Day 3: Saturday - Suck Out City

Current tally...

Chris up $210
Paul up a little over $1000

Our faithful duo heads out to Bally's to try their luck in another tourney. They walk to the 6th floor casino only to be told the tourney is somewhere

else. While in line to register we overhear a dealer explaining what a blind structure means to the group of kids behind us. They are playing in their

first tourney ever. Are you kidding me? Can it be that easy to take everybody's money?

Apparently not... 4 levels in and Chris is treading water with an average chip stack. At a different table, Paul is the maniac. He has won several

pots with almost nothing but hasn't made much ground with his chips. He has been punishing limpers and just showed everyone a 6-3 after they folded.

Next hand after that, there are 3 limpers (200) to him on the button. He looks down at A-Q and bumps the pot up to 1600 to go. One player pauses and

puts him all in for his remaining 9800 in chips. No way he's got QQs, KKs, or AAs. Only A-K is possible and who wouldn't raise with that? Paul calls

and gets shown K-J. Whoever wins the pot will be the chip leader at the table. Flop comes A,Q, 5 two clubs and Paul is way ahead with two pair. Then

it happens..runner runner club and Paul is sucked out to a flush. He goes out in 50th place out of about 60 and jokingly asks the dealer where he is

supposed to cash in.

Chris fares a little better and survives another hour into the tourney...only to be eventually sucked out himself in a similar fashion (story did not make

the press because I can not remember the details).

Chris joins Paul at the 6th floor Bally's casino. Our heroes will soon learn that Bally's is not their style. The 1/2 no limit table they sit down at

is so bad that they are forced to show down the best hands to win. Paul stubbornly believes otherwise and makes a serious of beautifully strategic moves

that go completely over the head of his opponents as he is consistently called after the flop by horrible hands that just happen to hit the flop slightly and

be better than his. Fortunately, Paul had come over from a different table first so had an extra $100 in winnings to donate... which he did so

beautifully. Paul teaches the donkeys that he's the actual donkey by thinking they are capable of folding. Chris struggles to get any cards of value as

well. They both realize it's time to take out the pick ax and just work hard with some simple plays, but the cards just aren't coming. 4 hours of

struggling later they finally realize they might as well be playing limit. They head back to the Trop to find a table with better players... but hopefully

not too much better. Paul and Chris leave Bally's down $70 and about $150 respectively. It's just not fair. We're hunting donkeys without a gun or

rope. It is so hard to play against someone who plays any two cards...especially when they keep hitting them. Hopefully, the luck will change soon.

A few hours into the trop and Paul is on a tear with a run of good cards and maniacal plays. He is the maniac again and it's working because he is getting

lucky cards to go with it. He breaks someone when he gets a pair of kings that turn into a set on the flop. He builds his stack to well over 700 or so.

In the meantime, Chris is losing ground as he continues to receive bad cards. He plays them pretty well and manages to only bleed off the minimum while

he watches the maniac on his left forcing people off the table. Striper comes to the table. I am calling him Striper because of his ugly, plain shirt.

He is a pudgy man in his late 20s who is obviously way tight. By this time, both our heroes know mostly who are the bluffers, the callers, the rocks and the tight/aggressive/continuation players at the table (only one of those fortunately and he is getting way unlucky). Striper folds 15 times then finally

puts a large bet out, still gets action and wins it. A half hour later, our maniac, Paul, picks up a pair of kings again in the small blind and raises a

bunch of limpers $20. Striper calls the $20 after originally limping in. Pot is about $50. Flop comes 2-5-J rainbow. Paul bets out $30 and

striper hesitates and comes over the top for $70 more. Pot is now up to $180 and only $70 to call. Striper still has about $200 left while Paul has

plenty. It's gonna have to be all in or fold. Fortunately, Paul remembers how often he has mistakenly overplayed top pair before. He has some info on

striper. He is above average, but obviously tight and he has an ugly shirt on. He definitely is not the kind to bluff raise so what could he have?

Would he have limped in and then called a large bet with 2s, 5s, or Js? We all know that's a poor play heads up against an aggressive player (lest u think

u can get all his chips if you hit your 1 in 8 shot on the flop). However, striper is not that great. He must have the set. Paul painfully folds his

kings face up and Striper has the decency to show his set of twos. It was very nice of him to show. Paul dodges a bullet and only loses $50 instead of

$300. Fortunately, Paul remembered his lesson of overplaying top pair/overcards the hard way before and it helps now.

It's around 2am now and Chris is extremely frustrated about his lack of cards... I know because I'm sitting next to him and he keeps showing me. He is

down to $70 and not enjoying it while cursing his continued bad luck. I loan him $200 and tell him to wait it out. Chris has not played enough poker to

realize that luck evens out over time and that you must struggle to fight it... especially when you are at a table that is either playing 2nd pair or letting

you run over them. Chris starts to get some average cards and slowly builds his stack up.

Meanwhile, Paul gets himself into a hand with Mr. Tuf Guy aggressive bluffer. Mr. Tuf Guy is already on slight tilt because another player has been

aggravating him, which has caused him to try and muscle everyone. Paul gets Mr Tuf Guy to put all his chips dead to Paul's straight. There is one

problem though... a King on the river will split the pot. Yup, you guessed it. the miracle king saves Tuf Guy. They split the $400 as the suck outs

continue to come. Paul's stack has dwindled down to about $500 while Chris is playing great and has inched his stack up to about the same as Paul's. No

all ins for Chris just steady pre-flop, post-flop play and many take downs without having to show a hand.

Both Paul and Chris are using their position and punishing the limpers whenever possible...often showing mediocre cards as everyone folds pre-flop. Then

it comes, a pair of Aces for Paul. Paul is in stealing position again and once more raises to $20. The quadriplegic in seat 5 calls. I'm not

characterizing here... he really is a quadriplegic. Likable guy who is missing his arms and legs from the elbows and knees down. The flop comes A-9-5

and I check. I would normally just lead again, but I know this guy is dying to bet out so I want him to think he's ahead. He bets out about $30 and I

just call. Next card is uneventful, no straights or flushes to worry about so I check again. He bets about $70. the pot is now $180, it's $70 for me

to call and he has about $100 left in chips. Time to move it all in in case he's drawing to anything or capable of folding at the end. I reraise him all

in. He calls and shows A-10. Huh? He's drawing dead as I rake in the pot. I had already taken his other chips earlier so I sorta feel bad, but

that's poker. He says no big deal.. he won $1400 playing craps yesterday. He "hops off" to get more cash from the ATM.... yes he hopped off.. picture it, I already told you he's a quadriplegic.

Stump comes back and it is Chris' turn to punish the poor guy. Chris has made several great moves including showing a bluff then gets dealt two Aces.

Same scenario he raises up a couple limpers to $20 and our guy calls. Flop comes J-7-5 rainbow. Chris bets $20 and Stump shoves all in for about $150.

Oh my god. What could he have? Chris is troubled... he has just spent a couple solid hours working his stack way back and now it is threatened.

he talks it through.... "no way he has two pair. nothing playable there. Either he's got a set or I've got him." Our guy is very agitated and

staring. Chris reads it well, takes a deep breath and calls. Our guy shows down K-J for top pair. TILT!!! Chris takes all his chips. (Stump was

very deft when he flicked his chips and his all in move consists of shoving his whole chip rack in with his unformed arms. Honestly, the guy was cool as

hell, just not a great poker player)

Back to Paul in the small blind. He has an A-3 and limps in with 5 others. The flop is A-7-3. With just $10 in the pot, he checks hoping someone

with an ace will bet and generate action. Mr aggressive tuf guy bets $6... everyone folds to Paul....who pauses slightly and then calls. $22 in the

pot and the next card is a Q... This guy loves himself, but is not good though he still has about $200 in chips. He loves to try and push people around.

Paul checks and lets him... Tuf Guy bets $12. Paul decides maybe he has ace anything, time to push. He raises it $50 on top. about $100 in the

pot, it's only $50 to call and Tuf Guy has a decision. He quickly reraises all his chips for an additional $142 in chips. Paul pauses because he's got

some tells on the guy. The guy stares Paul down... he is weak. no doubt. I am 100% positive... I stare back and say, "are you sure? Do you

really want to give me all your chips?". I call. Incredibly, he shows down Q-9.... only one of the two remaining queens can save him. Disaster

strikes again as a Q hits on the river and the dealer ships $400 to the tuf guy. Sucked out again.. even more painful as it was to a runner, runner 1%

chance.

eventually it rolls around to 6:30am we decide it's time to leave. Chris has miraculously come back to finish up $250 after being crippled while Paul has

dodged a bullet, then been shot twice, and walks out up an extra $70. Chris finishes up about $300 for the entire trip while Paul cashes out up nearly

$1000.

Oh and of course, there's another eventful walk home. Earlier that night, Chris and paul received a phone call from Gibbs who was in town for a bachelor

party. A drunken Gibbs claimed he would call back if the group made it out their way to one of the closer strip bars. We never called Gibbs back because

we didn't want to leave the tables. Well... as we pass Bare Exposures at 7am in the morning, Gibbs calls out to us. He's been there for 7 hours or

so, is still wasted, and is waiting outside for his buddy to come out as the bar is closing. He does not remember calling me earlier in the night.... 7 hours in a strip bar... I'm sure he has a hole in his pocket now.

What did we learn?
1) You can make many mistakes and still come out way on top because your opponents are out-mistaking you.
2) Atlantic City players are nowhere near as good as our home.
3) You can never suck out if you never get called with the worst hand. Parallel to that, if you get sucked out a lot then you are playing well enough to

get all your chips in with the best of it.
4) Sometimes it is better to be at a table with semi-decent players than with donkeys. Donkeys are hard to read, which takes away any tricks you can employ.
5) Altantic City is a craphole.
6) Atlantic City is really a craphole.

Honorable Mention Hand: not a lot of money in this hand but it was interesting so had to mention.
Paul limps in as the dealer with 7-6 and 3 other players. Flop comes J-9-8. Everyone checks to Paul who is drawing to the idiot end (only an idiot

would play a 7-6). Paul is an idiot so he bets $5 into the pot of $8 hoping to steal it. Small blind, poor player min-raises it $5. another player calls the $10. $5 more into a pot of $33 so Paul calls since the players are weak and easy to read. Next card is the 10... and paul has hit the idiot end of the straight. First player bets $10 more, 2nd player calls so Paul calls (these guys are weak so they might not have a Q). Last card is a Q. The board is showing J-9-8-10-Q no flush chances. Both players check to Paul. He doesn't want to share the pot. He accurately guesses no one has a K so he bets $25 into a pot of about $70. Both players fold as Paul shows his hand and claims "I play the board". Funny stuff!!