Sunday, July 30, 2006

Day 1 - $10,000 Main Event

Ok, here is how my day went...
After calling a few raises with suited connectors and pocket pairs and missing all flops I was down to around 8.5k. Then there was a pot where I called a raise with QJo and the flop came 8,7,6. He bet 225 and I made it 600 in position. He called and the turn came a 3 (board is rainbow) and he checks. I bet 1,200 and he quickly called. River came an ace and he checked again, now I must win this pot as he probably has J,J or T,T so I throw out a "value" bet of 2,500 and he folds. That put me back on track to 11k or so. Then a pot came up where someone raised to 150 in mid position and two callers. I look down at AKo and make it 700 and everyone folds except one of the callers. Flop comes T, 6, 4 rainbow and he checks. I bet 1,000 and he makes it 3,000. I look at his remaining chips to make sure he can still fold, sure enough he has 7k behind and I move all-in and he folds J,J face up. This pot brought me up to around 16k. Shortly after I call a raise in position with T9s and the flop came A,J,8. I immediately knew I would raise him if he bet and check if he checked, knowing he would bet a mediocre hand that would fold to a raise and would check a monster. Well, he checked, and I checked. Turn came a 7 and now he bets 500. Can you be any more obvious that you flopped a set buddy? I make it 1,500 and he quickly makes it 2,000 more. Now here I had a couple different ways to play it - I could go all-in, knowing he'll call an all-in and 80% of my chips will be at risk as a 4:1 favorite or I could just flat call and see if he boats up before committing all those chips. The only problem with the latter is if the board gets scary I might not get his whole stack if he just check/calls or check/folds. I decide to move it and he calls after a long think and turns over the 8,8. The river pairs the board and leaves me out of breath....just kidding, the river bricked and I took down the 22k pot, now up to 27k. A few rounds later I call a raise with QJo and the flop came Ad, Td, 7. The raiser made it 500 and I decided to call, either to take it away on the turn if he doesn't have the ace, hit the gutshot if he does have the ace, or bluff the diamonds if he has the ace. Turn came an offsuit 9, giving me the open ender and now he bets 1,200, leaving himself with 5,500. Easy call to make, because now I'm sure he has the ace, and if an 8, K or diamond come, the pot is mine. River is the 6d and he fires out 1,500. I grab my big stack of yellows (1k chips) to put him all-in, but then think for a second and decide to throw out 4k, for a raise of only 2.5k, which would leave him with 1,500 if he called and he was wrong. He gave out a big sigh and thought for a while, but ultimately couldn't stand the heat and folded A,T face up for top two pair. Then a pot came up where I raised to 700 with AcQc and got two callers from the button and the BB. Flop came Jc, 7c, 6 and the first guy checked. I bet 700 and the button called. BB check-raises to 2,100 and I think for a bit and decide he has a big hand, maybe two pair or a set and don't want to play a monster pot until I'm there, so I flat call. Plus, flat calling here might get the button in there with clubs of his own or a straight draw that might pay me off if his straight and my flush get there. He ends up calling the 2,100 as well. The turn came an offsuit queen and the raiser bets a mere 1,300. Call, right? Well, not exactly... I mean, what does this guy have?! He doesn't want to protect against the flush draw? He had two callers behind him and now he's underbetting the pot? There is over 9k in the pot and both of them have less than 7k in front of them. I'm all-in. Button folds and the BB thinks forever and decides to fold, disgusted with himself. Now I'm up to 46k. A tight player in early position makes it 700 and I look down at K,K right behind him. I decide to flat call, not wanting to play an all-in pot preflop, also trying to induce a squeeze play by some of the internet players at the table. Button calls and the flop came A,7,6. He throws out only 600 and I call and the button folds. Turn is an 8 and he checks, I check. River is a 5, he checks, I check. He shows A,A and I show off my K,K, only losing 1,300 when most players wouuld have played an all-in pot preflop and lost over 8k.
I raise with KJs in early position to 700, one caller. The BB moves all-in for 1,000 more and I call, as does the caller. Flop came Kd, Jd, 7 and I bet 2k, he calls. Turn is a 7 and I go all-in and he instantly calls with A,K and the other dude shows A,Q. I take down the pot for an 8k profit and now I'm up to 54k and CRUISING. Average was probably under 15k at this point. Then a pot came up where a late position raiser looks at his cards for a split second and immediately makes it 600. I don't even bother to look at my cards, knowing I'm going to raise no matter what cards I have. I make it 2k and the BB immediately calls and the raiser folded quickly. Here is where I made a crucial mistake - I should have just given up, knowing that the BB isn't going to call a raise and a re-raise without a huge hand, but I just got so frustrated that I read the situation correctly and had a guy wake up with a hand behind me. I look at my cards and see a K3o and the flop came K,T,9. I should have either check/folded or bet out and given it up if I got called or raised, but instead I check/pulled on him and he instantly called with A,K. The turn came an A and I was drawing dead. I lost 12k this hand and now my table image was shot, right before the rounds were going to 100/200 with 25 in antes (where stealing becomes a must). The table then proceded to 'high five' the guy who won, as they were so happy that someone had finally won a pot off me and the bullying would now slow down. Though it was pretty poor ettiquite on their part, it somehow made me feel like a true world class player when the table is releived to see my chips diminish. This was a huge turning point in momentum, which is the weakest part of my game, as discussed in the previous Pot Limit post, but I had to continue and put this pot past me as best as I could. A round later I raise in middle position with KQs and get called by the cutoff. Flop came J,T,7 and I bet 1,000 and he makes it 3,000. Now, because of the K,3 incident, my bluff equity is shot and I can't re-raise and take down the pot. So I just flat call. The turn came a rag and I check and he bets 3k again and I call. River was another rag and it went check/check. He shows A,J and takes it down. So many damn outs and I know it would have been mine if I hadn't had to show that K,3 earlier. Now I have to really tighten it up until the table breaks. I fold most hands, then get moved to the softest table imaginable. I win a few pots without any showdowns and then get moved shortly after to a new table that has a few good, but unknown players at it. I steal a ton of pots the first few rounds and I'm working my stack back to around 42k. There was a pot where I called a raise in the SB with Q9s and the BB called. I flopped a flush and the raiser bet 2k and I check-raised to 5k and he called. I shoved all-in on the brick turn and he folded K,K no club face up, as if it were a tough laydown for his whole tournament life. At this table it was mostly preflop and flop poker, very few showdowns or bluffs, just continuation bets and check/raises. A pot came up where I raised in middle position and got called by the button and the BB immediately moved all-in for 10k. I was pretty confident he didn't have a huge hand, but had to fold, as I thought the initial caller still to act had a huge hand and was trapping me. I had 9,9 and reluctantly mucked and then he proudly shows off the T3o after the button folds. I ended the day with 38k and now I'm at a table that I think will suit me well. I have Phil Ivey across the table from me, but he has only 16k in chips at the moment. I'm still agonizing about that K,3 blunder, but I have a good support group here that is helping me pull through it. What I'm trying my best to do right now is pretend that I'm starting a new tournament on Tuesday, in which the starting chips are 25k (the average going into day 2 so far) and I'm sitting on 38k. I'll post day 2 later in the week.

Monday, July 24, 2006

7/22/06 $5,000 Pot limit

This is probably the most painful entry to post, so bare with me. I played some phenominal poker up until dinner break, then just had what I equate to a mental breakdown, where I had trouble even counting chips, let alone making tough decisions. Here is what happened....
Level one I played about two hands and had a tighter table image than Prutsa herself (inside joke between Moon, Bag and me). Level two I made some awesome plays, including raising to 150, call, call, SB made it pot and I decided to just re-re-raise small to 1,500 more. I knew this guy knew I was extremely tight, and if he wanted to get it all-in, my AK wouldn't be lookin too hot. Therefore, I re-re-raised small so I could still fold if he went all-in (which he wouldn't do without A,A or K,K). He didn't think long before folding K,K face up. Wow! Awesome, that is the difference between $5k events and $1,500 events, lol. Anyway, I made a couple more plays and bluffs and was up to 8,000 when the following hand happened. Cutoff made it 150, I called with JTo on the button, and SB "pots" it for 600 more. Cutoff calls, as do I and the flop came 6s,6,4s. SB "pots" it and cutoff folds. I decide to call, because I really didn't think this guy had the overpair. I thought if he did not have the overpair, he would get scared of my call and check/fold on the turn, and if I was wrong, and he did have the overpair, I could just fold on the turn, only losing 1,800 chips, which would suck, but I would hate myself for not going with my conviction. The turn brought a J and he immediately moved all-in. Interesting spot! Haha. Now all of the sudden I can beat the bluff, but I told myself before that I didn't think he would move in on the turn without the overpair. However, this guy couldn't have convinced me any more that he was bluffing and I had absolutely no intention of folding after his bet. I started laughing and said, "You are really going to hate me when you see this hand." I called and, sure enough, he flips over AQ and no help came. He stormed off furious at me and the table was in complete shock. The tightest player at the table just called a pot sized bet on the flop with no pair, no spade, no draw, jack high and called an all-in bet for 90% of his chips. I was now up to 13,000 and lookin hot. Another pot came up a little later where UTG made it 300, SB called, and I bet the pot in the BB with TT. UTG "pots" it back at me for 95% of his chips and I had an extremely tough decision, but getting 3:1 on my money I couldn't fold, even though his hands were shaking uncontrollably (a sign of a monster). I called and he had AK and won the race, and now I was back to 8,000. UTG raised to 300, one caller, and I called in the SB and BB folded. My 9,6 hit the 9c,7,5c flop and I bet into the raiser 500. He was an old man, who was pretty tight/weak. He called and the other dude folded. Now I know I'm beat, and decide the only way to win the pot is a check/raise on the turn, which is what I did. He bet 1,200 and I bet "pot", which forced him all-in and he was so mad at himself for betting when he showed the JJ. I couldn't bring myself to show him my hand as I scooped the pot. Up to 15,000 and lookin hot. I was moved to another table and kept the same table image of a solid, aggressive rock. I won a few pots after raising, getting called, then making small continuation bets and built up to 25k or so. Then a pot came up where UTG limped, I bet the pot with AK, and a guy three to my left raised me the pot. I decided to flat call, as we both had many chips.
"Alright then, lets play a big one, shall we?"
Flop came 6d,6,4d. Check, check. Now I have this guy on AK for sure, and the Q on the turn is an easy check because I'll either steal it on the river, or....He bet 5,000 and I made it 10,000 after a short think. He starts shaking his head in disgust and folds. Another hand came up where UTG limped and I had AcKc and raised the pot. A new guy to the table, who had just won the previous pot now re-raises all-in and I'm feeling sick, because I know 100% certain he has an overpair. The question is, is it A,A, K,K, or Q,Q. Regardless, I can't fold for 2,500 more after putting in 1,000 and he shows K,K. Poor bastard was drawing dead after I hit my flush on the turn, and now the fish is up to 43k. After a few more raises and re-raises I went up to 54k and then Jason Lestor sat down. Here is where the tournament went to shit. I have plenty of chips to just coast into the money and I have been patient all day, but decide to start opening it up a little, especially after playing so tight and only showing monsters all day. I raise to 2,000 one from the cutoff with A3s and Lester calls on the button. Flop came Q, 9, 6 and I bet 2,500 and he called after a short think. Turn was a 3 and instead of giving it up, i went ahead and bet 5,000, which was a huge mistake. He ends up calling and after the T came on the river, now I feel obligated to put him all-in for his tournament life for 16,000 because there is too much to just leave sitting out there when I think he'll fold a J,T, K,T or Q,J. He calls for the forth time after a short think and shows the A,Q. I lost the 56k pot and was devastated. The dinner break came shortly after and I never went back to my solid play. Shortly after the break folds around to one from the cutoff, who made a 3x BB raise and I decided to flat call in the cutoff with T,T because I didn't think anyone would give me credibility for a hand after that debacle before the break and I didn't want a race for all my chips. BB called and the flop came 9, 6, x. They both check, and I bet three quarters the pot. BB moves in for less than a min raise more and I call. He shows 6,5 and I end up taking it down. One pot came up where it was folds to my cutoff and the tightest player at the table was in the BB. I decided to raise with JTo and she called. I was a little worried about the call, as I thought she would fold most hands, and didn't continuation bet the flop like I normally would have. A king came on the turn and she now bet into me. Now I'm thinking I want to represent the K,Q or A,K, but instead of putting her to a tough decision, I decide to flat call and play it tricky, which was a complete dumbass move on my part and I hate myself for it. The river was a brick and she check/called an all-in bet by me on the river with her K,T. At this point I'm so disappointed with myself for blowing all those chips and I'm trying for the life of me to pull it together, but was just mentally fried. I couldn't even calculate the odds I was getting when I would get raised or even count the chips that someone would throw into a pot for that matter. It was the most embarrased and disgusted I've ever felt at a poker table. The hand I exited on when as follows: A big stack limps in late position for the second consecutive hand and I limp in the SB with 76o. The flop came K, 9, 8 and I check and the BB checks. The limper bets 2,500 and I decide I need the chips at this point pretty badly, so I decide this is the spot to let it known I'm going with the hand. I raise the pot 8,800 more and he thinks for a long time before putting me in for my last 6,000.
"I really wish you would have folded, but I'm obviously calling"
"Two pair?"
"No, just a draw, I thought you would fold just about all hands here because of how tight I've been playing"
"I almost did"
He then shows A,A and I'm in a bit of trouble. No help, and I'm eliminated out of the money, after having enough chips to be average in the money earlier. I was so disgusted with myself I can hardly bring myself to post this blog, but it has to be done, as I will hopefully learn from the experience. What did I end up learning? Just because you bring your "A" game for 90% of the day, doesn't mean you can let up at any moment. One pot can change a tournament and every ounce of concentration needs to go into each pot. I also learned that I still have major tilt issues to not be able to rebound from one lost pot.

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

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

7/13/06 $2,500 Short handed NL



Ok, so this tournament was pretty frustrating as well. I really need to get focused and play up to my potential like I was earlier in the WSOP. I did have a rather unfortunate table draw, with Evelyn Ng to my left and Mr. Mark Seif to my right, but that should be no excuse to not play my best. Especially since I have an excellent track record against both of them. A hand came up fairly early where a few people limped in the pot, I check the SB and the BB checks as well. I had 3,4 and the flop came A, 2c, 5c. Checks around. Turn came the 8c everyone checks to the cutoff who makes it 100 (blinds were at 25/25) and I make it 300. Folds back to him and he calls. Turn came the Qh and I throw a pink chip in (500) and he gives a big sigh and goes all-in for 1,400 more, which put me all-in. I think for a while, and decide he must have turned the nuts - God knows why he didn't bet the flop though - and 1/3 of my stack was gone right off the bat. A couple more hands passed where I raised preflop, got called, made an obligatory continuation bet and they raised, forcing me to fold my crap hand, etc. etc. etc. Then, I made a fairly big mistake when I decided to raise 150 UTG with AJ and a 1,000 stack. As some of you might have guessed, there were two callers, then the SB made it 850 and now I have to fold, rather than just limp re-raising all-in (blinds at 25/50 now obviously). Shortly thereafter UTG makes it 150 and I weakly flat call in the SB with ATs and a 900 stack. Flop came QQJ and I was just going to check fold, but then he only bet 200. I immediately thought this guy was betting weak to either take the pot with a weak pair, a suited connector, or an AK. So I quickly shoved all-in for only 500 more and he thought for what must have been two minutes, then finally called and flipped over AJ. I was shocked he took that long, I thought he was thinking about calling with his AK. Anyway, no help and the fish is out by level two, unfortunately, even though I was trying to play tight poker till the antes kicked in, lol.

Yup, it's the same dude, lol

sefat53 ( $1000)
Kwickfish ( $3220)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ Td, Th ]
Atak4Infinit folds.
Kwickfish raises (70) to 70
demimoore111 folds.
shadsvet folds.
sefat53 calls (50)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 2h, 8d, 8s ]
sefat53 bets (200)
Kwickfish raises (500) to 500
sefat53 calls (300)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 4h ]
sefat53 bets (300)
Kwickfish raises (2650) to 2650
Kwickfish is all-In.
sefat53 calls (130)
sefat53 is all-In.
** Dealing River ** : [ 3c ]

sefat53 [ 6d 9c ]

Glad it wasn't me! Hahaha

shadsvet ( $2194.79)
sefat53 ( $1978.71)
GOLDENBOYBCN ( $470)
Atak4Infinit ( $2355)
Kwickfish ( $9361)
demimoore111 ( $2776.35)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ Ac, Kh ]
demimoore111 calls (20)
shadsvet calls (20)
sefat53 calls (20)
GOLDENBOYBCN calls (20)
Atak4Infinit calls (10)
Kwickfish raises (130) to 150
demimoore111 calls (130)
shadsvet calls (130)
sefat53 calls (130)
GOLDENBOYBCN folds.
demimoore111: lloolo
Atak4Infinit calls (130)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 7c, 6s, 4s ]
Atak4Infinit checks.
Kwickfish checks.
demimoore111 checks.
shadsvet checks.
sefat53 bets (1500)
Atak4Infinit folds.
Kwickfish folds.
demimoore111 folds.
shadsvet raises (2044.79) to 2044.79
shadsvet is all-In.
sefat53 calls (328.71)
sefat53 is all-In.
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 8s ]
** Dealing River ** : [ Js ]

shadsvet [ 6h 6c ] set of sixes
sefat53 [ Tc Qs ] flush, queen high

Same dude as previous post...

Kwickfish ( $2095.50)
chadgr ( $2190)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ 2c, Ah ]
chadgr calls (20)
Piddzilla calls (20)
Goat_King folds.
loloTRICKEDu folds.
wenyingniwei folds.
Kwickfish checks.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 2s, Tc, Ts ]
Kwickfish bets (40)
chadgr calls (40)
Piddzilla folds.
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Ad ]
Kwickfish checks.
chadgr bets (100)
Kwickfish calls (100)
** Dealing River ** : [ 2d ]
Kwickfish checks.
chadgr checks.
chadgr [ 8c Td ]

Too bad no suckout : (

chadgr ( $3171)
Goat_King ( $1970)

Goat_King raises (80) to 80
loloTRICKEDu folds.
Kwickfish folds.
chadgr raises (130) to 140
Piddzilla folds.
Goat_King calls (60)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 6h, Ah, Th ]
chadgr bets (100)
Goat_King raises (400) to 400
chadgr calls (300)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 6d ]
chadgr bets (150)
Goat_King raises (400) to 400
chadgr raises (500) to 650
Goat_King raises (1030) to 1430
Goat_King is all-In.
chadgr calls (780)
** Dealing River ** : [ 7c ]

chadgr [ Kc Ks ]
Goat_King [ Td Tc ]

Thursday, July 13, 2006

7/11/06 $2,000 Pot limit

This was a frustrating tournament. I started out playing really well, and accummulating chips through raw aggression without ever having to show a hand. Then a hand came up where I took a chance to become a monster stack. This is what happened: folds to the SB, who limps in, I look down at 94o and I check (blinds at 100/200). Flop comes Tc, 8c, 7s. He quickly fires 400 and he seemed like a fairly passive player, so I thought he probably hit the hand pretty big. He also seemed like the type of guy that might hold onto hands a little too long, but we were also the two big stacks at the table (probably 7k each at this point), so I also thought the bluff equity would be large if clubs got there. Basically this all added up to a call to see what he wanted to do on the turn. Turn came a 4h. Not quite the card I was looking for, but who knows, maybe now a 4 on the river, or even possibly a 9 on the river might make my hand superior if he decided to limp with an overpair and hope that I raised in the BB (as I had been showing a lot of preflop aggression at the table). He fires out 900, and I can't wait to get my money in the pot, as he will A) pay me off if I hit, and B) be really scared if a club comes and the pot will most likely be bought by the fish. Unfortunately, however, the river bricks with an offsuit 2, and he immediately puts 1,200 chips in. I fold, a little disheartened, as I had so many "outs" to win the pot. He then showed J,J and I realized that if I hit my J he was going down for the rest of his chips.....so painful! Later, after being moved to another table, I folded what must have been six consecutive rounds, then finally woke up with AA in 2nd position. I make it 600 and John Gale flat calls behind me, everyone else folds. Flop came 8s, 2s, 2h. I bet 700 and he immediately "pots" it. I go all-in, and he insta-calls with Js9s. Turn and River bring no help for him, and now I'm up to 7,300. A few rounds later, after continuing my extremely tight play a guy in 3rd position (7 handed) raises my blind to 700. This must have been the eigth raise this guy made in three rounds, and the fish was getting sick of it. Especially because I felt people were taking advantage of my tight table image to steal my blinds repeatedly. I pretend ot look at my cards, then make it a cool 2k. He immediately "pots" it, and I sadly look down to see a measly 74o. He and I have identical stacks, and I take a while to fold, but eventually give it up. He shows K,K and said he would have folded Q,Q to me, but not that one. Shortly thereafter I get moved to a new table where the shortest stack at the table looks to be 10k, bleh! I pick up a few small pots shortly after moving there. Then UTG "pots" it, folds to me on the button, and I look at A,Q. I call and the flop come 9,9.Q. He immediately "pots" it, and I move in for a fraction more. He thinks for what must have been two minutes, and finally calls his last 300 after putting 4,000 into the pot. He shows A,T and I'm in good shape. The turn brought a scary J, but no help on the river and the fish is up to a high for the day at 8,000. However, after a few pots where I siphoned off a good number of chips and blinds eating my stack, I shortly found myself at 1,500. This is where I'm not sure exactly where my focus went, possibly due to a lack of sleep, but I was in great shape and just didn't want the tournament bad enough I suppose. There was one pot where I moronically made it 900 in mid position with KTs, which normally is a fine play, but I had an extremely aggressive re-raiser to my left by the name of Jon Bonetti, who I could have told you even before the action got to him that he would re-raise me with just about any two cards. Another horribly played hand by myself was when I limped UTG with 9,9 (with the intention of "pot"ing it if anyone decided to raise me), one caller on the button, and both blinds check. Flop came Ax, Ah, 3h. I bet 700 (blinds at 150/300) and everyone folds but the BB. Turn came the Td. Check, check. River came a 3x and he quickly fires 2,000. I convince myself that his thought process would be the following: "If he has the A, it is a chop pot anyway (unless, of course he has the T with it), so assumming he doesn't have the A, why not check it and hope he bluffs at it." Also, I thought a 3 would be too scared that I had the A, limping UTG and all, and would probably check/call. Therefore, since I didn't think a T would bet 2k here, I thought he possibly missed his hearts and decided to call. He showed me the flopped nuts, and I felt like a jackass. Shortly after, I decided to limp UTG with QJs and the guy directly behind me moved in with his short stack, and the siphoning continued as I had to fold, not getting nearly the right odds. Then, I made it 800 in the cutoff with AcJd, and was called by the SB. Flop came Qc, 9c, 3c. He checked and I have a 4k stack. I could move in, but if he calls with a Q, which I thought he would call with in a heartbeat, I would be in a lot of trouble, expecially if he had an A with it. I decided to check behind him. The turn came an offsuit 2 and he checks, and I have a bad feeling about getting check-raised and decide to check again. The river brings a J and he quickly fires out 1,500. At this point I think he is putting me on AK and trying to get me to laydown and decide to call. He confidently flips over KTo and I can't help but feel like a jackass yet again, as I let him get there. To end the day, Billy Baxter limps UTG and I look down at KTo and decide it's time to shove to pick up the valuable 750 in chips (as I only had 1,500 in chips). It folds back to him, and he instantly calls with J9s. I was pretty upset with the call, and, though the flop came K high, he turned a flush and I was drawing dead on the river. I'm upset with how I went out, but I'm equally upset with myself for losing my focus and siphoning off way too many chips. I have to get my act together for the $2,500 short hander tomorrow. What I learned? It may sound cliched, but you have to want it. You really do. That is what I believe the Moon has going for him. I can see it in his eyes that he truely wants it, and I envy that desire.

Call of the day

Sometimes I'm wrong, sometimes I'm right, but man, does it feel good when I'm right.

oasis94111 ( $2128)
Kwickfish ( $2287)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ Ac, Qh ]
Kwickfish raises (70) to 70
lorenaknott folds.
oasis94111 calls (70)
Biggec folds.
DonkDonkGoose folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 2c, 5h, Th ]
Kwickfish bets (125)
oasis94111 calls (125)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 4c ]
Kwickfish checks.
oasis94111 bets (200)
Kwickfish calls (200)
** Dealing River ** : [ 2s ]
Kwickfish checks.
oasis94111 bets (455)
Kwickfish calls (455)

oasis94111 [ 9c Ah ]

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

LOL

doyamind ( $3759)
Kwickfish ( $2042)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ Qc, Qh ]
whoedy folds.
coiolzz folds.
unknownpp folds.
Kwickfish raises (60) to 70
doyamind raises (210) to 230
Kwickfish calls (160)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 6d, 2d, Th ]
Kwickfish checks.
doyamind bets (380)
Kwickfish calls (380)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 8h ]
Kwickfish bets (150)
doyamind calls (150)
** Dealing River ** : [ 2s ]
Kwickfish bets (200)
doyamind raises (2999) to 2999
doyamind is all-In.
Kwickfish calls (1082)
Kwickfish is all-In.

doyamind [ Ah Kd ]

The sad thing is, I beleive he did have KQ

MsBDiknson ( $3301.36)
Kwickfish ( $6890)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ 8h, 4h ]
coiolzz folds.
ongelukkig folds.
SuperEva raises (60) to 60
Kwickfish raises (200) to 200
midnightxxx folds.
MsBDiknson calls (180)
SuperEva folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Kd, Kc, Ac ]
MsBDiknson checks.
Kwickfish bets (250)
MsBDiknson calls (250)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Qd ]
MsBDiknson checks.
Kwickfish checks.
** Dealing River ** : [ Ah ]
MsBDiknson checks.
Kwickfish bets (600)
MsBDiknson: omg
MsBDiknson: got kq
MsBDiknson folds.

The tripple barreled blizuf

arty2u ( $3074.08)
Kwickfish ( $2773)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ Ks, Tc ]
grimhogun folds.
IN_MY__CRIB folds.
arty2u raises (40) to 50
Kwickfish raises (130) to 150
arty2u calls (100)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 5c, 2d, 2c ]
arty2u checks.
Kwickfish bets (200)
arty2u calls (200)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 7s ]
arty2u checks.
Kwickfish bets (500)
arty2u calls (500)
** Dealing River ** : [ 8d ]
arty2u checks.
Kwickfish bets (1100)
arty2u did not respond in time.
arty2u folds.

I think this hand speaks for itself

TacitDamage ( $5616.50)
Johnsson666 ( $4731)

Johnsson666 raises (66) to 66
Kwickfish folds.
SevenPuma folds.
IShipStacks folds.
jl3053 folds.
TacitDamage raises (346) to 366
Johnsson666 calls (300)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 7c, 7d, As ]
TacitDamage checks.
Johnsson666 bets (500)
TacitDamage calls (500)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 6h ]
TacitDamage checks.
Johnsson666 bets (1000)
TacitDamage raises (4750.50) to 4750.50
TacitDamage is all-In.
Johnsson666 calls (2865)
Johnsson666 is all-In.
** Dealing River ** : [ 4d ]

TacitDamage [ Ah Ks ]
Johnsson666 [ Ac Js ]

Como se dice "Complete jackass"?

grimhogun ( $2951)
IN_MY__CRIB ( $4697.21)

Kwickfish folds.
LaTanyaWilliams folds.
Wonginator folds.
grimhogun raises (60) to 60
IN_MY__CRIB calls (50)
SevenPuma calls (40)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 9c, Qd, Qs ]
IN_MY__CRIB checks.
SevenPuma checks.
grimhogun bets (100)
IN_MY__CRIB calls (100)
SevenPuma folds.
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 3h ]
IN_MY__CRIB checks.
grimhogun checks.
** Dealing River ** : [ 6c ]
IN_MY__CRIB bets (737.02)
grimhogun raises (1974.04) to 1974.04
IN_MY__CRIB raises (2474.04) to 3211.06
grimhogun calls (816.96)
grimhogun is all-In.

grimhogun [ 6d 6s ]
IN_MY__CRIB [ Th Qc ]

Monday, July 10, 2006

e.t.d. on this douche was 90 mins....he only lasted 75

Kwickfish ( $5458.86)
pizokah ( $4471)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ 3d, Ad ]
pizokah raises (70) to 70
grimhogun folds.
Kwickfish calls (70)
jdbop folds.
NoreasteR_ folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 3s, 2d, Ac ]
pizokah bets (120)
Kwickfish raises (350) to 350
pizokah calls (230)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 3c ]
pizokah checks.
Kwickfish bets (600)
pizokah raises (1400) to 1400
Kwickfish calls (800)
** Dealing River ** : [ 6h ]
pizokah bets (2651)
pizokah is all-In.
Kwickfish calls (2651)

pizokah [ Ah Qc ]

7/7/06 $2,500 No limit

A flawlessly played tournament as far as I’m concerned – my tournament play is really coming around, and I’m very excited about it. I literally played five hands, which were the following: 1) After folding every single hand for the first 40 minutes of play, 3rd position limps for 25, and I make it 125 with AcQc. After a think from seat 10, he grabs chips to raise, but then decides to call (he was in almost every pot, but not too aggressive, to give a little background information), folds to the limper, who calls. Flop: A,Q,9c. Check, I bet 300, quick call, fold. Turn: 6c. I think for about three minutes, then decide to move all-in for his last 1,200. I figured if he has an ace, he will think I’m bluffing and call me, if he’s drawing, I can’t give him a free card, and if I bet any less it would look too much like I was trying to get paid. I thought an all-in looked the most suspicious on my part, and in retrospect I would have done the same exact thing. Unfortunately, however, he insta-calls with a set of aces, and no flush on the river for me. Now I’m down to 800 or so. I fold a couple rounds, then I pick up Qx,Jh in the BB and there are three limpers including the SB, I check. Flop comes Ah, Qh, 3h. Checks around. Turn: 4h, check, I check, 50 from David Matthews, folds, and I call. River bricks, check check, I take it down with the second nuts. I couldn’t bet, because I know this guy is pretty wild and might take it away from me on a bluff. A couple more rounds pass and then I pick up A3o in the big blind and three limpers, including the SB are with me. I check and the flop comes AQ4 with two diamonds. I pick up my 700 in chips to go all-in, but then decide to only bet 100, to which everyone quickly folds their hands. A couple more rounds pass and then I pick up Q7o in the SB and throw in 25 for the call after three limps (the BB wasn’t that aggressive, so I thought I might get away with seeing a cheap flop here). Flop: Qd,Td,8. Wow, what a tough decision….I have 600 in chips at this point, but I’m likely going to get called my many hands here if I go all-in – a situation I want to avoid at all costs. However, I do have the top pair, which at this point is a monster for me. I immediately picked up my chips to go all-in, but showed some restraint after a little think and decided to check and see what happened. The BB fired out 200 and David Matthews quickly called, folds to me. Man, oh man. I guess I fold. Turn came a 9, 400, called. River came a 4, check, check. BB shows Q,T, David shows 9d6d. NICE!! “Hell yeah! I folded a Queen!!” “Did you really? Wow, nice fold guy”. The very next hand middle position limps and I’m on the button with A7o and immediately decide it’s time. I shove, the SB folds in disgust and the BB quickly folds, however the limper apparently didn’t get the memo that I was playing tighter than his little sister’s….well, tight, and decided to call with 3,3. I was so pissed, and still am! No help and I was eliminated. Even if I won the pot, I think I still would have been upset at that guy. He’s not even playing poker, he’s just there to hopefully flip some coins and sit at a table with a guy he saw on T.V….. so unreal. What I learned? I’m a bad ass at poker, and sometimes it doesn’t matter how you play, only how the cards fall.

7/4/06 $5,000 No limit

This was a very exciting tournament, even though I wasn’t really expecting much, or pumped up about it to start. Basically had no hands for a really long time, then Allan Goering (sp?) joined the table, and the fireworks began. On more than one occasion I raised preflop and he flat called. I bet the flop and he wrecklessly just went all-in for 3,500 or so into a pot of 1,000. This was getting pretty frustrating, but I told myself to just maintain patience and I would catch him. After taking a beat in an unavoidable situation, he got short stacked, and the following hand came up. A player in middle position with a decent sized stack limps in for 200. I noticed this guy never really limps with a big hand, and immediately knew I was raising on the button with any two cards. However, the guy right after him, another big stack, beat me to the punch and quickly made it 1,100. My read on the situation was that the raiser picked up the same tell I picked up and didn’t have much of a hand himself, he just wanted the dead money out in the pot and knew nobody was going to make a play on a limper and big raiser in mid position on a bluff. Good move on his part. I look down at 6,6 and have a dilemma. On the one hand I really think I have the best hand, but from the previous tournament, I learned that if I go all-in when someone has me covered, I should try to be first in the pot. I ended up flat calling to see how the action was going to go post flop with my 5k stack. Goering called in the BB, as expected with his 3,700 stack. Flop came Kd,Qd,9x. Check, check – ok, now I’m almost certain I have the best hand, because I really don’t think anyone would slowplay a big hand on that flop and decide I have to take a stab at the pot with a bet of 1,500. To my surprise Goering calls, and the preflop raiser folds. The turn came a J and Goering checks. I ask how much more he has, after basically giving up on the pot, as the only thing I beat at this point is a flush draw. However, after hearing he only had 1,100 left, and with the pot that big, I put him all-in hoping he might either have a flush draw or might fold bottom pair for his tournament life. He called fairly quickly, and I admit defeat “nice hand, you having me drawing very thin” “no, just a flush draw here” He turns over the 8d7d and I win the gargantuan pot after the river brings a K. After a couple more steals, I’m moved to a different table with over 10k in chips and looking good. The gentlemen at this table quickly learned that I like to raise when I have chips, as it was brought up on many occasions that I was wearing down the felt. A few notable hands…I brought it in for my typical 5k, blinds at 800/1,600 200 ante with my beloved JhTh. After a moron who wasn’t in the pot continued to talk about how I probably had a 23o, the big blind quickly moves all-in for 15,000 more. I swear I must have taken three or four minutes to decide what to do. “If I muck, do you show?” “maybe”. I reluctantly fold and he proudly flips over T,7o. Wow, everyone told him what a great play it was, considering if I called that he would have had two live outs, and I had to hold back the laughter. I was so close to calling! The very next hand a tight player to my right opens for 5k in mid position and I look down at JJ with the wind still knocked out of me. I decide to flat call, as he had me covered and would probably think I was on tilt if I raised and might put me in with a coin flip type of situation, which I wanted to avoid at all costs. Everyone else folds and the flop comes T,9,4. Check, I think for a few seconds and protect my hand with 6k, to which he immediately goes all-in for 26k more. WOW. Is this really happening? I thought this type of thing only happened in the twilight zone. I think forever, and the table gives me crap for “hollywooding”. I eventually decide this guy isn’t the type of player to do this kind of play on a bluff and brilliantly checked, knowing I had a pocket pair and would bet it, and might make a frustration call with a dominated hand. I ended the day with 24,000 in chips and asked him what he had, and promised him I would tell him what I had. He said QQ, and I’m pretty certain that is what he had, though I have no proof. It makes me feel better, so that is what I will keep telling myself, regardless of whether it was true or not J. The following day I entered the tournament as a very short stack, with only one play: all-in. Luckily after a few rounds of folding I picked up A,A and Marcel Luske committed himself to my all-in by raising in early position. I doubled up and now had a little breathing room with 48k in chips. However, with the blinds as high as they were, this 48k quickly dwindled down to 30k at my new table, and now it came down to just trying to pick up some blinds and antes to keep my head above water. A guy who had shown a wild all-in open with Q3o in mid position now made my BB 13,000. Folds to me, and I have a total of 34,000, including my BB. I think for a while about what the correct play is with my AhTh. Folding is obviously out of the question. The only question is, should I go all-in now and hope he folds so I don’t have to risk my tournament life, or should I stop and go, and hope he folds. The only risk with a stop and go, is if he has a crap hand and hits any pair, he will have to call, and it would really suck to put in the rest of my money to a made hand. However, if I move in now, he is going to call with most hands, and I don’t have many hands dominated, so my tournament life will be at risk in a coin flip type of situation. Both options were available, and I decided to just go all-in preflop and he quickly mucked. Phew! A few rounds later I raise to 15,000 in early position with AKo, and everyone folds to my liking. The very next hand I pick up 77 UTG and go 15,000 again, but this time Hung La looked me up and either picked up a good hand, or – more likely the case – made a great play and went all-in. He had me covered by a lot of chips and there wasn’t much I could do, other than throw my cards away. After being moved to a new table, I had a horrific table draw with Phil Helmuth raising a crap load of pots directly to my right, and Eugene Todd and Vinny Vinh to my left defending their blinds with their monster stacks. The opportunity to be first in the pot was very slim, and when I did have the chance, I didn’t want to end my tournament with hands like 93s and 85o. After a break I look down at JTo in mid position and decide to go with it, as picking up the blinds and antes was much needed, not to mention the absence of the BB. Luckily no one had a hand, and I won a much needed pot. Finally, it folds to Helmuth, who goes all-in in the SB and I look at a beautiful AK. I was very reluctant to call here though, because, as I said earlier, I wanted to be first in the pot so the other people had a chance to fold. I finally called because I thought there was a good chance I had him dominated, and sure enough I did as he turned over KTo. I won the pot, and now Im really looking good with 130k in chips! After folding what must have been 8 consecutive rounds or so the following hand came up. Vinny Vinh and Helmuth had been raising about 85% of pots at this table, but both decided to fold in this hand, to which Moon (two to my right) quickly raised to 25k. We are playing seven handed at this point and I’m getting pretty low with only 80k left. After seeing a KhQh, I quickly and confidently moved all-in. “I’m sorry, Paul, but I have to call” “Oh my god, are you for real?! I’ve folded every single freaking hand for the last hour and I run into Kings?!?!” The flop brought and interesting Q,xh,xh, giving me a flush draw and two queens as outs, but nothing came and I was eliminated in 14th place, just out of the big money, televised final table, and inevitable sponsorships. Sigh, I’ll get there eventually, I have no doubt. Equally painful, Moon ended up busting 11th, and the Westminster boys were sent packing. Lesson learned? Be first in the pot damnit! That was the theme of the day, and I broke the cardinal rule!

7/1/06 $2,000 No limit

Unfortunately Mr. Mike Odeh found himself at my opening table, and we were avoiding each other as much as possible. I left the table with about 3,500 in chips, sat at another table for a round, then was moved again. At my new table, I could immediately tell most of the players were playing tight, and decided to start playing ultra aggressive. The message was loud and clear – if you want to play a pot with me, you are going to be playing for your tournament life, as I had the table covered after picking up QQ and moving in on an early position raiser who called with his 99 and was sent packing. I now had 7k in chips or so and the re-raises were in full effect. A pot came up where there were three limpers, the button made it 400 (blinds at 5/100), and I re-raised to 1,200 with A,9. Everyone folded, and he thinks for a short while and calls. The flop came AQT and I put him in for his last 600 and he reluctantly calls after saying “that wasn’t really the flop I was looking for”. At this point I was doing everything imaginable to look weak, as I wanted a call from his obvious crap hand, however to my shock he turns over AJ and won the pot when no help came. Pretty dumb play on his part if you ask me, but to each his own. A few rounds later UTG raises to 600 (blinds at 100/200) and 2nd position calls. I look down at 77, and decide I’d had enough of this guy’s raises and make it 2,000. Folds to the button who immediately goes all-in for 4,000. UTG folds, as expected, but the 2nd position caller immediately goes all-in as well, unexpectedly. At this point it’s 2k more to me, and I’m getting approximately 4.75:1 on my money. I had 13k starting the hand and decided I wanted to gamble to try to flop a set to obtain a monster chip lead over the table. If I lost, no biggie, I’d still be the chip leader with 9k. I call, button shows KK and 2nd position obviously flips over the rockets. No help and luckily I get a 15 minute break to regather my thoughts after the hand. I came back and within a round that same UTG guy raises my big blind for the thousandth time after it folded to him in the cutoff. I look down at K8s and put him in for just under 3k, and unfortunately he woke up with AK and insta-called. No help, and now the fish is all of the sudden not looking too good. I have 6k and needed to change up the game plan a little bit. After catching a crap load of cold cards, I went to the dinner break with 5,500 and in critical shape. I came back and tried to pick my spots carefully, going all-in was the only move at this point. 2nd position made it 1,500 and I immediately shove with JJ two spots after him for 5,500 and he folds. Nice take. A few rounds later that same guy limps in 2nd position and I move with A6o because I’d never seen him limp with big hands all day and sure enough he folded. Then a round or two later the UTG guy I referred to earlier made it 1,500 and I moved with JJ in forth position for 6k and he called with AKs. First card in the door was a K and no help, fish knocked out. Afterwards, Mike, moon and I had a very long conversation and I think the correct play was to just fold the J,J in that spot. I was pretty sure there was no chance of UTG folding, and putting your tournament life at risk is never a wise thing to do, especially in a coin flip type of situation. The only argument against this is the possibility of him having T,T or 9,9, in which case I believe he would have called as well, which would have left me in good shape to double up back to healthy condition. Anyway, long story short, the thing I learned from this tournament was the importance of being first in the pot when you are a short stack. Better to hope nobody wakes up with a hand behind you, rather than enter a pot, knowing that someone has already shown strength.

6/30/06 $2,500 Short handed No limit

One hell of a roller coaster on this day. I was down to two pink chips at one point (1,000 chips), and should have been broke on a couple occasions before then had I been playing my normal aggressive style. One round into play the guy on my immediate right seemed like a fairly tight player, so I weirdly decided to flat call his open for 100 with TT (blinds at 25/25). Normally this would be an obvious raise on my part, but I told myself I wanted to play tight in the first round and feel things out. The small blind came over the top to 400 and I immediately grabbed my chips to go all-in, as I thought this was an obvious squeeze play, but decided discretion was the better part of valor, or however that saying goes. Anyway, I flat called, and the flop came QQx. Check, check. Turn bricked – check, check. River bricked as well, now he fires out 500, which was insta-called, and flips over K,K….disaster averted, phew. A few hands later, UTG to my right again raises to 100 and now I look down at a beautiful AhJh, however decide to play it passively again for some odd reason and flat call! I swear this is honestly the way the hand went, though many of you probably can’t believe what you are reading – the fish not re-raising with these hands? What has the world come to?! Anyway, head up and the flop comes A,9h,4. Check, check. Turn came a 5h check, I bet 150, raise to 300, call. River 9. Bet 500, call. He turns over A,A! Though still in the tournament, I’m on the respirator. A round or two later folds to the SB and he makes it 100, I make it 300 with AQs and he immediately goes all-in for my remaining 700 and I beat him into the pot. He shows A,K and the board came x,x,x,x,Q! Bad news for the table, muahaha. Though still short compared to the table, I now had chips to maneuver with. The next round the wolf comes over to my table to show his support and informs me that seat 6 is my online whipping boy, Shavlick. This was music to my ears, as I know exactly how this guy plays and now know exactly what to do in each situation. Later Shavlick makes it 600 in 2nd position and I look down at A,K and go all-in for 3,700 and he calls all-in for 3,400 total. The board comes 9,7,2,2,9 and we devastatingly split it. He is a great player, and not only did I need the chips, I wanted him out of the tournament a.s.a.p. I made my way to 7k after winning a huge toss up with AT all-in against KQ and was sitting nicely. A few orbits later Shavlick makes it 800 (blinds at 150/300), despite my continual re-raises preflop. I’m in the small blind with 8,200, the big blind has 14,000, and Shavlick has 7,400 total. I look down at 87s and immediately grab chips to raise, but I don’t want to raise and get re-raised, and don’t want to run into a hand from the BB, who has me covered, so I weakly decide to flat call. BB calls as well, and we see the J,8,4 flop. Check, check, quick bet of 1,800 and the thought of folding never entered my mind. The question was to call or raise. I decided to play it safe and flat call, just incase the BB liked his hand, but he quickly folds and it’s head up. Turn comes a 7, giving me two pair, and now I decide to bet 1,800 into him. A weak bet, because I want him to do his typical bullying crap and raise me all-in, or weakly call with overcards hoping to hit or bluff me on the river drawing dead. At this point he has 4,800 in chips and makes the call. River came a 6 and I quickly went all-in, reading him for 99, TT, JT, or a similar hand after his call on the turn. He called and showed me a disgusting 95o for a straight. “What the hell did you just call me with?!” “I picked up a gutshot on the turn, haha” “That is foul, that is just plain foul. I can’t believe you, I honestly can’t believe you”. “Hey Mike, come check this out! I just won a huge pot over here, hahaha”. The very next hand it’s folds to me and I look at a 78 and go all-in for 800 and get called by the BB’s Q9o. I pick up an open ender, but no help came and I was out of the tournament I was so sure I was going to win. As I left the table Shavlick said “good playing with you man”. I remained silent, still fuming from what had just happened. However, after thinking more about the hand, I realized two things. One, he had a double belly buster straight draw, not a gutshot, which completely justified his call. I played the hand based on a read that was incorrect, and so I blame the lost pot on myself and not some dumbass call by a maniac. Two, though I was pretty upset about him bragging to his friend about the pot with me right there, I still should have shown some class and reciprocated the polite gesture he offered. In retrospect, the thing I learned was to not be too greedy when the other person in the pot can cripple you. I could have played it safe and gone all-in on the turn when I knew I had the best hand, and he most likely would have folded, but instead I got greedy and went with my read, trying to get the rest of his chips because I was convinced he was drawing dead.

6/28/06 $1,500 Pot limit

After playing very tight for an hour or so, and not picking up many hands, the fish started getting some solid preflop hands, and let everyone at the table know about it. For about an hour or so the only words out of my mouth were “pot….pot….pot….pot”. I won a big coin flip against Dappo, whom I had recognized from the WPT Championship (also from the Denver area) with my AK against his QQ all-in preflop for 4,000. After which I raised the next 8/10 pots or so. Finally a 2,000 stack in the big blind had enough of my bullying and called my raise preflop. I had A8, and the flop came a picture perfect A,8,x. check, I bet, he called. Turn was a brick, check, I bet, he called. River bricked again, check, I put him in, he quickly called and was shown the top two and exited. Now I was up to 7k or so and on a tear. After taking many blinds (no antes in pot limit unfortunately) and winning a couple more hands I was up to 9k by the first break. However, after the break I lost a couple pots, including AQ losing to KT all-in preflop and being re-raised a couple times when I held garbage, I was down to 7k. I played many big pots with the guys on my immediate left and immediate right, particularly the guy on the right. He was a complete non-believer and we battled it out for a good part of the day. Finally he raises to 900 in the cutoff (blinds at 150/300) and I look down at AA on the button with a 5,500 stack. I greedily make it 2,100 and he happily called. Flop was a dreadful J,T,9 and he checked. I knew there was no way I was folding this hand at any point, and that the board was only going to get scarier, so I thought my only play was to go all-in for my last 3,400 and it would look more like a bluff if he had a mediocre hand and was thinking about calling. However, once he beat me into the pot, he didn’t even need to turn his hand over, as I instantly knew I was drawing near dead. Sure enough he flipped over the K,Q for the flopped nuts and no miracle for the fish. From this event I felt like I played incredibly well. I think I siphoned off a few too many chips by raising a few too many hands when people weren’t backing down to me near the end, but overall I was happy with how I played. I guess the one thing I learned was that picking up the blinds wasn’t nearly as important as in No limit, because there were no antes, so patience reigns over aggression in pot limit tournies.

6/27/06 $1,500 No limit

Many people played in this event, the opening event. I was alternate 250 or there abouts. Entering a tournament in level three is never much fun, but I tried to make the most of it. No interesting hands, then Chris Ferguson raises to 250 in late position, and I look down at a KTo in the cutoff right behind him. I immediately thought he was weak, as most of his raises were 3x the big blind (blinds at 50/100), but instead of sticking with my game plan of coming over the top of weak hands, I decided to take a flop in position, and called. Flop came A, 8, x. He checks, I bet 300, thinking he probably had nothing or a suited connector that missed and didn’t want to invest any more chips into this pot. After a little think he calls. Turn was a brick and he checks fairly quickly, at this point I need this pot, and he convinced me he didn’t have much, so I move in for 900 or so and he immediately calls with top two pair, and I’m drawing dead and looking like the biggest fool of the tournament. A very humbling experience, nobody has me look that foolish in a very long time, and I had to congratulate him on a hand well played before exiting. Very nice guy, and a pleasure to play with – I wish him luck in the rest of the WSOP. I told myself I would take something away from every tournament this year, and this time it was a little humility. I also learned a lot about how top notch players like to play against people they don’t know and plan on using this knowledge in the future.

Interesting hand of the day

Kwickfish ( $2258)
grimhogun ( $4620.50)

Dealt to Kwickfish [ Td, Jd ]
Jackal86 folds.
Kwickfish raises (70) to 70
alancheng86 folds.
grimhogun calls (50)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Ac, 7c, 7s ]
grimhogun checks.
Kwickfish bets (100)
grimhogun raises (275) to 275
Kwickfish calls (175)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Js ]
grimhogun checks.
Kwickfish checks.
** Dealing River ** : [ 9h ]
grimhogun checks.
Kwickfish checks.

grimhogun [ 8s Qs ]

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Nearly there

$5,000 No limit hold 'em
14th place
$26,311