Work is Dumb.

On Friday, I was a good employee. I got roped into working the "second closer" shift at lunch, and that prevented me from getting home until 6:25pm. I had implied to Juggernaught Joe Speaker that I'd be in the bar area of Crystal Park Casino well before then, in preparation for CP's cheapie 7pm tournament. Work made a liar outta me. Oh well. Perhaps next time.

I didn't even make a last-minute rush to the PCS's tournament that evening. I decided it wasn't worth it for me to rush, rush, rush. I could use a day off from poker, rather than hustle and get blinded out for 30+ minutes.

~~

Saturday evening saw the First Ever Tustin Heads-Up Poker Challenge. My roommate, Jefferson, who has been playing poker for all of three weeks, asked me if I'd like to play him heads-up, in a best 2 out of 3 format. We agreed on 2500 in chips, 25/50 blinds to start, and 15 minute levels. Watching the Heads-Up tourney that is currently being televised may have influenced him...

It started just as I thought it would. I was the aggressor, and I made more bets at pots. His play was pretty straightforward. He's just getting the concepts of stealing blinds and using position. And how hand values in heads-up play are radically different than in our 8-handed Thursday night cash game, for instance.

The turning point was the hand with me calling his preflop raise with 77. Q-5-3 flop, with two clubs, and I bet 900 into the 1200 pot. He called, then had a pittance leftover. Kc on the turn is a deathcard for me, but it's only 350 for me to put him all-in. Might as well bet into him. He shows his kings and queens, but I have a ray of hope. Any club or seven will make my hand best. The river denies me.

Thinking about my heads-up game: if this hand occurs when we have much deeper stacks, I check and fold when I see the king, which put two overs and three clubs on the board. Something I've noticed about my HU tendencies is that I sometimes overvalue middle pocket pairs and hold onto them a little too long. It's just tough for me to fold them.

He busted me a short time later when his AQ hit a queen and my A4-spades flopped the nut flush draw. No flush for me spelled the end. It was at this time that I mentioned he can tell me when he's ready to play heads-up for real money. $1 per, $5, whatever...

So the first time I ever played heads-up with my (utter novice) roommate, he beat me. So much for me being a Less Sucky Heads-Up Player.

Eh, I'm just joking around. I still feel pretty good about my HU play. I ended up taking matches #2 and #3 for the best-of-three victory. Hopefully the play was fun and helpful for him, too. I'd like to do this sort of thing again. I could always use the practice.