Tourney: June 23rd 2011 The Grand Series of Poker $235

Today I feel as if I played some of the best poker that I have played this summer. Even though it didnt really work out in the end, the way I played today instilled a ton of confidence in my game. Todays tournament started with 130 or so players paying 13 spots with 7k going to 1st. We started with 12000 in chips.

Level 1: 25-50. Everything started off well early on. I opened to 125 with KK from the cutoff and the blinds were the only callers. The flop came KJ3, they checked, I bet 150, and they both folded. I raised ATo from MP and got called by the blinds. The flop came A32, the BB lead for 225, and I was the only caller. The turn came another 2, he bet 400, and I called. The river came a K counterfitting my kicker and we both checked. He showed A9 and we chopped. I made it 125 in EP with 65o, a player in MP called, another player in MP made it 400, and we both called. The flop came J74, we checked to the raiser who bet 650, and I was the only caller. The turn came an 8 filling my open ender, I checked but he checked behind. The river came a K and I thought this was a good trap card so I checked but he decided to check behind announcing "I caught a king". . .ugh right intentions wrong result. I then played a huge pot where I got superowned by a big bluff. A player in EP made it 125 and I found QQ in the BB and made it 400. He called adn the flop came 943 2 clubs. I bet 525, he made it 1525, and I called. The turn came a 2, I checked, he bet 2500, and I called. The river came a J, I checked, he went all in for 7500, I ended up folding after a long tank, and he showed A2cc for a missed flush draw. Blah. I really cant believe that he was bluffing here but whatever. I dont particularily hate the fold becuase normally I can beat very little of his range. One thing that I discussed with my friends is that the all in bet here might have been the giveaway. If he wanted value with JJ or 99 he would bet a little smaller to get me to call but the all in is trying to scare me away. Sounds easy enough but in reality it is a tough sell to think he was bluffing here at the table, especially how tight he was before this and how tightly he played the rest of the day. I was down to 9000 or so (instead of the 24000 I could have been at) after getting bluffed here. A player in MP made it 125 and I found JJ in the hijack and made it 400. He called and we saw a flop of K53 where we went check-check. The turn came a 4, he lead for 525, and I called. The river came a 7, he bet 800, I called, and he showed KQ for a flopped top pair better than my JJ. I guess this is a fold on the river but I was still reeling from the bluff so a call here is somewhat excusable as my hand is still strong and can beat some of his range. I was down to 7700 and we went to the next level.

Level 2: 50-100. For the next couple levels, I continued to leak chips in a bad way. I opened to 250 from the cutoff with ATdd and the blinds called. The flop came Q43, the BB lead for 500, and I folded. I made it 250 from the hijack with Q2dd and the button and blinds called. The flop came QJ3 2 clubs, the blinds checked, I bet 325, and the button was the only caller. The turn came the 5c (2 clubs on board), I checked, he bet 525, and I called. The river came a 9, I checked and he checked behind but I mucked when he showed KQ. A player in EP made it 325 and got 1 call and I decided to call as well with T7ss in the BB. The flop came 863, the raiser bet 650, and I decided to call with my gutshot and over to try to make something happen on a later street. The turn came the As giving me a flush draw with my gutshot. The raiser in MP checked out of turn so I decided to rep the A by leading out for 900 but he quickly called. The river came another A which is a terrible bluff card for me so I gave up and checked, he bet 3000, and I folded (he later told me he had AJ). I made it 250 from the cutoff with KJo and the BB called. We checked down T6286 and his A2 was good. I made it 250 with A5o from the SB into the BB and she called. The flop came K65 and she folded to my 300 lead. I was down to 4350 and we went to the next level.

Level 3: 75-150. I made it 350 from MP with 75o and got 2 callers. The flop came AT6 and I check/folded to a bet. There were 2 limps to me on the button and I steam limped 98o. The flop came 985 all hearts, a limp bet 900, I moved all in for 3400, and he folded. I was at 4400 and we went on the 1st break.

Level 4: 100-200 25. I had been playing somewhat tight and a loose player opened in MP to 500 when there was a dead BB. I found J8o in the hijack and jammed for 4000 or so. He called after a little thought showing KQo but I was lucky to get a double on QJ983. I made it 450 from MP with A5o and everyone folded. There were 2 limpers to me on the button and I found KK and made it 625. One of the limps called but folded to my 600 bet on K93 2 diamonds. I had worked my stack back up to 9925 and we went to the next level.

Level 5; 150-300 25. I then played a pretty frustrating hand but overall pretty lucky that it was against a bad lady player. A player in EP opened to 800 and he wasnt particularily good so I flatted from the hijack with 98cc. The dumb lady in the cutoff and the blinds called as well and we went 4-handed to the flop. The flop came Qx7c6c flopping me a straight flush draw. Everyone checked to me, I bet 1725, and the lady behind me was the only caller. The turn came the Jx (blank for me), I checked, she bet 2500, and I just called. Normally I am just open jamming or maybe even check/raise jamming the turn but because it is against this terrible lady player, I know that she has a Q and is not folding and I know that even if I hit I will still be able to get my last 5k in and have her call so there is no point in raising or going nuts here. I am basically frerolling a double up if I hit and saving my last 5k if I dont. Unfortunately, the turn came a blank 2, I checked, and she checked behind showing AQo and I was back down to 5k. Later, I found 44 in the cutoff and bet 3000 of my effective 4200 or so with 44 and everyone folded. I found AKo in MP and made it 3000 again and everyone folded. A looser player in EP opened to 750 and I knew that he would play his hand more or less face up (betting if he has it, folding if he doesnt) vs a stack size like mine so I called in the BB with Q5dd. The flop came A98 2 diamonds giving me a flush draw, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came a 6, I bet 3000 (effectively going all in) and he folded. The flush draw is more or less unnecessary here because like I said he would play his hand ABC and when he checks the flop I know I will win on the turn. I was at 6200 and we went to the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. I made it 1000 from UTG with AKo and everyone folded. The button made it 1200 and I found 33 in the BB and jammed and he folded. He was a tight player but had alot of chips and I know that this raise size is consistent with an ABC standard button raise so it was an easy shove. Around this point, I recoginzed that the table was super tight and playing 100% ABC boring poker decided to ramp up the aggression to an extreme level (and it worked well). I made it 850 from the hijack with J9o but had to fold when the dumb lady in the cutoff 3-bet to 4000. I made it 850 from MP with K7hh and the BB called. The flop came J66, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came the Qh giving me a flush draw, he lead for 1225, I moved all in for about 7500, and he folded. I knew that he had a random A from the BB and I didnt want to bet the flop and have him call me down with A high so I was going to delayed c-bet the turn. His lead was still consistent with him having a weak A so the push was more or less regardless of the flush draw (although it is nice to have some cushion). I made it 850 from UTG +2 with 86cc, got 3 callers, and folded on the turn on a KQ42 board. I made it 850 from the button with 99 and the dumb lady called in the SB. The flop came A82, she lead for 1000, and I called. The turn came another A, she bet 1200, and I called. The river came a Q and we both checked. She showed 84 for a pair of eights and my 99 won the hand. Its possible I could have value bet the river but my line of call call isnt terrible here I think. I was up to 12275 and we went to the next level.

Level 7: 300-600 50. I raised an absolutely absurd amount of pots in this level. Im not positive if I have them all because it was hard to write them all down when youre raising every pot but I think I have most. Like I said my table was playing tight so I completely ramped up my aggression to try to increase my stack so I could have a managable amount in future levels. I made it 1325 from the cutoff with K3hh and everyone folded. I made it 1325 with K9o from the hijack and everyone folded. I made it 1325 from UTG +2 with A9o and everyone folded. I made it 1325 from UTG with 74hh and the dumb lady called from UTG +1. The flop came QQ6, I c-bet 2000, and she folded. The cutoff limped and I knew he didnt have much so I just jammed my 20k (I think it was around here at this point) from the SB with J6ss and the BB and limp folded. It folded to me on the button and I made it 1325 without looking and the blinds folded (I held J8o). There was 1 limp to me in the hijack and I found AQcc and made it 1525 and the limper was the only caller. The flop came A76 and he check folded to my 2000 bet. I made it 1325 from UTG +1 with 95dd and the blinds called. The flop came AT6 and they check folded to my 2000 c-bet. I found a real hand with TT from UTG and made it 1325 and the blinds called. The flop came A55 and the BB lead for 2000. I thought this was a little funny but decided to just fold as the stealing was going well at that point. The cutoff made it 1500 and I jammed for about 25k (I think at that point) from the SB with 66 and everyone folded. . .could have just raised I guess but jamming here really reemphasizes my super aggro image and makes people scared to play pots with me as I could jam any time. A player in EP made it 1325 and I found TT in the SB and 3-bet to 4000 resulting in everyone folding. I made it 1325 from the HJ with A8ss and everyone folded. Everyone was getting fed-up with all my raising by this time. I found TT in MP and made it 1325 and the BB jammed for about 9k I called and he showed A5dd and I held on Q6382. It was such a beautiful spot because when someone finally decided to jam into my raise I had the nuts. Plus showing down TT here gives me the ability to steal even more as I showed down a premium. I opened to 1325 from MP with K8o and everyone folded. I finally had to fold when I opened to 1325 from MP with K6cc, got called from the lady behind, and the cutoff moved all in for 10k or so. At the end of this level, my stack had skyrocketed to 36250 (3x just in that level).

Level 8: 400-800 100. It folded to me in the SB, I made it 1725 into the dumb ladys BB with 52o, and she folded. I made it 1725 from the hijack with Q6o, the kid in the SB 3-bet to 3700, and I knew he had been itching to 3-bet me so I 4-bet shipped for his effective ~22k or so and he eventually folded after a little while in the tank. Unfortunately, after this hand the table broke so my easy table and great image had to move onto the next table. Luckily for me, this table was just as bad as the first one so my strategy didnt need to change much. I made it 1725 from the hijack with KQo and the BB called. The flop came QJ7, he checked, I bet 2000, and he folded. A player in EP limped, a player in MP opened to the standared 5250, I found QQ in the BB and moved all in for his effective 10k behind (15k total) and he called with TT. The board ran out QJ377 and I won a pretty nice pot to boost my stack even higher. I completed the SB with 1 limper with A7o. I checked the A95 flop but bet 2000 on the J turn and everyone folded. I made it 1725 from the button with KTo and the SB called. The flop came A95, he checked, I bet 2000, and he folded. I made it 1800 from the cutoff with K7ss and everyone folded. We went to the next level and I had a massive, tournament chip leading, 73650.

Level 9: 500-1000 100. This level started off as well as the previous couple. I opened to 2300 with J8dd from MP and everyone folded. I made it 2300 from UTG with 88 and everyone folded. A player in EP went all in for 4150, I found A7o on the button and isoed all in (blinds effective stacks were ~20-25k each) and everyone else folded. The EP player showed 64ss and the board ran out A33Ax and I won the pot. Next hand, I made it 2300 from the cutoff with ATo, the button 3-bet to 5600, and I 4-bet him all in for his ~20k stack. He called after a tank with A3dd and the board ran out T88J4 giving me yet another nice sized pot. At this point my stack was at about 97k or so nearly pushing a gaudy 100k. Unfortunately a big hand went wrong and I lost nearly half of it before the end of the level. To understand the big pot, you must understand another pot I played. I made it 2300 from UTG with 66 and a stupid kid in MP who had ~40k or so decided to 3-bet to 20k from MP so I had to fold. The 3-bet half a stack was sweet so I figured if I get a hand and he did this Id be able to crush him. Next orbit, I found TT from UTG +2 and made it 2300 again. It folded to the kid and this time he decided to just jam his 40k stack into the middle. I called after a little big and he showed KK. The board blanked and I went down to 55k or so. Ugh. . .I guess the kid is a genius just open jamming 40 bigs into a standard opening raise knowing he will get called here. . .FFS. I was down to 53800 and we went on dinner break.

Level 10: 600-1200 200. I came back from dinner with the plan to just tighten and maintain my stack at around this amount for a while before making a move closer to the money bubble. However, the cards dictated otherwise and dove right back into the action quickly after dinner. It folded to me on the button and I found 44. The blinds effective stacks were ~20k and ~10k so I just jammed it in and the BB called for his 10k stack. He showed KJo and the board rand out T6356 winning me the flip. Next hand, the player in the hijack jammed in for ~15k, I found 99 in the cutoff and reshipped to iso and everyone else folded. He showed KJo (again. . .ha) and I was able to win another flip on A97J3. I was all the way back to 87k (still a ton of chips at this point in the tournament). I made it 2600 from UTG +1 with JT0 and got 3 callers. The flop came AQ4, we checked to the button who moved all in for ~35k and I folded. A new, young, and seemingly good player opened to 3000 from EP and I found 55 in the SB and called. We checked down JT67Q where he bet 4500 and I folded. I was still on around 80k or so (average was like 35k) when disaster struck in 2 of 3 hands to send me from massive stack to on the rail. The first of these hands, I found AKo UTG +1 and opened to 2600. It folded to the BB and he jammed for 28k or so and I snap called. He showed 98hh and the board ran out J9756. He said "Ive been waiting to rejam on you all day and you wake up with a hand when I finally do it." so haha. I was down to 55k or so and 2 hands later, a bad older man (the guy who jammed 35k on the AQ4 flop) in the hijack opened to 3200. I knew he was opening light and I was planning on 3-betting him from the BB even before I looked at my cards. I found 98hh and made it 8600 and he called after much deliberation. The flop came 986 all diamonds, I checked, he put me all in for my effective ~45k, and I snap called. He showed AxTd for a gutshot with a T high flush draw. The turn came a blank but the river came the Ad giving him a flush and sending me and my massive stack home much earlier than I would have liked.

Bummer. . .the field was so easy and today really did feel like one of those days were I was completely in the zone, knowing exactly what was happening at the table as the tournament got deeper and deeper. If I can hold one of these hands, it is extremely likely that I make the final table and am probably able to cause some damage on it with the shit that would have ended up on it with me. As it is, I went out about 35th or so. The positive side, like I said at the start, I played some absolutely flawless poker today and it really does instill me with confidence when I make so many correct decisions in a tournament. Looking back, I really do wish I could have done better with this opportunity (of a massive stack after I was shortstacked and AI with the worst hand) as it doesnt work like this every day. Hopefully I will have another shot at getting deep in a tournament again this summer and can prove to myself that this is where I need to be.