Data hosted another one of his Poker After Dark tournaments on 10/22/11. There were 8 players. Seated clockwise to my left - Data, Doug Poker, Mark H, Jamie W, Meat, Randy and Tuttle. With Data and DP on my immediate left and Meat in raising position on my blinds, this was the worst seat draw I could have asked for at this table. Not to mention, I had never played with Mark H or Tuttle before and was unfamiliar with both.
I brought my notepad and a pen with me, but I didn't feel like doing a Running Log. September - November is my busy season at work (this is by far the busiest we have ever been in my department) and I've been trying to relax on weekends. As such, I decided to just sit back and focus on the game.
Things started slowly for me as they always tend to do. After getting crazy in my last DPAD tournament by playing trash hands out-of-position, I tightened up considerably in the early levels of this tournament. In the UTG position alone, I folded 33, 66 and AQo twice. Holy nit! Of course, I got the complete opposite when I was in late position, where hands like 92 and J6 were the norm. Early in Level 3 (100/200), however, I picked up AQh in the BB and 3-Bet Meat, who had raised preflop from the cutoff. He called. In the last DPAD tournament, Meat called a 3-Bet of mine with KJo (in position), so I figured him to be in the KJ - AK range, or possibly a mid-pair like TT or JJ. Flop, Ax X X. I checked and Meat quickly checked behind. Meat has checked an Ace in this situation several times before and that's what I pegged him for. Turn was a blank and I checked again, which opened the door for Meat to control the betting (oops). He bet somewhere in the 1000 - 1500 range and I called. The River was another blank, and I check-called a much larger 3000 chip bet (double oops). Meat turned over what I suspected he was holding all along - AK.
Had I led out on the Flop or Turn, I probably would have lost fewer chips than I did and I certainly would have gained more information about where Meat stood in the hand. Of course, it didn't help that I've fallen into this nasty habit of calling big River bets despite knowing when I'm beat. I have done this in 3 straight tournaments and it shouldn't be a surprise that I didn't cash in any of them. Recently, I've gotten a lot better at narrowing down my opponents' holdings (it's something I have been working on even when I'm not involved in a hand). I definitely need to trust my reads more. Hopefully, I can do that and break the habit ASAP.
After the debacle against Meat, I steered clear of entering any pots for quite some time. I was mad at myself and even a slight bit embarrassed after donking off chips in my second straight DPAD tournament. One of the reasons that I play the DPAD tournaments is because I love the challenge of playing against the best tournament players in the CPMG. Data and Meat, in particular, are DPAD regulars who constantly read about and study the game of poker. Both have proven via their consistency and results over the past several years that they are the Top 2 tournament players in the CPMG. For those of you who would adamantly debate that statement, I'll say that both are clearly in the Top 5. Another player that I love to play against is Doug Poker. Doug has always been a fearless/aggressive player and with a little coaching recently, he has improved his tournament game even more. He's a much better tournament player than people give him credit for. Sometimes, I think he doesn't give himself enough credit. The bottom line is all three have earned my respect at the poker table, and when I'm sitting down with them - or anyone, for that matter - I want to be respected just the same. I want to be feared. I want people to be aware of my presence at the table and adjust their play accordingly. I know that won't happen if I continue to play as poorly as I have been lately, and that's why I've been so frustrated.
Anyway...
After the hand against Meat, I blinded down to just under 5000 chips before I even dragged a pot, albeit a tiny one against Jamie. A bit later, I won an All-In race against Doug Poker to double up (I don't remember the hands exactly). Then I became card dead and my stack hovered around 10k for a few hours. The fact that Data and DP were on my left and were the big stacks throughout the tournament didn't help, as it severely limited my stealing opportunities.
I did gain a bit of momentum right before the second Break. Several players limped in ahead of me (I think everyone called except one) and I completed from the SB with 72o. I flopped 2 pair, turned Twos Full of Sevens, and won some chips off of Randy without a showdown. A bit later, I picked up 77 and made an aggressive move on a dangerous Flop full of over-cards by going All-In and forcing Randy (the initial preflop raiser) to fold. He told me he had 88. Randy later complimented me on my short stack play, saying he admired how I hung around for so long. That made me feel a bit better, but I couldn't afford to sit back and hang around for much longer.
Right after the second Break, I unfortunately lost the chips that I had just previously accumulated in the span of two consecutive hands against Data. The first time, it was folded to me in the SB and I tried stealing Data's BB with 47o. He 3-Bet me (it was an easy fold, at least). The second time, it was folded to me on the Button and I raised with a small pocket pair (22, I think). Data 3-Bet me again - this time from the SB - and would have been pot committed if I went All-In over the top of him. Thus, I folded, and with 5 players left, I joined Meat as the definitive short stacks at the table.
A bit later, I was fortunate to survive an All-In against Data when my T9o and his TT both made a Straight for a chop. I was able to chip up a bit after that hand, but I ultimately went bust early in Level 9 (700/1500). With only 11k, I moved AIPF from the Button with QJo and Doug Poker (well over 60k) called from the BB with K9s. I failed to improve and was eliminated in 4th place.
Even though I failed to cash, there were still a few positives. 1) I placed higher than I did in my previous DPAD tournament despite a bad table draw and being card dead throughout. Not once did I get AA, KK, QQ, JJ or AK. 2) I lasted a full level longer than I did in my previous DPAD tournament despite having fewer chips (my peak chip count in this tournament was a little over 19k compared to 35k in my previous DPAD).
Still, I won't be happy until I win a f*****g DPAD... or at least cash in one. Stay tuned.
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