Tourney: June 11th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #15: $340

I write this blog with the deepest regrets. I played extremely poorly in todays tournament and this is probably the 1st tournament I have thought that I have let myself down in and I know I could have played better than I did today. Todays tournament had 730 people with 72 spots paying and first prize around 48k.

Level 1: 50-100. I opened to 250 UTG with AT0 and got 3 calls. The board ran to the turn on 9769 and I folded to a bet. I made it 250 UTG +1 with 86hh and got 1 call from MP. The flop came an unlikely 866, I checked, he bet 300, I made it 800, and he folded. I made it 250 UTG with 76dd and a MP player made it 600. I called and the flop came AQ9 2 diamonds giving me a flush draw. We ended up checking to the river on 5x2x and he won when he showed TT. A player UTG made it 225, a player in MP called, I called on the button with KQo, and the Sb called also. The flop came QT2 giving top pair. It checked to me, I bet 400 and the inital raiser was the only caller. The turn came an irrelevent 3, he checked, I bet 750, and he folded. An EP raiser made it 225, I was in the hijack and made it 575 with 86o. The SB flatted and the EP raiser called as well. I let the board run out QJ4K3 and folded to a 900 bet from the SB. I made it 250 in MP with ATo and hte button was the only caller. The flop came K32, I bet 325, and he folded. I was at 12600 and we went to the next level.

Level 2: 75-150. I made it 350 UTG with Q9cc and got 6 callers. The flop came T75 2 diamonds and I folded. There were 2 limpers to my SB and I completed with A3o. The flop came T63 and it checked around. The turn came another 3 giving me trips, I bet out 225 and the BB was the only caller. The river came a J, I bet out 725, he called, and I won the pot. I made it 350 from the hijack with AQo and the SB was the only caller. I let the board run out JT37K where I bet 550 and he called and mucked (Ironically, this flop came 2 diamonds and I was positive I had the AQdd so I trap/checked the flop and turn. . .when I flipped over my hand on the river I only had 1 diamond so I probably would have bet the flop if I read my hand right). I made it 350 from MP with J4o and the cutoff and BB called. The flop came KQ9, the BB checked, I bet 550, the cutoff made it 1125, and we both folded. I was then able to win a decent sized pot. I made it 250 UTG +1 with KQo and got called by UTG +2 and the BB. The flop came Q75, I bet out 550 and UTG +2 was the only caller. The turn cane another 5, I checked, he bet 1025, and I called. The river came a T, I checked he bet 2100, and I semi-reluctantly called and he said "youre good' (indicating he was bluffing) and I won a decent sized pot. An EP raiser made it 425 and I found AA in the cutoff and made it 1200 but everyone folded (DAMN!). I made it 350 with KJo in MP and the button was the only caller. The flop came AKJ giving me 2 pair, I lead out for 425, and he called. The turn came a 3, I bet 750, and he called. The river came an 8, I bet 1400, and he folded showing an A. I was all the way up to 20500 after a successful level.

Level 3: 100-200. There were 2 limpers and and I completed the SB with A2cc. The flop came A88 and I check/called 200 from one of the limper. The turn came a 3 and I check/called 200 from the limper again. The river came a 5 and I check/called 200 for a 3rd time but had to muck when he showed A6. A player UTG made it 400 and I made it 1050 from the hijack with 83dd and everyone folded. I made it 475 in the hijack with T9hh and the cutoff and SB called. The board ran out A32A9 and I called 675 when the SB lead out but mucked when he showed AJ. There were 3 limpers to my BB and I checked J5o. We checked to the turn on AJ2A where I bet 325 and everyone folded. I then was able to win a large pot. There was an EP limper to me on the button and I decided to limp on the button with K6dd. The flop came a glorious Q73 all diamonds giving me the flush. They checked to me and I bet 525 with the BB being the only caller. The turn came a J, he checked, I bet 1200, and he moved in for about 6500 total. I called adn he showed Q8 with the 8d for top pair and a no good flush draw and was drawing dead by the river. I won this large pot and was up to 26450 at the 1st break.

Level 4: 100-200 25. I made it 475 from UTG +2 with K9cc and got 2 calls from 2 players behind and the BB. The flop came A86 and I check/folded to a bet. I made it 475 from the button with 75o, the SB made it 1200, and I folded. I made it 475 in MP with QTcc and both the blinds called. The flop came T96, the checked, I bet 600, and the SB called. The turn came a Q, he checked, I bet 1750, and he instafolded. I limped UTG with 33 creating a chain of limps but folded on a QT5 flop. The hijack made it 575, I made it 1650 from the SB with JTss, he made it 4700, and I folded. This hand sucked because I knew he was really strong because of his raise size but I decided to 3-bet anyways not taking into account my obvious strong read on the guy. Should have just flatted. There was a limper in the hijack and i made it 475 from the button with QJo and he was the only caller. We checked to the turn on 5546 where he lead for 800 and I folded. I was at 23950 and wen went to the next level.

Level 5: 150-300 25. A player in MP made it 800 and I called in the CO with 65cc. The SB also called and we saw a 772 flop. They checked to me, I bet 1025, and the SB was the only caller. The turn came the Qc giving me a flush draw, the SB checked, I bet 1650, and he folded. I limped behind other limpers with T9o but folded on a KQ2 flop. I made it 650 UTG +1 with QJdd and got called in 5 places. The flop came 974 2 diamonds giving me a flush draw. It checked to me, I bet 1550, the button called, and the BB moved all in for about 12k and I folded. I then played a series of hands that I am embarrassed to write about and lead to my complete downfall today. I feel sick about how today ended so it legitimately pains me to write these. The first hand, an EP raiser made it 850 and I called the BB with 66. The flop came T82, I checked, he bet 1500, and I called. The turn came an 8, I checked, he bet 2600, I made it 8100, he moved all in, I folded, and he showed QQ. First of all, if you read my recaps this is my first real large bluff of the summer. It obviously didnt work and I am kind of sullen about it. I thought this player was a good player and would give me credit for a hand an fold an overpair. His hand is faceup and I figured he would know I knew that and would think I had him bead. However, I gave this guy way to much credit (he was new to the table and I thought he was good but he wasnt). To be honest, I almost always have an 8 here (even people on the table recognized this by comments they made after I folded) and I am able to bluff most people here but I just picked a poor spot (in fact, I picked the wrong spot. . .bad play here). I was down to 14k or so after this. A player in EP made it 800, he got 2 calls and I found 55 in the SB and called as well. The board ran out AA62 and I folded to a bet. A player in EP made it 950, got 3 calls, and I called the button with 32ss but folded when I missed the flop. I was down to 11600 and we went to the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. One of the first levels, I made it 950 UTG with 55, a fairly active player made it 2200 in MP, and I 4-bet jammed. He snap called and showed AA and I failed to make a set and busted. UUUUGGGGGGGHHHH. I rarely rarely make bad -EV plays like this and I absolutely know better. I am competely disgusted with myself for how the last 30 minutes of this tournament went. I know that I play 100% better than what I showed today and I feel like a chump writing about how badly I played. I guess tomorrow is another day but I cant waste tournaments (and even stacks because I had doubled mine today) like I did today.

Today was an absolute embarrassment and I know that I can play much much better. Alot of people might sugarcoat their hand histories to make it seem like they played better than they actually did but I will not do that. I will take my poor play head on. I cant dwell over how poorly I did today but I can learn from it and go onto the next day improving on my performance and bringing everything I can to the table.