Shuffle Up & Deal - I'm 15 minutes late and arrive with 25 minutes to go in Level 1. This is my first time playing at Terry K's new house and I'm blown away by how gorgeous it is. His basement is the perfect venue for home games. I start with the full 30000 starting stack and I'm seated at Table #4. Seated clockwise to my left - Yosh, Colin, Big Country, Chip, Mike T and Krazy Joe.
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| CPMG Fall Classic Opening Table, photo credit: Data |
Level 1 (50/100) - Pretty uneventful. I played one hand (KQd) for a raise in late position and took it down with a bet on the Flop. I have 30075 chips.
Level 2 (75/150) - It folds to me on the Button and I raise with Kh Qd. Colin calls in the BB. Flop, three diamonds. Colin checks. Since I have over cards to the board and a Flush draw, I c-bet and Colin makes the call. Turn is a blank. Colin checks again and I bet about 2/3 of the pot. He calls. Obviously, he has something, maybe a pair to the board with a diamond in his hand. River is an off-suit Ace. Colin checks. I don't think he'll give me credit for anything here if I bet, so give up and check behind and Colin shows two black Queens to drag a nice-sized pot. I have 24800 chips.
During this level, homemade beef stew was served, compliments of Prowest. I didn't get a chance to eat dinner prior to the tournament and was starving, so I helped myself to a bowl. It was excellent. Thanks, Prowest. Well done.
Level 3 (100/200) - I raise from the cutoff with A6c. Big Country calls from the BB. Flop brings 2 clubs. BC checks, I bet, he calls. Turn is a blank. BC checks again, I bet 1200, and to my surprise, he re-raises 1800 more. He's offering almost 4-to-1 on the call, I'm drawing to the nuts, and I have position on him, so I call. Sadly, I brick the River and fold when BC makes a significant bet. I have 21275 chips.
Level 4 (150/300) - When Luckbox Linda busts in 28th place (joining TK and Meat on the rail), our table breaks. I'm moved to Table #2. Seated clockwise to my left is Josh, El Diablo, Mark Horton, Jeff Riegler, Krazy Joe, Julie, Doug Poker and Grayday. This is a perfect table draw as I have nits sitting on my left and LAG players sitting on my right. After winning a small pot against Doug Poker, I limp with A5h in late position. 5 players to the Flop - A 7 5, two spades. It checks to me and I make a pot-sized bet (1500) with my Two Pair. El Diablo is next to act and he re-raises to 4000. It folds around back to me and I tank. What could I be up against here? After a few minutes, I narrow his possible holding to A7, A5, 75, a Flush draw, or an Ace with a good spade kicker. 55 and 77 are possibilities too, but I think Rich would just call with a Set and 3 players left to act behind him. The hand I'm most worried about is A7. I need more information. I need to find out if Rich is sitting on A7 or not, so I 4-bet him to 12500 (which leaves me with about 11k behind). El Diablo tanks immediately, and it doesn't look like he's putting on a show, which tells me he doesn't have A7. After a minute or a minute and a half tops, Doug Poker calls the clock on him, which was unwarranted IMO. I understand wanting to keep the game moving, but it's a huge hand in a big tournament with extended levels. Data administers the clock. After about 45 seconds, El Diablo finally makes a decision. He moves All-In. He did this somewhat reluctantly, which leads me to believe I'm ahead, so I call. He shows A5 also and we end up chopping the pot. I have 26225 chips.
Level 5 (200/400) - There are 4 limpers ahead of me preflop and I'm fortunate to look down at KK in the BB. Time to narrow the field. I raise 2100 more, but all 4 players call. Flop, Q 8 4 rainbow. I'm first to act and lead out for 8500 into the 12.5k+ pot. It fold around quickly to Grayday, who eyes my remaining stack, compares it to what he has left. After a minute or two, he folds (probably something like Q9, QT, or QJ) and I rake a huge pot. I have 36150 chips.
Level 6 (300/600) - Getting a walk in the BB was the highlight of this level. We're now on Break #2. I have 35250 chips.
Level 7 (50/300/600) - Antes are in play now. Unfortunately, I'm card dead and no situations arise where I'm able to steal or pick up any extra chips. I have 33700 chips.
Level 8 (50/400/800) - I'm antsy to play a hand after being card dead for 2 levels. Finally, an optimal situation arises where it folds to me in late position. From the Hijack, I open for 2300 with Q2o. Prowest, who recently just sat down at our table, is the only caller from the BB. Flop, Q T X. Prowest checks, I bet 3600 with Top Pair, he calls. Turn [Q T X] K. This time, Prowest leads out for 5000, which tells me he has a piece of the board but isn't 100% confident in his hand. It's your typical 'weak lead' bet, so I raise to 12500 and put Prowest to the test. He ends up calling a lot quicker than I thought he would. *gulp* River, [Q T X K] Q. Once again, Prowest checks. Now I'm left with a decision to make. With 14000 chips left in my stack, do I check or bet? Most of you are probably thinking 'Duh! You hit your card and sucked out. Just ship it!'... but I didn't. I checked behind, and here's why. Remember when Prowest bet into me on the Turn and I thought he had something, but wasn't 100% confident in his hand? The first sensible holding that I put him on was QJ. I realize that the Queen on the River makes it less likely for Prowest to be holding the case Queen, but think about my decision from a tournament perspective (a $200 buy-in tournament, not a $20 donkament). If I choose to bet, the size of the pot (36k+) and my remaining stack dictate that I have to go All-In. Betting anything less opens the door for Prowest to push All-In over the top and I don't want to be faced with that decision. Therefore, if I go All-In and Prowest has QJ - or even a Straight or Full House that is still very possible on a very wet board - I'm eliminated from the tournament. However, if I check and Prowest has a better hand at the showdown, I still have 14k left in the tournament, which is more than enough chips to stage a comeback. Fortunately for me, he shows AK and I drag an enormous pot.
A few people at my table were flabbergasted that I checked the River and I'm curious to hear what others would have done in the same situation. I encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions via the Comments.
Several hands later, I pick up AA and raise to 2300. Prowest calls in the BB once again and we're heads up to the Flop, which is K Q 2. He checks, I bet 3600, and he folds. I have 57775 chips.
Level 9 (100/500/1000) - Our table is 7-handed now. I raise on the Button with QJo. Prowest calls in the BB. Flop, Q J 9 rainbow. Prowest leads out for 4000. I ask him how much he has left behind and he's got about 15k. I push a stack of 20 orange 1k chips into the middle and put Prowest All-In. I hope that he's steaming from the last few hands I've played with him that he'll call, but he makes a disciplined lay down, albeit reluctantly.
A bit later, I'm in the BB with 42h. 3 other players limp before me and I check my option. Flop, K 4 2, two spades. I lead out for 3500. Julie is next to act and raises to 8000 straight. The other 2 players fold. With a vulnerable hand and a wet board, I don't want to see a Turn card. After a minute or two, I raise to 25500 straight. Julie tanks for about 2 minutes before she finally folds (she told me she had a King). We're now on Break #3. I have 66975 chips, which is right where I want to be.
Level 10 (100/700/1500) - I eclipse the 70k chip mark early in this level. I'm UTG+1 and raise to 4100 with JJ. Krazy Joe is the only caller from the Button. Flop, T 7 6, two hearts. I'm first to act and bet 6000. Krazy Joe folds. Afterward, El Diablo asks me 'have you even shown down a hand yet?' I respond, 'yes, Q2o.' Hopefully, that will pay off for me later when I do have a big hand.
We're down to two tables now with 18 players left in the tournament. Tom Gross and Jen join the table. Both are sitting on my left and have healthy chip stacks.
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| 18 Players Left, photo credit: Data |
From the cutoff, I raise to 4100 with KQs. Gross, sitting next to me on my left, re-raises to 8800 from the Button. Both blinds fold and I contemplate doing the same, but I've been on a mini-heater recently and decide to make the call. Flop, J T X. I check and Gross instantly moves AI for over 40k. It's obvious that he has an over pair to the board, so I muck my open-ender. Gross told me later that he did, in fact, have AA. I bleed a bit more after this hand and end the level with 46800.
Level 11 (200/1000/2000) - This is the last level of the night and my goal is to chip up so I'm not short-stacked for Day 2 of the tournament, which is to be held the following Saturday (11/19/11). In one of the first few hands of the level, I'm UTG and raise to 5000 with AKo. Krazy Joe moves All-In from the cutoff for exactly 25k more and I make the call. He shows 99 and is at risk of elimination. Flop, A X X. Turn, [A X X] 9, and Krazy Joe survives to double up. DOH! Winning that race would have put me back around the 75k mark and would have put me in contention to make a run at the Final Table. Instead, I'm left with a mere 16k.
Next time I'm UTG, I open shove for 16400 with AQo. Julie has me covered and calls from the Button with TT. Flop, Q Q T. Unfortunately, I brick the Turn and River and I'm eliminated in 14th place.
Closing Thoughts - I was really happy with the way I played overall. Despite losing nearly 1/3 of my starting stack in the first three levels of the tournament, I remained confident and made a nice comeback to put myself in contention to win/cash. Obviously, I wish the result was different, but at least it's nice knowing that I made smart decisions and played to the best of my abilities. I'd like to thank those who bought a piece of my action, which allowed my broke ass to play the tournament in the first place. Very much appreciated. I'd also like to thank TK and his wife for opening up their beautiful home to a bunch of degens. I can't wait until the next time I'm able to make a game at your place. Finally, thanks to Data for running a smooth tournament with no hiccups. Your efforts and contributions are always appreciated.
Here are the final results:
Champion - Krazy Joe - $2200* (hard not to think that this could have been me if the AK < 99 hand went my way instead of his, but congrats to Joe on the nice payday)
2nd - Colin M. - $1800*
3rd - Jen - $1000
4th - LeastBest - $600
5th - Jason F. - $400
I think you made the right play by checking on the river with Q2o. There was sufficient pot equity to simply check it down.
ReplyDeleteLove the tournament summaries, I'll be diving into your archives for more.
Patrick
Http://poker.toddsville.com/
Thanks for reading, Patrick! Enjoy!
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