Today was another shot at me at the fall poker classic. This tournament had a much worse structure than yesterdays (which didnt have a good one in the 1st place). We started with 8000 in chips and the levels were 30 minutes long.
Level 1: 25-50. I opened to 125 with KQo from UTG +1 and everyone folded. A player UTG opened to 100, I called from the button with TT, and the SB called as well. The flop came QJ4 and I folded to a 200 bet from the opener. I made it 125 from the cutoff with A9o and the blinds both called. The flop came 888, they checked, I bet 200, and they both folded. I was at 8075 and we went to the next level.
Level 2: 50-100. A player UTG +2 opened to 250, I called right behind from MP with 99, and the guy right behind me called in MP. The flop came Q66, the raiser checked, I bet 325, and they both folded. There were 2 limps to me in the cutoff, I found AA and made it 425, and the button and one of the limps called. The flop came down 753, the BB and limper checked, I checked, the guy on the button bet 1100, the BB raised to 2525, the limper folded, I folded, the button went all in, and the BB called. The BB had 88 and the button had 55. Whew. I somehow didnt put another chip in with AA after I got outflopped on a pretty dry board. I was initially checking to 1)trap the aggressive kid on the button who I thought would bet if I checked to him or 2)for pot control just to keep the pot small. If the BB doesnt reraise 88 there I absolutely will be getting it in vs him but luckily the BB saved me by overplaying 88 like a champ and I somehow didnt lose another chip with AA there. To be honest, the turn was an A so I guess I would have won a big pot but that being results oriented. The button opened to 200, the SB called, I 3-bet from the BB to 750 with K9o, and they both folded. I was at 8225 and we went up to the next level.
Level 3: 100-200. I opened to 475 UTG with AKo and everyone folded. A player in EP opened to 400, a player in MP called, the button 3-bet to 1300, I found QQ in the BB and cold 3-bet it to 2700, the raiser and caller folded, and the 3-bettor flatted. The flop came down QJ4 2 hearts, I bet 1600, and he called. The turn came an offsuit K, I moved all in for my last 4200, and he folded. I was kind of in a tizzy over what to do preflop and I ultimately decided to just 4-bet/call off. An arguement could be made to just flat but then I would have let the other people in the hand and had to worry not just about overs but random sets as well. I kind of just thought if he had AA or KK Im never folding on the flop anyways so I might as well just go then. He must not have been too strong because he folded on the K turn meaning he didnt have AA or KK because he didnt stick it in pre nor did he have AK or JJ because hes not folding those hands on that board. I was up to 13625 and we went up to the next level.
Level 4: 200-400. The hijack limped and I checked the BB with ATo. The flop came J94, I checked, he bet 400, and I called. The turn came a Q, I checked, he bet 800, I made it 2500, and he called. The river filled my semibluff with a K giving me the nut straight, I put him all in for his last ~5k, and he folded J9 for flopped top 2 straight up. I didnt think he had that strong of a hand or else I wouldnt have tried to semibluff the turn (thought the Q was a good card for me to rep with him acting so weak and just being weak/tight in general) I hit my card and it worked out in the end. I was up to around 17k or so after this. A player in EP made it 800, I called the SB with KQss, and the BB called as well. The flop came A93 and I check folded to a bet. I opened to 850 from the hijack with JTo and everyone folded. I opened to 850 with KTdd from UTG +2 and player in MP and the BB called. The flop came A97 2 diamonds giving me a flush draw, I bet 1100, and they both folded. Last hand before break, I lost a big hand to a monster fish at the table. The fish limped UTG +1, a player in MP made it 800, I called in the BB with AJcc, and the fish called. The flop came J98 rainbow, I checked, the fish bet 1300, the raiser called, I made it 3025, and he called. The turn came a 6, I put him all in for his last 6500 or so, and he snap called showing 86hh for bottom 2. Ugh. The river came a Q and I doubled him up. Pretty brutal of him putting 4k of his 10k with 86 and bottom pair but cant really explain play like this. . .hes an idiot. I was down to 8250 (instead of being up to 28k or so) and we moved up to the next level.
Level 5: 200-400 25. During the break I moved tables and luckily for me (or unluckily because of what happened), the giant fish from the last table moved straight to my right. 1st hand after the break, I found 99 and opened to 850 UTG +2. It folded to the BB who moved all in for 4000 or so, I called, she showed 22, and I won the pot on AQ5KK. I was up to 12.5k or so. A couple of hands later, I met my unfortunate demise at the expense of the monster fish from my last table. It folded to me in the SB and I limped ATo to trap him and he raised it to 1000, and I just called. At this point, I got him to raise just like I wanted and I was thinking about 3-betting but I chose not to because I know that he is going to be calling any raise I make short of basically committing myself to all in (trust me he limp flatted 3k in the hand previous) and I didnt want to raise to like 2.5k-3k and have to fold on the flop. My choices were either to continue my trap or go all in. I decided 30 bbs was a little too much to jam so I just flatted. The flop came 752, I checked, he bet 1800, and I called. Im not really planning on trapping preflop and folding a ridiculously dry board like this to a guy who could have literally anything so I called. The turn came an A, I checked, he bet 3200, I moved all in for my final ~9000, and he called showing A5 for 2 pair. The river came a Q and I failed to improve busting myself out in a goofy pot to a giant donk. Oh well I trapped him and he hit his kicker. I dont really mind how I played this hand. Maybe I should just put it all in preflop and take the pot there or fold the flop but it is what it is and I busted in a stupid spot vs a retard.
Tomorrow is another tournament so hopefully I can represent better tomorrow.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Tourney: October 1st 2011 Fall Poker Classic Event #1 $340
Today was the opening event of the Fall Poker Classic at Canterbury Park and I was raring to go. The event was a $340 no limit event and it got about 250 players paying 30 spots with 17k going to 1st. The structures you see in Minnesota are not nearly as good as the structures you see in Vegas over the summer. We started with 12000 in chips and the levels were 40 minutes long. Several levels were skipped and this lead to the avg stack to be pretty small compared to the blinds. However the worse structure is made up for by the general terrible play you see in Minnesota. I literally did not see one player who actually played above average throughout the tournament.
Level 1: 25-50. The guy on the button opened to 150 into my SB and a dead BB. I found A5o and 3-bet him to 400 and he folded. There were 4 limps to my button and I made it 450 with J9dd getting 1 call. The flop came 932 and he check folded to my 550 bet. I then played a pretty big pot in an interesting spot. A player in EP opened to 150 getting 3 calls to me in the hijack. I found 77 and called, the button called, the BB then 3-bet to 1025, the initial raiser and the 3 other callers folded, I decided to call the 1025, and the button called as well. We took the flop 3 handed and it came Qx7h6h giving me a set. The 3-bettor lead for 1500, I decided to just smooth call, and the button called as well. The turn came the 4h putting a potential flush on board. The BB checked, I checked, and the button bet out 3525. The button folded and I decided to call. The river came an offsuit 6, pairing the board and giving me a full house. I went all in for my last 6000 or so and the guy on the button tanked for a while and then folded. He later told me he had Th9h for the flush so I guess I ended up getting pretty lucky on the river. ..bah. I dont know if I like how I played this hand. I maybe should have raised the flop but the preflop 3-bettor was super spazy so I dont know if he has it for sure. I was obviously trapping and it didnt work when the flush came but worked when I paired the river. I guess I dont hate smooth calling the flop it just didnt necessarily work the way I wanted it to this time. Anyways, this hand won me some chips and I was at 21500 when we went up to the next level.
Level 2: 50-100. A player in MP raised to 225, I called from the hijack with 88, and the button and SB called. The flop came A92 and I folded to a bet. I was then able to get pretttty lucky in a hand to win some more chips. There was 1 limp to me in MP and I found AA and made it 425. The cutoff, button (spazy 3-bettor from the 77 hand), and the limper called and the flop came down 553 2 clubs. The limp/caller checked, I decided to just check here, the cutoff bet out 1000, the button called, the limper folded, and I put the cutoff and button all in for their effective stacks of 5k and 8k (total including the 1k bet). The cutoff tanked for a while and folded and the spaz on the button called showing 85o. Ugh. Anyways, the turn came my saving ace and the river blanked and I was able to suckout with AA to win another substantial pot. Damn kind of sucks. My plan to get one of those guys to bet and me to put them all in worked perfectly. When the guy flats the 1000 on the button I am giving him credit for a hand but it doesnt necessarily need to be a 5. Especially when 1)he is a generally spazy player (any overpair/underpair or even a 3 he is likely calling here) and 2)the board is 2-tone so a flush draw is also likely. Dont hate the way I played the hand just got outflopped and got lucky to get there. I was up to 32k or so after this hand. The cutoff limped and I made it 250 on the button with 22. He was the only caller and the flop came 442 2 spades. He checked and I checked behind. The turn came the 3h, putting 2 hearts on board now, he lead for 200, I made it 850, and he called. The river came the Qs, he checked, I bet 2500, and he folded. I bet he had a heart flush draw that missed so I probably wasnt making much more money on this hand. Next hand, there were 2 limps to my hijack and I made it 250 with A3ss. The BB and the limpers called and the flop came a nice looking 542 making me the straight. They all checked to me, I bet 625, the BB raised to 1525, the other callers folded, and I just flatted his raise. The turn came an ugly A making my straight less disguised, but he still lead for 2500 which I flatted again. The river came a 7, he lead 2500 again, I put him all in for about 3500 more (6000 total) and he called but mucked when I showed my straight. Somehow I had rocketed my stack all the way up to 44k or so less than an hour into the tournament. The player UTG+2 raised to 200, I found AA (again) in MP immediately behind him and 3-bet to 700. He was the only caller. The flop came Q97, he checked, I bet 1050, and he folded. I opened to 250 from UTG +2 with J7ss and everyone folded. I opened to 250 UTG with A8ss, the button 3-bet to 700, and I folded. The button opened to 250 into my SB and a dead BB, I found A7o, almost 3-bet him again but decided to just flat. We checked down K4293 where he bet 500 and I called but mucked when he showed AA. I opened to 250 on the button with KQcc and the SB was the only caller. The flop came J53 2 clubs and he check/folded to my 325 bet. I opened to 250 from the cutoff with 77 and the BB was the only caller. We checked to the turn on KJ35 where he folded to my 325 bet. I was all the way up to a massive stack of 44825 as we went up to the next level.
Level 3: 100-200. I opened to 450 with 54dd from UTG, the cutoff 3-bet to 1400, and I folded. The player UTG +1 opened to 500, I found 77 in MP and called, and the BB called as well. The flop came 654 giving me an open ended straight draw. The BB checked, the raiser bet out 1200, I called, and the BB called as well. The turn came an A, the BB checked, the raiser checked, and I thought it was a good card for me to bet so I fired 3100 and they both folded. I opened to 450 from UTG +2 with TT and got calls from MP and the blinds. The flop came KQ6 all hearts and I ended up folding to a bet. There was 1 limp and I checked the BB with T3o. The board ran out AATQ6 where I bet 200 and the limper called showing QJ for the winner. I was up to 46675 and we on the 1st break.
Level 4: 200-400. I opened to 850 from UTG +1 with 86ss and everyone folded. The SB completed into my BB and I checked 44 behind. The flop came AJT and he check folded to my 525 bet. I made it 850 with 88 from UTG +1 and the button was the only caller. The flop came 987, I bet out 1125, and he folded. Grrr. A player in MP limped, the cutoff raised to 800, I found QJhh in the SB and called, the limp 3-bet to 3300, and the raiser and I both folded. I made it 850 with A4ss in the cutoff, the button 3-bet to 2500, and I folded. I still finished this livel slightly up and I took 46875 to the next level.
Level 5: 200-400 25. For some reason at this point, I decided to go away from my somewhat solid play and tried to play a hand a little fancy which cost me some chips. A really ABC tight player (as alot of them are) opened to 1200 UTG and I was telling myself if I found a spot where I could get HU with a tight player with position then I was (as they are easy to take pots from and play so ABC its obvious when they have it) so I called from the button with K7o. The flop came J42, he lead 1600, I decided to see where he was at by making it 4125, and he called. This immediately made me want to shut it down. The turn came a 9, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a T, he checked, and I knew I couldnt win with A high and since he checked the river after I checked behind the turn, I didnt think he was THAT strong so I fired out a pretty large bet of 7525 which he instantly called showing AA. I sometimes forget how passive these people play. I should have just shut it down after the flop like I planned on doing, or even better would have been to just stick to my plan and not play this hand in the 1st place. I lost some chips and was down to around 33k or so after this hand. A player in EP opened to 1200, a player in MP called, I found AJss on the button and flatted, and the BB called as well. The flop came 766 and I folded to an all in. I opened to 850 with K6dd from MP, the player in the hijack moved all in for 5500, and I folded. The player on my right opened to 1100 UTG +1, I found AJss UTG +2 and 3-bet to 2525, and he called. We checked to the turn on 8438 where he folded to my bet of 3250. The player on my right opened in MP to 1100 again and I found AQdd right behind and 3-bet again to 2525. He called and we checked to the turn on an eerily similar board or 8436 where he check/called my bet of 3250 this time. The river came an 8, he checked, and I checked behind but had the loser when he had A8hh. I was down to 27125 and we went up to the next level.
Level 6: 300-600 50. I opened to 1350 with AKo UTG +2 and the BB called. The flop came 732, he checked, I bet 1525, and he folded. I opened to 1350 from UTG with KTo and the BB (guy on my left) called. The flop came Q54 and he check/folded to my 1600 bet. I was back up to 32k or so but then disaster struck in back to back hands. A cally/aggressive type player opened to 1800 UTG, the player on my right called from MP, I found AKss right behind him in MP and 3-bet to 6100, it folded to the tight player (from the K7 vs AA hand) on the button and he decided to cold 4-bet all in! He had about 50k or so so he had my 31k-32k covered pretty handily. The raiser and caller folded and I tanked for a while before deciding to fold this massive hand. One thing thats weird about this hand is my 3-betting size. Usually I would 3-bet a little smaller here to prevent plays like this but why I did this is because both the inital raiser and the guy on my right are super cally and I didnt want them both flatting my 3-bet then me having to check fold. I liked 6100 because 1)its likely I wouldnt get them both to call and 2)I really want them to think about committing their stacks here (they both had ~20k) and a smaller raise wont get cally types thinking about their stack so I kind of wanted to hit them harder. As for the fold, I dont know how weak it is but the guy is so tight and ABC it has to be a huge hand so I think I can live with letting it go here. Anyways, the very next hand the guy on my right opened to 1800 from UTG +2, I found QQ behind him in MP and just flatted, and the cally guy from the last hand called in the BB. The flop came down 876, they checked to me, I bet 3025, the caller in the BB went all in for ~18k, the raiser folded, and I called pretty quickly. He showed 99 and the board ran out 65 giving him a straight on the river and cracking my queens. I was down to 5500 or so after this hand. A couple hands later, I found TT UTG +1 and moved all in for my 5500. The cally guy called my all in from the button and showed AKo and the board ran out QQKTA (I run good) giving me a double up to around 12k. I opened to 1350 from the cutoff with A8ss into the tight guys BB and he was the only caller. The flop came down 974, he checked, I bet 1600, he put me all in, and I folded. I was at 8200 and we went on the 2nd break and onto the next level.
Level 7: 400-800 75. I moved to a new table with a different set of players (mostly younger aggressive guys but bad, stupid aggressive. . .like honestly terrible and they all thought they were awesome. . .Id say the "bad young players" I played with in Vegas were levels ahead of these guys). I found JTo in MP and moved about 6k in (effectively all in) and everyone folded. A player UTG +1 opened to 2200, I made it 6500 (of my ~10k) from UTG +2 with KK, and everyone folded. I found J8ss from the hijack and effectively moved all in (~8k) and everyone folded. A player opened to 1800 from UTG +1 and I reshoved my ~11k from the SB with J8o and he folded. I was at 14900 and we went up to the next level.
Level 8: 600-1200 100. First hand of the level, the player on my right moved all in for 4400 from MP, I found AQss in MP behind and reshoved, and everyone else folded. He showed 98cc and the board ran out 53552 getting me up to 22k or so. The button opened to 2800 and i moved about 18k (of my 22k) in from the BB with AQss and he folded. A donk limped UTG +1, I found A9o in the hijack and opened to 2700, and the BB and limper both called. The flop came Q65, they checked to me, I bet 4100, and they both folded. I was around 30k after this. I opened to 2700 from UTG with A7o and everyone folded. I was at 29700 and we went up another level.
Level 9: 800-1600 100 (odd 100 ante IMO). I was again moved to a new table this one consisting of tighter old men. One of these older men opened to 4000 from the cutoff and I just flatted from the button when I found the monsterous KK. He only had 15000 to start the hand so I didnt want to scare him into folding (like older people like to do when they get put all in). The flop came K82, he bet 4000 again, and I just called again. The turn came a 7, he went all in for 7000, I called, and he showed AQhh and was drawing dead and I was up to 45k or so. I was moved tables again after this and had a mix of new players at my table. I opened to 3500 from the hijack with 98o into the blinds of 2 older men (who I snap assume are tight ABC). The BB called and the flop came T62. He checked, I bet 4100, and he put me all in resulting in a fold by me. A player UTG opened to 3600, a player in MP called, the button called, I found AJo in the BB and moved my last 35k all in, and they all folded after about 30 seconds-1 minute tank each. I opened ot 3500 from the cutoff with KJo and the BB called. We checked to the river on 9993A where he bet 2500 and I called but mucked when he showed 77 (odd way to play it). I was at 41700 and we went up to the next level.
Level 10: 1000-2000 200. The button moved all in for 11k and I called in the BB with KJo after a little tank. He showed AKo and the board ran out 97649 giving him the pot. He was middle aged but I should have noted that he folded out his stack to 11k so he obviously always has it even when hes moving in on the button. I was down to 28k or so after this. I found 97cc in MP and moved about 15k all in (effectively all in) into 2 tight players blinds and everyone folded. I found 22 UTG +2 and moved my ~30k in and everyone folded. I was at around 32k after the blinds passed and I moved ~20k in from MP into the same tight players BBs with J9ss. However, this time another guy in MP went all in behind with a stack that covered me and I had to call. He showed AA and the board ran out KsJxTs9x2s giving me a great flop, better turn, and awesome river to crack AA (I run good) and double me to ~68k. A couple hands later, we went up to the next level and I had 68400.
Level 11: 1500-3000 300. I had 68400 but the average was only about 54k so there really wasnt much wiggle room for anyone in the tournament as the average stack was only 19 bbs and many of the tight old men had stacks that were much less than that. I found A9o from MP in the 2 tight guys blinds and raised to 6600 and everyone folded. I made it 6600 from A8o from UTG +2 and the guy behind me called in MP. The flop came K87, I checked, he bet 6000, and I called. We checked down a turn and river of 29 and I was no good when he showed JJ. I think I missed a good bluff opportunity here because I knew I was beat but that guy plays sooooo weaktight I can probably get him to fold if I put any pressure on him (especially since there were about 50 players left and 30 got paid). I opened to 6600 from UTG +1 with ATo and everyone folded. I was on 55k or so and I opened to 6600 from UTG +2 into the tight guys BBs with 95o. A player in MP moved all in for 18000 or so and I called. He showed KQss and the board ran out 5TJ49 rivering him a straight and knocking me down to 35k. I moved all in from UTG with KQo and everyone folded. I was at 40k or so and one of the tight guys whos blind I had been raising opened to 10k UTG. I found AQcc UTG +2 and moved all in. It folded to him and he called for his last 32k or so showing JJ and the board ran out 854J4 and I was crippled. This might be a mistake because he was really tight but he was still opening once a round or so and it seemed to me the pressure of the bubble was kind of getting to him and his shorter stack so I thought he might be raising lighter than what he usually would or what most old men would be raising with here. Even if this is the case it still might be a mistake because with the table I was at, I would probably have more success just stealing my stack up rather than taking a race or a 70-30 at this point. Maybe im over thinking it but I think its probably a mistake. I was crippled down to 5400 <2bbs and next hand I found 44 and moved all in UTG +1. A player behind isoed to 8000 and a player behind him went all in. The isoer called showing 88 and the all in had AJss and I wasnt able to hit a 4 and even if I did the AJ made a flush so I would have busted anyways.
I was eliminated in about 40th place with 30 people cashing so pretty disappointing especially considering I dogged AA with J9ss in a pretty large pot at that point of the tournament. All I can do is focus on playing better and come back the next day at the peak of my game.
Level 1: 25-50. The guy on the button opened to 150 into my SB and a dead BB. I found A5o and 3-bet him to 400 and he folded. There were 4 limps to my button and I made it 450 with J9dd getting 1 call. The flop came 932 and he check folded to my 550 bet. I then played a pretty big pot in an interesting spot. A player in EP opened to 150 getting 3 calls to me in the hijack. I found 77 and called, the button called, the BB then 3-bet to 1025, the initial raiser and the 3 other callers folded, I decided to call the 1025, and the button called as well. We took the flop 3 handed and it came Qx7h6h giving me a set. The 3-bettor lead for 1500, I decided to just smooth call, and the button called as well. The turn came the 4h putting a potential flush on board. The BB checked, I checked, and the button bet out 3525. The button folded and I decided to call. The river came an offsuit 6, pairing the board and giving me a full house. I went all in for my last 6000 or so and the guy on the button tanked for a while and then folded. He later told me he had Th9h for the flush so I guess I ended up getting pretty lucky on the river. ..bah. I dont know if I like how I played this hand. I maybe should have raised the flop but the preflop 3-bettor was super spazy so I dont know if he has it for sure. I was obviously trapping and it didnt work when the flush came but worked when I paired the river. I guess I dont hate smooth calling the flop it just didnt necessarily work the way I wanted it to this time. Anyways, this hand won me some chips and I was at 21500 when we went up to the next level.
Level 2: 50-100. A player in MP raised to 225, I called from the hijack with 88, and the button and SB called. The flop came A92 and I folded to a bet. I was then able to get pretttty lucky in a hand to win some more chips. There was 1 limp to me in MP and I found AA and made it 425. The cutoff, button (spazy 3-bettor from the 77 hand), and the limper called and the flop came down 553 2 clubs. The limp/caller checked, I decided to just check here, the cutoff bet out 1000, the button called, the limper folded, and I put the cutoff and button all in for their effective stacks of 5k and 8k (total including the 1k bet). The cutoff tanked for a while and folded and the spaz on the button called showing 85o. Ugh. Anyways, the turn came my saving ace and the river blanked and I was able to suckout with AA to win another substantial pot. Damn kind of sucks. My plan to get one of those guys to bet and me to put them all in worked perfectly. When the guy flats the 1000 on the button I am giving him credit for a hand but it doesnt necessarily need to be a 5. Especially when 1)he is a generally spazy player (any overpair/underpair or even a 3 he is likely calling here) and 2)the board is 2-tone so a flush draw is also likely. Dont hate the way I played the hand just got outflopped and got lucky to get there. I was up to 32k or so after this hand. The cutoff limped and I made it 250 on the button with 22. He was the only caller and the flop came 442 2 spades. He checked and I checked behind. The turn came the 3h, putting 2 hearts on board now, he lead for 200, I made it 850, and he called. The river came the Qs, he checked, I bet 2500, and he folded. I bet he had a heart flush draw that missed so I probably wasnt making much more money on this hand. Next hand, there were 2 limps to my hijack and I made it 250 with A3ss. The BB and the limpers called and the flop came a nice looking 542 making me the straight. They all checked to me, I bet 625, the BB raised to 1525, the other callers folded, and I just flatted his raise. The turn came an ugly A making my straight less disguised, but he still lead for 2500 which I flatted again. The river came a 7, he lead 2500 again, I put him all in for about 3500 more (6000 total) and he called but mucked when I showed my straight. Somehow I had rocketed my stack all the way up to 44k or so less than an hour into the tournament. The player UTG+2 raised to 200, I found AA (again) in MP immediately behind him and 3-bet to 700. He was the only caller. The flop came Q97, he checked, I bet 1050, and he folded. I opened to 250 from UTG +2 with J7ss and everyone folded. I opened to 250 UTG with A8ss, the button 3-bet to 700, and I folded. The button opened to 250 into my SB and a dead BB, I found A7o, almost 3-bet him again but decided to just flat. We checked down K4293 where he bet 500 and I called but mucked when he showed AA. I opened to 250 on the button with KQcc and the SB was the only caller. The flop came J53 2 clubs and he check/folded to my 325 bet. I opened to 250 from the cutoff with 77 and the BB was the only caller. We checked to the turn on KJ35 where he folded to my 325 bet. I was all the way up to a massive stack of 44825 as we went up to the next level.
Level 3: 100-200. I opened to 450 with 54dd from UTG, the cutoff 3-bet to 1400, and I folded. The player UTG +1 opened to 500, I found 77 in MP and called, and the BB called as well. The flop came 654 giving me an open ended straight draw. The BB checked, the raiser bet out 1200, I called, and the BB called as well. The turn came an A, the BB checked, the raiser checked, and I thought it was a good card for me to bet so I fired 3100 and they both folded. I opened to 450 from UTG +2 with TT and got calls from MP and the blinds. The flop came KQ6 all hearts and I ended up folding to a bet. There was 1 limp and I checked the BB with T3o. The board ran out AATQ6 where I bet 200 and the limper called showing QJ for the winner. I was up to 46675 and we on the 1st break.
Level 4: 200-400. I opened to 850 from UTG +1 with 86ss and everyone folded. The SB completed into my BB and I checked 44 behind. The flop came AJT and he check folded to my 525 bet. I made it 850 with 88 from UTG +1 and the button was the only caller. The flop came 987, I bet out 1125, and he folded. Grrr. A player in MP limped, the cutoff raised to 800, I found QJhh in the SB and called, the limp 3-bet to 3300, and the raiser and I both folded. I made it 850 with A4ss in the cutoff, the button 3-bet to 2500, and I folded. I still finished this livel slightly up and I took 46875 to the next level.
Level 5: 200-400 25. For some reason at this point, I decided to go away from my somewhat solid play and tried to play a hand a little fancy which cost me some chips. A really ABC tight player (as alot of them are) opened to 1200 UTG and I was telling myself if I found a spot where I could get HU with a tight player with position then I was (as they are easy to take pots from and play so ABC its obvious when they have it) so I called from the button with K7o. The flop came J42, he lead 1600, I decided to see where he was at by making it 4125, and he called. This immediately made me want to shut it down. The turn came a 9, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a T, he checked, and I knew I couldnt win with A high and since he checked the river after I checked behind the turn, I didnt think he was THAT strong so I fired out a pretty large bet of 7525 which he instantly called showing AA. I sometimes forget how passive these people play. I should have just shut it down after the flop like I planned on doing, or even better would have been to just stick to my plan and not play this hand in the 1st place. I lost some chips and was down to around 33k or so after this hand. A player in EP opened to 1200, a player in MP called, I found AJss on the button and flatted, and the BB called as well. The flop came 766 and I folded to an all in. I opened to 850 with K6dd from MP, the player in the hijack moved all in for 5500, and I folded. The player on my right opened to 1100 UTG +1, I found AJss UTG +2 and 3-bet to 2525, and he called. We checked to the turn on 8438 where he folded to my bet of 3250. The player on my right opened in MP to 1100 again and I found AQdd right behind and 3-bet again to 2525. He called and we checked to the turn on an eerily similar board or 8436 where he check/called my bet of 3250 this time. The river came an 8, he checked, and I checked behind but had the loser when he had A8hh. I was down to 27125 and we went up to the next level.
Level 6: 300-600 50. I opened to 1350 with AKo UTG +2 and the BB called. The flop came 732, he checked, I bet 1525, and he folded. I opened to 1350 from UTG with KTo and the BB (guy on my left) called. The flop came Q54 and he check/folded to my 1600 bet. I was back up to 32k or so but then disaster struck in back to back hands. A cally/aggressive type player opened to 1800 UTG, the player on my right called from MP, I found AKss right behind him in MP and 3-bet to 6100, it folded to the tight player (from the K7 vs AA hand) on the button and he decided to cold 4-bet all in! He had about 50k or so so he had my 31k-32k covered pretty handily. The raiser and caller folded and I tanked for a while before deciding to fold this massive hand. One thing thats weird about this hand is my 3-betting size. Usually I would 3-bet a little smaller here to prevent plays like this but why I did this is because both the inital raiser and the guy on my right are super cally and I didnt want them both flatting my 3-bet then me having to check fold. I liked 6100 because 1)its likely I wouldnt get them both to call and 2)I really want them to think about committing their stacks here (they both had ~20k) and a smaller raise wont get cally types thinking about their stack so I kind of wanted to hit them harder. As for the fold, I dont know how weak it is but the guy is so tight and ABC it has to be a huge hand so I think I can live with letting it go here. Anyways, the very next hand the guy on my right opened to 1800 from UTG +2, I found QQ behind him in MP and just flatted, and the cally guy from the last hand called in the BB. The flop came down 876, they checked to me, I bet 3025, the caller in the BB went all in for ~18k, the raiser folded, and I called pretty quickly. He showed 99 and the board ran out 65 giving him a straight on the river and cracking my queens. I was down to 5500 or so after this hand. A couple hands later, I found TT UTG +1 and moved all in for my 5500. The cally guy called my all in from the button and showed AKo and the board ran out QQKTA (I run good) giving me a double up to around 12k. I opened to 1350 from the cutoff with A8ss into the tight guys BB and he was the only caller. The flop came down 974, he checked, I bet 1600, he put me all in, and I folded. I was at 8200 and we went on the 2nd break and onto the next level.
Level 7: 400-800 75. I moved to a new table with a different set of players (mostly younger aggressive guys but bad, stupid aggressive. . .like honestly terrible and they all thought they were awesome. . .Id say the "bad young players" I played with in Vegas were levels ahead of these guys). I found JTo in MP and moved about 6k in (effectively all in) and everyone folded. A player UTG +1 opened to 2200, I made it 6500 (of my ~10k) from UTG +2 with KK, and everyone folded. I found J8ss from the hijack and effectively moved all in (~8k) and everyone folded. A player opened to 1800 from UTG +1 and I reshoved my ~11k from the SB with J8o and he folded. I was at 14900 and we went up to the next level.
Level 8: 600-1200 100. First hand of the level, the player on my right moved all in for 4400 from MP, I found AQss in MP behind and reshoved, and everyone else folded. He showed 98cc and the board ran out 53552 getting me up to 22k or so. The button opened to 2800 and i moved about 18k (of my 22k) in from the BB with AQss and he folded. A donk limped UTG +1, I found A9o in the hijack and opened to 2700, and the BB and limper both called. The flop came Q65, they checked to me, I bet 4100, and they both folded. I was around 30k after this. I opened to 2700 from UTG with A7o and everyone folded. I was at 29700 and we went up another level.
Level 9: 800-1600 100 (odd 100 ante IMO). I was again moved to a new table this one consisting of tighter old men. One of these older men opened to 4000 from the cutoff and I just flatted from the button when I found the monsterous KK. He only had 15000 to start the hand so I didnt want to scare him into folding (like older people like to do when they get put all in). The flop came K82, he bet 4000 again, and I just called again. The turn came a 7, he went all in for 7000, I called, and he showed AQhh and was drawing dead and I was up to 45k or so. I was moved tables again after this and had a mix of new players at my table. I opened to 3500 from the hijack with 98o into the blinds of 2 older men (who I snap assume are tight ABC). The BB called and the flop came T62. He checked, I bet 4100, and he put me all in resulting in a fold by me. A player UTG opened to 3600, a player in MP called, the button called, I found AJo in the BB and moved my last 35k all in, and they all folded after about 30 seconds-1 minute tank each. I opened ot 3500 from the cutoff with KJo and the BB called. We checked to the river on 9993A where he bet 2500 and I called but mucked when he showed 77 (odd way to play it). I was at 41700 and we went up to the next level.
Level 10: 1000-2000 200. The button moved all in for 11k and I called in the BB with KJo after a little tank. He showed AKo and the board ran out 97649 giving him the pot. He was middle aged but I should have noted that he folded out his stack to 11k so he obviously always has it even when hes moving in on the button. I was down to 28k or so after this. I found 97cc in MP and moved about 15k all in (effectively all in) into 2 tight players blinds and everyone folded. I found 22 UTG +2 and moved my ~30k in and everyone folded. I was at around 32k after the blinds passed and I moved ~20k in from MP into the same tight players BBs with J9ss. However, this time another guy in MP went all in behind with a stack that covered me and I had to call. He showed AA and the board ran out KsJxTs9x2s giving me a great flop, better turn, and awesome river to crack AA (I run good) and double me to ~68k. A couple hands later, we went up to the next level and I had 68400.
Level 11: 1500-3000 300. I had 68400 but the average was only about 54k so there really wasnt much wiggle room for anyone in the tournament as the average stack was only 19 bbs and many of the tight old men had stacks that were much less than that. I found A9o from MP in the 2 tight guys blinds and raised to 6600 and everyone folded. I made it 6600 from A8o from UTG +2 and the guy behind me called in MP. The flop came K87, I checked, he bet 6000, and I called. We checked down a turn and river of 29 and I was no good when he showed JJ. I think I missed a good bluff opportunity here because I knew I was beat but that guy plays sooooo weaktight I can probably get him to fold if I put any pressure on him (especially since there were about 50 players left and 30 got paid). I opened to 6600 from UTG +1 with ATo and everyone folded. I was on 55k or so and I opened to 6600 from UTG +2 into the tight guys BBs with 95o. A player in MP moved all in for 18000 or so and I called. He showed KQss and the board ran out 5TJ49 rivering him a straight and knocking me down to 35k. I moved all in from UTG with KQo and everyone folded. I was at 40k or so and one of the tight guys whos blind I had been raising opened to 10k UTG. I found AQcc UTG +2 and moved all in. It folded to him and he called for his last 32k or so showing JJ and the board ran out 854J4 and I was crippled. This might be a mistake because he was really tight but he was still opening once a round or so and it seemed to me the pressure of the bubble was kind of getting to him and his shorter stack so I thought he might be raising lighter than what he usually would or what most old men would be raising with here. Even if this is the case it still might be a mistake because with the table I was at, I would probably have more success just stealing my stack up rather than taking a race or a 70-30 at this point. Maybe im over thinking it but I think its probably a mistake. I was crippled down to 5400 <2bbs and next hand I found 44 and moved all in UTG +1. A player behind isoed to 8000 and a player behind him went all in. The isoer called showing 88 and the all in had AJss and I wasnt able to hit a 4 and even if I did the AJ made a flush so I would have busted anyways.
I was eliminated in about 40th place with 30 people cashing so pretty disappointing especially considering I dogged AA with J9ss in a pretty large pot at that point of the tournament. All I can do is focus on playing better and come back the next day at the peak of my game.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Fall Poker Classic starts tomorrow
Just an update to say that the Fall Poker Classic at Canterbury Park is starting tomorrow and I will be playing a good amount (probably all) of the events. Therefore, I will have alot of tournament updates over the next month or so. Im really looking forward to getting back into the tournament flow so hopefully I can hit a nice score that I can report to you guys!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Cash Game: Running Aces September 28th 2011
After my long 7 1/2 hour session last night/this morning I was ready to settle in for another long session today at Running Aces. As a reminder here are my total stats for Running Aces.
1 session
7 1/2 hours
+$70
Unfortunately for me today things did not go well at ALL.
First hand I played today a player in MP opened to $10, the SB called, and I called in the BB when I found AKo. The flop came 643 and everyone checked. The turn came a 9, the SB checked, I bet $18, the raiser folded, and the SB called. The river came a 5, he checked, I checked behind, and he showed K3 for bottom pair. I made it $8 UTG with A3dd and a player in MP called. The flop came AK6, I bet $12, and he called. The turn came a 7 and we both checked. The river came a 5, I bet $20, and he folded. I checked my option in the BB with several limpers with 42hh and the flop came K95 2 hearts. I checked, a limper bet $4, another limper called, and I called as well. The turn came the Jh making my flush, I checked, and the 2 guys behind both checked also. The river came an offsuit T, I bet $12, the bettor folded, and he other MP guy made it $24. I didnt really want to call that much but I did and he showed me T6hh for a higher flush. Guess I could have folded but it was pretty early and I didnt know his skill level so with a 1 card straight on board its a tough sell to fold. I was down to $150 so I bought back in for $40 more (-$50).
There were 2 limpers and I made it $8 with KQo from the cutoff and got called from the BB and the limpers. The flop came AJ3 2 diamonds, they checked to me, I bet $12, and the BB was the only caller. The turn came an offsuit 3, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 6d, he lead $16 and I folded. Its too bad the flush had to come because I was somewhat thinking he had the flush draw just because he was in the BB and if he had an A its a weird way to play it. I was down to $160 (-$80) after this hand. I then got coolered pretty hard in a hand that cost me quite a bit of money. I made it $8 with AJo from UTG +2 and got called by both of the blinds. The flop came A53, they checked to me, I bet $12, and the SB called. The turn came a J giving me top 2, he checked, I bet $20, he made it $60, and I called. The river came a 6, he bet $60, and I called and mucked when he showed me a set of 3s. Bah. . .I guess I am never good on the river here vs a mainly solid player so I should probably fold but I am going to blame this on the rust I had from taking 2 1/2 months off. Gah easy fold maybe even on the turn too but IDK maybe im being results oriented. Anyways after this I rebought for another $200 putting me in for $440 total. My stack was at $220 or so so I was -$220 on the day.
There were 2 limps and I made it $10 from the SB with QQ. I got 1 call and the flop came J53 all clubs (I did not have a club). I lead for $16 and he folded. There was 1 limp and I made it $8 with KQo and the limper called. We checked to the turn on AT3T where he folded to my bet of $12. It folded to the button who opened for $8. I found KK in the SB and 3-bet to $22 resulting in everyone folding. aldskfj;alsdfkj;lj.
I thought I would be able to take this hot streak back to winning but it was not to be so. I was at around $220 when I found AKo UTG +1 after UTG had limped. I made it $12, everyone folded to the SB who made it $50, the limper folded, I made it $110, he went all in for about $160-$170 total and I called. He showed AA and I wasnt able to catch up on TT5K9. I guess I could have flatted his $50 and folded but whatever. He had been active enough and he was the guy I had played all the pots in the previous paragraph with (QQ, KQ, and KK) so there was a chance he might have been getting "fed up" with my raising but I guess they always have it. I was down to my last $70 (-$370) after this hand and was ready to go after this hand (I didnt have enough money for a full buy-in so theres no real point in playing short stacked) but I was UTG so I decided to look at my cards before leaving. I found KJcc and opened to $8 and got called by a guy on the button. The flop came Qc9c5x and I got it in vs his 97o and failed to catch my million outs busting my stack and making me out of the whole -$440 for the session. GAHHHHH so frustrating.
I was planning on a nice long winning session but got just obliterated in 1 1/2 hours. What a waste of time. . .I dont know if I play badly or what but it sucks.
Overall that makes 2 sessions with 9 hours of play with me being -$370 total. Hopefully I can recover from this to get back in the green.
1 session
7 1/2 hours
+$70
Unfortunately for me today things did not go well at ALL.
First hand I played today a player in MP opened to $10, the SB called, and I called in the BB when I found AKo. The flop came 643 and everyone checked. The turn came a 9, the SB checked, I bet $18, the raiser folded, and the SB called. The river came a 5, he checked, I checked behind, and he showed K3 for bottom pair. I made it $8 UTG with A3dd and a player in MP called. The flop came AK6, I bet $12, and he called. The turn came a 7 and we both checked. The river came a 5, I bet $20, and he folded. I checked my option in the BB with several limpers with 42hh and the flop came K95 2 hearts. I checked, a limper bet $4, another limper called, and I called as well. The turn came the Jh making my flush, I checked, and the 2 guys behind both checked also. The river came an offsuit T, I bet $12, the bettor folded, and he other MP guy made it $24. I didnt really want to call that much but I did and he showed me T6hh for a higher flush. Guess I could have folded but it was pretty early and I didnt know his skill level so with a 1 card straight on board its a tough sell to fold. I was down to $150 so I bought back in for $40 more (-$50).
There were 2 limpers and I made it $8 with KQo from the cutoff and got called from the BB and the limpers. The flop came AJ3 2 diamonds, they checked to me, I bet $12, and the BB was the only caller. The turn came an offsuit 3, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 6d, he lead $16 and I folded. Its too bad the flush had to come because I was somewhat thinking he had the flush draw just because he was in the BB and if he had an A its a weird way to play it. I was down to $160 (-$80) after this hand. I then got coolered pretty hard in a hand that cost me quite a bit of money. I made it $8 with AJo from UTG +2 and got called by both of the blinds. The flop came A53, they checked to me, I bet $12, and the SB called. The turn came a J giving me top 2, he checked, I bet $20, he made it $60, and I called. The river came a 6, he bet $60, and I called and mucked when he showed me a set of 3s. Bah. . .I guess I am never good on the river here vs a mainly solid player so I should probably fold but I am going to blame this on the rust I had from taking 2 1/2 months off. Gah easy fold maybe even on the turn too but IDK maybe im being results oriented. Anyways after this I rebought for another $200 putting me in for $440 total. My stack was at $220 or so so I was -$220 on the day.
There were 2 limps and I made it $10 from the SB with QQ. I got 1 call and the flop came J53 all clubs (I did not have a club). I lead for $16 and he folded. There was 1 limp and I made it $8 with KQo and the limper called. We checked to the turn on AT3T where he folded to my bet of $12. It folded to the button who opened for $8. I found KK in the SB and 3-bet to $22 resulting in everyone folding. aldskfj;alsdfkj;lj.
I thought I would be able to take this hot streak back to winning but it was not to be so. I was at around $220 when I found AKo UTG +1 after UTG had limped. I made it $12, everyone folded to the SB who made it $50, the limper folded, I made it $110, he went all in for about $160-$170 total and I called. He showed AA and I wasnt able to catch up on TT5K9. I guess I could have flatted his $50 and folded but whatever. He had been active enough and he was the guy I had played all the pots in the previous paragraph with (QQ, KQ, and KK) so there was a chance he might have been getting "fed up" with my raising but I guess they always have it. I was down to my last $70 (-$370) after this hand and was ready to go after this hand (I didnt have enough money for a full buy-in so theres no real point in playing short stacked) but I was UTG so I decided to look at my cards before leaving. I found KJcc and opened to $8 and got called by a guy on the button. The flop came Qc9c5x and I got it in vs his 97o and failed to catch my million outs busting my stack and making me out of the whole -$440 for the session. GAHHHHH so frustrating.
I was planning on a nice long winning session but got just obliterated in 1 1/2 hours. What a waste of time. . .I dont know if I play badly or what but it sucks.
Overall that makes 2 sessions with 9 hours of play with me being -$370 total. Hopefully I can recover from this to get back in the green.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Cash Game: Running Aces September 27th 2011
After an extremely long hiatus from playing poker, I finally got back on the bike with some good ole cash at Running Aces. The Fall Poker Classic tournament series at Canterbury Park is coming up at the start of October so I wanted to get some practice before the actual events.
I started with $200 and this (as always) was a $2-$60 spread game so not a true no limit game but it plays more or less like it. First hand I played there were 2 limps to me in the cutoff, I made it $10 with QJcc, and the button and both of the limps caled. The flop came down Q94, the limps checked to me, I bet $16, and one of the limpers was the only caller. The turn came a K, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came another 4, he lead for $30, I called but was a loser when he showed JT for the turned straight. Pretty terrible call as I could only beat a bluff. I was down to $140 or so and I reloaded for $60 more so I was in for $260 total.
There was a total donk on my left and he was doing random raises to $4 or $6 nearly every hand so I was trying to do the best I could to get involved in pots with him. I found AQo and limped in the cutoff, the donk made it $6 on the button, the BB called, I 3-bet to $20, the button called, and the BB folded. The flop came T62, I checked, he bet $30, I had to fold, and he showed JJ for a massive hand. . .this was more or less the apex of his range so Im lucky I didnt lose more. Everyone limped to me in MP, I limped in MP, and we saw the flop 7-handed. The flop came 433, one of the EP limpers bet $4, another called, I made it $16, and the bettor was the only caller. The turn came a 3, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 9, he bet $20, I called and was good when he mucked. I was up to $215 after this hand (-$45). The donk guy made it $4 UTG, 2 people called, and I called with K6cc from the BB. The flop came K84, I checked, the donk bet $6, both of the other preflop callers called, and I called as well. The turn came another K, I checked but everyone checked behind. The river came a 5, I checked again but everyone checked behind again and I was able to take it down. I completed the SB after several limper with KTcc, the donk in the BB made it $10, 4 people called, and I called as well. The flop came J88 and I folded to a bet.
I was hanging around $225 or so when I was able to win a nice sized pot in a pretty crazy pot. There were 4 limps to me and I limped ATo in the hijack. The donk behind me made it $10, 5 people called to me, I decided to iso/squeeze with my semi-strong hand so I max raised to $70. The donk guy decided to quickly call the $60 more, then it got craze when another one of the players put in the $70 and another guy called all in for about $60 total. . .whoa! All of the sudden there was almost $300 in the main pot and I felt semi-naked with my ATo. The flop came AJ5, the 1st caller checked to me, I bet $60, the donk folded (what he angrily told me was TT and then he told me I told me I played that hand bad with AT), and so did the other caller and I was HU vs the all in guy. The board ran out QA and the all in mucked when I tabled my hand and I was up to $440 or so (+$180).
I limped UTG with A5hh and the button limped as well. The flop came 932 all hearts giving me the nut flush, the blinds checked to me, I bet $6 and the button and SB called. The turn came an offsuit 7, the SB checked, I bet $20, and they both folded. A player UTG opened to $6, I called from the button with 88, and the blinds called as well. The flop came KT9 all diamonds (I didnt have one) and everyone checked around. The turn came the 8d giving me a set but putting 4 diamonds on board, the donk from the SB bet out $6, the other 2 folded, and I called trying to pair the board. The river came a blank 6, he bet $8, and I folded. A player in EP limped, I made it $6 from MP with T9o, and the button and the limper called. The flop cmae TT5, I bet $10, and they both folded. The donk limped UTG, the button made it $7, I found QQ in the BB and made it $21, he 4-bet me to $80, I made it $140, and he went all in for $165 total which resulted in a call from me. The board ran out A9795 and he showed me AQo for the paired A taking a pretty nice sized pot from me. After this big hand I was back down to $280 (+$20).
A player in EP opened for $8, I called from MP with AJo, and the BB called as well. The flop came 433, they checked to me, I bet $20, and the BB called. The turn came a T, he checked, I bet $50, and he folded. He was a weak-tighter type player (at least at this point in the night) and I didnt really see a hand that he would really hit the flop or like the turn that much with so I figured I could take him off of his hand pretty easily. I made it $6 with JTdd from the hijack, the donk called from the cutoff, the button moved all in for $19, the BB flatted the 3-bet, I called, the donk decided to max to $79, the BB re-maxed to $139, and I folded (it ended up KK for BB vs QQ of donk). I limped the cutoff with T9o, the donk on the button made it $8, 3 people called and I called as well. We checked to the turn on Q339 where it checked to me, I bet $12, and got one caller from MP. The river came a J, he checked, I checked behind but mucked when he showed JTo for the straight draw that got there with a rivered pair of jacks. I called $6 with 7 other people with 33 but I had to fold a 765 flop. I was at $230 total (-$30).
I opened to $10 in EP with AdQo and got 6 callers. The flop came KQ8 all diamonds giving me 2nd pair and the nut flush draw. We checked to a guy in MP, he end all in for $34, it folded to me and I called. He showed 76dd for the flopped flush and I failed to hit a diamond on the turn or river and was down to $180 (-$80). I made it $12 from the button with AJo when there were 3 limpers and the SB, BB, and 1 limper called. The flop came K94, they checked to me, I bet $30, and everyone folded. I limped 22 and had to call $10 total when the donk behind me raised it and 3 other people called. We checked to the turn on AJ8T where I folded to a bet.
I then was able to play another funny pot by doing the ole limp/reraise the donk for a big pot. There were 2 limps to me and I limped AJo behind. The donk behind me made it $18, 2 people called, I made it $78, he went all in for $91 total, one of the guys who called $18 decided to flat, and I called the $13 more as well. The flop came down T63, the flatter checked, I bet $40 and he folded leaving me HU with the all in guy. Funny hand to take a giant pot with A high. . .it makes me feel good when my plan of limp/reraising the donk on my left worked perfectly like that twice. I was back up to $380 (+$120) or so after that hand.
There were 2 limps to me on the button and I made it $8 with 64hh getting 3 calls. The flop came 842, the donk in the SB lead for $8, 2 people called, I decided to make it $40 (semi iso attempt), the donk in the SB called, and one of the flatters went all in for $92. I just folded and the donk called (it was 86o for the all in vs the A5o for the donk and I almost got the MP guy to fold so this play was so close to working but it didnt). There was 1 limp and I made it $8 with K4cc from MP and the limper was the only caller. The the flop came AxQc5c flopping me the 2nd nut flush draw, he checked, I bet $12, and he called. The turn came an offsuit 2, he checked and I took my free card behind. The river came an offsuit 9 missing me, he lead $22 and I folded with him showing an A. There was 1 limp to me on the button and I raised to $8 when I found 99. The button, BB and limper called adn we saw a flop of AQ7. They checked to me, I c-bet $12, and the BB was the only caller. The turn came a K, he checked, I bet $30, and he folded A4 face up. The K was a good card for me to 2-barrel especially when he was a weaker type player and I knew I could get him off of a hand. There was a straddle, I made it $14 from UTG with T9o, and I got 4 calls. We checked to the turn on AK42 where I ended up folding to a bet.
The hijack opened to $6, I called from the button with A7o, and the BB called as well. The flop came 974, they checked to me, I bet $10, and they both called. The turn came a 5, they checked again, I bet $20 this time and they both called again. . .uh-oh should have shut it down after the flop I guess. The river came a J, they checked to me, I checked behind and one of them showed JTss for the winner. There was a straddle and I made it $14 from UTG with JJ and the SB, BB and straddler all called. The flop came KJ9, they checked to me, I bet $30, and everyone folded. There were 2 limps to the button, he made it $8, I called from the BB with 88, and 3 other people called. The flop came T42 and I folded to a bet and a raise. At this point I was hovering right around $400 (+$140) for the day.
There was 1 limp, the cutoff made it $16, I was getting a semi-tilty vibe from him at the time so I took a gamble in position by calling with Q9dd. The SB BB and limper also ended up calling and we took the flop 5 ways. The flop came 433 and we all checked. The turn came a Q, the SB lead for $20, the initial raiser made it $50, and I ended up just folding even after making top pair. I made it $14 from UTG with a straddle and Q8cc. I got 1 caller from the SB and the flop came 984. He checked and I checked behind. The turn came another 8 giving me 3 of a kind, he lead for $16, and I jsut called. The river came an A, he checked, I bet $36, and he folded. I made it $6 from the button with A9o and the blinds called. We checked to the turn on Q65A where I bet $12 and they folded. I found AKo UTG and opened for $8 and the BB was the only caller. The flop came K92, he checked, I bet $12, and he called. The turn came an 8, he checked again, I bet $30, and he called again. The river came a 3rd K giving me 3 of a kind, he checked, I bet $60, but he folded (A9 face up might have gotten value if I went smaller.) At this point I was up to around $440 (+$180).
There were 2 limps and I made it $8 on the button with 33 which got 3 callers. The flop came AQ6 and I folded to a bet. I then decided to make a genius call that cost me some money. There were 3 limps to me and I bet $12 with K9cc from the hijack. The cutoff, BB, and a limper called and we saw a flop of AJ5 2 diamonds. They checked to me, I bet $30 and the BB was the only caller. The turn came a 7, he checked and I checked behind. The river came another A, he bet $30, and I decided to call with K high hoping he had the missed flush draw but didnt win when he showed AT for 3 aces. Ugh. . .shouldnt be calling K high here. A player UTG limped, a tight decent player in MP made it $10, I found TT on the button and 3-bet to $24 and the raiser called. We checked down A437K and he showed me KJo for the winner. . .ugh again should be betting the flop or at least the turn when checked to me. After these 2 hands I was down to around $320 (+$80)
I made it $8 with ATo in MP, got 2 calls, and folded on a 975 flop. I called $8 with 87ss and folded on a 542K board. There was 1 limp and I made it $10 when I found QQ in MP and the limper called. The flop came T65 all clubs and he folded to a bet of $16. I found QQ again, this time in the cutoff. I opened for $8 and the BB called. The flop came 953, and he check called my $14 bet. The turn came a 9, he checked and I checked behind. The river came another 3 double pairing the board, he donked $24 and I called resulting in him mucking. A player in MP opened to $6, I decided to 3-bet to $16 from the cutoff with J3hh, and the BB cold 4-bet to $66 resulting in me folding (and him showing KK). A player UTG made it $8 and I called in the cutoff with 87cc, The flop came Q97, he checked, I bet $14, and he called. The turn came a 4, he checked and I decided to check behind this time. The river came another Q, he checked, I value bet $20, and he quickly folded. A player in MP made it $8, another MP called, I called from the hijack with T7dd, and the cutoff and BB also called. The flop came QT4, the raiser bet $12, I made it $40, and she called. The turn came another T, she checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 4, she checked, I bet $60, and she folded. After this I was back to around $370 (+$110)
I then was able to win a nice gift pot from a new player at the table. There were 4 limps and I checked the BB with K5o. The flop came K75, I lead $6, and 1 of the limpers called. The turn came a T, I lead for $16, he minraised to $32, and I called. The river came a 9, I checked, he bet $32, I called and was good when he showed A5 for bottom pair (bluff). I limped UTG +1 with QJo, a player in LP made it 8 and got 7 calls including me. We checked to the turn on J942 where I made a tester bet of $22 with my top pair and I got called in 1 place. The river came a 3, I bet $40 (because I now thought I was good) and he folded. I made it $8 from UTG with 55 and the BB was the only caller. The flop came A96, she lead for $8, I made it $22, and she folded. I called $10 out of the SB with J8hh and several other people. We checked down A537A where I folded to a bet. I was then able to win my last nice pot of the night. There were 4 limps to me in the BB and I made it $12 with JJ. Only 1 of the limpers called and we saw a pretty scary flop of my hand of T87. I checked (for pot control), he bet $16, and I called. The turn came a 9 giving me a straight, I checked, and he checked behind this time. The river came a 4, I lead for $34 and he called and muck after saying "nice turn". After this I was at me peak of ~$480 (+$200)
However, after this my night turned a little south with a couple of bigger pots where I probably shouldnt have lost as much as I did. First of these pots, I opened for $12 with 76hh from the hijack and got 4 calls including the cutoff. The flop came down K62, they checked to me, I c-bet $32, and the cutoff called. The turn came a 9, I 2-barrelled $54, and he called after a while in the tank. The river came a Q (taking away any chance of me bluffing the river becuase its obvious what he has at this point), I checked, he bet $60, I folded, and he showed the obvious KQ. Damn, he said he was really close to folding on the turn but even if you are close to folding here I dont think you really ever are folding. I had been playing with him all day and I had rarely taken that strong of line vs anyone so I was hoping hed fold out alot of his hands here but KQ was too strong for him to fold (KJ/KT are probably gone). Oh well I cant get too mad at myself for being aggressive here. The 2nd medium hand I played, the lady opened the cutoff to $8, I called the button with 77, and the BB called as well. The flop came 963, they checked, I bet $12, and they both called. The turn came a T, they checked to me again, I bet $26, the BB moved all in for $77, the raiser lady folded, and I called. He showed T7 and had me nearly drawing dead to win which I didnt on the J river. I guess I could have folded but I am getting decent odds and I think I have a good enough shot at having the best hand a certain % of the time that my call isnt terrible. My thought was on the flop he had a mid pair or straight draw and she absolutely had AK/AQ. Thats why I fired a 2nd barrel when they checked to me. I know the straight got there but the way he was acting he definently didnt have the striaght so I went with my read/fact that I still had outs (or I thought I did. . .its being results oriented to think he had exactly T7) but it didnt work out.
I left soon thereafter with $330 for a total of being in the green +$70. Not a great hourly for 7 1/2 hours of poker but a winning session is a winning session so I cant complain too much.
I started with $200 and this (as always) was a $2-$60 spread game so not a true no limit game but it plays more or less like it. First hand I played there were 2 limps to me in the cutoff, I made it $10 with QJcc, and the button and both of the limps caled. The flop came down Q94, the limps checked to me, I bet $16, and one of the limpers was the only caller. The turn came a K, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came another 4, he lead for $30, I called but was a loser when he showed JT for the turned straight. Pretty terrible call as I could only beat a bluff. I was down to $140 or so and I reloaded for $60 more so I was in for $260 total.
There was a total donk on my left and he was doing random raises to $4 or $6 nearly every hand so I was trying to do the best I could to get involved in pots with him. I found AQo and limped in the cutoff, the donk made it $6 on the button, the BB called, I 3-bet to $20, the button called, and the BB folded. The flop came T62, I checked, he bet $30, I had to fold, and he showed JJ for a massive hand. . .this was more or less the apex of his range so Im lucky I didnt lose more. Everyone limped to me in MP, I limped in MP, and we saw the flop 7-handed. The flop came 433, one of the EP limpers bet $4, another called, I made it $16, and the bettor was the only caller. The turn came a 3, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 9, he bet $20, I called and was good when he mucked. I was up to $215 after this hand (-$45). The donk guy made it $4 UTG, 2 people called, and I called with K6cc from the BB. The flop came K84, I checked, the donk bet $6, both of the other preflop callers called, and I called as well. The turn came another K, I checked but everyone checked behind. The river came a 5, I checked again but everyone checked behind again and I was able to take it down. I completed the SB after several limper with KTcc, the donk in the BB made it $10, 4 people called, and I called as well. The flop came J88 and I folded to a bet.
I was hanging around $225 or so when I was able to win a nice sized pot in a pretty crazy pot. There were 4 limps to me and I limped ATo in the hijack. The donk behind me made it $10, 5 people called to me, I decided to iso/squeeze with my semi-strong hand so I max raised to $70. The donk guy decided to quickly call the $60 more, then it got craze when another one of the players put in the $70 and another guy called all in for about $60 total. . .whoa! All of the sudden there was almost $300 in the main pot and I felt semi-naked with my ATo. The flop came AJ5, the 1st caller checked to me, I bet $60, the donk folded (what he angrily told me was TT and then he told me I told me I played that hand bad with AT), and so did the other caller and I was HU vs the all in guy. The board ran out QA and the all in mucked when I tabled my hand and I was up to $440 or so (+$180).
I limped UTG with A5hh and the button limped as well. The flop came 932 all hearts giving me the nut flush, the blinds checked to me, I bet $6 and the button and SB called. The turn came an offsuit 7, the SB checked, I bet $20, and they both folded. A player UTG opened to $6, I called from the button with 88, and the blinds called as well. The flop came KT9 all diamonds (I didnt have one) and everyone checked around. The turn came the 8d giving me a set but putting 4 diamonds on board, the donk from the SB bet out $6, the other 2 folded, and I called trying to pair the board. The river came a blank 6, he bet $8, and I folded. A player in EP limped, I made it $6 from MP with T9o, and the button and the limper called. The flop cmae TT5, I bet $10, and they both folded. The donk limped UTG, the button made it $7, I found QQ in the BB and made it $21, he 4-bet me to $80, I made it $140, and he went all in for $165 total which resulted in a call from me. The board ran out A9795 and he showed me AQo for the paired A taking a pretty nice sized pot from me. After this big hand I was back down to $280 (+$20).
A player in EP opened for $8, I called from MP with AJo, and the BB called as well. The flop came 433, they checked to me, I bet $20, and the BB called. The turn came a T, he checked, I bet $50, and he folded. He was a weak-tighter type player (at least at this point in the night) and I didnt really see a hand that he would really hit the flop or like the turn that much with so I figured I could take him off of his hand pretty easily. I made it $6 with JTdd from the hijack, the donk called from the cutoff, the button moved all in for $19, the BB flatted the 3-bet, I called, the donk decided to max to $79, the BB re-maxed to $139, and I folded (it ended up KK for BB vs QQ of donk). I limped the cutoff with T9o, the donk on the button made it $8, 3 people called and I called as well. We checked to the turn on Q339 where it checked to me, I bet $12, and got one caller from MP. The river came a J, he checked, I checked behind but mucked when he showed JTo for the straight draw that got there with a rivered pair of jacks. I called $6 with 7 other people with 33 but I had to fold a 765 flop. I was at $230 total (-$30).
I opened to $10 in EP with AdQo and got 6 callers. The flop came KQ8 all diamonds giving me 2nd pair and the nut flush draw. We checked to a guy in MP, he end all in for $34, it folded to me and I called. He showed 76dd for the flopped flush and I failed to hit a diamond on the turn or river and was down to $180 (-$80). I made it $12 from the button with AJo when there were 3 limpers and the SB, BB, and 1 limper called. The flop came K94, they checked to me, I bet $30, and everyone folded. I limped 22 and had to call $10 total when the donk behind me raised it and 3 other people called. We checked to the turn on AJ8T where I folded to a bet.
I then was able to play another funny pot by doing the ole limp/reraise the donk for a big pot. There were 2 limps to me and I limped AJo behind. The donk behind me made it $18, 2 people called, I made it $78, he went all in for $91 total, one of the guys who called $18 decided to flat, and I called the $13 more as well. The flop came down T63, the flatter checked, I bet $40 and he folded leaving me HU with the all in guy. Funny hand to take a giant pot with A high. . .it makes me feel good when my plan of limp/reraising the donk on my left worked perfectly like that twice. I was back up to $380 (+$120) or so after that hand.
There were 2 limps to me on the button and I made it $8 with 64hh getting 3 calls. The flop came 842, the donk in the SB lead for $8, 2 people called, I decided to make it $40 (semi iso attempt), the donk in the SB called, and one of the flatters went all in for $92. I just folded and the donk called (it was 86o for the all in vs the A5o for the donk and I almost got the MP guy to fold so this play was so close to working but it didnt). There was 1 limp and I made it $8 with K4cc from MP and the limper was the only caller. The the flop came AxQc5c flopping me the 2nd nut flush draw, he checked, I bet $12, and he called. The turn came an offsuit 2, he checked and I took my free card behind. The river came an offsuit 9 missing me, he lead $22 and I folded with him showing an A. There was 1 limp to me on the button and I raised to $8 when I found 99. The button, BB and limper called adn we saw a flop of AQ7. They checked to me, I c-bet $12, and the BB was the only caller. The turn came a K, he checked, I bet $30, and he folded A4 face up. The K was a good card for me to 2-barrel especially when he was a weaker type player and I knew I could get him off of a hand. There was a straddle, I made it $14 from UTG with T9o, and I got 4 calls. We checked to the turn on AK42 where I ended up folding to a bet.
The hijack opened to $6, I called from the button with A7o, and the BB called as well. The flop came 974, they checked to me, I bet $10, and they both called. The turn came a 5, they checked again, I bet $20 this time and they both called again. . .uh-oh should have shut it down after the flop I guess. The river came a J, they checked to me, I checked behind and one of them showed JTss for the winner. There was a straddle and I made it $14 from UTG with JJ and the SB, BB and straddler all called. The flop came KJ9, they checked to me, I bet $30, and everyone folded. There were 2 limps to the button, he made it $8, I called from the BB with 88, and 3 other people called. The flop came T42 and I folded to a bet and a raise. At this point I was hovering right around $400 (+$140) for the day.
There was 1 limp, the cutoff made it $16, I was getting a semi-tilty vibe from him at the time so I took a gamble in position by calling with Q9dd. The SB BB and limper also ended up calling and we took the flop 5 ways. The flop came 433 and we all checked. The turn came a Q, the SB lead for $20, the initial raiser made it $50, and I ended up just folding even after making top pair. I made it $14 from UTG with a straddle and Q8cc. I got 1 caller from the SB and the flop came 984. He checked and I checked behind. The turn came another 8 giving me 3 of a kind, he lead for $16, and I jsut called. The river came an A, he checked, I bet $36, and he folded. I made it $6 from the button with A9o and the blinds called. We checked to the turn on Q65A where I bet $12 and they folded. I found AKo UTG and opened for $8 and the BB was the only caller. The flop came K92, he checked, I bet $12, and he called. The turn came an 8, he checked again, I bet $30, and he called again. The river came a 3rd K giving me 3 of a kind, he checked, I bet $60, but he folded (A9 face up might have gotten value if I went smaller.) At this point I was up to around $440 (+$180).
There were 2 limps and I made it $8 on the button with 33 which got 3 callers. The flop came AQ6 and I folded to a bet. I then decided to make a genius call that cost me some money. There were 3 limps to me and I bet $12 with K9cc from the hijack. The cutoff, BB, and a limper called and we saw a flop of AJ5 2 diamonds. They checked to me, I bet $30 and the BB was the only caller. The turn came a 7, he checked and I checked behind. The river came another A, he bet $30, and I decided to call with K high hoping he had the missed flush draw but didnt win when he showed AT for 3 aces. Ugh. . .shouldnt be calling K high here. A player UTG limped, a tight decent player in MP made it $10, I found TT on the button and 3-bet to $24 and the raiser called. We checked down A437K and he showed me KJo for the winner. . .ugh again should be betting the flop or at least the turn when checked to me. After these 2 hands I was down to around $320 (+$80)
I made it $8 with ATo in MP, got 2 calls, and folded on a 975 flop. I called $8 with 87ss and folded on a 542K board. There was 1 limp and I made it $10 when I found QQ in MP and the limper called. The flop came T65 all clubs and he folded to a bet of $16. I found QQ again, this time in the cutoff. I opened for $8 and the BB called. The flop came 953, and he check called my $14 bet. The turn came a 9, he checked and I checked behind. The river came another 3 double pairing the board, he donked $24 and I called resulting in him mucking. A player in MP opened to $6, I decided to 3-bet to $16 from the cutoff with J3hh, and the BB cold 4-bet to $66 resulting in me folding (and him showing KK). A player UTG made it $8 and I called in the cutoff with 87cc, The flop came Q97, he checked, I bet $14, and he called. The turn came a 4, he checked and I decided to check behind this time. The river came another Q, he checked, I value bet $20, and he quickly folded. A player in MP made it $8, another MP called, I called from the hijack with T7dd, and the cutoff and BB also called. The flop came QT4, the raiser bet $12, I made it $40, and she called. The turn came another T, she checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 4, she checked, I bet $60, and she folded. After this I was back to around $370 (+$110)
I then was able to win a nice gift pot from a new player at the table. There were 4 limps and I checked the BB with K5o. The flop came K75, I lead $6, and 1 of the limpers called. The turn came a T, I lead for $16, he minraised to $32, and I called. The river came a 9, I checked, he bet $32, I called and was good when he showed A5 for bottom pair (bluff). I limped UTG +1 with QJo, a player in LP made it 8 and got 7 calls including me. We checked to the turn on J942 where I made a tester bet of $22 with my top pair and I got called in 1 place. The river came a 3, I bet $40 (because I now thought I was good) and he folded. I made it $8 from UTG with 55 and the BB was the only caller. The flop came A96, she lead for $8, I made it $22, and she folded. I called $10 out of the SB with J8hh and several other people. We checked down A537A where I folded to a bet. I was then able to win my last nice pot of the night. There were 4 limps to me in the BB and I made it $12 with JJ. Only 1 of the limpers called and we saw a pretty scary flop of my hand of T87. I checked (for pot control), he bet $16, and I called. The turn came a 9 giving me a straight, I checked, and he checked behind this time. The river came a 4, I lead for $34 and he called and muck after saying "nice turn". After this I was at me peak of ~$480 (+$200)
However, after this my night turned a little south with a couple of bigger pots where I probably shouldnt have lost as much as I did. First of these pots, I opened for $12 with 76hh from the hijack and got 4 calls including the cutoff. The flop came down K62, they checked to me, I c-bet $32, and the cutoff called. The turn came a 9, I 2-barrelled $54, and he called after a while in the tank. The river came a Q (taking away any chance of me bluffing the river becuase its obvious what he has at this point), I checked, he bet $60, I folded, and he showed the obvious KQ. Damn, he said he was really close to folding on the turn but even if you are close to folding here I dont think you really ever are folding. I had been playing with him all day and I had rarely taken that strong of line vs anyone so I was hoping hed fold out alot of his hands here but KQ was too strong for him to fold (KJ/KT are probably gone). Oh well I cant get too mad at myself for being aggressive here. The 2nd medium hand I played, the lady opened the cutoff to $8, I called the button with 77, and the BB called as well. The flop came 963, they checked, I bet $12, and they both called. The turn came a T, they checked to me again, I bet $26, the BB moved all in for $77, the raiser lady folded, and I called. He showed T7 and had me nearly drawing dead to win which I didnt on the J river. I guess I could have folded but I am getting decent odds and I think I have a good enough shot at having the best hand a certain % of the time that my call isnt terrible. My thought was on the flop he had a mid pair or straight draw and she absolutely had AK/AQ. Thats why I fired a 2nd barrel when they checked to me. I know the straight got there but the way he was acting he definently didnt have the striaght so I went with my read/fact that I still had outs (or I thought I did. . .its being results oriented to think he had exactly T7) but it didnt work out.
I left soon thereafter with $330 for a total of being in the green +$70. Not a great hourly for 7 1/2 hours of poker but a winning session is a winning session so I cant complain too much.
Tourney: July 9th and 10th 2011 Caesars Megastack Main Event $1080
My final tournament of the summer was the Caesars Megastack Main Event. My last main event with a ridiculous structure I final tabled so I hoped to continue that momentum to this one. There were 2 day 1s (with reentry both in each of the day 1s and from day 1a to day 1b) and this tournament ended up with over 1300 runners and an absurd 268k to 1st place! This tournament we started with a massive 50000 in chips and the levels were an awesome hour long. I actually missed the 1st 25-50 level (which was completely unnecessary) so I came in at the 2nd level.
DAY 1
Level 2: 50-100. I sat down in the 2nd level thinking a really long day was ahead but not looking forward to the first couple levels as I figured I would NEVER be able to make any real headway when everyone has 500 bbs. However, I started the day on a ridiculous heater and quickly built a decent stack. Very first hand of the day, I found 55 behind a couple of limpers and decided to limp as well. The flop came 875 2 clubs, they checked to me, I bet 300 and got 3 callers. The turn came an offsuit 3, I bet 1025, and got 1 caller. The river came an offsuit 8 filling me up, he checked, I bet 3100, and he called mucking when I showed. I opened to 250 UTG with A6hh and got 6 callers (weeee. . .500 big blinds). We checked to the river on Jx3x2h3hTh where I runner-runnered the nut flush, I bet 1700, and got one caller who mucked when I showed. UTG limped and I made it 650 with KK from UTG +2. The limper called and we saw a flop of J65 2 hearts. He check/called a bet of 1200 and we saw the Kh on the turn giving me top set but putting a potential flush out there. He lead for 2400 this time and I called. The river came a beautiful 6 pairing the board, he bet 6100, I made it 25000, and he folded. This guy was the biggest donk at the table (and you will hear more about him in future hands) but even after only seeing 2 orbits of his play, I was fairly certain that he wasnt folding a flush here and made the conclusion after the hand that he was absolutely bluffing. I made it 250 with T9hh from UTG, got 2 calls, and folded on the turn on a KQT5 board. I had increased my stack to a ridiculous 67075 after less than one level of play and we went up to the next level.
Level 3: 100-200. A player UTG opened to 600 and I 3-bet to 1625 with KJo from MP. The BB flatted and the original raiser called as well. We checked down a board of AK579 and the BB took it down with his AT. I made it 525 from UTG with 77 and got 2 MP callers. The flop came A76, I bet 1200, and got 1 call. The turn came a 5, I bet 3000, and he called. The river came a 3, I checked, and he checked behind showing a no good A9 in the process. Its easy to play when you flop sets every time. I dont know why I didnt bet the river but I figured it was OK to air on the cautious side when we are playing so deep and I already had built a stack. The button opened to 600, I called from the BB with QsJx, and a UTG limper also called. The flop came AKT all spades (no big deal), I checked to trap, but everyone else checked behind me. The turn came a 7, I bet 1525, and the UTG limper called. The river came a 9, I bet 4100, and he folded. I made it 525 with 54hh from UTG +1 and got 4 calls. The flop came J87 and I folded to a bet. I limped from EP (trying new things) with QThh, the button limped, the SB (idiot who I was talking about before) made it 900, I called, and the button called as well. The flop came JT4, the SB checked, I bet 1500, the button called, the SB made it 5000, and I ended up just folding. The cutoff limped (idiot guy), the button made it 525, I called from the SB with A4dd, and the BB and cutoff both called as well. The flop came Jx3d2d flopping me a straight flush draw, I checked, and everyone else checked behind. The turn came another 3, I bet 1500, and the cutoff (idiot guy) was the only caller. The river came an offsuit Q missing all my draws, I checked and he checked behind showing a good 62o for the winner. No point in bluffing when the idiot will probably call and I will be able to get him later. There were 3 limps to me on the button and I made it 1500 when I found QQ. The idiot guy was the only caller and we saw a flop of 877. He checked, and I checked behind (value/pot control). The turn came a 9, he lead for 1500 and I decided to just call. The river came a T (4 straight on board), he checked, I bet 2200, he called and mucked when I showed. I know hes not clever enough to check a straight here so its like almost 100% straightforward that I have the best hand so a value bet was in order. There were 2 limps to me in MP and I made it 1500 with AJo. One of the limpers called and the flop came A55. He check/called my bet of 2000 but when the turn came a 7, he check folded to my bet of 3500. I limped K4ss from MP with 2 other limps and we saw a flop of 985 2 spades giving me a flush draw. It checked around and the turn came a Qc. We checked to a limper on the button, he bet 1025, the SB called, and I called as well. The river came a 3s filling my flush, the SB checked, I bet 3500, and they both folded. I was up to 81300 and we went to the next level.
Level 4: 200-400. A player UTG limped, I made it 1500 from the cutoff with AQo, and he was the only caller. We checked down JT664 and I was good. The idiot guy opened for 900 UTG and I 3-bet to 2600 from UTG +2 with 99. He called, we checked down J85AK, and he showed JTo for the winner. I opened to 1000 from the button with QTo and the SB was the only caller. The board ran A657 to the turn where he check/folded to my 1500 bet. I opened to 1000 in MP with AJo and a tight player behind me in MP 3-bet to 3500 causing me to fold and him to show QQ. I was at 78100 and we went up to the next level.
Level 5: 300-600. I made it 1500 from UTG +2 with J9o and the tight player in MP made it 4000 resulting in another fold from me. I made it 1500 from MP with 75cc and the button and BB called. The flop came J96, we checked to the button, he bet 1500, and we both called. The turn came another J, we checked to the button again, this time he bet 2500, and I ended up folding. The idiot guy opened from UTG +2 to 1500 and I called in MP with A2dd. The flop came JT8 and I folded to his bet. A player in EP opened to 1300, the idiot guy called, I 3-bet to 4000 from the cutoff with KJo, and they both called. The flop came 877 and I folded to 6000 from the idiot guy. At this point I was looking for good spots to iso that guy because he was really going off the deep end at this point (this KJ hand was an attempt to do just that even though he wasnt the original opener I thought I could iso him). The idiot guy opened to 1800 from UTG +1, I 3-bet to 4000 from MP with ATdd, the tight player behind in MP made it 14000, we both folded, and he showed QQ again. A player opened UTG to 1500 (guy on my right, not idiot guy 2 on my right), I 3-bet to 3400 from UTG +1 with 98hh, it folded to him, he 4-bet to 12000 and I folded. I made it 1500 UTG with 76dd and got 4 calls. The flop came A87 all spades and I folded to a bet. A player in MP opened to 1400 and I called from the button with 77. The blinds also called and we checked to the turn on JJT8 where I folded to a bet. The hijack (guy on my right) opened to 1600 and I 3-bet to 3800 from the cutoff with 87o. He called and check/folded to 3000 on a K64 flop. The blinds went up and after that unsuccessful level, I was down to 58800.
Level 6: 400-800. I opened to 1800 from UTG with J8dd and everyone folded. The button limped and I completed from the SB with 66. The flop came T84, I donked 1200, and everyone folded. I made it 1800 from the button with ATo and the blinds called. We checked to the turn on 9635 and I folded to a bet. I made it 1800 from UTG +2 with K3dd and the button called. The flop came 553, I bet 2200, she made it 6000, I folded, and she showed JJ. I never thought that she would bluff here so I ended up folding even when I hit the flop here. A player in MP opened to 1800, the hijack called, and I called from the SB with A8ss. The flop came AKT all hearts and I folded to a bet and a call (tighter players so I just got out of there). I was back to a near starting stack of 51200 and we went up a level.
Level 7: 500-1000. Around this time the table settled down as the idiot guy busted. I made it 2300 with A7o from the cutoff and everyone folded. A player in EP opened to 2300 and I found AKo on the button and decided to mix it up by just calling. The flop came J64, he bet 2600, and I called. The turn came a 9, he bet 6200, and I folded. I opened to 2300 from the cutoff with ATo and the button called. We checked to the turn of Q64A and I check called 2500. The river came a 2, I checked, he bet 5000, I called and he showed JTo for a bluff. I opened to 2300 from the hijack with JTo, the cutoff 3-bet to 6000, the button called, and I decided to call as well. We checked down Q85J4 and I was somehow good for a decent sized pot. I was up to 75000 or so again when I got pretty unlucky in a hand that I played super well. The tight player on my left (who had 3-bet me a couple times and showed big hands most of the time but also did try to bluff me with JTo that time) opened to 3000 from UTG and I decided to just flat AKo again, this time from the BB. We checked to the turn on 922A, I checked, he bet 4000, I made it 10500, and he called. The river came a J, I checked, and he checked behind showing AJ for a rivered 2 pair that got there on my AK. Kind of sick becuase I KNOW he was calling no matter what on the river and I said anything but a Q or a J I am going to punish him so hard. Not only did I lose the ~17k in chips but I also lost the extra 25k I was going to bet and get called on the river if that J doesnt come. As it was I was back down to 56600 and we went up to the next level.
Level 8 600-1200 100. I made it 2500 with 75cc from UTG, UTG +2 called, A player in MP 3-bet to 6600, and I folded. The button opened to 3000, I found KK in the SB and 3-bet to 9100, and he called. The flop came an ugly AQ9, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came a nice looking Kh giving me a set and putting a flush draw on board. I bet 11k, he made it 25k, I went all in for 43k total and after tanking a really really long time he ended up calling. He showed 76hh for a flush draw (I was hoping to have him dead after how long he took!) but he missed when the river came an offsuit 8. Its amazing how incredibly face-up I played this hand and I still got action on it (I wasnt even playing loose at this time just ABC poker). I was up to around 105000 after this hand. I made it 2500 UTG with T8hh and the button and BB called. The flop came AA4 and we all checked. The turn came a Q, I bet 3600, and the button called. The river came a 3, I bet 11000 thinking that this would take this weak-tight player off a Q for sure, but she quickly called showing A6 and I was back down to 87k (I am pretty sure I was right about her folding the Q though). There was 1 limp and I made it 2600 from the button with Q9o. He called and the flop came A32, he checked, I bet 3100, and he called. The turn came a 5c putting 2 clubs on board, he lead for 5000, I made it 13500, and he called. The river came the Kc, he bet 12000, and I had to fold. Grrrr. . .whats so sick about this hand is that I was so sure that he had nothing on the flop when he called, and that when he donked the turn it is probably a flush draw so I had the hand setup so perfectly to win with Q high but the flush got there, he donked again, and I had to fold. My chip stack had quickly gone back down to 68k or so. I opened to 2500 with KJo from UTG +2, the SB 3-bet to 6500, and I folded. I made it 2500 with 66 from UTG and a player in MP called. The board ran to the turn on T73Q where I folded to 4500. I was down to 61500 and we went up a level.
Level 9: 800-1600 200. A player in EP limped, a player in MP made it 3600, I called from the BB with A9ss, and the limper called as well. The flop came KK5 and I check/folded to a bet. I made it 3500 with 74dd from MP and the weaktight lady called from the BB. The flop came KT8 and she checkfolded to 4100. I made it 3500 from UTG +2 with A2ss and got 2 calls. We checked to the turn on T765 and I folded to a bet. I then made a questionable play (possibly out of frustration of losing every pot) but it worked out nonetheless. I opened to 3500 with A5dd from UTG +1 and got called by the cutoff, button, and SB. The flop came J62 and everyone checked. The turn came a 4, the SB checked, I checked, the cutoff bet 5500, the button called, the SB called, and I just decided to jam my last 55000 or so into the pot as a squeeze and pray for folds. The cutoff folded pretty quickly, the button sat and tanked for about 90 seconds and slowly folded, and the SB sat there for forever, counting his chips, thinking, but eventually folding giving me the much needed win. Sometimes a goofy play like this is all you need to boost you to the next level as I was now up to about 80k or so and on the very next hand, my stack got a whole lot bigger. I was still ecstatic about my bluff when I found a beautiful AA UTG and casually opened to 3500. It folded to the BB and he 3-bet me to 11000 and I decided just to smooth call to trap. The flop came T84, he bet 15k, I put him all in for his ~50k effective (total) and he snap called showing KK for the massive cooler (either way if I would have 4-bet it probably would have been the same). The board ran out 53 and I dodged the bad beat and my stack skyrocketed to ~145k. The hijack made it 4000 and I called from the BB with 88. The flop came AQT and I check folded to his 4000 bet. I made it 3500 with 77 from UTG +2, a player in MP called, another player in MP 3-bet to 13400, and I folded. I made it 3500 from UTG with AQo and the BB was the only caller. The flop came Q73 and he check folded to my 4100 bet. I was at 146300 and we went up to the next level.
Level 10: 1000-2000 300. A player UTG +2 opened to 5500, I made it 13600 from MP with AsTx and he called. The flop came 853 all spades and we both checked. The turn came a 7, he checked, I bet 10500, and he folded. I wasnt very active this level and we went to the last level of the day with me having 147100.
Level 11: 1200-2400 400. I made it 5100 with AJo from UTG, UTG +2 called, a player in MP made it 20100, and I folded (he showed QQ). A player in EP limped, the SB completed, and I checked the BB with 52o. The flop came T44 2 clubs, we checked to EP, he bet 3200, the SB raised to 8000, I cold 3-bet to 20500 from the BB, and they both folded. Whew. . .thought this was a good spot as I know the limper is c-betting a paired board light here and I know the raiser will likely be slowplaying a 4 if he has one and my play looks so strong it would likely get him to fold a T. Luckily it worked perfectly. I made it 5100 with A3hh from UTG +1 and everyone folded. I made it 5100 from UTG +1 with KTcc, the hijack 3-bet to 13500, the BB moved all in for 110000, and I folded. The level ended soon thereafter with me having 150900 and that was the end of the day.
Overall the 1st day was pretty good for me. I ran really good at the start of the day, hit some rough patches in the mid levels, but thanks to a massive cooler in my favor ended up with an above average stack for day 2 (avg was around 120k and I had 150900). I had a day off in between day 1a and day 2 so I relaxed and came back the next day ready to roll for the 268k.
DAY 2
Level 12: 1500-3000 400. First hand of the day I played was pretty awesome. After going through the blinds I was at around 145k or so. There was a middle aged guy who looked semi-rereational and he had been extremely active at the start of the day, raising probably 4-5 pots in the 1st orbit. He kept saying "Man these cards are ridiculous, I cant believe this, I was planning on sitting back and playing tight but I just cant with these cards". So this hand begins with him UTG +1. He looks at his hand and laughs to himself as if to say "again. . .no way" and opens to 7500. It folds to me in the cutoff and I find KJo and figure that if he is strong he cant be that strong so I 3-bet him to 18000. It folds to him and he takes about 30 seconds before 4-betting to 40000. It gets back to me and I dont take much time before 5-bet shipping my final ~145000 and he shakes his head as if to say "theyre good but not that good" and releases his hand. Weeeee. What really really sealed this hand for me is the fact that he laughed after looking at his cards. Think about it. . .if he has been talking about how much he has been playing and he looks down at AA KK or QQ is he really going to laugh and then play? No chance. He is going to be raising focused and not draw attention (even if it is subconsciously) to the fact that he had been advertising how often he had been raising. He obviously had a decent hand but theres no way his laugh indicates a hand that can call a 5-bet jam like that. Just like that I was up to ~188k. However after this the day spiralled out of control EXTREMLY quickly and I ended up pretty sick to my stomach (which is too bad. . .even then it made me sick that the day started of soooo well with that play and had to go so poorly after that so looking back on it it makes me equally as sick at the missed opportunity). I found 77 UTG and opened to 6800 and got called by the BB. The flop came K63, he checked, I bet 8200, and he called. The turn came a T and we both checked. The river came a 2, he checked, I came really really close to putting in a value bet but decided to just check behind but was no good when he showed KQ. A couple hands later is when it really came unglued. The guy who had been raising opened to 7500 UTG, a younger kid UTG +2 3-bet to 31000, I found AKo on the button and cold 4-bet all in for everyones effective stacks (SB and BB had insignificant amounts, opening raiser had ~120k, and the 3-bettor had around 90k). Everyone folded to the 3-bettor who quickly called and showed AA and I got demolished on an all blank board. I briefly thought about folding but the thought was fleeting because he was a younger kid meaning he might have been capable of making a move (like I did previously) on the guy who had been raising alot. His range doesnt have to be huge and he doenst necessarily have to be super strong and I would gladly take AK vs his range. However, one thing I didnt really think about until after the hand is that younger kids can be terrible players as well. He hadnt played a hand all day (which really doesnt say THAT much about his skill level or ability to make a play) but that combined with his raise size could have MAYBE sent alarm bells off if I would have thought about it a little more. In retrospect he really play the hand awfully and got lucky to get action. If someone else opens and he 3-bets like that, well I probably still will be 4-betting him all in which sucks, but it is much easier to think about a fold. Anyways, after this hand I was down to about ~85k or so. 2 hands later, I found A9ss in the hijack and opened to 6800, it folded to the BB and he jammed for his last 70k or so and I decided to call. He showed AQdd and I didnt improve and I was crippled to my last 15k or so. I guess this could be a fold but whatever. . .he had already reshoved 2 times at the table today and it looked like he was trying to increase his stack but looking back on it he probably had it both of those times since people are scared to make moves. Whatever, I dont hate my call but I look like an idiot typing about it now I guess. Anyways, a couple of hands later I found 33 in MP and put my last 15k in and the guy on my left isoed by making it 50k or something. He turned over AKo, turned a K, and ended my tournament painstakingly earlier than it should have.
Day 2 was just an awful experience for me but you really have to move on from it I guess (I mean I have now but it is almost 3 months later and I have played no poker since).
Overall the summer was a pretty good success. I got deep a ton, made a major final table, and had some successes. Hopefully I will be able to play more poker in the future but with online closing and the cost of playing live I dont know how much I will be able to do so. Poker wise, this was my best summer yet. It was very enjoyable and I was able to learn a ton. Hopefully this will translate into success in the future for me.
DAY 1
Level 2: 50-100. I sat down in the 2nd level thinking a really long day was ahead but not looking forward to the first couple levels as I figured I would NEVER be able to make any real headway when everyone has 500 bbs. However, I started the day on a ridiculous heater and quickly built a decent stack. Very first hand of the day, I found 55 behind a couple of limpers and decided to limp as well. The flop came 875 2 clubs, they checked to me, I bet 300 and got 3 callers. The turn came an offsuit 3, I bet 1025, and got 1 caller. The river came an offsuit 8 filling me up, he checked, I bet 3100, and he called mucking when I showed. I opened to 250 UTG with A6hh and got 6 callers (weeee. . .500 big blinds). We checked to the river on Jx3x2h3hTh where I runner-runnered the nut flush, I bet 1700, and got one caller who mucked when I showed. UTG limped and I made it 650 with KK from UTG +2. The limper called and we saw a flop of J65 2 hearts. He check/called a bet of 1200 and we saw the Kh on the turn giving me top set but putting a potential flush out there. He lead for 2400 this time and I called. The river came a beautiful 6 pairing the board, he bet 6100, I made it 25000, and he folded. This guy was the biggest donk at the table (and you will hear more about him in future hands) but even after only seeing 2 orbits of his play, I was fairly certain that he wasnt folding a flush here and made the conclusion after the hand that he was absolutely bluffing. I made it 250 with T9hh from UTG, got 2 calls, and folded on the turn on a KQT5 board. I had increased my stack to a ridiculous 67075 after less than one level of play and we went up to the next level.
Level 3: 100-200. A player UTG opened to 600 and I 3-bet to 1625 with KJo from MP. The BB flatted and the original raiser called as well. We checked down a board of AK579 and the BB took it down with his AT. I made it 525 from UTG with 77 and got 2 MP callers. The flop came A76, I bet 1200, and got 1 call. The turn came a 5, I bet 3000, and he called. The river came a 3, I checked, and he checked behind showing a no good A9 in the process. Its easy to play when you flop sets every time. I dont know why I didnt bet the river but I figured it was OK to air on the cautious side when we are playing so deep and I already had built a stack. The button opened to 600, I called from the BB with QsJx, and a UTG limper also called. The flop came AKT all spades (no big deal), I checked to trap, but everyone else checked behind me. The turn came a 7, I bet 1525, and the UTG limper called. The river came a 9, I bet 4100, and he folded. I made it 525 with 54hh from UTG +1 and got 4 calls. The flop came J87 and I folded to a bet. I limped from EP (trying new things) with QThh, the button limped, the SB (idiot who I was talking about before) made it 900, I called, and the button called as well. The flop came JT4, the SB checked, I bet 1500, the button called, the SB made it 5000, and I ended up just folding. The cutoff limped (idiot guy), the button made it 525, I called from the SB with A4dd, and the BB and cutoff both called as well. The flop came Jx3d2d flopping me a straight flush draw, I checked, and everyone else checked behind. The turn came another 3, I bet 1500, and the cutoff (idiot guy) was the only caller. The river came an offsuit Q missing all my draws, I checked and he checked behind showing a good 62o for the winner. No point in bluffing when the idiot will probably call and I will be able to get him later. There were 3 limps to me on the button and I made it 1500 when I found QQ. The idiot guy was the only caller and we saw a flop of 877. He checked, and I checked behind (value/pot control). The turn came a 9, he lead for 1500 and I decided to just call. The river came a T (4 straight on board), he checked, I bet 2200, he called and mucked when I showed. I know hes not clever enough to check a straight here so its like almost 100% straightforward that I have the best hand so a value bet was in order. There were 2 limps to me in MP and I made it 1500 with AJo. One of the limpers called and the flop came A55. He check/called my bet of 2000 but when the turn came a 7, he check folded to my bet of 3500. I limped K4ss from MP with 2 other limps and we saw a flop of 985 2 spades giving me a flush draw. It checked around and the turn came a Qc. We checked to a limper on the button, he bet 1025, the SB called, and I called as well. The river came a 3s filling my flush, the SB checked, I bet 3500, and they both folded. I was up to 81300 and we went to the next level.
Level 4: 200-400. A player UTG limped, I made it 1500 from the cutoff with AQo, and he was the only caller. We checked down JT664 and I was good. The idiot guy opened for 900 UTG and I 3-bet to 2600 from UTG +2 with 99. He called, we checked down J85AK, and he showed JTo for the winner. I opened to 1000 from the button with QTo and the SB was the only caller. The board ran A657 to the turn where he check/folded to my 1500 bet. I opened to 1000 in MP with AJo and a tight player behind me in MP 3-bet to 3500 causing me to fold and him to show QQ. I was at 78100 and we went up to the next level.
Level 5: 300-600. I made it 1500 from UTG +2 with J9o and the tight player in MP made it 4000 resulting in another fold from me. I made it 1500 from MP with 75cc and the button and BB called. The flop came J96, we checked to the button, he bet 1500, and we both called. The turn came another J, we checked to the button again, this time he bet 2500, and I ended up folding. The idiot guy opened from UTG +2 to 1500 and I called in MP with A2dd. The flop came JT8 and I folded to his bet. A player in EP opened to 1300, the idiot guy called, I 3-bet to 4000 from the cutoff with KJo, and they both called. The flop came 877 and I folded to 6000 from the idiot guy. At this point I was looking for good spots to iso that guy because he was really going off the deep end at this point (this KJ hand was an attempt to do just that even though he wasnt the original opener I thought I could iso him). The idiot guy opened to 1800 from UTG +1, I 3-bet to 4000 from MP with ATdd, the tight player behind in MP made it 14000, we both folded, and he showed QQ again. A player opened UTG to 1500 (guy on my right, not idiot guy 2 on my right), I 3-bet to 3400 from UTG +1 with 98hh, it folded to him, he 4-bet to 12000 and I folded. I made it 1500 UTG with 76dd and got 4 calls. The flop came A87 all spades and I folded to a bet. A player in MP opened to 1400 and I called from the button with 77. The blinds also called and we checked to the turn on JJT8 where I folded to a bet. The hijack (guy on my right) opened to 1600 and I 3-bet to 3800 from the cutoff with 87o. He called and check/folded to 3000 on a K64 flop. The blinds went up and after that unsuccessful level, I was down to 58800.
Level 6: 400-800. I opened to 1800 from UTG with J8dd and everyone folded. The button limped and I completed from the SB with 66. The flop came T84, I donked 1200, and everyone folded. I made it 1800 from the button with ATo and the blinds called. We checked to the turn on 9635 and I folded to a bet. I made it 1800 from UTG +2 with K3dd and the button called. The flop came 553, I bet 2200, she made it 6000, I folded, and she showed JJ. I never thought that she would bluff here so I ended up folding even when I hit the flop here. A player in MP opened to 1800, the hijack called, and I called from the SB with A8ss. The flop came AKT all hearts and I folded to a bet and a call (tighter players so I just got out of there). I was back to a near starting stack of 51200 and we went up a level.
Level 7: 500-1000. Around this time the table settled down as the idiot guy busted. I made it 2300 with A7o from the cutoff and everyone folded. A player in EP opened to 2300 and I found AKo on the button and decided to mix it up by just calling. The flop came J64, he bet 2600, and I called. The turn came a 9, he bet 6200, and I folded. I opened to 2300 from the cutoff with ATo and the button called. We checked to the turn of Q64A and I check called 2500. The river came a 2, I checked, he bet 5000, I called and he showed JTo for a bluff. I opened to 2300 from the hijack with JTo, the cutoff 3-bet to 6000, the button called, and I decided to call as well. We checked down Q85J4 and I was somehow good for a decent sized pot. I was up to 75000 or so again when I got pretty unlucky in a hand that I played super well. The tight player on my left (who had 3-bet me a couple times and showed big hands most of the time but also did try to bluff me with JTo that time) opened to 3000 from UTG and I decided to just flat AKo again, this time from the BB. We checked to the turn on 922A, I checked, he bet 4000, I made it 10500, and he called. The river came a J, I checked, and he checked behind showing AJ for a rivered 2 pair that got there on my AK. Kind of sick becuase I KNOW he was calling no matter what on the river and I said anything but a Q or a J I am going to punish him so hard. Not only did I lose the ~17k in chips but I also lost the extra 25k I was going to bet and get called on the river if that J doesnt come. As it was I was back down to 56600 and we went up to the next level.
Level 8 600-1200 100. I made it 2500 with 75cc from UTG, UTG +2 called, A player in MP 3-bet to 6600, and I folded. The button opened to 3000, I found KK in the SB and 3-bet to 9100, and he called. The flop came an ugly AQ9, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came a nice looking Kh giving me a set and putting a flush draw on board. I bet 11k, he made it 25k, I went all in for 43k total and after tanking a really really long time he ended up calling. He showed 76hh for a flush draw (I was hoping to have him dead after how long he took!) but he missed when the river came an offsuit 8. Its amazing how incredibly face-up I played this hand and I still got action on it (I wasnt even playing loose at this time just ABC poker). I was up to around 105000 after this hand. I made it 2500 UTG with T8hh and the button and BB called. The flop came AA4 and we all checked. The turn came a Q, I bet 3600, and the button called. The river came a 3, I bet 11000 thinking that this would take this weak-tight player off a Q for sure, but she quickly called showing A6 and I was back down to 87k (I am pretty sure I was right about her folding the Q though). There was 1 limp and I made it 2600 from the button with Q9o. He called and the flop came A32, he checked, I bet 3100, and he called. The turn came a 5c putting 2 clubs on board, he lead for 5000, I made it 13500, and he called. The river came the Kc, he bet 12000, and I had to fold. Grrrr. . .whats so sick about this hand is that I was so sure that he had nothing on the flop when he called, and that when he donked the turn it is probably a flush draw so I had the hand setup so perfectly to win with Q high but the flush got there, he donked again, and I had to fold. My chip stack had quickly gone back down to 68k or so. I opened to 2500 with KJo from UTG +2, the SB 3-bet to 6500, and I folded. I made it 2500 with 66 from UTG and a player in MP called. The board ran to the turn on T73Q where I folded to 4500. I was down to 61500 and we went up a level.
Level 9: 800-1600 200. A player in EP limped, a player in MP made it 3600, I called from the BB with A9ss, and the limper called as well. The flop came KK5 and I check/folded to a bet. I made it 3500 with 74dd from MP and the weaktight lady called from the BB. The flop came KT8 and she checkfolded to 4100. I made it 3500 from UTG +2 with A2ss and got 2 calls. We checked to the turn on T765 and I folded to a bet. I then made a questionable play (possibly out of frustration of losing every pot) but it worked out nonetheless. I opened to 3500 with A5dd from UTG +1 and got called by the cutoff, button, and SB. The flop came J62 and everyone checked. The turn came a 4, the SB checked, I checked, the cutoff bet 5500, the button called, the SB called, and I just decided to jam my last 55000 or so into the pot as a squeeze and pray for folds. The cutoff folded pretty quickly, the button sat and tanked for about 90 seconds and slowly folded, and the SB sat there for forever, counting his chips, thinking, but eventually folding giving me the much needed win. Sometimes a goofy play like this is all you need to boost you to the next level as I was now up to about 80k or so and on the very next hand, my stack got a whole lot bigger. I was still ecstatic about my bluff when I found a beautiful AA UTG and casually opened to 3500. It folded to the BB and he 3-bet me to 11000 and I decided just to smooth call to trap. The flop came T84, he bet 15k, I put him all in for his ~50k effective (total) and he snap called showing KK for the massive cooler (either way if I would have 4-bet it probably would have been the same). The board ran out 53 and I dodged the bad beat and my stack skyrocketed to ~145k. The hijack made it 4000 and I called from the BB with 88. The flop came AQT and I check folded to his 4000 bet. I made it 3500 with 77 from UTG +2, a player in MP called, another player in MP 3-bet to 13400, and I folded. I made it 3500 from UTG with AQo and the BB was the only caller. The flop came Q73 and he check folded to my 4100 bet. I was at 146300 and we went up to the next level.
Level 10: 1000-2000 300. A player UTG +2 opened to 5500, I made it 13600 from MP with AsTx and he called. The flop came 853 all spades and we both checked. The turn came a 7, he checked, I bet 10500, and he folded. I wasnt very active this level and we went to the last level of the day with me having 147100.
Level 11: 1200-2400 400. I made it 5100 with AJo from UTG, UTG +2 called, a player in MP made it 20100, and I folded (he showed QQ). A player in EP limped, the SB completed, and I checked the BB with 52o. The flop came T44 2 clubs, we checked to EP, he bet 3200, the SB raised to 8000, I cold 3-bet to 20500 from the BB, and they both folded. Whew. . .thought this was a good spot as I know the limper is c-betting a paired board light here and I know the raiser will likely be slowplaying a 4 if he has one and my play looks so strong it would likely get him to fold a T. Luckily it worked perfectly. I made it 5100 with A3hh from UTG +1 and everyone folded. I made it 5100 from UTG +1 with KTcc, the hijack 3-bet to 13500, the BB moved all in for 110000, and I folded. The level ended soon thereafter with me having 150900 and that was the end of the day.
Overall the 1st day was pretty good for me. I ran really good at the start of the day, hit some rough patches in the mid levels, but thanks to a massive cooler in my favor ended up with an above average stack for day 2 (avg was around 120k and I had 150900). I had a day off in between day 1a and day 2 so I relaxed and came back the next day ready to roll for the 268k.
DAY 2
Level 12: 1500-3000 400. First hand of the day I played was pretty awesome. After going through the blinds I was at around 145k or so. There was a middle aged guy who looked semi-rereational and he had been extremely active at the start of the day, raising probably 4-5 pots in the 1st orbit. He kept saying "Man these cards are ridiculous, I cant believe this, I was planning on sitting back and playing tight but I just cant with these cards". So this hand begins with him UTG +1. He looks at his hand and laughs to himself as if to say "again. . .no way" and opens to 7500. It folds to me in the cutoff and I find KJo and figure that if he is strong he cant be that strong so I 3-bet him to 18000. It folds to him and he takes about 30 seconds before 4-betting to 40000. It gets back to me and I dont take much time before 5-bet shipping my final ~145000 and he shakes his head as if to say "theyre good but not that good" and releases his hand. Weeeee. What really really sealed this hand for me is the fact that he laughed after looking at his cards. Think about it. . .if he has been talking about how much he has been playing and he looks down at AA KK or QQ is he really going to laugh and then play? No chance. He is going to be raising focused and not draw attention (even if it is subconsciously) to the fact that he had been advertising how often he had been raising. He obviously had a decent hand but theres no way his laugh indicates a hand that can call a 5-bet jam like that. Just like that I was up to ~188k. However after this the day spiralled out of control EXTREMLY quickly and I ended up pretty sick to my stomach (which is too bad. . .even then it made me sick that the day started of soooo well with that play and had to go so poorly after that so looking back on it it makes me equally as sick at the missed opportunity). I found 77 UTG and opened to 6800 and got called by the BB. The flop came K63, he checked, I bet 8200, and he called. The turn came a T and we both checked. The river came a 2, he checked, I came really really close to putting in a value bet but decided to just check behind but was no good when he showed KQ. A couple hands later is when it really came unglued. The guy who had been raising opened to 7500 UTG, a younger kid UTG +2 3-bet to 31000, I found AKo on the button and cold 4-bet all in for everyones effective stacks (SB and BB had insignificant amounts, opening raiser had ~120k, and the 3-bettor had around 90k). Everyone folded to the 3-bettor who quickly called and showed AA and I got demolished on an all blank board. I briefly thought about folding but the thought was fleeting because he was a younger kid meaning he might have been capable of making a move (like I did previously) on the guy who had been raising alot. His range doesnt have to be huge and he doenst necessarily have to be super strong and I would gladly take AK vs his range. However, one thing I didnt really think about until after the hand is that younger kids can be terrible players as well. He hadnt played a hand all day (which really doesnt say THAT much about his skill level or ability to make a play) but that combined with his raise size could have MAYBE sent alarm bells off if I would have thought about it a little more. In retrospect he really play the hand awfully and got lucky to get action. If someone else opens and he 3-bets like that, well I probably still will be 4-betting him all in which sucks, but it is much easier to think about a fold. Anyways, after this hand I was down to about ~85k or so. 2 hands later, I found A9ss in the hijack and opened to 6800, it folded to the BB and he jammed for his last 70k or so and I decided to call. He showed AQdd and I didnt improve and I was crippled to my last 15k or so. I guess this could be a fold but whatever. . .he had already reshoved 2 times at the table today and it looked like he was trying to increase his stack but looking back on it he probably had it both of those times since people are scared to make moves. Whatever, I dont hate my call but I look like an idiot typing about it now I guess. Anyways, a couple of hands later I found 33 in MP and put my last 15k in and the guy on my left isoed by making it 50k or something. He turned over AKo, turned a K, and ended my tournament painstakingly earlier than it should have.
Day 2 was just an awful experience for me but you really have to move on from it I guess (I mean I have now but it is almost 3 months later and I have played no poker since).
Overall the summer was a pretty good success. I got deep a ton, made a major final table, and had some successes. Hopefully I will be able to play more poker in the future but with online closing and the cost of playing live I dont know how much I will be able to do so. Poker wise, this was my best summer yet. It was very enjoyable and I was able to learn a ton. Hopefully this will translate into success in the future for me.
Tourney: July 6th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #42 $340
So I am FINALLY back on the blogosphere (for all my loyal readers). What happened is as Vegas got winding down, I got too into hanging out with all the people arriving for the main which gave me less time for blogging (I only actually missed writing about 2 tournaments so give me some credit). Since then I havent played a single hand of poker (until today that is so I decided to get back into sharing my stories with you guys!) so I havent had much motivation to keep this updated but I will be going back on a streak where I will start reupdating again.
Without further ado, here is one of my final tournaments from Vegas this summer.
I was back at the Venetian for (what would be) my final Deepstack event of the summer hoping to hit it big. Unfortunately, the perverbial hangover from my big stack no cash last tournament affected me greater than I would have liked it too and I ended up busting early in a spot I usually might not go bust.
Level 1: 50-100. The SB limped into my BB and I made it 250. He called and we checked to the turn on J958 where he bet 300 and I folded. The hijack made it 250 and I 3-bet to 600 from the button with KJo. He called and we checked to the turn on 7769 where he bet 625 and I folded. It may be weak to not c-bet on either of these hands but I think on the 2nd one I am getting called by like 90% of his range on that flop so I didnt really want to overdo it that early (1st one I absolutely should have c-bet). I made it 250 UTG with 97dd and the BB was the only caller. The flop came A64 2 diamonds and he check-folded to my 325 bet. A player in EP made it 300 and I called from the button with AJo. We checked to the turn on Q54K where he bet 300 and I called. The river came a J, he checked, I bet 700, he called, and I lost when he showed AK. Not too sure what I was thinking here. I found QQ UTG and made it 250 and got 3 callers. The flop came a harmless J43r, I bet 650, and 2 of the callers called. The turn came another 4, I bet 1700, and everyone folded. The button opened to 250 and I called from the BB with 87o. The flop came QT7, I checked, he bet 275, and I called. The turn came a 4, I checked, he bet 550, and I called. The river came an A, I checked, he checked behind and my 4th pair happend to be good. A player UTG opened to 225, 2 people called, I 3-bet to 800 from the button with KQo, and they all called. The flop came KK9, they checked, I bet 1500, and they all folded. I was up to about 15000 after this hand. The hijack opened to 250 and I called in the cutoff with 77. The flop came KQ9 and I folded to a bet. After this hand, however disaster struck as my stack went from 15k to 0 in 2 hands! Typically when I bust out I dont write my hands down out of 1. Anger 2. The fact that I am leaving and dont want to stay and write and 3. I will always remember my bust hands. However, since this is about 3 months after the tournament I dont remember the specific details of these 2 hands. What I do remember is as follows. I remember the 1st hand, I lost about 6k-7k of my chips when I 3-bet KQ suited, got called, the flop came K high, and he flopped a set. I was down to about 8k-9k in chips when next hand, I flopped a straight draw/flush draw and got it all in vs an overpair and busted when I failed to hit. Typically I wouldnt really push the action with a combo draw like this here this early but like I said, I was probably destined to fail this tournament because my heart wasnt 100% in it.
After this tournament, I took a few days off to mentally get myself ready for the last tournament of my summer, the giant Caesars 1k main event that was going to be massive in terms of entrants, prize pool, and structure.
Without further ado, here is one of my final tournaments from Vegas this summer.
I was back at the Venetian for (what would be) my final Deepstack event of the summer hoping to hit it big. Unfortunately, the perverbial hangover from my big stack no cash last tournament affected me greater than I would have liked it too and I ended up busting early in a spot I usually might not go bust.
Level 1: 50-100. The SB limped into my BB and I made it 250. He called and we checked to the turn on J958 where he bet 300 and I folded. The hijack made it 250 and I 3-bet to 600 from the button with KJo. He called and we checked to the turn on 7769 where he bet 625 and I folded. It may be weak to not c-bet on either of these hands but I think on the 2nd one I am getting called by like 90% of his range on that flop so I didnt really want to overdo it that early (1st one I absolutely should have c-bet). I made it 250 UTG with 97dd and the BB was the only caller. The flop came A64 2 diamonds and he check-folded to my 325 bet. A player in EP made it 300 and I called from the button with AJo. We checked to the turn on Q54K where he bet 300 and I called. The river came a J, he checked, I bet 700, he called, and I lost when he showed AK. Not too sure what I was thinking here. I found QQ UTG and made it 250 and got 3 callers. The flop came a harmless J43r, I bet 650, and 2 of the callers called. The turn came another 4, I bet 1700, and everyone folded. The button opened to 250 and I called from the BB with 87o. The flop came QT7, I checked, he bet 275, and I called. The turn came a 4, I checked, he bet 550, and I called. The river came an A, I checked, he checked behind and my 4th pair happend to be good. A player UTG opened to 225, 2 people called, I 3-bet to 800 from the button with KQo, and they all called. The flop came KK9, they checked, I bet 1500, and they all folded. I was up to about 15000 after this hand. The hijack opened to 250 and I called in the cutoff with 77. The flop came KQ9 and I folded to a bet. After this hand, however disaster struck as my stack went from 15k to 0 in 2 hands! Typically when I bust out I dont write my hands down out of 1. Anger 2. The fact that I am leaving and dont want to stay and write and 3. I will always remember my bust hands. However, since this is about 3 months after the tournament I dont remember the specific details of these 2 hands. What I do remember is as follows. I remember the 1st hand, I lost about 6k-7k of my chips when I 3-bet KQ suited, got called, the flop came K high, and he flopped a set. I was down to about 8k-9k in chips when next hand, I flopped a straight draw/flush draw and got it all in vs an overpair and busted when I failed to hit. Typically I wouldnt really push the action with a combo draw like this here this early but like I said, I was probably destined to fail this tournament because my heart wasnt 100% in it.
After this tournament, I took a few days off to mentally get myself ready for the last tournament of my summer, the giant Caesars 1k main event that was going to be massive in terms of entrants, prize pool, and structure.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Tourney: July 5th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #41 $550
I was back at the Venetian for another $550 event today. This event only attracted 460 players but the field was extremely soft. We started with 15000 in chips and my opening table was as soft as any table that I had been at this summer.
Level 1: 50-100. I made it 250 from the button with 1 limper with A9o. The limper was the only caller and we saw a J75 2 diamonds flop. He checked, I bet 325, and he called. We checked to the river on Td5x where he bet 500 and I folded. The cutoff opened to 225 and I called from the BB with 96ss. The flop came 753 all diamonds, I checked, he bet 300, and I called. The turn came a 5, I checked, and he checked behind. The river came an 8, I bet 1500, and he called showing AA which was no good vs my rivered straight. A player UTG opened to 200, got 3 calls, and I called from the cutoff with 43dd. The flop came A32, he bet 350, and I was the only caller. We checked down 88 and he showed 44 for the winner. There was 1 limper in front of me and I made it 250 with KTcc which got 4 calls. The flop came KJ3, I bet 400, and 1 of the limpers called. The turn came an 8, I bet 725, and the limper called. The river came a J, I checked, he bet 1200, I called, and he showed 33 for the flopped set. I dont know what I was expecting to beat when I called on the river but whatever. I made it 250 with AKo from UTG +1 and got 1 caller. The flop came AQ4, I bet 325, and he folded. A guy UTG opeend to 250 and I called on the button with 64dd. The SB called as well, the flop came Q76, and I folded to a bet of 500. UTG +2 opened to 325, I 3-bet him right behind him to 850 with ATss, and he was the only caller. The flop came T65 2 hearts, he checked, I bet 1500, and he called. The turn came the Kh, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 7, he lead for 3100, I called, but was the loser when he showed AJhh for the nut flush. Another call Im not particularily proud of as I dont know what I can beat on the river. I was at 7775 and we went up to the next level.
Level 2: 75-150. There were 2 limps to the button who made it 550, I called from the SB with T9ss, and both of the limps called as well. The flop came A92 2 spades giving me the pair/flush draw combo, we checked to the button, he bet 1100, I made it 2525, one of the limpers flatted, the button went all in for 18k, I called for my last ~7500 (total), and the limper folded (what he later said was A9 for top 2). The button showed A8 and all my draw were live. The turn came the 5s giving me the winner and the irrelevant river came a T and I doubled to 19k or so. I dont particularily like getting it in with just a draw with 50 bbs left but its whatever. . .I was down to 1/2 a stack so I gambled to get it back. I made it 350 with 75ss from UTG +1 and the BB called. The flop came K72 2 diamonds, she checked, and I checked behind. The turn the 8h, she lead for 550, and I called. The river came the Ah, she lead for 1300, and I folded. I made it 350 with 87o from UTG +2 and got 2 calls from behind. The flop came QQ9 and everyone checked. The turn came an A, I took a stab with 525, but both called. The river came an 8, I checked, and folded to a bet (the guy showed down QT). I was at 17700 and we went up a level.
Level 3: 100-200. The cutoff limped, I made it 500 from the button with A9hh, and she was the only caller. We checked down KQ559 and I was good. I made it 450 with ATo from MP and the BB called. We checked to the turn on QJ44 where I bet 525 and he folded. A tight old man opened ot 1200 from UTG and i called from MP with AKo. The flop came J93, he bet 2200, and I folded. Dont really know if I could have played it much differently as I dont want to get it in pre vs a donk here. I made it 450 from MP with A4hh and got called by the button and BB. The flop came 955, the BB lead for 2200, and I folded. I was at 17100 and we went up to the next level.
Level 4: 100-200 25. I made it 450 with AJo from UTG +2, a player in MP called, the BB made it 2200, I folded, and he showed KK. The cutoff, button, and SB limped, I found AhKx in the BB and made it 800, and they all called. The flop came K86 all hearts giving me top/top with the nut flush draw, I bet out 1600, the button made it 3500, I put her all in for her 11k effective, and she folded. I made it 450 from the cutoff with A8o and everyone folded. I made it 450 with 55 from MP, the button 3-bet to 1300, and I called. The flop came 942, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came a Q, I checked, he bet 1225, and I called. The river came a 9 and we both checked and 55 was good enough to win the pot. There were 2 limps and I made it 800 from MP with JTo and got called by the BB and both of the limpers. We checked down A42Q7 and I was no good vs 99. I was up to 25425 and we went up to the next level.
Level 5: 150-300 25. I made it 650 from UTG +1 and the BB called. The flop came QJT, she checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a 9h giving me a flush draw, she checked, I bet 800, she went all in for her last 8k, and I folded. I made it 650 with AKo from UTG, a player in MP and the BB called. The flop came 432, I bet 1100, and they folded. A player in LP opened to 650, I found AKcc in the BB and made it 1800, he made it 6k, I put him all in for his last ~11.5k (total) and he folded leaving himself with about 5k. . .haha. I completed the SB with 74o and the BB and I checked to the turn on 9547 where I bet 550 and he folded. A donk in MP opened to 900, I found 88 right behind him and called, and the guy behind me called as well. The flop came K87 2 clubs, the raiser checked, I bet 2000, the guy behind me made it 6500, the raiser went all in for about 30k, I called for my last 30k, and the guy behind called for his 15k! Whoa!!! The raiser showed AA and I was in good shape to win at least the side pot and the guy behind showed AJcc for the nut flush draw which I would have to fade for the main pot. THe board ran out an offsuit 6 and a 7 pairing the board giving me an extremely large pot pushing my stack to an epic 77k. I was at 77375 and we went up to the next level.
Level 6: 200-400 50. The cutoff limped and I made it 1225 from the SB with AKss. Both the BB and the limper called and on a flop came Q98 2 diamonds, I check folded to a bet of 2200 from the limper. A player UTG made it 900, the cutoff called, I called from the SB with KQcc, and the BB called as well. The flop came A73 2 spades, the raiser bet out 1800, and I folded. A player in EP opened to 950, I 3-bet from the hijack to 2525 wtih KTo, the BB flatted, and the player EP called as well. The flop came A53, they checked, I bet 3100, the BB called, the initial raiser made it 7900, and I folded. I was at 69125 and we went up a level.
Level 7: 300-600 50. Around this time I was moved to a new table. There was a limp in EP and I made it 1325 from the hijack with AJcc and the limper called. We checked to the turn on Q723 where he bet 2500 and I folded. I made it 1325 from MP with Q9hh, a player behind 3-bet to 3200, and I folded. I made it 1325 with 54ss from MP, the button called, the SB 3-bet to 4200, and I folded. I made it 1325 from UTG with AKo, the cutoff (who had about 60k effective as well) made it 3500, I 4-bet to 8200, and he called. The flop came AK7 2 hearts, I bet out 6600, and he called. The turn came a Q, I checked, he bet 8000, I made it 20500, and he folded. Pretty big pot for just getting to the turn. Part of me wishes I could have extracted more chips out of him but part of me was happy to just take down the pot right then and there. That guy was down to about 40k and I was up to 80k and on the very next hand, he opened to 1400 from the hijack, the SB called, and I found JJ in the BB and just called as well. The flop came QJT, we checked to the raiser, and he checked as well. The turn came a 2, the SB lead for 4000, I made it 11k, the raiser moved all in for his last 39k, the SB folded after a long tank (what he said was 22) and I decided to call after a long thought. The raiser showed AK for broadway and the river came the Q pairing the board to make me a full house and win another absolutely massive pot. I dont know I guess I could have folded. . .bah. Kind of just a crappy spot I guess it was obvious he had AK here but I dont know if I can ever fold JJ here unless he explicitly turns his cards over and shows me the straight. I was all the way up to 135675 and we went up to the next level.
Level 8: 400-800 75. A player in MP limped, I limped the cutoff with 33, and we were against the blinds. We checked to the turn on 872K where I folded to a bet from one of the blinds. I made it 1725 from the hijack and the button called. The flop came QT8, I bet 2200, and he folded. I made it 1725 from the button with T5cc and the BB called. The flop came J94, he checked, I bet 2200, and he folded. I was at 137275 and we went on our 3rd break.
Level 9: 500-1000 100. I made it 2300 with AJo from UTG +2 and everyone folded. The cutoff limped, I completed the SB with KQdd, and the BB checked. The flop came all low cards and I folded to a bet. UTG made it 2300, I called from MP with KQdd, and the button called as well. The flop came 855, the inital raiser lead for 5500, and I folded (he showed TT). I made it 2300 from UTG +2 with J7dd, a player in MP made it 4200, and I called. The flop came 864, I checked, he bet 5500, and I called. The turn came the 2d giving me a flush draw, I checked, and he checked behind. The river came a T, I bet 16500, and he folded after a long tank. I was up to 144800 and we went up another level.
Level 10: 600-1200 100. I made it 2600 from UTG +2 with J7o and the BB called. The flop came K65m he checked, I bet 3100, and he folded. I made it 2600 from UTG with A9ss and the player UTG +2 made it 6800. I called and we checked down the board of KT7K8 and his AQ was good. I was at 138700 and we went on dinner break.
Level 11: 800-1600 200. 1st hand after dinner break, a player from UTG moved all in for ~16k, I found AKo from the button and raised it to 30k to iso, and everyone else folded. He showed AT and the board ran out K98KT adding to my mountain of chips. Around this time I was moved to a new table with my roommate David sitting in the 3 seat (I had position on him in the 6 seat). I made it 3500 from UTG with ATo and everyone folded. I made it 3500 from the button with 87o and the SB called. The flop came J53, he bet 5000, I raised to 11600, he moved all in for 40k or so, and I folded. I made it 3500 with AJo from MP and the BB called. The flop came T54, he checked, I bet 4100, me made it 9000, I made it 25k, and he folded. His raise here just looked really weak so I took advantage by moving around some of my big stack. I made it 3500 with QJo from UTG and David called from the BB. The flop came QJ9, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came another Q giving me top full, he checked, I bet 4100, and he called. The river came a 2, he checked, I bet 10600, and he folded. I was at 155500 and we went up another level.
Level 12: 1000-2000 300. 1st hand of the level, I found KK UTG and opened to 4800. It folded to the SB who moved all in for around 40k which I obviously called. He showed AQo and I held on a J544T board to get my stack to 200k or so. A player in EP opened to 5200 and I called on the button with AJhh. The BB called as well and we saw a flop of 944. The raiser lead out for 8200 and I folded. I found TdTh in the hijack and opened to 4500 and the BB called. The flop came 865 all diamonds, giving me an overpair with a flush draw. He checked, I bet 5100, and he called. The turn came another 5, he checked, I bet 10500, he made it 30k, I put him all in for his last ~65k total, and he folded despite putting about 1/2 his stack in. I was up to 239000 for a massive stack at this point and we were nearing the money. . .but as we all know sometimes things can turn south in a hurry in poker.
Level 13: 1200-2400 300. A player in EP made it 5200, I made it 12.5k from the cutoff when I found TT, the button moved all in for 50k, the player in EP moved all in for 75k, and I folded (they showed KK and AA so whew!). I made it 5100 from MP with AQcc, the button called, the SB moved all in for his last 30k, I isoed all in, and the button folded. He showed KJss and I lost on a board of J86TJ and was down to 190k. A short time later, a player in EP moved all in for his last 30k, it folded to me in the BB and I found A9dd and called. He showed TT and the board ran out T87QT and I down knocked down back to 155k. I made it 5100 from the button with Q7cc and everyone folded. I was on 163300 and we went up to the next level.
Level 14: 1500-3000 400. I moved to a new table around this point and boy did everything go wrong quickly at this table. I opened to 6500 from MP with J9ss and got called by the button and the BB. The flop came QT6 2 clubs giving me an open ended straight draw, we checked to the button, and he bet out 15k. The BB called and I decided to call as well. The turn came the 7c putting a potential flush on board, the BB checked, I bet 40500 attempting to rep the flush, the button moved all in for 160k, the BB called, and I had to fold. They both showed flushes so I guess I kind of wasted 40k in chips here. I think if neither of them has a flush this play might work so I dont know. . .kind of a waste kind of a bad spot. I was down to around 100k or so after this. I made it 6100 with 55 from UTG +1 and got called by a player in LP and the BB. The we checked to the turn on Q96A where I folded to a bet. A shortstack moved all in into my BB for only 7k so I called him with A5o. He had Q6o and the board ran out AKK8K giving me the win. I made it 6500 from the cutoff with A8o and everyone folded. I was at 102500 and we went up another level.
Level 15: 2000-4000 500. It folded to the button who made it 12k of his 35k stack. I found AJo in the BB and put him all in and he called with 88. The board ran out 96364 and I was down to 65k or so. Very next hand, the button opened to 10k, I found A2o in the SB and moved all in for my 65k, the BB moved all in for his last 50k, and the button folded. He showed AQ and I failed to smack my 3-outer crippling myself to 15k in the process. Next hand, it folded to me on the button and I moved my last 15k in with Q9o. The SB folded but the BB called showing J6. He flopped a J and I wasnt able to catch up, busting me about 10 places before the money.
Its really really disheartening to go from big stack to short stack like this without even cashing. I dont know if I played that poorly. . .I did throw away about 60k in that hand I tried to bluff but other than that I just dont know. I was dreading typing this one up becuase of how sick it would make me feel writing about how I had 240k when the average was 80k then busting before the average got to 120k. Bah. . .it was nice to have a stack for a while and hopefully I can get a nice one at the next tournament I play in.
Level 1: 50-100. I made it 250 from the button with 1 limper with A9o. The limper was the only caller and we saw a J75 2 diamonds flop. He checked, I bet 325, and he called. We checked to the river on Td5x where he bet 500 and I folded. The cutoff opened to 225 and I called from the BB with 96ss. The flop came 753 all diamonds, I checked, he bet 300, and I called. The turn came a 5, I checked, and he checked behind. The river came an 8, I bet 1500, and he called showing AA which was no good vs my rivered straight. A player UTG opened to 200, got 3 calls, and I called from the cutoff with 43dd. The flop came A32, he bet 350, and I was the only caller. We checked down 88 and he showed 44 for the winner. There was 1 limper in front of me and I made it 250 with KTcc which got 4 calls. The flop came KJ3, I bet 400, and 1 of the limpers called. The turn came an 8, I bet 725, and the limper called. The river came a J, I checked, he bet 1200, I called, and he showed 33 for the flopped set. I dont know what I was expecting to beat when I called on the river but whatever. I made it 250 with AKo from UTG +1 and got 1 caller. The flop came AQ4, I bet 325, and he folded. A guy UTG opeend to 250 and I called on the button with 64dd. The SB called as well, the flop came Q76, and I folded to a bet of 500. UTG +2 opened to 325, I 3-bet him right behind him to 850 with ATss, and he was the only caller. The flop came T65 2 hearts, he checked, I bet 1500, and he called. The turn came the Kh, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 7, he lead for 3100, I called, but was the loser when he showed AJhh for the nut flush. Another call Im not particularily proud of as I dont know what I can beat on the river. I was at 7775 and we went up to the next level.
Level 2: 75-150. There were 2 limps to the button who made it 550, I called from the SB with T9ss, and both of the limps called as well. The flop came A92 2 spades giving me the pair/flush draw combo, we checked to the button, he bet 1100, I made it 2525, one of the limpers flatted, the button went all in for 18k, I called for my last ~7500 (total), and the limper folded (what he later said was A9 for top 2). The button showed A8 and all my draw were live. The turn came the 5s giving me the winner and the irrelevant river came a T and I doubled to 19k or so. I dont particularily like getting it in with just a draw with 50 bbs left but its whatever. . .I was down to 1/2 a stack so I gambled to get it back. I made it 350 with 75ss from UTG +1 and the BB called. The flop came K72 2 diamonds, she checked, and I checked behind. The turn the 8h, she lead for 550, and I called. The river came the Ah, she lead for 1300, and I folded. I made it 350 with 87o from UTG +2 and got 2 calls from behind. The flop came QQ9 and everyone checked. The turn came an A, I took a stab with 525, but both called. The river came an 8, I checked, and folded to a bet (the guy showed down QT). I was at 17700 and we went up a level.
Level 3: 100-200. The cutoff limped, I made it 500 from the button with A9hh, and she was the only caller. We checked down KQ559 and I was good. I made it 450 with ATo from MP and the BB called. We checked to the turn on QJ44 where I bet 525 and he folded. A tight old man opened ot 1200 from UTG and i called from MP with AKo. The flop came J93, he bet 2200, and I folded. Dont really know if I could have played it much differently as I dont want to get it in pre vs a donk here. I made it 450 from MP with A4hh and got called by the button and BB. The flop came 955, the BB lead for 2200, and I folded. I was at 17100 and we went up to the next level.
Level 4: 100-200 25. I made it 450 with AJo from UTG +2, a player in MP called, the BB made it 2200, I folded, and he showed KK. The cutoff, button, and SB limped, I found AhKx in the BB and made it 800, and they all called. The flop came K86 all hearts giving me top/top with the nut flush draw, I bet out 1600, the button made it 3500, I put her all in for her 11k effective, and she folded. I made it 450 from the cutoff with A8o and everyone folded. I made it 450 with 55 from MP, the button 3-bet to 1300, and I called. The flop came 942, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came a Q, I checked, he bet 1225, and I called. The river came a 9 and we both checked and 55 was good enough to win the pot. There were 2 limps and I made it 800 from MP with JTo and got called by the BB and both of the limpers. We checked down A42Q7 and I was no good vs 99. I was up to 25425 and we went up to the next level.
Level 5: 150-300 25. I made it 650 from UTG +1 and the BB called. The flop came QJT, she checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a 9h giving me a flush draw, she checked, I bet 800, she went all in for her last 8k, and I folded. I made it 650 with AKo from UTG, a player in MP and the BB called. The flop came 432, I bet 1100, and they folded. A player in LP opened to 650, I found AKcc in the BB and made it 1800, he made it 6k, I put him all in for his last ~11.5k (total) and he folded leaving himself with about 5k. . .haha. I completed the SB with 74o and the BB and I checked to the turn on 9547 where I bet 550 and he folded. A donk in MP opened to 900, I found 88 right behind him and called, and the guy behind me called as well. The flop came K87 2 clubs, the raiser checked, I bet 2000, the guy behind me made it 6500, the raiser went all in for about 30k, I called for my last 30k, and the guy behind called for his 15k! Whoa!!! The raiser showed AA and I was in good shape to win at least the side pot and the guy behind showed AJcc for the nut flush draw which I would have to fade for the main pot. THe board ran out an offsuit 6 and a 7 pairing the board giving me an extremely large pot pushing my stack to an epic 77k. I was at 77375 and we went up to the next level.
Level 6: 200-400 50. The cutoff limped and I made it 1225 from the SB with AKss. Both the BB and the limper called and on a flop came Q98 2 diamonds, I check folded to a bet of 2200 from the limper. A player UTG made it 900, the cutoff called, I called from the SB with KQcc, and the BB called as well. The flop came A73 2 spades, the raiser bet out 1800, and I folded. A player in EP opened to 950, I 3-bet from the hijack to 2525 wtih KTo, the BB flatted, and the player EP called as well. The flop came A53, they checked, I bet 3100, the BB called, the initial raiser made it 7900, and I folded. I was at 69125 and we went up a level.
Level 7: 300-600 50. Around this time I was moved to a new table. There was a limp in EP and I made it 1325 from the hijack with AJcc and the limper called. We checked to the turn on Q723 where he bet 2500 and I folded. I made it 1325 from MP with Q9hh, a player behind 3-bet to 3200, and I folded. I made it 1325 with 54ss from MP, the button called, the SB 3-bet to 4200, and I folded. I made it 1325 from UTG with AKo, the cutoff (who had about 60k effective as well) made it 3500, I 4-bet to 8200, and he called. The flop came AK7 2 hearts, I bet out 6600, and he called. The turn came a Q, I checked, he bet 8000, I made it 20500, and he folded. Pretty big pot for just getting to the turn. Part of me wishes I could have extracted more chips out of him but part of me was happy to just take down the pot right then and there. That guy was down to about 40k and I was up to 80k and on the very next hand, he opened to 1400 from the hijack, the SB called, and I found JJ in the BB and just called as well. The flop came QJT, we checked to the raiser, and he checked as well. The turn came a 2, the SB lead for 4000, I made it 11k, the raiser moved all in for his last 39k, the SB folded after a long tank (what he said was 22) and I decided to call after a long thought. The raiser showed AK for broadway and the river came the Q pairing the board to make me a full house and win another absolutely massive pot. I dont know I guess I could have folded. . .bah. Kind of just a crappy spot I guess it was obvious he had AK here but I dont know if I can ever fold JJ here unless he explicitly turns his cards over and shows me the straight. I was all the way up to 135675 and we went up to the next level.
Level 8: 400-800 75. A player in MP limped, I limped the cutoff with 33, and we were against the blinds. We checked to the turn on 872K where I folded to a bet from one of the blinds. I made it 1725 from the hijack and the button called. The flop came QT8, I bet 2200, and he folded. I made it 1725 from the button with T5cc and the BB called. The flop came J94, he checked, I bet 2200, and he folded. I was at 137275 and we went on our 3rd break.
Level 9: 500-1000 100. I made it 2300 with AJo from UTG +2 and everyone folded. The cutoff limped, I completed the SB with KQdd, and the BB checked. The flop came all low cards and I folded to a bet. UTG made it 2300, I called from MP with KQdd, and the button called as well. The flop came 855, the inital raiser lead for 5500, and I folded (he showed TT). I made it 2300 from UTG +2 with J7dd, a player in MP made it 4200, and I called. The flop came 864, I checked, he bet 5500, and I called. The turn came the 2d giving me a flush draw, I checked, and he checked behind. The river came a T, I bet 16500, and he folded after a long tank. I was up to 144800 and we went up another level.
Level 10: 600-1200 100. I made it 2600 from UTG +2 with J7o and the BB called. The flop came K65m he checked, I bet 3100, and he folded. I made it 2600 from UTG with A9ss and the player UTG +2 made it 6800. I called and we checked down the board of KT7K8 and his AQ was good. I was at 138700 and we went on dinner break.
Level 11: 800-1600 200. 1st hand after dinner break, a player from UTG moved all in for ~16k, I found AKo from the button and raised it to 30k to iso, and everyone else folded. He showed AT and the board ran out K98KT adding to my mountain of chips. Around this time I was moved to a new table with my roommate David sitting in the 3 seat (I had position on him in the 6 seat). I made it 3500 from UTG with ATo and everyone folded. I made it 3500 from the button with 87o and the SB called. The flop came J53, he bet 5000, I raised to 11600, he moved all in for 40k or so, and I folded. I made it 3500 with AJo from MP and the BB called. The flop came T54, he checked, I bet 4100, me made it 9000, I made it 25k, and he folded. His raise here just looked really weak so I took advantage by moving around some of my big stack. I made it 3500 with QJo from UTG and David called from the BB. The flop came QJ9, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came another Q giving me top full, he checked, I bet 4100, and he called. The river came a 2, he checked, I bet 10600, and he folded. I was at 155500 and we went up another level.
Level 12: 1000-2000 300. 1st hand of the level, I found KK UTG and opened to 4800. It folded to the SB who moved all in for around 40k which I obviously called. He showed AQo and I held on a J544T board to get my stack to 200k or so. A player in EP opened to 5200 and I called on the button with AJhh. The BB called as well and we saw a flop of 944. The raiser lead out for 8200 and I folded. I found TdTh in the hijack and opened to 4500 and the BB called. The flop came 865 all diamonds, giving me an overpair with a flush draw. He checked, I bet 5100, and he called. The turn came another 5, he checked, I bet 10500, he made it 30k, I put him all in for his last ~65k total, and he folded despite putting about 1/2 his stack in. I was up to 239000 for a massive stack at this point and we were nearing the money. . .but as we all know sometimes things can turn south in a hurry in poker.
Level 13: 1200-2400 300. A player in EP made it 5200, I made it 12.5k from the cutoff when I found TT, the button moved all in for 50k, the player in EP moved all in for 75k, and I folded (they showed KK and AA so whew!). I made it 5100 from MP with AQcc, the button called, the SB moved all in for his last 30k, I isoed all in, and the button folded. He showed KJss and I lost on a board of J86TJ and was down to 190k. A short time later, a player in EP moved all in for his last 30k, it folded to me in the BB and I found A9dd and called. He showed TT and the board ran out T87QT and I down knocked down back to 155k. I made it 5100 from the button with Q7cc and everyone folded. I was on 163300 and we went up to the next level.
Level 14: 1500-3000 400. I moved to a new table around this point and boy did everything go wrong quickly at this table. I opened to 6500 from MP with J9ss and got called by the button and the BB. The flop came QT6 2 clubs giving me an open ended straight draw, we checked to the button, and he bet out 15k. The BB called and I decided to call as well. The turn came the 7c putting a potential flush on board, the BB checked, I bet 40500 attempting to rep the flush, the button moved all in for 160k, the BB called, and I had to fold. They both showed flushes so I guess I kind of wasted 40k in chips here. I think if neither of them has a flush this play might work so I dont know. . .kind of a waste kind of a bad spot. I was down to around 100k or so after this. I made it 6100 with 55 from UTG +1 and got called by a player in LP and the BB. The we checked to the turn on Q96A where I folded to a bet. A shortstack moved all in into my BB for only 7k so I called him with A5o. He had Q6o and the board ran out AKK8K giving me the win. I made it 6500 from the cutoff with A8o and everyone folded. I was at 102500 and we went up another level.
Level 15: 2000-4000 500. It folded to the button who made it 12k of his 35k stack. I found AJo in the BB and put him all in and he called with 88. The board ran out 96364 and I was down to 65k or so. Very next hand, the button opened to 10k, I found A2o in the SB and moved all in for my 65k, the BB moved all in for his last 50k, and the button folded. He showed AQ and I failed to smack my 3-outer crippling myself to 15k in the process. Next hand, it folded to me on the button and I moved my last 15k in with Q9o. The SB folded but the BB called showing J6. He flopped a J and I wasnt able to catch up, busting me about 10 places before the money.
Its really really disheartening to go from big stack to short stack like this without even cashing. I dont know if I played that poorly. . .I did throw away about 60k in that hand I tried to bluff but other than that I just dont know. I was dreading typing this one up becuase of how sick it would make me feel writing about how I had 240k when the average was 80k then busting before the average got to 120k. Bah. . .it was nice to have a stack for a while and hopefully I can get a nice one at the next tournament I play in.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tourney: July 3rd 2011 Day 2 of Grand Poker Series Grand Finale $1100
To do a quick recap from last time, I moved on to day 2 of the Golden Nuggets Grand Series of Poker Main Event. We had 235 starters with 51 people moving to day 2. I came in with a well above average stack of 206k. 27 of us would get paid with 55k going to 1st place. I was in seat 3 with poker star Faraz "thet0ilet0" Jaka in seat 10, and other good young players in seats 2 and 5.
Level 13: 1500-3000 300. I made it 6500 from UTG +1 with A7o, and the BB who was a tight older man moved all in for 36k total causing me to fold. Around this time, a new player who happened to be the defending champion of this event came and sat down in seat 4 on my left with a ton of chips. There was 1 limper and I completed the SB with T7o. We saw a flop of QT4, I checked, the BB (seat 4 the defending champion) bet 5500, the limp folded, and I called. The turn came another Q, I checked, he bet 7000, and I called. The river came a 5, I checked, and he checked behind showing 64 and I had the winner. The young player in seat 2 opened to 7000 from the hijack, I 3-bet to 16.6k from the cutoff with 75cc, he moved all in for his last ~90k or so, and I folded. It folded to me in the SB and I decided to just limp into the defending champions BB when I found ATo. He checked behind and we saw a flop of A92 2 hearts. I lead out for 4200 and he called. The turn came an offsuit J, I lead for 10000, and he called. The river came an offsuit 4, I lead for 16.5k, and he called but mucked when I showed my top pair giving me a nice pot. I made it 6500 from UTG +1 with 96cc, Faraz 3-bet me to 18k from the BB, and I folded. I made it 6500 from UTG with T9cc and the kid in seat 2 called from the BB. The flop came K86 2 clubs, he checked, I bet 8000, and he folded. I was up to 222000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 14: 2000-4000 500. I then picked a bad time to try to run a bluff. Faraz opened to 9000 from the cutoff and I called from the button with 77. The BB called as well and the flop came down JT4. They checked to me, I bet out 11.5k, and the BB called. The turn came a 3, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 9, he checked, I bet 40.5k, and he quickly called showing QJ for the winner. I figured this was a good card to get him off of a T or a hand like J9 or even Q9, T9. I kind of did the overbet bluff to make sure he would fold these marginal hands here, repping KQ for the straight. However, by checking top pair 3 times he is basically committing himself to never folding the river so I got caught. I was down to 160k or so after this. The players in seats 1 and 2 busted so when it folded to Farazs SB, I was in the BB. He made it 11k and I found A9o in the BB and called. The flop came down J32, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came another J, he bet out 14k, and I called. The river came a T, he checked, and I checked behind but was no good when he showed T9 for the rivered 3-outer. I made it 9500 from the button with 22 and both of the blinds (seats 4 and 5) called. The flop came AAK and I folded to a lead. Around this time, another table broke and we were down to 30 players approaching the bubble. With this break, online wunderkind "assassinito" came and sat down on my right in seat 2 and another young good German kid sat down in seat 7. Faraz opened to 9000 in EP, a player in MP called, I called from MP also with 33, and the button and BB called. The flop came 976 and I folded to a bet. Faraz opened to 9500 from MP, I found TT on the button and made it 25k, and everyone folded. This was a bad level and I found myself down 100k in chips with my stack at 122000.
Level 15: 2500-5000 500. Very early on in this level, we got to 28 players and started hand for hand. This lasted about 30-40 minutes with us seeing very little action at our table. I found TT UTG +1, opened to 11.5k, and everyone folded. I found KK in the hijack, opened to 11.5k, and everyone folded. I found 66 UTG and opened to 11.5k resulting in, again, everyone folding. Eventually, the bubble bursted and we were all in the money!!! Soon after the bubble burst, I played a very interesting hand. Assassinito opened to 10.5k from UTG +2, I found QQ right behind him and 3-bet to 24k, and the defending champion right behind me cold 4-bet to 60k. Assassinito quickly folded and I agonized about my decision for a really long time before deciding to ultimately fold, leaving myself with about 115k behind. The player was quite good but even so, I really didnt think that he would cold 4-bet here without the effective nuts. QQ is a massive laydown and I dont know if I have ever laid it down in a spot like this before but I just got unusually strong vibes from him so I just decided to find a different spot. NOTE: I kept asking the guy what he had and he didnt tell me right away but when he busted out of the tournament, he told me he had AQ. . .baaaaahhh. . .bad fold. . .Im such a wuss. I was at 109000 and we went to the next level.
Level 16: 3000-6000 500. Early on in the level, I was rewarded for (what I thought at the time) making a great fold with a double up. Faraz opened from the cutoff to 12.5k (which he was doing very wide), the guy on the button reshoved for his last ~150k (which I knew he was doing wide on Farazs opens as he had done this 4-5 times in the last hour), I found AQo in the BB and called off my last 100k or so, and Faraz folded. He showed KJhh and I faded his cards on 999T5 to double to 220k or so. This was the only pot I played this level and I took 207000 to the next level.
Level 17: 4000-8000 1000. Faraz opened to 18k from UTG +2 and I 3-bet him to 41k from MP with KTdd and everyone folded. I opened to 17k from the hijack with T9o and the SB was the only caller. The flop came down J87 flopping me the nuts, he lead out for 22k, and I just called. The turn came a 3, he moved all in for his last 100k or so, and I snapcalled. He showed JT and his chop didnt come when the river came a 4 and I was up to over 400k just like that (easy when you can flop the nuts vs top pair). It folded to Faraz in the SB (seats 1 and 2 were busted again) and he opened into my BB for 22k. I found A5o and called and we checked down Q93J9 with him showing A3 for the winner. Around this time we went down to the final 18 players, giving everyone a pay jump in money for the final 2 tables. I opened to 18k from MP with 74cc and everyone folded. I was at 351000 and we went up another level.
Level 18: 5000-10000 1000. I opened to 23k from UTG +1 with J7o and Faraz called out of the BB. The flop came T97 2 spades, he donk lead for 24k, I made it 61k, and he called. The turn nice for me in the form of a 7, he checked, I went all in for my last ~260k or so, and he folded. Interesting hand here. The reason I went all in on the turn is because I didnt want to bet 100k or something like that and have another spade or straight card come on the river and have to puke call his bet. I probably didnt get max value if he had a 10 or something but whatever. Actually, a better way to have played the hand would have been to check behind on the turn with the intention of calling his probable bluff or possible value bet on the river (it seems like a likely spot for him to bet the river if I check behind the turn). Therefore, I dont have to call an all in which is what would happen if I bet like 100k, he called, and bet the river but I would still be able to call an amount that would impact my stack but not to the degree of losing it all. Additionally, this turn jam helped set up a massive hand that took place later on in the tournament. Faraz opened to 21k from MP, the button called, and I called from the BB with 98o. We checked to the turn on ATTQ where I folded to a bet. Around this time we were down to 14 players or so. The player in the cutoff moved all in for 81k and I found A8o on the button and, even though he was a tight player, I figured I was ahead of his 6-handed jamming range alot here so I called. He showed down 66 and I lost the flip on A62Qx and was back down to 300k or so. Faraz opened to 20k from UTG, I 3-bet to 51k from the button with A8o, and he put me all in for my last ~300k or so. I called and he showed A7hh and the board ran out Jh4x4xKhQh and he made a flush to bust me out. . .or did he. I slid my chips over to him and started to walk away from the table dejected and disappointed when everyone started calling back to me telling me it was a chop. I asked them how it could be a chop when he made a flush and they said "what are you talking about??? he didnt make a flush!" I rechecked Farazs cards and they were a red A7 but one was a heart and one was a diamond so while I didnt double up to 600k after getting in with the best hand, I wasnt actually eliminated from the tournament when we chopped the pot! I opened to 23k from MP with JTo, Faraz 3-bet from the BB to 63k and I folded. At this time, we went to dinner break. There were 11 players left (1 more to bust before getting to the final table) and I was back down to 245000.
Level 19: 6000-12000 2000. I opened to 26k from the button with K9hh and the SB, the young good German kid I talked about before, moved all in from the SB forcing me to fold. The cutoff opeend to 28k and I moved all in from the BB with K8dd and everyone folded. Soon after this hand happened, someone busted and we were down to the final table of 10! The final table complexion looked as follows:
Seat 1: Extremely nitty lady ~200k
Seat 2: Faraz Jaka ~1.2 million
Seat 3: Good young German kid who had been at my table for a while but I never really tangled with him ~400k
Seat 4: Poker pro/semi-poker celebrity Kenna James ~900K
Seat 5: My roommate and good friend David ~1 million
Seat 6: Pretty solid middle aged man ~500k
Seat 7: Young competent player who was playing tigher due to his shortstack ~250k
Seat 8: German middle aged man who played better than you would think by looking at him ~1 million
Seat 9: Me ~240k
Seat 10: Older man who looked alot like Jon Voight and played pretty standard old man poker but his game was a tad more creative than most old me ~300k.
On the very 2nd hand of the final table, it folded to the kid in seat 7 and he opened to 30k from the button. I found 87dd in the BB and decided to ship it on him and he quickly called showing AKo. The board ran AT9J5 and I sucked out to get a double up in the most crucial pot of the summer so far!! So exciting. I was up to 450k or so and the kid was crippled to 20k or so and busted the next hand and we were down to the final 9. A couple of hands later, the nitty woman in seat 1 busted to the older man in seat 10 with JJ losing to KK and we were down to 8. I made it 26k from the hijack with KQo and everyone folded. I had 459000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 20: 8000-16000 2000. I opened to 35k from the hijack with A3ss and everyone folded. Around this time the player in seat 6 busted in a race vs the German man in seat 7 (QQ beating AK) and we were down to 7 players. The older man in seat 10 opened to 32k UTG (he meant to raise more but thought we were still on the previous level) and I called from the BB with KJss. The flop came down KQT all hearts, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came the 8d, I lead for 36k, he raised it to 72k, and I called. The river came 4h putting a 4th heart on board, I checked, he fired 80k, I called, and he showed AQ no heart and I won a nice pot to push my stack up to over 600k. This call was all about physical tells. Alot of times I will just fold when I get raised on the turn but his betting size was weak and did not dictate how he had been playing stronger hands in previous situations so I figured I would call and reevalute on the river. When the river came the 4th heart and he bet, everything about him said that he was weak. From the way he put his chips in the middle to the way he was sitting, it was nearly transparent to me that he was bluffing so I called and it worked out well to get my stack to peak as high as it had been all tournament. I made it 35k from UTG with K2ss, Faraz called from MP, and the German man called in the BB. The flop came QJT, and everyone checked. The turn came an 8, the German guy lead out for 55k, and we both folded. Kind of weak to flop a draw and just go check/fold but I know I can find better spots. The German guy opened to 39k from UTG and I found 88 UTG +1 and 3-bet to 85k. He put me all in for my last ~550k total and I elected to fold even though I had a strong incling that his hand was AK. Faraz opened to 41k from UTG and I found 99 in the SB and 3-bet to 110k eliciting a fold from everyone. I had 608000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 21: 10000-20000 3000. I opened to 45k from UTG with 97o and everyone foled. The German guy opened to 46k from UTG +1 and I 3-bet him to 110k right behind with J9o causing everyone to fold. I then played a pretty ridiculously fun hand that ended up being a massive pot. I found JTss in the cutoff and opened to 45k, Faraz 3-bet from the SB to 101k, and I called. The flop came T55, he checked, I bet 115k, and he called. The turn came a K, he checked, I jammed all in for my last 360k, and after tanking for a good 5 minutes he decided to call showing AJ! The river came a 4 and I was able to double to 1.15 million in chips in a pretty sick hand. I rarely call in these spot preflop, either choosing to fold or 4-bet jam and if he would have raised a larger amount I probably would have just jammed but the 3-bet size was so small compared to my raise I figured I could profitably call him with position and a hand that flops well. The highlight of the hand was his decision to hero call me with AJ high. When he was tanking for forever, I figured he had a hand like 99-77 and I wasnt ever really worried that I was beat with 2nd pair no kicker. As is patented Jaka, he decided to make the hero call but this time it was no good. Like I had said before, all of the time that I had jammed the turn on him previously paid off in this pot allowed me to win a massive pot to put me right up with the chip leaders. Faraz busted the very next hand and we went 6-handed with me having as good of shot as anyone to win this thing. I was at 1150000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 22: 15000-30000 5000. One of the 1st hands of the level, I found QQ on the button and opened to 65000, the old man called from the SB in seat 10, and the young German kid shoved for 575k from the BB. I snap reshoved and he showed A9dd and I was on the verge of becoming massive chip leader of the tournament. The flop ran out T32 but the A on the turn flipped the situation and the 9 on the river didnt give me my miracle adn I was shot back down to under 600k. Bah. . .what sucks even more about not winning this is that the whole final table dynamic would have changed. I would have had just under 2m, David had 1.2m, Kenna James and seat 10 would have been short stacks with around 400k each, and the German guy would have had 1.5m. It is extremely likely that David and I get to 3 handed with the German guy if this holds up giving one of us a great shot at winning but that just was not the case. I opened to 65k from UTG +1 with A9o and David called from the BB. The flop came KQ6, he checked, I bet 80k, and he folded. My stack dwindled to around 460k or so after not getting involved and watching the short stacks double up around me. I made it 65k UTG with J8dd and the German guy called in the BB. The flop came A32 2 diamonds, he checked, I moved all in for 400k or so, and he folded. I was at 540000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 23: 20000-40000 5000. After folding through the blinds, I found A7o on the button and moved all in causing everyone to fold. I was at 540k when I played an extremely odd hand with the German that basically cost me my tournament. It folded to him in the SB and he decided to limp my BB. I thought this was particularily odd as I am likely to shove here so I gave him credit for a big hand and just checked when I found J4o. The flop came T55, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a 4 pairing me, he checked, I bet 55k, and he caled. The river came a 3, he checked, I value bet 100k, he instantly put me all in, I folded, and he showed QJo for the stone cold bluff. Ugh. . .I sooooooo wish I would have just checked behind on the river or just shoved the flop. He did limp pretty strong but he is probably folding to a push (plus I get there if he calls). I figured him for an A high hand when he went limp/check/check/check with his line so I tried to extract an extra 100k on the river with my pair. I definently did not think he was capable of making a play such as a check/raise river bluff with little fold equity. Damn. . .Oh well. This hand left me crippled with just 320k or so. A couple of hands later I moved all in from MP with 87o and Kenna James isoed all in from the SB showing AQo. I could not suckout on a big ace with 87 again and I unfortunately busted in 6th.
It is frustrating to go deep and not finish the job but I cant be too mad with my performance. . .especially considering that I got lucky to not get out 10th at the final table. It was a great experience to be able to get through such a tough field, play with some great players, and make a final table with a good friend. I took home around 10.2k for my 6th place (5.1k of which was mine). David ended up busting out in 5th place which was equally as disappointing because he had a ton of chips at one point but sometimes things just dont go your way and only one person can truly be happy at the end of a tournament. I just know we were a QQ holding vs A9 from one of us likely winning. Hopefully I have one more deep run left in me this summer and I will be able to improve on my 6th place finish of this tournament.
Level 13: 1500-3000 300. I made it 6500 from UTG +1 with A7o, and the BB who was a tight older man moved all in for 36k total causing me to fold. Around this time, a new player who happened to be the defending champion of this event came and sat down in seat 4 on my left with a ton of chips. There was 1 limper and I completed the SB with T7o. We saw a flop of QT4, I checked, the BB (seat 4 the defending champion) bet 5500, the limp folded, and I called. The turn came another Q, I checked, he bet 7000, and I called. The river came a 5, I checked, and he checked behind showing 64 and I had the winner. The young player in seat 2 opened to 7000 from the hijack, I 3-bet to 16.6k from the cutoff with 75cc, he moved all in for his last ~90k or so, and I folded. It folded to me in the SB and I decided to just limp into the defending champions BB when I found ATo. He checked behind and we saw a flop of A92 2 hearts. I lead out for 4200 and he called. The turn came an offsuit J, I lead for 10000, and he called. The river came an offsuit 4, I lead for 16.5k, and he called but mucked when I showed my top pair giving me a nice pot. I made it 6500 from UTG +1 with 96cc, Faraz 3-bet me to 18k from the BB, and I folded. I made it 6500 from UTG with T9cc and the kid in seat 2 called from the BB. The flop came K86 2 clubs, he checked, I bet 8000, and he folded. I was up to 222000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 14: 2000-4000 500. I then picked a bad time to try to run a bluff. Faraz opened to 9000 from the cutoff and I called from the button with 77. The BB called as well and the flop came down JT4. They checked to me, I bet out 11.5k, and the BB called. The turn came a 3, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 9, he checked, I bet 40.5k, and he quickly called showing QJ for the winner. I figured this was a good card to get him off of a T or a hand like J9 or even Q9, T9. I kind of did the overbet bluff to make sure he would fold these marginal hands here, repping KQ for the straight. However, by checking top pair 3 times he is basically committing himself to never folding the river so I got caught. I was down to 160k or so after this. The players in seats 1 and 2 busted so when it folded to Farazs SB, I was in the BB. He made it 11k and I found A9o in the BB and called. The flop came down J32, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came another J, he bet out 14k, and I called. The river came a T, he checked, and I checked behind but was no good when he showed T9 for the rivered 3-outer. I made it 9500 from the button with 22 and both of the blinds (seats 4 and 5) called. The flop came AAK and I folded to a lead. Around this time, another table broke and we were down to 30 players approaching the bubble. With this break, online wunderkind "assassinito" came and sat down on my right in seat 2 and another young good German kid sat down in seat 7. Faraz opened to 9000 in EP, a player in MP called, I called from MP also with 33, and the button and BB called. The flop came 976 and I folded to a bet. Faraz opened to 9500 from MP, I found TT on the button and made it 25k, and everyone folded. This was a bad level and I found myself down 100k in chips with my stack at 122000.
Level 15: 2500-5000 500. Very early on in this level, we got to 28 players and started hand for hand. This lasted about 30-40 minutes with us seeing very little action at our table. I found TT UTG +1, opened to 11.5k, and everyone folded. I found KK in the hijack, opened to 11.5k, and everyone folded. I found 66 UTG and opened to 11.5k resulting in, again, everyone folding. Eventually, the bubble bursted and we were all in the money!!! Soon after the bubble burst, I played a very interesting hand. Assassinito opened to 10.5k from UTG +2, I found QQ right behind him and 3-bet to 24k, and the defending champion right behind me cold 4-bet to 60k. Assassinito quickly folded and I agonized about my decision for a really long time before deciding to ultimately fold, leaving myself with about 115k behind. The player was quite good but even so, I really didnt think that he would cold 4-bet here without the effective nuts. QQ is a massive laydown and I dont know if I have ever laid it down in a spot like this before but I just got unusually strong vibes from him so I just decided to find a different spot. NOTE: I kept asking the guy what he had and he didnt tell me right away but when he busted out of the tournament, he told me he had AQ. . .baaaaahhh. . .bad fold. . .Im such a wuss. I was at 109000 and we went to the next level.
Level 16: 3000-6000 500. Early on in the level, I was rewarded for (what I thought at the time) making a great fold with a double up. Faraz opened from the cutoff to 12.5k (which he was doing very wide), the guy on the button reshoved for his last ~150k (which I knew he was doing wide on Farazs opens as he had done this 4-5 times in the last hour), I found AQo in the BB and called off my last 100k or so, and Faraz folded. He showed KJhh and I faded his cards on 999T5 to double to 220k or so. This was the only pot I played this level and I took 207000 to the next level.
Level 17: 4000-8000 1000. Faraz opened to 18k from UTG +2 and I 3-bet him to 41k from MP with KTdd and everyone folded. I opened to 17k from the hijack with T9o and the SB was the only caller. The flop came down J87 flopping me the nuts, he lead out for 22k, and I just called. The turn came a 3, he moved all in for his last 100k or so, and I snapcalled. He showed JT and his chop didnt come when the river came a 4 and I was up to over 400k just like that (easy when you can flop the nuts vs top pair). It folded to Faraz in the SB (seats 1 and 2 were busted again) and he opened into my BB for 22k. I found A5o and called and we checked down Q93J9 with him showing A3 for the winner. Around this time we went down to the final 18 players, giving everyone a pay jump in money for the final 2 tables. I opened to 18k from MP with 74cc and everyone folded. I was at 351000 and we went up another level.
Level 18: 5000-10000 1000. I opened to 23k from UTG +1 with J7o and Faraz called out of the BB. The flop came T97 2 spades, he donk lead for 24k, I made it 61k, and he called. The turn nice for me in the form of a 7, he checked, I went all in for my last ~260k or so, and he folded. Interesting hand here. The reason I went all in on the turn is because I didnt want to bet 100k or something like that and have another spade or straight card come on the river and have to puke call his bet. I probably didnt get max value if he had a 10 or something but whatever. Actually, a better way to have played the hand would have been to check behind on the turn with the intention of calling his probable bluff or possible value bet on the river (it seems like a likely spot for him to bet the river if I check behind the turn). Therefore, I dont have to call an all in which is what would happen if I bet like 100k, he called, and bet the river but I would still be able to call an amount that would impact my stack but not to the degree of losing it all. Additionally, this turn jam helped set up a massive hand that took place later on in the tournament. Faraz opened to 21k from MP, the button called, and I called from the BB with 98o. We checked to the turn on ATTQ where I folded to a bet. Around this time we were down to 14 players or so. The player in the cutoff moved all in for 81k and I found A8o on the button and, even though he was a tight player, I figured I was ahead of his 6-handed jamming range alot here so I called. He showed down 66 and I lost the flip on A62Qx and was back down to 300k or so. Faraz opened to 20k from UTG, I 3-bet to 51k from the button with A8o, and he put me all in for my last ~300k or so. I called and he showed A7hh and the board ran out Jh4x4xKhQh and he made a flush to bust me out. . .or did he. I slid my chips over to him and started to walk away from the table dejected and disappointed when everyone started calling back to me telling me it was a chop. I asked them how it could be a chop when he made a flush and they said "what are you talking about??? he didnt make a flush!" I rechecked Farazs cards and they were a red A7 but one was a heart and one was a diamond so while I didnt double up to 600k after getting in with the best hand, I wasnt actually eliminated from the tournament when we chopped the pot! I opened to 23k from MP with JTo, Faraz 3-bet from the BB to 63k and I folded. At this time, we went to dinner break. There were 11 players left (1 more to bust before getting to the final table) and I was back down to 245000.
Level 19: 6000-12000 2000. I opened to 26k from the button with K9hh and the SB, the young good German kid I talked about before, moved all in from the SB forcing me to fold. The cutoff opeend to 28k and I moved all in from the BB with K8dd and everyone folded. Soon after this hand happened, someone busted and we were down to the final table of 10! The final table complexion looked as follows:
Seat 1: Extremely nitty lady ~200k
Seat 2: Faraz Jaka ~1.2 million
Seat 3: Good young German kid who had been at my table for a while but I never really tangled with him ~400k
Seat 4: Poker pro/semi-poker celebrity Kenna James ~900K
Seat 5: My roommate and good friend David ~1 million
Seat 6: Pretty solid middle aged man ~500k
Seat 7: Young competent player who was playing tigher due to his shortstack ~250k
Seat 8: German middle aged man who played better than you would think by looking at him ~1 million
Seat 9: Me ~240k
Seat 10: Older man who looked alot like Jon Voight and played pretty standard old man poker but his game was a tad more creative than most old me ~300k.
On the very 2nd hand of the final table, it folded to the kid in seat 7 and he opened to 30k from the button. I found 87dd in the BB and decided to ship it on him and he quickly called showing AKo. The board ran AT9J5 and I sucked out to get a double up in the most crucial pot of the summer so far!! So exciting. I was up to 450k or so and the kid was crippled to 20k or so and busted the next hand and we were down to the final 9. A couple of hands later, the nitty woman in seat 1 busted to the older man in seat 10 with JJ losing to KK and we were down to 8. I made it 26k from the hijack with KQo and everyone folded. I had 459000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 20: 8000-16000 2000. I opened to 35k from the hijack with A3ss and everyone folded. Around this time the player in seat 6 busted in a race vs the German man in seat 7 (QQ beating AK) and we were down to 7 players. The older man in seat 10 opened to 32k UTG (he meant to raise more but thought we were still on the previous level) and I called from the BB with KJss. The flop came down KQT all hearts, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came the 8d, I lead for 36k, he raised it to 72k, and I called. The river came 4h putting a 4th heart on board, I checked, he fired 80k, I called, and he showed AQ no heart and I won a nice pot to push my stack up to over 600k. This call was all about physical tells. Alot of times I will just fold when I get raised on the turn but his betting size was weak and did not dictate how he had been playing stronger hands in previous situations so I figured I would call and reevalute on the river. When the river came the 4th heart and he bet, everything about him said that he was weak. From the way he put his chips in the middle to the way he was sitting, it was nearly transparent to me that he was bluffing so I called and it worked out well to get my stack to peak as high as it had been all tournament. I made it 35k from UTG with K2ss, Faraz called from MP, and the German man called in the BB. The flop came QJT, and everyone checked. The turn came an 8, the German guy lead out for 55k, and we both folded. Kind of weak to flop a draw and just go check/fold but I know I can find better spots. The German guy opened to 39k from UTG and I found 88 UTG +1 and 3-bet to 85k. He put me all in for my last ~550k total and I elected to fold even though I had a strong incling that his hand was AK. Faraz opened to 41k from UTG and I found 99 in the SB and 3-bet to 110k eliciting a fold from everyone. I had 608000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 21: 10000-20000 3000. I opened to 45k from UTG with 97o and everyone foled. The German guy opened to 46k from UTG +1 and I 3-bet him to 110k right behind with J9o causing everyone to fold. I then played a pretty ridiculously fun hand that ended up being a massive pot. I found JTss in the cutoff and opened to 45k, Faraz 3-bet from the SB to 101k, and I called. The flop came T55, he checked, I bet 115k, and he called. The turn came a K, he checked, I jammed all in for my last 360k, and after tanking for a good 5 minutes he decided to call showing AJ! The river came a 4 and I was able to double to 1.15 million in chips in a pretty sick hand. I rarely call in these spot preflop, either choosing to fold or 4-bet jam and if he would have raised a larger amount I probably would have just jammed but the 3-bet size was so small compared to my raise I figured I could profitably call him with position and a hand that flops well. The highlight of the hand was his decision to hero call me with AJ high. When he was tanking for forever, I figured he had a hand like 99-77 and I wasnt ever really worried that I was beat with 2nd pair no kicker. As is patented Jaka, he decided to make the hero call but this time it was no good. Like I had said before, all of the time that I had jammed the turn on him previously paid off in this pot allowed me to win a massive pot to put me right up with the chip leaders. Faraz busted the very next hand and we went 6-handed with me having as good of shot as anyone to win this thing. I was at 1150000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 22: 15000-30000 5000. One of the 1st hands of the level, I found QQ on the button and opened to 65000, the old man called from the SB in seat 10, and the young German kid shoved for 575k from the BB. I snap reshoved and he showed A9dd and I was on the verge of becoming massive chip leader of the tournament. The flop ran out T32 but the A on the turn flipped the situation and the 9 on the river didnt give me my miracle adn I was shot back down to under 600k. Bah. . .what sucks even more about not winning this is that the whole final table dynamic would have changed. I would have had just under 2m, David had 1.2m, Kenna James and seat 10 would have been short stacks with around 400k each, and the German guy would have had 1.5m. It is extremely likely that David and I get to 3 handed with the German guy if this holds up giving one of us a great shot at winning but that just was not the case. I opened to 65k from UTG +1 with A9o and David called from the BB. The flop came KQ6, he checked, I bet 80k, and he folded. My stack dwindled to around 460k or so after not getting involved and watching the short stacks double up around me. I made it 65k UTG with J8dd and the German guy called in the BB. The flop came A32 2 diamonds, he checked, I moved all in for 400k or so, and he folded. I was at 540000 and we went up to the next level.
Level 23: 20000-40000 5000. After folding through the blinds, I found A7o on the button and moved all in causing everyone to fold. I was at 540k when I played an extremely odd hand with the German that basically cost me my tournament. It folded to him in the SB and he decided to limp my BB. I thought this was particularily odd as I am likely to shove here so I gave him credit for a big hand and just checked when I found J4o. The flop came T55, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a 4 pairing me, he checked, I bet 55k, and he caled. The river came a 3, he checked, I value bet 100k, he instantly put me all in, I folded, and he showed QJo for the stone cold bluff. Ugh. . .I sooooooo wish I would have just checked behind on the river or just shoved the flop. He did limp pretty strong but he is probably folding to a push (plus I get there if he calls). I figured him for an A high hand when he went limp/check/check/check with his line so I tried to extract an extra 100k on the river with my pair. I definently did not think he was capable of making a play such as a check/raise river bluff with little fold equity. Damn. . .Oh well. This hand left me crippled with just 320k or so. A couple of hands later I moved all in from MP with 87o and Kenna James isoed all in from the SB showing AQo. I could not suckout on a big ace with 87 again and I unfortunately busted in 6th.
It is frustrating to go deep and not finish the job but I cant be too mad with my performance. . .especially considering that I got lucky to not get out 10th at the final table. It was a great experience to be able to get through such a tough field, play with some great players, and make a final table with a good friend. I took home around 10.2k for my 6th place (5.1k of which was mine). David ended up busting out in 5th place which was equally as disappointing because he had a ton of chips at one point but sometimes things just dont go your way and only one person can truly be happy at the end of a tournament. I just know we were a QQ holding vs A9 from one of us likely winning. Hopefully I have one more deep run left in me this summer and I will be able to improve on my 6th place finish of this tournament.
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