PartyPoker $5+1 Tourney, 1115 entrants
So I've only been playing Hold'em for money for about a month or so. Played cheesy nickel/dime home games in the past, but weak stuff like 5 card draw with deuces wild and such. Only exposure to Hold 'em was watching the WPT occasionally. Read some websites on basic strategy and then made a $50 deposit and off I was. Have a book on order but it hasn't arrived yet.
So tonight I entered a $5+1 multi table tourney at party with about 1115 entrants. I finished 15th, which I'm very happy with. Couldn't have done much better since the final stages I was playing way too conservative and when the blinds went to 6000/3000 I was short-stacked at around 26k and the bunch of guys had 150k+.
Got lucky twice though, I have to admit. Once was in early stages, I flopped two-pair and bet large. Got called, then I went all-in on the turn. Of course I went board-blind and didn't notice the possible flush the turn brought out. The other guy in was on a flush draw and he hit it. Lucky for me the river tossed me my full-house. Second time was in the last 100 players or so, I was on the SB and got JJ. Two limpers so I went all-in. BB calls and shows QQ. Then the turn tosses me another Jack and I escape again.
After that I stole a few blinds here and there but wasn't aggressive enough to win a major pot so wasn't really a contender for the final table. I had never got that far in a multi-table tourney so wasn't used to the kind of play. Won and placed and a bunch of SNG's but this was a whole different animal.
So how do you play the late stages in a multi tourney? Especially when you're getting marginal cards? Because pretty much every hand was a heavy raise to stay or all-in. I just couldn't face busting out when I was moving up in the money just by sitting on my chips.
So tonight I entered a $5+1 multi table tourney at party with about 1115 entrants. I finished 15th, which I'm very happy with. Couldn't have done much better since the final stages I was playing way too conservative and when the blinds went to 6000/3000 I was short-stacked at around 26k and the bunch of guys had 150k+.
Got lucky twice though, I have to admit. Once was in early stages, I flopped two-pair and bet large. Got called, then I went all-in on the turn. Of course I went board-blind and didn't notice the possible flush the turn brought out. The other guy in was on a flush draw and he hit it. Lucky for me the river tossed me my full-house. Second time was in the last 100 players or so, I was on the SB and got JJ. Two limpers so I went all-in. BB calls and shows QQ. Then the turn tosses me another Jack and I escape again.
After that I stole a few blinds here and there but wasn't aggressive enough to win a major pot so wasn't really a contender for the final table. I had never got that far in a multi-table tourney so wasn't used to the kind of play. Won and placed and a bunch of SNG's but this was a whole different animal.
So how do you play the late stages in a multi tourney? Especially when you're getting marginal cards? Because pretty much every hand was a heavy raise to stay or all-in. I just couldn't face busting out when I was moving up in the money just by sitting on my chips.
Comments
Also got screwed when I was chip-leader and had pocket kings, bet the hell out of it and the board flopped an ace. Sole caller had it.
I really recommend this tournament its seems ridiculously easy to finish in the money. Just play tight in the early stages, people knock themselves out so fast, only took about 45 mins for the field to be cut down from 1015 to about 220.
Bad variance all over tonight. Deck was running cold for most of it plus every table I was seated at had at least two-three highly aggressive loose players. Then when I should have won a big pot got the worst suck-out I've ever had.
I had pocket Queens, bet out and the only one left is the guy on the BB. He calls. Flop comes 6 8 9 rainbow. I bet 500 (about half his stack) he calls. Turn comes J. I bet 250. He calls. River comes J. I bet he calls. What does this stupid prick have? J 2 off. I can't even compute his logic calling a half-stack bet when the flop gave him absolutely nothing. Even so I made a comeback, but by this point the blinds were too high to compete since the big stacks were re-reraising before every flop and I wasn't getting cards to call them anyhow. Will probably try again tommorow night.
PS, How come you haven't signed up here as a member yet? It's free. The more the merrier.
PPS, What online name do you use? I play those tourneys occasionally too.