Oklahoma Trip Report 2011

Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died. - Steven Wright


We gently toasted ourselves in the warm Dallas air that reminded me of a convection oven. I had been anticipating the trip to Oklahoma all day as we grilled and smoked three of the main food groups – beef, chicken, and pork. Although, I love BBQ – we just couldn’t get on the road soon enough. Plus, true enjoyment of BBQing (at least for me) involves beer and I did not want to start consuming so far in advance of the journey. After initially thinking I would sport the smoke laden clothes I had been in all day to the card room, I showered and changed at the urging of my lovely wife. She thinks most poker players are slobs and constantly worries about me becoming one or resembling one. So, sufficiently cleaned up, we wolfed down some more tasty BBQ and left to obtain beer and friends before heading up into Okie land.

The approx. one hour drive up I-35 from the Colony went by swiftly as my friends and I talked poker the entire way. They are solid players that have enjoyed some success in tourneys, as well as, cash games at the Winstar. One thing they reminded me of was how good the food comp is. A player gets $8.80 for each 8 hours played but can use the first $8.80 as soon as one is seated at a table (and every item on the poker room menu is at or below $8.80).

I couldn’t help but smile as we walked into the poker room. I had forgotten how massive this poker room really is. The Chickasaw Nation has done a great job on their poker room at the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, OK. They have 46 tables and were spreading 1-2, 2-5, and 5-10 NLHE (as well as a couple levels of Omaha). It was amazing. I was completely surrounded by poker and poker players. I was literally immersed in the sound of chips, the murmur of the masses, the announcement of available seats, the friendly and competent staff…..it was almost (gasp) like Vegas but bigger.

This room is THE north Texas destination for poker players. My only complaint is about the beer. It has the lowest possible alcohol content and, here’s the worst part, you have to buy it. It is not provided for gamblers the way it is everywhere else I have played.

I am seated quickly and within a few orbits, I had sized up the table. There were no players I perceived to be my superiors and several that seemed to be fish. It was time to go to work. As usual for live 1-2 NLHE, there was a lot of limping and I started making raises in position followed by C-bets on the flop. They worked to perfection but before long, some of the observant players starting playing back at me (perfect). I double up within the next 30 minutes and now I cover all but one player at my table. I increase the size of my opening bets to build bigger pots and enable me to apply more pressure post flop. I am ready to play for their whole stack and continue using SPR to my advantage. A few players bust but the table fills right back up with fresh money. I feel confident and in the zone. Rather than bore you with actual hands, I will simply say that time flies by and before I know it, my crew is telling me it’s time to go. So, I rack out (up 4 buy ins) and we head back to Texas. The ride is uneventful but gives us all time to unwind and allow the charge that comes with playing poker to subside before settling in for a peaceful nights rest. As usual, I can’t wait to do it again.

Oklahoma Trip Report, Part 2

About this time, there is a really loud commotion as some players on a nearby table have hit the bad beat jackpot for about $19K. I lose some small pots and decide I need to reload (yes, for a 3rd time). Soon, after open betting and getting called in three places, I flop an OESD and 2nd nut flush draw with K-Qs.
I make my flush on the turn and get all in with another player that had flopped a set of Jacks. Can you guess what happens? The river is another 10 (there was one on the flop) and my flush takes an unpleasant boat ride. I am not tilted although the suckouts are killing me. I take a short break and walk around thinking about my play and my breathing. I evaluate my play and my competition and decide to reload for a 4th time. I play for several orbits without getting anything decent. A friendly guy from Dallas to my left had been betting 5xbb every time he had a small or middle pocket pair so after I limped my A-10s and he bet his usual 5xbb, I smooth called. The flop is Ah-7c-2h. I check planning to check raise since I had him covered. He politely accommodates me by betting and I CR him all in. Sure enough, he tables 5c-5h. I table my Ac-10c. He says, “nice hand” and prepares to reload. BUT, wait! The turn is the 9h and the river is the 10h giving me top 2 pair and him a runner-runner suck out flush. WTF?
On top of the crappy luck, it is 1:40am I am now advised it’s last call. Huh? Last call for alcohol in a casino? Is the casino closing? Is this some sort of bad joke? I really need to talk with the business people that run this place about the money they are leaving on the table. I am shocked but compose myself and call the lovely waitress. I generously tip her (for the umpteenth time) and ask her to bring me several beers. I go on, over the next 3 hours to surreptitiously sip my well concealed cup(s) of beer and re-build my stack from $60 to $300. Oddly enough, after losing repeatedly with good hands, I won all of these pots with top pair crappy kicker hands and C-bets on missed flops. Go figure. I suppose I had developed a table image of showing nothing but great hands so my bets were finally getting some respect. There were over 15 tables still going strong at 5:30am when I racked out.
Overall, I had a good time but would leave the Winstar Casino one buy in lighter than I had arrived. One thing I didn’t like was that they rake the small blind before the pot is confirmed for the flop. This made the SB often wonder what happened to their blind when it was time to complete their blind pre-flop. Even though I did not win this time, I proved to myself (again) that I can endure some bad beats without tilting, read and outplay my opponents, recover from crippling early losses, and enjoy myself in spite of getting unlucky. Moreover, following the sage advice of Tommy Angelo, I had quit well. I smiled inwardly, to myself, as I boarded the shuttle back to the motel to get some sleep.

Oklahoma Trip Report, Part 1

The weather in Dallas was a very comfortable 86 degrees and pleasant. We BBQ’d briskets and ribs most of the day but my mind kept wandering in anticipation of the serious poker we would be playing later. It seemed as though the appointed hour would never arrive. Finally, we headed north from the Colony at about 6:30 pm. I- 35 is not particularly scenic but at least the road was smooth as opposed to the pot hole ridden ride out I-10 to Louisiana.
Upon arrival at the Winstar Casino, I headed straight to the poker room.
The room is very large and nice with about 45 tables and competent dealers. They use auto shufflers. The floor staff seemed pretty good, too, since I got the chance to observe them fill in for dealers a few times (something I have not seen elsewhere). Incredibly, you must PURCHASE your beer which sucks because they charge $3.50 each. They only have 1 waitress serving cocktails but plenty serving food. Evidently, they do not want their clients to get a good buzz, which seems counter-intuitive to me.

I obtained $100 chips (max buy in is $200) and got on the list for a seat. Yes, I buy in somewhat light. This is by design since I like to use a semi-short stack strategy ala Ed Miller. I think I get more action with a short stack and it keeps my decisions relatively uncomplicated. I was seated (after waiting about 15 minutes) in the 2 seat of table 22. It was approximately 8:30pm. I observed two lovely ladies working the room. One, I recognized right away, Lady Luck. Her friend, I thought I had seen before but could not quite place her. It would not be long before Lady Luck re-acquainted me with her alluring associate, the vampiric Madame Variance.
I did not get anything worth mentioning for the first 40 minutes and folded a lot. Then, I get 5-5 in late position and limp in with 4 others. The flop is A-5-9 rainbow. In my mind, it almost couldn’t have been any better. An early player bets the pot, gets one caller and I smooth call, too. The turn is a meaningless Q. The early better bets half the pot, the caller calls again and I move in. The better folds but the caller stares at me, thinks about it, and announces call. I table my set and he turns over pocket 10s. What he thought I had, I can’t even imagine since both the Ace and the Queen beat him. The dealer burns and reveals the river – a 10. The guy hits his 2 freaking outer on the river. I had him covered so I am not out but I am very short. I consider rebuying but decide to take a shot at getting lucky with my remaining few chips. Within a hand or two, I am dealt 6-6 in the BB. The pot is limped to me so I move in for my last $20 and get one caller, a friendly Asian gentleman from the Austin area. I table my sixes, he turns over K-5offsuit, and I am a 70% favorite to win. Of course, a King comes right out on the flop, so I reload. Within a few orbits, I get A-A in the BB. The pot is limped to me so I bet the pot (to look like a steal) and to sweeten the pot because I never limp my Aces. What do you suppose happened? Everyone folds, of course. Oh well. I keep grinding. Within 3 orbits, I get A-A again. This time there is a 5xbb bet from a loose player and three callers before the action gets to me. I raise! Everyone folds but the original better. Sweet! I have isolated this guy, he has been showing some questionable hands, and he has a big stack. I am feeling good and plan to move in on the flop since my stack is now roughly equal to the pot. The flop is 8-8-5 rainbow. He checks and I move in. He insta-calls and tables 8-5offsuit. Are you kidding me? I shrug and reload for the 2nd time. I get nothing playable for a while so I focus on my breathing and watch the other players. Then I get A-Qs in late position. The pot is limped to me (again) and I bet the pot. Two guys call and we see a flop of Qh-10d-4d so I have TPTK and the nut flush draw. A tight early player bets and a very short stacked Russian guy moves in. I have him covered but I want to drive out the tight guy in EP and isolate the shorty so I re-raise all in, too. Sure enough, the EP guy folds his A-Qo face up. I table my Ad-Qd and the Russian fellow tables his Q-10o. Lame, but I have outs. I do not improve and he wins. No big deal but damn, I am running cold tonight.

Going to Play Live this Weekend

I am heading up north to Dallas for a family gathering this weekend and while I am in the vicinity, I will be crossing over into Oklahoma to play at the Winstar Casino. I have never been there but I hear they have a nice poker room. I plan to follow my usual strategy (short stack, uber-tag) for live play and hope to return to Texas with a tidy profit.
That gentleman, Ed Miller, knows what he is talking about. By buying in short, I avoid most tough decisions and protect my bankroll at the same time. I will also be employing some of the techniques I learned by reading “Elements of Poker”. I will pay attention to my breathing and hope to improve on my “quitting”. I will focus exclusively on No Limit Texas Hold’em cash games and look to grind out at least 6-8 hours on the tables. Upon my return, you may expect an obligatory trip report.