Congrats to Gene D
He represented TEAM GCP well this weekend. I sweated him a good bit in his mega on Friday and was very impressed with his play. He induced calls when he had the best hands and he laid down when he needed to. There is tactic of Gene's, which I won't give away, but he is a big proponnent of that he really worked to his advantage. For those in the know, he "worked" it.
At one point, the only stack at the table that could knock him out, when they were 5 handed (4 seats) went all in for just the blinds. It got to Gene and he mulled it over for a long time. In my own head, maybe the only hand I play there is Aces (don't need to win the tournament just need to win a seat) and I might even lay that down. After an excruciating amount of time he pitched it. A couple of hands later he asked if the guy could beat pocket 10s.
What?!? Pocket 10s. I figured I had to call a T.O. and get Gene's head straight. I actually tapped him on the shoulder and got him to step away from the table. He smiled and said he didn't have 10s and agreed he probably wouldn't even play aces there. He was doing it for an ulterior motive. Sweet. At that point I knew he'd win the seat. Great job Gene. You were one step ahead of everyone.
In the main event, I didn't get to watch but I was impressed by how composed Gene was as we talked during the breaks. He went card dead but hung around. Pitching a lot of hands that could get him into trouble and simply surviving until he hit his run. He really played well and kept his focus on the prize. Sometimes the cards just don't go our way as after he doubled and tripled up late, he lost a coin flip.
Oh, yeah, I took down the turbo with a 3-way chop on Friday night (we gave the small stack a smaller share for 4th). I think the only reason why I went from the short stack at the final table to the big one was I realized a level before everybody else it was all in or nothing. I actually took down some HUGE blinds and limps by being willing to throw all my chips in with hands I wouldn't dream of shoving with early. Playing so tightly with most of these guys really aided me in dragging pots without opposition. At one point, I pushed 4 out of 5 hands, went uncalled and guaranteed myself a deep finish. The other players caught on a little late that I had switched gears and wasn't just on a rush. Most of them then got picked off when they were forced to call as short stacks in the blinds with marginal hands. It was a good uptick for me after a bad week.
For the weekly column, I'll put on my journalism hat and try and recap some of the highlights from the IP's tournaments. I'll get it up the next day or so.
At one point, the only stack at the table that could knock him out, when they were 5 handed (4 seats) went all in for just the blinds. It got to Gene and he mulled it over for a long time. In my own head, maybe the only hand I play there is Aces (don't need to win the tournament just need to win a seat) and I might even lay that down. After an excruciating amount of time he pitched it. A couple of hands later he asked if the guy could beat pocket 10s.
What?!? Pocket 10s. I figured I had to call a T.O. and get Gene's head straight. I actually tapped him on the shoulder and got him to step away from the table. He smiled and said he didn't have 10s and agreed he probably wouldn't even play aces there. He was doing it for an ulterior motive. Sweet. At that point I knew he'd win the seat. Great job Gene. You were one step ahead of everyone.
In the main event, I didn't get to watch but I was impressed by how composed Gene was as we talked during the breaks. He went card dead but hung around. Pitching a lot of hands that could get him into trouble and simply surviving until he hit his run. He really played well and kept his focus on the prize. Sometimes the cards just don't go our way as after he doubled and tripled up late, he lost a coin flip.
Oh, yeah, I took down the turbo with a 3-way chop on Friday night (we gave the small stack a smaller share for 4th). I think the only reason why I went from the short stack at the final table to the big one was I realized a level before everybody else it was all in or nothing. I actually took down some HUGE blinds and limps by being willing to throw all my chips in with hands I wouldn't dream of shoving with early. Playing so tightly with most of these guys really aided me in dragging pots without opposition. At one point, I pushed 4 out of 5 hands, went uncalled and guaranteed myself a deep finish. The other players caught on a little late that I had switched gears and wasn't just on a rush. Most of them then got picked off when they were forced to call as short stacks in the blinds with marginal hands. It was a good uptick for me after a bad week.
For the weekly column, I'll put on my journalism hat and try and recap some of the highlights from the IP's tournaments. I'll get it up the next day or so.
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