A leisurely start to day 1C. Pretty quiet starting table, but we've got them to crack a few smiles. It's always weird. Some folk are almost resistant to engaging in conversation, like they feel it'll expose some flaw in their game if they speak to me. They're 100% right :)
Level 2, and I'm on the 30k starting stack. The dealer was amused by most of my comments, and a few of the players have softened up already, allowing me to lose three tiny pots, and recoup it all with one larger one. 113/121 at present. This is the last of three x day one flights in this 250k event, so let's hope for a deep run and some good fortune along the way.
Crap. My first bad beat of the day. I was about to be big blind, and I got moved to a new table mostly full of hoodies and unsmiling guys wearing glasses. Ho hum. I much preferred the last table, but you play what you're dealt. Coincidentally, I was just dealt 99, which was enough to win me a modest pot in my new home.
Level 2, and I'm on the 30k starting stack. The dealer was amused by most of my comments, and a few of the players have softened up already, allowing me to lose three tiny pots, and recoup it all with one larger one. 113/121 at present. This is the last of three x day one flights in this 250k event, so let's hope for a deep run and some good fortune along the way.
Crap. My first bad beat of the day. I was about to be big blind, and I got moved to a new table mostly full of hoodies and unsmiling guys wearing glasses. Ho hum. I much preferred the last table, but you play what you're dealt. Coincidentally, I was just dealt 99, which was enough to win me a modest pot in my new home.
Up to 38k by virtue of a few well timed bits of aggression. Picking up a few decent hands doesn't hurt much either.
Snakes and ladders and I've dropped back down to 31k again when my pair loses to a flopped set. As we approach the first break I'm roughly where I started. Which is fine for now.
Back from the break and onto level 4 at 200/400/400. Nobody's getting too out of line right now, and pretty ABC poker seems to be everyone's MO. 157/190 remain with people still buying in. Since this is the final flight, I'd expect a last minute flurry of buy-ins as people burn through their money trying to make day 2.
A bit of fancy footwork and what looked like it was going to be a 3-barrel bluff has got me up to 42k, when I whiffed the flop, bet every street into two players, and backdoored a straight. To be fair, the kid with JJ who called me down likely thought he was trapping, but on a scary turn, he made the mistake of not raising and letting me get there.
10k lost and back down to 32k when my flopped pair and flush draw failed to improve. No big, I'm pretty happy with things at the moment. Up to level 5 and 300/500/500. I'm still fine stack-wise, but am hanging back a little for now. 164/214 players at present.
Up to 50k which is 10k above average after I decided to open her up a bit and get a bit more frisky. This pays off, and in the next 5 minutes, I increase to an even more comfortable 61k. Let's keep it going...
Balls. Took a painful hit when my JJ lost to J10 when he made a straight. Back down to average, which is 45k. 173/265 remin and 10 minutes until the next break.
50k at end of level 6 and second break. 3k above average.
I've been having a ding-dong battle with the 9 seat on my table, who's a nice guy, and a decent player, but has been hitting cards against me as well. He's about 3-1 up in hands, and my 50k now looks like 39k after my 88 lost to his 97 when he rivered trip 7's. Ugh. On we go. Nearing level 8.
A horrible hand just unfolded midway through the next level. I opened with 10h8h, 2 callers, and the flop comes out 3c6h7h, giving me 2 overs, and a gutshot straight flush draw. Certainly enough to fire again against my old nemesis in seat 9, and a fairly tight female player in seat 3. I bet once again, and they both call me. The Qd hits the turn which isn't great, but changes very little vs the hands that would likely call the flop with, unless they were just floating. Again they both call....
The river is the As which means I totally miss, but am the aggressor 3-way with about 26k in the middle. I have to rep strength given my action in the hand so I bet out for 8k. Seat 9 snap-folds, and seat 3 looks pained, and asks what she can really beat...
She sighs, and finally calls, tabling...Ah5h, for a pair of aces and a busted flush draw. I'd have happily got the money all in on the flop, so it's fortunate that I'm still in, but unfortunate she found the river call. Obviously I had the 9h for the straight flush if it hit, but those situations are just...nasty. Sigh. Down to 14k.
I've just busted one level before the dinner break in about 148th out of 306 runners. I waited patiently, and finally shipped it in with 77 against a guy who had gone down to matchsticks, and had then shoved about 6 times to get a stack back again. Shoving with a sub-standard hand in tournaments is one thing. Calling with it is another matter. He dwells, and pretty quickly calls with 10 8 offsuit. It's a flip, but I'm not in love with the call. I guess he was still in gamble mode. the board runs out K69, meaning I really don't want to turn a set of sevens now as that would make him a straight. I'll be happy with two blanks hitting. An ace on the turn means I'm looking pretty good to get back into the mix, until... he rivers a ten.
To say I keep getting it in good and losing is technically true, but is a bit of a stretch on this occasion. It was a flip, and he hit one of his outs to win the flip. It always stings a bit more when it's on the river, since you feel like you're pretty much home and dry. But, it is what it is. This is why tournaments can be so frustrating. I think my temperament is pretty good, and I don't let this stuff get to me. You run good and you run bad. At the moment it feels like I'm running kind of bad. But it's a small sample size, and early days, so I'm not going to sweat it, as I think I mixed it up and played pretty well today. Dust myself down, and start over.
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