Recap of the Wednesday Action
Played in the Harrahs weekly and took 6th. Refreshing to play well after playing so badly at the Beau in their tournaments. Hopefully, my solid run of play at the weekly tournaments will bode well for the Circuit Event in May.
Some quick hands. Early on my King high flush ran into an Ace high flush. I just called on the river feeling I was beat. I was.
I got to play with my friend Alex T, who is back from Africa, and we only had one hand of note. I think I was in the bb with a limped pot. Board came out KJ8 (I had 8-6). I checked, mid position checked, Alex checked on the button. Turn was a king. Check, check, bet by Alex. I stewed for a while and called. I decided Alex would probably bet a king or jack on the button on the flop so I was either good or outkicked. We checked the river and he had 10 high.
I felt we both had a pretty good handle on our table and then they moved me.
There is a really good player, who I've seen in a pocket fives shirt before who had a ton of chips when I got moved to his table, that was two to my left. I looked down at 8c9c. I limped and he raised the pot. I took a chance and hit yatzee when the flop came out 6710 (two clubs too). I checked and he bet a little under half my stack.
I shoved and figured even some of his bluffs would be priced in to call because he couldn't put me on my hand. I'm glad I did, because he called with a gut-shot and an overcard, and the turn would have brought a scary club (that improved my holding) but it might have made him pitch his hand had I just called. I got basically reallly lucky there and that was a turning point in the tournament for me.
Later I looked down at pocket rockets and limped. A girl who was short-stacked shoved over the top (good). It got to the small blind who stewed forever and flatted. The shove was about half my stack, so I came over the top again thinking the SB was pot commited. After some deep thought he folded and announced he knew I had aces. They held. I heard him grousing. I don't think he liked the play.
I later called a player on a double-paired board with A high. He bet every street and bet almost enough to make me go away. I was happy with that play. I just trusted my gut. Big pot.
I was unhappy, when I lacked the balls when we got down to two tables when my bluff detector was going through the same process. My opponent bet out 10k and I was going to call with third pair, he either had the nuts and checked it to the river or was on an empty bluff.
Bluff made sense, I asked if he had a straight and he gave a sheepish smile. I was a little rusty. I folded when I should have thrown it in with certainity. Big tell there. I showed my third pair and he showed me garbage. This bit me in the ass as he turned that large pot into a stockpile of chips. Had I won that I won have entered the final table with over 100k.
Me and garbage boy turned down a chop, early. We lost four players and this funny hand happened. Garbage boy who had announced he was the worst player at the table but he didn't want to chop because if he won his wife was going to dye her hair black. Be like getting a new girlfriend. He was in the big blind. Blinds were 3 and 6k. Small blind or button shoved an unopened pot on him for 40k or so.
He says "I'm getting three to one." Hmm. 12k on blinds and antes, 40K+ on the shove. Not sure that math is right. In retrospect, he must have thought the guy said 14k. Though with all the big chips that were thrown out it's hard to believe. So the rookie calls with "5... 2." He rivers a flush.
At that point I'm treading very carefully. Blinds get to 10-20k and I'm ready to chop, rookie is not. If only, I had called that 10k bet earlier...
Then I run my AQ into Q10. River 10. Later A3 vs. J10. River 10.
Can't complain. It was nice, to get back on track making correct decisions. I also made some big calls trusting my gut which is all the harder to do when you've been running bad in tournament play. Also, got enough early luck, like flopping a straight, and getting somebody to make a move on me when limping with the rockets, to be able to go deep.
I took two or three earlier bad beats and readjusted and kept my head in it. Very happy with that. Countdown to the Circuit Event is just a couple of weeks away. Time to brush up on my poker strategy.
www.gulfcoastpoker.net
Some quick hands. Early on my King high flush ran into an Ace high flush. I just called on the river feeling I was beat. I was.
I got to play with my friend Alex T, who is back from Africa, and we only had one hand of note. I think I was in the bb with a limped pot. Board came out KJ8 (I had 8-6). I checked, mid position checked, Alex checked on the button. Turn was a king. Check, check, bet by Alex. I stewed for a while and called. I decided Alex would probably bet a king or jack on the button on the flop so I was either good or outkicked. We checked the river and he had 10 high.
I felt we both had a pretty good handle on our table and then they moved me.
There is a really good player, who I've seen in a pocket fives shirt before who had a ton of chips when I got moved to his table, that was two to my left. I looked down at 8c9c. I limped and he raised the pot. I took a chance and hit yatzee when the flop came out 6710 (two clubs too). I checked and he bet a little under half my stack.
I shoved and figured even some of his bluffs would be priced in to call because he couldn't put me on my hand. I'm glad I did, because he called with a gut-shot and an overcard, and the turn would have brought a scary club (that improved my holding) but it might have made him pitch his hand had I just called. I got basically reallly lucky there and that was a turning point in the tournament for me.
Later I looked down at pocket rockets and limped. A girl who was short-stacked shoved over the top (good). It got to the small blind who stewed forever and flatted. The shove was about half my stack, so I came over the top again thinking the SB was pot commited. After some deep thought he folded and announced he knew I had aces. They held. I heard him grousing. I don't think he liked the play.
I later called a player on a double-paired board with A high. He bet every street and bet almost enough to make me go away. I was happy with that play. I just trusted my gut. Big pot.
I was unhappy, when I lacked the balls when we got down to two tables when my bluff detector was going through the same process. My opponent bet out 10k and I was going to call with third pair, he either had the nuts and checked it to the river or was on an empty bluff.
Bluff made sense, I asked if he had a straight and he gave a sheepish smile. I was a little rusty. I folded when I should have thrown it in with certainity. Big tell there. I showed my third pair and he showed me garbage. This bit me in the ass as he turned that large pot into a stockpile of chips. Had I won that I won have entered the final table with over 100k.
Me and garbage boy turned down a chop, early. We lost four players and this funny hand happened. Garbage boy who had announced he was the worst player at the table but he didn't want to chop because if he won his wife was going to dye her hair black. Be like getting a new girlfriend. He was in the big blind. Blinds were 3 and 6k. Small blind or button shoved an unopened pot on him for 40k or so.
He says "I'm getting three to one." Hmm. 12k on blinds and antes, 40K+ on the shove. Not sure that math is right. In retrospect, he must have thought the guy said 14k. Though with all the big chips that were thrown out it's hard to believe. So the rookie calls with "5... 2." He rivers a flush.
At that point I'm treading very carefully. Blinds get to 10-20k and I'm ready to chop, rookie is not. If only, I had called that 10k bet earlier...
Then I run my AQ into Q10. River 10. Later A3 vs. J10. River 10.
Can't complain. It was nice, to get back on track making correct decisions. I also made some big calls trusting my gut which is all the harder to do when you've been running bad in tournament play. Also, got enough early luck, like flopping a straight, and getting somebody to make a move on me when limping with the rockets, to be able to go deep.
I took two or three earlier bad beats and readjusted and kept my head in it. Very happy with that. Countdown to the Circuit Event is just a couple of weeks away. Time to brush up on my poker strategy.
www.gulfcoastpoker.net
Comments