Day 2, Aussie Millions

I need to remember the main reason I have a decent stack going into today's action. It isn't because I had big hands (which helped). It wasn't lucky suckouts after questionable calls. It wasn't with big all-ins and flashy moved.

It was primarily laying down big losing hands. I made a few moves that fortunately worked when I was behind in the hand at times, challenged players I thought were weak, but primarily folding big hand was the order of the day.

I keep remembering something Steve Dannemann said (finished 2nd in the 2005 WSOP main event as an amateur.

"A bad fold is a small mistake... a bad call is a big mistake."

So I tried to avoid bad calls.

I think I folded top pair at least three times in the same hour, two to the previously mentioned Mandy. She slowplayed a flopped full house from the big blind. I raised minimum under the gun with a suited king during a time when I was raising constantly and getting a lot of folds. The flop came 3 2 3 and Mandy checked to me. I checked. There was no way I was bluffing into that flop, as it was obvioous I missed it and she would check-raise me even if she missed it.

The turn brought a king and I had top pair. She made a beautiful bet that looked like she was stabbing at the pot, I think it was 1000 chips. I made it something like 2500 to go and she immediately reraised to 7,000.

I knew I had been had. I tried to figure out what the hell she could possibly have. She wouldn't call an under-the-gun raise with a 3 in her hand, would she? Myabe if it was suited, but still fairly unlikely. Any hand with a king I was sure I could beat, with the possible exception of K-J. or maybe K-Q. There was no way she would have flat-called my raise with K-K or A-K.

I mulled it over and gave it up. She wound up having 2-2, and had flopped a full house. I lost a few chips, but avoided losing a lot more with a bad call.

Similar situation against Mandy a few hands later. She had a tendency to raise small, maybe 2.5 times the blind from early position, even with a pretty big hand. She raised from 800 to 2000 in early position. I had AT off suit, and a lot of chips, so I called. The flop came T- rag rag, maybe T-2-6. Mandy bet out 2500. Right there I could have tested her hand with a raise, but I smooth called and figured I would re-think things on the turn card. The turn was an 8, another great card for me.

The problem is that Mandy rifled 8,500 chips into the pot like she had been directed to bet by a vision from the spirit world. Immediately two things come to mind- overpair and trips. I decide that trips are inlikely. if she had pocket tens and had flopped top set, she would most likely have slowplayed it and bet very small or even checked to let me get myself into trouble. She didn;t seem the type to raise from such early position with a tiny pair like 2-2 or 6-6, so I started thinking JJ. If she had QQ or KK she certainly would have raised more than to 2000. But 2000 with Jacks was just enough toi get rid of the deadwood without commiting too many chips.

It pained me, but I had to let go of the 3300 chips I had already invested in the pot. I asked her what she had at the end of the day and she told me J-J= good fold. In exchange, she requested what I had on a hand I rre-raised her from my big blind. She raised from the small blind and I reraised. The flop came A-K-5 or something. She checked and I hammered the pot. Mandy folded. I had 7-7, but when she asked about the hand at the end of the day, for some unknown reason lied and told her I couldn't exactly remember, but it was either 8-8 or 9-9. Not a big difference from just telling the truth about the pocket sevens, bt for some reason, I didn;t want to tell the entire truth.

I made a point of showing the big hands I laid down for the most part so people knew I was stealing. Of courese, I had been stealing on a number of pots I took down, but I kept that to myself.

I only slept for about 3 1/2 or 4 hours again last night and am totally exhausted. I am really hoping the don't try to play 7 levels again today, but maybe 4 or 5 tops. I am not sure if they have a number of levels in mind, or a general idea of how many players they'd like to et down to by the end of the day.

Oh yeah, and "GO PATS!!!" I got to see the game winning kick in the poker rooom. I missed a few hands trying to watch the tale end of the game, but it was worth it.