Posts Tagged ‘poker tournament strategy’

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3/14/09 – Bremerton Lanes AM Poker Tournament

March 14, 2010

Wow. I haven’t been this annoyed in a live tournament for a while. I made note of all the pots I played. I’ll let the hands do the talking:

blinds 25-50, UTG raises to 200, one player calls, I look down at QQ. I sometimes like to play QQ conservatively preflop, but I sensed a bit of weakness here and decided to make it 875 to go. The UTG raiser called and the other player folded and we saw a Q54, two spade flop HU. He checks to me. Its hard to make money on this kind of board given his hand range (AK, AQ, small pair). I could give a free card here and see if he can catch up a bit on the turn, but I decide to bet 625 and hope he has AQ or TT and gives me a little action. If he has a set, the money will get in eventually no matter what I do. He folds though and I thought about how I could have played this flop differently for quite a while… Oh well, +1125 on the first hand of the tournament is just fine.

blinds 25-50, several people limp, and the button makes it 250 to go. I have 77 in the small blind and decide to call since I expect most of the limpers to come with me making it worth it to try and flop a set. They all do call and the flop comes 954. Not too bad of a flop for me, but I’m out of position against several players including one I suspect has an overpair, so I just check. One of the limpers bets 200 and the preflop raiser makes it 600 to go. I fold.

blinds 50-100, I raise in EP with AK to 250. One person calls me, next guy goes all-in for 900 and the SB shoves for 1825. Folds back to me. Folding seems wise.. but if I call and lose, I’ll have 2500 left which is plenty of chips to play with at this level, so I decide to gamble and try to build a big stack. They show QQ and JJ and I spike a King on the flop to build my stack up to 7700.

blinds 75-150, one tight-passive player limps UTG, folds to me OTB with 9s7s and I make it 425 to go. Small blind calls and the limper folds and we see a K83 flop HU. He checks to me and I check out his stack size. He has about 1300 left. Since I missed the flop completely, I decide to make a feeler bet of 350 and if he calls or raises, my following decisions will be easy. He folds though and I’m up over 8000 in chips.

blinds 75-150, a solid player UTG makes it 500 to go. I look down at QQ. I get a stack count from my opponent and he’s got about 3000 left, so I decide calling is best here. Someone floats behind me and we got 3-way action to a J93 flop. UTG shoves the rest of his stack in and I go in the tank. He just bet 3275 into a pot that has about 1700 in it. Before the flop, he asked me if I had Kings jokingly and then when I just called he said “wooo.. you scared me there.” I think he’s a pretty solid player and my instincts were strongly saying to fold here. I counted down my stack and I’d have over 4000 left if I call and lose. I felt a lot of strength from him and that he had a pretty good idea of what I had, plus his comments before the flop kind of indicated strength too. That being said, it seems like an easy fold in retrospect, but I decided to call just in case my read was wrong and because my stack would still be in solid shape if I lost. He showed Kings and wins the pot. Some people might think this is bad luck or a cooler, but I honestly think I should have and could have folded the hand. This is simply poor play on my part.

blinds 75-150 and I open to 450 with AK. One loose, bad player calls me OTB and we see a JJ2 flop HU. I decide to check the flop and see what he does, expecting him to check a large percentage of the time. He does check and the turn card comes with an ugly T. I decide to check again since a lot of hands he could have might call me now and I’m technically still drawing and I think he’ll check if I still have him beat. River is a 5 and I have no reason to bet for value or try to bluff him off the best hand here. I check and hope my hand is good. It’s not… he has A5 and scoops the pot. I was mad at myself after this one.

blinds 100-200 and here comes the most obnoxious hand I’ve been a participant of in a while. Two loose, bad players limp in and I look down at TT OTB. I decide to make a hefty raise to 1100 and I’m pretty shocked when both blinds call as well as both of the limpers. I’m really hoping for a ten on the flop or a board with undercards and I get my wish when it comes 985. The SB only has 100 left and puts it in. The BB makes it 1500 to go and appears all in. One of the limpers (my opponent from the last hand) puts in his remaining 2000, but looks weak. Back to me… I could fold here, but I really don’t feel like I’m beat at all, so I call. Then I’m annoyed when I discover the BB still has chips left when he puts in another 500 to call. He has another 500 behind and the extra 1000 was hiding in his palm. Thanks, man. Don’t worry, your stack size doesn’t affect anyone else’s decisions, you idiot. The turn comes a brutal 7 and the SB puts in his last 500. I call and we flip over our hands: K7 in the SB, QJ in the BB, and…. 96 from the limper. Are you kidding me? Calls a 5.5xBB raise preflop, puts in 2000 on the flop and spikes his fucking hand? Jesus. I do have an open-ended straight draw, but I come up short on the river and 96 scoops a 8500 pot and I get 1000 back. Now I’m pissed and down to 3100 chips when I should have a monster stack.

blinds raise to 200-400 and I fold my BB and SB and I’m down to 2500.

blinds 200-400 and folds to me OTB. I’d probably push with anything here, but A8 is like the nuts for me, so I shove and scoop the blinds.

blinds 200-400, two weaker players limp in and I look down at Ad5d with 3100. I push it all in since I need to pick up chips and expect to win the pot uncontested a large percentage of the time as long as no one behind me wakes up with a hand. Everyone behind me folds but the second limper surprisingly calls and shows me a gross-looking KJos. The way the tournament has gone so far, I’m 95% sure I’m going to lose the pot, but the flop comes favorable enough showing 843, keeping me in the lead, but the turn peels off a jack and I brick the river and get sent home.

I continue to run horribly in this tournament. I’m hoping that my luck can turn in the next couple weeks before I have to take a 3 month hiatus to finish my degree at The University Of Washington. I don’t want to take my break while I’m still in the red in a tournament I should be beating. Ugh.

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Crucial Poker Hand Question

January 31, 2010

Poker experts, what do you do here? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Live deep stack tournament. Blinds are 300-600, I have $14,200 and open the pot to $1500 in mid/late position with As7s. It folds to the SB, who calls. BB folds. HU to T76, two spade flop. He checks to me, I bet $2500, and he shoves for $7400 more. My read on opponent is that he’s pretty nitty, but capable of shoving hands like AT, QQ, JJ here… maybe even a big spade draw.

If I call and win I’ll have $26,200, which would be a top 5 stack in the tournament with 35ish remaining.

If I fold, I’ll have $10,200 for an M of 11.33.

If I call and lose, I’ll have $2800 left and will have to shove the first decent hand I get dealt before the blinds go through me again.

I’m getting a little over 2 to 1 to call and based on my read, I think I’m a favorite over about 30-40% of his range here.

What do you do?

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1/29 Bremerton Lanes Tournament

January 29, 2010

Today, I started off on a roll. With starting stacks of 3500, I was up to 5000 and we were still in the first round.

Key Hand #1 – Blinds 25/50, one person limps and I raise to 225 with AK. One person behind me calls, the blinds fold, and the limper calls. 3-way action to a A64, two club flop. One check, I bet 375 and the person behind me calls, the first guy folds. Turn is a 4c. I could bet here to define my hand and really see where I’m at… I don’t have a club in my hand, so if it checks around and a fourth club hits the river, I’ll be pretty disgusted with myself. Of course, I could already be beat, and I didn’t sense a lot of strength from my opponent and I think he has an ace with a weaker kicker, and as long as that kicker isn’t a club, I’m in pretty good shape, so I decide to just check it. He bets 375. No need to raise here… I just call. River is an ugly Kc. I could bet to prevent a bluff, maybe even get him to fold a small/medium club. He’d probably pay it off in frustration if he turned a flush since I’m not going to bet enough to put a ton of pressure on him. We both check and I’m shocked when he turns over 66 for a full house. No idea what he was thinking, but I was very grateful to only lose 750 post-flop when I would’ve stacked off if he raised the flop. Instead of losing 75% of my chips, I lost the minimum and still had around 4000.

The next several blind levels were brutal to me. Not only was I not getting good hands, but my attempts to steal blinds and keep my stack in good shape proved futile. I had two people to my left that were loose and defended constantly. I never hit the board with my hands and any time I made a continuation bet, I got called or raised. After a while, it became clear that I was going to have to play hands with value… and those weren’t coming often, so my stack was dwindling.

Key Hand #2 – with the blinds at 200-400, I was in the big blind with KdQd and 1700 behind. It folds to the button who raises to 800. SB folds and I consider my options. I decide that calling is out of the question and ship it. He calls with AK and I spike a Queen to double up. I am now freerolling in the tournament.

Key Hand #3 – blinds are still 200-400… the tables just combined and a new player I’m unfamiliar with raises to 1000 with 3000 behind. It folds to me in LP and I have 77 and I have 4800 total. My opponent is an old man and I usually consider most old men a nit until proven otherwise…. which means, I’m probably never going to get him to fold if I shove and I’m probably only a slight favorite against the bottom of his range. I think folding here is wise, although it’s close… I still have 6 orbits left and I just think I can find a better spot. Doubling up is critical at this point, but I think I’m an underdog against his range. I fold.

Key Hand #4 – blinds are 400-800… we are short-handed, I have 5400 and it folds to me. I shove it with KT and get called by JJ. I spike a King and double up to 12000. Maybe luck is on my side today.

Key Hand #5 – blinds are 400-800, we are still short-handed… I have about 12000 still and open to 2400 with AQ. Someone shoves behind me for 3700 and I make the easy call. He shows AA and his hand holds. I’m down to 8300.

Key Hand #6 – I’ve been managing to keep my stack in good shape and I’m up to around 13000. blinds are now 500-1000 and I have 6d5d in the BB. It folds to the button who shoves for 4500. SB folds and it’s 3500 to me. I do some quick odds… it’s going to cost me 3500 more to try and win a 6500 pot. If I call and lose, I’ll still have around 9000, which is something I can work with. Getting 1.8 to 1 in a likely 40-60, I decide to try and knock him out. Unfortunately he shows TT and even though I flop a flush draw, his hand holds.

Key Hand #7 – I make it to the final table for the 3rd day in a row. Unfortunately, my stack is weak at 9500. I didn’t draw a good seat position, so I’m UTG+1, and the blinds are 500-1000. I fold my first hand, a J6, and then I pick up KT UTG the next hand. I’m aware of the time left in the round and the blinds are going to go up to 1000-2000 the next hand, so my relative stack size is much worse than it looks. If I fold, I’m going to have 3000 going through me the next two hands, assuming I lose both of them, and I’ll have 6500 on the button, which is a pretty easy amount to call from the big blind with 2000 invested already. I decide to shove it while I still have some fold equity from my opponents and it folds all the way to the big blind who calls with AK. No 3-outer for me, as his trip Kings, Ace kicker scoops the pot and he has me covered. FML! I can’t close this thing out!

5 tournaments, 3 final tables, 1 cash, -$125 overall

I’m playing in a deep stack tournament on Sunday and if I don’t cash in that, I’ll have to cut my tournament playing down next week.

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01/28 Bremerton Lanes Tournament

January 28, 2010

I didn’t feel like keeping any notes today, so I don’t have a whole lot of hands to talk about. I splashed around and played pretty loose (and kind of bad, honestly) for the first three rounds and I had lost 2/3 of my stack early.

Key Hand #1 – I can’t recall the blind levels or my exact stack size… but I think it was 100-200 and I raised it to 600 with JJ. Folds to the button who shoves for about 2000 total. I call and my hand holds against 77 and I win my first decent sized pot.

After that hand, I managed to win enough blinds to keep myself right around an M of 5 all the way to the final table. At the final table, I pushed all in 4-5 times and never got called and managed to make it to the top 5.

Key Hand #2 – with the blinds at 1000-2000, I have Ad6d in the BB and 9000 behind. The chip leader makes a raise to 7000 from the cut off and it folds to me. I’m probably ahead of his opening range here (knowing the player well) and my stack dictates a shove so I get it in. He calls and shows KsJs. The flop comes T42, with two spades, the turn is a Q, and somehow I dodge one of his 20 outs on the river and double up to 23000.

Key Hand #3 – with the blinds at 1000-2000, it folds to the SB who only has 5000 left and gets it in. I toss another 3000 in without even looking and am ecstatic when I flip over a beautiful-looking AK. He shows QJ and it looks over when the flop comes AJ6, but then the board comes running Jacks and he scoops the pot with quads. This actually was my tournament-defining hand because if I hold, I would’ve had over 30,000 in chips, which would’ve been the chip lead, and we would have been down to four. Most importantly, this next hand would’ve never happened.

Key Hand #4 – with the blinds at 1000-2000, it folds to the button (the player I could have knocked out last hand) who shoves for 11000. I have Ah6h and I know he’s getting it in with a wide range here, so I call. Unfortunately, the big blind shoves for enough to put me all-in… and I now have half my chips in the pot and I’m getting ridiculously good odds. Folding is out of the question, even though the situation looks grim. Fortunately, neither of them has an Ace as they show KK and 99. I miss my 3-outer and bust out in 5th, which was good for $50 and a profit of $15. Yay!

That gives me one cash in four tries, two final tables, and a net “profit” of -$90. LOL.

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Today’s Poker Tournament

January 26, 2010

Okay, to add to my post from last night, the starting stacks for this tournament are 3500 and I confirmed that the levels are indeed 15 minutes long. So this gives you an M (starting stack / divided by cost of blinds each orbit) of 46 to start the tournament. Pretty fucking sick. I did discover one negative thing about the tournament. It’s a 12 round freezout… so after the last round, play stops and pay is determined by chip stacks. It’s a minor gripe though, since that’s three hours of play and I’ve heard that it rarely reaches that point.

Today’s tournament was pretty miserable and uneventful for me. By the time the blinds reached 75-150, I had entered one pot willingly and I don’t consider myself a tight player at all. My cards were that bad and I couldn’t find any positional situations to benefit from. I had won zero pots and my stack was only down to about 2700.

Key Hand #1 – the blinds have gone through me a few more times and are up to 100-200. My stack is about 2300. It folds to the cut off, a player that has been playing kind of snug, and he raises to 600. I look down at AQ on the button. I think simply calling with this hand is right most of the time, but if I do that here, I’m going to be left with 1700 and I’d be relying completely on hitting the flop. Even though the raiser hasn’t been splashing around, this is BY FAR the best hand I’ve seen all tournament, so I shove my chips in. He folds. Yay! Pot A almost an hour into the tournament.

Key Hand #2 – blinds are 100-200 and a tight, old man raises to 600 in early position. It folds to me on the button and I have AdKd and I have 3600. A little bit different than the last hand, since my opponent is noticeably tighter this time, he’s raising from early position (not the cut off), and my stack is 33% larger. Against this player, I felt it was best to take a flop before getting too excited about my hand… worst case scenario, I can use my positional advantage to see if I can outmaneuver him after the flop if he misses it or doesn’t seem to like the board. The small blind comes along for the ride and the big blind folds. The board comes KT3 with two hearts. SB checks, old man hesitates for a bit and decides to check, and it’s up to me. After calling his raise, I have 3000 left and there’s 2000 in the pot. I have top pair/top kicker, a flush draw is present, and any reasonable bet by me is going to be for a significant portion of my stack… since I’m never folding here, I decide that shoving, protecting my hand, and putting maximum pressure on my opponents is my best option. The SB folds, but the old man quickly calls and I’m not surprised when he turns over TT. The turn gives me a brief glimmer of hope when an Ace shows up, but the river blanks and I’m in the dead zone with 500 left.

Key Hand #3 – blinds are still 100-200 and it folds to me holding 22. I ship my 500 and the BB calls, as he should with any two cards, and flips over 53. I dodge his 6-outer and double up to 1100.

Key Hand #4 – I don’t get any good spots to get my chips in and I’m under the gun with J8o. Blinds are still 100-200 and I ask the dealer how much time is left in the round. If the next hand was likely going to cost me 400, I would’ve shoved here with any two cards while I still had enough chips that people can’t call me too loosely. She told me there was 2 minutes, 30 seconds left, and I decide the blinds will go through me before rising and I’ll still have 800 left when i get to the button. What I forgot to consider was that when I have that 800 on the button the blinds were going to be 200-400 and everyone except for a super tight idiot is going to call me from the big blind when I push. I should have shoved the J8, but I folded and I was sick when A6 won with a pair of 6s and a J hit the river. I would’ve either doubled up or picked up the blinds. Bad play, Mac.

Key Hand #5 – Now I’m in the big blind for 200 with 900 left behind. Someone from middle position min-raises, two people call, the small blind calls, and I hate the situation before I even look at my cards. I’m now getting 9 to 1 pot odds and even though maintaining chips is critical, I should probably call with a hand even as bad as 72 and ship it if I hit the board at all and hope I can pick up this nice pot. Also, even if my hand happens to be good, I don’t have enough chips behind to force anybody out of the pot and I’m going to have to hold up against four different hands. I look down at A8 and I could just get it over with and shove here… but I’m dead in the water if the flop comes super ugly, so I might as well preserve my last 700 and see what happens. The board comes 654 rainbow, the small blind checks, and I decide this isn’t a terrible flop for my hand and put my last 700 in. I’m sure I’m going to get called in at least one spot, but I should have at least 4 outs and my bet is enough that it should force out anyone that completely missed the board, which is kind of likely considering the flop. I only get one caller and it’s time to get lucky. He flips over one of the worst hands possible for my holding and shows 77. Great… two of my gutshot outs are gone, my 8s are dead, and I’m drawing to three aces and it wouldn’t surprise me if some of those just hit the muck. His hand holds and I’m done in about 25th place.

Pretty shitty showing overall as I didn’t get in a single favorable situation. This makes me 0 for 2 in this tournament and -$70 overall… not how I wanted to start my foray into this tournament when I’m short on money for the next few days. Boooooooooo!

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