Revelations in San Jose

I got out of work at 4:45 fri and headed to Bay 101. Hit a little traffic in Reno but all went pretty smooth. I hit San Jose at about 10pm and check into the Motel 6. Not the best room but it was the cheapest close by. The room was clean but small. I would say including the bathroom and vanity it was 17 to 20ft deep and 10-12ft wide, just big enough to put in the essentials. (Bed, TV, Bathroom, Vanity, table w/chair.) I was put in the back on the second floor. I didn’t mind the second floor but Hwy 101 ran right behind the parking lot. I ran the air conditioner and TV to drown out the traffic. I didn’t get much sleep the night before so I relaxed and went to sleep.

Didn’t sleep well on this bed but was up at 7am and out the door. Was at the Bay 5 min later and on the list for 20/40. The first hand I watched someone win with runner, runner straight and knew it was going to be a crazy day. The next hand I post my big blind to see KJo. Four limpers and I check. The flop is J high and I bet out. 2 callers to the turn and it is a blank, one caller to the river to see another blank and I get paid off. Not a bad start. Then I couldn’t get much going. I was sucked out on left and right and I dropped a rack. By 10am I was ready for a nap but played until noon. Managed to get 2-3 hrs of sleep before house keeping woke me up. Should have put out the do not disturb sign.

Back at the Bay and on the list by 4pm. They started a new game a little after 5pm and I got the 8 seat. Can’t remember any hands because I couldn’t get one, unless you want to hear about suck outs or open ended straight draws with a flush draw that didn’t come in. The normal, half the deck helps and I got nothing. I bought in for 400 more then had to buy another rack. I was down to my last stack -800 when I battled back to even for the night.

There were a few interesting people at the table that night. First there was some Indian guy (dot not feathers) that either sat next to me or one seat away, that kept snorting. He wasn’t laughing or coughing, he would just snort loudly every ten minutes or so. I cranked up the ipod and that helped but WTF. He was at my morning table and then later Sat. night and Sun morning. The only thing I could think of is that he has a sinus problem. I finally got so annoyed that I was going to say something when he went broke and left.

Second was this asian guy about mid 20s that sat down and started to win. I am not mad that he won, just that he was doing what I came to do but couldn’t. He was winning every big pot. By big I mean 1k or more. He would just press his +ev hands in multi way pots and 5 people would call or even re-raise then all call. He was in there with some weak hands too. I could see pressing hard with the nut flush draw but 7 high. Of course it was good and he was stacking. He was also playing good hand like AQ and flop QQ7. Two people call all the way. He was getting arrogant at the end and when his long rush was over he switched tables. He won 4k+ in 3-4 hours. He switch tables and won some there also. When I came back in the morning he was still there. He said he left for awhile and came back though. I would say he won 6k in the 10-15 hrs he was there.

The final guy was actually at a different table and I heard the stories. Apparently a white guy in mid 30s sits down at the other 20/40 game and drops 6k. I hear about it just after he leaves and can see two very large chip stacks at the table. This is why I go to the Bay when I can. There is so much action and deep pockets.

Now for the revelations

First if you going on a quick weekend trip like I just did, don’t go out the night before and get drunk, eat a breakfast burrito at 11pm and wake up in 4 hours with heart burns and can’t get back to sleep. 4 hrs of sleep the night before and not getting much more the next night will make for a crabby weekend. You’re not sharp and your play will show it. I tried to be good on Sat. and took a nap but it just wasn’t enough.

Second, setting a specific amount of time you will play in one session is great but be ready to adjust. If you are feeling tired an hour before your set time; leave anyway. Don’t wait for the big blind, rack up and leave. I won all my money back and just enough to pay for my trip and lost it back in 20min right before I was to leave. One hand was just bad luck but the other 3 were tilt.

Lastly, I just got the “Grinder” part of my name. Sounds bad and it is. I have heard many times 1 big bet per hr but it didn’t sink in. I would have these big nights and think I could do it all the time and you can’t. If you are an above average player you will have more then your fair share of big nights because of your bad opponents but you should realize you can’t always or even almost always do it every time. If you don’t get it, and I mean really understand it, you will chase it on bad or even average nights and loose it all back twice as fast. It is like listening but not hearing what the other person is saying.

I wrote it out when I got back home, 1 bb per hr at each level. 4/8, 10/20, and 20/40 and realized if you think of it as a job you are talking about 8, 20, and 40 DOLLARS per hour to sit and play. Obviously, I would like to make $40 per hr and I have the money and skill to do that, but it is not always possible. In Reno a 20/40 game is hard to come by. Also, you end up playing with the same people and your win rate will drop as they figure out your play and stop giving you action.

I was thinking of it like I need to win $500 a night or it was a bad night. So I made a plan and wrote it out so it sinks in. I think I can make 2bb hr at the higher limits and 4bb hr at the lower, so I came up with the following.

Wed and Thur. 4/8 play 3hrs win $100 each night = 200 wk
Fri 10/20 play 6hrs = 300 wk
Sat 10/20 play 8hr = 400 wk
Sun 10/20 play 6hrs = 300 wk

That comes to $1,200 per wk for 26hrs work. $46.15 per hr is a great second job. $4,800 per mo, $57,600 per yr. Now that is some money.

At first it may appear that I set my goal high but if you consider a good night could be more then the whole week, along with special trips to higher limits and continuing to improve my game, it is reasonable. The things to watch out for are fatigue, tilt, and forcing the cards. It is not a race, a little each night adds up. Anyway, I will track it and see how it goes.