All In with a Side Pot of Controversy

Last Friday night, July 13th (cue the Jason Voorhees music), I hosted my first ever multi-table tournament. I was hoping to get two full tables of ten, but 12 CPMGers RSVPed. With 12 runners to start, plus a 13th who arrived before the first break, this tournament would award CPMG Tournament of Champions points for the first and second place finishers.

We started with two six-handed tables and I really enjoyed the short-handed play in the early levels of the tournament. I might actually host some 6-max tournaments in the future. My opening table featured Pyxis, Josh Keeler, Doug Poker, John, David Lee and myself. I expected to see lots of action. $60 buy-in with a 12k starting stack for those in line 10 minutes before the tournament started (10k stack for those who did not arrive early) and 20 minute levels.

In Level 5 (150/300 blinds), I’m in the big blind when Pyxis raises UTG to 700. Doug Poker flats and I call as well with pocket fours. Flop 6 5 4 and I lead out for 1600 with bottom set. Pyxis raises to 3500 and Doug immediately goes all in for 8500. I think for a few minutes and think Pyxis likely has an overpair to the board. Doug’s range is pretty wide here and it’s perfectly within his wheelhouse to show up with 87 for a flopped straight, but I determine he’s probably drawing with a hand like pocket sevens or threes. After thinking things through, I believe I have the best hand and four-bet all in for ~15k. Pyxis reluctantly folds her flopped set of fives (!!!!) and I have Doug at risk of elimination when he turns over 75 for middle pair and open-ended straight draw. He bricks the turn and river and I’m sitting on roughly 25k after escaping what should have been an elimination if Pyxis called my all in.

The last hand before break, Josh moves all in for 9k on a flop of A J 2. John (who was dealing the hand) called the all in, but when he went to turn over his cards he discovered that he only had 1 of them (an Ace). Granted, this single card beats Josh’s bluff Ks9s, but it’s still only one card. Before I can figure out what to do, John starts turning cards over from the muck in front of him. When he turns over a Jack, he says he had AJ for top two-pair — but this is before I could ask him to identify the value and suit of the card that he apparently mucked by accident.

Now what?

After some thought, I decided to award the pot to Josh. I was not 100 percent confident in my decision, but John acted frantically before I could gain control of the situation and started flipping cards over from the muck before I could ask him what his holding was. I felt horrible and explained the benefits of capping your cards during the break.

I was sitting on 30,600 at the break and we combined to a full table of 10 after John busted on a short stack. Sitting to my left was Jon Novak, Shekar, Papa Z, Pyxis, Dana, Special K, John Thevenin, Josh and Malcolm.

During the 400/800 level, I donked off 12k to Josh on a bluff. To his credit, he made a great call on the river with third pair on an Ace-high board. The very next hand, I look down at pocket Aces. John Thevenin raises to 2400 and I reraise to 5300. He counts out his stack and moves all in for over 20k more. I call and my Aces hold against AK. With 64k, I have roughly 45 percent of the chips in play and am in prime position to win the tournament.

During the 600/1200 level, I’m UTG with JsTs and raise to 2700. Jon Novak moves all in for 10900 total and I double him up when I’m unable to crack pocket Kings. Jon would bust a short time later, however, which meant...

Cmdr. Data: “Ladies and gentlemen, we are on the bubble. The next player out gets NOTHING.”

Josh held a huge chip lead (~80k), leaving me (45k), Pyxis (~10k) and Papa Z (~10k) trailing behind. I was content to let him bully the shorties, but they kept folding. Finally, Papa Z put his tournament life at risk with pocket sixes against Josh’s pocket tens, but spiked a six on the flop to survive. Josh continued to raise most hands and my stack was getting smaller.

1000/2000 - Josh raises to 6k from the button. I look down at AK and smooth call. Flop A 8 4. Josh calls my 6k bet. Turn [A 8 4] J. I have 14k left in my stack but decide to bet another 6k. Josh calls. River [A 8 4 J] 5. I check, fearing Josh is holding AJ and turned 2-pair. Sure enough, Josh puts me all in. With only 8k left and so much money in the pot, I feel like I can’t fold. I’m dismayed to see Josh does have 2 pair, but spiked it on the river holding the 8s5s. Josh said he would have folded if I went all in for 14k on the turn instead of betting 6k.

I was pretty steamed for bubbling this tournament, but I really should have been eliminated much sooner had Pyxis called that all in with her set of fives. Funny enough, Josh should have been eliminated before the first break, but lucked into the win after John’s dealing gaffe.

Speaking of which, what would YOU have done if you were the Tournament Director?

I asked several CPMG hosts and all of us would have done something different. One would have awarded the the pot to John because his one card was enough to beat Josh’s hand. Another would have awarded the pot to Josh, but wouldn’t have forced John to call his 9k all in.

Matt Savage, on the other hand, had the following to say about the situation:

New Tournament Chips, Tables and Chairs

When I first started hosting poker tournaments, I didn’t have a great job. I had young kids to take care of, a car lease that I was scrambling to pay for each month and an astronomical rent payment. I barely even had money to play poker, but had one table that fit in my apartment living room and a set of 2,000 9g Super Diamond tournament chips that did not have denominations printed on them. They did the trick, but after years of constantly reminding people which color represented what, I finally purchased a legitimate tournament set - 1,200 Claysmith 13.5g Desert Heat chips (pictured) with palm trees printed in the center.

Claysmith 13.5g Desert Heat Tournament Chips

I bought them via ThePokerStore.com and I couldn’t be happier with their service. When I emailed them with questions, they responded almost instantly. When I finally bought the tournament set, they arrived on my doorstep within 2 days. What a ridiculously fast turnaround!

That same day, I drove out to Terry’s house in Seville, OH to pick up the Playboy table (pictured in background below) he agreed to sell me along with Data's hand-me-down CPMG table (pictured in front).

Now that Dana and I have our own house, we have more than enough room in our basement to fit all three tables. The last item on the shopping list was folding chairs. An old colleague of mine works for W.B. Mason and sold me 6 padded and 4 non-padded chairs that were leftover in his warehouse. I'm pretty sure I have enough chairs in the house for 27 player tournaments. The new chip set, tables and chairs were a $400 investment, but it's been one that I've been wanting to make for a long time.

Now I'm anxious to host a game...

Julie’s $40/$40/$40 - 7/7/2018

I felt very confident entering this tournament. It was $40 to enter with one $40 rebuy option before the 1st break and a $40 add-on option during the first break. Given the 25k starting stack, 30 minute levels and the 20k add on that I knew most of the participants would take advantage of, there was going to be a LOT of chips in play. I mentally prepared myself for a long day of poker.

There were 24 runners (three 8-handed tables) and my opening table was Stephen Germani, Mike Murray, Julie, myself, Grayday, Benjamin Licata, Brian Rieg and Pyxis. Julie was on my right and this would be my first time playing with Steve G, Mike, Ben and Brian Rieg.

I kept a running log of every level of the tournament, but to my surprise two-thirds of it was missing when I went to retrieve it from my email drafts this morning on my phone. Talk about serious tilt! Ugh... here a few hands that I remember from the first half of the tournament:

In Level 2 (50/100), I picked up QQ and 3-bet Julie's initial pre-flop raise. She called and we saw a flop of 9 8 4. I led out for 1400 and she folded pocket twos. A bit later, Julie raised again pre-flop and I 3-bet from position with the 4c2c. She called and we saw a flop 6 5 3. Once again, I bet with my straight and she ended up folding. I could tell she was annoyed that I kept 3-betting her and that we'd be mixing it up plenty throughout the tournament.

In Level 3 (75/150), I took the liberty of 3-betting Julie's 400 chip raise with pocket Jacks. She immediately 4-bet me from 1200 to 3400 and I called. The flop brought J T X, giving me a set of Jacks. Julie bet and I merely called to see the [J T X] Q turn. She instantly went all in and I didn't really take much time to call. Sure, AK was a realistic holding given her actions pre-flop, but this was a rebuy tournament and I had her well covered by about 10k. She flipped over 9-8 off for the low end of the straight and it held when the river did not pair the board or give me the case Jack.

I lost my remaining chips a short time later and elected to rebuy (20k). I quickly ran it up to 30k after winning a couple showdowns against Pyxis. In one hand, I made two-pair with 5d4d. In the other hand, I flopped a flush draw with As8s and rivered an Ace. She bluffed on the river when she missed the same flush draw (9s7s).

I elected to add on at the break for an additional 20k chips to bring my stack to 51k.

After the break, a familiar face (Conundrum) joins the table, but I am moved to a different table that features Dave A, Cheryl, Brian Rieg (who I clashed with several times at my original table), Kathy Ellis and Tina. I took about 30k off of Dave A when my pocket Jacks hold at showdown on a ten-high board. It didn’t help that I gave those chips right back to a Brian Rieg, who moved all in for 20k with Jc2c. I immediately called from the big blind and had him dominated with my pocket Jacks, but of course he rivered the flush. Dave, Kathy and Tina all had massive stacks at this table and I couldn’t get enough momentum to eclipse the 80k mark.

Fortunately, I was able to make the final table of 8 with 62000. The table features Julie, Tina, Kathy Ellis, myself, Dave A, Brian Rieg, Benjamin Licata and Rob Bell. Julie, Rob and Dave A had massive stacks -- Dave probably had a third of the chips in play, somewhere north of 300k. After spending a few hands splashing around in pots that I shouldn't have been in, I fall below the 40k mark and things are looking grim.

Here is what I was able to retrieve from my running log:

1000/2000 (2000 ante*) - I'm the dealer and my position at the far end of the table makes it difficult to deliver the cards to people sitting opposite of me. Unfortunately, Rob Bell's second card flips over when I deliver it to him -- the Ace of spades. He sends it back in disgust and I feel bad, but the Ace now serves as the burn card. Even after my dealing gaffe, Rob still raises and Julie calls. I look down at QQ on the button and push all in. Rob says he folded AJ and would have had pocket Aces if I didn't accidentally expose his original card. I end the level with 59000.

*The big blind is responsible for paying the ante. This is a huge time-saver and we don't have to remind multiple people to post their ante every hand.

1200/2400 (2400) - Rob raises to 6k. Julie, Tina and Cathy call, but my read on all four of these players makes me believe none of them are holding a strong enough hand to call a huge re-raise. I look down at 87 off-suit and push all in for 59000 and everyone mucks. I normally don't show my cards, but I flip over the 87 and this flusters the table. Rob says he folded AQ and will not fold to a re-raise from me again after 3-betting him twice. A bit later, I call a raise from the small blind with QT. I flop two-pair and pick up a decent pot before ending the level with 85000.

1500/3000 (3000) - We're now on the money bubble of the tournament after Brian Rieg, Kathy Ellis and Rob Bell head to the rail. Unfortunately, I lose a significant portion of my stack due to a combination of missed flops, draws and the huge antes. I'm down to 30k -- by far the shortest stack at the table. It's not particularly close either, as everyone else is sitting on at least 150k.

I limped in from the small blind with 87 off-suit in a community pot. The flop is 5 4 X and it checks around. Turn [5 4 X] 6. I'm at a table full of aggressive bettors, so I check my nut straight. Dave bets 7500 and Julie and Tina both call. I move all in for 28000 total and Tina calls with 67. My straight holds up and I end the level with 87500.

2000/4000 (4000) - After losing 10k of my stack from paying the blinds and ante, I'm on the button with Th7h and limp in. Dave raises to 16000 from the small blind and I'm the only caller. His bet is a quarter of my stack, but I have position and Th7h is a deceptive hand that I know he won't put me on. I just need to hit the flop, which comes 8 8 7. Dave immediately goes all in, which seems out of character based on my previous interactions with him. My initial read is that he has overs, but I take some time to think about the hand. It's the money bubble and I've already played 9 hours. I'd really hate to go home with nothing. I also remember Dave just lost a huge pot (over 100k) to Benjamin and might be steaming a bit. We banter back and forth and he makes a comment about being confident his hand is better than mine... so I call my remaining 50000 with my tournament life at risk. Sure enough, he flips over AQo and I fade his over cards to double up.

A few hands later, I'm on the button again and raise to 11k with pocket Tens. Dave goes all in for 84000 and I take a minute to count my stack. I have him covered by about 15k. I decide to call and he turns over pocket Kings. This is the only time the whole tournament where I've gotten my money in bad. I don't even look at the flop as it is dealt, but everyone's reaction tells me I hit a set. Dave is visibly upset and berates me a bit about the Th7h hand and the one that knocked him out of the tournament on the bubble. I didn't take it personally, as I'm extremely proud of the T7 call. The Kings vs. Tens hand is what it is... and I'm sure he's gotten lucky once or twice in a tournament or two.

We’re in the money now and I end the level with 164k.

2500/5000 (5000) - Not much to report in this level besides a decent hand against Tina. With AxTd, the board brings four diamonds and my ten flush plays over Tina's flush to the 9d. I end the level with 190500.

3000/6000 (6000) - With pocket 3's, I get it all in against Julie vs. her pocket Tens. I bink a trey on the flop, but she rivers a Ten for a higher set to knock me out of the tournament.

4th place paid $220, a $100 profit from my $120 investment. While a higher finish in the tournament would have been more fulfilling, I had a blast playing this deeper stack format and felt I played my best poker in years. It was great meeting all the players I haven't met in the Cleveland Poker Meetup Group, especially Benjamin, who is a really nice 21 year old that is new to the CPMG and a pretty solid player. Hopefully we see more of him at future games.

Quick SNG & Rebuy Recap

A couple quick tournament recaps:

On 6/16/18, I hosted a last minute $40 Sit&Go that featured Dana, Doug Poker, Special K, Yosh and several other CPMGers that you know and love. Unfortunately, it ended up being a night that really tested my (and probably many others) patience. For one, I couldn’t stop coughing. It was one of those really dry coughs that came out more as a bark than a cough. My apologies for putting everyone through that. Second, a player that shall not be named was way too drunk to be playing poker. There is nothing more annoying than a player who slows the game down, doesn’t pay attention to the action and verbally berates other players. The next day, that player apologized and was extremely embarrassed for their behavior that night. Apologies and thanks to those who put up with it. Anyway, 10 players participated and we paid Top 3, which ended up being Kirsten ($200), myself ($120) and Krazy Joe ($80).

On 6/30/18, I was planning to attend Julie’s tournament but she was under the weather and couldn’t host. I contemplated hosting another game, but Doza posted a $20+$5 Rebuy Bounty tournament at a tattoo shop in Parma Hts. I decided to attend and ended up collecting the bounty of the owner of the tattoo shop owner, but busted after 2 or so hours of play. Call me a poker snob, but there was a lot of novice players at my table who slowed down the game considerably when it was their turn to deal and act. I ended up taking over dealer duties and it was difficult to pick up chips and the cards on the white folding table that we played on. Needless to say, it was yet another instance where my patience was tested, and subsequently affected my play.