Gutshot trip report 22nd July 2005

Well, it all started with me giving Adam a lift to the Gutshot for the £10 re-buy tournie.
As you can imagine there was entertainment on the way to the card club with Adam not one to sit there and stay quiet!

So, we get there in time for the 8pm scheduled start time, pay the entry and stick around to support Andy and Dave who were down to the final table on the previous £5 tournie. Unfortunately both got busted out although both of them managed to get in the money so all was well, although I must say that Andy really looked the part with the skin head haircut combined with a blank suit… I think he was going for the "don't F*** with me Andy" look.

Anyway, enough of that and on to the tournie. With only 500 chips to start this turned out to be a betting frenzy(on my table at least) for at least the first 20 minutes until some people started calming down. As you would expect though there is always some novices on a table and by god did we have one. She bet and called all-in with almost anything for the first 10 hands, happened to hit cards to win on most of those hands and then proceeded to lose hands one after another by not knowing when to fold. By the end of the re-buy period I think she did about 11 re buys. Wow. The only negative side is that I didn't manage to get my hands on any of them.

By the end of the re-buy period I'd lost all the chips I had but strangely was not too annoyed as I don't think I did too much wrong. Luckily Andy, Dave and Adam were faring better than me although at least I can say I didn't re-buy after the first hand!(sorry Dave, I know you had to go all-in with that pair of Eights).

So after the re-buy with only a thousand chips in my hand I find myself with AQ and have no choice to go all-in on the first hand. Luckily I trip up and all is looking well, although the blinds are now climbing and I'm not hitting any cards. About 6 hands later in late position checked to me I decide with A3 to try and steal the pot.. oops definitely a mistake as immediately I get 2 callers and don't need to see any cards to realise that I'm behind. Anyway the flop, turn and river are a blur but it suffices to say that I lost that hand and with it any chance of getting in the money on my first Gutshot Tournie…

So…….. I'm there in the card club and am itching to claw back some of the £60 I spent on the tournie so hey it seemed like a good idea to sign up for a cash game. Unfortunately the only game I can get into without having to wait for over half an hour is the £50 min buy-in pot limit holdem table. So, I change £140 for chips and take a seat trying to look mean. (for those of you that know me, stop laughing now!).

Hopefully the following will give you an idea of what it was like......In summary though there is money to be made in the cash game although you really have to be willing to risk/bankroll a few hundred to be in with a shot!

Anyway, here goes.......Most of the players are buying in for £300-£400 each which means that if you don't have that chip stack then they will bully you off a pot. It's a rarity to see a flop with paying at least £7 for the privilege. With my small chip stack this meant I could dabble in a couple of pots but couldn't re-raise as I'd end up all-in very quickly. As these guys hate to fold, you really have to be holding a reasonable hand. Although saying this I was amazed at some of the betting/raising only on flush draws or up and down straight draws(sometimes £200 called or bet on a draw!).

It's now 1am, I've been playing tight for a hour or so and have only won one hand. My chips are down to £90 and I'm waiting for my chance to see flop and raise all-in. Instead of this happening I end up being moved to the number one table(without any choice) and am now dealing with the big players.

Suddenly it's almost an hour later, my chips are down to £80 and I get a 9J. I raise the max, £7 and get a couple of callers before someone re-raises £26. Foolishly I fold only to see two 9's come on the flop and another on the river!!! NO!!! I've just folded the best hand of the night because I didn't have enough chips in front of me. I'm sick but continue.

About 10 minutes later I get 10/J and decide to raise again. I get two callers. On the flop comes K/9/10. I raise and get re-raised all-in. It's not much for me now so I call. Unfortunately one of the guys had flopped the nut straight -  ouch which meant it was time for me to go home.

So followed the 5 minute walk to the car and the hour and ten minute drive home. All in all, an enjoyable evening with several lessons learned. Will I go back again, hell yeah but not this month!

Marty