Tourney: June 12th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #16: $340

I wasnt sure if I was going to play today because of how poorly I played yesterday. I ended up getting my mindset correct and proper to play in the tournament today so I went for it. Todays field had 650 players with 63 spots paying and $41k going to first. My opening table was super soft. I was in the 3 seat and the only other decent player I had to worry about was in the 6 seat (he gave me some trouble through the day). We started with 12000 in chips today.

level 1: 50-100. I made it 250 in the cutoff with A4ss and both the blinds called (including the good player in seat 6 as the SB). The flop came Q33, they checked, I bet 325, and seat 6 called. the turn came an A, he checked, and he checked behind. The river came a K and he check folded to my 800 bet. There were 2 limps in EP and a MP player made it 550. I found 77 in the SB and was the only caller but I check folded on an AT6 flop. I made it 250 from the button with 43o and the blinds called. We checked to the turn on K92Q all diamonds (I didnt have one) and I bet 325 when they checked to me. The good player in seat 6 check raised to 825 from the BB and Im pretty sure he was full of shit but still ended up folding. I made it 250 with K7ss from MP, got 4 calls, and was no good after the board ran out T938T. I accidentally made it 350 (rather than 250) with K9dd in MP, got 3 callers, and folded on an AJ4 flop. I made it 250 with AQo UTG +1 and got 3 calls behind. The flop came J83 and I check/folded. I then was able to pick off a sick bluff attempt to win a nice pot. The good player in seat 6 made it 300 from UTG +1, the cutoff called, and I called in the BB with KJo. The flop came K52, I checked, the raiser bet 425, the cutoff folded, and I called. The turn came another 2, I checked, he bet 850, and I called. The river came a 10, I checked, he bet 1600, and I called. He showed A8cc for A high and the sick attempted 4 barrel bluff. To be honest, I am not really sure how much I like my call here. There is hardly anyone who is going to have the balls to pull a full 4-barrel bluff in the first level of this tournament. I feel like his range is going to be AA AK KK 55 or 22 if he has a hand. It is doubtful he is firing the flop/turn/river with KQ or flop/turn with KT. I can cancel 22 because no one gets quads and its unlikely he has KK becuase I have a K. I guess there really arent too many hands that beat me overall and if he actually does have one like he was repping, it isnt really going to cost me that much of my stack so I decided to call. I was up to 14075 and we went to the next level.

Level 2: 75-150. I made it 350 from UTG with KJo and everyone folded. I limped the button with 44 behind a couple of limpers but folded on a 953 flop. I made it 350 from the cutoff with T8ss and the BB was the only caller. The flop came T52 and he check/called my 400 bet. The turn came a 3 and he check/called my 750 bet. The river came a 4 putting a 4 straight on the board, we both checked, and my 10 was good. I made it 350 from the hijack with ATo but the good player in seat 6 made it 975 from the button and I folded. A player in MP made it 400 and got 2 callers to me in the SB. I found 77 and called but check/folded on an AJ8 flop. I found KK in the SB and decided to just limp when it folded to me. The BB checked and the flop came 754. I bet 200, he called, and the turn came a 4. I bet 525, he called, and the river came a 3 filling an open ender. I checked and he checked behind showing 73 for a no good 3 pair. It was then my turn to fire the 3rd barrel in a pot. A fairly active player made it 300 in MP and I called from the button with 98o. The BB came along as well and the flop came KT3 2 diamonds. They checked to me, I bet 550, the BB folded, and the raiser called. The turn came a Q and he check/called my 1200 bet on the turn. At this point it looked like he didnt really want to call and was extremely reluctant so I instaput him on either AQ or QJ and I had seen him fold in close spots like this a couple of times already. The river came the 7d completing a potential flush, he instantly checked (and I knew he hated this card), I bet 3500, and he quickly folded. A player UTG made it 300, got 2 calls and I called from the cutoff with KQo. The flop came 622 and I ended up folding to a bet. I was up to 18650 we went to the next level

Level 3: 100-200. I completed from the SB with T7o and 1 limper. We checked to the turn on 9828 and I bet 325 and the limper called. The river came a 7, we both checked and he showed 55 (which was no good as I rivered a higher pair). The player UTG limped, I was UTG +1 and found AKo and decided to limp as well. My table had a cally but aggro dynamic so I knew if I just raised I would get a ton of callers and have to fold on most flops (and even if I flop a pair I would be scared of 2 pair or a set). I am obviously limping to backraise here but unfortunately, everyone but 1 player limped behind as well. The flop came T32 and I had to check/fold the flop. Around this time Doug "toolbox" Lee came to my table for the 2nd time of the summer. I made it 550 with QQ from UTG +1 and the SB called. We checked down AT5K7 and I was good. I made it 550 UTG with T9dd and seat 6 called in MP as well as toolbox in LP. The flop came A93, we checked to Doug who bet 1025 and I folded (he showed an A). I completed the SB with 2 42o and 2 limpers. We checked to the turn on Q539 where I bet 550 and everyone folded. I was at 18700 and we went on 1st break.

Level 4: 100-200 25. I made it 475 from UTG with T9o and the active player from the 3 barrel hand made called in LP. The flop came J83, I lead for 550, and he called. The turn came a 9, I checked, he bet 600, and I called. The river came a 4, I checked, he bet 1200, and I called. He showed 99 for the turned set and I was no good. Weird spot. . .probably could have easily folded but I think he his bluffing a decent amount here so I called. I made it 475 in MP with AQo and everyone folded. I made it 475 with A8cc from UTG +1, UTG +2 called and seat 6 3-bet to 1475 resulting in me folding. I made it 475 in the hijack with TT and the BB called. The flop came 332, he donked out 500 and I called. The turn came another 2, he checked, I bet 800, and he called. The river came a J, he checked, I bet 1400, and he called but mucked when I showed (thinnish value on a double paired + overcard board). I made it 475 with KQdd from MP ad god 2 calls from behind. The flop came A73 2 hearts and I check/folded to a bet. A player in EP made it 575 and got 1 caller. I found 22 in the BB and called but folded when the flop came AK7. I was down to 17150 and we went to the next level.

Level 5: 150-300 25. I made it 650 in MP, seat 6 called from the button, and the BB called. The flop came A98, I bet 800, and they both folded. I made it 650 from MP with K7hh and the BB was the only caller. The flop came Q32 and he check/called my 800 c-bet. We checked down the turn/river of 4A and he showed Q5 for a straight (and flopped top pair). I made it 650 from UTG with 44, UTG +2 moved all in for 5700, and I folded. The active player from before made it 600 in EP, I found AA in the cutoff and just flatted, and the button moved all in for 6k or so. The EP player folded and I obviously called. He showed 99 and I was able to fade the 9 to get a decent pot. The bad thing about this hand is that the EP raiser said he folded JJ. This guy and the guy to his left had restole by moving all in like 4-5 times in the last 20 minutes and the raiser decides to fold JJ to another reship. Ugh. . .I definently should have gotten a full double here as most competent players iso all in with JJ here and I would have won with AA. As it is the nit decided to just fold JJ here and screw me out of a 40k stack. I was up to 23600 and we went to the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. Soon into this level, I got pretty unlucky for a massive pot. A tight old man player opened to 1050 UTG and I decided to just flat from MP with QQ. The flop came J96 2 tone, he lead out for 1500, I raised to 3450, and he moved all in for 17500. Now this is not an easy call by any means. Like I said before, he was really tight and he could easily have AA KK or flopped a set. However, after thinking about the situation and seeing that he looked pretty uncomfortable after I thought about it for a while (I didnt think he was the type of guy to give off false tells), I called. He showed TT and the 7 on the turn gave him 4 more outs but he didnt need those when the T came on the river to give him a set crushing my overpair. Oh well cant to much here. . .a 40k pot went in the wrong direction and I was down to only 4k. A couple of hands later, an idiot aggro made it 1000 in MP and got 1 caller behind. I found A9o in the BB and I really thought I had a better hand than the raiser and probably than the caller so I moved all in for 3500 total. They both called and the board ran out KT7QT and they showed 87 and QJ and I was no good when they both made pairs. I really with A9 would have held up here because if I win this I am back up to 11k again. I hate this guys 1000 raise here because he knows im short and going to be shoving wide. He thought he was a good player and it bothers me to see idiots make plays like this.

I busted out early again but am not too bothered by it as I think I played well today, chipped up, got some big hands, and jsut got unlucky for a huge hand in the end. Overall this summer I have had a TON of holds in spots like that so I figured I was long overdue to get binked on in a spot like this. One thing that sucks is if that guy doesnt fold JJ there I am up to 40k when my AA holds and I can fade the QQ vs TT beat. As it is, it was another early day and there was nothing I could do about it.