Live Poker!

Yesterday marked my first venture into a Seattle card room after living here for almost two years. I'm mostly a tournament player, and most of the card rooms here cater almost only to cash games. I really didn't feel like investing any money into tournaments that only gave you 1500 chips and had 12 minute levels. But, I was able to find a place, Roxbury Lanes (it also serves as a bowling alley\bar\restaurant) that was running a $30 tournament with 5000 chips. They only had three tables for the tournament, but allowed alternates to buyin I think within the first two levels.

Unfortunately, I didn't cash in the game, but here's the recap anyways:

I started out playing pretty conservative. The first hand I played was AQc, and I limped UTG. No one raised, and 5 people saw the 246 flop, two clubs. SB bets the pot, I call with the nut flush draw, and someone in LP calls. Turn is a 9, and SB goes all in. I fold, LP calls with K9c, SB shows trip 6s. River is a 4. Would've been a huge pot if that turn was a club.
Raised JJ from the button against 4 limpers, they all call plus the SB and BB. Flop is A9x and I have to throw it away when the SB and UTG battle it out. It's A9 vs AK and SB goes home.

Limp 44, nothing happens.

Try to steal some blinds with K5o but I forget to call "raise", so my bet is considered a limp. Fold when the BB overbets the pot on an 8 high board. He shows two pair, and I tell him I had 55.

Drop down to about 4000 when I get AQ in MP. Raise 5x to 1000, and a EP limper calls. Flop comes QJ9 and he bets out 1000. I push for 2000 more and he folds. Up around 6500, this is my high point for the day.

Get moved to another table, raise in MP with TT, no callers.

Checks to me in the BB at the 200-400 level with 56. Flop comes 852, I bet my pair, two callers. Turn is a 9, checks around. River is a 7 and SB bets 2000. I push for 2900 more, and he calls with 76. Should've bet the turn, dude.

Later, I limp in with AJo UTG at 400-800 level. Some guy in MP raises it to 2200, and I've got every intention of pushing when it comes back to me. Earlier, another regular was calling him out on how he likes to raise with nothing against limpers. However, the CO reraises and puts him all in. MP shows KT, CO shows AK, and the A on the flop seals the deal.

From there I go card dead. I try to make a move on a 3J36 board when it checks to me on the turn in the BB, but a caller and a check-raiser ruin that play. Down to about 4xBB at this point.

Next hand, I fold in the SB with T4 and the flop comes 464. Balls!

Finally, I push with A5o and get called with AK.

It was a fairly easy tournament, I just couldn't get anything going. For the most part, bluffing wasn't going to work without making a big raise. When I got shortstacked, I was looking for anything to push with, but hands like T4, J3, and Q6 just weren't cutting it. I had a couple big stacks at my table who were loose, and I even willing to push with something like 56, anything connected or suited, but it just didn't happen.

I'm hoping to make a trip to the card rooms once a month, but for the next one, I'll probably head to Treasure Casino. Same 5000 chips to start, but they have 20 minute levels, and I think they have some intermediate levels, so it's not always doubling the blinds. Anyways, although I didn't cash, I felt like I was playing much better than my last live experience in September, and I expect to be doing another recap soon, talking about some kind of monetary victory instead.