Monday, July 28, 2008

Variance, on my side for once!

Since my last post I only played 2 $10 MTTs and a bit of cash with nothing to report. I've taken my foot of the gas mid-week due to work pressures. Friday night I intended to get back but the wife and I decided on a night out. So we went to The Queens in Dalkey for some pre-dinner drinks. Beautiful evening sweetened with 2 pints of very nice Smithwicks, followed by a good meal in one of our favourite restaurants (Regazzi's) and finally a skin full of drink in Finnegans. Well too oiled even to log-in to the lap-top when I got home. Jaysus, getting up in the morning with the kids was a killer.

Saturday afternoon we had to go to a two year olds birthday (family and all that). Took it easy with the booze and got home at 9.45pm. Decided to give the PS $55 ($25k g'teed) a spin although wasn't really in the mood initially as I was tired. Still, picked up a six-pack of Smithy so got stuck in.

This tourney has a 3k starting stack and 15 minute blinds. 986 runners. It usually has a mix of good and very good players. There's few fish because it has no satellites but I like the forgiving structure.

Level I (10/20) I pick up 88 in MP. UTG limps and I make it 75 for cards.Guy next to act calls as does UTG, blinds folded. Flop comes 433 (2 clubs), UTG checks, I bet 220, 1 fold and UTG calls. Turn K. UTG checks, I bet 350, he calls. River 5, this time UTG bets 320 and I think its a blocker but just call and MHIG. He was drawing to the nut flush. So we've increased our stack to 4k already.

Level II (15/30) and I'm dealt AA UTG + 1. 1 fold and I make it 90 for cards, guy beside me makes it 270 and it's folded back to me. He's been aggro and I don't want to 4 bet in case I loose him so I flat call planning to bet small any any flop and see how much i can get. flop comes 869 rainbow and I bet 230, he obliges by making it 690 which I flat again and check the 9 turn. He makes it 870 and we nearly have his stack so I go AWWWWIIIINNNNNNN Baby and he calls showing TT, river K and we are smoking now with nearly 7k.

Later same level I pick up American Airlines again! This time I 3 bet an early raiser to 285 and he calls. I check an A high flop praying but he checks back. I'm getting nothing else so fire out 330 on a blank turn and he folds. No good.

Things are quiet till level IV (50/100) when I pick up TT and 3 bet the same guy as I did before, this time he fights back and shoves. He started the hand with 2k so I think he's wide enough here and make the call. His JJ holds up and suddenly Im struggling with a little less then average.

I'm playing survival poker when we get to Level VI (100/200) and I'm dealt AA for the 3rd time in LP. I 3 bet an early raiser but he lets go and I get a disappointing 800.

At the end of this level I pick up KK in MP and open for 550. A guy with 500 less then me shoves and I snap call. He shows T9 sooted, I flop a K and get my stack up to 8100 (40 bbs). Happy days.

Next hand of note is AQ off at Level VII (125/250 RA 25) Im UTG. I hate this hand and sometimes raise, sometimes fold and sometimes call from UTG, this time I flat called. One guy raises to 888 and Im the only caller. Flop comes 874 and he shoves for 2k after my check. I have a bad feeling and wimp out.

I'm bleeding chips when I pick up 97 clubs in my BB (Level VIII (150/300 RA25)). Same raiser as last hand makes it a strange 666, its folded to me and I call to see a 9 high flop. I check intending to shove over his c-bet but he checks back. Turn comes a Q and there are 3 diamonds out there now. I check again and he checks back. Another 9 falls on the river, I bet 600 part value part blocker, he calls and mucks. Staying alive...

I loose a bit, win a bit and pick up AKo at Level IX (200/400 RA 50) which wins 1k and then KQ off wins me 2k, so I have 7k at this stage.

I've blinded down to 3.7k at Level XI (400/800 RA 75). I think I must have decided to limp into the money unless I got a big hand. I'm also a great believer in "a chip and a chair". I pick up the ducks and shove on the button, both blinds call and both miss so Im up to 11.5k and suddenly back in the game. Here are the stacks before the hand ...

Seat 1: 3Osomething (3703 in chips)
Seat 2: Denon1983 (43935 in chips)
Seat 3: radfrobot (17825 in chips)
Seat 4: MagicalJoker (23752 in chips)
Seat 5: Anjodo (7625 in chips)
Seat 6: shanetrain22 (6960 in chips)
Seat 7: johngolf2000 (23715 in chips)
Seat 8: myheim (36126 in chips)
Seat 9: YaOrNo (31660 in chips)

Struggling or what?

I build to 18.5k and pick up QQ in the sb at Level XII (500/1000 RA 100). I posted this hand in the BBV thread. Its folded to the button (playing 15k) who flat calls. I make it 4000, bb gets out of the way and the button shoves. I put him on a med pp and call. I nearly smashed my computer when he turns over AA until I saw a Q on the flop. No matter how hard I looked I didnt see the expected A on the Turn or the River and suddenly I'm really motoring now with 30+bbs and getting deep.

The very next hand I pick up JJ OTB and call a shorties 8k shove. Her AQ out flops me and I'm back to average. The elation of the previous hand is very quickly over.

I've 27k at Level XIII (600/1200 RA 125) and am dealt Q9 in the sb. Its folded to me, I complete and BB (playing 16k) checks his option. Flop is 9 high, and I bet pot, he raises to 6400, I shove he folds. This is an important hand because I have really set up my image nicely now.

The tourney is real deep now. The players left are all good but the money sucks till deep into the FT. Its hard to win pots. I've kept my stack at Level XV (1000/2000 RA 200) playing 30k and pick up AKo UTG. Funny, I like this hand UTG and hate AQ in the same spot! I make it 4750 to go (being the amount of the table avg raise) and UTG + 1 makes it 8k. I hate my life, he has 70k. I dont want to lose a tourney on a drawing hand so I decide shoving is no good. I figure I can call (which i hate oop) and get away if I miss, but if I hit I might double through. Folding is sooooo weak and will destroy my image. So I flat call and the flop comes 478, I chicken check, he fires 8k and I let go. Im down to 10bbs but figure I can double up once or twice and still be in the game. The blinds cost me 4.5k after I take peeks at flops and now in danger territory.

After some short-stack ninja poker I get it back up to 30k by Level XVI (1500/3000 RA 300) and pick up AQo in the sb. A guy playing 29k shoves. Like me his range is wide here so I figure I'm ahead a lot and only racing sometimes. I shove .... BB folds, he has .... K7 sooted. Yippee, I hold and now we've 20+bbs which is average. Here are the chip counts...

Seat 1: 3Osomething (66993 in chips)
Seat 2: KhunObi2007 (82453 in chips)
Seat 3: radfrobot (103519 in chips)
Seat 4: MagicalJoker (23721 in chips)
Seat 5: OmahaGrl (62523 in chips)
Seat 6: PAPYPOKER (33787 in chips)
Seat 7: Horst Heftig (47596 in chips)
Seat 8: myheim (47237 in chips)

Level XVII (2000/4000 RA 400) I'm playing 70k with AJo OTB. Short stack that i lost to before shoves for 16k and I snap call. My hand holds v AT and now we are in business again. With the blinds and antes that takes the stack to 95k.

The game is tightening now as we are down to 3 tables. I see from reviewing PT that I pick up 26k with trash in my blinds with Q6 and Q8 (Level XVIII (2500/5000 RA 500)), all pots are good.

I get QT sooted in spades (one of my fav hands) playing 93k at this level in my BB. Its folded to SB (120k) who completes. I should raise here but decided to take a free(ish) flop which is a monster possibility action-jackson AJQ where A and J are spades. Middle pair, nut straight draw, nut flush draw and the ultimate "absolutes" draw. I think I felt a twinge in my trousers! I can't put the SB on any of this so am thrilled to call his 5k bet. The turn is an innoculous 6d and, still in love with the possibilities, call his 12.5k. The river brick is the 7h and for some unknown reason I call his 22k value bet on the river to see his A7. My stack has just been halved in the cruelest way, show me the door you Ba$tard Poker God$. Typical I thought, bring me to the edge of ecstacy and kick me in the nads. I tilt away another few precious chips over the next few hands desperately trying to get back into the game.

We are 3 tabling now. Here's how it looks at Level XIX (3000/6000 RA 600) ...

Seat 1: FlapJack1210 (172467 in chips)
Seat 3: ganjeannot (100777 in chips)
Seat 4: nicole1818 (170004 in chips)
Seat 5: MaAKAKrc (110936 in chips)
Seat 7: LuckyRS7 (224082 in chips)
Seat 8: Luong007 (165111 in chips)
Seat 9: 3Osomething (30862 in chips)

Boy do I feel out of place with 5 BBs.

I shove AQ and pick up 12k. I shove AQ very next hand and pick up 12k. A8 in my SB, shove, pick up 10k. Somehow I'm still alive with 42k at the Level XX (3500/7000 RA 700) when I treble up with QQ (also posted in BBV). Its now 3am and I've 140k! I posted the TT hand aswell, up to 170k at Level XXI (4000/8000 RA 800). Then i find myself with AK v AQ for the CL but the board reads KQTJrag for a chop.

Two hands (also posted) eliminated the guy I chopped the last with, first my AK out flops his 66 for 300k then I finish him off with AT v his shoved K3. That brought us to the FT bubble at 4.00am. I can't remember it bursting cause I was jumping up and down a lot! When the FT formed it looked a bit like this when I played my first major pot ...

Level XXIII (6000/12000 RA 1200) Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Mountino (438658 in chips)
Seat 2: myheim (179880 in chips)
Seat 3: GREMLIN4003 (304371 in chips)
Seat 4: nicole1818 (174677 in chips)
Seat 5: kewlan (289632 in chips)
Seat 6: th1275 (281098 in chips)
Seat 7: LuckyRS7 (476226 in chips)
Seat 8: DubMe2 (405424 in chips)
Seat 9: 3Osomething (408034 in chips)

I pick up QQ utg and make it 36k for cards, Kewlan calls. Flop comes 292, I check, he bets 36k, I shove, he folds. CL again.

Level XXIV (8000/16000 RA 1600) I loose a hundred thousand (count em) chips when I raise AJo UTG (lol and I fold AQ!) to 34k, th1275 calls and we see a flop of 752. I check call his 32k, check call his 32k on a T turn, we both check a 6 river and his A7 outs me!

Myself and th1275 then check down 3d 3c 5s 2d 8d after Mountino put all his chips in (having lost a race and was down to 42k) . My 99 was good and I got my 100k back.

A key hand then happens at Level XXVI (15000/30000 RA 3000). I get KK 6 handed. Everyone left is and has been busy. CL has 700k, smallest has 200k, I've 500k, rest 400k+. I make it 66k to go, gremlin playing 450k shoves and I snap. My KK takes down a 900k pot v his 99. 5 left.

A deal is already being discussed at (20000/40000 RA 4000) when I pick up a7. Ive 930k, next has 650k, next 580k then 460k and 320k. I will admit I've been a bully and open to 89k. Kewlan with 580k calls and we see T67. I lead for 140k and he tanks and shoves after using his time-bank. My turn to tank, I think and think and smell a stink. Call with middle pair. He shows KT DAMMIT. Turn ... A... river brick. OMG! I might win some decent money. It finally sinks in. 4 handed and Ive 1.6m. Next has 650k.

Now i decided to turn the heat up. Bad move! I lose 500k in 3 hands. Lol, easy come easy go.
So we do a deal. Its a good deal for me. I lock up 2nd place money ($6.6k - first was just short of $9k) and we play on for another $1k. I proceed to throw away my chips doubling up a shortie when my Q7 sooted was no match for his AQ. Then my exit hand ...

Level XXVIII (25000/50000 RA 5000) Seat #8 is the button
Seat 2: myheim (1658840 in chips)
Seat 7: LuckyRS7 (102496 in chips)
Seat 8: DubMe2 (670644 in chips)
Seat 9: 3Osomething (526020 in chips)
myheim: posts the ante 5000
LuckyRS7: posts the ante 5000
DubMe2: posts the ante 5000
3Osomething: posts the ante 5000
3Osomething: posts small blind 25000
myheim: posts big blind 50000
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to 3Osomething [As Ac]
LuckyRS7: raises 47496 to 97496 and is all-in
DubMe2: folds
3Osomething: raises 47496 to 144992
myheim: calls 94992
*** FLOP *** [4d 2d Kc]
3Osomething: bets 376028 and is all-in
myheim: calls 376028
*** TURN *** [4d 2d Kc] [Kd]
LuckyRS7 said, "gg ty &gl"
*** RIVER *** [4d 2d Kc Kd] [7s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***3Osomething: shows [As Ac] (two pair, Aces and Kings)
myheim: shows [Ks Qc] (three of a kind, Kings)
myheim collected 847048 from side pot
LuckyRS7: shows [9s 6s] (a pair of Kings)
DubMe2 said, "gg"
myheim collected 312488 from main pot


So, the ole bullets busted me. The irony is sweet though as it happened quite shortly after the deal.

It was 6.00am. 8 hours of the best poker (in terms of results). I actually played quite well by my standards, picking spots well to survive etc. But there is no doubt about it folks, those two treble-ups along the way (22 and QQ) and busting the AA with QQ just shows how lucky you have to be in a tourney to make it. Variance, on my side for once!









No comments: