Continuing the Beau Nightly at the Southern Poker Championship...

...Continued from previous post in the middle of Texas Holdem game hand where at first I was trying to get my opponent to find a call. Then, I just started to get this really bad feeling that she was going to outdraw me. Even if it she didn’t, the pot was already big why risk my tournament life (or most of it) on this hand, many of you might say I have a long way to go to learn poker with a statement like that.

Mid-stream I changed course. Yes, I was a big favorite but I didn’t need all her chips. So, I said to her “Ace Jack huh?” Yeah, suddenly I was strong enough to talk. She winced. I was pretty close.

“No! Is that what you have?” she asked. I said very confidently “No.” I had hoped I hit her hand and she wouldn’t want to call and show that I was right especially if there was the chance she was no good there. I could tell she was now leaning toward fold. Maybe I did hit her hand. She folded and at the break she suggested AQ but I think it was AJ.

A couple of hands later as she got shorter, she checked to me on a flop I bricked and I asked how many chips she had. She pounded them into the table to count them in a strong is weak move and I shoved. She folded.

Later, as we were much closer to the money and on a different table a massive pot that allowed me to coast came up. Again, I had A suited, I think it was a 9. Flop came out 10 high two of my suit. She checked I bet out. This time she asked me how much I had l left. I showed. She decided to just call. I thought weakness but she had to have something.

Then on the turn I said something and she gave me this fake smile. Typically a big sign of weakness, in retrospect I think she was luring me in. I think she picked up on my read of strong is weak before and was giving me a false tell of strong is weak. Artificial smile is that. Authentic smile is generally strong is strong. The river gave me the flush but paired 10s. She opened shoved and I called hoping I wasn’t coolered.

She just had A10 for trips. Definitely was going to be my day. I felt assured. Early Baton Rouge had worked out that 64k in chips was going to be enough to make the money. I got to about 70k with three tables left. We redrew at two tables and my chips went on lockdown as people got jettisoned. I got fortunate because my small blind would give me a walk every couple of levels.

Any time I considered trying to buy some blinds someone would beat me into the pot. I watched some craziness like the guy giving me walks, barely able to pay his ante, he had one more chip than that, wind up one of the chipleaders a rotation later. Incredibly, he was basically blinding out, then won all the antes utg. Then I found my first pocket pair of the entire tournament KK on the next hand (me utg) I put my first bet out into that table.

Baton Rouge was there and came with me, I sensed he was strong, but I was worried he thought I was making a play on the short stack. The short stack came as he committed the rest of his chips. Flop came out Queen high. I was content to check it down with Baton Rouge despite the side pot. Ace on the turn made me regret it but I was willing to fold if he had it. It went check check. Brick on the river two more checks.