Tourney: July 5th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #41 $550

I was back at the Venetian for another $550 event today. This event only attracted 460 players but the field was extremely soft. We started with 15000 in chips and my opening table was as soft as any table that I had been at this summer.

Level 1: 50-100. I made it 250 from the button with 1 limper with A9o. The limper was the only caller and we saw a J75 2 diamonds flop. He checked, I bet 325, and he called. We checked to the river on Td5x where he bet 500 and I folded. The cutoff opened to 225 and I called from the BB with 96ss. The flop came 753 all diamonds, I checked, he bet 300, and I called. The turn came a 5, I checked, and he checked behind. The river came an 8, I bet 1500, and he called showing AA which was no good vs my rivered straight. A player UTG opened to 200, got 3 calls, and I called from the cutoff with 43dd. The flop came A32, he bet 350, and I was the only caller. We checked down 88 and he showed 44 for the winner. There was 1 limper in front of me and I made it 250 with KTcc which got 4 calls. The flop came KJ3, I bet 400, and 1 of the limpers called. The turn came an 8, I bet 725, and the limper called. The river came a J, I checked, he bet 1200, I called, and he showed 33 for the flopped set. I dont know what I was expecting to beat when I called on the river but whatever. I made it 250 with AKo from UTG +1 and got 1 caller. The flop came AQ4, I bet 325, and he folded. A guy UTG opeend to 250 and I called on the button with 64dd. The SB called as well, the flop came Q76, and I folded to a bet of 500. UTG +2 opened to 325, I 3-bet him right behind him to 850 with ATss, and he was the only caller. The flop came T65 2 hearts, he checked, I bet 1500, and he called. The turn came the Kh, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came a 7, he lead for 3100, I called, but was the loser when he showed AJhh for the nut flush. Another call Im not particularily proud of as I dont know what I can beat on the river. I was at 7775 and we went up to the next level.

Level 2: 75-150. There were 2 limps to the button who made it 550, I called from the SB with T9ss, and both of the limps called as well. The flop came A92 2 spades giving me the pair/flush draw combo, we checked to the button, he bet 1100, I made it 2525, one of the limpers flatted, the button went all in for 18k, I called for my last ~7500 (total), and the limper folded (what he later said was A9 for top 2). The button showed A8 and all my draw were live. The turn came the 5s giving me the winner and the irrelevant river came a T and I doubled to 19k or so. I dont particularily like getting it in with just a draw with 50 bbs left but its whatever. . .I was down to 1/2 a stack so I gambled to get it back. I made it 350 with 75ss from UTG +1 and the BB called. The flop came K72 2 diamonds, she checked, and I checked behind. The turn the 8h, she lead for 550, and I called. The river came the Ah, she lead for 1300, and I folded. I made it 350 with 87o from UTG +2 and got 2 calls from behind. The flop came QQ9 and everyone checked. The turn came an A, I took a stab with 525, but both called. The river came an 8, I checked, and folded to a bet (the guy showed down QT). I was at 17700 and we went up a level.

Level 3: 100-200. The cutoff limped, I made it 500 from the button with A9hh, and she was the only caller. We checked down KQ559 and I was good. I made it 450 with ATo from MP and the BB called. We checked to the turn on QJ44 where I bet 525 and he folded. A tight old man opened ot 1200 from UTG and i called from MP with AKo. The flop came J93, he bet 2200, and I folded. Dont really know if I could have played it much differently as I dont want to get it in pre vs a donk here. I made it 450 from MP with A4hh and got called by the button and BB. The flop came 955, the BB lead for 2200, and I folded. I was at 17100 and we went up to the next level.

Level 4: 100-200 25. I made it 450 with AJo from UTG +2, a player in MP called, the BB made it 2200, I folded, and he showed KK. The cutoff, button, and SB limped, I found AhKx in the BB and made it 800, and they all called. The flop came K86 all hearts giving me top/top with the nut flush draw, I bet out 1600, the button made it 3500, I put her all in for her 11k effective, and she folded. I made it 450 from the cutoff with A8o and everyone folded. I made it 450 with 55 from MP, the button 3-bet to 1300, and I called. The flop came 942, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn came a Q, I checked, he bet 1225, and I called. The river came a 9 and we both checked and 55 was good enough to win the pot. There were 2 limps and I made it 800 from MP with JTo and got called by the BB and both of the limpers. We checked down A42Q7 and I was no good vs 99. I was up to 25425 and we went up to the next level.

Level 5: 150-300 25. I made it 650 from UTG +1 and the BB called. The flop came QJT, she checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a 9h giving me a flush draw, she checked, I bet 800, she went all in for her last 8k, and I folded. I made it 650 with AKo from UTG, a player in MP and the BB called. The flop came 432, I bet 1100, and they folded. A player in LP opened to 650, I found AKcc in the BB and made it 1800, he made it 6k, I put him all in for his last ~11.5k (total) and he folded leaving himself with about 5k. . .haha. I completed the SB with 74o and the BB and I checked to the turn on 9547 where I bet 550 and he folded. A donk in MP opened to 900, I found 88 right behind him and called, and the guy behind me called as well. The flop came K87 2 clubs, the raiser checked, I bet 2000, the guy behind me made it 6500, the raiser went all in for about 30k, I called for my last 30k, and the guy behind called for his 15k! Whoa!!! The raiser showed AA and I was in good shape to win at least the side pot and the guy behind showed AJcc for the nut flush draw which I would have to fade for the main pot. THe board ran out an offsuit 6 and a 7 pairing the board giving me an extremely large pot pushing my stack to an epic 77k. I was at 77375 and we went up to the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. The cutoff limped and I made it 1225 from the SB with AKss. Both the BB and the limper called and on a flop came Q98 2 diamonds, I check folded to a bet of 2200 from the limper. A player UTG made it 900, the cutoff called, I called from the SB with KQcc, and the BB called as well. The flop came A73 2 spades, the raiser bet out 1800, and I folded. A player in EP opened to 950, I 3-bet from the hijack to 2525 wtih KTo, the BB flatted, and the player EP called as well. The flop came A53, they checked, I bet 3100, the BB called, the initial raiser made it 7900, and I folded. I was at 69125 and we went up a level.

Level 7: 300-600 50. Around this time I was moved to a new table. There was a limp in EP and I made it 1325 from the hijack with AJcc and the limper called. We checked to the turn on Q723 where he bet 2500 and I folded. I made it 1325 from MP with Q9hh, a player behind 3-bet to 3200, and I folded. I made it 1325 with 54ss from MP, the button called, the SB 3-bet to 4200, and I folded. I made it 1325 from UTG with AKo, the cutoff (who had about 60k effective as well) made it 3500, I 4-bet to 8200, and he called. The flop came AK7 2 hearts, I bet out 6600, and he called. The turn came a Q, I checked, he bet 8000, I made it 20500, and he folded. Pretty big pot for just getting to the turn. Part of me wishes I could have extracted more chips out of him but part of me was happy to just take down the pot right then and there. That guy was down to about 40k and I was up to 80k and on the very next hand, he opened to 1400 from the hijack, the SB called, and I found JJ in the BB and just called as well. The flop came QJT, we checked to the raiser, and he checked as well. The turn came a 2, the SB lead for 4000, I made it 11k, the raiser moved all in for his last 39k, the SB folded after a long tank (what he said was 22) and I decided to call after a long thought. The raiser showed AK for broadway and the river came the Q pairing the board to make me a full house and win another absolutely massive pot. I dont know I guess I could have folded. . .bah. Kind of just a crappy spot I guess it was obvious he had AK here but I dont know if I can ever fold JJ here unless he explicitly turns his cards over and shows me the straight. I was all the way up to 135675 and we went up to the next level.

Level 8: 400-800 75. A player in MP limped, I limped the cutoff with 33, and we were against the blinds. We checked to the turn on 872K where I folded to a bet from one of the blinds. I made it 1725 from the hijack and the button called. The flop came QT8, I bet 2200, and he folded. I made it 1725 from the button with T5cc and the BB called. The flop came J94, he checked, I bet 2200, and he folded. I was at 137275 and we went on our 3rd break.

Level 9: 500-1000 100. I made it 2300 with AJo from UTG +2 and everyone folded. The cutoff limped, I completed the SB with KQdd, and the BB checked. The flop came all low cards and I folded to a bet. UTG made it 2300, I called from MP with KQdd, and the button called as well. The flop came 855, the inital raiser lead for 5500, and I folded (he showed TT). I made it 2300 from UTG +2 with J7dd, a player in MP made it 4200, and I called. The flop came 864, I checked, he bet 5500, and I called. The turn came the 2d giving me a flush draw, I checked, and he checked behind. The river came a T, I bet 16500, and he folded after a long tank. I was up to 144800 and we went up another level.

Level 10: 600-1200 100. I made it 2600 from UTG +2 with J7o and the BB called. The flop came K65m he checked, I bet 3100, and he folded. I made it 2600 from UTG with A9ss and the player UTG +2 made it 6800. I called and we checked down the board of KT7K8 and his AQ was good. I was at 138700 and we went on dinner break.

Level 11: 800-1600 200. 1st hand after dinner break, a player from UTG moved all in for ~16k, I found AKo from the button and raised it to 30k to iso, and everyone else folded. He showed AT and the board ran out K98KT adding to my mountain of chips. Around this time I was moved to a new table with my roommate David sitting in the 3 seat (I had position on him in the 6 seat). I made it 3500 from UTG with ATo and everyone folded. I made it 3500 from the button with 87o and the SB called. The flop came J53, he bet 5000, I raised to 11600, he moved all in for 40k or so, and I folded. I made it 3500 with AJo from MP and the BB called. The flop came T54, he checked, I bet 4100, me made it 9000, I made it 25k, and he folded. His raise here just looked really weak so I took advantage by moving around some of my big stack. I made it 3500 with QJo from UTG and David called from the BB. The flop came QJ9, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came another Q giving me top full, he checked, I bet 4100, and he called. The river came a 2, he checked, I bet 10600, and he folded. I was at 155500 and we went up another level.

Level 12: 1000-2000 300. 1st hand of the level, I found KK UTG and opened to 4800. It folded to the SB who moved all in for around 40k which I obviously called. He showed AQo and I held on a J544T board to get my stack to 200k or so. A player in EP opened to 5200 and I called on the button with AJhh. The BB called as well and we saw a flop of 944. The raiser lead out for 8200 and I folded. I found TdTh in the hijack and opened to 4500 and the BB called. The flop came 865 all diamonds, giving me an overpair with a flush draw. He checked, I bet 5100, and he called. The turn came another 5, he checked, I bet 10500, he made it 30k, I put him all in for his last ~65k total, and he folded despite putting about 1/2 his stack in. I was up to 239000 for a massive stack at this point and we were nearing the money. . .but as we all know sometimes things can turn south in a hurry in poker.

Level 13: 1200-2400 300. A player in EP made it 5200, I made it 12.5k from the cutoff when I found TT, the button moved all in for 50k, the player in EP moved all in for 75k, and I folded (they showed KK and AA so whew!). I made it 5100 from MP with AQcc, the button called, the SB moved all in for his last 30k, I isoed all in, and the button folded. He showed KJss and I lost on a board of J86TJ and was down to 190k. A short time later, a player in EP moved all in for his last 30k, it folded to me in the BB and I found A9dd and called. He showed TT and the board ran out T87QT and I down knocked down back to 155k. I made it 5100 from the button with Q7cc and everyone folded. I was on 163300 and we went up to the next level.

Level 14: 1500-3000 400. I moved to a new table around this point and boy did everything go wrong quickly at this table. I opened to 6500 from MP with J9ss and got called by the button and the BB. The flop came QT6 2 clubs giving me an open ended straight draw, we checked to the button, and he bet out 15k. The BB called and I decided to call as well. The turn came the 7c putting a potential flush on board, the BB checked, I bet 40500 attempting to rep the flush, the button moved all in for 160k, the BB called, and I had to fold. They both showed flushes so I guess I kind of wasted 40k in chips here. I think if neither of them has a flush this play might work so I dont know. . .kind of a waste kind of a bad spot. I was down to around 100k or so after this. I made it 6100 with 55 from UTG +1 and got called by a player in LP and the BB. The we checked to the turn on Q96A where I folded to a bet. A shortstack moved all in into my BB for only 7k so I called him with A5o. He had Q6o and the board ran out AKK8K giving me the win. I made it 6500 from the cutoff with A8o and everyone folded. I was at 102500 and we went up another level.

Level 15: 2000-4000 500. It folded to the button who made it 12k of his 35k stack. I found AJo in the BB and put him all in and he called with 88. The board ran out 96364 and I was down to 65k or so. Very next hand, the button opened to 10k, I found A2o in the SB and moved all in for my 65k, the BB moved all in for his last 50k, and the button folded. He showed AQ and I failed to smack my 3-outer crippling myself to 15k in the process. Next hand, it folded to me on the button and I moved my last 15k in with Q9o. The SB folded but the BB called showing J6. He flopped a J and I wasnt able to catch up, busting me about 10 places before the money.

Its really really disheartening to go from big stack to short stack like this without even cashing. I dont know if I played that poorly. . .I did throw away about 60k in that hand I tried to bluff but other than that I just dont know. I was dreading typing this one up becuase of how sick it would make me feel writing about how I had 240k when the average was 80k then busting before the average got to 120k. Bah. . .it was nice to have a stack for a while and hopefully I can get a nice one at the next tournament I play in.