Close don't count

*stupidly long post warning*

So you know that tournament I qualified for the other day? Well the final was yesterday afternoon, started at 2pm. I was pretty excited for it since the tournament it self was pretty unique in the fact that the blind structure was half as fast as a usual tournament. That’s right, 30 minute blinds. And with only 132 entrants I was pretty stoked about my chances, seeing as how luck wouldn’t be as important a factor since the small blinds will allow my ridiculous skill to play a role. But since only 1st place gave anything, I wasn’t overly optimistic about winning the thing.

So I trudged along, playing my usual overly tight, aggressive game (a la Harrington). I was surprised to see how much a difference the small blinds made, and am really glad Stars puts on these types of tournaments, wish there were more of them but it is nice to see a company not worrying about just getting the tournament over and done with as soon as possible. The only way to get in the tourney was to win one of the smaller FPP satellites (ranging from 60-300 FFP) or you could buy directly in for 6000. Who the fuck has 6000 to blow on one tournament? Well about 30 people did, no clue how they achieved so many. Anyways, back to the lecture at hand.

Trudging along, treading water and staying afloat are all decent descriptions of how I was playing. I wasn’t picking up much, so I stole my little pots here and there, staying right around the median for the first few hours of the tournament. I eventually doubled up with aces through an unfortunate player’s kings to keep me nice and fat for a while. And since the blinds weren’t keeping me in panic mode, I just sat back and waited for cards, a nice relaxing change. Eventually, that strategy proved somewhat too passive, as I found myself low on the totem pole eventually (mostly due to some badly timed “moves”) and had to start making some risky pre-flop moves. After all-in’ing 3 straight hands preflop I picked up KK, and again, pushed, I guess the chip leader figured me for a steal (why would he think that?) and called with JTo. Kings held up and I’m back in business.

More treading and staying afloat, when these hands came about.

Table '15883574 11' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: Camm (5157 in chips)
Seat 2: skeet71 (27233 in chips)
Seat 4: TexasGator (10997 in chips)
Seat 5: Jeb61161 (11723 in chips)
Seat 6: CA Poppy (13328 in chips)
Seat 7: RikkiDee (7577 in chips)
Seat 9: rambo20 (5792 in chips)
Camm: posts small blind 200
skeet71: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [Td Th]
TexasGator: folds
Jeb61161: raises 400 to 800
CA Poppy: folds
RikkiDee: raises 2400 to 3200
rambo20: folds
Camm: folds
skeet71: folds
Jeb61161: calls 2400
*** FLOP *** [Kd 9s 5s]
Jeb61161: bets 1200
RikkiDee: raises 3152 to 4352 and is all-in
Jeb61161: calls 3152
*** TURN *** [Kd 9s 5s] [8c]
RikkiDee said, "now thats a call"
*** RIVER *** [Kd 9s 5s 8c] [4s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Jeb61161: shows [7h Ah] (high card Ace)
RikkiDee: shows [Td Th] (a pair of Tens)
RikkiDee collected 15879 from pot

I truly have no idea what he was thinking when he called, he even took his time and then made the call with A7 no draw. I figured at the time that I was dead to a king, but wasn’t going to let some little weak lead bluff take me out.

Two hands later…

Table '15883574 11' Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Camm (4857 in chips)
Seat 2: skeet71 (25533 in chips)
Seat 4: TexasGator (11872 in chips)
Seat 5: Jeb61161 (3559 in chips)
Seat 6: CA Poppy (12828 in chips)
Seat 7: RikkiDee (16091 in chips)
Seat 9: rambo20 (7067 in chips)
Camm: posts the ante 25
skeet71: posts the ante 25
TexasGator: posts the ante 25
Jeb61161: posts the ante 25
CA Poppy: posts the ante 25
RikkiDee: posts the ante 25
rambo20: posts the ante 25
CA Poppy: posts small blind 200
RikkiDee: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [6d 4d]
rambo20: folds
Camm: folds
skeet71: folds
TexasGator: raises 400 to 800
Jeb61161: folds
CA Poppy: calls 600
RikkiDee: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [4s 4h Ac]
CA Poppy: checks
RikkiDee: bets 1000
TexasGator: folds
CA Poppy: calls 1000
*** TURN *** [4s 4h Ac] [3h]
CA Poppy: checks
RikkiDee: bets 2000
CA Poppy: calls 2000
*** RIVER *** [4s 4h Ac 3h] [4c]
CA Poppy: checks
RikkiDee: bets 12266 and is all-in
CA Poppy: calls 9003 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RikkiDee: shows [6d 4d] (four of a kind, Fours)
CA Poppy: shows [Ts Td] (a full house, Fours full of Tens)
TexasGator said, "vnh"
RikkiDee collected 26581 from pot

I went in on at the end figuring he must have at least an ace, and that he would most likely call thinking I’m trying to steal a split pot. This move comes up so rarely it is nice to use it, but I cannot believe what he called with. Ten freaking ten, not even an ace, just awful. But hey hey, guess who is chip leader with 20 left? You think I might even win this thing? Impossible.

My big stack play leaves a lot to be desired. I’m naturally tight and conservative, so the aggressive bully isn’t my forte. But I know it is +EV to push people around when the timing is right. I also think I have a sense of when people are trapping me, but I usually end up putting too much cash in the pot before I realize it.

So my first move is this nice one from a stupid ass minimum preflop raiser.

Dealt to RikkiDee [4s 2c]
rambo20: folds
Camm: folds
skeet71: folds
TexasGator: raises 400 to 800
Jeb61161: folds
RikkiDee: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [2h 3c 9c]
RikkiDee: checks
TexasGator: bets 1200
RikkiDee: raises 3800 to 5000
TexasGator: folds
RikkiDee collected 4350 from pot
RikkiDee: doesn't show hand

I’m not folding anything preflop to a pussy ass minimum raise, especially with antes in the mix. If this guy wants to raise, make it 3x my friend or nothing at all.

Eventually, I find myself at the final table, with chips to play with and small blinds, incredible. There are 8 players left, I’m sitting at about 30k in chips, with 5 others hovering around me, and 2 short stacks. I pretty much play standard Harrington tournament poker, and chip myself up to the leader again, just by stealing and making continuation bets. I can feel the table is tightening up, and is unwilling to put their tourney on the line with a mediocre hand. For the first time I really can take advantage of this since I’m not multi-tabling and can really focus on who is weak.

Eventually, after seemingly hours of stealing blinds and flops, we actually get to play some poker. This time - against the other big stack at the table. Let me tell you I wasn’t feeling good playing this hand.

Table '15883574 12' Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: AuroraKT (25987 in chips)
Seat 3: ! JP 1950 ! (31997 in chips)
Seat 4: hkb2145 (43733 in chips)
Seat 6: malji (33338 in chips)
Seat 8: RikkiDee (49445 in chips)
AuroraKT: posts the ante 75
! JP 1950 !: posts the ante 75
hkb2145: posts the ante 75
malji: posts the ante 75
RikkiDee: posts the ante 75
! JP 1950 !: posts small blind 600
hkb2145: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [Tc Ac]
malji: folds
RikkiDee: raises 2400 to 3600
AuroraKT: folds
! JP 1950 !: folds
hkb2145: raises 4800 to 8400
RikkiDee: calls 4800

(standard 3xbb raise with a decent hand, but this time I received playback from the BB, who hadn’t done that yet this game. I knew he had to have a strong hand, and usually would fold to a big reraise here, but I didn’t want the table to see I would fold to a reraise, so I called with position and a prayer)

*** FLOP *** [Ts 7c 8c]

(clearly a good flop for my hand, but if he has an overpair, which he most certainly does, I’m still behind. If he has a pair lower than KK, he may fold to a big reraise, but I can’t be sure. Even if I get a call I have quite a few outs)

hkb2145: bets 7200
RikkiDee: raises 33770 to 40970 and is all-in
hkb2145: calls 28058 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Ts 7c 8c] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 7c 8c 5c] [Qd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hkb2145: shows [Jc Js] (a pair of Jacks)
RikkiDee: shows [Tc Ac] (a flush, Ace high)
RikkiDee collected 88291 from pot

So that is that. Other than the somewhat loose preflop call, I don’t think I played the hand incorrectly. On the contrary, even though he had the best hand, I’m not so sure he should have called my reraise. He only had JJ, which, yes is an overpair, but I’m putting both our tourneys on the line, you have to at least suspect that you may be beat. Anyways, boo ya, I’m chip leader with 4 left to go, this isn’t happening.

After seemingly hours of play (including a ridiculously long 15 minute break) we finally get heads up. I am pretty much shitting out of my own mouth at this point. I’ve never been heads up with something this large on the line (total prize was worth 16k, with 2nd place getting nothing). Heads up I’m against your standard passive calling station. I hate calling stations heads up, I can’t beat them, but I’ve got a pretty decent lead on him. We start with:

Seat 1: AuroraKT (78190 in chips)
Seat 8: RikkiDee (106310 in chips)

Blinds are 1500/3000, so they are starting to become significant. I’ve noticed that he has strayed away from his calling station attitude heads up, and is allowing me to steal a lot preflop. So pretty much no matter what 2 cards I have, I’m raising 3bb in position. About 50 hands later, with no real significant hands happening, I have him down to:

Seat 1: AuroraKT (20590 in chips)
Seat 8: RikkiDee (163910 in chips)

I can taste victory. I want it so bad, this trip is mine. He starts to pull the all in trigger almost every hand, and I can’t pick up anything. He chops back to even and I want to shoot myself. That’s when it happens. The worst hand I’ve ever played. Now, I need to set this one up with some previous hands to describe why I played the hand the way I did, so here we go.

He has been known to do these little minimum raises post flop with absolutely nothing. I never understand this move, but see it a lot.

Example 1:

msumike22: raises 1600 to 2400
AuroraKT: raises 1600 to 4000
msumike22: raises 5828 to 9828 and is all-in
AuroraKT: calls 5828
*** FLOP *** [Tc 5c Qh]
*** TURN *** [Tc 5c Qh] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [Tc 5c Qh Ad] [Td]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
msumike22: shows [9d 9c] (two pair, Tens and Nines)
AuroraKT: shows [2s As] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
AuroraKT collected 20006 from pot

This one is preflop, but you get the idea. A mimimum raise to a short stack who is out of position accomplishes nothing. He is going all in and your A2 is not the best hand, but despite that he puts in a min raise with this terrible hand.

Example 2:

Seat 1: AuroraKT (43670 in chips)
Seat 6: malji (57304 in chips)
Seat 8: RikkiDee (83526 in chips)
AuroraKT: posts the ante 150
malji: posts the ante 150
RikkiDee: posts the ante 150
RikkiDee: posts small blind 1500
AuroraKT: posts big blind 3000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [2s 8s]
malji: raises 3000 to 6000
RikkiDee: folds
AuroraKT: calls 3000
*** FLOP *** [5s Jd 2h]
AuroraKT: bets 9000
malji: raises 18000 to 27000
AuroraKT: raises 10520 to 37520 and is all-in
malji: calls 10520
*** TURN *** [5s Jd 2h] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [5s Jd 2h 6d] [Qs]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AuroraKT: shows [2c Kc] (a pair of Deuces)
malji: shows [Ts Ac] (high card Ace)
AuroraKT collected 88990 from pot

He is pretty much obsessed with betting into you when you raise preflop. So he does it this hand, and re-re-raises all in with a pair of twos. Somehow he gets a call by a worse hand and wins a big pot.

Example 3:
Seat 1: AuroraKT (66190 in chips)
Seat 8: RikkiDee (118310 in chips)
AuroraKT: posts the ante 150
RikkiDee: posts the ante 150
RikkiDee: posts small blind 1500
AuroraKT: posts big blind 3000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [9c Qc]
RikkiDee: raises 6000 to 9000
AuroraKT: calls 6000
*** FLOP *** [Th 8c Ac]
AuroraKT: checks
RikkiDee: bets 12000
AuroraKT: raises 12000 to 24000
RikkiDee: raises 85160 to 109160 and is all-in
AuroraKT: folds
RikkiDee collected 66300 from pot
RikkiDee: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***

He minimum check raises me after I raised preflop, at this point I wanted him gone and was willing to gamble with the fact that he had an ace. To my surprise he folded. This minimum raise thing is very suspicious.

Ok the hand. The worst hand I ever played.

Seat 1: AuroraKT (91090 in chips)
Seat 8: RikkiDee (93410 in chips)
AuroraKT: posts the ante 150
RikkiDee: posts the ante 150
RikkiDee: posts small blind 1500
AuroraKT: posts big blind 3000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [6c As]
RikkiDee: raises 6000 to 9000
AuroraKT: calls 6000
*** FLOP *** [Qc 2c Ah]
AuroraKT: checks
RikkiDee: bets 10000
AuroraKT: calls 10000

As I said I had been raising preflop with pretty much everything, and betting the flop when checked to me. He folded often, so I should have been alert of his call, I wasn’t. I was happy enough to flop top pair here and was certain in my mind that I was ahead.

*** TURN *** [Qc 2c Ah] [2s]
AuroraKT: bets 9000

Now he bets into me (small bet) when the board pairs. Usually fish do this trying to represent the fact that they hit three of a kind, but I’m not buying it since there is no way he called pre and post flop with a 2 in his hand, I’m putting him on a flush draw/queen and that weak lead means he doesn’t want a raise. Guess what? I’m raising.

RikkiDee: raises 15000 to 24000
AuroraKT: raises 21000 to 45000

Here comes his minimum reraise again. As with any re-re-raise, I am scared. I thought about folding here, but still had it in the back of my mind that he was on a flush draw. Combined with the fact that he has pulled this stupid fucking minimum reraise bullshit before, and the weak lead bet of 9000 to start, I still think there is a chance I am ahead. Plus, if he has an ace, unless it is AK we are splitting this pot.

RikkiDee: calls 21000
*** RIVER *** [Qc 2c Ah 2s] [Jd]
AuroraKT: bets 26940 and is all-in
RikkiDee: calls 26940
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AuroraKT: shows [Qh Ac] (two pair, Aces and Queens)
RikkiDee: shows [6c As] (two pair, Aces and Deuces)
AuroraKT collected 182180 from pot
RikkiDee said, "gg"

Ya, gg. I gave away the game. The first game that ever mattered to me, and I blew it. I was up 160k-20k and couldn’t finish it. In retrospect I’m not sure if I made the right play or not. Clearly I can’t fold to his all in on the river in the off chance he just has an ace or a flush draw, and the pot was massive at that point.

I’ve never felt so distraught and ugly after a poker loss. I had a chance to win 16k and blew it. 16k is a ridiculous amount of money for me. I had daydreamed about playing in the EPT final all day while playing this tournament. It is truly awful to lose one of these all or nothing tournaments. It just makes me upset that I had to finish 2nd, I would have been much better off getting 5th or some bullshit, not knowing how close I could have been.

The only thing I’m taking away from this tourney is the fact that I think my skill really did shine by taking advantage of the small blinds. Usually late in these MTT’s its all in or fold no matter how many chips you have. This time, it was much different and I could make some great moves and plays with hands I would have never dreamed of playing in a usual tournament. I’m probably being pretty naïve by saying this, but I don’t see myself ever being in this good of position again. I never really figured I would ever qualify for a large WPT/EPT?WSOP event, since there is just too much luck involved. But this was my shot, and I blew it. I had to win 2 straight tourneys to get to the EPT and almost did it. 2nd place counts for jack.

Sorry for the ridiculously long post. I can’t write enough about how upset I am about this loss.