 Vegas June 2026 |
| TORSE Nugget |
| Last Updated: 2026-06-14 18:22:32 |
| Quite a day for me! I played poker for 11.5 hours, which usually means good things!
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| It also means a long BLOG today :-)
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| Starbucks as usual, cranked out yesterday's BLOG pretty quick, did what I do on my tablet every morning and I somehow had time to kill before a noon tournament I had to drive to. I actually bought in before it started!
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| T.O.R.S.E. instead of HORSE. Remove Hold'em, add 2-7 Triple draw. I wish they would replace all HORSE with TORSE everywhere, and that's not just because ... well ... read on!
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| 2-7 Triple Draw is 5-card draw, you get three draws and the object is to get the worst possible hand. Unlike Razz and the low hands in split pot games straights and flushes count as straights and flushes and are really bad (because you want the worst hand not the best) and aces are high instead of low. 7-5-4-3-2 at least two suits is the best possible hand, there are 4 hands that can be made with a 7 that are usually called #1 through #4. Otherwise hands are referred to by the two highest cards (because usually that's enough to determine who won) so 8-6-4-3-2 would just be referred to as "8-6" and if two people had that you'd start looking farther down the hand.
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| Started with "E" or Stud 8/b, and early on it didn't go great. Had a couple Stud 8 hands run out badly and missed a draw in 2-7, then I finally did catch an 8-7 but everyone folded and I didn't get paid.
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| On to Omaha 8/b and I had an odd circumstance where I had the best high and and the best possible low hand ... and only got half the pot in a 3-way pot!
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| The board was something like 6-7-K-T-8 and I had A-2-9-T, so the nut low and the second nut straight with no flush possible. One other person in the hand had A-2 and a pair, the other person had 8-9 (so the same straight, 6-10!) so I chopped the high half with one person (and got the extra chip in worst position) and chopped the low half with a different person (and got the extra chip, worst position!) so I guess I made out a little!
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| Drew out the second best possible hand (A-2-3-4-6) in Razz, couldn't get anything going in stud high and after going through an entire round of all the games I was a little under starting stack (33,000 or so after starting with 35k).
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| I also note that in two half hour levels we went through all the games plus three more hands of Stud-8, so almost exactly an hour to play all hands of all games.
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| Finally things start moving in the right direction. I'm the bring-in for stud 8 with a 2 showing and 8-2 behind. Someone completes the bet, two more callers, I call to see if I can hit a set since most people will assume if I'm playing a 2 I'm going for the low...
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| 2 on 4th street. Sweet. Original raiser bets, everyone calls. We get down to 3-handed on 5th street because I check-raise, heads up on 6th and my three deuces scoop because the other guy couldn't make a low hand.
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| Then a great round of 2-7 for me, I make an 8-6, #3 (7-6-5-3-2) and an 8-7 with betting and calling on every street and some multi-way action across the three hands.
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| Just like that 49,000 or so.
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| Anyone who has played poker with me knows I love a good freeroll! That's when in a split pot game you know you have half locked up and you have a draw at the other half...
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| In O8 I start with A-Q-J-2 with two clubs including the ace and the flop comes 3-6-8 with two clubs. I have the nut low, I have a draw to the nut flush. 3-handed so big pot, lots of betting and raising and the river is the Queen of clubs!!!
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| No better feeling in O8 than rolling over your cards and saying the words "nut-nut".
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| Ship it!
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| Take out a short stack in Razz and I'm a bit over 60,000.
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| I just said I love a good freeroll ... I need to pay more attention when I'm playing live!
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| Going into break we're back on Stud 8 (so another hour to get through all games!) and I start with 2-3-5. Unlike Stud high and Razz where you almost never complete the bet when you are forced to bring in, it can be appropriate to complete in stud 8 when you have a really strong low draw that can also turn into a high hand. This hand at least has a chance to make a straight (unlike say A-4-7 which cannot).
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| I complete, a king re-raises and I call. May have been one or two other players early but if there was they didn't stick around long.
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| I catch a sweet 4 on 4th street (so now 2-3-4-5), he catches a small card but obviously isn't going for the low side.
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| I get another 4, he gets a face card, I bet, he calls.
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| I get a 7, he pairs (jacks I think) and now he cannot make a low and I've already made mine. I love a good freeroll!!!
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| River comes out, I look at a black 8 so no straight but I still lead out hoping he'll decide to fold and give me the whole pot. Pair of fours no good vs the pair he's showing ...
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| He calls and I dejectedly say "Just a pair with a low" ... and the dealer says "flush".
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| My eyes probably bugged out. 5 spades. I was so focused on my open ended straight draw that I totally missed that I was also drawing to a flush!
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| Ship it!
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| Huge pot and I'm at 70700 at the next break! Just over double a starting stack!
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| Not a lot going on in 2-7 (which was rare for me this tournament), then in Omaha 8 I scooped another pot when I filled up with A488 on a 7-6-7-8-X board and the other guy only had a straight and A-5 for low. 84,500.
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| Nothing much in razz or stud or stud 8, but then dragged an ok pot in 2-7.
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| I know some of my BLOG readers are also F1 fans. You know how sometimes the decision whether or not to go into the pit is "do the opposite of what the guy in front of you does"? That's how this hand went!
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| Started out with 2-5-7-8-9. As a rule you usually don't want to draw to an 8-7, you generally want to draw to a 7 and be happy if you make an 8, or at least draw to an 8-5 or at worst an 8-6.
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| Still, I raise out hoping to steal and instead get re-raised. Oops. I call my rough hand.
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| But ... he has to draw first and I have position, which is key here. If he draws 2 I'm drawing one to the 8-7, if he draws one I'm pitching the 8 as well and drawing to a solid 7. He draws 2, I draw one. I pair my 8, bet and he calls. He draws 2 again, I draw one and pair my 2, I bet and he folds. Worth noting another key concept here, which is that while making my hand would be way, way better the two cards that paired me are cards my opponent would want and I know they are eliminated from the deck. That makes my hand stronger by elimination.
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| Two 2-7 hands later get caught with my hand in the cookie jar when I catch a queen on the last draw but lead out anyway, he tanks for a bit and seriously thought about folding but called me with his jack. That was actually the first real hit to my stack in quite a while, and I was down to 77k or so.
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| Get a little back in O8 with A-3-5-9 on a perfect (for me) 2-4-6 flop (nut-nut!), turn paired the board and they went away.
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| Steal some antes and bring-ins in Razz, win one smallish pot and I'm back up to 86,500 at the next break.
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| Not much going on stud 8, win half the 2-7 hands but one was a walk in my blind and one I just stole blinds.
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| And now we learn that 162 players is the final total paying 25 places and 120 people left.
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| After that I was stuck in neutral for a while. Got as high as 120k, as low as 95k. Nothing particularly interesting, just won a few pots here and there and had some not work out.
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| The one game that had been pretty miserable for me all day was stud high. Almost never had anything to start with and on the rare occasion I had a hand it went to hell. But finally I at least get something when I try to steal antes with Q-7-T and get called by the bring-in. I bet every street as my board runs out A-T-A and they go away with me showing a big two pair.
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| Win I think four of 6 hands of 2-7 when we get back to that, including a snow that did work when I paired at the end playing 2-3-4-5 and catching a 2.
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| 146,500 after crushing 2-7.
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| Give some back in 8b, actually had back to back hands starting with A246, lost a chunk on an A2449 board when my full house lost to a guy who had two aces and two face cards. Ouch. Other one the flop was two face cards and I had to give up. Annoying.
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| Into another break at 116k. 72 remain trying to get to 25.
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| I win a huge stud 8 pot when again I start with three to a straight with 4-3-2 and draw out a wheel (A-2-3-4-5) by 5th street (actual runout was 4-3-2-5-A-2-A). He missed a flush draw and I'm up to 154K.
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| 60 left.
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| But drop about 1/3 of that getting drawn out on in 8B, only get antes once in Razz and again only even try to play one stud hand and have to give that up as well.
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| Just over 100k, first time in forever I'm not above average stack (118k).
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| 48 left.
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| Miss on every street drawing 1 card to an 8-6 in 2-7 and fall down to 70k, but get some back when I catch the nuts in the same game on the first draw but he went away so only a small pot. 99k.
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| Win a couple small Razz pots, steal some antes in stud, back up over 130k!
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| Lose 32k in stud 8 when I know I have the best pair to start but the other guys board runs out 8-8-X-8. Seriously?
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| 90k, 36 remain, 11 from the money.
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| Down to 80k at the next break. Still 11 from money.
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| Drop down to 60k ... but get a full double up when I raise out with A-5-Q-9 with two hearts including the ace and run out a wheel! Board was 2-3-T-Q-4.
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| Back up to 140k! 7 from the money!
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| 6...
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| 5...
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| Give up some but then double up again this time in in Razz. I actually had a pair but with A-5-5 I tried to represent but got called ... then ran pure on every street and picked up another wheel! I think that got me to around 240k with 208 the average.
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| Things go a little downhill, and just like that it's the money bubble and I'm sitting on a smaller but very comfortable 170k stack.
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| We're hand for hand two from the money and there are plenty of folks on fumes.
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| It probably took about 12 hands for the bubble to burst, we did have two all-ins on the first or second hand but only one busted. But ... finally ... we are in the money!!!
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| Catch #2 in 2-7 and take out a short stack. Back up to 265k. Min cash is $1033, only need to get through two for the first pay jump but it's only another $50, then need to get through 6 more to get another $110 on top (almost $1200 at that point) and need to get through even another 6 for finally a significant pay jump. And lots of people with plenty of chips, can't just stop playing and coast to more money for sure.
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| I build up my stack to 365K when I get a little lucky again, basically I started with 3-4-9 in Razz and a 9 showing should be an automatic fold, but only one person has a small card and they were a weak player who would fold in such a spot and everyone else has face cards. Well the small card did call, she catches a 9 and I catch a 2 so I bet into her inferior 9. Then I catch another 9, they catch a 6 and lead into me. I call, but then they get a 10 and I get a 5 and I'm ahead again. Bet, call. The way the boards are right now I know I have a made 2-3-4-5-9, and the best they can possibly have is a 10-9 drawing to a 9-6. I can't lose, so of course I'm betting. I actually catch the wheel again on the river but I didn't need it and they fold to my river bet.
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| Nothing going on in stud (as usual) or stud 8 and we're back to 2-7 which has been my best game all day.
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| I play one hand where I start out drawing huge with 2-3-4-7-X, miss every draw after lots of betting. Big pot, blinds enormous, one chunk gone from my stack.
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| Then I catch a pat 9 on the second draw, I bet and he calls. He draws 1, I pat again ... and he catches an 8-6. Another big pot lost and I'm down to just 50k with stakes 10,000/20,000 and going up to 15/30 soon. Ugh.
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| I was pretty much crushing 2-7 all day ... only fitting that it was my demise I guess.
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| We get down to 18 and redraw to new tables, couple of bustouts quickly and we're down to 16.
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| Get all in in O8 and flop two pair with something like A-5-9-J, the big blind I put out was 40% of my stack so I was getting all in pretty much with anything. I flopped two pair jacks and nines only to see a ten on the turn and a queen on the river to give them a straight with A-K-X-X.
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| I was counting the chips! :-)
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| 16th place for just under $1200 on a $500 buyin. I'll take it!
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| So the plan is no poker Sunday because I had to change rooms today so there won't be a BLOG tomorrow. And I just found out Joann is surprising me and coming out a day early today(!!!!), plus there's a problem with the room I won't go into and we have to change rooms again tomorrow. So ... we're going to move up our planned cabana day from the 19th to tomorrow and that means I am not playing tomorrow either.
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| I am definitely playing Tuesday, 100%, so for sure a BLOG Wednesday. |
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