My Performance at the Brantford Charity Casino Ultimate Poker Challenge Tournament
When I woke up after an eight hour sleep I had a bad feeling about this tournament for some reason. This caused me to start feeling a bit nervous and have butterflies in my stomach.
I signed in around 4:00pm, got my name on the $5/$10 list and then watched my Dad play Pai Gow Poker for a bit before we went to eat at the buffet with the "free" voucher we got for our tournament entry. The food wasn't that great, it was pretty bad actually. I didn't have that much to eat, it must've been the butterflies. After we finished, my name was called for the limit game. I played for less than an hour as a warm-up, I won one hand with KK and left about even. I sat at my table around 6:40pm. A couple people who were regulars at the $20/$40 tables sat down on each side of me, so I knew I had to watch out for them. After a brief introduction, the cards were in the air.
I played pretty tight from the get-go and didn't play many hands, I was getting a lot of junk.
About half the players at the table were pretty loose and the other half tight. Here's my analysis of each player: Seat 1 was a middle aged man who was an average player but wasn't getting cards. Seat 2 was one of the 20/40 regulars, an Asian guy who played tight and aggressive. Seat 3 was yours truly. Seat 4 was a middle aged loose-weak player. Seat 5 was the other 20/40 regular, a young Asian woman who played tight and aggressive as well. Seat 6 was a young loose player. Seat 7 was a very loose player, who rebought three times and took the add-on as well. He played the previous day as well. Seat 8 was a young tight and above average player. Seat 9 was a tight player, who I don't remember playing many hands. Seat 10 was a very loose and above average old player who was catching everything.
Here are hands I played:
Level 1: blinds 10/20
I pick up AQ in UTG+1 and raise to 60, Seat 5 re-raised to 100 and I call as do a couple others. The flop comes 998, or something similar. I check, Seat 5 bets out 100 and we all fold. I didn't like my play on this hand, and felt I maybe should've folded to the re-raise since I was out of position.
I checked a couple BB hands, and didn't go past the flop with those. So I didn't play barely any hands this level. My stack was around 800, I think.
Here's an insane hand I wasn't in:
Seat 2 puts in a big bet and Seat 7 goes all-in with AK and gets called. The flop is rags. The turn is a K. The river is a T!!! Seat 7 took a re-buy.
Level 2: blinds 20/40
I pick up 99 UTG and limp in. There's some limpers to the BB who raises 200, I fold. I think I should've called since I had position on him but I didn't want to tangle with a much bigger stack this early. He was also getting a lot of great starting hands.
I pick up T8 in the BB, Seat 9 calls and the SB folds so we're heads up. The flop is Js9s7, I'm doing the happy dance on the inside. I check to trap, but he just checks. The turn is a rag. I try it again, he bets 100, I raise another 100 and he calls. The river is a Q and I kick myself because that card might have made my hand only second best. I check, he bets out 300 I think, and I go over the top all-in taking my chances with the second best possible hand. After I sat like a statue for 30 seconds waiting for his decision, I knew I was home free since he took longer than 2 seconds to call. A couple minutes later, he calls with KJ doubling me up to around 1400 I think. He was the chip leader at the table so it didn't make much of a dent to his stack.
I pick up KQ in mid position and limp in. The flop comes all low cards and I fold to a bet.
Besides some limping with some average hands (like KQ, QJ, JT, etc.) and folding after the flop, I think that's all the hands I played. I ended the level with around 1200 I think.
Here's an amazing hand I wasn't involved in:
Seat 2 raises big preflop, getting one call and forcing Seat 1 all-in. The flop comes 9c7xXx. Seat 2 bets and the other player folds. Seat 2 made a set of 7's and Seat 1 has KcQc and virtually no chance. The turn is a 10c. The river is a Jc for the straight flush!! What are the odds of that happening??
Level 3: blinds 30/60
I pick up AcTc in mid-late position and raise to 200, there's a few callers. The flop is QXX. It's checked to me so I bet another 200, Seat 7 goes all-in for another 40 and I make the donation. He has AA. I don't like how I played this hand at all, I should have limped in or bet smaller than I did. I wasted 440 chips on a hand where I was almost drawing dead from the flop and on.
I pick up black Jacks UTG+1 and limp in. There's a raise from Seat 8 to 200 and I think about raising but just call instead as does Seat 6 or 7. The flop comes 5s5c4c, I check and Seat 8 bets 200. The way he put the bet in made me think that he has something like AQ, AK or a middle pair. I raise all-in for around 700. He thinks hard about it for a couple minutes. He finally folds. My stack is up to around 1600 now.
I don't remember playing any hands out of the blinds for the rest of the level. At the first break, no one is out yet and there was around 6-7 rebuys altogether which isn't much compared to other tables. Seat 9 had the biggest stack with around 6000, Seat 2 has around 3000, Seat 5 and I have around 1600 each, and the rest I didn't keep track of. I think everyone else took the add-on, as did I.
Level 4: blinds 50/100
I pick up KQ in mid position, limp and fold when I don't hit anything on the flop.
I pick up black Kings in mid-late position and raise to 400, Seat 6 or 7 and Seat 9 call. The flop is TXX, I bet 500 and only Seat 9 calls. The turn is a T. He bets 400, I raise to 1000, and he re-raises to 1600. I'm putting him on JJ or QQ, and decide to go all-in. He calls almost immediately with AsTs, and it's game over for me. I was kind of pissed that he called my preflop raise with a hand like that. But then again, I should've known he had a T when he re-raised me on the turn. I should've made a much bigger bet or moved in on the flop to take the pot right there but I think he would've called me anyways with TPTK.
I didn't like my performance tonight. My head wasn't fully into it, I was probably playing around 80%. I want another crack at this tournament but I guess I'll have to wait for next year. One thing they should do is make it a freezeout tournament. I don't like the re-buy and add-on format at all. I wrote that on my survey form when I departed from the designated tournament area, like they're going to listen to me though.
Overall, my first live casino tournament was a good experience. I just wish that I had played better than I did.
Comments and suggestions are strongly encouraged, I want to improve my game because I was disappointed at this showing.
I signed in around 4:00pm, got my name on the $5/$10 list and then watched my Dad play Pai Gow Poker for a bit before we went to eat at the buffet with the "free" voucher we got for our tournament entry. The food wasn't that great, it was pretty bad actually. I didn't have that much to eat, it must've been the butterflies. After we finished, my name was called for the limit game. I played for less than an hour as a warm-up, I won one hand with KK and left about even. I sat at my table around 6:40pm. A couple people who were regulars at the $20/$40 tables sat down on each side of me, so I knew I had to watch out for them. After a brief introduction, the cards were in the air.
I played pretty tight from the get-go and didn't play many hands, I was getting a lot of junk.
About half the players at the table were pretty loose and the other half tight. Here's my analysis of each player: Seat 1 was a middle aged man who was an average player but wasn't getting cards. Seat 2 was one of the 20/40 regulars, an Asian guy who played tight and aggressive. Seat 3 was yours truly. Seat 4 was a middle aged loose-weak player. Seat 5 was the other 20/40 regular, a young Asian woman who played tight and aggressive as well. Seat 6 was a young loose player. Seat 7 was a very loose player, who rebought three times and took the add-on as well. He played the previous day as well. Seat 8 was a young tight and above average player. Seat 9 was a tight player, who I don't remember playing many hands. Seat 10 was a very loose and above average old player who was catching everything.
Here are hands I played:
Level 1: blinds 10/20
I pick up AQ in UTG+1 and raise to 60, Seat 5 re-raised to 100 and I call as do a couple others. The flop comes 998, or something similar. I check, Seat 5 bets out 100 and we all fold. I didn't like my play on this hand, and felt I maybe should've folded to the re-raise since I was out of position.
I checked a couple BB hands, and didn't go past the flop with those. So I didn't play barely any hands this level. My stack was around 800, I think.
Here's an insane hand I wasn't in:
Seat 2 puts in a big bet and Seat 7 goes all-in with AK and gets called. The flop is rags. The turn is a K. The river is a T!!! Seat 7 took a re-buy.
Level 2: blinds 20/40
I pick up 99 UTG and limp in. There's some limpers to the BB who raises 200, I fold. I think I should've called since I had position on him but I didn't want to tangle with a much bigger stack this early. He was also getting a lot of great starting hands.
I pick up T8 in the BB, Seat 9 calls and the SB folds so we're heads up. The flop is Js9s7, I'm doing the happy dance on the inside. I check to trap, but he just checks. The turn is a rag. I try it again, he bets 100, I raise another 100 and he calls. The river is a Q and I kick myself because that card might have made my hand only second best. I check, he bets out 300 I think, and I go over the top all-in taking my chances with the second best possible hand. After I sat like a statue for 30 seconds waiting for his decision, I knew I was home free since he took longer than 2 seconds to call. A couple minutes later, he calls with KJ doubling me up to around 1400 I think. He was the chip leader at the table so it didn't make much of a dent to his stack.
I pick up KQ in mid position and limp in. The flop comes all low cards and I fold to a bet.
Besides some limping with some average hands (like KQ, QJ, JT, etc.) and folding after the flop, I think that's all the hands I played. I ended the level with around 1200 I think.
Here's an amazing hand I wasn't involved in:
Seat 2 raises big preflop, getting one call and forcing Seat 1 all-in. The flop comes 9c7xXx. Seat 2 bets and the other player folds. Seat 2 made a set of 7's and Seat 1 has KcQc and virtually no chance. The turn is a 10c. The river is a Jc for the straight flush!! What are the odds of that happening??
Level 3: blinds 30/60
I pick up AcTc in mid-late position and raise to 200, there's a few callers. The flop is QXX. It's checked to me so I bet another 200, Seat 7 goes all-in for another 40 and I make the donation. He has AA. I don't like how I played this hand at all, I should have limped in or bet smaller than I did. I wasted 440 chips on a hand where I was almost drawing dead from the flop and on.
I pick up black Jacks UTG+1 and limp in. There's a raise from Seat 8 to 200 and I think about raising but just call instead as does Seat 6 or 7. The flop comes 5s5c4c, I check and Seat 8 bets 200. The way he put the bet in made me think that he has something like AQ, AK or a middle pair. I raise all-in for around 700. He thinks hard about it for a couple minutes. He finally folds. My stack is up to around 1600 now.
I don't remember playing any hands out of the blinds for the rest of the level. At the first break, no one is out yet and there was around 6-7 rebuys altogether which isn't much compared to other tables. Seat 9 had the biggest stack with around 6000, Seat 2 has around 3000, Seat 5 and I have around 1600 each, and the rest I didn't keep track of. I think everyone else took the add-on, as did I.
Level 4: blinds 50/100
I pick up KQ in mid position, limp and fold when I don't hit anything on the flop.
I pick up black Kings in mid-late position and raise to 400, Seat 6 or 7 and Seat 9 call. The flop is TXX, I bet 500 and only Seat 9 calls. The turn is a T. He bets 400, I raise to 1000, and he re-raises to 1600. I'm putting him on JJ or QQ, and decide to go all-in. He calls almost immediately with AsTs, and it's game over for me. I was kind of pissed that he called my preflop raise with a hand like that. But then again, I should've known he had a T when he re-raised me on the turn. I should've made a much bigger bet or moved in on the flop to take the pot right there but I think he would've called me anyways with TPTK.
I didn't like my performance tonight. My head wasn't fully into it, I was probably playing around 80%. I want another crack at this tournament but I guess I'll have to wait for next year. One thing they should do is make it a freezeout tournament. I don't like the re-buy and add-on format at all. I wrote that on my survey form when I departed from the designated tournament area, like they're going to listen to me though.
Overall, my first live casino tournament was a good experience. I just wish that I had played better than I did.
Comments and suggestions are strongly encouraged, I want to improve my game because I was disappointed at this showing.
Comments
I would not even play this hand. You are out of position and AQo really isn't a good no limit hand. Plus its the first level of the tourney. I don't think that you'll go wrong only playing AK and pocket pairs here, especially out of position. Then again, you do have the rebuy option, so I guess you could play looser. I dunno. I would not say that the hand in unplayable, just that I wouldn't play it. You certainly don't lose much by folding it. Even if you get a favourable flop, it is hard to make money from good players with this hand.
Don't be fooled. If anyone calls behind you, your position is the absolute WORST possible. The more people that call behind you, the worse your position is. In a raised pot, position relative to the raiser is more important that position relative to the button. When the flop comes, this guy is betting through you, into the rest of the field. This is not good. You want to act (directly) before the raiser, so that when you check to him, he is betting through everyone else into you. Unless, of course, if everyone else folds, in which case you obviously want to be after him.
Having said that, I would still call the 160 more if both my stack and the raiser's stack was above 1500 or so. The idea is that you hope he has a big hand (which he probably does, since he raised from the BB) and you can double through / bust him if you flop a set. You really want him to have aces here. It's tough to get away from aces on a flop of 9 6 2 rainbow.
I think you played this hand poorly. You should not be able to double through him playing this way. When you check-raise him you are giving him the opportunity to get away from the hand for only 100 chips (which he should really consider doing). When you check-raise AGAIN he is so obviously beat, it's not funny.
I would have bet out on the flop. Not a HUGE bet to shut him out, but a decent size. He probably calls you with top pair. You can make a proportionately bigger bet on the turn (which gets him pot committed) and then go all in on the river and he will pay you off. Doyle Brunson talks about this in Super System and I COMPLETELY agree with it. He says that when you flop a big hand, you should make a reasonable-sized (by which he means pot-sized) bet. The idea is that you are only going to win a big pot if he has something as well, in which case he will be calling anyway. By check-raising you show a lot of strength and give him the chance to get away from the hand for cheap.
You could also check with the intention of calling on the flop, if you don't think that he has anything, hoping that he catches something and will pay you off. The problem here is that if he DOES have something and a scare card hits, it might kill your action. Eg, in this situation, if an ace hits the turn, you probably get no money out of him at all.
The other problem with checking with the intention of calling on the flop, is that it takes you out of the lead. If you check-call the flop and then bet out on the turn it looks REALLY suspicious. Your opponent has to figure that either the turn helped you (ie, you have at least 2 pair) or you were slow-playing the flop (ie, you have more than 2 pair). Either way he is unlikely to pay you off. Same if you check-call the flop AND turn and then bet out on the river. If your opponent checks the river behind you (which he should REALLY do... he only has 2nd pair, 2nd kicker, and he just got check-raised) then you don't win very much on this hand. IMO your opponent's poor play is the only reason that you managed to double through here.
I dunno. I don't mind raising to try to steal the blinds (assuming no one had limped in before you). Otherwise I'd probably either fold this, or limp and hope to hit a big flop (since it's suited). Your hand really isn't that good.
Not enough IMO. 500 into a 1200 chip pot is a small bet. I'd bet at least 1200 here. If my stack was 2000 or less, I'd just go all-in.
Putting him on this, or hoping he has it? You were the only one who raised pre-flop. He's more likely to have a 10. It's just like I said above. If someone check-calls the flop and then bets out on the turn, alarm bells should go off in your head. The most likely scenarios are that either the turn helped him (ie, he has a 10) or he was slow-playing the flop (ie, he now has a full house). Either way, you're beat. You can really only beat a bluff here, because he is representing AT LEAST a 10 with his bet.
If you go all-in, or make a big bet, on the flop, and he calls and sucks out on you, it's his mistake. If you give him a cheap card and then pay him off when he hits, it's your mistake. He has 5 outs to beat you, which are not very many, (he's not getting the right implied odds to chase you) but it's still a bad play on your part (while it might be good in a cash game). Your chips are worth too much to be messing around like that. It's the whole, a chip won is worth less than a chip lost. You can't risk your whole stack, hoping to pick up an extra 500 chips.
I am not a big fan of rebuy tourneys either, but the reason that they do it is to get more people to join. This tourney is really about the same size as a $400 or $500 buy-in tourney (ie that's what the average person will spend on it) but since it's a rebuy tourney they can still advertise it as a $200 tourney, which gets more people to sign up. Basically, it's a marketing gimmick. 10 CDs for 1c!!!
Keith
I put him on JJ or QQ because I was thinking that he was thinking I had AKs or AQs and was trying to buy the pot or draw to a flush. With my small bet on the flop, I tried to show weakness representing something like AKs or AQs. Then when no scare cards fell, I thought he was trying to bust me with his overpair.
I should've known he had a T because he was a pretty loose player as I mentioned before. I forgot that and wasn't thinking that time, costing me my tournament. At the time, I was thinking that he wouldn't have a T in his hand unless it was TT since I wouldn't call a preflop raise with ATs because I'm aware of the Gap Concept.
I've been thinking about this hand all day. I should've moved in on the flop is the conclusion I came to. If I got called, then it's unfortunate that I got outdrawn. If he folds, I pick up a 1300 pot and am still in the tournament.
I would appreciate some feedback from some more tournament players (Dave, ScottyZ, all_aces, etc.).
989-1
Regards,
all_aces
Dave, I would really appreciate your comments/analysis on my performance.
I would like to know which of these these hands I played correctly or incorrectly, and what I could've done differently.
I know MiamiKeith posted a reply to your report, and it's probably a good one. I didn't read it though... it would probably influence my knee-jerk reactions to your hands. I'll read it after I post this and see if we agree!
How many starting chips do you get? If the starting stacks were deep, I think you can call this re-raise. The thing is, you have to be able to get away from your hand even if you flop top pair. Example: the flop comes Q high, what do you do? I'd bet big enough to know that anyone who calls me or raises me can beat me, and then I'd fold the hand at my first opportunity. If the flop comes ace high, same thing. What you're looking for is a *perfect* flop for AQ, and there aren't many. However, considering the fact that seat five only raised the minimum, it's worth a call if your stack is deep to have a look at the flop. If the flop isn't perfect (ie: QQx), and if you flop something, but are getting called or raised, you have to be able to lay down top pair.
I would have raised this preflop. You started a limp-fest, and the BB could make this steal-raise with any two cards against a field of limpers. If, however, you had raised--say to 120--there wouldn't be all these players representing weakness in the hand, so there would be less incentive for the BB to try and steal the pot. If you raised preflop, and the BB re-raised, you can fold your hand, unless he's a maniac. You might have a slight edge if you call (against 2 overcards) but it's too early in the tournament to be taking slight edges.
One other option, since you did limp, is to re-raise all-in. You would be representing aces, with your limp-reraise. Only do this if the BB is capable of folding decent hands... ie: if he's good enough to throw away hands that might be a slight favourite or a huge dog.
I like the flop check. On the turn, I'd bet. 100 is good... you're looking to be raised. You can't let a drawing hand (spades....) draw for free the whole way. Who knows, he might even call you with an 8 or a 10. Since you did go for the check-raise on the turn, I'd raise by 200. Maybe 300. He's a big stack, he can afford it. On the river you have to bet out. You've represented strength on the turn, now you can just go ahead and bet into him on the river. If you check, you're missing the opportunity for a nice value bet. Only an idiot would bet the river here after your check with a jack or a queen. You just happened to be playing an idiot, though, so it worked out for you. A decent opponent would have checked behind you on the river with a lot of second-best hands, and you would have missed the chance to get another 2 or 300 out of him.
AT sucks, suited or not. If you're going to play it though, you have some options. If it's suited, you can limp with it. You're not hoping to flop any kind of pair, you're hoping to flop a flush (unlikely), or flop a draw to a flush against stupid opponents who will let you get there (slightly more likely). If it's unsuited, you should raise it, or fold it. The reason I wouldn't have raised this suited hand is because--since you're not after a pair with a hand like AT--you want a lot of callers for your potential flush draw. So, yes, you should have limped, or folded. In your case, you should be aware of the fact that one of your opponents has just called half his stack to your preflop raise. This screams aces or kings. I'd be looking to check and fold, ASAP.
You have to raise nice starting cards that are as vulnerable as jacks, every time. In your case, you limped, and then called a raise. I'd rather raise the hand myself here, and go into it like that. However, you limped, and called a raise... just calling is fine... you don't want to commit your whole stack with this hand. Look at the flop and go from there. It's a beauty flop for you, and I like how you played the hand post-flop.
I'm thinking you could have raised more... but a lot of that depends on what the other stacks at the table were like. When making a raise with a big hand that is still vulnerable to any ace, you have to look at the other stacks first. How much is 400 to them? Will AQ call 400? An average player with a big stack would probably call this raise. Do you want them to? Probably not. You want to be called by a lower pocket pair. Of course, you can't control what hands were dealt that round, and who calls what with what. What you can do is look at the stacks, and say 'even though quadrupling the blinds is a nice solid bet, it's still too little to get a lot of these guys out, so I should bet more'. It's like getting kings in the first level of a Stars tourney. 10/20 blinds, 1500 starting chips. Quadrupling the blinds makes it 80 to go. 80 isn't enough, so while it may seem weird to be betting, say, 6 times the BB preflop, sometimes it has to be done if the blinds and the stacks aren't aligned properly.
I'd probably have moved in on the flop. The pot's big enough that you can feel good about just ending it there and then. Will the guy with AT call you? Maybe. He's stupid enough to call 400 with AT, so he might just call your all-in flop bet on a ten-high flop. Not much you can do about that, but you can raise more preflop to get these borderline hands out of there. As for the way it all went down here, I'd have folded to his turn bet when the second ten hit the board. There's a tried-and-true saying: 'Don't give the suckers too much credit". You're sitting there on the turn thinking: how can this guy have a ten in his hand after I raised 400 preflop??? Don't give the suckers too much credit.
Hope that helped, let me know if you have any questions. Now I'm off to read Keith's take on the situation. I was so wrapped up in writing this that I didn't realize I wasn't logged in at Stars and missed the first 5 hands of the 300K guarantee tourney. Hope you're happy!!!
Regards,
all_aces
This caused me to start feeling a bit nervous and have butterflies in my stomach.
****There is no cure for this other than “time in the trenches†I think. I remember the first time I played $15-30 in California. I was a nervous wreck despite the fact that I feel certain that I was a favorite in the game. Now, $15-30 barely registers on my heart rate (I recently bought a heart rate monitor for running that I am going to wear to my next poker tournament for fun).
Level 1: blinds 10/20
I pick up AQ in UTG+1 and raise to 60, Seat 5 re-raised to 100 and I call as do a couple others. The flop comes 998, or something similar. I check, Seat 5 bets out 100 and we all fold. I didn't like my play on this hand, and felt I maybe should've folded to the re-raise since I was out of position.
****I have no problem with your play of this hand. He raise to 100 isn’t enough to get you to put down A-Q in this spot. You will, however, need to proceed with caution post-flop which is what you did.
Level 2: blinds 20/40
I pick up 99 UTG and limp in. There's some limpers to the BB who raises 200, I fold. I think I should've called since I had position on him but I didn't want to tangle with a much bigger stack this early. He was also getting a lot of great starting hands.
****I am not in favour of limping in with this hand. Couple of reasons: (1) If you limp in with hands that you are hoping to hit on the flop and raise with hands like A-Q you are giving up much too much info about your hand. Pretty soon the savvy players will start to raise you every time you limp in. (2) With a hand like 9-9 I am really interested in defining where I stand. If you raise it will give you a much better picture of the sorts of hands your opponents are holding and it will make it much easier to play a tricky hand like 9-9 post flop.
I pick up KQ in mid position and limp in. The flop comes all low cards and I fold to a bet.
***Same comments as 9-9. I don’t like limping in with this hand since it will be hard to play post-flop if the flop comes something like Ks-Ts-7h and there is action.
Level 3: blinds 30/60
I pick up AcTc in mid-late position and raise to 200, there's a few callers. The flop is QXX. It's checked to me so I bet another 200, Seat 7 goes all-in for another 40 and I make the donation. He has AA. I don't like how I played this hand at all, I should have limped in or bet smaller than I did. I wasted 440 chips on a hand where I was almost drawing dead from the flop and on.
****I don’t hate your raise pre-flop. Your bet on the flop might be a bit too aggressive since, as you say, there were “a few callers.†With only three outs (any ace) and shallow stacks I am not likely to push this one on the flop.
I pick up black Jacks UTG+1 and limp in. There's a raise from Seat 8 to 200 and I think about raising but just call instead as does Seat 6 or 7. The flop comes 5s5c4c, I check and Seat 8 bets 200. The way he put the bet in made me think that he has something like AQ, AK or a middle pair. I raise all-in for around 700. He thinks hard about it for a couple minutes. He finally folds. My stack is up to around 1600 now.
****Nice play. I prefer raising pre-flop and I also prefer betting out on the flop. If you think your J-J is the best hand on the flop I probably bet out since I am hoping to get rid of A-K etc before they have a chance to draw out on me. It’s a disaster if he checks behind you and then a K hits the turn. Having said that, it is important to check-raise occasionally to “keep ‘em on their toes.â€
Level 4: blinds 50/100
I pick up black Kings in mid-late position and raise to 400, Seat 6 or 7 and Seat 9 call. The flop is TXX, I bet 500 and only Seat 9 calls. The turn is a T. He bets 400, I raise to 1000, and he re-raises to 1600. I'm putting him on JJ or QQ, and decide to go all-in. He calls almost immediately with AsTs, and it's game over for me. I was kind of pissed that he called my preflop raise with a hand like that. But then again, I should've known he had a T when he re-raised me on the turn. I should've made a much bigger bet or moved in on the flop to take the pot right there but I think he would've called me anyways with TPTK.
****On the turn when he bets out at you, you have c. 2000. That is easily enough chips to be competitive at this point. So… you have something worth protecting.
****On the other hand, unless you have a REALLY good red on your opponent it will hard to put down K-K on the turn here. I probably call. One of us is drawing VERY thin. If he has a T then you have two outs. If he does not have a T then he has two outs. I probably flat call and wait to see what he does on the river. If he puts in a BIG bet then I probably fold – at least if I am playing well I do. One of the questions I often ask myself is “does he expect to get called?†If he does, then ask yourself what he might have. In this case a T seems likely. He called a decent bet on the flop with no draw on board. So, he does not have a drawing hand. He has what he perceives as a “made hand.â€
I don't like the re-buy and add-on format at all.
****I hear this a lot and I do not understand it. My simple view is this: Freezeout tournaments are the same as re-buy tournaments. The only difference is that each player will pay a different amount of entry fee. If you perceive yourself as having an edge, your edge will be magnified because you will pay less than average. Your overlay is even greater than it otherwise would be.
That. Is. Hilarious. Let us know where you peak!
Regards,
all_aces
"He's heart has really gone wild after that hot cup of Joe! Will...he..drink...another?"
ScottyZ
Also, to be able to quote bits and pieces of a message, you have to set up your options as follows:
To be able to quote text in a similar way to the old forum, go to User CP, and click Edit Options. Scroll right to the bottom and select Enhanced Interface - Full WYSIWYG Editing. Then you should see a little speech bubble when you post which functions the same as the old Quote button.
ScottyZ
I spent a lot of time chatting with Jesse May at the WSOP and was realyl impressed by him. I LOVE his poker reporting (oh very fancy the way you used that bigger text).
ScottyZ
This early in the tournament in early position, I would likely fold pre-flop. This heavily depends on whether or not your overall plan is "I'd rather just play solid and not rebuy more than I need to", or "I don't mind re-buying a few times so I want to mix it up and build a big stack". Put simply, at this point are you a variance monkey or not?
I don't really like limping in with 99 UTG here. You create many more ways to win the pot on the flop by showing some strength pre-flop.
Worse yet (and it's what actually happened) you open yourself up to getting your limp-in stolen by a play from the BB that's straight out of Sklansky. It's not that you should *never* limp in fearing this play specifically, but your limping hands should be the hands you really don't mind folding to a big pre-flop raise. The 99 is strong, but you don't want to get into guessing games if someone raises big pre-flop.
I would make a pot-sized bet on the flop. You obviously have the nut at this point, but this is a flop where there are a *lot* of cards you would hate to see come off on the turn. I'm happy here to make a pot-sized (or probably a round 100) bet on the flop and show my cards if the opponent folds to advertise. If the opponent calls on the flop I've now got him where I want him. When the turn bricks for you, I'd make a moderate overbet here. Maybe 500 into the pot of 300. Besides being a likely value bet (your opponent calling the flop will indicate he has something of a hand), this also simulates that you are getting desparate that your flop bluff didn't work, so it may look like you are in a panic to push your opponent out of the pot. All but very good players will call you here with hands as weak as top pair. And, on the river, move the rest in, scare card or not. A Queen is *not* a scare card... your opponent does not have KT if you played it the way I just outlined (unless you are so ridiculously unlucky that he has Ks Ts exactly).
Does anyone know who won the Brantford tournament? Is there a list of winners/payouts or any kind of report available? I'd be interested in knowing who made it to the final table and how much they got paid. I checked pokerpages.com, but this tournament wasn't listed there.
Thanks,
all_aces
AA: I only got to see down to the final 8 players at the final table, so I don't know who won. It'll be in the next CPP issue though.