Guns blazing.
My preferred starting game plan, the glaringly obvious similarities between me and Danny Trejo not withstanding. It's nice to come out swinging and pick up early pots then beat the table to death with their own chips, but of course you have to gauge the line up first and see. No point trying to out aggro four hoodies with more testosterone than brains when they're going all the way with second pair, so we'll see how it goes. Playing in around an hour.
Preferred plans are always good. Preparation and all that. Generalising isn't always great but if I had to, then sometimes doing the opposite of the rest of the table is a good way to go ahead in multi table events, as long as you can recognise if it's working or not. If you've got 8 maniacs thrashing about then laying in the weeds waiting to just get paid isn't such a bad idea, and conversely stabbing at more pots than usual if everyone's tighter than tight can also reap dividends.
So far, the table seems to be playing pretty fast, with two guys already getting the 5k starting stack in the middle early .
So far I'm a little below start. Have seen a few flops and little has happened but I think with the vibe so far if I get a decent hand or draw I'm likely going to play it fairly fast and hope to win it on the spot or get paid by a lesser hand.
So far I'm a little below start. Have seen a few flops and little has happened but I think with the vibe so far if I get a decent hand or draw I'm likely going to play it fairly fast and hope to win it on the spot or get paid by a lesser hand.
Well...
I decided I'd be aggressive with QQ and make it expensive pre flop and on the flop. The guy with 99 was in bad shape until he called me down and then turned a set. He bet the river and I told him in the friendliest fashion that I couldn't pay him off as he had a set of 9's. He obligingly showed them to be when I mucked and on we went with me 1700 poorer but at least happy the radar was working. I guess it could easily have been much worse if I fell in love with my hand.
I decided I'd be aggressive with QQ and make it expensive pre flop and on the flop. The guy with 99 was in bad shape until he called me down and then turned a set. He bet the river and I told him in the friendliest fashion that I couldn't pay him off as he had a set of 9's. He obligingly showed them to be when I mucked and on we went with me 1700 poorer but at least happy the radar was working. I guess it could easily have been much worse if I fell in love with my hand.
Started level 2 on 3500. My good friend Mark Segal is swashing and buckling a few tables over. We had an empty seat that's now been filled but apparantly they left the stack out and he's been blinded out and lost 300 chips. This was supposedly an error but they are not refunding him any chips so he goes on a (good natured) raising crusade and also picks up kings along the way. He's gone from 4700 up to 10k super quickly. What a life.
More fun!
Asian kid raises (last series someone had a massive issue with me using the word "Asian" so hopefully she's reading again and can be suitably offended over nothing). I repop with JJ, flop is 6 8 10 and I fire again and get called. The turn is the 9c now also giving me both flush and straight draws, and an overpair. Check check and a blank on the river. His 75 off suit got there for a straight. Where be my sick bag? Down to 2300 and feeling like the guy in "Deliverance" that gets caught in the Everglades. Squeal piggy, squeal.
Back to 3k as we hit the first twenty minute break. Outside for some sun and a chat with Mark.
Asian kid raises (last series someone had a massive issue with me using the word "Asian" so hopefully she's reading again and can be suitably offended over nothing). I repop with JJ, flop is 6 8 10 and I fire again and get called. The turn is the 9c now also giving me both flush and straight draws, and an overpair. Check check and a blank on the river. His 75 off suit got there for a straight. Where be my sick bag? Down to 2300 and feeling like the guy in "Deliverance" that gets caught in the Everglades. Squeal piggy, squeal.
Back to 3k as we hit the first twenty minute break. Outside for some sun and a chat with Mark.
Midway into level 3 and I just flopped a straight with 98 when it came 10 J Q. K9 off suit called under the gun... And flopped the bigger straight. Lovely. 2400.
The vibe on the table is very jovial. The latecomer is playing a lot of pots but is hitting as well and isn't a bad player. I've stolen one to get back to 3k at 25/75/150.
The vibe on the table is very jovial. The latecomer is playing a lot of pots but is hitting as well and isn't a bad player. I've stolen one to get back to 3k at 25/75/150.
Finally.
Found my mojo a little bit on the table and have craftily managed to work my way up to a comfortable 10,500 whilst barely showing down a hand. The chatty guy next to me just remarked "shit, how did that happen? You were down to like 1600 at one point!" I told him it was magic. I may be right.
Break in 10 minutes and I'm a lot more at ease with a few chips to play with.
Found my mojo a little bit on the table and have craftily managed to work my way up to a comfortable 10,500 whilst barely showing down a hand. The chatty guy next to me just remarked "shit, how did that happen? You were down to like 1600 at one point!" I told him it was magic. I may be right.
Break in 10 minutes and I'm a lot more at ease with a few chips to play with.
Just over 10k at the second break. Perfect for now.
I've been on around 11k for most of the level. Few ups and downs but the table is playing pretty solid now so I'm basically screwing down a bit for now as even though I have an OK stack it can be a crappy one just as quickly if I spew too many chips on super speculative hands.
20 minutes before the end of level 6 and the dinner break, and I'm still on around 10k at 50/200/400. I had a decent chance to catapult into a sizeable improvement when I raised with 99, and a shortish stack jammed for about 4400. A supposedly solid old German guy behind him quickly calls for half his stack which now puts me in a bad spot and gives me a dilemma. His call looks like he's quite happy for action behind, and he's obviously not folding if I reraise and I've only invested 875, so I decide I just have to let it go.
The all in player who I would have called if we'd been heads up tables 44, the older guy shows...
A2 suited. Argh!
Let's twist the knife. Flop is 298, etc etc and I'd have at least busted one. That's a tad frustrating. I guess I should have played worse than I did. It seems to work for other people.
The all in player who I would have called if we'd been heads up tables 44, the older guy shows...
A2 suited. Argh!
Let's twist the knife. Flop is 298, etc etc and I'd have at least busted one. That's a tad frustrating. I guess I should have played worse than I did. It seems to work for other people.
Just dropped to 7k. Sometimes I wish I played more one dimensionally, and didn't look at all the permutations.
Raised with AJ and got reraised. I call in position and we see a flop of AKQ, I bet and get called. The turn is a baby card and the opponent now moves virtually all in for most of my stack.
Lots of people will just shrug and call there and when they get the bad news they'll just say they were unlucky. I can't do that as the best I think I am is chopping so I let it go. I'd rather come back after dinner refreshed and positive.
Raised with AJ and got reraised. I call in position and we see a flop of AKQ, I bet and get called. The turn is a baby card and the opponent now moves virtually all in for most of my stack.
Lots of people will just shrug and call there and when they get the bad news they'll just say they were unlucky. I can't do that as the best I think I am is chopping so I let it go. I'd rather come back after dinner refreshed and positive.
Sometimes poker is such a wonderfully brutal game.
We just got to the very last hand before the dinner break. I look down at AdJs and raise. I get one caller.
Flop As 3s Ks. He checks and I fire again. He slowly calls. The turn is the 5h. Again he checks. I move all in for what is around 6200. He looks agonised. We exchange a few words and I tell him he probably has an ace, no spades, he's possibly drawing dead already.
We burn 5 minutes into the dinner break as he thinks.
The call is 90% of his stack.
He looks very uncomfortable, and then calls, showing AQ, with no spades.
River is a blank and I'm out.
I can't criticise the call. After going through it he was right, but he's kind of called with the only hand that beats me, and no proper redraw to anything which ends up being good. Last hand of the level and I'm out. Take your medicine.
It's frustrating to play pretty well for the whole day, or most of it, and then still bust out. However it's just part of the territory so put it out of my head and move on. Welcome to tournaments. See what's next in my schedule shortly once I fight my way out of the clogged Rio car park.
We just got to the very last hand before the dinner break. I look down at AdJs and raise. I get one caller.
Flop As 3s Ks. He checks and I fire again. He slowly calls. The turn is the 5h. Again he checks. I move all in for what is around 6200. He looks agonised. We exchange a few words and I tell him he probably has an ace, no spades, he's possibly drawing dead already.
We burn 5 minutes into the dinner break as he thinks.
The call is 90% of his stack.
He looks very uncomfortable, and then calls, showing AQ, with no spades.
River is a blank and I'm out.
I can't criticise the call. After going through it he was right, but he's kind of called with the only hand that beats me, and no proper redraw to anything which ends up being good. Last hand of the level and I'm out. Take your medicine.
It's frustrating to play pretty well for the whole day, or most of it, and then still bust out. However it's just part of the territory so put it out of my head and move on. Welcome to tournaments. See what's next in my schedule shortly once I fight my way out of the clogged Rio car park.
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