Tourney: July 2nd 2011 Grand Poker Series Grand Finale $1100

I wasnt really planning on playing in this tournament as $1100 is a little out of my bankroll but my roommate David wanted to play so he found various people to buy percentages of me. I had 50% of my action and various other people including David had the other half. While I initially didnt really want to play this tournament, once I actually looked at the structure sheet I was pretty excited. It was an absolutely amazing structure with us starting with an amazing 25000 in chips and the levels lasting an hour each. Overall the field was ridiculously tough which was surprising for a tournament at the Golden Nugget especially since the WSOP and Venetian had 1k events also. My opening table was a mix of tough internet players and some easy marks. I was in seat 3 with poker pro/former chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer in seat 1 and online pro "watsurbench" in seat 7.

Level 1: 25-50. Amazingly, throughout the first hour long level I did not play a single hand. The table was playing some crazy hands and alot of pots were 3 or 4 bet with multiple callers so I decided to sit back and take wait for better spots than just guessing and trying to hit flops. I was at 24750 and we went to the next level.

Level 2: 50-100. I folded for the 1st 20 minutes of this level as well before I finally decided play a pot. It folded to me in the cutoff where I found the monster 62ss and opened to 250. The button called and the flop came 842. I lead out for 325, he made it 800, and I called. The turn came the 8s giving me a flush draw with my pair, I checked, he bet 1100, and I called. The river came the As giving me the flush, I checked, he bet 2000, I made it 6600, and he snap folded. I made it 250 with AQo from UTG +1 and got called from the SB and Jeff Sarwer in the BB. The flop came A54 2 hearts, they checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a K, the SB lead out for 400, Jeff called in the BB, and I called behind. The river came an offsuit 8, they checked to me, I bet 1050, and they both folded. Watsurbench opened to 250 UTG and I 3-bet from the cutoff with ATo. The button and watsurbench both called, the flop came J52, and I check/folded when the button bet 1000. I made it 250 from UTG +1 with 88, got called in MP and LP, the button 3-bet to 2050, and I folded to the massive reraise. I was up to 29025 and we went up a level.

Level 3: 75-150. I made it 350 with T9o from the hijack and the button called. The flop came A54, I bet 325, and he called. We checked down the turn/river of 2A and my T high was somehow good. I made it 350 with 98ss from UTG +2 and everyone folded. Around this time Jeff busted out and my roommate David came and sat down in his seat. I made it 350 from UTG +1 with 66 and David called from the BB. The flop came KJ5, he checked, I bet 425, and he folded. A player UTG opened to 325, got 2 calls, and I called from the BB with A6hh. We checked to the turn on T75K where I folded to a bet. I was up to 29950 and we went up to the next level.

Level 4: 100-200 25. Watsurbench opened to 450 from MP, the cutoff called, David called from the button, I found QQ in the BB and made it 2025, and everyone folded. I overraised because watsurbench hadnt folded to a 3-bet all day and if I 3-bet smaller, I know he calls which leads to everyone else behind him calling as well and Im playing a large pot OOP with competent players. I figured if I raised larger I would only potentially get 1 caller and be able to play a much more controlled pot. I opened to 450 from the button with 42o and the BB called. The flop came 773, he checked, I bet 600, he made it 1800, and I folded. A player in EP opened to 550, I 3-bet from the hijack to 1300 with J8cc, and he called. The flop came 854, he checked, I bet 1225, and he folded. A player UTG +1 opened to 650 and I called in the BB with AdJx. The flop came KQT 2 diamonds flopping me broadway with a backdoor nut flush draw. I checked, but he decided to check behind. The turn came the 8d getting me closer to my nut flush, I bet 1100, and he called. The river came a J counterfitting my straight, I checked, he bet 2500, I called and he showed AxJd for the same flopped straight with a lower flush draw and we chopped the pot. I was up to 32050 and we went up to the next level.

Level 5: 150-300 25. I made it 650 from the cutoff with 86dd and everyone folded. A player UTG limped and I limped UTG +1 with K4dd. We saw a J64 flop with the blinds and I folded when the UTG player bet 1125. A player UTG made it 700, got 5 callers, and I called from the BB with A4dd. The flop came QQ9 and I folded to a bet. Around this time, I got moved to a new table. Again, this table had quite a few internet sickos. I moved to seat 3, seat 1 was an amateurish but competent player who had somehow amassed over 150k in chips already, and seat 10 was none other than last years WPT player of the year Faraz "thet0ilet0" Jaka. Faraz has a reputation for being a super sicko, playing a ton of hands and making ridiculous hero calls. The rest of the table was a mix of other characters that changed throughout the day. I made it 650 from MP with KQo, the hijack called, the button 3-bet to 2475, and I folded. I made it 650 with Q9dd from UTG, a young good foreign player who I recognized but dont know who he is in seat 7 3-bet to 1475, and I called. The flop came K75 2 spades, I checked, he bet 1825, and I folded. The button, an older spewy type player in seat 2, opened to 750, I 3-bet from the SB to 1800 with 96ss, and he called. The flop came a nice 6x5s2s giving me top pair with a flush draw, I lead for 1500, he raised to 3500, I 3-bet to 9000, and he folded. I think that this is a pretty standard spot to 3-bet/get it in on the flop. I think he is folding his midpairs to this 3-bet but may not be folding 2 overs/flush draw combos so it is kind of a range merge type play. As you have deduced from my entries over the last few weeks I dont really like bloating the pot that much with combo draw in general but this was a spot where it was the right play as I had 3-bet pre and would likely be able to get him to fold the best hand alot of the time because of how strong I look. I was up to 35225 and we went ot the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. A player in EP limped, the older spewy player in seat 2 made it 800 from the hijack, I found JJ in the cutoff and 3-bet to 1800, and both the EP limper and seat 2 called. The flop came KJ4 2 diamonds, they checked to me, I bet 3000, and they both snap folded. I made it 925 from MP with 98dd and a older foriegn player behind me was the only caller. The flop came A63, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came an 8, I bet 1325, he raised to 4000, and I folded. A player UTG opened to 950, I called from the button with 75dd, and the SB called as well. The flop came Q93, the raiser bet 2600, and I folded. The chip leader in seat 1 opened to 1100 in MP, I iso 3-bet to 2500 with 54o from the hijack, and called. The flop came 943, he checked, I bet 2500, and he folded. Since he had alot of chips and played pretty straight forward my plan was to 3-bet him alot to get heads up with position and go from there. My stack was at 37425 and we went on dinner break.

Level 7: 300-600 50. The spewy old man in seat 2 opened to 1600 from the hijack, I found QQ in the cutoff and 3-bet to 3825, and everyone folded. A stupid young player in seat 8 opened to 1500 in EP and I found 55 in the hijack and called. The flop came T74 2 spades, he checked, I bet 2050, he put me all in for my effective ~40k, and I folded. I made it 1325 from UTG +2 with 33, the stupid kid called from the button, and the SB (who was the guy from my AJ vs AJ hand before. . .he was in seat 9) called also. The flop came KJ4, I c-bet 2000, and they both folded. I made it 1325 with 99 from UTG +1 and everyone folded. After this played an interesting hand vs the guy from the AJ vs AJ hand. He was a middle aged man who played pretty straightforward but he looked experienced enough to have some creativity to his game. He opened to 1800 in the hijack and I called from the BB with KQo. The flopo came T73, I checked, he bet 1800, I made it 5025, and he called. The turn came a 6, I bet 7650, he put me all in for my last 26k or so, and I folded. Boo. . .I finally tried to make a bluff play but it failed. My thought process was as follows: The only real pot we had played so far saw me flopping the nuts and playing a pretty small pot. I figured if I check/raised the flop it would look really strong. Additionally, when he flopped the nuts in the hand before he checked behind on the flop so I figured that when he c-bet he wasnt as strong as the nuts. Plus, every other time he c-bet he bet an amount that was greater than his initial raise. I figured when he bet 1800 this was just a standard c-bet to try to take it down so I raised him. When he just called me I didnt know for sure what he had but its hard to put him on a big hand because he seemed the type that would just rip over my reraise if he had a big hand. My bet on the flop was probably bad but like I said I still didnt put him on too big of a hand so I decided to fire another barrel. He came over the top so I had to fold. Weird hand have no idea what he had but I know it was a failed bluff. I was down to 26k or so after this but luckily I was able to get alot of it back pretty quickly. I made it 1325 from the cutoff with A9o and got called by both of the blinds. The flop came A82, the SB donked all in for 5700, the BB folded, and I called. The SB showed A6 and the board ran out 7Q and I won the pot to get back to 35k or so. The spewy old man in seat 2 opened to 1600 from UTG +2, I called in MP with KQo, and player in LP and the BB called as well. The flop came AQ4, the raiser moved all in for 18k, and I folded. The young foreign player in seat 7 opened to 1325 in EP and I called in the SB with 53hh. The flop came KT7 and I check folded to a bet. The player in seat 9 who I tried to bluff previously opened to 1800 in EP and I 3-bet to 3825 with AQdd from the button, and he called. The flop came A97 all clubs, he checked, I bet 5100, and he folded. I was at 36100 and we went to the next level.

Level 8: 400-800 100. The player in seat 7 (young good foreign player from before) opened to 1800 from EP, I called in the SB with QTcc, and the BB called as well. The flop came QQ4, giving me trips, I checked to trap, and everyone else checked behind. The turn came a 4 giving me top full, I lead for 2500, the BB raised to 5100, and I called. The river came another 4, I checked, and he checked behind mucking when I showed. I guess I should have played a little more aggressive to get more value but I went into super trappy mode after he raised the turn just flatting and checking behind. . .oh well. I made it 1800 from UTG +2 with KQo and the guy in seat 9 (from before) called from the BB. The flop came T42, he checked, I c-bet 2100, and he called. The turn came an A, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a Q giving me 2nd pair top kicker, he checked, I value bet 5500, and he called pretty quickly and mucked when I showed. I didnt think I was beat with how he was playing and how he checked so I made a nice almost pot sized value bet that got called. Alot of times I just instacheck behind when I hit the river here but I thought about it and I really did think I was good so I bet it. I made it 1800 from UTG with AJo and got 3 calls (2 from MP, 2 from LP). The flop came 653 and I folded to a bet. A new, younger good player sat down on my right in seat 2 and he had a ton of chips at this point as well. He completed his SB into my BB and I checked 76hh. The flop came K72, he bet 900, and I called. We checked down 5Q and I was good. I made it 1800 with A7o from UTG +2 and everyone folded. I was up to 54800 and we went to the next level.

Level 9: 500-1000 100. Early on in this level, I played my first crucial big pot of the tournament. I made it 2300 from the button with AJdd, the BB 3-bet to 6400, and I put him all in for his ~30k effective. He snap called which initially made me nervous but I was in fine shape when he showed TT. The board and round A742A and I won the big flip to get up to 87k or so. Soon after this hand, I played another big pot and it was the first pot I played with Faraz. He had been opening a ton but I hadnt really found a good spot to play with him. I was semi-trying to stay out of his way but mostly it was because they werent the right spots. He opened UTG to 2400 and I found KQdd in MP and decided to 3-bet him for the first time today to 5500. He called and the flop came J62 2 diamonds giving me a flush draw with 2 overs. He checked, I bet 6100, he made it 13500, I 3-bet to 27000, and he called. The turn came an offsuit 7, he checked, I went all in for my last 50k or so, and he folded. Wow. . .pretty fun hand. I am never folding the flop I guess even though we are about 100 bbs deep each. Sick spot when he reraises me on the flop. . .I thought about just flatting but that leaves me with limited moves on the turn and river. I basically am 3-betting the flop to set up a turn jam (which worked perfectly). I dont know what he had but it seemed like he had a lower flush draw. . .if he had the nut flush draw he probably slams the flop and I am obviously calling which would have resulted in me being screwed royally. Maybe he had a J or an 86 65 type hand but I was able to get him to fold the turn which worked well (and set up an even better spot in the future for me). I took about 40k off of him this hand and was up to around 120k or so after this. I made it 2300 from UTG with 55 and got called by both the blinds (chip leader guy in seat 1 and young guy with chips in seat 2). The flop came AK8, they checked, I bet 3100, and they both folded. I was up to 123300 and we went to the next level.

Level 10: 600-1200 200. I made it 2600 from UTG with 44, a player in MP made it 8000, and I folded. I then played another big pot with the player to my right (he was the younger kid with a lot of chips in seat 2 that I was talking about before). He opened from the hijack to 2700, I found AKo in the cutoff and made it 6100, he 4-bet to 14500, and I just flatted. The flop came A94, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a T, he checked, I bet 20500, and he called. The river came a 4, he checked, I moved all in for my last 70k or so, and he folded after a long time in the tank. This was an interesting hand. I was almost positive that he had QQ and was trying to get value in the least obvious way by moving all in on the river. Maybe I should have went for a less obvious value bet with 35000 or so. Maybe I should have just bet the flop because as it is, on day 2 he told me he had AQ in this hand and put me on tens full so he folded. I guess it would have worked better for me if I would have bet the flop and I would have won a much larger pot. Oh well. Faraz opened to 2700 from MP and I 3-bet to 6100 from the cutoff with KJcc. He called and we checked to the river on K76A5 where I bet 6500 and he folded. I made it 2600 from the hijack with A3dd, the button called, the SB 3-bet to 7600, and I folded. I was on 162000 and we went to the next level.

Level 11: 800-1600 200. A player in EP opened to 4200, the SB (seat 2 from previous hands) called, I found AKo in the BB and 3-bet to 16000, the player in EP moved all in for 41k or so, the SB folded, and I called. He showed 99 and the board ran out A547A allowing me to win another improtant flip and letting me chip up even more. Next hand, the player in seat 2 raised to 3500 from the button and I found KK in the SB and 3-bet to 8200. Unfortunately he ended up folding. Faraz opened to 3200 from MP adn I flatted the button with A8dd. The SB and BB also called and I ended up folding on a T72 flop. Faraz opened to 4000 from UTG +2 and I called from the cutoff with KQo. The flop came Q97 2 spades, he lead for 5200, and I called. The turn came an 8, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 3, he lead for 18500, and I called. He showed AQo to take the pot in a pretty big cooler for me. Kind of sick that I basically lost the minimum in this hand as I decided not to raise the flop or bet the turn. While I have a strong hand I dont want to go crazy with it so that is why I ended up playing a smaller pot here. Given his reputation I am pretty stoked that I lost so little here. I made it 3500 UTG +2 with 76hh, a plater in MP made it 8100, and I called. The flop came Q44, I checked, he bet 7700, and I folded. I was at 162000 and we went to the last level of the day.

Level 12: 1000-2000 300. Oddly enough, there were 4 limps to me in the SB and I found AsQx and decided to just complete. The flop came KJ7 2 spades and everyone checked around. The turn came the 4s giving me the nut flush draw, it checked to Faraz (who had limped), he bet 7500, and I was the only caller. The river came a blank 2, and we both checked with him showing AJ for the winner. Interestingly enough, this hand played a massive role in in the very next hand. There were 5 limps to my button and I found 96hh and I attempted to win the limps by raising it to 15k. Everyone folded to Faraz, who limped in MP, and he made it 40k. I decided to call and we checked down the board of 84358 and he showed K7dd for the winner. This is an incredibly interesting hand to me. The metagame that goes into the pot is super deep. He knew that last hand: 1) I showed AQ and I did not raise with it in a limped pot there and 2)he showed he limped with AJ and did not raise there. The decision to make the big raise and he the decision to raise me is based on this. He didnt think I would raise a large (but not massive) hand and he thought I might give him credit for a bigger hand. I thought about just jamming on him preflop but I didnt want to be the idiot who jammed 80 bigs with 9 high only to get called by 88 or 77 (both of which are very likely to be in his range and as I said before, he loves to make hero type calls). In addition, I had seen him limp behind with AK and AJ earlier on in the day and go to showdown so that was in the back of my head, and Im sure that he knew that that was in the back of my head when he made the play. I dont hate the just call that much as we are still 60 bbs deep after the call and I have more potential with position. My decision not to bet the flop when checked to me is kind of weak. When the turn gives me an open ended straight draw, I really cant bet because it gave me a nice draw and I know that he doesnt want to give up on this pot so its likely he will try a check raise on the turn and I will get blown off my draw. By the time the river came it became very difficult for me to try to rep any hand and at this point, I think he has a hand like A high which, with his propensity to not fold, is likely a call so I just did the give up check. Usually calling off 20 bbs with 9 high and checking down is a pretty terrible play but in this case, it isnt quite as bad as it seems. I was down to 120k or so after this but was quickly able to get alot of it back. I found AA in MP and opened ot 4800 and a new player in the hijack (who had just seen me put 40k in with nothing, check down, and lose to K high) moved all in for ~50k or so from the hijack. I called, he showed AQo, and I was able to hold on the board of J7479. I was back to ~170k or so after this. There were 3 limps to me on the button and I decided to just limp this time with J8cc (because massive raising got me in trouble last time. . .haha). The flop came out J97 2 spades, they all checked to me, and I decided to check behind. the turn came the Ts, giving me a straight but also completing a flush, they checked to me again, and I again decided to check behind. The river came an offsuit 5, they checked to me a 3rd time, I bet 8700, and one of the limpers called but mucked when I showed. I guess I played this hand kind of weak but I really didnt want to turn a limped pot into a big pot when I had top pair on a draw heavy board then a straight with a potential flush on board so I waited until I was certian I had the best on the river to get value. Faraz made it 4500 from the cutoff, I found AKo in the BB and not wanting to play a bigger pot against him OOP, I just called (knowing he would call any 3-bet from me in position as I had position owned him all day). The flop came out J83 2 diamonds, I checked, and he checked behind. Turn turn came another J, I lead out for 5600, and he called. The river came the 5d, I checked, he bet 10500, I called, and he snapmucked. Pretty standard, once I flat AK pre Im rarely folding to a player like him especially when the board pairs on the turn. If he made a better hand than me than it was just an NH situation but I feel like I played this hand really well. Soon after this hand, the day ended with me having 206100 in chips.

Today was a ton of fun to play as we played massively deep the whole day and there was extremely high level poker being played all around me and even when I was not in a hand I got to observe some amazing poker. I finished with 206100 with the average being around 120k, so I was in pretty good shape going on to day 2. Of the 235 starters, 51 survived to day 2 with 27 of us being paid and 55k going to the eventual winner. In addition to me, my buddy David also survived but only took 69k into day 2. On day 2, we did not do a table redraw so I would find myself at the same table as Faraz, the kid in seat 2, and the rest of the characters (no one else I have mentioned made day 2) at the start of the next day.