It was early July and I had scheduled a short 10 day visit to Greece. I was staying with a friend of mine from Atlanta, who has a house in Piraeus, the main port outside Athens. We had decided to split the rental car and visit some obscure locations in search of possible retirement property.
So you ask me, "how is that poker related?" Well, I certainly wasn't going to visit Greece without at least one visit to the Loutraki casino. That visit happened on my second full day. My friend and I had been running around Athens taking care of outstanding matters that have been neglected for years while we have been living our lives in the US. The Greek bureaucracy is ah.... very bureaucratic! In my friend's case, he needed to ensure that he was fully vested in his engineering pension from all the years he worked as an engineer in Greece. Of course, he had to get a "stop work" certificate from the prefecture where he has his house and business, although he hasn't run a business for over 15 years in Greece. My friend asks the girl at the appropriate office at the prefecture, what this certificate was about; why he had to get this "stop work" certificate since he had never obtained a "start work" certificate? She, of course, in her nonchalant Greek way says, "Why do you ask these questions? Do you want to complicate matters or do you want a certificate so you can finish your business before we close?" Again, just follow the advice and directions of the bureaucrats and you'll get what you need!
That evening, I convinced my friend to drive the 1.5 hours to Loutraki so that I could finally see the new poker room and try my luck and skills against the locals. After taking care of the formalities that you encounter in any European casino (you need to register as a member), I found my way to the poker room and inquired about an open seat at the 1-2 table. What? There is no 1-2 table? OK, then I'll put my name on the list for the 2-5 table (euros). I didn't really want to play 2-5, especially in euros, but if that was the smallest stakes available, so be it. I received one of those blinking/vibrating devices and was told that they would call me when a seat opened up. They did offer to text me on my cell phone, but since I was using my US based iphone, I decided to forego any roaming rates etc.
After some play at the roulette table (only one zero....no double 00), the device went off, and I quickly cashed in and moved to the 7 seat in a 10 seat table. Let the poker playing begin!
Observing the first several hands, I quickly realized that the players at my table were aggressive and not scared to gamble their chips with mediocre hands. Once, it went all the way to the river with a Q and J showing on the board. The 8 seat called an 80 euro bet with Ace high from a 25 year old aggressive kid who had J4. Yikes! I will have to refrain from bluffing and play the good hands agressively.
I also remember how I enjoyed the table talk. I had never played poker in Greece, and since I speak Greek fluently, it was a treat to hear poker speak in your native language. It was also funny using poker related expressions and words and questioning whether they understood what you meant. In one instance, I was UTG, and I asked the lady dealer if I could straddle. Of course, she wasn't used to hearing it with an American accent, so another guy at the table repeated my request but pronounced the word "straddle" with a strong rolling "r". The dealer quickly understood and says to me, "Mister, we have everything that you have in America, so if you want to straddle or do something similar, go ahead." She said that in a tone of "please don't insult me by thinking that I'm not the world's best poker dealer." A couple of hands later when I had the button, I wanted to mess with her, so I announced that I would be placing a Mississippi straddle. There was complete confusion and silence around the table until someone came to her rescue and told me that they only had a regular straddle at this casino, and that anything else was prohibited by law. It's typical for a Greek to invoke the illegality of something, so I just smirked and continued playing.
It was almost 3 hours into the session when the following hand occurred. My stack was at around 450 euros (started at 300) and I was the big blind with Ad3c. Middle position had made it 20 euros and with 2 other callers, it was easy enough to see the flop with only 15 euros more. The flop comes 3d7dQh. I check and with the pot at 80 euros, the original raiser puts out a bet of 50 euros. The other two players fold and I decided to gamble and represent the nut flush if another diamond came on the turn. The turn is the Ah. With my two pair, I decide to slow play and I check. The other player bets another 50 euros. Again I act like I'm deliberating, but finally make the call. There is now 280 euros in the pot and I have appx. 330 euros in my stack. The river is the 3s. I am sure that I have the best hand, but I want to represent that I totally missed my flush and was trying to steal the pot. I knew that if I took a long time with my decision, the other player would know that I was up to something, so without further hesitation, I announce that I'm all in. The other player could not figure out what I could possibly have and how I could have a better hand than his. I put him on a strong Q...possibly even AQ. After some thought, he calls my all in and when I turned over my full house (I think I even said: "καραβακι" "small boat"), the whole table was shocked! The expression on the other player's face was unforgettable! He looked down at the board, looked up at me, looked down at the board again and finally looked up and with a quizzical look, he started nodding and accepted the fact that he had just lost 450 euros against an A3.
A little time after this hand, I was the BB and I look down to see two Kings. The UTG kid with 100 euros in his stack had limped in and 4 other followed, so I raised to 20 euros and got called by the UTG kid and two others. The flop was A75 rainbow, and I bet 15 euros. The UTG kid goes all in for 83 euros. The guy next to him (appx. 400 euros behind), who had sat down at the table about half an hour earlier, and whom I had pegged as a good player, flat calls the all in. The other player folded and when it came to me, I decided that my KK were beat, so I folded them face up. Pandemonium erupted from the dealer who thought I had just exposed my cards in an active hand until another guy at the table calmed her down saying that it didn't matter since it was an all in and a call and no other players involved. Just as expected, the caller showed the A8 for top pair against UTG's 99. The A held and there was no other K that would have given me a set. However, the comments from the other players were amazing. How could you fold KK? That was a terrible fold! Even if you think that someone had an A, you could still win if another K came on the board. For 80 euros more?...of course I would call! Ha..Ha..Ha
The night was passing along quietly and with my stack constantly building up, at around 2am, my friend appears and asks me to quit so we can drive the 1-hour back to the house. I was up to 1000 euros, and I explained to him that this is one of the weakest tables that I have ever played on and I could make a lot more. He insisted, so I cashed out with a nice 700 euro profit. I ended up giving him 200 euros as a present for his hospitality and freerolled the rest of my vacation with the other 500 euros.
31 August 2012
19 June 2009
Winning a Bar Poker Tourney
Yesterday was another great day of bar poker for me at the Thursday Night Mason's Sports Grill NL Holdem poker tournament held by FreeSpades Poker. (Link : http://spadesgamesllc.com/poker/). <--- Free plug worth some extra chips?
There were 45 runners and at my first table, there was a young girl that had never played before. Needless to say, she was calling with any face card and hitting them on the flop. She kept on calling any bet and 80% of the time was the eventual winner....LOL. When we got new players on the table, they looked at her chip stack and thought that she was an experienced player. When she showed the hands that she was calling raises with, they would go ballistic. BTW, she did make final table, but busted out 10th!
Memorable hand from that first table:
I was the big blind with appx. 15K. The blinds are at 100-200. Two limpers and the cutoff with 13K makes it 400 to go. The small blind with 6K calls. I looked down and see a J8, so I call hoping that with the other limpers, it would give me good pot odds. The other two also call, so now the pot is 2000. The flop comes 9TQ rainbow giving me the second nuts. Small Blind checks and I check behind hoping that one of the rest of the group has a Q and I could trap. Check...Check... and sure enough, the Cutoff bets out 1500. I'm getting ready to hollywood, but to my surprise, the small blind (a very strong player) goes all-in. I went into a zone, not only wondering whether he had the KJ, but also wondering what I should do to get the Cutoff to call and try to get his chips on the turn and river. I finally say "I got a good hand that I can't fold" and announce a call. The other two folded and the cutoff basically instacalled....hmmm! The turn is a 7 and I check, trying to see if the Cutoff will bet into a dry side pot with the KJ. He checks also. OK...no KJ there. The river is a 2, and at that point, I decide that I'm going to play act and go all in making him think that I'm trying to bluff him out of the hand. Note that this guy looked like a leisure player that knew how to play ABC poker, but did not understand the finer strategy of dry side pots and that the flop reaked of a potential straight. After about 1 whole minute of thought (LOL) I looked at him and said..."I think I have a better hand than you, so I'm all in." I was surprised that he took less than 5 seconds to call my all in, and was momentarily worried about him playing me with the KJ, but when I showed my straight, he mucked his cards. He later said that he had pocket 10's. The small blind showed his QJ, so now, I was the tourney chip leader.
The middle part of the tourney was uneventful and I played basic poker maintaining a healthy chip stack. It is noteworthy that during this time, JT (a very aggressive loose kid) was building a tremendous chip lead, by taking out one guy when his pocket A's beat out the guy's pocket K's, and when he called a preflop raise with his 6 9 and the board came out 23454. The other lady in the hand bet out the pot and he raised all-in. She thought for a while and could not put him on a 6, so she called with her AQ.
By the time we got to the final table, JT had amassed a stack of close to 80K. I had 50K which was the average, considering that there were 2-3 others that were in their 10's and 20's.
The final table had some interesting hands.
With blinds at 2000-4000, UTG goes all in for 45K. I look down at AJ and considering that there are 6 players behind me, I fold. JT in the cutoff goes all in with his big stack. The blinds fold and on the flip, UTG shows AT and JT shows 33 (LOL). A 3 on the river nailed the coffin shut on UTG and we are now down to 8 players. JT now has appx. 120K.
I was able to steal some blinds and then, from the small blind and 4 limpers in front of me I look down and see AJ suited. I decide that this is my moment, so I push all-in with 70K. JT is the first limper that the raise gets to and he instantly goes all in...(he has me covered)...the rest fold and on the flip, I show my AJ and JT shows J10 (LOL). The board gives me an A and JT is completely crippled. Hello new chip leader!!
The rest of the tourney was a complete big stack bullying by me, and then the heads up took appx. 8 hands to conclude and give me the victory. 1st place got me a $30 bar cash certificate, but more than anything, gave me a boost in confidence that I could play against all kinds of poker, even loose aggressive donkey players like JT.
There were 45 runners and at my first table, there was a young girl that had never played before. Needless to say, she was calling with any face card and hitting them on the flop. She kept on calling any bet and 80% of the time was the eventual winner....LOL. When we got new players on the table, they looked at her chip stack and thought that she was an experienced player. When she showed the hands that she was calling raises with, they would go ballistic. BTW, she did make final table, but busted out 10th!
Memorable hand from that first table:
I was the big blind with appx. 15K. The blinds are at 100-200. Two limpers and the cutoff with 13K makes it 400 to go. The small blind with 6K calls. I looked down and see a J8, so I call hoping that with the other limpers, it would give me good pot odds. The other two also call, so now the pot is 2000. The flop comes 9TQ rainbow giving me the second nuts. Small Blind checks and I check behind hoping that one of the rest of the group has a Q and I could trap. Check...Check... and sure enough, the Cutoff bets out 1500. I'm getting ready to hollywood, but to my surprise, the small blind (a very strong player) goes all-in. I went into a zone, not only wondering whether he had the KJ, but also wondering what I should do to get the Cutoff to call and try to get his chips on the turn and river. I finally say "I got a good hand that I can't fold" and announce a call. The other two folded and the cutoff basically instacalled....hmmm! The turn is a 7 and I check, trying to see if the Cutoff will bet into a dry side pot with the KJ. He checks also. OK...no KJ there. The river is a 2, and at that point, I decide that I'm going to play act and go all in making him think that I'm trying to bluff him out of the hand. Note that this guy looked like a leisure player that knew how to play ABC poker, but did not understand the finer strategy of dry side pots and that the flop reaked of a potential straight. After about 1 whole minute of thought (LOL) I looked at him and said..."I think I have a better hand than you, so I'm all in." I was surprised that he took less than 5 seconds to call my all in, and was momentarily worried about him playing me with the KJ, but when I showed my straight, he mucked his cards. He later said that he had pocket 10's. The small blind showed his QJ, so now, I was the tourney chip leader.
The middle part of the tourney was uneventful and I played basic poker maintaining a healthy chip stack. It is noteworthy that during this time, JT (a very aggressive loose kid) was building a tremendous chip lead, by taking out one guy when his pocket A's beat out the guy's pocket K's, and when he called a preflop raise with his 6 9 and the board came out 23454. The other lady in the hand bet out the pot and he raised all-in. She thought for a while and could not put him on a 6, so she called with her AQ.
By the time we got to the final table, JT had amassed a stack of close to 80K. I had 50K which was the average, considering that there were 2-3 others that were in their 10's and 20's.
The final table had some interesting hands.
With blinds at 2000-4000, UTG goes all in for 45K. I look down at AJ and considering that there are 6 players behind me, I fold. JT in the cutoff goes all in with his big stack. The blinds fold and on the flip, UTG shows AT and JT shows 33 (LOL). A 3 on the river nailed the coffin shut on UTG and we are now down to 8 players. JT now has appx. 120K.
I was able to steal some blinds and then, from the small blind and 4 limpers in front of me I look down and see AJ suited. I decide that this is my moment, so I push all-in with 70K. JT is the first limper that the raise gets to and he instantly goes all in...(he has me covered)...the rest fold and on the flip, I show my AJ and JT shows J10 (LOL). The board gives me an A and JT is completely crippled. Hello new chip leader!!
The rest of the tourney was a complete big stack bullying by me, and then the heads up took appx. 8 hands to conclude and give me the victory. 1st place got me a $30 bar cash certificate, but more than anything, gave me a boost in confidence that I could play against all kinds of poker, even loose aggressive donkey players like JT.
18 June 2009
To Deal or Not to Deal
My friend Tim called me last week and told me about a home poker tournament at a friend's house for Saturday. There would be two back to back tournaments with about 15-20 people entering and a $20 buy in for each. I told him I would go to both and I would see him there. He would come late and probably would miss the first tournament.
I arrived at 8:00pm and there were 14 anxious players sitting around, and I quickly realized that what they knew about poker came from the penny games they might have had in college or from the poker they had watched on TV. This was looking to be a good night! We started on two tables of 7 players each, and the host asked for suggestions on how to pay off the $280 that was collected. It was agreed that 1st would get $180, 2nd-$80 and 3rd-$20. Although the play was atrocious and the suckouts were happening frequently, I managed to survive down to 5 players with my chip stack at about 4 big blinds. One guy had 30 big blinds, another two players had about 15 big blinds and the other had 2 big blinds.
Just as the blinds were coming to me again, my friend Tim arrives and when I told him what the chip denominations were, he gave me a look of quiet disconcert, knowing full well that I would have to suck out to get in the money. But, I had another idea brewing in my mind. I suggested to the remaining players that we should split the pot and start the other game since so many others were getting restless and we were here for fun. One guy asked what each would get, at which point, the host (who was out of the game) started splitting the $20 bills in five stacks. One of the stacks had only $40, while the others had $60 each. When he mentioned this, one of the players with 15 big blinds offered to take the $40 since it was all for fun and he would have made a gain of $20 that he could use to buy into the next tournament, and therefore, play for free. God...I love these guys! From getting trampled by their suckouts to making a gain of $40!
We started the next tournament and decided that this time, it would be a rebuy tournament. I busted out half way through and right before the two tables were combined, when I tried to bluff with an all-in on the river. I forgot that you shouldn't try to bluff people that have no clue about betting ranges on teh flop. However, my friend Tim was still in it and I decided to stick around and see what he would do. I also volunteered to be the dealer so the game can go faster. When it got down to 5 people, Tim was down to 4 big blinds, so I raised the idea that since it was getting late, they would perhaps want to split the prize money. There was a total of $320 collected, so I suggested a split of $60 a piece with the extra $20 going to the house for hosting the poker tournament. One of the guys quickly turned down the idea, saying that the house shouldn't get anything, and that they should continue playing and the winner would get the extra $20. They all agreed, so each of the 5 got $60, but then one guy with a small to medium stack said that $20 for the winner is too little, so they should all put back $20 each. I looked at Tim and although he didn't want this, he couldn't really refuse since he was small chip stack and it would appear as though he was taking advantage of them...LOL
So now, the 5 players were playing for the $120 winner take all. In two hands, the guy that had said to put $20 back into the pot was out and there were 4 players left. Again, I suggested an even split of the $120 with each getting $30. They wanted to keep on playing, however, and Tim, who was going to be all in in 1 more deal, said that he needs to go and would agree to the $30 a piece. Seeing that they just wanted to continue playing since they were having fun playing poker for the "first time", I looked at Tim and asked him how much he was willing to take. Getting my cue, Tim said $20 was fine with him, so I asked the others whether they agreed to give Tim $20 and then they could play for the remaining $100. They all said OK, so Tim got his $20 (total $60) and gave back his 1.5 blind remaining chip stack. Two hands later, I excused myself and said that I had to leave.
I met Tim outside and we laughed our asses off. I hope that these guys never find out about this blog because I want to be invited back to this home game.
I arrived at 8:00pm and there were 14 anxious players sitting around, and I quickly realized that what they knew about poker came from the penny games they might have had in college or from the poker they had watched on TV. This was looking to be a good night! We started on two tables of 7 players each, and the host asked for suggestions on how to pay off the $280 that was collected. It was agreed that 1st would get $180, 2nd-$80 and 3rd-$20. Although the play was atrocious and the suckouts were happening frequently, I managed to survive down to 5 players with my chip stack at about 4 big blinds. One guy had 30 big blinds, another two players had about 15 big blinds and the other had 2 big blinds.
Just as the blinds were coming to me again, my friend Tim arrives and when I told him what the chip denominations were, he gave me a look of quiet disconcert, knowing full well that I would have to suck out to get in the money. But, I had another idea brewing in my mind. I suggested to the remaining players that we should split the pot and start the other game since so many others were getting restless and we were here for fun. One guy asked what each would get, at which point, the host (who was out of the game) started splitting the $20 bills in five stacks. One of the stacks had only $40, while the others had $60 each. When he mentioned this, one of the players with 15 big blinds offered to take the $40 since it was all for fun and he would have made a gain of $20 that he could use to buy into the next tournament, and therefore, play for free. God...I love these guys! From getting trampled by their suckouts to making a gain of $40!
We started the next tournament and decided that this time, it would be a rebuy tournament. I busted out half way through and right before the two tables were combined, when I tried to bluff with an all-in on the river. I forgot that you shouldn't try to bluff people that have no clue about betting ranges on teh flop. However, my friend Tim was still in it and I decided to stick around and see what he would do. I also volunteered to be the dealer so the game can go faster. When it got down to 5 people, Tim was down to 4 big blinds, so I raised the idea that since it was getting late, they would perhaps want to split the prize money. There was a total of $320 collected, so I suggested a split of $60 a piece with the extra $20 going to the house for hosting the poker tournament. One of the guys quickly turned down the idea, saying that the house shouldn't get anything, and that they should continue playing and the winner would get the extra $20. They all agreed, so each of the 5 got $60, but then one guy with a small to medium stack said that $20 for the winner is too little, so they should all put back $20 each. I looked at Tim and although he didn't want this, he couldn't really refuse since he was small chip stack and it would appear as though he was taking advantage of them...LOL
So now, the 5 players were playing for the $120 winner take all. In two hands, the guy that had said to put $20 back into the pot was out and there were 4 players left. Again, I suggested an even split of the $120 with each getting $30. They wanted to keep on playing, however, and Tim, who was going to be all in in 1 more deal, said that he needs to go and would agree to the $30 a piece. Seeing that they just wanted to continue playing since they were having fun playing poker for the "first time", I looked at Tim and asked him how much he was willing to take. Getting my cue, Tim said $20 was fine with him, so I asked the others whether they agreed to give Tim $20 and then they could play for the remaining $100. They all said OK, so Tim got his $20 (total $60) and gave back his 1.5 blind remaining chip stack. Two hands later, I excused myself and said that I had to leave.
I met Tim outside and we laughed our asses off. I hope that these guys never find out about this blog because I want to be invited back to this home game.
Warm-Up for Upcoming Vegas Trip
Yesterday, I played in a local bar tournament. It was a championship freeroll (poker for money is illegal in Georgia) for players that had received rank points during the past 3 months by playing at this location. I managed to receive an extra 1200 in chips (on top of the nearly 10,000 that everyone gets) because of my 6 rank points, so I started out with a slight chip advantage to all but one other player.
During the third blind set (15 minute blinds), I made a total donkey play and got caught trying to bluff a strong player who had paired his AJ on a AKQ flop. On the turn 6, he bet 1000, which was a pot size bet, and I called with KT. On the river 8, I reraised his bet of 1300 to 3200 to represent that I had a better hand (better than what...I don't know?). He basically instacalled and I was now down to 4500 in chips with the average around 12,000.
Towards the end of the next blind set (100-200), and with around 5000 in chips, I am on the button with 3 limpers in front of me and holding the AcTc. The Tournament Director announces that in 3 minutes the regular freeroll tournament would close its seating, so I decide to loosen up and be very aggressive. I'm on the "do or die in less than 3 minutes" strategy, so I raise it to 800. Gifford, a friend who is in the big blind, and who plays only good hands, thinks for a long time and finally pushes all-in (he had appx. 12,000) with AK. The rest of the field folds, I call all-in, and Gif and I see the flop that comes out blank for both of us, but with two clubs. The turn is another blank, but the river shows the 3 of clubs, which gives me the nut flush. I have sucked out, and now I am back in the tourney with 10,800 in chips.
The next memorable hand occurs when we are down to a final table of 9 and the blinds are at 1000-2000. I'm on the cutoff with 12,000 in chips. It is folded to me and I have A3 suited. The button has appx. 14,000 in chips and he has not been aggressive at all. The small blind has 4500 behind and it seems that he wants to at least be awarded a card protector (8th place prize). The big blind has about 22,000 behind, and I doubt that he would want to get crippled so late in the tourney with anything but JJ or higher. So, I decide to gamble and push all-in with my A3. The button folds as does the small blind. Good read so far! The big blind thinks for a short while and finally says ... "I'm getting the right pot odds to call" and proceeds to call with QJ offsuit. What? What pot odds? The flop and turn don't improve either of our hands and the river is the unnecessary A to double me up. I still don't understand why people are thinking about pot odds at this late stage where one big loss will cripple them.
Later, I am able to steal some blinds and antes, and then, the following hand plays out. The blinds are at 2000-4000 with a 500 ante. There are 5 players left and I am the big blind with 35,000. It is folded around to the small blind (with 120,000 and the big stack on the table) who calls and I check the big blind holding 7 9 offsuit. The flop comes 8J4 rainbow....1 spade. Check-Check. The turn is the 5 of spades. The small blind checks and I check behind, hoping for a 6 or T that is not a spade. The river is the 6 of spades. The small blind checks and I push all-in hoping that the small blind has caught some of it and believes that I'm trying to steal. (I was pretty sure at this point that he didn't have the flush). The small blind instacalls and with an air of confidence announces that he has a straight. He shows a 2 3. I show my 7 9 and take down the pot with the higher straight.
Eventually, the others at the table get busted out and it gets down to the two of us heads-up.
We go through some folds and steals and at one point we're exactly even in chip stacks with 150,000 each. The blinds are at 20,000-40,000 and the clock shows that in 20 seconds, they are going up to 40,000-80,000. (I know...crappy structure, but it is free bar poker). I'm in the small blind and get the 9 T of spades. I decide to gamble and push all in. He thinks a little and calls the all in with K 8 offsuit. I haven't gone to a poker hand odds calculator, but I think we're about even...he being slightly ahead (I'm thinking it's about 53%-47%). The board doesn't help either of us, so he takes down the tournament with a K high.
For second place, I received a 400 clay chip set and an octagonal folding table top. First place received an oval 8-seater poker table with leather arm rests and folding legs, a 500 clay chip set in a mahogany casing and two decks of Copag plastic playing cards.
Hopefully, this is my warm up for my upcoming trip to Vegas....planning on playing the $1500 NL tournament event on June 29.
I'll keep you updated through this blog.
During the third blind set (15 minute blinds), I made a total donkey play and got caught trying to bluff a strong player who had paired his AJ on a AKQ flop. On the turn 6, he bet 1000, which was a pot size bet, and I called with KT. On the river 8, I reraised his bet of 1300 to 3200 to represent that I had a better hand (better than what...I don't know?). He basically instacalled and I was now down to 4500 in chips with the average around 12,000.
Towards the end of the next blind set (100-200), and with around 5000 in chips, I am on the button with 3 limpers in front of me and holding the AcTc. The Tournament Director announces that in 3 minutes the regular freeroll tournament would close its seating, so I decide to loosen up and be very aggressive. I'm on the "do or die in less than 3 minutes" strategy, so I raise it to 800. Gifford, a friend who is in the big blind, and who plays only good hands, thinks for a long time and finally pushes all-in (he had appx. 12,000) with AK. The rest of the field folds, I call all-in, and Gif and I see the flop that comes out blank for both of us, but with two clubs. The turn is another blank, but the river shows the 3 of clubs, which gives me the nut flush. I have sucked out, and now I am back in the tourney with 10,800 in chips.
The next memorable hand occurs when we are down to a final table of 9 and the blinds are at 1000-2000. I'm on the cutoff with 12,000 in chips. It is folded to me and I have A3 suited. The button has appx. 14,000 in chips and he has not been aggressive at all. The small blind has 4500 behind and it seems that he wants to at least be awarded a card protector (8th place prize). The big blind has about 22,000 behind, and I doubt that he would want to get crippled so late in the tourney with anything but JJ or higher. So, I decide to gamble and push all-in with my A3. The button folds as does the small blind. Good read so far! The big blind thinks for a short while and finally says ... "I'm getting the right pot odds to call" and proceeds to call with QJ offsuit. What? What pot odds? The flop and turn don't improve either of our hands and the river is the unnecessary A to double me up. I still don't understand why people are thinking about pot odds at this late stage where one big loss will cripple them.
Later, I am able to steal some blinds and antes, and then, the following hand plays out. The blinds are at 2000-4000 with a 500 ante. There are 5 players left and I am the big blind with 35,000. It is folded around to the small blind (with 120,000 and the big stack on the table) who calls and I check the big blind holding 7 9 offsuit. The flop comes 8J4 rainbow....1 spade. Check-Check. The turn is the 5 of spades. The small blind checks and I check behind, hoping for a 6 or T that is not a spade. The river is the 6 of spades. The small blind checks and I push all-in hoping that the small blind has caught some of it and believes that I'm trying to steal. (I was pretty sure at this point that he didn't have the flush). The small blind instacalls and with an air of confidence announces that he has a straight. He shows a 2 3. I show my 7 9 and take down the pot with the higher straight.
Eventually, the others at the table get busted out and it gets down to the two of us heads-up.
We go through some folds and steals and at one point we're exactly even in chip stacks with 150,000 each. The blinds are at 20,000-40,000 and the clock shows that in 20 seconds, they are going up to 40,000-80,000. (I know...crappy structure, but it is free bar poker). I'm in the small blind and get the 9 T of spades. I decide to gamble and push all in. He thinks a little and calls the all in with K 8 offsuit. I haven't gone to a poker hand odds calculator, but I think we're about even...he being slightly ahead (I'm thinking it's about 53%-47%). The board doesn't help either of us, so he takes down the tournament with a K high.
For second place, I received a 400 clay chip set and an octagonal folding table top. First place received an oval 8-seater poker table with leather arm rests and folding legs, a 500 clay chip set in a mahogany casing and two decks of Copag plastic playing cards.
Hopefully, this is my warm up for my upcoming trip to Vegas....planning on playing the $1500 NL tournament event on June 29.
I'll keep you updated through this blog.
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