ThePokerResource.net: A Rounder’s blog

$2500 NL - pt. 2 (Feb. 11th)

Here it is again, an opportunity to play for a quarter million. I’m very nervous, but am much more comfortable given the fact that our chip stacks are much bigger in proportion to the blinds. We withdrew at three tables with 23 players left. Lucky for me, all the big name pros left were at a different table. With 82k in chips, my stack is pretty healthy. I have decided not to push the issue, to wait for hands and let other people knock out. My table is very tight, and I am not getting any hands at all. It is quite discouraging. The short stacks are moving like crazy, so I have to wait it out and make my move after the dust settles. When we redraw to 2 tables I am down to 70k in chips. I have raised a few pots and lost a few pots but nothing monumental. Again, I catch a break because the other table has about 2/3rds of the total chips in play and all the big names: The Grinder, Barry Greenstein, Kenna James, and Reza Payvar, all with very healthy stacks. So everyone folds to me in the cutoff and I look down at 99. I raise to 9k with the blinds at 1500-3000, 500 ante, and the same old man from yesterday with the AJs moves in for 50k more. If I call and lose I have 20k left. I think for about 1 minute, and I really want to call, but the more I think about it the more I know that the best case scenario for me is AK vs. 99. Every other hand he has me crushed, so I finally lay it down and I’m not too happy about it. The good news is for the next hour the old man hasn’t played one single hand outside of the blinds, he hasn’t even called a raise. It makes me think that my fold is much more correct. The other table is busting players left and right, moving chips around while my table hardly sees any flops at all. Anyways, I blind down to as low as 50k, but I refuse to panic. Mike Woo a big cash game player raises to 10k with the blinds at 2k-4k, and I look down at 99 from the SB. I deliberate for about 10 seconds and push in for 41k more. The 10k raise seems scary, but Mike has been raising anywhere from 2 times the BB to 3 times the BB, so I have no idea at the strength of his hand. Thankfully, he folds after about 15 seconds…whew that’s a close call. We play 11 handed for a half-hour longer and I move in one more time from the button with 66. I know we are close to the final table, and finally we bust a player from each table at the same time. We are now 9 handed and the final table. YES!!!!!

The good news is that I’m at the final table. The bad news is that I am the 2^nd shortest stack with 66k, the only smaller stack is the old man with 36k. The average stack is 150k because there is 1.35 million total chips in play. Kenna comes to the final table with a monster stack, more than 400k I think. The blinds go up to 2000-4000 with a 500 ante. I am getting close to the danger zone, and so far I haven’t had a good hand. The best hand I have seen is 99 three times, which I raised and take it with one, raise and fold with one, and move in with the last one. Not too bad with 99 I guess. Sometimes you have to play hands that you are dealt. OK, Jan Slavik, a European pro with about 160k opens for 15k. I look down at AQd on the button and move in for 65k total. The way he raised this pot, I put him on 99, 1010, or JJ. This is because he flung his chips in at the end, and the raise was for over 3 times the blind. I hope he has the worst of the 3 and will fold to my 50k re-raise. After about 30 seconds, he calls and we turn them up, JJ vs. AQ. The flop comes 8 A 3 and I scream out because I am now a big favorite. The turn comes a Q, and the river pairs the Q. THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!!!! I’m up to 140k and feeling good.

We shortly lose the old man who moves in for 25k. Kenna James calls him from the BB with J8 and flops a Jack to his A10. I’m moving up in the prize pool. Now, we don’t see much action but then Jan Slavic moves in for 78k UTG and I look down at 1010 in the cut off. I know he is going to move with a huge range of hands here because his BB is the next hand and he is the short stack. Given this information I elect to call. We turn them up, he has 99 and I’m ecstatic to be a 4-1 favorite. The Grinder sitting to my left says “I folded a 9,” and we see the flop that comes Q xx, turn blank, river Q, and I’m now approaching the 200k mark. Now, I have a real shot. The blinds are now 3000-6000 and The Grinder is being really active, limping in and raising a lot of pots. He limps in with 54d, and Reza raises to 30k total with AK. Surprisingly, the Grinder calls, and the flop comes K95. He moves in and Reza quickly calls. The turn brings a 5. Wow, we lose Reza and are 6 handed. At this point, Kenna has about 500k, the Grinder with 330k, me with 180k, and 3 fairly short stacks. I have a game plan here. The money is so top heavy and I refuse to get involved. I intend to wait until we are 4 handed and propose a deal, but certainly will wait it out as long as necessary. I blind down to about 160k when the Grinder limps UTG. Kenna calls from the button, Robert calls from the SB and I knuckle from the BB with K9 off. The flop comes J87 with two diamonds and it gets checked around. The turn comes a black queen. The Grinder bets 15k and Kenna calls as Robert folds. It is up to me and I do the math, I am certain no one has AK because these aggressive animals would never limp with that hand. The pot is exactly 60k and I am getting 4-1 on a call also if I get the nut card, a black ten, I can either lead out for a big number hoping to get called by a 9, or check-raise. I call. The river comes perfect the 10 of Spades. I decide to lead out for 60k. The Grinder quickly calls with 97d and I scoop a fatty. Sweet!! Now I can really wait out the other players.

Eventually, we lose Mike Woo and then Robert. Now I have at least 40k locked up. This is getting really sick. I know the Asian kid has about 120k, and I have a healthy 250k, so I’m definitely waiting him out. If we get 3 handed and no deal, I have a game plan already thought up. With the blinds at 4000-8000 and 1k ante, I open on the button for 28k with AK off and the Asian kid moves in for 50k more. I call quickly and we turn them up: J10 off for him vs. my AK. The flop comes Q109, what a burn flop. Turn blank, river 8 and he doubles up. That was not good. I refuse to panic and shake it off.

I limp in with 33 UTG and the Grinder folds. This is the first time I have limped since the 200-400 level, but given out deep chip stacks we can limp here and there. The SB calls and Kenna knuckles from the BB. The flop comes AA4 with 2 clubs and they both check to me. I lead out for 12k, a weak bet, but still a deceptive bet. Only Kenna calls. Now, I know he is going to try to take this pot away from me. I am certain of it. The turn card comes good: a 2 of spades. Kenna counts out 40k and bets it. I wait about 5 seconds and make it a 100k total, leaving me with 100 k left. This is such the perfect raise. It defines my hand, and Kenna quickly folds. That was sweet. Again, I’m back around 280k.

The Grinder finally busts the Asian kid. He limps UTG, and the Asian moves in for 120k total with A4d. The grinder takes about a minute and calls him with 22. The flop comes J109, turn 7, river 10, and now we are 3 handed. Oh yeah, I have 62k locked up, and I have a shot.

Three-handed, Kenna has 650k, the Grinder has 400k and I have 280k. I ask for a deal, and Kenna says that the company that he is contracted under doesn’t allow him to make deals. Ouch. Oh well, let’s gamble then. I know that these two are going to maintain aggression, so I am going to play a contrarian method and play tight. If I double up and get some momentum, I am going to shift gears like crazy. I have played so tight this final table that they won’t be expecting that from me. Everyone in the room watching thinks that I have no chance against these big name pros, but I believe I can do it. We all get dealt two cards and I have played a lot of poker in my life. I am ready as ever.

As expected, these two raise almost all the pots. I hardly play hands, they keep shifting chips here and there, and I blind down to about 240k. Kenna opens on the button for 38k with the blinds at 6k-12k with 2k ante. I call from the SB with KQs and so does the grinder. The flop comes K J 6 with two diamonds, and I check, as does both players. The turn comes another Jack, I check again. The grinder leads for 30k, and Kenna folds. I take about 20 seconds before I call. I want the Grinder to think I am weak if I have the best hand so he will fire another bluff on the river, if that is the case. The river comes a black 2 and I check and he fires 60k. Wow, that is the perfect bet if he has a Jack. I take about 45 seconds, and finally call him. He knuckles saying good hand, I turn over KQs and I scoop a big pot. I’m up to about 350k now, and so far it’s working. The next 20 minutes I don’t get a hand. The best hands this whole day were 1010 and AQd. I am praying to catch a hand soon. But to no avail, I blind down.

On the button Kenna opens for 38k. I call from the SB Ac Js, and so does the Grinder. The flop comes J54 with two spades. What a great flop for me. I check, and so does the Grinder. Kenna bets 60k, I take about 5 seconds, and move in for my whole 203k. The pot is now monstrous. Kenna takes about a minute and finally calls. I want him to call: I think I have him nutted with a worse Jack. His bet on the flop told me he had a hand, but not a monster hand. We turn them up: I open AJ, he opens K10s, and I scream out, “NOOOOOOO!!!!!!” That is the one hand I don’t want to see. He has one over card and a flush draw; given that I have the J of Spades he is about a 56%-44% underdog. The pot is now over 550k. The turn brings an 8 of spades, and I am drawing dead just like that. The river comes a King of hearts, and I am out. Man, that’s such a big hand. It’s seriously about a 120k hand in real money. If I win this pot, I am the chip leader with over 500k, to Kennas’ 500k and the Grinders 350k. I mean at this point, we can make a save off the record or something and I can then execute plan B of my game plan.

To no avail, I fought the good fight but came up a bit short. It’s so agonizing to lose a pot like that with so much riding on it, but it’s poker and there is nothing you can do about it. You know I get up, shake hands and all the people sweating out the tournament start to clap. They understand the pain of losing a pot like that with so much money riding at stake. It felt great, I played with these guys and held my own. I had a game plan, I caught a break early with AQd vs. JJ, and I did the best I could with the hands I did get. I was so card dead it was unreal. I am excited to try and get into the main event that starts on Thursday. I truly feel that I am playing the best tournament poker of my life. The year is young and I have a lot more poker to play.

On a different note: I must say that the Grinder and Kenna lived up to the billing. They completely dominated this final table and I was in awe of some of the Grinder’s plays. He really has a lot of guts and he moves in at some crucial spots. He is really seasoned and understands the money pressure, putting players to the ultimate test. Seriously, the guy is sick. I am not taking anything from Kenna either. He did what he had to get that stack. He sat on it too, and let us beat each other. Every once in a while he would stick out his head and accumulate chips. I learned a lot from them. In poker you are constantly learning. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something turns on another light bulb.

Until next time,
KK