ThePokerResource.net: A Rounder’s blog

Ok back to reality I remember now why I stopped playing tournaments. It’s the pain, especially when the stakes are so high. However, a lot of interesting hands happened so here we go.

Level 12, 1000-2000 with 300 ante

I chip up pretty easily without much confrontation. I re-raise the button out of the SB with 2c3c and he folds after some consideration. I win another pot when I call a raise after another person calls on the button with 10d9d. The flop comes off J108 rainbow and it gets checked to me so I check as well. I have a big hand, but not huge, and don’t want to play too big a pot here. The turn comes a Qs and Mr. C (Mr. Cannon the 2^nd) bets 15k which I call and the other player folds. The river comes a brick and he checks and I check to gladly take the pot here. I’m up to 190k and Mr. C just lost a huge pot and is down to about 63k. He limps in late position, I have AK on the button and raise to 11k. He then limp re-raises to 31k total. I decide to move in here considering the situation and his range probably has an Ace a lot of the time. In this spot there is no way I have the worst of it and I decide to race for a 130k pot. He calls with 99 and the flop comes off Q10x turn x river 10 and I lose out on this monster pot. I end this level with 130k and I’m not feeling good.

Level 13, 1200-2400 with 400 ante

I raise on the button to 6800 with QQ and the BB re-raises me to 25k total. He has about 115k and I have him covered by 30k or so. I decide to move in here. He folds and I show him QQ. I sensed a bit of weakness and I really felt he was making a play anyways so I just wanted to end it there. This pot puts me at about 165k or so. 30 minutes later, I raise to 6500 with the QdJd and Mr. C defends. The flop comes off KK2 rainbow and he checks so I bet 7500 and after about 30 seconds he re-raises to 15k more. I take about 40 seconds and decide to re-raise 25k more to represent a King here. After about 1 minute he folds. He claims that he had QQ, which I believe about 60% here. I saw him lay down AA on a KQQ board between SB and BB where there were 3 bets pre-flop. I really don’t think I can lay down the AA hand there. I was actually impressed. Anyways, I’m really dialed in because I just 3 bet light on the flop where I never do. I just really felt that I could win the pot there. I chip up to 200k during this level.

Level 14, 1500-3000 with a 500 ante

This level was the death of me. It’s costing me 9k a round and I literally fold for the first 2 rounds. The third round I raise with 77 to 8k and Nam makes it 25k total. I deliberate for about a minute and decide to see a flop for 17k more. The flop comes of K62 and I check fold to an 18k bet. I have no idea what he has but I decide to just fold this hand. I blind down to about 160k and than I raise to 9k with KK and Jack Boghessian moves in for 61k. I call and he tables AhQh. The flop comes off 345 with 2 hearts. What a terrible flop for me… I’m already feeling sick. The turn pairs the 3 and the river comes the 2h to give him both a straight and the nut flush. OK so I lose my 2^nd 140k pot of the day. I’m down to 100k now and I’m already feeling the pain. A tight player in seat 9 who has been very active this level amassing a healthy stack now raises to 9500 and I re-raise to 26500 with Q10. I think this is where I made a mistake in this tournament. I’m trying to represent a huge hand here by re-raising kind of small and to try to win it obviously pre-flop. I know this player is a thinking player and so my re-raise represents so much strength. Anyways, he calls the extra 17k. The flop comes off K10x and I have 75k left. After about a minute he decides to bet 40k, essentially putting me all-in. I’m really sick and I fold here. Last year or the year before I know I would have just folded my hand here because 100k is still a manageable stack but now having 75k puts me in a crucial situation. This tournament I really played with my instinct and made some plays I never ever tried before but to do this given my chip stack is just plain stupid. I mean, it could be considered genius but the consequence is too severe. I can try this play if I still had a 150k stack or so. Anyways, this is where I really think I blew it so to speak. After this hand I blind down for 2 orbits and finish the level with about 55k.

Level 15, 2000-4000 with a 500 ante

We are really getting close to the money now and I’m nursing a short stack. I’m ok with it because playing a short stack is one of my biggest strengths. I dip to as low as 41k with 67 players left (63^rd getting 22k). I’m really in a stressful situation here. I played for 3 days and to go out here is just a really sick feeling. I move in the cut off with Q10 for 41k and Antonio Esfandiari literally takes 2 minutes before he folds out of the SB. I finally get a walk and pick up the 10500 in chips to put me at 52k. I fold for another orbit and move in the cutoff with 99 in the exact same spot the round before. Antonio takes 30 seconds this time and finally folds. I wanted a call here. 2 hands later I pick up QdJd with 51k and open push. The button calls me with AcQc. The flop comes off K9x turn Q river a blank and just like that I’m out 67^th out of 665. Good for zero dollars and a waste of 3 days of poker. Folding here is really close in fact, given the consequence of losing this pot. However, there is no insurance that I would have a better spot to get it in. There was only one shorter stack as well. The blinds were going up to 3000-6000 with a 1k ante in 20 minutes; this would mean it would cost me 18k a round. I have 51k here so I would literally have less than 3 rounds.

Overall I think I played some of my best poker in my life. Do I have any regrets? Yes, I should have folded the Q10 instead of getting too fancy. I didn’t give enough warrant to my chip count and consequence of losing that hand. Do I think I became a better tournament player? Absolutely. In fact this is the first time after busting out of a tournament of this magnitude that I can say that yes I became a better player over the last 3 days. I played with more heart than I ever have and I really feel that this time around I was in a prime position to go real deep. But after a lapse of judgment at the end I came up a tad short. I won’t let this happen ever again. Honestly, some people would say I wish I just lost in the first day so I didn’t waste my time and that it wouldn’t hurt so much. Initially I felt this way but after some reflection I’m completely comfortable with the outcome and the result. Sure there is a lot of disappointment. After running such a long race, finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and to just come up lame down the stretch, it really hurts. All in all, I’m excited for another opportunity of playing another major tournament this year.

Thanks everyone and your support. Again I am sorry for the disappointment that we all share together. It’s extra tough when you feel that you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and everyone is hoping for you to do well. Anyways, thanks again everyone.

KK