Station Poker Classic report - Long (really long) with lots of hands
Casino Regina Station Poker Classic March 2006
$500 No-limit freezeout
Introduction
I drove to Regina on the morning of the tournament (2 ½ hours). Roads were good and I was feeling good. Unfortunately, Team Canuck’s Ralph Mair was not able to make the trip as a last minute work commitment held him home for Sunday. I did, however, sell Ralph 10% of my action.
Got to Regina, checked into the Delta, and met Bob Jarrett for breakfast – always a pleasure. As usual we chat about life, the universe, and poker. Bob and I have both been running poorly in 2006. Bob believes that almost every losing streak can be traced to “issues†in one’s life. Generally, I agree. I am feeling good today and looking forward to the tournament.
My basic plan is to deploy “minimum raises†throughout the tournament. I want to accomplish two things: (1) Control the size of the pot; and (2) Play most of my poker post-flop.
It was not until level 3 that I realized my voice recorder was not working properly. So, I have no specific hands in the first two levels. And, I recorded less hands overall than I usually do.
The title for this tournament experience is “A baboon wearing a diaper on his head could have won as many chips as I did.†This is because, in large part, the deck ran me over for a large part of the day.
Level 1 SB 25 BB 25 Players 333 Average 5000 Me 5000
Level 2 SB 25 BB 50 Players 333 Average 6575 Me 5000
Level 3 SB 50 BB 100 Players 317 Average 5250 Me 7375
Level three gets me off and running. Levels are ½ an hour and these 30 minutes were remarkable.
HAND #1: In early position I make it 200 to go with 9d-7d. Three players call behind me and the big-blind calls as well. The flop is 6-8-9 with two clubs. I bet 400. On my left it is raised to 1400. There is one caller. I am looking at a call of 1000 into a pot of 4300. I call. The turn is 5c. I am worried that there is a flush out there. I decide the best thing is to bet. I bet 1500. I am called by the player who made it 1400 on the flop. All others fold. The turn is an off suit 9 pairing the board. Now I am worried that he may have tightened up. I check. He moves in for 2500. I give this some thought and decide that there is too great a chance that my check has induced a bluff. I call and win. He does not show.
HAND #2: It is 300 to me on the button. I have QQ and I just flat call. The flop is 9-7-2. The BB also call. Checked to me. I bet 600. The BB check-raises to 1200. The original raiser calls. I call. The check raiser had, in the past, overvalued some hands I thought. So, although I was not happy about the check raise I was not prepared to give up my queens, yet. He checked to me on the turn. I bet 1500. He check raised to 3000. I called again. This time with the complete intention of folding the river if I did not improve and if he was willing to bet his hand one more time. We both checked the river and my QQ was good. (He showed 9-3 if I remember correctly).
HAND #3: In early position I make it 200 with 7-4s. One caller and the BB. The flop is 6-6-5. BB bets 600. I call. All others fold. Turn is a blank. We both check. River is an 8. BB checks, I bet 1000 hoping to price him in. He calls. My straight is good.
Level 4 SB 75 BB 150 Players 308 Average 5400 Me 22,800
Although I do not record any hands in level four, at the end of level four I make I note that I am playing well. I feel relaxed. And, I feel like I will be able to avoid the “big error†which I have always been prone to make.
Level 5 SB 100 BB 200 Players 317 Average 5250 Me 27,500
Level 6 SB 150 BB 300 Players 245 Average 6800 Me 31,325
Level 7 SB 200 BB 400 Players 217 Average 7600 Me 33,300
HAND #4: It is folded to me and I limp in the cutoff with 6-3o. This is a common tactic that I use… the “limp steal.†Sometimes I double the blind and sometimes in late position I will limp in with a wide variety of hands looking to flop a hidden monster or, more usually, pick up the pot on the flop with a small bet. SB calls. BB checks. Flop is Q-7-3. Both check. I bet 800. SB folds. The BB wants to fold. I can see him struggling. Eventually, however, he moves his small stack all-in. He has about 2200. So I am facing a call of 1400 into a pot of 4200. I am getting 3-1 which is not enough to call if he has anything. But, I conclude that he has nothing – his tell was strong enough – I call. He shows A-7. Oops. This was (until level 18) the only mistake I made, I think. Lucky me, though, a 3 on the turn and I win the pot.
Level 8 SB 250 BB 500 Players 183 Average 9000 Me 43,500
Level 9 SB 300 BB 600 Players 152 Average 11,000 Me 38,500
HAND #5: A new player has moved into the table immediately on my right. He raised two hands in a row in middle position upon arriving. And, made a continuation bet both time. I conclude that he is what I will call a “Level A†tournament player – he understands that one needs to steal the blinds and he understands the basics of aggression. In this hand it is folded to him on the button. He makes is 1200. I re-raise to 3,000 with 9s6s from the SB. Suited one or two gapers are my standard re-steal range. After some thought, he folds. I tell him, “OK. Now, please note that my blinds are not for sale.†And, I show him my hand.
I need to give this some thought. As you will see, I do much the same two more times this tournament. My thinking is that I want to give the player on my right something to think about. I want him to be unsettled regarding the idea of stealing my blinds. But, giving this more thought it’s probably a horrible idea since I will tend to tighten up the player on my right. It is not so much that I want him laying off my blind; it’s more that I want him laying off when the blinds are there for ME to steal. I don’t want him beating me too it.
Level 10 SB 400 BB 800 Players 117 Average 14,200 Me 35,800
Level 11 SB 500 BB 1000 Players 100 Average 16,650 Me 38,000
HAND #6: I have been moved to a new table. None of the players here know me. It’s a fun, light table where the players are enjoying themselves and there is lots of banter. This is good for me since I tend to be a yapper. For the record, I know that this annoys some players. I certainly never intend to annoy anyone. I am never mean spirited or impolite. I always try and be light and fun. I am an extrovert by nature and silence is hard for me. In this hand, the player on my right limps in. I limp on the button with Q-4o. SB folds. BB checks. Flop is K-Q-x. BB checks. Player on my right bets 5,000. I call. I am calling to see what he will do on the turn. I don’t know this player at all but something about his bet didn’t feel right to me. BB folds. Turn is a rag. He checks. I bet 8,000. He goes in the tank and eventually folds showing his K-9s. I show him my Q-4o. Again, my thinking is to get him to lay off the blinds and give me a chance at them. And again, I need to think about this idea a lot.
Overall, I don’t mind showing bluffs. I think it tends to move most opponents out of their comfort zone. They think: “OK, I am going to get that guy.†This then makes the game a puzzle … who will be a better guesser: my opponent who is trying to catch me with nothing, or me who is trying to set him up to come after me when I have something.
HAND #7: I think that the Q-4 hand, for instance, contributes to this hand. In early position I make is 2000 to go with Q-To. I am called by a big-stack player two seats to my left. He fiddled with the idea of raising, but decided to just call. I put him on a “big ace†or “big pair.†All others fold. The flop is a dream of K-J-9 rainbow. Woohoo. I bet 2000. He raises to 6,000. I call. The turn is a rag. I check. He bets 12,000 and I raise all-in to 36,000. I really thought that I would get a call. I have him on A-K or a set. Sadly, he folded. Later in the day, I met up with him again. He tells me he had TT and was actually making a move on the pot. I cannot help but think that they Q-4o hands moment before played a role in this hand.
Level 12 SB 500 BB 1500 Players 78 Average 21,000 Me 59,500
HAND #8: UTG I make is 4000. Player on my left moves all-in for 18,000. After some thought I conclude that he has a pair smaller than KK or AA. I just did not think he would play AA or KK that way. So, I call. He has 9-9. Flop is Q-T-x. On the turn I pick up a flush draw. And, on the river I hit the lucky J to bust him.
At the tail end of this level I get a seat move to a new table. I arrive just in time to see Jerry Carter’s A-Ks go runner runner flush against his opponent’s A-Ko. Jerry wins the pot of 90,000, which puts him a little ahead of me. This is never good since Jerry is tough to play against at the best of times. But, Jerry with ammunition is even worse.
When I arrive Jerry says, “I knew you were coming so I though I better chip up.†My reply, “Good. I like it when all the chips are in one place because it makes it easier for me to get at them.â€
On the break I note that the story of the tournament for me, so far, as been that I have not actually faced any really tough decisions. I have been doing a good job of playing small pot poker. And (other than the 6-3) I have not been making any obvious mistakes.
Also as an interesting note – I have not had A-A or K-K. I have had Q-Q only once. I have arrived at this point without a tremendous number of premium hands.
Level 13 SB 1,000 BB 2,000 Players 68 Average 24,500 Me 79,000
HAND #8: In the second hand of level 13 I am the SB. A short stack raised and I reraised with AK. He has 87. I win. It takes me just over 90,000
HAND #9: AK v. TT. I win the race when an ace flops.
Level 14 SB 1,500 BB 3,000 Players 52 Average 32,000 Me 117,500
I note that “final table chips†are 160K and I am close to that.
HAND #10: The first bad thing finally happens to me. The button raises to 6K. I call in the SB with K-To. BB folds. Flop K-4-2 I bet 10K. He hums and haws. It seems very genuine to me. And then he abruptly moved all-in. It looked to me like a genuine “I changed my mind†as opposed to feigned weakness to get action. After some consideration, I called. He showed K-5, but a 5 on the turn cost me the pot.
I am moved to a new table.
HAND #11: Min raise with KQ. BB defends (Adam W from Edmonton). Flop is K-T-x. Adam moves in and I call. He shows T-8 and I win.
Level 15 SB 2,000 BB 4,000 Players 40 Average 41,000 Me 93,000
I note that I am barely above 20 x BB. At the 20 x BB mark is where I put away the high variance weapons and move it ABC poker. At least, that is what I always tell myself. Sometimes I actually do it.
HAND #12: In the BB with 5-3s. It is folded to the SB who makes a min raise. I call. The flop is K-6-2. He bets 10K. I call wondering if he has enough guts to bet again on the turn. Turn was a rag. He bets 10K again. I felt he was weak. I raised to 30K and he folded. I showed him my 5 high, “OK… Fear the beaver, baby. Remember my blind is not for sale.†Again, this is something that I had decided to so this tournament, but I need to give it a lot more thought.
HAND #13: The very next hand I am the SB and bluff off 16K into quad jacks. Heh. Oops.
HAND #14: Raise on my right. On the button I call with AK. Flop is J-x-x. Check, check. Turn is an ace. Check and I check behind. River he bets, I call and win with pair of aces against his 3-3.
HAND #15: Very next hand. Same player raises. I call with 7-7. Flop is J-6-3. He checks, I bet. He folds. At this point I am probably the biggest stack remaining.
Level 16 SB 2,500 BB 5,000 Players 34 Average 47,500 Me 160,500
Level 17 SB 3,000 BB 6,000 Players 25 Average 66,600 Me 190,000
I am in awesome shape and I am playing very well. I am managing the pot size well and I am looking to remain even or gain a few more chips. I promise myself not to foolishly gamble away my stack… famous last words, of course.
HAND #16: UTG raises to 12K. I make it 24K with A-Qs. He moves in to 30K and I, of course, call. He has A-T and I bust him. At this point I was over 200K
I got moved tables at this point. And, we were about 16 players.
HAND #17: Bob F limps UTG. It folds to me in the small blind. I actually comment, “How big does your hand have to be to limp under the gun?†In my mind, I feel pretty certain that Bob has A-A or K-K. I have J-9s in the SB and I call. I am happy to see this hand since I think it’s the kind of hand that I could bust A-A with. BB checks. The flop is 9-7-4 with two spades. I decide that now is the time to figure out if Bob does has A-A. I bet 12K. The BB, who is very short stacked, goes in the tank. Eventually, he calls with a big “what the hell.†Again, it seemed genuine and I felt I had him beat. Bob calls. Odd. OK, maybe it’s not A-A? Maybe he has a flush draw. I call the $5K and make it $30K more. Bob (who has lots of chips) moves in. OK… it IS A-A. I fold. Bob shows A-A. He wins my $30 K in the side pot and the BB sucks out with two pair for the main pot.
I have no problem with my play of this hand. In fact, I think it was quite good. It is, however, the last hand that I play well. Two hands later I am the cutoff when disaster strikes…
Level 18 SB 4,000 BB 8,000 Players 15 Average 111,000 Me 189,000
Note that even after losing $47K to Bob’s A-A I am still in awesome shape. For some reason, and this continues to be a mystery to me – it is my BIGGEST leak – the monkey mind took over and I did not even see it happening. I do not recall feeling stressed or the like. I did not kick myself for losing the $47K to Bob – on the contrary, I felt good about the hand AND about my chip stack. Nonetheless, my skill left me completely. Gone was the five finger checklist and all the things I do when I am playing well and my mind became filled with static and a sense of “I hope I win†which is NEVER good.
HAND #18: Folded to me in the cutoff. I limp with 9-2s. Button folds, Bob calls in the SB and the BB checks. The flop is 2-7-Q with two spades. Bob checks. The BB wants to bet. He is tempted but at the last moment he decides to check. I conclude that he has a spades draw and that he has decided not the semi-bluff. I bet 12K into the 24K pot. Bob folds and the BB calls. OK… ask yourself, what does he have? The turn card is a real tragedy. It is the 9 of spades. Giving me two pair. In retrospect, this card is the ONLY card in the deck that can cause the monkey mind to take over. Without it I have bottom pair and a bad kicker. The BB now moves all in. I look at his stack and I count it to be about 55K (I note I was wrong by 10K in that it was 65K). Suddenly, I decide he may be bluffing and I call. He, of course, shows the 6-8 of spades and I fail to draw out.
Even at this point I was still average stack.
Perhaps this is the key to understanding the monkey mind. As long as everything is running according to plan, the keepers run the asylum. But, as soon as something unusual happens (hitting a second pair, for instance) the keepers are briefly distracted and the monkeys grab a hold of the tiller and steer the boat into danger. OK… a lot of mixed metaphors there, but you get the point.
I am not done playing badly, though.
HAND #19: Folded to the SB who makes the min raise. I call with A-2o. Flop is J-J-6. He bets, I call – wondering what he will do on the turn. I note that he starts to suck wind. He is having a HUGE adrenaline burn. I am surprised when, on the turn, he checks. I am VERY worried that he has a BIG hand so I decide not to take a shot at the pot. I check. The river is a blank. He checks. I think my ace may be good and I check. Nope, he has A-K for the win. Ugh. Now I am short stacked.
Level 19 SB 5,000 BB 10,000 Players 12 Average 139,000 Me 64,000
Slightly to my credit, I did get a hold of the tiller again. But, it was too little too late. Now I am short stacked (in the zone of 6 x BB which is my all or nothing point) and I move all in with J-Ts. I am called, amazingly actually, by A-7s (in my suit) and I am eliminated in 12th for $2200 (after tip).
I can honestly say that this marks the most disappointed I have ever been after a tournament. To play as well as I did – about the best I ever have – for 12 hours and then make a GROTESQUE call for 40% of my stack is … well, a real bummer. To be sure, I ran VERY lucky all day too. It’s a shame that I squandered the perfect combination of luck and skill with a brutal play at the 11th hour.
Ah well… there is always tomorrow.
Actually, to make a long story short, the next day’s tournament was not very interesting. I was an average stack for 4 hours, lost a small pot to get a little short stacked and then wound up all in with J-J v. Q-Q and A-K. The A-K won. So, not much to report from day two.
The good news is, I suppose, that I am getting much better at managing the pots and picking up the orphans. I am also getting much better at getting weak opponents to the flop when I think any skill overlay becomes more apparent.
My next “big tournament†may be in Regina in July. I would like a tune up prior to slipping on me Team Planet jersey and taking on the WSOP Championship.
$500 No-limit freezeout
Introduction
I drove to Regina on the morning of the tournament (2 ½ hours). Roads were good and I was feeling good. Unfortunately, Team Canuck’s Ralph Mair was not able to make the trip as a last minute work commitment held him home for Sunday. I did, however, sell Ralph 10% of my action.
Got to Regina, checked into the Delta, and met Bob Jarrett for breakfast – always a pleasure. As usual we chat about life, the universe, and poker. Bob and I have both been running poorly in 2006. Bob believes that almost every losing streak can be traced to “issues†in one’s life. Generally, I agree. I am feeling good today and looking forward to the tournament.
My basic plan is to deploy “minimum raises†throughout the tournament. I want to accomplish two things: (1) Control the size of the pot; and (2) Play most of my poker post-flop.
It was not until level 3 that I realized my voice recorder was not working properly. So, I have no specific hands in the first two levels. And, I recorded less hands overall than I usually do.
The title for this tournament experience is “A baboon wearing a diaper on his head could have won as many chips as I did.†This is because, in large part, the deck ran me over for a large part of the day.
Level 1 SB 25 BB 25 Players 333 Average 5000 Me 5000
Level 2 SB 25 BB 50 Players 333 Average 6575 Me 5000
Level 3 SB 50 BB 100 Players 317 Average 5250 Me 7375
Level three gets me off and running. Levels are ½ an hour and these 30 minutes were remarkable.
HAND #1: In early position I make it 200 to go with 9d-7d. Three players call behind me and the big-blind calls as well. The flop is 6-8-9 with two clubs. I bet 400. On my left it is raised to 1400. There is one caller. I am looking at a call of 1000 into a pot of 4300. I call. The turn is 5c. I am worried that there is a flush out there. I decide the best thing is to bet. I bet 1500. I am called by the player who made it 1400 on the flop. All others fold. The turn is an off suit 9 pairing the board. Now I am worried that he may have tightened up. I check. He moves in for 2500. I give this some thought and decide that there is too great a chance that my check has induced a bluff. I call and win. He does not show.
HAND #2: It is 300 to me on the button. I have QQ and I just flat call. The flop is 9-7-2. The BB also call. Checked to me. I bet 600. The BB check-raises to 1200. The original raiser calls. I call. The check raiser had, in the past, overvalued some hands I thought. So, although I was not happy about the check raise I was not prepared to give up my queens, yet. He checked to me on the turn. I bet 1500. He check raised to 3000. I called again. This time with the complete intention of folding the river if I did not improve and if he was willing to bet his hand one more time. We both checked the river and my QQ was good. (He showed 9-3 if I remember correctly).
HAND #3: In early position I make it 200 with 7-4s. One caller and the BB. The flop is 6-6-5. BB bets 600. I call. All others fold. Turn is a blank. We both check. River is an 8. BB checks, I bet 1000 hoping to price him in. He calls. My straight is good.
Level 4 SB 75 BB 150 Players 308 Average 5400 Me 22,800
Although I do not record any hands in level four, at the end of level four I make I note that I am playing well. I feel relaxed. And, I feel like I will be able to avoid the “big error†which I have always been prone to make.
Level 5 SB 100 BB 200 Players 317 Average 5250 Me 27,500
Level 6 SB 150 BB 300 Players 245 Average 6800 Me 31,325
Level 7 SB 200 BB 400 Players 217 Average 7600 Me 33,300
HAND #4: It is folded to me and I limp in the cutoff with 6-3o. This is a common tactic that I use… the “limp steal.†Sometimes I double the blind and sometimes in late position I will limp in with a wide variety of hands looking to flop a hidden monster or, more usually, pick up the pot on the flop with a small bet. SB calls. BB checks. Flop is Q-7-3. Both check. I bet 800. SB folds. The BB wants to fold. I can see him struggling. Eventually, however, he moves his small stack all-in. He has about 2200. So I am facing a call of 1400 into a pot of 4200. I am getting 3-1 which is not enough to call if he has anything. But, I conclude that he has nothing – his tell was strong enough – I call. He shows A-7. Oops. This was (until level 18) the only mistake I made, I think. Lucky me, though, a 3 on the turn and I win the pot.
Level 8 SB 250 BB 500 Players 183 Average 9000 Me 43,500
Level 9 SB 300 BB 600 Players 152 Average 11,000 Me 38,500
HAND #5: A new player has moved into the table immediately on my right. He raised two hands in a row in middle position upon arriving. And, made a continuation bet both time. I conclude that he is what I will call a “Level A†tournament player – he understands that one needs to steal the blinds and he understands the basics of aggression. In this hand it is folded to him on the button. He makes is 1200. I re-raise to 3,000 with 9s6s from the SB. Suited one or two gapers are my standard re-steal range. After some thought, he folds. I tell him, “OK. Now, please note that my blinds are not for sale.†And, I show him my hand.
I need to give this some thought. As you will see, I do much the same two more times this tournament. My thinking is that I want to give the player on my right something to think about. I want him to be unsettled regarding the idea of stealing my blinds. But, giving this more thought it’s probably a horrible idea since I will tend to tighten up the player on my right. It is not so much that I want him laying off my blind; it’s more that I want him laying off when the blinds are there for ME to steal. I don’t want him beating me too it.
Level 10 SB 400 BB 800 Players 117 Average 14,200 Me 35,800
Level 11 SB 500 BB 1000 Players 100 Average 16,650 Me 38,000
HAND #6: I have been moved to a new table. None of the players here know me. It’s a fun, light table where the players are enjoying themselves and there is lots of banter. This is good for me since I tend to be a yapper. For the record, I know that this annoys some players. I certainly never intend to annoy anyone. I am never mean spirited or impolite. I always try and be light and fun. I am an extrovert by nature and silence is hard for me. In this hand, the player on my right limps in. I limp on the button with Q-4o. SB folds. BB checks. Flop is K-Q-x. BB checks. Player on my right bets 5,000. I call. I am calling to see what he will do on the turn. I don’t know this player at all but something about his bet didn’t feel right to me. BB folds. Turn is a rag. He checks. I bet 8,000. He goes in the tank and eventually folds showing his K-9s. I show him my Q-4o. Again, my thinking is to get him to lay off the blinds and give me a chance at them. And again, I need to think about this idea a lot.
Overall, I don’t mind showing bluffs. I think it tends to move most opponents out of their comfort zone. They think: “OK, I am going to get that guy.†This then makes the game a puzzle … who will be a better guesser: my opponent who is trying to catch me with nothing, or me who is trying to set him up to come after me when I have something.
HAND #7: I think that the Q-4 hand, for instance, contributes to this hand. In early position I make is 2000 to go with Q-To. I am called by a big-stack player two seats to my left. He fiddled with the idea of raising, but decided to just call. I put him on a “big ace†or “big pair.†All others fold. The flop is a dream of K-J-9 rainbow. Woohoo. I bet 2000. He raises to 6,000. I call. The turn is a rag. I check. He bets 12,000 and I raise all-in to 36,000. I really thought that I would get a call. I have him on A-K or a set. Sadly, he folded. Later in the day, I met up with him again. He tells me he had TT and was actually making a move on the pot. I cannot help but think that they Q-4o hands moment before played a role in this hand.
Level 12 SB 500 BB 1500 Players 78 Average 21,000 Me 59,500
HAND #8: UTG I make is 4000. Player on my left moves all-in for 18,000. After some thought I conclude that he has a pair smaller than KK or AA. I just did not think he would play AA or KK that way. So, I call. He has 9-9. Flop is Q-T-x. On the turn I pick up a flush draw. And, on the river I hit the lucky J to bust him.
At the tail end of this level I get a seat move to a new table. I arrive just in time to see Jerry Carter’s A-Ks go runner runner flush against his opponent’s A-Ko. Jerry wins the pot of 90,000, which puts him a little ahead of me. This is never good since Jerry is tough to play against at the best of times. But, Jerry with ammunition is even worse.
When I arrive Jerry says, “I knew you were coming so I though I better chip up.†My reply, “Good. I like it when all the chips are in one place because it makes it easier for me to get at them.â€
On the break I note that the story of the tournament for me, so far, as been that I have not actually faced any really tough decisions. I have been doing a good job of playing small pot poker. And (other than the 6-3) I have not been making any obvious mistakes.
Also as an interesting note – I have not had A-A or K-K. I have had Q-Q only once. I have arrived at this point without a tremendous number of premium hands.
Level 13 SB 1,000 BB 2,000 Players 68 Average 24,500 Me 79,000
HAND #8: In the second hand of level 13 I am the SB. A short stack raised and I reraised with AK. He has 87. I win. It takes me just over 90,000
HAND #9: AK v. TT. I win the race when an ace flops.
Level 14 SB 1,500 BB 3,000 Players 52 Average 32,000 Me 117,500
I note that “final table chips†are 160K and I am close to that.
HAND #10: The first bad thing finally happens to me. The button raises to 6K. I call in the SB with K-To. BB folds. Flop K-4-2 I bet 10K. He hums and haws. It seems very genuine to me. And then he abruptly moved all-in. It looked to me like a genuine “I changed my mind†as opposed to feigned weakness to get action. After some consideration, I called. He showed K-5, but a 5 on the turn cost me the pot.
I am moved to a new table.
HAND #11: Min raise with KQ. BB defends (Adam W from Edmonton). Flop is K-T-x. Adam moves in and I call. He shows T-8 and I win.
Level 15 SB 2,000 BB 4,000 Players 40 Average 41,000 Me 93,000
I note that I am barely above 20 x BB. At the 20 x BB mark is where I put away the high variance weapons and move it ABC poker. At least, that is what I always tell myself. Sometimes I actually do it.
HAND #12: In the BB with 5-3s. It is folded to the SB who makes a min raise. I call. The flop is K-6-2. He bets 10K. I call wondering if he has enough guts to bet again on the turn. Turn was a rag. He bets 10K again. I felt he was weak. I raised to 30K and he folded. I showed him my 5 high, “OK… Fear the beaver, baby. Remember my blind is not for sale.†Again, this is something that I had decided to so this tournament, but I need to give it a lot more thought.
HAND #13: The very next hand I am the SB and bluff off 16K into quad jacks. Heh. Oops.
HAND #14: Raise on my right. On the button I call with AK. Flop is J-x-x. Check, check. Turn is an ace. Check and I check behind. River he bets, I call and win with pair of aces against his 3-3.
HAND #15: Very next hand. Same player raises. I call with 7-7. Flop is J-6-3. He checks, I bet. He folds. At this point I am probably the biggest stack remaining.
Level 16 SB 2,500 BB 5,000 Players 34 Average 47,500 Me 160,500
Level 17 SB 3,000 BB 6,000 Players 25 Average 66,600 Me 190,000
I am in awesome shape and I am playing very well. I am managing the pot size well and I am looking to remain even or gain a few more chips. I promise myself not to foolishly gamble away my stack… famous last words, of course.
HAND #16: UTG raises to 12K. I make it 24K with A-Qs. He moves in to 30K and I, of course, call. He has A-T and I bust him. At this point I was over 200K
I got moved tables at this point. And, we were about 16 players.
HAND #17: Bob F limps UTG. It folds to me in the small blind. I actually comment, “How big does your hand have to be to limp under the gun?†In my mind, I feel pretty certain that Bob has A-A or K-K. I have J-9s in the SB and I call. I am happy to see this hand since I think it’s the kind of hand that I could bust A-A with. BB checks. The flop is 9-7-4 with two spades. I decide that now is the time to figure out if Bob does has A-A. I bet 12K. The BB, who is very short stacked, goes in the tank. Eventually, he calls with a big “what the hell.†Again, it seemed genuine and I felt I had him beat. Bob calls. Odd. OK, maybe it’s not A-A? Maybe he has a flush draw. I call the $5K and make it $30K more. Bob (who has lots of chips) moves in. OK… it IS A-A. I fold. Bob shows A-A. He wins my $30 K in the side pot and the BB sucks out with two pair for the main pot.
I have no problem with my play of this hand. In fact, I think it was quite good. It is, however, the last hand that I play well. Two hands later I am the cutoff when disaster strikes…
Level 18 SB 4,000 BB 8,000 Players 15 Average 111,000 Me 189,000
Note that even after losing $47K to Bob’s A-A I am still in awesome shape. For some reason, and this continues to be a mystery to me – it is my BIGGEST leak – the monkey mind took over and I did not even see it happening. I do not recall feeling stressed or the like. I did not kick myself for losing the $47K to Bob – on the contrary, I felt good about the hand AND about my chip stack. Nonetheless, my skill left me completely. Gone was the five finger checklist and all the things I do when I am playing well and my mind became filled with static and a sense of “I hope I win†which is NEVER good.
HAND #18: Folded to me in the cutoff. I limp with 9-2s. Button folds, Bob calls in the SB and the BB checks. The flop is 2-7-Q with two spades. Bob checks. The BB wants to bet. He is tempted but at the last moment he decides to check. I conclude that he has a spades draw and that he has decided not the semi-bluff. I bet 12K into the 24K pot. Bob folds and the BB calls. OK… ask yourself, what does he have? The turn card is a real tragedy. It is the 9 of spades. Giving me two pair. In retrospect, this card is the ONLY card in the deck that can cause the monkey mind to take over. Without it I have bottom pair and a bad kicker. The BB now moves all in. I look at his stack and I count it to be about 55K (I note I was wrong by 10K in that it was 65K). Suddenly, I decide he may be bluffing and I call. He, of course, shows the 6-8 of spades and I fail to draw out.
Even at this point I was still average stack.
Perhaps this is the key to understanding the monkey mind. As long as everything is running according to plan, the keepers run the asylum. But, as soon as something unusual happens (hitting a second pair, for instance) the keepers are briefly distracted and the monkeys grab a hold of the tiller and steer the boat into danger. OK… a lot of mixed metaphors there, but you get the point.
I am not done playing badly, though.
HAND #19: Folded to the SB who makes the min raise. I call with A-2o. Flop is J-J-6. He bets, I call – wondering what he will do on the turn. I note that he starts to suck wind. He is having a HUGE adrenaline burn. I am surprised when, on the turn, he checks. I am VERY worried that he has a BIG hand so I decide not to take a shot at the pot. I check. The river is a blank. He checks. I think my ace may be good and I check. Nope, he has A-K for the win. Ugh. Now I am short stacked.
Level 19 SB 5,000 BB 10,000 Players 12 Average 139,000 Me 64,000
Slightly to my credit, I did get a hold of the tiller again. But, it was too little too late. Now I am short stacked (in the zone of 6 x BB which is my all or nothing point) and I move all in with J-Ts. I am called, amazingly actually, by A-7s (in my suit) and I am eliminated in 12th for $2200 (after tip).
I can honestly say that this marks the most disappointed I have ever been after a tournament. To play as well as I did – about the best I ever have – for 12 hours and then make a GROTESQUE call for 40% of my stack is … well, a real bummer. To be sure, I ran VERY lucky all day too. It’s a shame that I squandered the perfect combination of luck and skill with a brutal play at the 11th hour.
Ah well… there is always tomorrow.
Actually, to make a long story short, the next day’s tournament was not very interesting. I was an average stack for 4 hours, lost a small pot to get a little short stacked and then wound up all in with J-J v. Q-Q and A-K. The A-K won. So, not much to report from day two.
The good news is, I suppose, that I am getting much better at managing the pots and picking up the orphans. I am also getting much better at getting weak opponents to the flop when I think any skill overlay becomes more apparent.
My next “big tournament†may be in Regina in July. I would like a tune up prior to slipping on me Team Planet jersey and taking on the WSOP Championship.
Comments
Damn monkey mind.
I always wonder how people are able to write detailed reports like this (I don't have the best memory for details)....you mentioned a voice recorder? Do you actually record as you are playing?
On a structure sheet I record the number of players, stack sizes, etc for every level.
Looks like he had AK
Thanks again.
I stand frequently. My guess is I stand for at least one hand every lap of the button. Mostly this is just to stretch and stay loose. I suppose I do miss a little, but not much. I put my phyisical well being ahead of a little information. If I have to go to the bathroom (live or online) I go. Otherwise I am too distracted to gain much useful information. Maybe that is a sign of my advancing years.
stp