Pot Limit at the Spielbank and April Recap

Sunday: -$45, +€520
I arrived at the Spielbank at 4pm ready for some action. I was Nr. 17 on the waiting list but somehow managed to get a seat due to the fact that many players didn't show up. I recognized three players at the table. One of them was a friend of mine (Rainer) who I play live poker with realtively often. One of them was a guy who I have played with on a few occasions, a very aggressive, solid player. The other guy (we will call him Table Captain, or "TC" for short) was a guy who had something of mine, namely my €500 from a few months back. This guy is a guy who thinks he knows everything, thinks he can tell the players what to do, thinks he can tell the dealers what to do, even thinks he can tell the floormen what to do. Hence the name "Table Captain."

I buy-in with exactly €500. I was quite surprised to see that most people bought in for the minimum of €150. Finally around 4:40pm the first hand is dealt and I look down at AKs. It is folded to me and I immediately say "Pot." One more folder and then Rainer says, "Pot." He puts his whole €200 over the betting line and I have a decision to make. I know Rainer is capable of doing this with a lot of hands and so I decide to call. The board comes down all rags and I was already waiting for Rainer to flip something over like Jacks. To my pleasant surprise, he showed AQo for ace high! I raked in the €405 pot and off we went.

TC was sitting two to my right, which was absolutely perfect for me. A few rounds later I was dealt 44. There was an early raise to €30, TC called (which he does 95% of the time no matter what the bet is) and I called as well. The flop came down As 4s 5h. They both checked it to me and I fired out €60. The original raiser folded and TC called. I knew this was my chance. The turn came 9d. TC checked and I bet out the pot, which was somewhere around €250. He called immediately and I knew deep down that that donkey was chasing his flush draw against all odds. The river came Ah. I had a full house. I was sooooo hoping he had a weak ace as he checked it to me one more time. He only had €120 left, which is the amount that I bet. That donkey folded before I could even get my chips across the line. Nice pot for me.

I lost only one pot to TC, when I held AQo and called his €30 preflop raise. The flop came KQ6 and he checked it to me. I bet €50, he called. Turn came 7. He checked again, I bet €50, he called. River came 2. He checked, as did I, and he showed K9o for top pair. Nice hand, sir.

I was dealt QQ shortly thereafter and took a €120 pot from him. Unfortunately for me, that was the end of my cards. And I mean end. From 5:45-8:45pm, I was dealt not one playable hand. Not even one. No kidding. I lost my blinds every round except for one, when I flopped two pair in my BB. Other than that, it was fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold. The table began to get very tight and so I decided that at I would leave around 8:45 in order to get back home for the Celeb League Double Points tourney. I went to the cashier and cashed out €1020, exactly €520 more than what I came with. I'll take that anyday.

The League tourney lasted about 6 hands. The very second hand I lost with AK against KK on a K high flop. I was left with 10 chips, which I lost a few hands later. That realy sucked because now I'll fall even further down the leaderboard.

April Recap:
Total Winnings: $ 5,847.24
That does not include the $650 rakeback payment I am expecting tomorrow or the $100 loyalty bonus from Celeb. If you factor in those, April was relatively successful for me. May brings news adventures and I am shooting for at least $6k in winnings. I will be in America for one and a half weeks of May so my playing time will be limited. Still, I am quite optimistic as to what success the upcoming month may bring. Thanks to everyone (even if it is only a couple people) who read my blog!