The online challenge got the better of me. I managed to clear another $10 of the bonus after my blog post, but that was it. Obviously an extra $10 is always a help, but more would have been nicer.
Cash games at Crown have also turned around for me ... and turned in the wrong direction. The highlight of last night saw a hand where I raised to $11 UTG, was called by UTG+1 & the hijack. Flop was 245 all diamonds. I bet $20 with AdAc & was called by UTG+1. Turn saw the Qc & I bet $35 & my opponent moved all-in for an additional $90 or thereabouts. Of course there are a lot of hands that I have crushed that he might make the same move with, but there are also a lot of hands I am in trouble against. However with the Ad in my hand I have outs against anything but the straight flush (3d6d) ... so I made the call. The river was a repeat (non-diamond) queen, which helped my hand as I would now beat a flopped two pair (45 or similar) ... but of course my opponent had 63 of hearts for the flopped straight ... because calling a raise with 63 SOOOOTED is such a profitable play ...
Of course the same player made a wonderful claim in a later hand. With a board of J9257 (two diamonds on the flop, but no flush possible by the river) he decided to call my bets on every street ... and when I showed JJ for top set on the river he said 'well that beats three nines'. Really? I quized him about this and he said 'I thought you had three jacks' ... its amazing what some people will do, or what they think you will believe. So with a flush draw out there & only one possible hand that could beat it (until the river when T8 & 86 get there), he decides that just flat calling with the second nuts is the best way to play the hand ... not even raising on the flop or turn when I might stack off with top pair or an overpair. Obviously good to put the guy who cracked my aces in his place, but it was one of the few highlights in an otherwise ordinary session.
When will variance be my friend??
Showing posts with label Crown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crown. Show all posts
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Cash game run good
I have finally turned one of those corners that you always want to turn ... the run good one! The last few cash sessions I have played at Crown have seen most of my 80-20s hold up & I've even managed to win my fair share of my races. I've also played well & won a decent number of other pots to walk away with more than I started with on my last few visits. Maybe its because I've been playing a bit of online poker lately (largely inspired by a bonus offered from Full Tilt Poker), perhaps its the more frequent forum posting & watching of videos at Deuces Cracked, or maybe its just that time when the stars align and you actually run at or slightly above expectation.
Tournaments of course have continued to be standard fare, with Thursday's tournament coming to an early conclusion in a hand where I raised there was a limper (at 50/100 blinds with a 3k starting stack) before I raised to 350 in middle position. The lady to my immediate left who had played very few hands then re-raised to 700 before the big stack to her left called (he had doubled up on the second hand when he hit a gutshot after calling a small flop bet, only to have the guy with the overpair move all-in & he had around 7000 to start the hand). It folded back around to me & I moved all-in for another 2400 ... and the lady to my left immediately moved all-in as well (1700 more, so I had her covered by 700)! The big stack then thought it & eventually called. We turned over our hands & I was rather happy to see my KK up against QQ (lady) & AJo (big stack). As it turns out I was well in front, with the equities being 58% (KK) v 17% (QQ) v 25% (AJ). Of course that meant nothing as there was an ace in the window & I headed to the cash tables. Of course I think the overcall with AJo is horrible, as it is in awful shape against the shoving ranges of both myself & the lady who had both been playing super-snug. Assuming a range of TT+ & AQ+ (which is probably a bit generous), the AJ has only 16% equity. If it changed to QQ+ & AK (more realistic for myself), AJ slides to 14%. Of course it means little when your opponent gets there & you have to do the walk of shame ...
The ANZPT Melbourne schedule & structures have now been released & its good to see another 8 game event in the schedule, along with the regular dose of NLHE events. Bring on October!
Tournaments of course have continued to be standard fare, with Thursday's tournament coming to an early conclusion in a hand where I raised there was a limper (at 50/100 blinds with a 3k starting stack) before I raised to 350 in middle position. The lady to my immediate left who had played very few hands then re-raised to 700 before the big stack to her left called (he had doubled up on the second hand when he hit a gutshot after calling a small flop bet, only to have the guy with the overpair move all-in & he had around 7000 to start the hand). It folded back around to me & I moved all-in for another 2400 ... and the lady to my left immediately moved all-in as well (1700 more, so I had her covered by 700)! The big stack then thought it & eventually called. We turned over our hands & I was rather happy to see my KK up against QQ (lady) & AJo (big stack). As it turns out I was well in front, with the equities being 58% (KK) v 17% (QQ) v 25% (AJ). Of course that meant nothing as there was an ace in the window & I headed to the cash tables. Of course I think the overcall with AJo is horrible, as it is in awful shape against the shoving ranges of both myself & the lady who had both been playing super-snug. Assuming a range of TT+ & AQ+ (which is probably a bit generous), the AJ has only 16% equity. If it changed to QQ+ & AK (more realistic for myself), AJ slides to 14%. Of course it means little when your opponent gets there & you have to do the walk of shame ...
The ANZPT Melbourne schedule & structures have now been released & its good to see another 8 game event in the schedule, along with the regular dose of NLHE events. Bring on October!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Victorian Champs so far ...
0 for 5 ... and my wish for some run good has only been fleeting.
Opening Event - Just got nothing going & was out before the first break.
PokerPro Freeroll - A new promotional tourney for Crown this series. Not quite sure what the angle is, but they're offering PokerPro credits for the top few finishers each day ($50 each for the top 10% or thereabouts), as well as a freeroll for a Victorian Champs Main Event seat at the end of the fortnight's promotion. Needless to say the structure is horrible (10 minute levels using the super-fast Tuesday Turbo structure) & I made it to the last two tables before losing the inevitable flip.
Morning Series tourney - This was the best of my tournaments so far. I finished in 24th out of the 133 starters (with top 20 being paid of course). Strangely enough my downfall came very shortly after I doubled up with AA to become one of the chip leaders. The next hand I picked up ATo & raised, only to be called by the big stack in the SB. He check-called my continuation bet & then lead out at the turn on a J62J board & I folded. The very next hand I picked up 99 & again raised, only to have a player re-raise all-in behind me. I called & he showed JJ & I didn't improve, which meant I was now a short stack! I eventually got it in with 87o against JTo but a pair which became trips on the turn for my opponent meant I was doing the walk of shame without a stopoff at the cashier.
PLO - Again, not much happening here. Managed to get my chips in both times with AAxx on the flop ... once in front facing a draw (AA86o v AKJTds on a J53 two-tone flop where he made his flush on the river) & another time when I was in horrible shape (AAJ9ds v 5678ds v A422o on a 732 rainbow flop & the board ran out 55 to give the 5678 the bigger boat). Again I didn't make it to the first break ...
It seems as though the big hurdle in these low buy-in Omaha tournaments is surviving the first few levels. This is the time when there are many multi-way pots (blinds being small relative to stack size) & people are more inclined to gamble with the 'second chance' format now being standard at Crown. Obviously it also helps to run good ... but I don't seem to be able to do that much of late!
Teams event - Played with Angelo this time & we made it through 5 levels before Angelo ran TT into QQ (complete with an apparent slowroll). Highlights included:
* Angelo's Oscar nomination worthy performance for toughest decision ever with aces, which lead to a pre-flop showdown with some broadway hand (possibly QQ but I'm not 100% sure - Crown isn't exactly built for spectators) & a much-needed double up for the good guys.
* The guy who claimed to have folded A4 on a board of 446A8 with three hearts when he only had 700 behind in a pot of roughly 5000 during level 1. He folded & his opponent showed AA (to apparently turn a one-outer) & he then proceeded to walk off in a huff, only to return a few minutes later & claim the inspired fold of a full house!
* Same guy who auto-tilted after seeing a flop. He had folded to my raise pre-flop & there was a call & a shove from a short stack behind. I overshoved to get heads-up & my 88 held against A8. He claimed to have folded 66 ... and as soon as he saw the 6 as the first card of the flop he again stormed off and returned a few minutes later as with the previous hand.
Cash games haven't been much better. To give you an idea here are three of the hands I have played recently:
$1/2NL. UTG limps & I raise to $8 in UTG+1. UTG+2, UTG+3, button & blinds call. I have QQ. Flop is A33 & its checked to me. I bet $15 & it folds to the SB who moves all-in for about $80. I sigh & fold & he slams down 77 like its the nuts!
$2/3NL. UTG & UTG+1 limp & I raise to $15 in UTG+2. UTG+3, button, BB & both limpers come along for the ride. I have AA. Flop is J93 with two hearts (I have Ah) & I bet $22 after it is checked to me. Only UTG+1 calls. Th on turn & I bet $45, which he calls. River is 9c & he bets $55 into me. I call & he shows 89o (with the 8h) for rivered trips.
$2/3NL. I raise to $12 in UTG+2 with JJ. UTG+3 & button call. Flop is 457 two-tone & I lead for $22. UTG+3 calls. Turn is 6, putting two flush draws on board. I check & UTG+3 bets $150 (enough to put me all-in). I hate JJ on this board & fold & he shows an offsuit 4 ...
I suspect that much of the remaining Victorian Championships will be spent on the rail. I'm going to play the 8-game & might manage another midday event or PokerPro freeroll, but much of the second week is not to my liking & I'm not going to fork out the cash for the main event when I'm running so badly (and not playing my best all the time). On a more positive note I hope to get another episode of the Donkcast out shortly (currently I've recorded some segments, but will probably wait a few days before finalising & uploading it - currently I have capped internet, which is horrible) & I also hope to get a few interviews with players while I'm at Crown. Will see how things go!
Opening Event - Just got nothing going & was out before the first break.
PokerPro Freeroll - A new promotional tourney for Crown this series. Not quite sure what the angle is, but they're offering PokerPro credits for the top few finishers each day ($50 each for the top 10% or thereabouts), as well as a freeroll for a Victorian Champs Main Event seat at the end of the fortnight's promotion. Needless to say the structure is horrible (10 minute levels using the super-fast Tuesday Turbo structure) & I made it to the last two tables before losing the inevitable flip.
Morning Series tourney - This was the best of my tournaments so far. I finished in 24th out of the 133 starters (with top 20 being paid of course). Strangely enough my downfall came very shortly after I doubled up with AA to become one of the chip leaders. The next hand I picked up ATo & raised, only to be called by the big stack in the SB. He check-called my continuation bet & then lead out at the turn on a J62J board & I folded. The very next hand I picked up 99 & again raised, only to have a player re-raise all-in behind me. I called & he showed JJ & I didn't improve, which meant I was now a short stack! I eventually got it in with 87o against JTo but a pair which became trips on the turn for my opponent meant I was doing the walk of shame without a stopoff at the cashier.
PLO - Again, not much happening here. Managed to get my chips in both times with AAxx on the flop ... once in front facing a draw (AA86o v AKJTds on a J53 two-tone flop where he made his flush on the river) & another time when I was in horrible shape (AAJ9ds v 5678ds v A422o on a 732 rainbow flop & the board ran out 55 to give the 5678 the bigger boat). Again I didn't make it to the first break ...
It seems as though the big hurdle in these low buy-in Omaha tournaments is surviving the first few levels. This is the time when there are many multi-way pots (blinds being small relative to stack size) & people are more inclined to gamble with the 'second chance' format now being standard at Crown. Obviously it also helps to run good ... but I don't seem to be able to do that much of late!
Teams event - Played with Angelo this time & we made it through 5 levels before Angelo ran TT into QQ (complete with an apparent slowroll). Highlights included:
* Angelo's Oscar nomination worthy performance for toughest decision ever with aces, which lead to a pre-flop showdown with some broadway hand (possibly QQ but I'm not 100% sure - Crown isn't exactly built for spectators) & a much-needed double up for the good guys.
* The guy who claimed to have folded A4 on a board of 446A8 with three hearts when he only had 700 behind in a pot of roughly 5000 during level 1. He folded & his opponent showed AA (to apparently turn a one-outer) & he then proceeded to walk off in a huff, only to return a few minutes later & claim the inspired fold of a full house!
* Same guy who auto-tilted after seeing a flop. He had folded to my raise pre-flop & there was a call & a shove from a short stack behind. I overshoved to get heads-up & my 88 held against A8. He claimed to have folded 66 ... and as soon as he saw the 6 as the first card of the flop he again stormed off and returned a few minutes later as with the previous hand.
Cash games haven't been much better. To give you an idea here are three of the hands I have played recently:
$1/2NL. UTG limps & I raise to $8 in UTG+1. UTG+2, UTG+3, button & blinds call. I have QQ. Flop is A33 & its checked to me. I bet $15 & it folds to the SB who moves all-in for about $80. I sigh & fold & he slams down 77 like its the nuts!
$2/3NL. UTG & UTG+1 limp & I raise to $15 in UTG+2. UTG+3, button, BB & both limpers come along for the ride. I have AA. Flop is J93 with two hearts (I have Ah) & I bet $22 after it is checked to me. Only UTG+1 calls. Th on turn & I bet $45, which he calls. River is 9c & he bets $55 into me. I call & he shows 89o (with the 8h) for rivered trips.
$2/3NL. I raise to $12 in UTG+2 with JJ. UTG+3 & button call. Flop is 457 two-tone & I lead for $22. UTG+3 calls. Turn is 6, putting two flush draws on board. I check & UTG+3 bets $150 (enough to put me all-in). I hate JJ on this board & fold & he shows an offsuit 4 ...
I suspect that much of the remaining Victorian Championships will be spent on the rail. I'm going to play the 8-game & might manage another midday event or PokerPro freeroll, but much of the second week is not to my liking & I'm not going to fork out the cash for the main event when I'm running so badly (and not playing my best all the time). On a more positive note I hope to get another episode of the Donkcast out shortly (currently I've recorded some segments, but will probably wait a few days before finalising & uploading it - currently I have capped internet, which is horrible) & I also hope to get a few interviews with players while I'm at Crown. Will see how things go!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Two tourney cashes at Crown
I've played two tourneys at Crown in the last few days - the Wednesday night pot limit Omaha & the Thursday 'Thriller' & made the money in both events.
In both cases there was a critical hand where I found the necessary run good to go deep. In the PLO I was in the BB (200/400) & a short stack shoved for 1100. Another player called on the button & I looked down at QQ97 double suited. The player on the button had about 4k behind & I had him covered ... and of course I also thought that he might be willing to fold to an over-shove, figuring my chances were much improved in a heads-up pot. Of course he deliberated for quite a while before eventually calling. He had AQTT with one suit, while the all-in player had KKJ6 with no suits. Not such a horrible spot to be in, but I'd definitely prefer to be against one or the other hand rather than both. Of course things got worse on the flop when it was ten-high ... but my run good kicked in & I binked the last queen on the turn & dodged the outs on the river to add a sizable chunk to my stack. Of course the run good came ot an end when it was 5 handed when I went to war with the big stack (who had almost half the chips in play) who had been running like a Kenyan on drugs .. and my KQJT double suited proved no match for his AT52 with one suit when we got it in on the flop of Q52 (I had about half my stack in pre-flop anyway with the blinds as big as they were) & I didn't improve.
The Thursday Thriller turned out much the same. With three tables remaining I got involved in a big hand with AQo ... against AQo. The pot was around 15k total at a time when the average stack was just under 10k ... and of course I managed to take it down with the good old four-card flush (runner-runner mind you!) & took the stack to the final table. Eventually we decided to chop the prizemoney when we were 6-handed, which left those remaining with a tidy profit for the night (it actually worked out to be slightly more than 3rd place prizemoney). I was sitting 4th at the time, with a stack that was just above the chip average, but with the average stack being 10 big blinds & the big stack at the table having only 15, it was simply going to come down to who got the better cards at the right time.
Perhaps the run good that deserted me in Las Vegas (with the exception of the HORSE tourney) has returned! Either way I'm happy to be doing well - its always good to be able to put some tourney results up, especially when cash games are going well too!
In podcast news, I'm hoping to be able to interview Peter Aristidou in the next few days & should have an episode of the Donkcast out just before the Victorian Championships begin.
In both cases there was a critical hand where I found the necessary run good to go deep. In the PLO I was in the BB (200/400) & a short stack shoved for 1100. Another player called on the button & I looked down at QQ97 double suited. The player on the button had about 4k behind & I had him covered ... and of course I also thought that he might be willing to fold to an over-shove, figuring my chances were much improved in a heads-up pot. Of course he deliberated for quite a while before eventually calling. He had AQTT with one suit, while the all-in player had KKJ6 with no suits. Not such a horrible spot to be in, but I'd definitely prefer to be against one or the other hand rather than both. Of course things got worse on the flop when it was ten-high ... but my run good kicked in & I binked the last queen on the turn & dodged the outs on the river to add a sizable chunk to my stack. Of course the run good came ot an end when it was 5 handed when I went to war with the big stack (who had almost half the chips in play) who had been running like a Kenyan on drugs .. and my KQJT double suited proved no match for his AT52 with one suit when we got it in on the flop of Q52 (I had about half my stack in pre-flop anyway with the blinds as big as they were) & I didn't improve.
The Thursday Thriller turned out much the same. With three tables remaining I got involved in a big hand with AQo ... against AQo. The pot was around 15k total at a time when the average stack was just under 10k ... and of course I managed to take it down with the good old four-card flush (runner-runner mind you!) & took the stack to the final table. Eventually we decided to chop the prizemoney when we were 6-handed, which left those remaining with a tidy profit for the night (it actually worked out to be slightly more than 3rd place prizemoney). I was sitting 4th at the time, with a stack that was just above the chip average, but with the average stack being 10 big blinds & the big stack at the table having only 15, it was simply going to come down to who got the better cards at the right time.
Perhaps the run good that deserted me in Las Vegas (with the exception of the HORSE tourney) has returned! Either way I'm happy to be doing well - its always good to be able to put some tourney results up, especially when cash games are going well too!
In podcast news, I'm hoping to be able to interview Peter Aristidou in the next few days & should have an episode of the Donkcast out just before the Victorian Championships begin.
Monday, August 2, 2010
A weekend at Crown
Another weekend at Crown, with a mix of results.
Saturday proved largely frustrating, with very little going my way after a decent start. I then went on a run of second-best hands & riverings that became frustrating. Eventually I left the no limit tables & headed to the $10/20 Omaha game (yes, that's limit omaha hi for those who don't know of this game at Crown - yes, its played as hi-lo pretty much everywhere else ... but not Crown!). Got off to a decent start before being moved to the 'main' game (yes, they eventually got two tables going, with the second being a 'must-move' game, so that the first table was always full). I had some ups & downs in the main game, but left with the small profit I had brought from the second table, which somewhat compensated for the earlier no limit losses, but didn't quite make up for it in dollar terms.
I managed to make it through more than an orbit this week in the Sunday Series event this week. I had very few hands early on, and folded 99 pre-flop early when there was a raise to my left after 3 limpers. I called the raise, only for the big blind (a fairly tight woman who is a regular at Crown) 3-bet, putting about half her stack in pre-flop. I decided to wait for a better spot & folded. I picked up some chips with 55 when I c-bet on a flop of AQT & the pre-flop caller in the small blind folded 99 face up. I later picked up AA & returned to above starting stack after winning a decent pot on the turn. As you may have realised, this meant that I had not shown down a hand the whole tournament when I got involved in what would be my final hand. There were two limpers before the button (the big stack at the table who had been involved in a lot of pots) raised to 2000 (200/400/50 level) & I looked down at A8dd in the SB. Figuring he could be doing this with any kind of hand, I thought I had a decent chance to take the pot down with a 3-bet & made it 5200. It folded back around to him & after asking how much I had behind (about 5500) he made the call (he had me covered & had about 25k to start the hand). The flop came down 873 rainbow & I shoved (as I was planning to do with pretty much any flop - top pair top kicker was simply a bonus). He snap called and showed 33 for bottom set! Oh well ... off to the cash games. I guess the move would have worked about 85% of the time ... it just happened that he flopped a set to send me out of the tournament!
The $2/3 cash game proved to be a great success. No huge pots, just lots of smaller pots picked up over the nine hours I was at the table. The biggest pot of my night was a hand that ended up all-in three ways. I was in the BB with KdTd & checked my option after 4 limpers. The flop was Qd7d4c & I check-called a $10 bet from the small blind, which was also called by UTG+1. The turn was the Jc, giving me a straight draw to go with my flush draw & this time I called the $15 bet from the SB, only to have UTG+1 shove for $80 more. The SB then shoved his remaining $90 & after a short think I called (I had a stack of around $900 by this stage) & saw the Ah hit the river to give me the nuts! The SB had Q7 for two pair & the initial shover had 56 for a straight draw. Not much to my play in that hand as I was seeing the river after the flop & turn, but that was how my night was. Nothing remarkable to speak of, but lots of hands that played themselves & took down pots.
Maybe I should just play cash games on Sunday & skip the tournament altogether!
I want to put another podcast out in the next week or so, but would like to have an interview for it, so will see what I can do about finding a guest or two in the next few days.
Saturday proved largely frustrating, with very little going my way after a decent start. I then went on a run of second-best hands & riverings that became frustrating. Eventually I left the no limit tables & headed to the $10/20 Omaha game (yes, that's limit omaha hi for those who don't know of this game at Crown - yes, its played as hi-lo pretty much everywhere else ... but not Crown!). Got off to a decent start before being moved to the 'main' game (yes, they eventually got two tables going, with the second being a 'must-move' game, so that the first table was always full). I had some ups & downs in the main game, but left with the small profit I had brought from the second table, which somewhat compensated for the earlier no limit losses, but didn't quite make up for it in dollar terms.
I managed to make it through more than an orbit this week in the Sunday Series event this week. I had very few hands early on, and folded 99 pre-flop early when there was a raise to my left after 3 limpers. I called the raise, only for the big blind (a fairly tight woman who is a regular at Crown) 3-bet, putting about half her stack in pre-flop. I decided to wait for a better spot & folded. I picked up some chips with 55 when I c-bet on a flop of AQT & the pre-flop caller in the small blind folded 99 face up. I later picked up AA & returned to above starting stack after winning a decent pot on the turn. As you may have realised, this meant that I had not shown down a hand the whole tournament when I got involved in what would be my final hand. There were two limpers before the button (the big stack at the table who had been involved in a lot of pots) raised to 2000 (200/400/50 level) & I looked down at A8dd in the SB. Figuring he could be doing this with any kind of hand, I thought I had a decent chance to take the pot down with a 3-bet & made it 5200. It folded back around to him & after asking how much I had behind (about 5500) he made the call (he had me covered & had about 25k to start the hand). The flop came down 873 rainbow & I shoved (as I was planning to do with pretty much any flop - top pair top kicker was simply a bonus). He snap called and showed 33 for bottom set! Oh well ... off to the cash games. I guess the move would have worked about 85% of the time ... it just happened that he flopped a set to send me out of the tournament!
The $2/3 cash game proved to be a great success. No huge pots, just lots of smaller pots picked up over the nine hours I was at the table. The biggest pot of my night was a hand that ended up all-in three ways. I was in the BB with KdTd & checked my option after 4 limpers. The flop was Qd7d4c & I check-called a $10 bet from the small blind, which was also called by UTG+1. The turn was the Jc, giving me a straight draw to go with my flush draw & this time I called the $15 bet from the SB, only to have UTG+1 shove for $80 more. The SB then shoved his remaining $90 & after a short think I called (I had a stack of around $900 by this stage) & saw the Ah hit the river to give me the nuts! The SB had Q7 for two pair & the initial shover had 56 for a straight draw. Not much to my play in that hand as I was seeing the river after the flop & turn, but that was how my night was. Nothing remarkable to speak of, but lots of hands that played themselves & took down pots.
Maybe I should just play cash games on Sunday & skip the tournament altogether!
I want to put another podcast out in the next week or so, but would like to have an interview for it, so will see what I can do about finding a guest or two in the next few days.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Final Table at Crown
Decided to play the Thursday night tournament at Crown tonight & managed to finish 4th out of a field of 119. Its not the greatest structure in the world, with a 3k starting stack & 25 minute levels, but there are plenty of tournaments that are worse.
If there was one thing that my experiences in America taught me, it was that you need to go about accumulating chips right from the start of the tournament. This was my excuse for a key hand early in the tournament. I was in the BB (100/200) & there was a raise to 500 from UTG+1. The cutoff called & I defended with K3hh. The flop was 763 rainbow & I checked to the pre-flop raiser who bet 700. The cutoff folded & I considered my options. I had already committed 500 to the pot & had just over 1500 behind. There was a decent chance that my opponent had overcards to the board (in which case my pair of 3s would be in front) and even if he had an overpair (it seemed unlikely that he would have a set or straight here) I still had 5 outs to improve. Of course the opposing view had me with 1500 still in my stack after folding, which although short, was definitely not at the 'any two cards' stage, so all would not be lost. Eventually I decided to shove, hoping my opponent either folded (unlikely) or called & turned over AK, KQ or some other hand with a king & no pair. Of course neither of these eventualities happened & my opponent snap-called & turned over QQ to have me drawing thin. However given that the heading is not 'Early exit from tourney' I managed to bink a king on the turn to double-up, and this, combined with some run good & well-timed stealing allowed me to get to the final table as one of the chip leaders (of course I managed to crack KK with QT just before the final table when the money went in on a Q98 flop & I binked a T on the river ... but that's the punishment for my opponent not re-raising pre-flop with such a big hand). The final table was going reasonably smoothly & I managed to keep my stack at a healthy level, in spite of the most aggressive player at the table sitting to my direct left. This player would take the chip lead early on the final table & it was a big confrontation with him that would lead to my demise. We had got down to four handed, with the aggressive player to my left having just under half the chips in play in his stack. The hand in question saw me raise to 14k (blinds 3000/6000) with 55 on the button. My opponent in the SB re-raised to 32k after some thought & I decided to move all-in for an extra 51.5k on top of the re-raise. Ultimately my opponent decided to call, with the classic 'you're in front, but I have to call' line & turned over A7o. Of course there was an ace on the flop, as well as one on the turn for good measure & the 160k+ pot was shipped to the aggro guy as I collected my prizemoney and left.
I suppose its a good sign that I final tabled my first tournament back at Crown. Lets hope the run continues on Sunday & into the Victorian Championships!
If there was one thing that my experiences in America taught me, it was that you need to go about accumulating chips right from the start of the tournament. This was my excuse for a key hand early in the tournament. I was in the BB (100/200) & there was a raise to 500 from UTG+1. The cutoff called & I defended with K3hh. The flop was 763 rainbow & I checked to the pre-flop raiser who bet 700. The cutoff folded & I considered my options. I had already committed 500 to the pot & had just over 1500 behind. There was a decent chance that my opponent had overcards to the board (in which case my pair of 3s would be in front) and even if he had an overpair (it seemed unlikely that he would have a set or straight here) I still had 5 outs to improve. Of course the opposing view had me with 1500 still in my stack after folding, which although short, was definitely not at the 'any two cards' stage, so all would not be lost. Eventually I decided to shove, hoping my opponent either folded (unlikely) or called & turned over AK, KQ or some other hand with a king & no pair. Of course neither of these eventualities happened & my opponent snap-called & turned over QQ to have me drawing thin. However given that the heading is not 'Early exit from tourney' I managed to bink a king on the turn to double-up, and this, combined with some run good & well-timed stealing allowed me to get to the final table as one of the chip leaders (of course I managed to crack KK with QT just before the final table when the money went in on a Q98 flop & I binked a T on the river ... but that's the punishment for my opponent not re-raising pre-flop with such a big hand). The final table was going reasonably smoothly & I managed to keep my stack at a healthy level, in spite of the most aggressive player at the table sitting to my direct left. This player would take the chip lead early on the final table & it was a big confrontation with him that would lead to my demise. We had got down to four handed, with the aggressive player to my left having just under half the chips in play in his stack. The hand in question saw me raise to 14k (blinds 3000/6000) with 55 on the button. My opponent in the SB re-raised to 32k after some thought & I decided to move all-in for an extra 51.5k on top of the re-raise. Ultimately my opponent decided to call, with the classic 'you're in front, but I have to call' line & turned over A7o. Of course there was an ace on the flop, as well as one on the turn for good measure & the 160k+ pot was shipped to the aggro guy as I collected my prizemoney and left.
I suppose its a good sign that I final tabled my first tournament back at Crown. Lets hope the run continues on Sunday & into the Victorian Championships!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Welcome home ... here's a one-outer for you!
Don't you love coming home, back to what you know and familiarity?
Since I've been back in Melbourne I've been to Crown twice ... the first time booking a small win & the second running into a one-outer, culminating in a loss which was a bigger swing in the wrong direction.
The hand in question saw me raise to $10 UTG+1 in a $2/3 game with QQ. The cutoff puts in $3 for the call, only for the dealer to tell him its actually $10, so he calls. The big blind comes along for the ride as well. The flop is 998 (with two clubs), which is decent for me (as long as no-one has a 9), so I lead for $17. The cutoff calls & the BB folds. I figure that the caller has some kid of hand - an 8, a flush or straight draw, or possibly a 9. I have about $70 behind at this stage (yes, it had been one of those nights) & am delighted to see a queen on the turn. I decide to be tricky (though in hindsight it would make no difference) & check-call my opponent's $25 bet. The plan is to shove the river for my remaining $40+ & with the pot so big my opponent pretty much has to call, insuring a double-up for me ... but things didn't go according to plan. River ... 9. I slide my small stack forward & as soon as I release it, my opponent says call. I know he has the 9! My heart sinks, I announce 'a 9 is good' as I dejectedly turn over my queens full. Of course he turns over J9o to take the pot, to the 'oooohs' & 'ahhhs' & other comments of those at the table. Of course the villain in the hand then proceeded to tell the table how that sort of thing never happens to him & how he is always on the receiving end of bad beats & never gives them ... of course having played with him on multiple occasions, I know the opposite is true, though perhaps he doesn't consider it a bad beat if his opponent's cards are not shown.
Poker is fun ... for everyone ...
Next: Back in the saddle ... oh & if anyone knows where to find some run good, PLEASE let me know!
Since I've been back in Melbourne I've been to Crown twice ... the first time booking a small win & the second running into a one-outer, culminating in a loss which was a bigger swing in the wrong direction.
The hand in question saw me raise to $10 UTG+1 in a $2/3 game with QQ. The cutoff puts in $3 for the call, only for the dealer to tell him its actually $10, so he calls. The big blind comes along for the ride as well. The flop is 998 (with two clubs), which is decent for me (as long as no-one has a 9), so I lead for $17. The cutoff calls & the BB folds. I figure that the caller has some kid of hand - an 8, a flush or straight draw, or possibly a 9. I have about $70 behind at this stage (yes, it had been one of those nights) & am delighted to see a queen on the turn. I decide to be tricky (though in hindsight it would make no difference) & check-call my opponent's $25 bet. The plan is to shove the river for my remaining $40+ & with the pot so big my opponent pretty much has to call, insuring a double-up for me ... but things didn't go according to plan. River ... 9. I slide my small stack forward & as soon as I release it, my opponent says call. I know he has the 9! My heart sinks, I announce 'a 9 is good' as I dejectedly turn over my queens full. Of course he turns over J9o to take the pot, to the 'oooohs' & 'ahhhs' & other comments of those at the table. Of course the villain in the hand then proceeded to tell the table how that sort of thing never happens to him & how he is always on the receiving end of bad beats & never gives them ... of course having played with him on multiple occasions, I know the opposite is true, though perhaps he doesn't consider it a bad beat if his opponent's cards are not shown.
Poker is fun ... for everyone ...
Next: Back in the saddle ... oh & if anyone knows where to find some run good, PLEASE let me know!
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