Around 4pm this past Saturday, I got the urge to play poker. There were a few games posted on the CPMG calendar but playing in Terry K's cash game wasn't really an option for me, so I RSVP'd for Julie's $60 15k Starting Stack Saturday tournament. 20 minute levels. My opening table (starting on my left and clockwise) was Dave (a guy I have never played with before), Cheryl, Ang, Megan, Pyxis, Julie and Randy.
Level 1 (25/50) - Megan opens to 275 from mid-position. I call from the SB with 99. Flop, Q 2 X. I check-call 500. Turn [Q 2 X] J. Check-check. River [Q 2 X J] K. Check-check again. Megan turns over AK for a rivered pair of Kings. I end the level with 14025 chips.
Level 2 (50/100) - 3 players limp preflop and I complete from the SB with T7dd. The BB checks and 5 players see a Flop, T 8 7. I lead out for 400. Ang raises to 1000 straight. Folds around to me and I call. Turn [T 8 7] 2. I check-call 1500. River [T 8 7 2] Q. I check again and Ang makes a great value bet of 1500, which lures me to call. She turns over J9 for the flopped nuts.
Later in the level, I decide to mix it up a bit from UTG and raise to 250 with A8ss. Ang calls, Julie calls from the SB and Randy calls from the BB. Flop, J 9 7, 2 spades. With the nut flush draw and a gutshot straight draw, I lead out for 600 and everyone calls. Turn [J 9 7] was a blank. Checks to me, I bet 2500 and Randy is the only caller. River [J 9 7 X] 2. Randy checks. Having whiffed all my draws, I contemplate what to do given Randy's tendency to be a calling station. I know he has something, but my positional disadvantage throughout the hand didn't really give me enough information to put him on a definitive hand. Finally, something in my head tells me that I can't just let him have the pot, so I bet 3500. Randy insta-calls and shows 9-7 for a flopped 2 pair. I end the level with 3975 chips.
Level 3 (75/150) - ATss in the BB. Julie min-raises to 300 from the Button and I'm the only caller. Flop brings 2 spades. Check-check. I make my flush on the Turn and check again, hoping Julie will take a stab at it, but she checks behind. On the River, I lead out for 500 but Julie folds. I end the level with 4500 chips.
Level 4 (100/200) - Folds to me in the hijack and I raise to 500 with 54ss. Megan is the only caller in the BB. Flop, A 3 X. Megan checks, I bet 700 and Megan calls. Turn [A 3 X] is a blank. Megan checks and I check behind. River [A 3 X X] doesn't help me and I fold when Megan leads out with a sizable bet.
Later in the level, 4 players limp in ahead of me and I look down at T9o in the BB. It doesn't really matter what the cards are - I announce that I'm All-In for 3000 exactly. Everyone realizes that I'm making a play here, but they all fold anyway. This was my best and only good play of the tournament. I end the level with 3900.
Level 5 (125/250) - Folded for 20 minutes. I end the level and survive the first break with 3150.
Level 6 (150/300) - Folds to me on the Button and I ship it for 3150 with Ac3s, hoping to steal the blinds. Dave thinks about it for a second from the SB and calls with 77 (BB folds). I make a flush when the board runs out with 4 spades, but Dave has the 7 of spades to beat my 3 and I'm eliminated from the tournament.
So what's the lesson here folks? How about some multiple choice to keep things simple:
A) Try to avoid playing hands out of position.
B) Try to avoid playing hands out of position.
C) Try to avoid playing hands out of position.
In Level 1, I probably should have just folded pocket nines in the SB facing a 5.5x raise preflop. To some of you that probably sounds crazy but I typically play extremely tight in the beginning levels of tournaments.
The T7 hand in Level 2 was more acceptable in terms of calling preflop but my post-flop play was just awful. Instead of trying to narrow down Ang's possible holdings, I just blindly played my 2 pair in hopes that it was good. Looking back, I realize that Ang's raise on the Flop made it obvious she had a straight, set or 2 pair (an overpair to the board unlikely in an unraised pot preflop). Really, the only hand that I'm ahead of in that spot is 87. If I would have taken the time to analyze the hand, I might have check-folded on the River when I didn't improve to a Full House.
Similarly, I got myself into a world of shit during the A8 hand in Level 2. My main issue here was UTG hand selection, though trying to buy the pot on the River vs. a calling station wasn't exactly the brightest move either.
After Level 2, I played much better poker but the hole that I dug myself into in the first two levels was so deep that my odds of recovering were slim to none. I will definitely learn from my mistakes in this tournament and adjust accordingly moving forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment