Kind of a bummer week for the PNW poker scene as surging COVID case numbers led to governors in both Oregon and Washington imposing mask mandates on indoor facilities once again, and an outbreak at Chinook Winds Casino led to both a two-week (minimum) shitdown and the cancellation of the Fall Coast Classic.
I’d been starting to wonder if I should go, even though I was only going to be able to make the first weekend. I’d gotten a room reservation (now cancelled) and been planning to see some folks I hadn’t connected with for a long time. Not to mention Boozy Shakes at the ’60s Cafe and Diner.Really wondering if I’m going to see the WSOP‘s last hurrah at the Rio,
PNW Poker Leaderboard
First up in this edition is Portland’s Landen Lucas, who placed 17th out of 490 entries at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open/POKER GO #35 $1M GTD NLHE in Hollywood, Florida. Lucas climbs nearly thirty places on the Leaderboard to #353. GPI: 2,130.
Darren Rabinowitz came in 6th at the SHRPO #34 $3M GTD NLHE Championship (1,880 entries). His cash moves him from #22 to #20. GPI: #582. Matt Affleck was just ahead of him in 5th, for his first significant live cash in a while. He sticks at #15 on the Leaderboard. GPI: 3,686.
Chris Brewer — GPI: 178 — won the title in an ICM chop with Sean Winter in the 24-player SHRPO #24 NLHE Super High Roller. Brewer climbs 5 more places on the Leaderboard to #26
Writing this up after a very disappointing experience in the Ignition Super Millions Poker Open $350K GTD NLHE Main Event this afternoon. I don’t even want to talk about it. Ran like God in the satty. At least I didn’t win and have to forfeit my winnings because I violated the Terms of Service!
According to Kindle I’ve only read 8% of @daraokearney’s “Poker Satellite Strategy” but I just won a ticket for tomorrow’s $350K GTD SMPO Main Event on @IgnitionCasino! Pay attention to the part about overlay! pic.twitter.com/PaTz9Gvr92
it was a pretty restrained month for me. I fire up a lot of online tournaments—about one a day, on the average this year—but for various reasons I skipped a bunch of days this month, so the total to evaluate is remarkably small. It may be the smallest total I’ve posted in a month for over a decade.
1 July
My favorite, the Ignition Casino $5K GTD NLHE Thousandaire Maker. It’s a $75 buyin freezeout, with a $7 fee, and for about 7% of the players, there’s a $1K cash payout. Basically a satellite with money payout. This one got 73 entries, I busted in 43rd place.
6 July
The first live poker I’d played since early March 2020. The Portland Meadows NLHE $1500 WSOP Satellite. I got there late, so the lot was jam-packed, but I parked a few blocks down Killingsworth and hiked to the club. I didn’t get there until the big blind was already 600, managed to eke it out to 18th of 70. $100 buyin with a $20 door fee.
Then a long gap.
23 July
Yes, I really didn’t play a hand of poker—live or online—for two-and-a-half weeks. Weird.But with the return of the home game that started my time in 21st-century poker coming up, I fired up Ignition to play the nightly $2K GTD NLHE 6-Max Turbo. This $20 buyin/$2 fee game starts out slow, with a lot of players flocking to the last stages to just throw their money at the wall to see if it sticks. Mostly, it doesn’t, because there are a few people like myself who aren’t afraid to punish people for their stupidity. About a third of the entries are re-entry (2 allowed), but I almost never ever do, because as I’ve said forever, rebuys are for suckers. This game got 129 entries (including 40 re-entries). Paid 24 places, I came in 11th and made a whopping 104% ROI. Only down $179 for the month so far.
Haven't played live or online for a couple weeks, but after listening to @HipHop101Trivia on all the podcasts, fired up @IgnitionCasino in the $2K GTD NLHE 6-Max and I'm chip leader 2nd break in a row w just 9 to the money (18 pay) pic.twitter.com/2yFxpH3uNk
Went to the home game for the first time in seventeen months. Outdoor deck in Tigard, Saw all the old gang, heard all the old jokes. Busted 6/9 with my signature Mutant Jack hand [ah jh] to aces from the host, Vic. $30 buyin and a $5 addon. Got out in time to hit the Joy Cinema where I was working as a cashier/projectionist/toilet cleaner/food handler for the 9:15 show of Road Warrior and chatted with my friend (for more than 35 years) and former boss Jeff “Punk Rock” Martin. Down $214 for the month, not counting my movie ticket, popcorn, and Diet Coke.
25 July
Another $22 NLHE 6-Max Turbo. This one’s slightly larger, with 146 entries (45 re-entry). Still 24 paid but this time I make it to 10th. Still only 130% ROI for two-and-a-half hours. Down $185 for July.
Another near miss of a final table, going out 10/142 in last night's $2K 6-Max Turbo. Only had the lead briefly well before we hit the money at 24 and was near the bottom on the bubble, so I'm not too disappointed.
Making the 6-Max a nightly thing, but this game I don’t even make it to the end of the entry period. Out 33 of 63 (at the time). Just 33 minutes. Down $207.
27 July
Another cash in the 6-Max. I get very lucky a couple of times but end up oout in 18th place after two hours and 40 minutes. 149 entries with 44 re-entries and 24 paid ($710 up top). My take is 68% ROI. Down $192.
Busted well short of the money in the Monday night $2K GTD 6-Max, min-cashed in Tuesday night’s (18/148) but had to crack AA (flopped a set w 88 and got them to call it off) and KK (aipf w JT) to do it. Out w AK < big stack JJ < ATs (shorter stack made flush) aipf w 15bb effect.
I fire up Ignition a little earlier than the 10pm 5-Max after a couple of work nights where I was up past 1am and get into the 8pm $1K GTD PLO Turbo. I took 2nd in one of these smaller tournaments at the end of June, I’m a big fan of the Great Game of PLO™, but I fall far short in this one: 27th of 45 entries. Buyin is $15 with a $1,5 fee, no re-entry, which is kind of refreshing in a PLO game. Down $209.
29 July
Another PLO Turbo. No dice. 30th of 47 (neither this night or the previous nighyt reached the end of registration, so that’s not an accurate number of the total entries. Down $226 for the month.
30 July
Back to the 6-Max Turbo. These games—like most turbos—tend to be short-stacked in the final stages, but it’s easy to make mistakes like shoving into the aces of the guy who’s just gotten lucky against your pair. Anyway, 7th of 135 (40 re-entries). $648 up top but I get a 268% ROI. Just over three hours. Down $167.
Exact bubbled the FT in the 6-Max. Short stack shoved 97 w 12 left and I called w #snowmenNumNum, he caught 9 and chipped up from there playing loose and eventually I shoved into his aces. Cashed 5 of the ten 6-Max tournaments I played June/July, but nothing better than 7th.
The start of this tournament was almost laughable. You begin with 10K in chips. I came in at the 80/160 level and was down a couple thousand (15bb) in the first four hands. I doubled up on hand 5 when someone called my nut flush (and the nuts) on the river, I won the next two hands and doubled through the chip leader, then I doubled again just before the first break, knocking out the former chip leader and two others. I hit a set on the flop and we all managed to get everything in. I held against several draws. Had some setbacks in the next hour, but was back upon top by the second break.
There wwere 78 entries in the tournament and a prize pool of $1,185. 17 places paid. My time in the tournament was almost exactly two hours and forty minutes (total time would have been 3:20) and I was there until the last, when my aces ran into a flopped two pair HU and I couldn’t recover. 1035% ROI! I end the month up $9! Just short of 20 hours. 45¢ an hour.
Hubris, thy name is PLO. Doubled up the adversary when he hit a straight draw on the river against my aces just after the break, and it was 2nd place for me.
