7/22/06 $5,000 Short handed no limit
Wow, this was an amazing tournament, just as I was hoping it would be. I truely felt like I played the best poker of my career thus far, including my run in the WPT Championships. Below is a detailed report of some hands throughout the days.
Starting out the tournament, I was an alternate (meaning I had to wait until a few people in the tournament went bust before I could play). When I arrived at my table with 5,000 in chips, I immediately noticed the Asian dude two to my left had 13,000 in chips, and assumed he would be playing pretty fast. My first hand I pick up 6,6 UTG and raise the 25/50 blinds to 150. As expected, the Asian guy made it 400 and I'm the only caller. Flop came Tc, 4, 3c. I checked and he threw out three pinks, trying to force me to fold (this was a 1,500 bet into a 900 pot...). I called after a little think, and the turn brought the 4c. Now I'm debating what to do with my hand, as I don't have a club. I'm certainly not going to check/call and I don't want to check and give his crap hand a free look at another card. So, the only other option for me was to move in, because if I just bet and he moved me in, I was going to have to call. So I moved in for my last 3,100 and he called after a short think. Immediately I stood up, preparing for a short exit, but when he flipped over 5,5 with no club, I was exstatic. After the double up I tried to just play small to medium sized pots - mainly just winning pots where I raised, got called, then took it down with a small continuation bet on the flop. One hand, Dapo, a friend of mine, limped UTG for 100, followed by three other limps. I looked down at A,9 and decided I didn't want to play a five handed pot with this hand, so I made it 1,500. Unfortunately, Dapo called, but then the crazin moved all-in for 3,500 more. When it got back around to me, I couldn't wait to call this guy, but really wanted a fold from Mr. Dapo. I decided I would call the bet, rather than move all-in, which, in retrospect was probably a mistake. I think I should have just moved all-in and forced Dapo to a tough decision. In any event, Dapo folded, and my A,9 held up against the other dude's measly 57o. A couple rounds later folds to the button, who makes it 600 and I look at JTo in the BB and call. Flop came Qd, Jd, 9. I checked, he threw out 1,000 and I decided to flat call. Turn was a 2 and I checked. Now he fired 2,000 and I called again. River was a 7 and I checked, he bet 2,000 and I beat him into the pot. He turned over J,7 and I was furious after reading the situation so perfectly. I couldn't raise his ass because he had plenty of chips to cripple me and I thought he was the type of player to make a very rash move at any point. Shortly after I was moved to a perfect spot on another table, and the domination began. I moved to this table with 15,000 in chips after losing that devastating 11k pot to that one guy. The chip leader of the table was directly to my right with a 15,000 stack of his own, and the rest of the players looked like easy bait. I folded most of the hands for a couple rounds to try to get a feel for the table, but after I started picking up a few tells and sensing the fear, decided to bring out the aggressive cash game play in full force. If someone wanted to raise my BB in the cutoff or button, a suited connector or any ace was an auto re-raise big. If I raised and got re-raised, I went all-in with sub-par hands if I felt the guy was at all weak. It seemed like every single pot I ented I took down, both hitting hands and bluffing a lot, and in a short time I ran my chips up to 44k by dinner break. One pot I raised with a J,T and got called by the button. Flop came J,T,x and I fast played it. He came over the top, and I moved all-in. He thought for a while, then folded. Another time the guy to my right raised on the button, I looked at A,A and re-raised and he called. I bet the Q,7,4 rainbow board and he thought for a long time (I could see right through him that he had nothing and was thinking about making a move), but ended up pussing out and folding. What wasn't working so well was trying to see flops with the guy to my left. Every time he raised and I called, someone would re-raise huge and both of us would fold. Finally I was able to get in there with a J8s and the flop came Q, 7, 3 rainbow. He made a continuation bet, and I called, planning on taking the pot away with either a raise or a bet on the turn. The turn was a and he checked. Beautiful! He has nothing and a small bet will take it down. However, to my surprise he went for the check-raise and I thought for what must have been three minutes on all my options, and decided a fold was my best play. A little later he raised and I called with a 6,6 and everyone folded. The flop came 9,9,3 and he bet, as expected, and I called. The turn was a queen and he checked. Now I think I have the best hand (I wasn't sure on the flop) and so I bet 4k - the same bet he made on the flop. However, he calls, and now I know I'm behind, as a worse pair would have probably kept betting on the turn. The river came an 8 and now he checks. There is so much lying out there that I can't afford to check and have him turn over 7,7 or T,T, so I moved all-in, which put him all-in for 15,000. He thought for a bit, then folded. Now I must have been up to 60k or so. A little while later the guy to my right went bust and a new guy sat there with a good amount of chips. Unfortunately for him, he lost a very large pot one of the first hands he played, and he had the fish to his left. He raised to 2,400, and I called with 8,8 and everyone folded. Flop came J,J,7 and he bet a healthy 4,000 and I called. Turn was a 6, he checked, I bet 6k and he raised to 16k. I quickly moved all-in and he folded his garbage hand. "Don't try that shit with me, bud". I was at around 80k now. A round later I raised UTG with J,J to 2,400 and folds to him in the BB. He went all-in for 15,000 and I called. I almost laughed when I saw his T9o, but he picked up an open ender on the turn. No help, and now I was over 100k. I lost a few all-in pots with 9,9 against K,Q and K,Q against Q,J, but with how many chips I was accumulating through raises and re-raises, these were all free rolls and thus, minor setbacks. Rolling my way up to 140k on the bubble was fairly easy, but then some devastating news came. My table was to break, and my new table featured the chip leader of the tournament to my left, Eric Lindgren with a healthy amount of chips across the table, and a short stacked Phil Helmuth. After Phil went bust, David Pham joined us with a 120,000 stack, and the news kept getting worse and worse. I was playing very tight poker here, just trying to make it through the day and wait for a table change. I raised two pots in the cutoff with A,Q and J,J and both times the chip leader came over the top and Eric Lindgren came back over the top in the BB. Then, I picked up A,Q again in the cutoff, and, almost as if expected, he re-popped it again. This time I decided to call, because I was convinced he had AK and I would take the pot away from him, based on the size of his raise preflop. I made it 4,800 and he made it 18,000 more. I called and the flop came 6c,6,4c. I checked and he checked. Now I'm 100% sure he has AK, as he would never slowplay against someone who could potentially cripple him with two clubs out there. The turn brought a Qc, which I was very happy about. I was planning on betting regardless, but now I'm not bluffing, which is always a plus. I bet 25,000 and he called. Now I'm pretty sure he has either Ac,K or A,Kc. So, basically I don't want a K or a club to hit the river. The river is the Kc! I reluctantly check, knowing he is going to throw out a value bet and make me sick to my stomach, but he checks. He turns over a red A,K and I went ballistic! What the hell was this guy thinking?!
"I thought you had AK too"
"Ohhh, ok, yeah, that makes sense. So you called my bet hoping to chop the pot....that is assuming a club doesn't come and I was freerolling, right?"
"If a club came, I would just fold to your bet on the river"
"After giving me an additional 25,000, that makes perfect sense, you are most definitly right man"
Losing a 100,000 pot, as well as being put at this table is what cost me the tournament in my opinion, but 'se la vi', or however that saying goes. I ended the day with 120,000 in chips. The following day more bad news came, as I found out my table would be the last to break and I would have to play tight poker until that happened. One pot Eric Lindgren limped for 2,000 and I made it 8,000 more in the SB. He called and the flop came Q, 9, 6. I checked (planning on check-raising) but he checked as well. Turn came a T, and now I bet 11k and he called. River was a brick and it went check/check and he turned over the lame KTo. I was happy with how I played it, though. I was at about 115k when the table finally broke and at the new table I raised in 2nd position with A,T to 9k, got one called, then John Juanda moved all-in two behind me for 57k total. I folded, as did the caller. The very next hand I raised to 9k with Jh,9h and he re-raised me again, to 29k this time, leaving himself with 50k behind. I decided to move all-in, as he would have to fold most hands, it looked like I had a beast, and even if he did call, I would have a hand that could compete with an overpair. Sure enough, he called with his K,K. The flop brought 8h, x, x, then the 7h on the turn. Yes, you guessed it, the Th on the river gave me the runner runner straight flush, sending poor 'ol Johnny packin. I truely felt horrible for the guy, but if I had to do it over again, I liked my play at that particular moment in time. I couldn't afford for people to think that I'll raise UTG and in 2nd position and fold to re-raises for the rest of the day. A few rounds later I raised to 9k with A,J and the SB moved all-in for 35,000 more. I immediately grabbed my chips to call him, but I read him for an absolute beast, just based on his body language and how easy of a decision it was for him and I decided to fold. Another pot came up where Vanessa Rousso raised to 12k and I called with a 8c,9c and the BB (a new player to our table) made it 42k. She folded, but I wasn't about to let this guy make a possible squeeze play on us. I thought he either had an overpair, or complete crap, based on the size of his raise. I decided if the board came scary or A high I would raise him all-in on the flop. However the Th, 5c 2h board wasn't either and I folded to his 40k bet on the flop. A pot came up where UTG moved all-in for 50k and I was in the BB with AQ, which was an obvious call four handed, but I ran into A,A and no help. Shortly after, Vanessa limped and I checked the BB with Q9o (God knows why I checked). The flop came K,K,9 and she checked. I bet 5k and she made it 12,500. I then had a tough decision to make....either re-raise or call, haha. I decided to flat call, as I knew she wouldn't be able to help herself from bluffing the turn. She didn't disappoint on the Q turn and bet 30k. I called and the river brought a beautiful 6. She thought for a very long time, asked how much I had left (100k) and finally checked, followed by my check.
"Jack high"
"That's what I thought," as I turned over the pair of queens for the pot.
Then, I lost a big one to Vanessa when she limped in the SB and I checked my disgusting T2o. Flop came 7h,6h,2. She checked, I bet 5k, she called. Turn was another 7. Now she bet 10k into me, and I made it 30k, honestly thinking I had the best hand. She called and we checked the K river, and her 5,6 was good. Now I was down to 120,000 and this is where things went sour. I went card dead for what must have been at least two hours and was blinded down to 70k playing four handed and getting K6o as my best hand. In fact, I was so excited to see the K,6 that when Vanessa limped in the SB it was the easiest move I've had to make all day, as I fumbled the chips forward with such glee all-in. She folded, and I proudly showed off my K,6 when she showed me her six. You know the cards must have been pretty bad when even the fish won't play them four handed! Shortly after, I was at 67k, and moved to a different table. One of the first hands folded around to the button, who made it 17,000 and I quickly moved in with my K,Q and he reluctantly called with 7,7 and won the coin flip. I went out 12th place, very happy with my two days of play. Sorry for all the detail, but I had to make sure that I forever remember some of the awesome plays that were made. What did I learn from this tournament? I will never play a tournament under $5,000 again, as my track record thus far is:
Reno Hilton - 2nd in chips after day one, failed to cash
WPT Championships - 15th place
WPT Grand Prix de Paris - out on day two after sleeping through the tournament and being
blinded out
WSOP $5,000 No limit - 14th place
WSOP $5,000 Short handed no limit - 12th place
All other tournaments under $5,000 - one 22nd place and one 11th place, totaling $1,400 in
prize money
Starting out the tournament, I was an alternate (meaning I had to wait until a few people in the tournament went bust before I could play). When I arrived at my table with 5,000 in chips, I immediately noticed the Asian dude two to my left had 13,000 in chips, and assumed he would be playing pretty fast. My first hand I pick up 6,6 UTG and raise the 25/50 blinds to 150. As expected, the Asian guy made it 400 and I'm the only caller. Flop came Tc, 4, 3c. I checked and he threw out three pinks, trying to force me to fold (this was a 1,500 bet into a 900 pot...). I called after a little think, and the turn brought the 4c. Now I'm debating what to do with my hand, as I don't have a club. I'm certainly not going to check/call and I don't want to check and give his crap hand a free look at another card. So, the only other option for me was to move in, because if I just bet and he moved me in, I was going to have to call. So I moved in for my last 3,100 and he called after a short think. Immediately I stood up, preparing for a short exit, but when he flipped over 5,5 with no club, I was exstatic. After the double up I tried to just play small to medium sized pots - mainly just winning pots where I raised, got called, then took it down with a small continuation bet on the flop. One hand, Dapo, a friend of mine, limped UTG for 100, followed by three other limps. I looked down at A,9 and decided I didn't want to play a five handed pot with this hand, so I made it 1,500. Unfortunately, Dapo called, but then the crazin moved all-in for 3,500 more. When it got back around to me, I couldn't wait to call this guy, but really wanted a fold from Mr. Dapo. I decided I would call the bet, rather than move all-in, which, in retrospect was probably a mistake. I think I should have just moved all-in and forced Dapo to a tough decision. In any event, Dapo folded, and my A,9 held up against the other dude's measly 57o. A couple rounds later folds to the button, who makes it 600 and I look at JTo in the BB and call. Flop came Qd, Jd, 9. I checked, he threw out 1,000 and I decided to flat call. Turn was a 2 and I checked. Now he fired 2,000 and I called again. River was a 7 and I checked, he bet 2,000 and I beat him into the pot. He turned over J,7 and I was furious after reading the situation so perfectly. I couldn't raise his ass because he had plenty of chips to cripple me and I thought he was the type of player to make a very rash move at any point. Shortly after I was moved to a perfect spot on another table, and the domination began. I moved to this table with 15,000 in chips after losing that devastating 11k pot to that one guy. The chip leader of the table was directly to my right with a 15,000 stack of his own, and the rest of the players looked like easy bait. I folded most of the hands for a couple rounds to try to get a feel for the table, but after I started picking up a few tells and sensing the fear, decided to bring out the aggressive cash game play in full force. If someone wanted to raise my BB in the cutoff or button, a suited connector or any ace was an auto re-raise big. If I raised and got re-raised, I went all-in with sub-par hands if I felt the guy was at all weak. It seemed like every single pot I ented I took down, both hitting hands and bluffing a lot, and in a short time I ran my chips up to 44k by dinner break. One pot I raised with a J,T and got called by the button. Flop came J,T,x and I fast played it. He came over the top, and I moved all-in. He thought for a while, then folded. Another time the guy to my right raised on the button, I looked at A,A and re-raised and he called. I bet the Q,7,4 rainbow board and he thought for a long time (I could see right through him that he had nothing and was thinking about making a move), but ended up pussing out and folding. What wasn't working so well was trying to see flops with the guy to my left. Every time he raised and I called, someone would re-raise huge and both of us would fold. Finally I was able to get in there with a J8s and the flop came Q, 7, 3 rainbow. He made a continuation bet, and I called, planning on taking the pot away with either a raise or a bet on the turn. The turn was a and he checked. Beautiful! He has nothing and a small bet will take it down. However, to my surprise he went for the check-raise and I thought for what must have been three minutes on all my options, and decided a fold was my best play. A little later he raised and I called with a 6,6 and everyone folded. The flop came 9,9,3 and he bet, as expected, and I called. The turn was a queen and he checked. Now I think I have the best hand (I wasn't sure on the flop) and so I bet 4k - the same bet he made on the flop. However, he calls, and now I know I'm behind, as a worse pair would have probably kept betting on the turn. The river came an 8 and now he checks. There is so much lying out there that I can't afford to check and have him turn over 7,7 or T,T, so I moved all-in, which put him all-in for 15,000. He thought for a bit, then folded. Now I must have been up to 60k or so. A little while later the guy to my right went bust and a new guy sat there with a good amount of chips. Unfortunately for him, he lost a very large pot one of the first hands he played, and he had the fish to his left. He raised to 2,400, and I called with 8,8 and everyone folded. Flop came J,J,7 and he bet a healthy 4,000 and I called. Turn was a 6, he checked, I bet 6k and he raised to 16k. I quickly moved all-in and he folded his garbage hand. "Don't try that shit with me, bud". I was at around 80k now. A round later I raised UTG with J,J to 2,400 and folds to him in the BB. He went all-in for 15,000 and I called. I almost laughed when I saw his T9o, but he picked up an open ender on the turn. No help, and now I was over 100k. I lost a few all-in pots with 9,9 against K,Q and K,Q against Q,J, but with how many chips I was accumulating through raises and re-raises, these were all free rolls and thus, minor setbacks. Rolling my way up to 140k on the bubble was fairly easy, but then some devastating news came. My table was to break, and my new table featured the chip leader of the tournament to my left, Eric Lindgren with a healthy amount of chips across the table, and a short stacked Phil Helmuth. After Phil went bust, David Pham joined us with a 120,000 stack, and the news kept getting worse and worse. I was playing very tight poker here, just trying to make it through the day and wait for a table change. I raised two pots in the cutoff with A,Q and J,J and both times the chip leader came over the top and Eric Lindgren came back over the top in the BB. Then, I picked up A,Q again in the cutoff, and, almost as if expected, he re-popped it again. This time I decided to call, because I was convinced he had AK and I would take the pot away from him, based on the size of his raise preflop. I made it 4,800 and he made it 18,000 more. I called and the flop came 6c,6,4c. I checked and he checked. Now I'm 100% sure he has AK, as he would never slowplay against someone who could potentially cripple him with two clubs out there. The turn brought a Qc, which I was very happy about. I was planning on betting regardless, but now I'm not bluffing, which is always a plus. I bet 25,000 and he called. Now I'm pretty sure he has either Ac,K or A,Kc. So, basically I don't want a K or a club to hit the river. The river is the Kc! I reluctantly check, knowing he is going to throw out a value bet and make me sick to my stomach, but he checks. He turns over a red A,K and I went ballistic! What the hell was this guy thinking?!
"I thought you had AK too"
"Ohhh, ok, yeah, that makes sense. So you called my bet hoping to chop the pot....that is assuming a club doesn't come and I was freerolling, right?"
"If a club came, I would just fold to your bet on the river"
"After giving me an additional 25,000, that makes perfect sense, you are most definitly right man"
Losing a 100,000 pot, as well as being put at this table is what cost me the tournament in my opinion, but 'se la vi', or however that saying goes. I ended the day with 120,000 in chips. The following day more bad news came, as I found out my table would be the last to break and I would have to play tight poker until that happened. One pot Eric Lindgren limped for 2,000 and I made it 8,000 more in the SB. He called and the flop came Q, 9, 6. I checked (planning on check-raising) but he checked as well. Turn came a T, and now I bet 11k and he called. River was a brick and it went check/check and he turned over the lame KTo. I was happy with how I played it, though. I was at about 115k when the table finally broke and at the new table I raised in 2nd position with A,T to 9k, got one called, then John Juanda moved all-in two behind me for 57k total. I folded, as did the caller. The very next hand I raised to 9k with Jh,9h and he re-raised me again, to 29k this time, leaving himself with 50k behind. I decided to move all-in, as he would have to fold most hands, it looked like I had a beast, and even if he did call, I would have a hand that could compete with an overpair. Sure enough, he called with his K,K. The flop brought 8h, x, x, then the 7h on the turn. Yes, you guessed it, the Th on the river gave me the runner runner straight flush, sending poor 'ol Johnny packin. I truely felt horrible for the guy, but if I had to do it over again, I liked my play at that particular moment in time. I couldn't afford for people to think that I'll raise UTG and in 2nd position and fold to re-raises for the rest of the day. A few rounds later I raised to 9k with A,J and the SB moved all-in for 35,000 more. I immediately grabbed my chips to call him, but I read him for an absolute beast, just based on his body language and how easy of a decision it was for him and I decided to fold. Another pot came up where Vanessa Rousso raised to 12k and I called with a 8c,9c and the BB (a new player to our table) made it 42k. She folded, but I wasn't about to let this guy make a possible squeeze play on us. I thought he either had an overpair, or complete crap, based on the size of his raise. I decided if the board came scary or A high I would raise him all-in on the flop. However the Th, 5c 2h board wasn't either and I folded to his 40k bet on the flop. A pot came up where UTG moved all-in for 50k and I was in the BB with AQ, which was an obvious call four handed, but I ran into A,A and no help. Shortly after, Vanessa limped and I checked the BB with Q9o (God knows why I checked). The flop came K,K,9 and she checked. I bet 5k and she made it 12,500. I then had a tough decision to make....either re-raise or call, haha. I decided to flat call, as I knew she wouldn't be able to help herself from bluffing the turn. She didn't disappoint on the Q turn and bet 30k. I called and the river brought a beautiful 6. She thought for a very long time, asked how much I had left (100k) and finally checked, followed by my check.
"Jack high"
"That's what I thought," as I turned over the pair of queens for the pot.
Then, I lost a big one to Vanessa when she limped in the SB and I checked my disgusting T2o. Flop came 7h,6h,2. She checked, I bet 5k, she called. Turn was another 7. Now she bet 10k into me, and I made it 30k, honestly thinking I had the best hand. She called and we checked the K river, and her 5,6 was good. Now I was down to 120,000 and this is where things went sour. I went card dead for what must have been at least two hours and was blinded down to 70k playing four handed and getting K6o as my best hand. In fact, I was so excited to see the K,6 that when Vanessa limped in the SB it was the easiest move I've had to make all day, as I fumbled the chips forward with such glee all-in. She folded, and I proudly showed off my K,6 when she showed me her six. You know the cards must have been pretty bad when even the fish won't play them four handed! Shortly after, I was at 67k, and moved to a different table. One of the first hands folded around to the button, who made it 17,000 and I quickly moved in with my K,Q and he reluctantly called with 7,7 and won the coin flip. I went out 12th place, very happy with my two days of play. Sorry for all the detail, but I had to make sure that I forever remember some of the awesome plays that were made. What did I learn from this tournament? I will never play a tournament under $5,000 again, as my track record thus far is:
Reno Hilton - 2nd in chips after day one, failed to cash
WPT Championships - 15th place
WPT Grand Prix de Paris - out on day two after sleeping through the tournament and being
blinded out
WSOP $5,000 No limit - 14th place
WSOP $5,000 Short handed no limit - 12th place
All other tournaments under $5,000 - one 22nd place and one 11th place, totaling $1,400 in
prize money
posted by Kwicky at 2:14 PM
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