Tourney: June 7th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #11: $340

Todays field had a whopping 850 players, paying off the top 81 spots with 53k going to 1st. The tables and players in this event were probably the weakest I had seen in about 2 years (at least early on) and I was hoping this would transition to success.

Level 1: 50-100. I limped 66 in EP, we saw the flop 4-handed, and I folded when the flop came J84. Both the cutoff and SB limped into my BB where I found TT and made it 250. They both called and we saw a flop of J92. I bet 325 and the cutoff was the only caller. The turn came another 2, I checked, he bet 1200, and I called. The river came another J and we both checked and my TT was good. I made it 250 with AJo from the button and everyone folded. I made it 250 from the hijack with Q9o, the cutoff 3-bet to 625, and I folded (he showed me AK). I then was able to get lucky in a hand to win some chips. I limped in EP with 77, another person limped behind, an aggressive kid in LP made it 500 and I was the only caller. The flop came AT3, he bet 650, and by the way he looked I really didnt think he liked this flop so I raised him to 1500 but he called pretty quickly (oops). The turn came a glorious 7, giving me the well hidden set and I lead out for 2600. He called and the river came a 6. I lead out for a pot-sized 6200 bet and he tank folded what he said and what Id imagine to be true was AK. I guess I probably bet too much on the river. . .if I bet like 4500-5000 he probably calls. I was up to 17975 and we went to the next level.

Level 2: 75-150. The player UTG (who showed me AK before) made it 450 and I found 99 in the BB and just called. We let the board run out KQ5A7 and he showed JJ for the better hand. 2 places to my left there was a very weak woman player who loved to limp and call but barely ever bet. My plan was to try to take advantage of this trait as much as possible. She limped in MP and I made it 525 from the hijack with T8o. She called and the flop came T82 (ez game). She lead out for 1000, I made it 2600, and she called. The turn came a Q, she checked, I bet 3300, and she called. The river came a 2 (making a possible counterfeit of my 2 pair), she checked, and i just decided to check behind and she mucked when I showed (she probably would have mucked a Q here becuase she was probably literally too stupid to realize she would have had me beat once I tabled my 2 pair). Unfortunately I didnt get impliment my iso-the-weak-lady strategy as much as Id liked becuase it turned out everyone else at the table was equally as cally as this lady so I had to try to be selective about my opening range. I made it 350 from MP with AQdd and got called from the guy behind me and the BB. The flop came K82 and we all checked to the turn which came a Q. The BB lead out for 425 and I called. The river came another K, he lead for 1050, I called and was good when he showed JT for a busted straight draw. I was up to 25975 and we went to the next level.

Level 3: 100-200. I made it 475 with A9dd UTG and the BB was the only caller. The flop came AK2, he checked, and I trap checked. The turn came the 2d giving me a flush draw with my top pair, he checked, I bet 800, and he folded. The weak lady limped UTG and I made it 625 from UTG +2 with KTss. A LP raiser made it 1500, the lady flatted, and I folded (the lady and the guy got it in on a T92 flop where the 3-bettor had AK and the lady AT. . .dodged a bullet I guess). A player in MP made it 425 and there were 2 calls to me in the cutoff where I found 87hh and called as well. Another player went all in for 5800 and I had to fold. We went ot the 1st break and I had 24300

Level 4: 100-200 25. Around this time, everyones favorite poker player Doug "toolbox" Lee joined my table and I was really really hoping for him to do something funny/stupid today. Nothing really too funny happened with him. . .he didnt cause any problems or anything so nothing to report on this front. I made it 475 with AKcc UTG +1 and everyone folded. A tight player in MP made it 700, I found TT in the cutoff and called, and Doug Lee called from the BB. The flop came 972, they checked to me, I bet 1600, Doug folded, and the inital raiser called. The turn came a Q and we both checked. The river came a glorious T making me a set, he lead out for 3000 and I put him all in for his last 5800 (only 2800 more) which he called and mucked when I showed. I was up to over 30k after this. A player in EP made it 450, the lady called, and I made it 1400 in MP with KQdd. The inital raiser called (the lady folded. . .weird) and the flop came QJT all hearts. He checked and I checked behind for pot control and the turn came the 6h. He lead out 1125 and I just folded. . .wow I play weak. An active younger player made it 450 in MP and I hadnt played a pot with him yet so I decided to just call in the SB with K4dd. The BB punished my bad flat by making it 1650 and I folded. I was up to 30825 and we went to the next level.

Level 5: 150-300 25. Like I said, I had to really tighten because my table was sooo bad and cally. I did open a couple of hands and tried to play them aggressively but they obviously failed. I made it 650 from MP with 75ss, Doug Lee called from the cutoff and the BB called as well. The flop came AJ6 2 hearts, the BB checked, I bet 800, Doug folded, and the BB called. The turn came the Ah putting 2 aces and a potential flush on board. The BB checked, I decided to rep really strong by betting 2000, but he called quickly. I shutdown on the 6 river when he checked to me and he showed A5 for top full. The active younger player made it 750 in EP, the lady called, and I decided to 3-bet the button to 2200 with T9o. The guy in the SB took a long time and decided to flat (strange), the raiser folded, and the lady called (obviously. . .that was the plan but without the cold call from the tight SB). I let the board run out KQ5T8 and I folded when the SB bet out 3500. I was down to 23825 after these hands and we went to the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. Trying to play tight becuase the table is just getting worse and worse. I made it 1025 from MP with 86ss and got 5 callers. The flop came 972 2 diamonds and I check folded to a bet and an all in (I would have turned the nuts if the guy who had the flush draw would have just checked behind on the button. . .ugh!). I was down to 21550 and we went to the next level.

Level 7: 300-600 50. At the start of this level, I got moved to a new table. There were a couple of younger actual good players (2-3) but it was mostly still donks. First hand I played, I opened the button to 1325 with K8o, the SB called, and the BB (who was one of the good ones) put us both all in for our effective ~18k each and I folded. A donk in EP (who opened, called, and folded way too much) made it 1650, I found AKo in the cutoff and made it 4050 and he folded (this hand is important for later). I was at 20475 and we went to the next level.

Level 8: 400-800 75. I made it 1825 from MP with 99 and both the button and SB called. The flop came Q65, the SB checked, I bet 2225, the button jammed for about 40k and we both folded. I kind of wish I would have called here. The button was an older man who seemed tight but did something similar to this about 40 minutes later and didnt have it that time so I kind of doubt he had it this time. I was down to 14300 and we went to the 3rd break.

Level 9: 500-1000 100. I started off this level on a short stack but over the next 2 levels I played some of the better poker I have played this summer to work my stack up (along with getting some cards). I made it 2300 UTG with A9hh and everyone folded. This hand seems unimportant but the small open UTG with a small stack with this not extremely strong holding was an important pot to maintain my stack at the time. I was repping huge obviously and no one looked it up. The guy from the had where I had AK 2 levels ago opened to 2600 from MP and I found QQ in the BB and decided to just jam all in and he folded. A player in EP made it 2300 and I made it 16k (of about 20k) on the button with KTo and everyone folded. I was all the way up to 25k or so after this. I opened in MP to 2300 with AQo into the bad player who I had 3-bet 2 times already BB and he jammed for about 25k. I snap called because I knew he was getting fed up with me and he showed A5. Unluckily for me, the board ran out K9777 and we had to chop. Gross. UTG limped (he had been limping/calling a ton), the SB limped, and I made it about 19k (with about 24k total) from the BB with A6o and they both folded. The cutoff who was a good active young player made it 2000 and I made it 19k from the SB (with about 25k total) and everyone folded. I was up to 31500 and we went to the next level.

Level 10: 600-1200 100. The same active young player made it 2400 in EP and I found QQ in MP, made it 8500, and he folded. I then played an interesting hand that helped me work my stack up. I opened to 2600 UTG with 22 and the good player that was UTG +2 made it 4400. The price was right for me to try to hit a set so I called and the flop came Q52. I donk lead out 5100 and he called. The turn came a 4, I checked, he bet 4200, I moved all in, and he folded. I may have missed some value at some point in the hand. . .he played it weird 3-betting so small pre and betting so small when I checked to him on the turn. I thought the bluffiest thing I could do was shove the turn on his small bet but I guess I should have just small raised or flatted here. Maybe I shouldnt have donked out on the flop either but I thought that this was for sure the best play to get a full double if he had a big pair. Either way, I was pretty happy with winning this pot because it really did give me some much needed chips. I was up to 49600 and we went to dinner break.

Level 11: 800-1600 200. After dinner I moved to another new table. This table was pretty good and had alot of chips on it. An active kid made it 3600 in EP and I 3-bet the button with KQhh to 7500 and everyone folded. There were 2 limps + the SB in my BB and I checked my option with 97o. The flop came T63, we checked to the last limper who bet 3100. I thought he could be making this bet very wide so I decided to raise it to 8500. However, he called very quickly and I shutdown after this. We checked down the 2A turn/river and he showed KT and I lost. I made it 3500 from the cutoff with AJo and the SB went all in for about 22k. I called pretty quickly (I thought he is shoving super wide here) and he showed AQhh. The board ran out JT249 and I binked my 2 outer and was up to 65k or so. However, almost as soon as I got these chips, I lost them back. Before I did though we went to the next level and I had 63500.

Level 12: 1000-2000 300. I made it 4400 with TT UTG +1 and got called by both the SB and the BB. We checked down a final board of AJ6A9 and this is where things got interesting. The SB checked and the BB made a large bet of 15k. I was absolutely positive that the BB would never ever check an A through 2 times and he would never value a J like this here so I was about 100% certain I had a better hand than him. I called the 15k and then the SB behind him decided to go all in! What the heck man. C down and then all in the river. . .super strange play. The kid who did it was definantly capable of making a straight play here but I really dont think it was a play. We both ended up folding and I lost about 20k in a strange spot. A couple of hands later, a player in EP made it 5000, that same kid called in LP, and I found 55 in the BB and jammed for about 40k. The EP raiser folded and the kid from LP tanked for a really long time before folding 77 faceup. . .whew. A player in EP limped and I made it 4400 from the button with 53cc. He was the only caller and we saw a glorious Q53 2 diamonds flop. He check-called my 6100 bet on the flop and the turn came another 5, filling me up. He checked, I bet 10100, and he folded after giving a semi-long tank. Maybe I should check behind once I fill up if he has a flush draw or something but I thought that betting here was my best chance to make alot of chips. I then was able to get a nice cooler in my direction. I found the beautiful AA in the hijack and made it 4400. The button went all in for about 50k and I couldnt call fast enough. He showed AKo and the board ran out KT6T6 and I won a large pot. I was up to about 113k after this and we soon went to the next level with me havine 112600 chips.

Level 13: 1200-2400 300. A player in EP made it 6000. He had about 40k behind (46k total) and I found AQo on the button and made it 15k (basically committing myself to his all in). He thought for a while before deciding to fold. I made it 5100 from the cutoff with 95cc and the BB, who was new to the table, made it 15k. I tinkered with the idea of a 4-bet jam because I really thought he was full of it but I ended up just folding. I was at 105400 and we went to the next level.

Level 14: 1500-3000 400. An active player made it 8000 from EP adn I found 87cc in the hijack and decided to try to play a pot with him by calling. However, the BB shipped in his ~60k and we both had to fold. I made it 6500 with AQo in the MP. The cutoff, button, and BB all called and I had to check/fold a flop of J85 2 clubs (button showed JTcc for pair/fl draw). I made it 6500 UTG with J9o and everyone folded. We were getting very close to the bubble at this point (less than one table away). The cutoff opened to 7500 and I knew he was doing this with literally ATC so I just put him all in for his effective ~80k with A8o in the BB and he folded. I was at exactly 100000 and we went to the next level.

Level 15: 2000-4000 500. At this point we were directly on the bubble. There were 82 players remaining with 81 getting paid and we were playing hand-for-hand. On the 4th hand-for-hand hand, I opened the button to with A9o and the blinds both folded. A couple of hands later, I found AKo in MP1 and opened to 9500, a player in the cutoff 3-bet to 30k, and I put him all in for his last 90k. He called and showed AA and I wasnt able to hit a miracle suckout and my stack was crippled to 6500. Now everyone on the other 8 tables was basically waiting for me to go out on the bubble. 2 hands after this, I found AKo again and put my 6k all in from UTG +1. A player in MP called as did both of the blinds. The flop came AQ3 2 diamonds, they checked to the MP player who bet 15k, and they both folded. The MP player turned up AK as well (with the Kd) and I faded his freeroll flush when it came 84 no diamond. Luckily for me he bet here because the SB would have made 2 pair on the river to knock me out on the bubble (everyone was saying how bad his play was but WTF are people really that retarded that they think betting AK here is a bad play). I had effectively doubled after the chopped pot and was up to about 15k. After this hand, we went on break and the level went up.

Level 16: 2500-5000 500. With this double, I now had enough chips to survive a couple of the other shortstacks in the room. My chip equity is not worth it to really risk getting eliminated out of the money so I ended up folding through my blinds (not really ideal but worth it to get some money back) and the bubble burst a couple hands after I passed through my blinds when another shortstack was forced to go all in. I had 6500 in chips as the bubble burst. . .about 1/2 a starting stack. Pretty crazy stuff. We did a table redraw now that we were in the money. I folded my 1st hand at the new table but the 2nd hand I shipped my last 5500 with 95o UTG +2. Both of the blinds called and the board ran out T994A and I was able to triple up to 18500 when neither of the blinds could be my excellent flop. I folded the next hand but the hand after that I was UTG and jammed my last 18k with 85o. A player in MP was my only caller and he showed AJo and I wasnt able to hit on the board of QT6QK and I busted out in what I think was 73rd place, good for a mincash.

On one hand its sort of pleasing the fact that I got some money for my play today ($668) but on the other hand it still sucks to make it deep again and not hit my score. Hopefully next time I will be the one who has AA vs AK for a big stack on the bubble and can coast that to the final table, but until next time this will be a disappointment.