Archives
July 2006
7/31/06
7/31/06
7/31/06
7/30/06
7/30/06
7/30/06
7/30/06
7/29/06
7/29/06
7/29/06
7/29/06
7/29/06
7/29/06
7/28/06
7/28/06
7/28/06
7/27/06
7/26/06
7/24/06
7/24/06
7/23/06
7/21/06
7/20/06
7/19/06
7/18/06
7/18/06
7/17/06
The blow by blow (much nerdy poker content)
7/17/06
Monday, July 17, 2006
For those who care, selected highlights from the satellite tourney.
Full Tilt's structure starts with 3000 chips and blinds at 15/30. Blinds rise every 10 minutes, but in small increments - still, it's a pretty fast tournament structure that demands chipping up sometime in hour two.
First Hour
I play the starting stack down to 1700 by misplaying AKo once and calling too much of a reraise preflop with pocket pairs twice. I work back up to 2500 with some timely raises and steals, never seeing a flop, to end the first hour.
Second Hour
I get frisky in the big blind with 85o at 60/120 blinds - I call a preflop raise, check a KdJd5d flop heads up, then check raise a four-flush board when a Ad comes on the turn to take the pot down.
I finally double through with 88 vs. AJ after a 7c5h3h flop. I check from the blinds heads up after calling a minimum raise at 80/160, villain bets pot (800), I think, decide my pair is good and move in for 2000 more, villain calls all-in (???) and my hand holds up – I have 6K in chips.
The stack rises to 6720, sinks to 3960 – finally, at 150/300/25 ante UTG raises to 1200. I jam from the BB with KK – somehow he finds a call with AJs and I hold up to jump to 8K in chips by the second break.
Third Hour
I float between 8K to 10K when at 400/800/100 I open raise in the cutoff to 2500 with 99.
The button jams for 8K, essentially all my chips. I think, decide this is where I double up or go home and call.
He shows 88 – flop J98, we both flop sets, the board blanks out, and my nines hold for a 19K pot.
At 600/1200/200 I reraise to isolate an UTG push all in for 7K with AQs. He shows TT, but I turn an A to eliminate him – 29K in chips
Now I start to think I have a shot at this thing.
Just before the break, at 800/1600/200 I raise in MP to 6400 with AK, I get one caller in BB, flop KJ5 with two hearts, he jams for 19K, I think and call, he shows QJ no heart, I eliminate another player and hit 55K in chips, which makes me a top 10 stack at the break.
Fourth hour
At 1000/2000/250 MP raises to 7K, and I call 5K into a 12K pot from the BB with KQo. flop Q32r, I think I’m ahead, hope he doesn’t have a real hand (AA-QQ or AQ) and decide to potstick myself and bet half the villain’s 25K stack, he jams for the rest with AK, I instacall and fade the resuck three outer to get to 83K in chips.
From here, I intend to fold into the bubble and don’t play a hand for a while. I get blinded down to 65K, then I pick up AA on the button. EP jams for 20K, I call, the blinds fold – EP shows 55. he’s dead to two outs – and hits a 5 on the turn.
STEAM RISES FROM HEFF'S HEAD.
I’m down to 45K, and at 1500/3000/400 blinds, that’s a problem. Instead of leisurely folding into a seat, I've got to win some hands.
I fold, fold, fold, get blinded down to 25K twice. I open jam with AJs and 33 to stay afloat.
I’m down to 20K at 2500/5000/600 and decide to open jam with A8. SB calls with 55. arrgh.
Flop TTJ - turn Q – (one card from crashing out of the tournament) - river K – and I hit a straight to stay alive – 49K in chips
That almost makes up for getting the aces cracked by a two outer.
Then, two hands later, I start catching breaks.
- The table folds to my BB for 7K in free chips for me.
- I check raise top pair from the SB in a limped blind on blind battle to pick up 18K more
- and I open raise AQ on the button to get the blinds to fold, and suddenly I’m back to 84K again and in great shape as we hit the fourth break.
Fifth hour
The bubble is rapidly approaching, and play grinds to a halt. Around 140 players left, and everyone is taking the maximum 30 seconds to decide action on their hands
I min raise QQ UTG at 4000/8000/1000 on the first hand back to pickup the blinds and hit 100K. - - after that, it’s just a matter of waiting for the bubble to burst...
which it does 11 hands later, as I safely make the 127 seat cutoff with 55K in chips. A bottle of champagne is opened at 11:05pm to celebrate.
The tournament plays out from there with extra prizes for the final table, but with less than 4 big blinds left, I jam five hands later with A4s and lose to 73 in a four way pot.
Who cares, that was the best 84th place finish ever.
Looking back, I'm not sure about a lot of my play. I only played 10% of my hands (I play tournaments VERY tightly compared to sit-n-gos or cash games), so I should have had a tight/nitty image. Maybe that's why people kept playing back at me with marginal hands (AJ, QJ, 88) since they thought I would fold like a origami crane to big bets. I don't like the fact that I built some pretty big pots on the flop with just a pair, but given the level of play it ended up working out for the best.
Basically, except for the AA vs. 55 hand, everytime I was ahead and supposed to win in a big pot, I did. That's the big secret to getting deep in a tournament, I guess - avoid the suckouts and have your good hands hold up. The threeouter spiking with KQ vs. AK was fishy, but most of the money went in after I was in front. Anyhow, that's how I made it, and I'm sure I'll keep analyzing over the next few days to see all the ugly leaks I still have.
Heff
heffmike at 9:15:00 PM EDT Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | 
digg this
The blow by blow (much nerdy poker content)
Full Tilt's structure starts with 3000 chips and blinds at 15/30. Blinds rise every 10 minutes, but in small increments - still, it's a pretty fast tournament structure that demands chipping up sometime in hour two.
First Hour
I play the starting stack down to 1700 by misplaying AKo once and calling too much of a reraise preflop with pocket pairs twice. I work back up to 2500 with some timely raises and steals, never seeing a flop, to end the first hour.
Second Hour
I get frisky in the big blind with 85o at 60/120 blinds - I call a preflop raise, check a KdJd5d flop heads up, then check raise a four-flush board when a Ad comes on the turn to take the pot down.
I finally double through with 88 vs. AJ after a 7c5h3h flop. I check from the blinds heads up after calling a minimum raise at 80/160, villain bets pot (800), I think, decide my pair is good and move in for 2000 more, villain calls all-in (???) and my hand holds up – I have 6K in chips.
The stack rises to 6720, sinks to 3960 – finally, at 150/300/25 ante UTG raises to 1200. I jam from the BB with KK – somehow he finds a call with AJs and I hold up to jump to 8K in chips by the second break.
Third Hour
I float between 8K to 10K when at 400/800/100 I open raise in the cutoff to 2500 with 99.
The button jams for 8K, essentially all my chips. I think, decide this is where I double up or go home and call.
He shows 88 – flop J98, we both flop sets, the board blanks out, and my nines hold for a 19K pot.
At 600/1200/200 I reraise to isolate an UTG push all in for 7K with AQs. He shows TT, but I turn an A to eliminate him – 29K in chips
Now I start to think I have a shot at this thing.
Just before the break, at 800/1600/200 I raise in MP to 6400 with AK, I get one caller in BB, flop KJ5 with two hearts, he jams for 19K, I think and call, he shows QJ no heart, I eliminate another player and hit 55K in chips, which makes me a top 10 stack at the break.
Fourth hour
At 1000/2000/250 MP raises to 7K, and I call 5K into a 12K pot from the BB with KQo. flop Q32r, I think I’m ahead, hope he doesn’t have a real hand (AA-QQ or AQ) and decide to potstick myself and bet half the villain’s 25K stack, he jams for the rest with AK, I instacall and fade the resuck three outer to get to 83K in chips.
From here, I intend to fold into the bubble and don’t play a hand for a while. I get blinded down to 65K, then I pick up AA on the button. EP jams for 20K, I call, the blinds fold – EP shows 55. he’s dead to two outs – and hits a 5 on the turn.
STEAM RISES FROM HEFF'S HEAD.
I’m down to 45K, and at 1500/3000/400 blinds, that’s a problem. Instead of leisurely folding into a seat, I've got to win some hands.
I fold, fold, fold, get blinded down to 25K twice. I open jam with AJs and 33 to stay afloat.
I’m down to 20K at 2500/5000/600 and decide to open jam with A8. SB calls with 55. arrgh.
Flop TTJ - turn Q – (one card from crashing out of the tournament) - river K – and I hit a straight to stay alive – 49K in chips
That almost makes up for getting the aces cracked by a two outer.
Then, two hands later, I start catching breaks.
- The table folds to my BB for 7K in free chips for me.
- I check raise top pair from the SB in a limped blind on blind battle to pick up 18K more
- and I open raise AQ on the button to get the blinds to fold, and suddenly I’m back to 84K again and in great shape as we hit the fourth break.
Fifth hour
The bubble is rapidly approaching, and play grinds to a halt. Around 140 players left, and everyone is taking the maximum 30 seconds to decide action on their hands
I min raise QQ UTG at 4000/8000/1000 on the first hand back to pickup the blinds and hit 100K. - - after that, it’s just a matter of waiting for the bubble to burst...
which it does 11 hands later, as I safely make the 127 seat cutoff with 55K in chips. A bottle of champagne is opened at 11:05pm to celebrate.
The tournament plays out from there with extra prizes for the final table, but with less than 4 big blinds left, I jam five hands later with A4s and lose to 73 in a four way pot.
Who cares, that was the best 84th place finish ever.
Looking back, I'm not sure about a lot of my play. I only played 10% of my hands (I play tournaments VERY tightly compared to sit-n-gos or cash games), so I should have had a tight/nitty image. Maybe that's why people kept playing back at me with marginal hands (AJ, QJ, 88) since they thought I would fold like a origami crane to big bets. I don't like the fact that I built some pretty big pots on the flop with just a pair, but given the level of play it ended up working out for the best.
Basically, except for the AA vs. 55 hand, everytime I was ahead and supposed to win in a big pot, I did. That's the big secret to getting deep in a tournament, I guess - avoid the suckouts and have your good hands hold up. The threeouter spiking with KQ vs. AK was fishy, but most of the money went in after I was in front. Anyhow, that's how I made it, and I'm sure I'll keep analyzing over the next few days to see all the ugly leaks I still have.
Heff
heffmike at 9:15:00 PM EDT Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
