#154: “Sunny Beach”

When you visit a place called Sunny Beach, there’s an implied promise. Waking up at 10am on Thursday morning, I opted to return to bed as there was a thunder storm brewing.  When I woke up at 1pm (thanks to a screaming child in the corridor), I looked out my window at the torrential rain and vacated pool area.

No pre-tourney swim for me meant I had to resort to the old fashioned method of waking myself up – a cold shower and three cups of coffee. The poker kicked off at 4pm and within literally the first hour, I received my second cold shower of the day. The 67 of clubs was no match for my opponent’s Q9 of clubs on a Qx10c8c-5c-3x board as I cry-called his big river bet for the majority of my 26K starting stack.

With 4800 chips and 33, I reshipped all-in and held versus KQ. The comeback was on. I chipped up consistently through the day and thanks to a massive ‘empty the clip’ bluff with 67o on a KcJc3x-4x-10c, I bagged (paper enveloped) up 59,100 chips. A few libations with part-time blogger/part-time dining room furniture destroyer/full-time awesome dude Danny Maxwell and birthday-boy Derek Cosgrove and I slinked back to the hotel as the Sun was rising.

Day 2 was a disaster as I 911-ed my stack early in a hand that I should have gotten away from. UTG+2 opened and with 38bbs, I flatted AQs from the Cut-Off. The flop came Ac8c9x and the villain barrelled big, 5700 into a 6300 pot. I called. The turn was a red 5 and the villain barrelled big again, this time 13,700. At this point, I should insta-fold but instead used my live-pro ninja skills to ‘get a read’. I have literally never stared at a more calm, contented, delighted-with-life, middle-aged man. At this point, I should have apologised to the table for taking so long and snap-mucked. However, for some reason which now escapes me (I think it had something to do with his giant bet-sizing making me think he could have a flush draw), I called, resigning myself to calling off my remaining 22K on the river. The river came the 4 of spades, he shipped, I called and he showed 99.

Right now, I’m sitting at an empty roulette table glumly drinking a glass of ghastly local white wine. I should leave the casino but I probably won’t. There is a PLO tourney at 8pm and I came here to grind. The weather is supposed to improve here at Sunny Beach but it would be better if I’m too busy in the casino to notice.