The battle of good against evil continues today!
Feeling oddly chipper despite the violation I've thus far endured in the last week. Today's event sees a start stack of 35K, so I'd imagine it's pretty hard to spack that lot off in level one.
Clearly I'm wrong. One a 567 flop one guy decides that his 45 is easily the best hand and worth shovelling the whole lot in. The other player with 66 decided to give him a spin and looked crestfallen when the 3 for a straight immediately hit. Justice was served however when the 3 paired on the river, leaving the 45 departing the table and scratching his head at how unlucky he was.
A healthy 157 players so far. Pretty sure the guarantee for this will get smashed to bits. I've won and lost a few small pots,and my stack is pretty much where it started right now.
Level 4, and I just took my first decent hit of the day. I was wondering what was taking so long. Flopped top 2 with Kc10c, bet every street and woman who has played precisely zero hands so far wants to flat every bet and then fire 5K on the river when the board runs out K 10 Q J 8. Vomit. Take the pot darling. 28K.
Feeling oddly chipper despite the violation I've thus far endured in the last week. Today's event sees a start stack of 35K, so I'd imagine it's pretty hard to spack that lot off in level one.
Clearly I'm wrong. One a 567 flop one guy decides that his 45 is easily the best hand and worth shovelling the whole lot in. The other player with 66 decided to give him a spin and looked crestfallen when the 3 for a straight immediately hit. Justice was served however when the 3 paired on the river, leaving the 45 departing the table and scratching his head at how unlucky he was.
A healthy 157 players so far. Pretty sure the guarantee for this will get smashed to bits. I've won and lost a few small pots,and my stack is pretty much where it started right now.
Level 4, and I just took my first decent hit of the day. I was wondering what was taking so long. Flopped top 2 with Kc10c, bet every street and woman who has played precisely zero hands so far wants to flat every bet and then fire 5K on the river when the board runs out K 10 Q J 8. Vomit. Take the pot darling. 28K.
23K pops back to 28K when I fire a heavy flop bet versus a big stack when an ace appears. he looks pained and gives it up. I had 5s6s but am getting tired of calling and folding so a gear change was in order.
Another vacant seat is filled. this time with an Arabic guy with whom I've played a fair bit. He's an absolute nutcase, not terribly nice, and can get it in with one pair very easily. Just what we need here. Calling stations and maniacs. And me, sitting right in the bloody middle.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Poker is zero fun when you're continually on the back foot. If you are just calling and folding, and watching your stack whittle away then it's a pretty dire way to spend a day. Last few tournaments here have felt a lot like that, and some of the play I've seen here, combined with the line-up, dictates I need to maybe mix things up a fair bit more, as it's currently going the same way as in the last few events. I'm not even remotely tilted, but am getting decidedly irked with it, and I've had enough so think it's time to switch gears.
Another vacant seat is filled. this time with an Arabic guy with whom I've played a fair bit. He's an absolute nutcase, not terribly nice, and can get it in with one pair very easily. Just what we need here. Calling stations and maniacs. And me, sitting right in the bloody middle.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Poker is zero fun when you're continually on the back foot. If you are just calling and folding, and watching your stack whittle away then it's a pretty dire way to spend a day. Last few tournaments here have felt a lot like that, and some of the play I've seen here, combined with the line-up, dictates I need to maybe mix things up a fair bit more, as it's currently going the same way as in the last few events. I'm not even remotely tilted, but am getting decidedly irked with it, and I've had enough so think it's time to switch gears.
I'd love to claim my revised attitude is responsible for the above chip stack, but in fact it was nothing more complex to finding KK and shipping. I get called by AK of spades preflop, and he flops a flush draw, but no ace. Shit, I foresee a painful exit. Ever the optimist, me. There's no ace or spades and I river the case King to bounce back to a far happier 41K. Not the way I was quite expecting to chip back up, but screw it, I'll take it.
level 8 and up to 48K after stealing a few. Happy poker.
Next break and I'm on an acceptable 44K. 168/220 remain with more people buying in all the time.
Updates been slow, I've ordered Chicken Jambalaya, despite rarely eating food at the poker table, and the upward chip progress has been good. I must be on around 90K now thanks to some well times stealing, and pair vs smaller pair action. Finally things seem to be running OK for me.
level 8 and up to 48K after stealing a few. Happy poker.
Next break and I'm on an acceptable 44K. 168/220 remain with more people buying in all the time.
Updates been slow, I've ordered Chicken Jambalaya, despite rarely eating food at the poker table, and the upward chip progress has been good. I must be on around 90K now thanks to some well times stealing, and pair vs smaller pair action. Finally things seem to be running OK for me.
I'll post this snap while the going is good. I'm playing nice and solid, and have run it up to around 125K. 122/244 left, and the average is approx 70K, so I'm running well now. More of the same to come hopefully if we can maintain momentum.
An interesting hand just came up, but a little bit of history is needed first so I'll explain.
The Arabic guy I mentioned earlier and I had a few words a while ago. Nothing outlandishly hostile, but the upshot of the end of the conversation was that he quite arrogantly said to me "if you had won even 5% of the amount I've won playing poker tournaments, you'd be in good shape".
Bless. I didn't have the heart to tell him. Plus I'm never going to be a dick. So I smiled and just let it go.
He's pretty uber-aggressive at the table, which I knew already, but I'm not sweating it in the slightest. His stack goes up and down, up and down, he shows quite a few scabby hands that win, until finally...
It's 400/1200/2400. He raises yet again, and I feel he's just bullying the blinds. I look down at 6s 3s and decide to call the 6K bet in position. I'm just going to outplay this guy, this hand. They should use that line in a movie. Oh, wait.
Flop comes 773 with one spade. He bets 10K and I call.
The turn is the Ks. I have 7's and 3's with a flush draw. He jams for nearly 40K.
I think for 5 seconds, and call. He flips over 9h 10d. An outdraw now would be pretty disgusting for me. River is a brick, and I bust him. The table looks awestruck at the call, but to be honest even without the backup of the flush draw, I felt like the 3 was winning, and I was right. He packs up his toys and leaves without a word. Of course, the temptation is there to make some smart comment, but I say nothing. I talk a lot at the table, and I don't take crap from anyone, but I'm not going to be that guy, even if he did just get owned.
Dinner break, and I'm on 170K with 94 players left from 244, and average chips at 83K.
An interesting hand just came up, but a little bit of history is needed first so I'll explain.
The Arabic guy I mentioned earlier and I had a few words a while ago. Nothing outlandishly hostile, but the upshot of the end of the conversation was that he quite arrogantly said to me "if you had won even 5% of the amount I've won playing poker tournaments, you'd be in good shape".
Bless. I didn't have the heart to tell him. Plus I'm never going to be a dick. So I smiled and just let it go.
He's pretty uber-aggressive at the table, which I knew already, but I'm not sweating it in the slightest. His stack goes up and down, up and down, he shows quite a few scabby hands that win, until finally...
It's 400/1200/2400. He raises yet again, and I feel he's just bullying the blinds. I look down at 6s 3s and decide to call the 6K bet in position. I'm just going to outplay this guy, this hand. They should use that line in a movie. Oh, wait.
Flop comes 773 with one spade. He bets 10K and I call.
The turn is the Ks. I have 7's and 3's with a flush draw. He jams for nearly 40K.
I think for 5 seconds, and call. He flips over 9h 10d. An outdraw now would be pretty disgusting for me. River is a brick, and I bust him. The table looks awestruck at the call, but to be honest even without the backup of the flush draw, I felt like the 3 was winning, and I was right. He packs up his toys and leaves without a word. Of course, the temptation is there to make some smart comment, but I say nothing. I talk a lot at the table, and I don't take crap from anyone, but I'm not going to be that guy, even if he did just get owned.
Dinner break, and I'm on 170K with 94 players left from 244, and average chips at 83K.
Well, my vomit-inducing week just gets better and better. I just played a pot to be huge chip leader in the tournament, for approximately 400K. I'm typing this as I'm leaving the room, so you work out how it went.
I look down at KK and find a raise before me to 6K at 500/1500/3000. I repop it to 10K, and the guy behind me, who previously just busted someone in a big pot by getting his 80K all-in with AQ on a queen high flop decides to make it 30K. He doesn't have aces, so I can either play it cute, or just get it in and get him to badly overplay his hand. I opt for the latter. Some hands you can get tied up in knots with if you don't just play them for maximum value, and this is a hand with which to simply get paid off by a lesser one. I move all in for approx 180K, a huge overbet. He calls immediately like there's never any other option, and flips over AK. Marvellous.
Blank, blank, blank, blank...Ace. Well I never wanted to be chip leader anyway. I wish everyone good luck, and leave.
My buddy Dan walks over and says "I never saw the way the action went, but clearly that was disgusting". I can do little but agree.
Leaving the building. Sometimes I wonder if having a cast iron constitution at the table is a blessing or a curse. Either way there's little to say about it, so I say very little. Let's see what fun tomorrow brings. It's great to be me folks.
I look down at KK and find a raise before me to 6K at 500/1500/3000. I repop it to 10K, and the guy behind me, who previously just busted someone in a big pot by getting his 80K all-in with AQ on a queen high flop decides to make it 30K. He doesn't have aces, so I can either play it cute, or just get it in and get him to badly overplay his hand. I opt for the latter. Some hands you can get tied up in knots with if you don't just play them for maximum value, and this is a hand with which to simply get paid off by a lesser one. I move all in for approx 180K, a huge overbet. He calls immediately like there's never any other option, and flips over AK. Marvellous.
Blank, blank, blank, blank...Ace. Well I never wanted to be chip leader anyway. I wish everyone good luck, and leave.
My buddy Dan walks over and says "I never saw the way the action went, but clearly that was disgusting". I can do little but agree.
Leaving the building. Sometimes I wonder if having a cast iron constitution at the table is a blessing or a curse. Either way there's little to say about it, so I say very little. Let's see what fun tomorrow brings. It's great to be me folks.