Seoul - Walkerhill Poker Room Part 2 - the action full day

13rd June 2013

The second time I visited Walkerhill, hopping to curb my poker cravings. As in the topic, it was the action packed night. When I reached the poker room, there were 3 tables. Only Uncle A was the familiar face, sitting at another table. There were many deep stacks at the table, 4 of them at least 800k deep. As usual, I bought in the standard 100bb. I would like to bring in 1000bb, but since it was my last night in Seoul. No point doing so.

Like I said, the table was noticeably a lot looser. One would really win a lot given the chance. A mid 20 youngster A had really good luck. He cleared the loose passive Uncle B 3 times, often the youngster had 2 pairs and the Uncle B with top pair. Uncle B was so furious that he bought in 2m (1000bb) to the table after his third 300k buy-in.

His 3rd buy-in was lost like this. I was at the BB, had 85s. Uncle at UTG+2 raised to 15k, Youngster A called (UTG +3), BTN called. Usually I would call but I din know why I din. 

Flop came T85r. ( at this moment I kinda regret, I think if I had played, game would have ended here.

1. Uncle B bet 40k.
2. Youngster A called.
3.  BTN folded.

Turn came a 2.

1. Uncle B checked.
2. Youngster A Checked.

River came the action card, A.

1. Uncle B bet 100k.
2. Youngster A all-in.
3. Uncle A snap called.

Uncle A showed AJ and the youngster A5. Here at this point, I think both of them had personal feud. Youngster A had cleared Uncle B twice and this hand marked the third time. Uncle B was already tilted,  Youngster A played so solidly, how could he jam with anything less than 2 pairs? What could Uncle B beat? Maybe he was pot committed? but only half his stack was inside the pot. I hope I had a hand with him later. He later called for the floor manager and gave him a stack of USD100 notes. The floor manager returned with at least 15 100k chips and some 5k chips. However, he transferred to another table after another hand.

I had no luck with cards all the time. Then came the action man, a PRC(People Republic of China) guy A who can speak Korean. He bought in 300k. This guy was playing very loosely, when one shows signs of weakness (like not betting), he would definitely make a huge bet. He was definitely the fish on the table. As the poker saying goes, if you cannnot spot the fish within the first few orbits, then you are the fish. So he's my target Villain.

When he came to the table, I was up around 10k. As he was sitting to my right, I had position on him but with a loose aggressive player on my right is not something I find favourable. Most of the players later change seats to his right whenever possible. As he was making a lot of raises preflop, I wasn't calling him until I had AQo.

1. PRC A raises to 20k
2. Seeing AQo, I 3 bet to 50.
3. All folded to him, he called

Flop came KT8r.

1. PRC A checked to me.
2. Seeing a gutshot draw and trying to represent AK, I bet 50k.
3. PRC snap called.

Turn came 5.

1. PRC A checked.
2. oh ok. I had only 100k left. I think he's pot committed. If I bet then, he would definitely call with any draw. Maybe he would fold if I all-in on the river. So I check.

River came a 9, which is definitely not a good card for me.

1. PRC all-in.
2. I was thinking whether to make the hero call. I knew I was almost 100% losing, but I really wanna know his hole cards. well, I finally decided to give up and folded my hands.

He was smiling smugly, or so I thought. I had only 50bb left. I was thinking whether to increase my stack, but I had only 50k(25bb) in my pockets. I really don't feel like changing for more KRW since it was my last night there. As I was debating within myself, a few hands were dealt. In the end, I ended up topping up my stack with the remaining 50k. So now I had 75k.

1. At SB, I had KdJd but I was the first to act in a full table. Walkerhill Poker Room has a house rule, if the BTN straddles, the SB will be the first to act, BB the second and so on. And so I thought, if I called PRC A's 5k straddle, many others will limp, PRC A might make a move.
2. 5 called.
3. As according to my plan, like he usually does, PRC squeezes again with 28k.
4. I all-in immediately with my stack of 75k.
5. All others folded to him, and he thought for a moment, asked the dealer how much it was, he called.
6. I showed my KdJd, he showed Th6h. So it was more or less a 60/40 flip.
7. Well, I din exactly remember how the cards went, but he got runner runner straight, 3 to 7.

I said to him, nice hand. I went to my wife and got another 200k from her for another buy-in. She was waiting in a corner, watching Running Man on the iPad. Then came PRC B, who didn't seem to know the rules. He was asking PRC A the blinds and stuff. All in all, he doesn't seem like a regular there. Here comes another fish, this time the real fish. He bought in 500k. I was observing him, and he was really playing like a fish, making dumb calls all the time. A loose-passive player, the type that will normally lose a lot of money.

1. PRC A made a 20k bet.
2. Excited to find pocket kings, I raised to 50k, planning to isolate.
3. PRC B called 50k without thinking.
4. Korean lady called after some pauses. I think she was thinking of whether to raise. She was playing really tight, I observe that she din raise her pocket Queens a few orbits before. Maybe now I putting her on pockets. Here, I kinda regretted 3 betting to only 50k. With KK, you had now 2 callers already.
5. Another tight American A, called. This guy is even tighter, he showed AA in a showdown without a preflop raise.But maybe he was planning to 3 bet PRC A, who happened not to raise that hand. He's really a tight-passive player. He won a big pot later in the game, which he extracted a lot less value. He's really deep, like 1.8m.
6. At this point of time,I really regretted. I was hoping for PRC A to 4 bet now. BUT! he only called.

Flop came T38r.

1. American A checked to me, with 170k in the pot. I went all-in with my remaining 150k.
2. PRC B snap called, which din get me worried.
3. I was worrying about the Korean lady.If she called or raised, I almost running dead. Luckily, she folded after some thinking.
4. American A folded.

I showed my Kings, he showed his sixes. Out came two blanks, and I took down the pot. Now I'm positive, up around 20k, with a stack size of 470k. Quite a good comeback after a loss of 1 buy-in.

Now another hand, I had AK.

1. PRC A limped.
2. I raised to 15k.
3. PRC B called.
4. Korean lady called.
5. American A called.
6. PRC A called.

Flop came 578r.

1. PRC A checked.
2. I checked.
3. PRC B checked.
4. Korean lady bet 50k. Given her tight image, I was very sure she had mined a set. She din even make a bet when she had Queen over pair a few orbits earlier.
5. American A called. Now 2 tight players in the pot. I was reading American A with a top pair and on a draw.
6. All others folded.

Turn came a 6.

1. This slowed Korean lady down. This almost confirmed she had a set.
2. American A bet 100k into the pot.
3. Korean Lady struggled a bit and made a call.

River an 8.

1. Korean Lady went all-in with around 250k.
2. This shocked American A. He was debating with himself, then he said, I think it's a split pot.
3. In my mind, I told myself. How can this be a split pot? 
4. He showed his 89s, and the Korean Lady won with pocket sevens.

Oh man! These guys are so easy to read.

After some hands came my gamble of the day.

1. Seeing Ad6d and at SB position, with PRC A and American B(quite a good player) limping in front. I raised to 15k.
2. Korean Uncle called.
3. American B called.
4. PRC A called.

4-way pot, flop came Kd9d6s.

1. Quite a good flop for me. Paired the board and had nut flush draw. I checked, planning for a check-raise.
2. Korean Uncle checked.
3. American B bet 40k in the 61k pot.
4. PRC A reraised to 100k.
5. I was thinking, should I or should I jam? Calling is not an option, it will tell people I'm drawing. When I hit, I won't get paid. So either fold or RRAI. If I RRAI, I might represent AK or KK, given my tight image.
6. So I went all in.
7. I collected a nice pot, American A and B were trying to make me reveal my hole cards, which I gave no response.

Another interesting hand. Korean Uncle on UTG + 3, American A CO.

All limps to American A who raises to 20k. He seldom raises PF, he must have a strong hand, so I thought. 20k wasn't enough to chase people out of the pot. 4-way pot.

Flop came KQ7r.

1. All checked to American A, who bet 40k.
2. All folded to Korean Uncle, who reraised to 120k. He must have 2 pairs.
3. American A called smoothly. I was reading he had either Kings or Queens.

Turn came an 8, a possible backdoor flush. 

1. Korean Uncle bet 200k, now I believed he had either top 2 pairs or 7 set.
2. American A started to tank for quite a long time, PRC, though not in the hand, called for the time. I thought he was oscaring, or I read wrongly. He called but as I read him, such a tight player won't call with anything less than a set here.

River came a 9.

1. Korean Uncle bet another 300k into the pot with 400k behind.
2. American A was debating to himself out loud. All this action, I really thought he was oscaring, trying to represent a marginal hand. I expected him to RRAI. He flat called. I immediately thought I was wrong about my read on him
3. Uncle Korean showed KQ.
4. American A showed QQ. 
5. What the heck is he doing? Afraid of kings?

Seoul - Walkerhill Poker Room Part 1

For this trip to Seoul, my wife did all the planning. I wasn't really keen in this trip. I din realise there was a poker room in Korea until I recalled I read a post in ptt.cc (a telnet platform used by Taiwanese). I checked the internet and found out 7luck and Paradise Walkerhill Casinos. On the night I reached Seoul, after all the shopping spree in Myeong-Dong, I decided to go to Paradise Walkerhill. My wife told me 7luck casino was nearer and there we went.

On the 7luck casino website, it is mentioned that there are 2 poker tables there, but I was greatly disappointed not to find them anywhere. 7luck is somehow very small compared to all the previous casinos I had been. Oh well~ Since I was already in the casino, I played a bit of Baccarat. The computerised Baccarat record here is somewhere different from the usual ones (at least from all those casinos I had been before), instead of BLUE for player and RED for banker, there they are using BLUE for banker and RED for player, which got me totally confused and made a few wrong bets. I lost around 100k KRW. Then I made my way back to the hotel.

On the second night, I consulted Ying (my hardcore poker player in Johor Bahru), he told me Poker is definitely available in Walkerhill. I checked the website, got the address in Korean and stored in my handphone (to show it to the taxi driver later). Walkerhill is quite far from Myeong-Dong, it took around half an hour and 15k KRW to reach.

I quite like the poker room setting there. Unlike the usual poker room, it is smoke free.

• Stakes: 1000/2000KRW (about USD1/2)
• min. buy-in: I don't know
• max. buy-in: supposedly 500k KRW but I have seen people buying in with 1.5m KRW. I was told by my friends later that if no one complains, you can bring as much as you like to the table.
• rake: 10%!! with a max. rake capped at 15k KRW

I bought in with 200k to test the water. On the first night there, the table was rather loose preflop and tight post flop, with most of them limping. Most of the players there were Koreans back from the States. 2 youngsters in the mid 20s played exceptionally well. An uncle (Uncle A) flopped full house with Q7 and turned a quads but win  like 10bb. His table money later got cleared by the 2 youngsters later on  a couple of times. Then came a big hand, I was not involved though.

1. UTG+3 raises to 15k
2. UTG+4 calls
3. UTG+5 3 bets to 40k (claims to have QQ, which I think is true according to his super tight style)
4. BTN 4 bets to 100k.
5. BB(Uncle A) tanks for a minute and flat calls 100k.
6. All others fold.

Flop came: J73r

1. BB thinks for a while and checks.
2. BTN jams. (BTN had BB covered.
3. BB thinks for a min and calls with QQ. (I was thinking he had AQ/AK, he had a rather bad image for playing loosely.)
4. BTN gives a cry and shows 88.

Turn came a blank.

River came a 8. Uncle got badbeated.

I got no luck with cards, played some small pockets and suited connectors, made some 3 bet bluffs to kill the boredom. Only one hand to be noted up to this stage. Right after the previous hand I have just posted.

1. I was sitting in the BB with ThJh.
2. 4 limpers until me, had actually wanted to raise but considering my early position, I chose to check.

Flop came 9hQh4s.

1. Uncle A checked.
2. I thought for a moment and decided for a check raise with a super combo draw.
3. Youngster A bet pot size 10k.
4. All fold to Uncle A who just got a big pot bad beated. He called.
5. According to my script, I raised to 30k with a stack size of 160k behind,
6. Youngster A thought for a moment and folded. (my tight image helped)
7. Uncle A mumbled something and called.

Turn blank. Check Check.
River a Ts. Check Check. I hit my T and uncle had only pair 9. I took down the pot.

I was limping and calling with suited connectors or pockets (almost all in early positions), was down a bit until a Mongolian came, sitting to my right. I saw him play a few hands before another notable hand came.

This hand went like this:

1. 2 limpers (including the Mongolian)
2. I raised to 12k with KQs (CO)
3. All folded to Mongolian who raised to 23k. This is only a bit more than the mini raise.
4. I snap called. (Never fold to a miniraise 3 bet is my motto.)

Flop came: A83

1. Mongolian checked after a few seconds of thinking.
2. He might be scared of the Ace. So I bet 25k.
3. He snap called which got me a bit worried.

Turn came a Q. 

1. He checked again.
2. oh well, he might have a pocket middle pair. I have a hand which I can show and he might be ambushing me with pocket aces, given his limp raise preflop. So I checked.

Turn came a Jack.

1. He checked again.
2. Now I win only TT, and 99. He might call with these hands, but he might have KK too. So I checked.

He showed TT and I took down the pot. 

After another orbit or so, feeling tired. I cashed out, with my winnings not even able to cover the taxi fare.