Tourney: June 16th and 17th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #21: $340

Todays Venetian $340 started out with a massive 823 players, paying off 81 places with 51k going to first. I have had a good track record of the $340s at the Venetian so far this year and was looking to improve on previous deep runs. We started with 12000 chips today.

Level 1: 50-100. I made it 250 from MP with 44 and got called by the BB. The board ran out A55T and I folded when he bet out 500. There was 1 limper to the button who made it 250. I found AKo in the BB and made it 700 and the button called. The flop came T76, I lead out 525, and he folded. A player UTG limped, I found TT UTG +1 and made it 250, and the guy in the SB (the same guy who I had 3-bet the previous hand) made it 750. UTG folded and I called. The flop came AQJ and we both checked and saw a 9 on the turn (giving me an open ender). He bet just 500 and I called. The river came a 5, he bet 1100, I folded, and he showed QQ. The hijack limped and I found JJ in the cutoff and made it 250. He was the only caller and he folded to my 300 c-bet on Q72. I limped behind 2 limps with 66 and 6 of us saw a J43 flop, on which I folded to a bet. I made it 250 from the cutoff with JTo. The SB 3-bet to 1100 and I folded. There were 3 limps to my SB and I found AA and made it 600. 2 of the limps called and we saw a relatively harmless flop of J76. I checked to trap but both of the callers checked behind. The turn came 7, I bet 1050, and they both folded. Even after getting all these big hands, I was only up to 12500 after the level.

Level 2: 75-150. This level I played significantly less hands. I made it 350 in the HJ with KQo and everyone folded. There were 2 limps to me in MP and I decided to attempt to iso by raising to 600 with ATo. Both of the limps called and we checked down a QQ3J3 board where I ended up splitting with a limper who somehow had AK. I was at 12525 and we went to the next level.

Level 3: 100-200. I made it 475 UTG with KJss, got 2 calls behind, but had to fold when the SB 3-bet to 1600. There was 1 limper to me in the SB and I completed with 66. We saw a flop of AK5 and I check/called a 300 bet from the limper. The limper was a good player who had been limping a significant amount and I didnt think an A or K was in his limping range alot of the time here. The turn came a Q, I checked, he bet 750 and I sincerely thought my hand was good here but decided it was an unnecessary risk to take so I just folded. I then played a hand that I think I played pretty poorly and definently missed value. I opened T8o from MP to 475 and got called from the button and the SB. The flop came a perfect 976 rainbow flopping me the nuts. The SB checked, I made a large 700 continuation bet, the button raised it to 2100, the SB folded, I decided to go all in for 10.5k, and the button folded after 30-45 seconds of thought. What I was thinking was that with the size of my continuation bet, my hand is faceup as an overpair so when the button makes a full 3x reraise on the flop, he is representing that he can beat an overpair. Therefore, I just jammed thinking that he put me on an overpair and would instacall with a 2-pair hand as he can beat my "face-up" overpair hand. I guess I gave him way too much credit for the size of his hand. I have to think that he is going to fold a hand like A9/T9/98 here where I dont want him to fold at all. A better play would have been to either flat or make a smaller 3-bet reraise so he can put more chips in the pot by calling or maybe even hang himself by 4-betting all in on a bluff or weaker hand. The point is there are alot of hands he can have where he is reraising on the flop but not alot that he can call an all in so when I have the nuts, I should give him more opportunites for him to make a mistake with a weaker hand. I made it 475 with 98o UTG but had to fold when the button jammed for 5100. A player in EP made it 400 and got 4 callers to my BB. I decided to call with T8o and we saw a 832 flop. The SB lead out for 1100 and I decided to fold. There was 1 limper and i made it 475 from the button with A8o. The BB and the limp called and the flop came 542 3 hearts (I did not have a heart). We checked around, the turn came a 7, the BB lead out for 500, and I folded. Even after all of this, I only had a frustrating 12950 chips.

Level 4: 100-200 25. There was 1 limper to me in the hijack and I limped behind with A6hh. The cutoff decided to make it 800 and I folded (he showed QQ). I made it 475 UTG +1 with Q8dd, a MP player made it 1050, and I folded. I then played another hand where I potentially missed value. UTG +1 made it 600 (this was the player that I had 3-bet with T8o), UTG +2 called, I found 88 in the cutoff and called, and the BB called as well. The flop came a nice K84 rainbow, they all checked to me, and I decided to check behind. The turn came the 6s putting 2 spades on board. The initial raiser (UTG +1) bet out 1600, I made it 4000, and he called. The river came an offsuit T, he checked, I went all in for 6900, and he folded after about 90 seconds in the tank. Im guessing that he had either JJ or QQ. It looked like he really really wanted to call and he almost did, especially since I had already played aggressively at him in a big spot in a previous hand. I think if I bet 4k-5k he calls for sure but the all in is what lost the call for me in the end. I guess it wasnt too bad of bet but I probably did miss some value on the river. A tight player made it 600 from UTG +2 and I found AKo directly behind him in MP and just called. The guy in MP right behind me called as well and we saw a J98 all diamonds flop (I did not have a diamond). The raiser lead out for 1000 and I folded (the other guy in MP reraised and showed JJ so I definently saved myself money by just calling preflop). I made it 475 UTG +1 with ATo and got called by the cutoff and the BB. We checked down a board of J974A where I bet 600 and they both folded. I was at 17775 and we went to the next level.

Level 5: 150-300 25. I made it 650 from the hijack with A9o and the BB called. The flop came AK9, he checked, I bet 800, and he folded. A player on the button limped, I found Q9cc in the SB and made it 875, and everyone folded. I made it 650 from UTG and everyone folded. I was up ot 19700 and we went to the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. The player UTG +1 limper, I found KJo UTG +2 and made it 950, it folded to the SB who made it 3050, and I folded (he showed QQ). A very aggressively player on the button made it 850 and I had a plan to call ATC and c/r any flop when he raised the button on my BB. He had been folding to flop/turn aggression a ton and I did not want to bloat the pot with a 3-bet preflop (or allow him to make a light 4-bet getting me off my hand). I looked down at 92hh and decided to follow through with my plan by just calling. Somehow, the flop came Q22 flopping me trip 2s. I checked, he bet 1250, I made it 3100, and he folded. This place makes NO sense. . .my plan was perfect in theory (as it worked) but since I flopped the effective nuts, it makes no sense to raise him off of any hand. Why would I go from knowing he has anything here to hoping he has something to call a check/raise with on the driest board ever. If my plan was to check/raise nothing, my plan with the effective nuts should have been to try to get more bets out of him. A lady player (synonymus with bad player) made it 1000 in MP and I found 99 in the hijack and called. The flop came AK7 all diamonds (I held the 9 of diamonds in my hand), she bet 1400, and I called. The turn came an offsuit, she pushed all in for about 15k (FTW), and I folded. I was at 17400 and we went to the next level.

Level 7: 300-600 50. I moved to a new table that was much weaker than my previous one so I went in with the mentality of trying to steamroll to get some chips for future levels. I made it 1325 with J9o in the cutoff and both the blinds called. The flop came 763, they checked, I bet 2000, and the SB called. We checked down a 2 turn and a Q river and he showed AQ (should have barrelled the turn). I made it 1325 from MP with 99 and got called from a lady in the hijack and the BB. The flop came J65 2 diamonds, I bet 1600, and they both called. The turn came a 2d, putting 3 diamonds on the board (I had the 9d) and we all checked. The river came the 8d (giving me a mid flush). We checked to the hijack who bet 4100, the BB tank folded (what he later said was a J) and I called. She showed A6hh for the bluff and I won. This was a pretty easy call because even with my limited time at the table, I could tell that she liked playing pots. People who like playing pots often will try to play suited cards at any opportunity. If she has a diamond in her hand, it is likely that she has 2 and when it is checked to her on the turn, she will bet like 99% of the time. When it is checked to her on the river, she will probably not bet a turned flush when the 4-flush comes unless it is the A or K (and in this case, 4100 is an overbet for a value bet). Additionally, she never checked back her hand once in the hand (it struck me that this is the type of thing she might do if she had 2 big cards that were unsuited to check for a diamond. . .if she does this and then bluffs I might believe her). Finally, just by looking her at the river you could sense the weakness radiating off of her so because of all these factors the call was pretty easy. The cutoff made it 1425, the SB called, and I found 65cc in the BB and called as well. We checked to the turn on KQ49 where I bet 2000 taking down the pot. I made it 1325 from the cutoff with 85dd and the BB called. We checked to the turn on T869, where he bet 2000. He didnt strike me as the kind of player to bluff here so I just folded. I made it 1325 from MP with K6o, the cutoff called, the SB 3-bet to 4325, and I folded. I made it 1325 with AJo UTG and the BB was the only caller. The flop came J76, he checked, I bet 1600, and he folded. There was 1 limper to my SB and i completed with ATo. The flop came T32 2 diamonds, we checked to the limper, he bet 1200, I made it 3525, and he folded. I had grinded my stack up to 27750 and we went to the next level.

Level 8: 400-800 75. With this new level brought another new table change. This table was not nearly as easy as the previous though, with many young aggressive players having a lot of chips. Even so, I continued to play pretty aggressive. I made it 1725 from UTG with A8dd and everyone folded. I made it 1725 from the cutoff with KJo and both of the blinds called. The flop came down QT4, they checked to me, and I decided to take my free card and checked behind. The turn came a 3, the SB checked, the BB bet 4000, I called, and the BB called. This bet may be a little too big for me to call but I felt like he was pretty strong and I would get paid off if I hit. Unfortuntely, the river came a boring 5 and I folded when the BB bet 6000. I made it 1725 from MP with 55 and the BB called. The flop came 542 2 hearts, he checked, I bet 2200, and he folded. Grrrrrrrr. . .I wish I could get more value but a slowplay is a tough sell when there is a two-tone board plus a number of cards that can make a 4-straight. I made it 1725 from MP with KJo and got called by the cutoff and the BB. We checked to the turn on AQ98 where I folded to a bet from the BB (I was certian that he wanted to check raise the flop). I was UTG when I found AA and opened to my standard 1725. A player in MP called and the BB also called and we saw a Q64 flop. The BB checked, I bet 2200, MP folded, and the BB called. The turn came a K, he checked, I bet 4000, and he folded. After this, the next 60 minutes of tournament action were probably the most action packed of the summer thus far. An aggressive player in the cutoff opened to 1725, I found 77 in the SB and decided to flat, and the BB moved all in for about 10.5k. The cutoff folded and I called but was way behind when he showed 99. Luckily for me, the board ran out A6357 rivering me a set and taking the pot. To be honest, I dont really hate this call that much. The guy in the cutoff is opening an extremely wide range and since I had been playing alot of pots already, they BB might think I am calling with a wide range here (which I am actually not). I actually kind of thought that this hand might develop this way even before the guy pushed all in. It was only for about ~15 bbs total so I thought it wouldnt be a bad spot to call plus I would still have about 18k myself if I lost this pot. Even though I was wrong, I was lucky enough to get there. Soon after this hand, we went on break with me up to 43400.

Level 9: 500-1000 100. I made it 2300 from MP with 66 and a good active player called in the hijack. The flop came A83, I checked, he bet 3400, and I folded. Alot of times I will continue here but I really think he is calling me with a tighter range than percieved and betting the flop only when he hits it so I would be surprised if he didnt have an A here. I then played a large pot that I got pretty unlucky in (cant really complain after beating 99 with 77 though). I found AA (again. . .I was due for a big pair rush) UTG and made it 2300. It folded to the BB who moved all in for 23k. I snapped and he showed AKo. The board ran out T7689 and we chopped (which sucked for me). There was 1 weak limper to me on the button and I attempted to iso by making it 2300 with 84cc. He was the only caller and the flop came QT4. He donked out 5000 (for the WTF play) and I just had to fold. A player UTG limped, I made it 2800 from UTG +1 with AKo, the cutoff called, and the UTG limper called. The flop came K93 2 spades, I bet 3600, and they both folded. I then got unlucky in another large pot. It folded to the aggro kid from the AA vs AK hand in the hijack and he moved all in for 20300. I was on the button and found KK and called. Everyone else folded and he showed AJo. The board ran out A85J2 and he won a nice sized pot hurting me in the process. I was down to 21700 and we went to the next level.

Level 10: 600-1200 100. A couple of hands after this, a player in MP made it 4200 and I was right behind him and found QQ. I made it 16k (of my 21k. . .the almost all in is kind of my new play), and the kid immediately behind me cold 4-bet it to 29k The initial raiser tanked for about 4 minutes and decided to fold and I called all in for my last 21k. I was a little scared I was crushed at first but the guy showed AKo and when the board ran out 75378, I doubled up (the inital raiser said he folded 88 and was "so close" to going all in over the top and would have "instantly put me all in" if it was folded back to him so I guess I was on a freeroll after this hand). The player on my right (guy with 88 in previous hand) limped UTG, I found 77 UTG +1 and limped also. A player in MP made it 3000, the UTG limper made it 9000, and I folded. I made it 2600 from UTG with 88 and the BB (same kid) called. We checked to the turn of QJTJ where he bet 3000 and I folded. I was at 43600 (after all the ups and downs Im back almost right where I was before) and we went on the dinner break.

Level 11: 800-1600 200. After folding the 1st couple orbits after dinner, I opened to 3500 from UTG +2 with K8o and the BB called. The flop came A86, she checked, I bet 4100, and she folded. A player in MP made it 3900 and I called in the BB with A8o. The flop came Q54 and I check/folded to her 5000 bet. I hate calling here but alot of flops I will be making plays (I had really tightened up) so it isnt as bad as it seems. I was at 38500 and we went to the next level.

Level 12: 1000-2000 300. A player in EP made it 6000 and I found AKhh in the HJ and made it 20k (effective all in) and everyone folded. A couple of hands later, I made it 4300 from UTG +2 with AKo and everyone folded. Next hand, UTG opened to 4400 and I found AKo (again) UTG +1 and made it 10.6k. He called and the flop came QT9 all diamonds (I did not have a diamond). He checked and I checked behind. The turn came a 4, he lead for 7000, and I folded. I hate having to fold AK here but after much discussion with my friends about this hand, there was little I could have done as the flop is right in his range. I was down to 38k or so after this but after folding an orbit of so, I took 33600 to the next level.

Level 13: 1200-2400 300. It folded to me in the cutoff and I made it ~25k (effective all in) with ATo and everyone folded. A player in MP made it 4800 and I found 88 in the hijack and made it ~30k (effective all in) and everyone folded. I found AQo UTG +1 and made it 5100 and UTG +2 pushed all in for about 28k. I decided to call, he showed AK, the board ran out 432K6 and I was cripple to just 10.5k in chips. The guy was a tight older man so maybe this is a bad call but when I have already opened and he only has like 12 bbs and shoves, it is a tough sell to fold AQ here even when I know his range is tight. Next hand after this hand, I took my 5bbs to a new table where I unluckily found myself UTG immediately. First hand, I found Q5o UTG and opened for just 5500 rather than all in. For some reason, this move completely confounded everyone at the table and 3 different people tanked for at least a minute, analyzed my bet and my chip stack, and decided to fold (one guy even told me he folded 77. . .effective all in FTW). This allowed me the freedom to fold my BB next hand when there was a raise and a 3-bet. It folded to my SB and I found K6o and did the effective all in vs the BB. He put me all in, I called, and he showed K7. The board ran out AQ5A9 and I made a chop and survived through my blinds. I was at 14900 and we went to the next level.

Level 14: 1500-3000 400. I knew I was in trouble with only 5 bbs and I would have to get lucky quickly. Fortunately for me, I was able to do so. 2nd hand of the level, it folded to me in the hijack and, even though im jamming almost ATC here, I found JJ. I made it 8100 (effective AI), the button reraised to 15k (putting me all in) and I called. He showed 33 and I doubled on a flop that blanked him out. I was up to 36k or so after this. I found 86cc UTG +2 and slid in 19.5k (effective all in) and everyone folded and I was back to 13 bbs with some room to play. It folded to me in the SB and I found JJ again and made just a small opening raise to 7200. The BB called and the flop came 985. I went all in for about 30k and he snap called showing T8. The board ran out 66 and I faded his outs, doubling in the process. Pretty sick comeback for me as now I had a respectable stack. I took exactly 80000 ot the next level.

Level 15: 2000-4000 500. I made it 8500 from UTG with QTo and everyone folded. I moved to a new table after this and also around this time we started getting to the bubble. Play slowed considerably nearly the bubble culminating with a dreadfully long hand-for-hand. I tried 1 play with the bubble approaching. I had folded every hand at my new table so I tried to open J5o to 8500 UTG but a tight old man on the button decided to jam all in for 200k whcih resulted in me folding. We played for about the last 25 minutes of this level hand for hand, plus 3 extra non-clocked hands (which took a remarkably long time) but the bubble still didnt burst, and I took 58500 to the next level. NOTE: I was not trying to play tight to get in the money. . .I hope you think more of my game than this by now. . .I simply couldnt find any spots.

Level 16: 2500-5000 500. About 10 minutes into this level, the bubble finally burst so we were in the money! We redrew for new tables and went back to work with me having 51500 going into the money. 1st hand at the new table, I found KQdd and made it 35k (effective all in) and everyone folded. I made it 40k UTG +1 with AKo and everyone folded. I found 55 on the button and made it 40k and everyone folded. After these steals, I was up to 74500 and we went to the next level.

Level 17: 3000-6000 500. Luckily for me, I was able to find some good spots before the day ended to increase my stack significantly. Early on in the level, an active player with a ton of chips opened to 13.5k from MP. I found A5o in the BB and moved all in for about 74k. He called which initially made me puke but I felt a little better when he showed KTo. I saw a K in the window but an A followed it as the board ran out AK4QQ and I doubled up. Very next hand, it folded to a new player on the button who moved all in for 75k. I found AThh in the SB and reshipped all in. The BB folded and the button showed down J4ss. The board ran out A836x and I had him drawing dead by the turn. I was up to 237k after these 2 hands. An aggressive player in EP made it 17k and I found AA in the SB and 3-bet to 45k. Unfortunantly, he quickly folded showing an A. Damn. . .I wish I would have gotten more action here but I think we were too deep to just flat and if he shows an A, it obviously wasnt a strong A so I probably am not getting too much value from him even when I do flat. Soon after this, the day ended with me having 240000 in chips.



DAY 2:
Day 2 started with just 45 of the 823 players and I was ever so close to that 51k. I had 240000 in chips with the average at 210k. I ended up drawing a pretty ridiculous table as 3 of the top 4 stacks in the tournament were on it and, despite being 19/45 going into the day, I was only 7/9 at my table. This didnt really worry me too much but I knew they were going to be playing aggressive and it would make it tougher for me to find good steal spots.

Level 18: 4000-8000 1000. I folded for the 1st 15 or so hands as I watched all kinds of raises and reraises in front of me. I finally found a spot to open when it folded to me in the hijack and I found QJo and made it 17k. It folded to the BB and he went all in for 170k and I had to fold. About an orbit or so later, I found T9o UTG +1 and opened to 17k. 2 players behind me called and the SB 3-bet to 60k which caused me to fold. Maybe I shouldnt be opening here but whatever. These were the only pots I played in this level and I was down to 165000 going to the next level.

Level 19: 5000-10000 1000. I finally found a premium hand when I looked at AA UTG and made it 23k. Everyone folded and I just took the blinds. . .damn why cant I find them in LP or the blinds with a previous raise (cant complain too much when you do find AA though). 2 hands later, a player limped UTG, another player limped the cutoff, and I found A9o in the SB and made it ~120k and everyone folded. Alot of times I would be worried about a UTG limp when no one has open limped all day but this guy verbalized "lets try something new" before he limped and started talking about his limp so I knew he wasnt very strong. I was back up to 210k after this and we were down to 35 or so players. I folded for another orbit or so and dropped some chips back before I decided to open to 23k with 22 from MP. 2 players behind me and the SB called and the flop came down AKT forcing me to fold when the SB lead. I folded for a little while longer and was down to 165k when the following hand took place. A really LAG player with a ton of chips opened to 26k from late MP as he had been doing extremely often when it was folded to him. I was 2 spots behind him in the cutoff and found T7hh and decided to go for the resteal and push all in. He tanked for a couple of minutes before deciding to call with 77 and I was in a bad shape. The flop came QQ8 2 diamonds giving me counterfit and backdoor straight outs, the turn came the glorious Td giving me the best hand and an excellent shot at doubling up but the river came the soulcrushing 4th diamond (4d) making him a flush and sending me packing. I do not hate this shove here that much. T7hh is a pretty strong resteal hand and I know how wide his opening range is (I had played with him the previous day as well). 77 is a fairly easy call for him here and if I knew he was that strong I would have not made this play but the thing is his range is so wide that hes folding out a large enough percentage of his hands that it makes this push not terrible. This is what I think at least, maybe he was opening tighter than percieved. Its just too bad the last diamond didnt fall on the river and I was able to play longer into the tournament :(.

It is nice to get another good result, as I finished 29/823 for $1231 but it is still extremely frustrating to get so so so deep and not finish the job. Im hoping that next time I get there, better things will happen and I will be able to make some real money.