Friday, August 25, 2006

Day 4 - $10,000 Main Event

Ok, so today started with 481 players and I'm 19th in chips with $383,500. The day started with some pretty crazy moves - i think there were five people all-in the first round. A couple hands in third position makes it 12k and I call two behind. The guy right behind me then moves all-in for 140,000 and we both fold. After being moved to a different table, I pick up 2,2 in the SB and it folds to me. I make it 17k and the BB re-raises to 38k. I flat call and the flop comesK,9,3 and we both check. The turn brings an ace and we both check again. The river is a duece and I check because it really looked like he wanted to bet the turn, but seemed a little afraid of a check-raise, so he checked. Now if I check, he will almost certainly bet, which he did - 25k. I think for a while to determine how much I can raise, then make it 80k and he calls. Cutoff makes it 15k with blinds at 2,500/5,000 and 500 ante, I call in the BB with QTs. Flop came Q,7,5 rainbow and I check call a bet of 25k. Turn was a jack and we both check. River was a 2 and I check call a bet of 30k and lose to the K,Q. I think I could have folded on the river, given the guy was a fairly tight player and the bet on the end definitely didn't look like a bluff. A while later I make it 15k in second position and get called by a short stack in middle position. The flop came Kc,6c,2 and I check. He bet 20k and I moved all-in with my A,K and he folded. The a short stack moved all-in from early position for 42k and I call in the BB with J,J. After the board of 7,2,2,K,3, however, his K,T bested my hand. Then a hand came up where the K,Q guy raised to 15k and I called with 9,9. The flop came Q,6,4 rainbow and he bet 25k and I called this obvious continuation bet. The turn came a 3 and he bet 50k and I call again, because I feel like his bets are much bigger this hand than last hand and, thus, are more likely a bluff. River was a 6 and we both checked and my 9.9 held against his A,T. I raised in second position to 15k with J,J and the SB re-raised to 50k and I called (same K,Q/A,T guy). Flop came 5,5,2 and he bet 100k and I called. Turn came an ace and now he moved all-in and I fold in disgust, however, he shows me the K,K, so I ended up getting pretty lucky that A came on the turn. After the break we came back to the table and a guy had gone all-in the first two hands, and was all-in for the third time in a row UTG (he had just lost 80% of his chips on a bad beat before the break). I look down at 9,9 and decide to go all-in myself on the button, which covered his 200k all-in. Blinds are only 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante, so this was actually a pretty difficult decision. Anyway, the 9,9 holds up on a board of J,J,3,A,T to his 5,5 and I'm now over half a mil. A little bit later, the nine seat opens all-in for 120k and had also taken a couple bad beats and become very aggressive. I look down at A,K on the button and move all-in myself and I'm in great shape against his A,Q. The board of 8,7,2,J,6 does not improve his hand and now I'm at close to 700k. UTG I make it 20k and two behind me shoves all-in for 192k and I call. I have A,K and he, weirdly, has 9,9. The flop of 9,6,Q all but kills me and the 6 turn put the nail in the coffin. The meaningless river was a Js. A bit later folds to the button, who raised in late position 100% of the time when folded to, and he makes it 12k. I call with A2s, as does the BB. Flop came A,7s,2s and I checked. The BB bets into the preflop raiser 25k and the button makes it 75k. I decide I can't fool around on this board and make it 250k and they both fold. The same guy makes it 18k when it folded to him in the cutoff and I call on the button with K,J. The SB calls and we have bigstacks battling it out, yet again. The flop was K,K,8 rainbow and they both check to me and I bet 20k. SB folds and preflop raiser check-raises me to 70k. I call and the turn was a jack. He bet 150k and I decide to flat call, as he wouldn't fold to an all-in with A,K or K,Q, so why not let him bluff a worse hand on the river? River brought a dreaded A, but he checked, so I'm pretty sure I can value bet it, and that's just what I did - 150k and he called and mucked. I make it 0k in second position with J,T and two behind me calls with A,T. Flop came T,7,2 rainbow and I bet 20k and he calls. Turn was a 4 and we both check. River was an ace and I check call a bet of 30k. In retrospect I think I could have folded here, as this guy got in through a $2 qualifier online and was an extremely weak/tight player. Plus his small bet didn't seem like a bluff. A while later, after the same guy kept position raising, he did it again when it folded to his button. I look down at 4,4 and decided to go with it against him, but not the BB, so I make a 3x raise and he shoves in for 5k more and I insta-call. Unfortunately, however, he has 7,7 and I get no help and take a 275k blow to my stack. After dinner a hand came up where UTG raised to 20k and I call in the BB with 67s. Flop came 9h,5h,3h and we both check. Turn was a T and I check-raise his bet of 50k to 150k and he moves all-in for 700k after a long think and I'm forced to fold. I could have flat called or folded, but by flat calling, how do I know if I'm good if I hit? Plus, I wouldn't want to hit, but have it be the forth heart. I think I should have just bet out the turn and folded to a raise, but oh well. For the next four hours I went completely card dead and lost the only decent hands I picked up. I got T,T in early position and raised and a new guy to the table in middle position called. Flop came Ks,J,3s and I check folded. The other time I raised UTG with A,Q and a guy who had seen me fold for the last 3 straight hours raised 3x and I decided to fold, given he knew how tight I was playing and couldn't possibly be bluffing. He showed me J,J unfortunately, but I was still happy with my fold, as this was the worst possible hand he could have had. I ended the day with $550,000 after being up to 1.1mil. I was a little frustrated with how the day went, but was happy to still be in the mix. The average at this point was 650k. More to come...

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Day 3 - $10,000 Main Event

Ok, so it's been a while unfortunately, and I dont know if I'll be able to accurately recall most of the hands, but I'll do my best. I started out Day 3 with $380,000 with high expectations, however I had a fearless table that wouldn't let me play aggressively, so it was fairly frustrating. The first few pots I played I couldn't hit a hand and quickly siphoned off 30k or so. Then a hand came up where a guy two to the right of me limped, and I looked down at AQ and raised 4x the BB. Folds to him and he calls. The flop came 8,4,4 and he bets half the pot. I raised 3x and he called. Turn came a duece and he checks and I bet 2/3 pot, which was about 1/3 of his remaining stack and he calls. River came another deuce and he checks and I decide he's not going to fold and end up checking and his pair of 6's are good. Later, I raised UTG with Ks,K to 8k and middle position goes all-in for 43k and I call. He has A,K, but the flop comes As,xs,xs. Even though I still have a flush draw and a king, I ended up losing and now I'm crippled down to 111k with the average at 130k or so. Then a hand came up where the guy two to my left raised to 8k and I called with 8,8 as did the BB. Flop came J,8,2 rainbow and the raiser fired 16k after the BB check. I flat call and the BB folds. Turn was a 6 and the raiser now bets 30k and I weakly flat call again. River was a 5 and now he goes all-in, which put me all-in and I call and he has A,9 for ace high and I double up. At this point I was playing the tightest poker of my life. Pi had me playing four hands in two hours, and that was the most patient I've ever had to be in my poker career, so I was very proud of those two hours. Then a hand came up where it folded around to the SB, who made it 8,400 and I flat call with 3,3 in the BB. Flop came Qd,8,5d and he bet 7k and I called. Turn was a 4 and he bet 9k and I called. The river was the Ad and he checked and I bet 15k and he insta-called with A,Q. I thought he could have nothing, or a Q on the flop and I would take it away later in the hand. Then his weak bet on the turn made me think he had a Q,T or something close, so I called, thinking I could take it away with the right card on the river. The river brought what I thought was a perfect scare card, but I didn't bet enough to get him to fold, not to mention he had a much bigger hand than I thought he had. Then a hand came up where UTG made it 9,500 and two people called. I look down at A,A and try to refrain from licking my lips. I make it 45,000 and everyone folds, except one of the callers. Flop came A,K,2 rainbow and he bets 40,000 into me and I think for a while and flat call. In retrospect I really wish I had min-re-raised, but oh well. Turn was an 8 and we both check. Then the river was another 2 and he checked and I bet 100k and he folded. A little while later I raised on the button with K9s to 9k and the SB re-raised to 25k, leaving himself with 60k and I pushed in and he folded. Last hand of the night I raised to 9k with T,6 in the cutoff and the BB called. Flop came As,T,8s and we both check. Turn came a 5s and he checked, I now bet 12k and he called. River brought an offsuit 3 and we both check and T,6 takes it down with middle pair. I ended the day with $383,500 after a very long, frustrating day. Day 4 to come tomorrow

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Day 2 - $10,000 Main Event

Wow, what an emotional rollercoaster today was. Truely amazing...
So I started the day with 38,200 in chips and folded the first round and a half. Then I pick up 8,8 in the cutoff and raise to 1,300 and get re-raised by the button, who had also folded every hand thus far, and decided to lay it down face up. After the table broke he leaned over to me and said he had Q,Q that hand...I think he was honest (at least that's what I'll keep telling myself). The very next hand UTG limps for 500, middle position limps for 500 (both players have under 10,000 in chips and I look down at A,K one from the cutoff. I make it 3,000 and everyone folds to the middle position limper, who calls. The flop came T, 9, 6 and he goes all-in for 4,100 and I call instantly, obviously, and he shows a lame ass A,T.
"Nice hand buddy, calling off half your stack to a tight player.....I guess I'll see you at the final table."
I get moved to a different table and look around and see a bunch of moderate stacks and no one notable. I was playing pretty tight for a while, then folds around to the SB and he makes it 1,500 and I call with A,8 in the BB. The flop came A, 9, 8 and he checks. I weakly bet 2,000 and he calls. Turn is another ace and he checks and now I bet 3,000. He calls and the river brings a ten. He checks again, and now I put him all-in for 4,600. He thinks for a while, then calls with A,7 and now I'm up to 50,000. Shortly after I raise in early position with 8,8 to 1,500 and get one caller. The flop came Jc, 7, 5c and I bet 2,000 and he thinks for a little bit and calls. At this point I really think he has absolutely nothing and is calling to see what I do on the turn. The turn is a jack and I bet 4,000 and he calls after a short think. At this point I still don't think he has a hand, as I thought he would raise me on the turn there with a jack, because of all the possible draws. The river is a dreaded 7 and I checked dark. He thinks for a bit and bets 5,000 and I reluctantly call. He flips over K,Qo and I take down the pot. Now I'm cruisin up to 65,000 or so. Table move and now I'm across the table from Andrew Black, who seemed to be playing with caution. I quickly build up the tight, but solid image and pick up many pots uncontested. The guy to my right liked to "dance", but it was pretty obvious to even the cocktail waitress that he was getting boned pretty routinely. After a few small pots and a couple continuation bets gone sour I was moved to a different table with around 60,000 in chips. This was a pretty tough table, and definitely not where I wanted to be. A lot of chips were on this table, I could tell immediately that it was an action table. Many raises and re-raises preflop. I pick up 6,6 in middle position a couple hands in and raise to 1,500 and the guy to my immediate right quickly re-raises to 5,000. I look over and see three stacks of black and four stacks of green (a sign that he has been picking up many blinds and antes, and is thus extremely aggressive preflop) and give a little chuckle and fold. A few hands later UTG limps and I limp in the SB with 2,2. BB checks and the flop came T,T,9. I bet out 1,500 and the aggressive guy to my left immediately makes it 5,000. UTG folds and I think for a few seconds before calling this obvious Q,J. The turn came a 6 and I check, knowing this guy won't be able to help himself from betting. Sure enough, he doesn't disappoint, and throws out 6,000 and I quickly move all-in for around 25,000 more.
"Nice bet, I fold"
"I don't get bullied....just so you know..."
The 2,2 was then facialed as the level came to an end.
At this point I'm sittin on 65,000 or so and feeling pretty good. Then, after having an extremely tight table image, I raise to 1,500 with the blinds at 300/600 and no SB one from the cutoff. A guy two to my left re-raises me on the button to 3,500 and I flat call with J,9. Flop came 9, 7d, 7 and I check and he bets 5,000. At this point I'm pretty sure I have the best hand, but can't raise, because I think this guy could easily re-raise with crap and I'd have to fold. Thus, I flat call. Turn came a 6d and I check and he checks. River brought a Qd and I check and he throws out 5,000. At this point I don't think he's bluffing, most likely he hit the queen on the river with his A,Q, K,Q, or Q,J and I think I can represent a monster. So I check-raise to 20,000 (I meant to make it 25,000, but screwed up and only threw 20,000 in). He thinks for a long time before calling and flipping up the Kd,6d. I was so pissed off because there was no way I could possibly put him on a hand that big. I think he would have folded if he did have the queen, based on how long it took him to call with the king high flush. I couldn't beleive that he re-raised me with nothing invested and no SB with K,6 when I hadn't raised a pot in God knows how long. A round later I raise to 1,500 with AJs UTG and he calls. I notice out of the corner of my eye that the BB is staring me down to see if I'm at all weak and I just have a really strong feeling he is going to re-raise with any two cards because I thought I was emitting weakness. Sure enough he re-raises 6,000 more and I flat call because I think the other guy will call as well. This forces the BB to hit a hand because he has two big stacks behind him and he can't just go all-in on any flop with his remaining 10,000. The flop comes K, 5, 5 and he goes all-in. After siphoning off another 7,500 I fold and the caller immediately calls with K,Q. The BB shows A,A and the turn comes a disgusting king and the BB gets no help on the river and is eliminated. Now I'm down to 27,000 or so and extremely upset, but luckily a break came shortly after and I was able to calm down. I really think that the K,3 hand from yesterday allowed me to handle losing a good amount of chips and emotionally recover. I decided playing tight was in my best interest and folded just about every hand that came my way for the next hour or so, which was pretty easy, considering Q,7 was one of my best hands in this time frame. Finally, a guy in early position limps for 800 and I look down at 5,5 and decide to make it 3,000. Everyone folds and he calls, flop comes Kh, 9h, 5d. He checks and I weakly bet 4,000. He makes it 14,000 and I quickly go all-in for my last 8,000. He calls with K,J and I'm sitting pretty. The turn came a scary king, but the river bricked, and now I was back up to 60,000 or so. I kept up my tight, aggressive game for a bit and built my stack to 70,000 and then raised with K,Q in middle position and got a caller on the button and the BB. The flop came Kd, Jd, 4 and I bet 6,000 and the button calls and the BB folds. The turn brought a 7 and I checked after a few second think, under the impression that the guy won't be able to help himself from betting his obvious draw, and sure enough he bets 14,000. I quickly go all-in for 40,000 more and he reluctantly calls with 7d,5d and I hold strong for the 140,000 pot! Now it's on. This pot was such a confidence booster, and now I have enough chips to severely cripple the guy two to my left who seemed to have it out for me the whole day. After raising and getting re-raised or called every single time by this guy the following hand came up. He raised my BB from 2nd position, as he had done the ENTIRE day without exception and I look down at A,K and decide to flat call to disguise my hand because I think he makes critical mistakes postflop - he has 290,000 and I have 140,000. Flop comes Kh, K, 5h and I check. He weakly bets 3,000 into the 8,500 pot and I check-raise him to 7,000. He re-re-raises me to 17,000 and I think for a while about what to do. I finally decide to make it 37,000 and he calls. At this point I'm praying for no queen or 5, as I have him on K,Q. The turn came an offsuit 4 - perfect card - and I go all-in for my last 100,000 and he insta-calls with K,8 and the river bricked. Now I'm up to 270,000 and on a tear! A break comes not too long after, and I decide to tighten up my game a little for the last hour of play. I made a few raises to pick up the blinds and antes and a re-raise with AKs and ended the day with 308,000. More to come on Friday...