staff were still unwilling to open a new table and I had to wait until 1515 before I could start playing at 50/100. I must say I ran well but play badly. Also, another thing which I had to learn the hard way (and have my disciple tell me) is that tight passive fishes have calling ranges that are extremely price elastic, which is why all my huge potsize bets with the nuts always get no action. On the other hand, loose passive fish will call down regardless. I also need to remember to take board texture into account while selecting an appropriate bet size.
1) I raise from UTG with 77 to 400 and got called by 4 others. The board was JJJr52 and flop was checked around. I bet the turn 1000 into 1600 and checked the river. Aggro Baldie shows A7 with the backdoor flushdraw. Didn't really like his play cos I could easily have a boat and I wouldn't stab a 5way so readily, or i might be bluffing with the best hand (AK/AQ/AJ)
2) It was limped around in a 5way pot and I had 34o in the BB. Board was K256 doublesuited and I c/r the flop 2000 over the crazy TAG's 600 bet and bet 3500 on the turn. We were both 30k deep and he folds. Not sure if I should have bet slightly smaller cos I look super strong.
3) I isoRaised with 97s and got called in 2 spots. Cbetted the flop on 973s6, betting 1200 into 1500 and they both called me. bet 3700 on the turn and both fold.
4) Isoraised UTG with KJs to 500. AK5s79 board 3way and I hit midpair + flushdraw. I opted to check behind the flop. On the turn, Fat Rock (tight passive) leads out 1200 and bets 3000 on the river. I really felt he had the Ace so I folded. others commented that i probably had an Ace since i tanked on the river for so long but an Ace is the same as a King in this spot cos I doubt he would bet so large with a weak Ace.
5) Pot was straddled and crazy TAG raises to 700 with KQo. I call in the Hijack with AQs and everyone folds. So far this guy knows I have been quite aggressive so he checkraises me 2100 over my 700 bet, bets 5000 on the turn and bets 12000 on the river on a 925s8X board. Funny how all these crazy Chinamen keep doing these 0 equity crazy deep bluffs OOP. They either have a strong physical tell on me that I'm weak or they are just retarded. This hand was majorly tilt-inducing for me but I managed to suppress the tilt until later at Grand Lisboa (will be covered later on)
6) I decided to float the Fat Rock's cbet in a 3way pot on ATXs with KQo when he bets 1500 into 2100 and bluffed the turn to take the pot down.
7) I openraised to 400 with 68s and got 3 callers. Board was K69rXX (I had backdoor draws + bottom pair) so I decided to cbet 1100 into 1600 and 2 of them called me. Turn and river were blanks and we checked it down. The old white man shows A7s which was quite puzzling and other chinese guy mucks what was probably a straightdraw. I open my hand and happily take the pot down.
8) Crazy TAG opens from the BU with AJo and I 3bet from BB with Q9s. I was memorizing my hand (Q9s Q9s Q9s then somehow it became Q7s Q7s Q7s). On a 733s65s board I thought I had the pair and he would float me so I made a delayed cbet 1300 into 2500 and check/called the river cos I was pretty sure he was floating me with shit like ace high and he wouldn't vbet the river thinly. He announced "you win, I have ace high" I happily flipped over my cards and everyone was like WTF Q high??? I was very shocked and if I had waited for that guy to muck I could have possibly taken the pot down. I was distraught over this terrible play and tightened up a little after that to avoid any nasty tilt.
9) I isoraise to 500 with JTo vs a UTG limper and he calls. board was Q428ds9 and I 3barrel 600 on Flop, 1500 on Turn and 3700 on River. He calls me down with some Queen and I show my straight. I am not sure if betting the turn again was a good idea (though I could foresee him folding out a lot of 8X) but I would have probably bluffed some flush completing river which might scare him away.
0315-0745 4h 30min, +$5930
JX arrived after he woke up at 1700 and enjoyed himself in the Jacuzzi within the hotel bathroom for an hour or two. We went back to GL and I placed myself on the waiting list for the 50/100 game there. After that I went to eat Some Salted Pork + vegetables with Fried Rice (50 HKD) while he ate Shui Jiao Mian (shrimp dumpling noodles) again. We also ate some Pork, I forgot what it's called but it's really salty and tasty. So the whole meal costed about 85 HKD for me.
We took about 30 mins to eat our dinner and i was second on the waiting list but it still didn't move. It was only today that I realized that drinks were free so I drank 3 cups of Ice Milk Tea. It tastes EXACTLY the same as Koi and Gong Cha with not too much sugar.
I can't remember too many hands, but I'll post all the big pots.
Poker at Grand Lisboa
The Taiwanese guy from yesterday was sitting on my left again. A nice white man (who stays in Hong Kong) was sitting two seats on my right, some fat headphone wearing Chinese guy who might be from a Western country was sitting on my direct left. I saw him at the Wynn earlier. Then we have the Set Mining Japanese guy from yesterday (he really loves his sets and I know he limps all small PP preflop) 3 seats to my right. across the table we have a bunch of white guys who came and went, except one of them who mentioned that he stays in Thailand. Yeah I dislike this guy cos he was always making stupid comments about my constant raising lol.
So basically Japanese guy was your standard ABC TAG fish, very unwilling to make huge bluffs and usually has the nuts very often when he showed significant strength. Taiwanese guy and Fat Headphone guy were super aggro and were trying to run over the table at the start. So was I cos I'm a table sheriff by nature and I like to be in control (which proved to be the cause of my undoing). Rest of them were a little loose and passive pre, while being tight/passive postflop. Especially the nice old man on my right. I was having a good time raising all his limps and he even folded KJs which was super terrible, given that my isolation range is probably any two cards 9 and above.
1) Called KQs in SB in 4-5 way pot. Board came out KQ88X. I was a little afraid of the turn when I bet out and got called in two spots by some Chinese fish and the Fat headphone dude. After betting 1100 into 1500 on the turn, I bet 1800 on the river cos I felt that I would rep 8X very well if I had bet any larger so the Fat headphone dude called me with what was probably a weaker King.
2) Fat Headphone dude was running over the table, I think he has 3betted 3 times already. He squeezed the 2 passive white guys 1500 over their 300 bet and I cold 4bet to 3000 with JTo. He min5bet me to 6000 (we were 30000 deep) and I tank for 2 minutes before folding. I was counting the seconds in my head to act as though I was just "raising to see where I was at" with QQ/AK. At this point in time my stack was down to 24k and I was feeling a little tilted.
3) This hand was MASSIVE SPEW and I am really regretful about this.
Fat headphone dude raises from Early position with QQ to 400 and I 3bet with T6s to 1500. Wanted to keep him in check again. He calls and board was KQJXX. I bet 2000 and called when he raised to 5000. Then he bet 3800 (very nice play by him) and I couldn't figure out why he was betting so small (probably to get me to call with AK or potentially induce) so I minraised to 7600. He calls after 5-10 seconds of thinking. Now I should have just shutdown and gave up. Instead I ship about 12-13k on the river and he's getting about 20-25% pot odds to call on the river + he always has at least JJ so he says something like "this is my last hand but i have to call". He flips over his hand and the thought "WHAT HAVE I DONE???" was lingering in my head. Whole table goes "WOAHH" and I just smiled at them and headed to the cashier to get another 10k in chips.
This has got to be the largest pot i have ever lost in my entire career (along with the 250 BB 5/10 hand and also the QQ vs AA at 10/20 at Pokerstars). And it was misplayed at EVERY SINGLE STREET. I should have folded preflop. I should have bet/folded the Flop cos he's never checkraising with a middle pocketpair, and probably has twopairs, but more likely sets and straights. I should have folded the turn, cos he would have given up almost all his bluffs. And lastly I should have folded the river, cos the bottom of his range was JJ and it's suicidal to attemping folding out a set unless the board has 4 flush or straight.
After that Fat headphone dude decided to stay, in hopes that I would spew some money to him. I asked him why he was still there but he said after that huge hand he just had to stay on. I didn't, so he left after 1h+.
4) I pick up 22 in the BB and it was 5way. One guy leads out on 852s and another Chinese guy calls and I checkraise 1000 over their 300 bet. First guy folds and second guy calls. I purposely snapbet the turn 3000, trying to act tilted but I think this was a massive mistake by me. If i had taken my time to bet and actually fired a smaller bet, I would have gotten a second call pretty often. But by polarizing my range, I am threatening his entire stack with my quick action and I think he wouldn't feel comfortable calling the turn if the chances of me betting the river was super high.
At this point, the fat headphone dude left so I took his seat. Some Norwegian online grinder (who now stays in macau to grind live poker) sat on my left. He was there yesterday too. I heard him mention to the Taiwanese that he has been staying in macau for the past 1.5 years so I asked him if he plays cards for a living. He shrugs and replies, "Maybe." So it was pretty obvious he did, cos young white guys who hang out in casinos regularly are definitely regulars. Then he asked me if I was an online player. I think it's pretty obvious, given my aggressive style and young age. Most people my age would be more passive and playing lower. We talked a little about poker and he said he played 24 tablse 2-4 up to 25-50 but was breakeven. I asked him for his screenname but he declined, stating that i might know his style. i don't really recall any norwegian at MSNL though.
5) Norwegian raises with some 56s/67s and tight passive white guy raises to 1000. Norwegian had only 10000+ but he calls anyway. Board was 567s and he check/shoves vs the other guy but a king came on the turn to give him a set. I asked the Norwegian whether he had a set cos I figured it would be stupid to call the 3bet OOP when stacks were not deep and when the other guy's range was super narrowly defined as QQ+.
6) At the very next hand, I open 88 and the same guy 3bets me to 1200. I call another 800 and flop came out T8Xs. He bets 1500 and I check/shoved too, thinking that he was never folding his super likely overpair. He says "I don't want to gamble" and folds. I might have misplayed this hand, should have probably made a mincheckraise vs this tight passive fish. My guess is that he would checkback with AK and he probably had JJ in that spot but I can't be too sure.
7) 3-4 limpers, including Japanese guy. I isoraise from sB to 800 and Japanese guy asks me for my stack size (clearly trying to look at his implied odds). I told him I had 10k and he folds after that. Then I told him he was trying to setmine and he laughed, admitting that he had a small pocketpair. I would never pay him off anyway cos I did accurately hand read his holdings twice yesterday when he limped/called and the board had 2 low cards.
After a few more ups and downs I made back another 3.5k. Still felt super terrible but we had to checkout at 1300 on Friday so I went back to the room at 0230.
5 hours, -$25000
I'm down 6k USD for the trip but fortunately I played a little online today when I woke at 1000 hrs. earned maybe 40% of my losses back? I got really lucky, winning two preflop all-ins with AA vs KK and AK vs KK. I'm not too sure about my exact winnings cos I forced myself not to look at my cashier when I was playing and even after my session. Path to poker nirvana is still so far away.
of course I post my sad story in the forums as always, and TwiceT the mindset guru points out that my biggest flaw is my lack of patience which is 50% true. other 50% is that I try too hard to fight against the other guys and don't know when to show restraint.
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