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2006 LAPC, NL-Hold’em Championship (Feb. 16-21): Day 3

Seriously, I have played so much poker this past week, I really don’t remember too many hands. I can say this though: that today I played the best poker of my life. I never got over 200k, and got as low as 87k. Given the size of the blinds, that small of a fluctuation is a feat in itself.

I get to my table and see that I have the worst draw, period. I have Amir Vahedi two to my right, JC Tran to my left, and CK Hua to his left. Talk about a monster lineup…and all have monster-sized chip stacks too. I start the day with 150k, which is good. The blinds at 1200-2400 with 400 ante. I pick up AK twice, and KK twice. You would think I amass some chip stacks with these hands, but I don’t. I re-raise with AK and get a walk. The 2nd AK, I raise and get two callers. The flop comes 1086, all diamonds. I check and fold because I have no diamond at all. The first time I get Kings, Amir opens for 8k, and Scotty Nguyen re-raises to 20k straight, leaving himself 20k left. I make it 40k total and only Scotty calls. We both turn up KK and chop. A little later, I raise with KK again, and JC Tran smooth calls. The flop comes A25. I lead pretty small and he calls. The turn a Jack, I check and so does he. The river a 3. I check-fold to a 30k bet on the river. I manage to maintain my 150k stack.

I bob and weave for hours. I really don’t know how I maintain my stack at all. Anyways, we are down to 47 players, two from the money, and I have about 120k. I open for 19k with QQ UTG, and JC immediately raises to 44k total. I take about 10 seconds and fold. He shows me two black Kings. This is so sick. What a sick laydown on my part. I will not go out on the bubble, and I know he has a hand here. He is playing well, but the deck is running him over. He picks up Aces 3 times, Kings twice, and gets action. Still, he is pretty impressive.

I seriously take a brutal beat. I open for 21k with AKs, the blinds at 3000-6000. I get called in 4 spots. The flop comes K72, and I move in for 108k total. David Chiu calls, we turn them up, showing KQ for him. The turn pairs the deuces and the river pairs the kings. Are u kidding me? I waited all day to get in this spot, to double up or even triple up. He gets saved and we chop a 330k pot. What a joke.

We are now playing on 4 tables. I raise to 25k with J10s in early position, and someone moves in for 76k total, only 51 more than my raise. I do the math, and I am getting sick odds. I am certain that I am not a big dog, but I elect to fold anyways. I would still have 117k vs. 57k. That’s a huge difference. I can still get a move in on someone and have them fold. When I finally get in the BB, everyone folds to SB (Chris Bigler) who opens for 36k total. I count out and move in for 74k more with A4h. I know he is going to raise any two cards here, so I decide to take a stand with A4h, and he only has 250k total. Surprisingly, he opts to fold. Next I fold the SB hand. Now I’m on the button, and CK opens for 29k. I move in with AK and he folds. Back up to 150k. This is why the fold with J10s was so key.

I bob and weave some more, and end the day with 173k. We are down to 27 players, and I believe I am the 23rd smallest stack. I’m still excited…it’s no limit, and anything can happen. I hope I pick up some hands. The last two days I never had Aces once. I picked up queens twice today and lost them both. I picked up Kings twice today, which resulted in a chopped pot and a lost pot. Like I said, I don’t know how I survived this long. It is unreal. I am getting so unlucky.

I guess I’m not too unlucky, because with only 27 players left, I have a shot at $2.4 million. And I now have 40k locked up. So life isn’t too bad.

KK

2006 LAPC, NL-Hold’em Championship (Feb. 16-21): Day 2

I scan my table and see only Juha Helpi, a big name pro. No one on my table has more than 60k, and like everyone else, have between 20-30k. This still isn’t a bad spot to start day 2. The blinds are at 300-600 with 75 ante. I fold for the first round, Helpi has already taken down two pots and I fear he is going to run over the table. Anyways, I raise to 2k with A7 off with a dead BB (this player hasn’t shown up yet). The button calls, as does Helpi from the SB. The flop comes 256 rainbow, and it gets checked around. The turn comes a 4c to put two clubs out there, and Helpi leads for 2500. I deliberate, and call. The river pairs 5s and Helpi leads for 7500. I go into tank…I start studying and he just seemed weak. We both started the hand with 29k in chips, so if I call and lose, I have 16k. But if I call and win, I have 42k. I really feel like he has like a missed flush draw or a busted straight draw. I go with my instinct and call after a minute. He turns up 89 off for 9 high. I flip up A7 and the whole table looks stunned. WOW!!!! That’s such a sick read, and I feel great: up to 42k, and also crippling Helpi, who has to play tight now.

There isn’t much fluctuation as I hover between 35-40k for the next two rounds. Huck Seed comes to my table and is very active. Gees, he fluctuates from 20-40k in like 1 level. He re-raises, limps and just sees a lot of flops. I am glad he doesn’t have a massive stack. I don’t get involved with him and he busts out with KQd vs. AA. I am glad to see him go. With the blinds at 500-1000, I raise to 3k with 22 next to the cutoff, and Kathy Kolbert calls (I have played a lot of cash games with her and I am certain that she has a huge pair like KK or AA). The SB calls as well. The flop comes 823 with two spades and the SB leads for 5k. I am pretty sure I am going all-in against Kathy, but I will not slow play in case he has a flush draw. I raise to17k straight and Kathy moves in for 30k total. The SB folds, and I quickly call. She turns up two red aces and I bust her when it bricks off twice. I’m up to 85k now at the dinner break.

I get back from dinner and win a race with 66 vs. Q10. He was short when he moved in for 6.5k, and I called from the SB. I have over 95k and feeling great. I raise from the cutoff with 54d, and the button calls. We see the flop heads-up, and it comes A 3 4. I bet 6k and he calls. The turn comes an 8. I see that he has 25k left, but like an idiot, I bet 11k, and he moves in. This is stupid, I should have check-called. Now I am playing a 75k pot with a pair of 4s. I guess I let my guard down. I do the math and I call, thinking I have 9 outs, but he turns up A8. I miss the deuce or 4 on the river and am back down to 60k. What a bonehead play on my part. Minneapolis Jim Meehan comes to my table and I call his raise with Q10d. I flop a flush draw and miss. I know I have been very active, and I’m sure the table thinks I’m going to self-destruct. I tighten it up a lot.

I find 22 in middle position, and limp with the blinds at 600-1200 with 200 ante. The player who doubled up from me limps behind, and both blinds call. The flop comes J 9 2, and I am fired up. The blinds check, I lead to 3500, and the player behind me makes it 10k straight. I elect to just call. I want to double up here, and am willing to slow play. The turn brings a 5 and I check and he goes all-in. I call, and we turn them up: He has J9, and the river brings a K. I double up to about over a 100k, and pretty pumped up. WOW, those deuces really bailed me out twice today. I refuse to get involved now, and I tighten up my game based on my image.

The next hour or so I maintain my 100k stack, and rise a little to 120k before dropping back down to 80k. I raise a few pots here and there, and fold to re-raises. This young kid, Devon, comes to my table with 160k, and he sees a lot of flops. He is friends with Neverwin, so I know he will give me some respect. With the blinds at 800-1600, he opens for 4k from late position. I look down at AQ off and make it 13k total, and he quickly folds. A few rounds later, he raises again to 4k. I look down at AK off, re-raise again to 13k, and he folds. I just know that he is going to try to out play me later. It’s about an hour later when he raises to 5400 at the same level, and I look down at JJ. I elect to just call, because if I re-raise, I think he is capable of blowing me off jacks here. Also, I put him on a middle pocket pair. The flop comes 332 and he fires 10k, and I call. The turn brings a 2 to put two pair on the board. He fires 20k and makes a comment about me running him over. I call. The river comes a Q of clubs to put three clubs on the board. He checks and I check. I don’t want to reopen the betting. He then says, “you got it,” so I turn up my hand. Someone asks to see his hand and he turns up J9 off. THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! I’m up to about 110k.

I dip down to 85k from people moving over the top of me and blinding down. I raise to 7k (the blinds are at 1k-2k) with Q9s, and the button makes it 20k straight. I elect to call, and the flop comes QJ5 with two diamonds and one spade. I take about 20 seconds and move all-in. I think he has like AK or a middle pair, but I don’t want to call his all-in and fade 10 outs twice if he has AK. I want to give him an opportunity to fold. He only has about 40k. If he calls and I lose this pot, I will be down to 35k and pretty much crippled. He takes about 15 seconds and folds. WHEW!!!! What am I doing? He tells me later that he had AK, and I told him my hand and rationale: I don’t want to fade his AK twice because I know he is pushing. I take that play away from him. Man, I have to stop sticking my head out there. I don’t feel like I am playing my “A” game. I am pushing a little when I shouldn’t be. But I’m up to 120k and feeling good again.

We play one more level, and I slowly build my stack to 150k, before we are done for the night. Two sets really bailed me out, while we are now down to only 97 players. Average is about 140k, and I’m #32 in chips. The money pays at 45^th, but there is a lot of play still, and the structure is good. The whole day I had KK once and QQ once. Also, the whole tournament I have only been all-in once where I could have been busted. That was the set of deuces against Jacks and Nines. If you are never all-in, you can never be broke. I had a little stretch where I felt I played bad, but got bailed out by the deuces. I am exhausted and yet excited about tomorrow. There are 97 players left, and two of us will come out of this tournament a millionaire. Wow, now that is a sick thought.

KK

2006 LAPC, NL-Hold’em Championship (Feb. 16-21): Day 1

They start you off at 20k with the blinds at 25-50, so I’m excited to play because of the slow structure and massive starting chips. I scan my table and see only two big names: An “the boss” Tran, and Dustin “Neverwin” Woolf. Tran is a tournament specialist and Neverwin is an internet legend. I am actually friends with Neverwin and we talk everytime we see each other. Anyways, since the field is so monstrous, I am pretty happy with the starting line up. The first level I get 22, 33, 44 like 2 times each, with call raises and see every single flop with these hands. Since our stacks are so deep it would only cost like 150-250 to see a flop, and sets are so strong when you flop them.

I limp UTG with 55, and we see the flop like 5-handed. It comes down 224 with 2 clubs, so I lead for 200, both Tran and Neverwin call. The turn comes a 3, I lead out 500, Tran calls (I put him on a flush draw) and Neverwin raises to 2k straight. I go into the tank, take about 45 seconds and fold. Tough fold here, but I know he respects me, and I know he puts me on a hand like 88 or so. I think he has like A5 or something but I just don’t know. He could have a full house already. He tells me later that he had 33, and I tell him the truth, that I had 55. He said he put me on 88. I finish the first level down to about 21k, and not too happy. I really wanted to get a quick start, but at least I won some money.

The blinds go up to 50-100, and I swear, I get 22, 33, and 44 like two more times each. I probably have gotten these hands like 8 times total already, but have yet to flop a set. Anyways, I’m down to about 17k and not happy. In the BB I look down at 56h. There is 1 limper early and this player raises to 400. I have played with this player in cash games a lot. He is ok, but in NL tournaments, he has no chance. Anyways, I call, thinking it’s time to manufacture a pot or flop something big. We see the flop 3 handed and it comes down K84 with 1 heart. I check, so does the limper, and the pre-flop raiser leads for 750. I am convinced he doesn’t have a K. I put him on 1010, JJ, AQ, or AJ, so I call with the intention of taking this pot from him on the turn as long as the pre-flop limper folds, which he does. The turn comes the Ac to put 2 clubs up there. I deliberate for a few seconds and bet out 2k. My read feels more like he has a PP, but he takes about 10 seconds and calls. The river comes 10c. Obviously, I don’t like it, but I’m certain he doesn’t like it either. I put him to the test and bet out 3700, knowing that he can’t call with just an ace like I put him on. I’m freaking out here: if he calls, I’m down to 10k, which would put me in a big uphill battle from here. He takes about 30 seconds and folds. WHEW!!!!! I better stop doing that.

I finish the 2nd level around 24k and feeling better. At the 100-200 level with 25 ante, Neverwin raises my blind to 725. I look down at two red aces and re-raise to 2500 total. He folds and I show him face up my hand. He has raised my blind like 3-4 times and he likes to see a lot of flops. I have an aggressive player to my left. He is active and I know that he is going to give me his chips. Everyone folds to me in the SB and I look down at AQc. I elect to limp knowing very well that he is going to raise out of the BB. So what does he do? He makes it 700 to go. I quickly call. I want to see a flop here…I know that I have him and want to extract a lot of chips if I flop something. The flop comes J 10 2 with two clubs, I check, he bets 750, I raise to 2500 straight. He takes like 20 seconds and calls. At this point he only has like 7k left. The turn comes Jc to give me a flush, so I just move in his last 7k. He takes about a minute and folds. I don’t mind taking this pot right here. I am up to about 28k.

I limp in after one limper with 77, and the guy to my left makes it 1300 to go. I have seen him do this a lot: raise big after a few limpers, so I am not convinced he has a big hand. When the other player calls, I do the math and elect to call. The first player is goofy, he re-raised a 600 raise to 5k straight, and turned up two aces. I’ve also seen him bet more than double the pot at times, which is extremely uncommon. I know if I flop a 7 against these two, I can bust either one of them. The flop comes money J72, with two spades. The first player checks, I check, and the aggressive player bets 2.5k leaving himself about 6k. The first player folds, and I deliberate, trying to look like I have a weak hand, and then move in. Unfortunately, he folds. I think I should of smooth called here because I’m pretty convinced he is drawing dead or slim. But I’m still ok just winning the hand here out right. I’m up to 32k, and feeling good.

The blinds now are 150-300m which is the 4th level, and no one on my table has busted out. This is kind of crazy, there are monster stacks in the tourney, but I am stuck on this table. It’s funny because the only players above the 20k starting amount is Tran, Neverwin and me. I limp in with Q10h, the button calls and Neverwin checks from the BB. The flop comes A86 with two hearts. Neverwin checks, I lead for 600 and only Neverwin calls. The turn comes a 5 of hearts giving me second nuts. He checks and I bet 1k, which he calls fairly quickly. I’m convinced that he has like A9 with the 9 of hearts or something. The river comes Jd. He checks and folds to a 1.5k bet. I bet small here trying to extract a call. He sees right through and folds. I think to myself that I really need to throw him a curve ball. He calls out to me “you turned me huh Kelly.” I reply back, “no, I rivered you.” He asks “Ace Jack?” I say, “yes.” He says “damn, I had big ace AQ with the redraw.” I then say, “you had the Queen of hearts too?” He says “Yes.” I then say, “WOW I got lucky there” and start to laugh. It’s funny, because he is lying through his teeth. I had the Queen of hearts. I find it funny because I lied about my hand and he lied back. Us poker players are a sick breed. I’m up to 36k.

The blinds go up to 200-400 with 50 ante. I still haven’t made much progress. It’s crazy that no one has been eliminated yet. I miss a few flops, raise and lose a few pots, and I’m down to 27k. I am not happy. I lose a pot to Neverwin when I limp call a big raise with 55. He flops a 9, and shows me when I lay down. Anyways, he raises my BB to 1100 and I look down at 2 black aces. This is perfect. Normally, I would re-raise here because he plays well post-flop, and he is likely to have any 2 cards there. I elect to just smooth call because a re-raise would probably just win it out right. The flop comes K34 rainbow. I check, and he checks. The turn comes a 9 of spades, and I lead out for 1550 leaving my self 25k left. He deliberates for a 10 seconds and calls. The river comes a 5, and I think for about 15 seconds. I really want a call here. I think if I value bet like 2.5k or 3k, he will fold, so I over bet to 5k to make him think that I could be bluffing. He takes about 30 seconds and studies me. I try to give my weak look, and he finally calls me. I turn up AA and he mucks quickly. We are breaking right after this hand and as I stack up my chips he looks and me says “well played.” I say thanks, I’m sorry it was you but I had to get chips. He says it’s all good and again compliments me on my play. I’m back up to 35k and feeling good.

The next table I go to, there are some huge stacks. A player raises to 1400 UTG, and I look down at AK off. He is the same player from the 2500 who I busted with JJ against his 66. I decide to re-raise to 4400 total, making it 3k more for him to call. He takes about 20 seconds and mucks 1010 up. Sweet, I’m back up to 38k with about 30 minutes left in the day. A round later, Fabrice Soulier, a European online pro, raises to 1100, and I look down at QQ and re-raise to 3400 total. He takes like 15 seconds and calls. The flop comes A62 and I’m obviously not too happy but I elect to bet anyways. I decide to bet 4k and he raises me to 10k total. BURN!!!! I fold and back down to 30k.

I finish the day with 29,200, which is probably about 5-6k below average. I played well today. The fact that no one busted on my table till the 8th hour into tournament doesn’t give you much of a chance to get chips. Hopefully, tomorrow I get a good draw and run good. I believe we are down to about 380 out of the starting 690 entrants. Obviously, I wish I had more chips, but overall I’m happy with my play. I talked to Neverwin after and he really complimented me on my tournament play. He says that you bet good amounts when involved, and said that I played really well today. Yeah, I reply: “I threw a curve ball with that 5k bet because I know you won’t pay off a value bet there.” He says, “Yeah, you got me to call you with a pair of 3s. Either you had a big hand like AK or nothing. I thought 50/50 on a bluff so I called.” I’m really happy that he paid me off with bottom pair. WOW. Well, I look forward for tomorrow, it’ll be a new day.

KK

$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

$2,500 NL - Part 1

I get to Commerce around 3:15 p.m. and I’m shocked to see so many players for this tourney. It is a fairly large buy-in and they have about 30 tables to start. Actually we started with a total of 270 players. I get to my table and don’t see any really big names, but believe me, all the big dogs are playing this one. It’s only a week before the main event, so the field is an all-star cast. We start with 5k in chips and the blinds at 25-50 with hour long levels. so there will be a lot of play. The first hour or so I build my stack up to 6k and am pretty happy. In the 2nd hour we get some new players and they came with big stacks. However, I just maintain my position and never fluctuate from 5-7k. Finally, my table breaks in the 4th hour and I move, but I still have only my 6k stack. At this point, the average is approaching close to 10k because half the field is already busted. I notice that the actor, Norm McDonald, is seating in seat 5. I have played with him a few times. He isn’t that bad of a poker player: a little fearless, but that is understandable since the money won’t affect him. Anyways, I some how manage to build my stack to 9500 at the 200-400 level with 50 ante. I haven’t played any monumental pots up to date, just “bobbing and weaving,” as I like to say.

Moving on, Norm moves in his whole 12k stack pre-flop from middle position and everyone folds to me on the button. I look down at AKh, and I take about a minute to decide. What would you guys do with this hand? It is obvious he doesn’t have AA, KK, or QQ because he wouldn’t over bet the pot that big. I think and think, and look at him for a while. I just feel that he has a pocket pair like 1010 or JJ. I wish he just raised it up to like 1200 so I could re-raise huge, or even move in. I mean, he took that play away from me. The value of AK, especially when short, is to re-raise so that you can possibly win without a showdown. Given that: if I call, I have to win a show down, and AK goes down in value, unless his hand contains an Ace with a smaller kicker. Now, if I felt he had an Ace in his hand I would call immediately because I would be a small dog in most spots, but a big favorite in the other. I agonize, and laid down the hand. I have no money invested in this pot and I can play a short stack well, so there was no need to panic. I actually asked a lot of people during the break and most of them said call. I asked Men the Master, Minh Nguyen, David Tran, a few others, and they all said call. Only one lesser named pro said fold. Men said, �look, you know he doesn’t have big PP like QQ on up. And if he has an Ace, you have him crushed. I replied, “I know, but Men, I just felt like he had tens, and I didn’t want to race with him there.” He still didn’t agree with my decision, saying: “you are too short. You have to gamble there. If you have like 20k there, it’s a different story.” Anyways, I folded and am comfortable with the decision completely.

The next two hours I get my stack up to 20k, but blind down back down to 12k. I raised a few hands here and there, but didn’t take down any pots. The blinds at this point are 400-800 with a 100 ante, and there are massive stacks everywhere. I believe the chip leader has 70k at this point. I look down at my next hand on the cut off with Q2 of hearts, and raise to 2400. Before you guys question this marginal play, I will tell you the situation at hand: The button is talking to Norm about something and laughing, so I know he won’t even consider playing a hand unless he has something. The SB just stacked a massive pot around 5 hands ago that put him at about 40k, so I know he won’t play as well either. The BB is an older gentleman that plays really tight. These are all important factors in determining making a play like this. The “state of mind” of the players on your table is so important, and you must utilize their mental state to your advantage. So the BB calls and I’m obviously not liking this until the flop comes A J 10, all hearts…BOOYEAH!!!! The BB checks, I bet small like 2k, he raises me all-in and I beat him into the pot. We turn them up: he shows AJs and I show Q2h. The turn comes Qc and river a black 4. Bam!!! Up to 24k, and back in the game. Now, after a hand like this, everyone on the table is staring at you as if you are some kamikaze or something. Little do they know that this hand was thoroughly thought out in advance. You know, it’s funny because before this hand, Men the Master playing from an adjacent table looks at me and my stack, then shakes his head and laughs. This is just playful needling, so I look at his 50k stack and smile at him. I know he thinks I’m playing to survive and not to win based on my fold with AKh. I beg to differ.

The blinds go up to 400-800 with a 100 ante. A pretty solid player opens for 2400. I look down at KK from the SB and re-raise to 7500 straight. He calls, and the flop comes 962. I quickly announce all-in for my whole 13k. I don’t want to get greedy here, picking up 9k with KK is fine with me. Also, the all-in bet on the flop could get a worse hand like 1010 or JJ to call sensing weakness in the over bet. After about 10 seconds he folds.

With the blinds at 600-1200 with a 200 ante now, I raise from early position with JJ, and the same player calls on the button. We see a flop heads up and it comes down K 9 6. I deliberate for a few seconds and check. Now, I don’t want to play a big pot here. If I bet any amount and he raises, I fold. I want to play a small pot and hope he checks too. So he checks, and the turn comes the Jack of spades. Wow!!! I lead out 4500. As I do so, I think to myself, if he has Q10 or KK, he is gonna win a huge pot. Well, he raises all-in for about 20k total and I quickly call. He says, “I have a set.” I reply back, “so do I.” He turns up 66, and I bust him when he doesn’t hit his one out. Now I’m up over 60k and feeling real good. Now that�s a stack to be happy about.

OK, I am now table chip leader with about 35 left. Seat one opens for 3600, and I call from the SB with 22. We see the flop heads-up and it comes down J 10 3. I check and fold to a 4k bet on the flop. Now, about a round later he raises to 3600 again. I look down at 56c from the BB and I call. Before I get any further on this hand: I was really trying to get into a pot with him because he has been pretty aggressive and quite frankly, running too good. He never had to show any hands and he wins his steal-raises. I am hoping to find a favorable flop and take a huge pot from him to maybe rattle him a little. The flop comes K23 rainbow. I check and he fires his 4k bet again. I take a few seconds and I know I’m going to at least call. I sense a little weakness. I truly feel he doesn�t have a King, and maybe a pocket pair instead. So I take a shot at the pot and raise to 11k straight. This raise seems so strong almost like I want him to call. The real raise begging for a call is 10k, but I really want a fold so I made it 11k. He takes for about a minute and finally calls. Believe me when I tell you, waiting a minute when you just raised on a bluff seems like an eternity. I am kind of freaking out here, I really thought he was gonna fold for sure. But when he calls I just didn’t know what I was gonna do on the turn. No problem, the turn comes the 4 of diamonds. That’s it, over, end of story. He is drawing dead, for sure. I check in hope that he pushes in with AK or some marginal holding, or gets there drawing dead to his pocket pair. He quickly checks. On the river comes a black 7. I have the stone nuts and cannot lose. I announce 15k with kind of a loud voice, and push my chips in forcefully. I want to portray a reverse tell here because this player is solid. He takes another minute, and finally calls. I flip up the nuts. He is stunned, and finally mucks. Mission accomplished, and the big dog is up to 85k. SWEET!!!!

We are now playing hand for hand because it is down to 28 players. When we were at 30 players, I lose a few steal attempts when people go over the top. Now at 28, I know that no one will mess with me unless they have a real hand. I take this opportunity to look for a spot to re-raise someone without much of a hand because the fear of busting out on the bubble. With the blinds at 800-1600, a player opens for 6k, a pretty big overbet. He has about 50k, and I have him covered. His big raise is screaming a hand like AQ or 99, so I take the liberty to put him to the ultimate test on the button and re-raise to 20k total in the dark. Yes, that�s right, I didn’t look at my hand. I already made my decision on this play. I don’t want to see 72 off-suit and not make it. I know he has to fold for sure. He takes about a minute, and lays down AK offsuit face up. He says “not now, maybe later, I think you have Queens.” I was pretty shocked to see that strong of a hand, and even more shocked to look down at my hand to find two black jacks. So naturally, I turn them up and say, “good fold, I was going to call you for sure.” LOL…this is kind of crazy.

We end the day with 23 players and I don’t really improve my position at all. We combine tables, and I am no longer the largest stack. I have Barry Greenstein to my left, and Men the Master to my right. I play tight for the last half hour and finish the night with 82,800 in chips, which puts me at either 5th or 6th biggest stack. Average at this point in the tourney is about 56k, so I’m feeling much better. Also, the blinds are only 1k-2k with 300 ante, so there is much more play than there was in the $300 NL (with rebuys) event at this time.

My next blog will be on the following day.

I was really excited to play this event. In my honest opinion, this tournament always has the biggest overlay because of the size of the field, and that it is a multiple rebuy tourney. My table is a pretty tough lineup with Peter Costa, Dennis Watterman and Jimmy Tran. They are all pretty good NL players. Fortunately, after about 15 minutes I find my mark. With about 2k in chips after my quick rebuy, I raise to 200 with AK off and someone on the button moves in for 1100 total since he didn’t rebuy. I quickly call, he turns up 99 and we race. The flop comes 457, turn 10, river Q, and I lose half my stack. I rebuy again so I’m already in this tourney for 900, and I’m not happy about it. I build my stack up to about 2400, and I limp on the button with J10s. We see the flop 5 ways, and it comes down J 10 3 with 2 hearts. My mark leads into the pot for 300, I raise to 1100 total, and he calls. The turn comes another 10…Gin. He checks, I do a weak lead of 500 and he quickly calls. River comes a 5 of hearts, he moves in for 1200 total and I beat him into the pot. He turns up Q9 and I double up to over 5k. THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!

I don’t remember really how I build my stack up to 25k, but I did. I am getting over a cold and I actually missed both 1500 NL tourneys earlier. I will still pick up the action when we are down to about 50 people left. The field started with 879 players, so obviously there was a lot of poker played. They only pay 45 spots so everyone is playing real tight and I really don’t get any hands. What is worse is that my table has the least amount of chips in the tournament, so everyone is playing extra tight to get into the money. It’s raise and take it scenario. Fortunately, they move me to another table, and I really like this situation better. I raise my first hand UTG with AQc to 9k when the blinds are 1500-3000 with 500 ante. Everyone folds to the BB that moves in for 11k total with AJ. The board comes all-small, and I win with AQ high. I’m now over 40k, and I raise in the cutoff in the dark because we are now playing hand for hand. Everyone folds again. I raise again UTG with 78s and they all fold. I build my stack to 70k without showing a hand. I am now a big stack on my table and the players are getting frustrated. Again UTG, I raise with AJ off to 12k with the blinds at 2000-4000, 500 ante, and everyone folds to the BB who moves in for 28k total. Now, I know she has me dominated. So I do the math 12k plus 6k in antes, the SB plus her 28k makes the pot 46k, so I have to call 16k to win a total of 62k. I am getting almost 3 to 1 on my money and I know I have to hit either the Ace or the Jack. AJ vs. AK is about 3-1 underdog and AJ vs. QQ is about the same. Even if I call and lose I still have about 50 k so after a minute of deliberation I call. She turns up AKd to my AJ off. I pray for a Jack but when the flops comes King high, I lose…BURN.

So I’m back down to 50k, but we now get into the money shortly after. Playing fast when we are almost at the bubble is an important tournament strategy to amass chips. Basically, the way I see it, I am kind of free rolling there because of all the pots I won without showing any hands. Now we get down to 3 tables, I’m blinding down and bleeding. The last hand of the night I look down at two beautiful kings. With the blinds at 3000-6000, 1k ante, I open for 18k of my 39k stack and the button moves in for 51k total. To my delight the SB calls after much deliberation and I call all-in. We turn them: KK for me, AQ for the button and QQ for the SB. What a great spot for me to triple up. The flop comes 962, turn a J, and river a 5. I scream as I triple up to 130k, and we stop play for the night. 24 people left. We are coming back on Super Bowl Sunday at 7 to finish up the tournament.

With 24 left I am one of the larger stacks with 130k. However, with the blinds so high there just isn’t that much play. The first round I don’t play a hand and blind down to 113k. In middle position, I look down at two red Aces and I open for 18k. Everyone folds…BURN. The next round everyone folds to me in the cut off and I raise to 22k with QJd. The button moves in for 50k more, so I reluctantly fold. Now, the round I raise UTG with 99 to 24k with the blinds at 4000-8000 and 1k ante. The chip leader re-raises to 54k total. That raise is screaming KK or AA, so I look, study and reluctantly fold. He then proceeds to show me two Aces. Man, I’m really running bad, and it’s frustrating. I have played 3 hands, and the one time I get a walk I have Aces. There is so much luck this late in a tourny when the stacks aren’t deep enough to play post flop. Unfortunately, I am really getting the cold deck. Anyways, I blind down and am really short. I move in on the cutoff with KQ. Scott Fischman protects me on the button with A8 and we race. The flop comes 442, turn 9, river A, and I’m out 17^th. I mean, words cannot express the disappointment. Here I am playing for a quarter million and I bust out fairly early. I get $5,273 for my troubles. It is my first cash of the year and I will be back to play some more.

The life of a tournament poker player is not fun most of the time…A lot of disappointment.

OK, based on my previous results so far during the LAPC, I really wanted to jump out to a good start. I scan the table and see a pretty decent lineup. But fairly quickly, I get my stack up to about 3400 from the original starting stack of 2500. Unfortunately, I miss a few flops and call a raise with 66, which then another player re-raises too small for me to fold. So I call and miss. I’m back down to 2200. The only good news is that I see my target: player I never played with before who over bets his hands. Well, 4 players limp in and I limp in the cutoff with 68h. The button makes it 150 (this is still during the first level), and 6 of us see the flop. The cards flop J 8 6 with 2 diamonds, and everyone checks to the player to my immediate right who leads for 350. Now, after I deliberate, I elect to cold call hoping the button raises, and then I can shove the rest of my stack in. Unfortunately, he just calls. We see the turn 3 ways, and it comes another J. OUCH…Talk about a bad turn card. The player now leads for 1k and I fold, while the button calls. The river comes an Ace, and the player now check-calls a 1k bet. The button shows 910c. and the original raiser turns over A8. Now I’m really feeling sick. I mean, how bad did I misplay this hand? I definitely need to move on the flop: the player on the button will probably call anyways and the player with A8 would definitely fold. I really was shaken up after this hand. I’m not happy because I lost 500 of my short stack, bringing me down to about 1500.

The next hand I play here, everyone folds to me on the button. I raise with 67s, and the BB calls. This is the same player I have been targeting. We see the flop heads-up and it comes 983 with 1 spade. He leads for 300. Now, he did this play to me earlier, but I flopped a big enough hand this time so I push in for 1300 total, and he quickly folds, asking me if I have QQ. LOL. Nope.

Now I’m back to about 1800 and the blinds have gone up to 50-100. This player just doubles the blind to 200 after one player limps and 3 people call. I’m in the BB with AK, and I push in. I know for sure the player that double-raised is just sweetening the pot and doesn’t have much of a hand. I’m pretty stoked when everyone folds. I’m back up to about 2800 and feeling much better.

CK Hua comes to my table with a healthy stack. I really like his game a lot. He raises 4 straight hands. The first one he opens for 350 and gets a walk. The next hand he raises to 400 and gets a walk. The next hand he opens for 450, which he gets called by the BB (the target) and another player. The flop comes A Q 10 with two clubs. The other player and the target go all-in. CK calls, shows AA vs. J9c. Then bam, a King on the turn, and he loses his top set. Now, the very next hand he opens for 500, and I look down at AK. This is sweet. I know he is kind of steamed, and I have about 2900, but a player as good as CK, I don’t want to just push in here because I don’t want to advertise AK. I make it 1900 total, leaving me with about 900 left. I want him to think a bit, and make it real tough for him to call with a small pair. After about 20 seconds, he calls the 1400 more. At this point, I put him on like 88, 99, AQ or so. Again, I know he is kind of steamed up. I am going all-in on the flop no matter what comes. The only reason I didn’t push pre-flop is for deceptive purposes. Anyways, the flop comes 823 rainbow, and he pushes in, I quickly call. To my delight he turns up A7. I mean come on, is this really happening? Did he just tilt off 2900 to me with A7? Well, I’m not complaining. I fade the turn and river. Now I’m up to 6k….SWEET.

Our table breaks. I get moved to a table where there are pretty deep stacks, but I manage to maintain my stack and build it up to about 7k. At the 100-200 level with 25 ante, a player with a big stack opens for 600, Jack Boghresian (spelling?) calls and the button calls. I look down at AQ in the SB. Now, it’s just kind of lucky I have this big of a hand. I was waiting for a spot like this to pick up the dead money. I’m pretty sure Jack has like AQ also, or even 99, or maybe AK, but this is irrelevant. I re-raise to 2600 total, leaving me with about 4k in chips. Now, before we go further, I haven’t played a hand for literally 3 or 4 orbits. My image is squeaky tight. This is why I don’t really need a hand here. Anyways, it takes about a minute, during which I’m definitely sweating it our, but everyone folds. Jack, flashes AK to the player to his right, saying “I can’t believe I’m folding this.” The original player also claims he had AK as well. I’m feeling real good. It was a little risky, maybe, but worth it. A hand like that is what I mean when I say to look for situations in tournaments to build your stack.

OK, the blinds are now at 300-600 with a 75 ante, and I haven’t made any progress. I haven’t had any pair bigger than 8s, and we are already down to 6 tables, which is getting closer to the money. I know my image is squeaky tight and I’m sitting on about 6600. Whenever you are at about 10 times the BB, it’s time to make a move. Well I’m in the SB, everyone folds to me, I look at the 10 of diamonds and I push all-in without knowing my second card. The BB has about 6k, and I know he thinks I’m tight. But he deliberates for a minute, and finally calls with A10 off. I look at my other card and see an 8. Suffice to say, we race…I’m burning that I am dominated, and shocked that he actually called with such a marginal holding. Anyways, he takes everything but 400, and I bust out on the next hand.

Do I have any regrets about my play? No, not really. There is 1700 in dead money. I know if I get a walk there I’ll have enough chips to move in after a raise, the player won’t be pot committed, and I could get a walk. It’s important to be able to be in that position, so if you move in with a non pair hand like AK, you can win without seeing a flop. To sum it up, I’ve been real card dead and there really wasn’t much I could do. I never held a pair bigger than 8s. I got close again, but with no avail, I came up short. Oh well, it’s poker.

Until next time,
Peace
KK