Damn it feels good to be a gangster

Late last night I was up over $200 for the day and decided to play in a big buy in MTT for fun (not for profit since that is impossible). I loaded up Stars to see that there was a $50 double shootout starting in 10 minutes. Now I had never played a shootout, and barely even knew what they were, but I was intrigued, so I joined up.

A double shootout is basically two sit&go’s mashed together. They take 81 participants and put them at 9 separate tables. Then each table plays a mini sit&go, where only the winner goes on in the tournament. The 9 winners from each table makes it to the final table. The final table of 9 plays on to crown a winner. Each of the finalists gets in the money for the tournament, from 9th ($141) to 1st ($1200).

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be a huge fan of these or not since you basically have to win a $50 sit&go to get to the final table. Granted, you are guaranteed $141 once you reach the final table, but since you would have won $255 anyways by winning the original $50 sit&go, you are out equity unless you place 6th or above in the final table. But I was ready to play.

I folded my first 20 hands or so, not seeing much. Eventually in the BB hit top pair and made some cash off some chasing chump. Got my stack up to about 3k with random little hands here and there, and then I hit this lovely hand with blinds 50/100.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [Ac 7c]
lasagna*oka*: folds
RikkiDee: raises 200 to 300

(this raise is pretty loose for me from mid position, but why not? I'd been playing pretty tight)

galvan: folds
TBomber: folds
biscuit77: folds
oclakers: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [Jd 4d 8c]
oclakers: checks
RikkiDee: checks

(no continuation bet here for me, this opponent is very loose and could have hit that flop, or missed it and still called, lets see the turn)

*** TURN *** [Jd 4d 8c] [4c]
oclakers: bets 400
RikkiDee: raises 600 to 1000
oclakers: raises 600 to 1600
RikkiDee: calls 600

(turn gives me the nut flush draw and he bets out at me, I figured that it could be a bluff at this point since I just checked the turn and decide to make a “delayed continuation bet” hoping he would fold, he didn’t and with the triple minimum reraise I knew I was in trouble, but since he only raised it 600 I should call to see if I hit)

*** RIVER *** [Jd 4d 8c 4c] [Qc]
oclakers: checks
RikkiDee: bets 990 and is all-in
oclakers: calls 990
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RikkiDee: shows [Ac 7c] (a flush, Ace high)
oclakers: shows [8h Js] (two pair, Jacks and Eights)
RikkiDee collected 5830 from pot

Told you he was loose, calling a preflop raise with J8o, but I sucked it out on the river with the ol’ backdoor flush. Now I’m at 5830 in chips and in first place. Winning this first table is now a strong possibility.

I then start to try and push the table around here and there, which has never worked out for me, but I do it anyways. Lets see the results of said pushing around.

oclakers: shows [Ac 4d] (a full house, Aces full of Fours)
RikkiDee: shows [7c 7d] (two pair, Aces and Sevens)
oclakers collected 2705 from pot

biscuit77: shows [Ks Kh] (three of a kind, Kings)
RikkiDee: shows [Tc As] (high card Ace)
biscuit77 collected 1758 from pot

RikkiDee: shows [9h 8h] (a flush, King high)
TBomber: shows [Ks Kc] (four of a kind, Kings)
TBomber collected 1762 from pot

RikkiDee: shows [Tc 2h] (two pair, Tens and Nines)
TBomber: shows [Jc Kh] (a straight, Nine to King)
TBomber collected 3648 from pot

RikkiDee: shows [6d 6h] (two pair, Kings and Sevens)
oclakers: shows [Kd Th] (a full house, Kings full of Sevens)
oclakers collected 3982 from pot

All of those were preflop all ins except the Tc 2h one, I at least had top pair when we got the money in before he sucked out. So much for the big stack. But somehow, someway I keep pumpin out funky ass shit like every single day, and I also manage to bring my stack back up to a respectable level, and eventually get heads up.

We start heads up with:
Seat 2: RikkiDee (5670 in chips)
Seat 8: oclakers (7830 in chips)

Blinds are 100/200 with 25 antes, so I’ve got some work to do. I find out early that this opponent is already willing to go all in preflop from his small blind, which always upsets me since it basically means I’m going to eventually have to call with something trashy like A7o and hoping to get lucky. But I end up dodging every all in confrontation and chip my way up to leader stealing pots here and there. I actually played really well this heads up match, which is rare since my opponent was the dreaded super loose and super aggressive player that I hate playing heads up. I end up chipping him all the way down to about a 5-1 lead, when we finally get all in preflop and it ends with this hand.

RikkiDee: shows [Ah 5s] (a pair of Fives)
oclakers: shows [4h 4c] (a pair of Fours)
RikkiDee collected 4020 from pot
RikkiDee said, "gg"

So I am off to the final table! Never thought I had a chance and here I am. For the final table, they reset all chip stacks and bring the blinds back down to 10/20. Since every place pays, I decide to play very tight and not make too many moves early, hoping that others would bust out. I can't be sure if the mindset of my opponents is "well I've already made the money, all in" or "I'm going to play tight as all hell trying to move up in the rankings". There are three bust outs before I even play a hand, so I’m pretty happy. I basically don’t play a big hand until mid game, where I pick up aces. Luckily I had just raised preflop 2 out of the last 3 hands, so I made my raise a bit bigger than usual. Well lets just watch what happened.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [Ad Ac]
bigott20: folds
RikkiDee: raises 300 to 400
dwgum16: raises 800 to 1200
nitsuj966: folds
wired_c4: folds
dabomb1637: folds
RikkiDee: raises 765 to 1965 and is all-in
dwgum16: calls 765
*** FLOP *** [9h 8d 2s]
*** TURN *** [9h 8d 2s] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [9h 8d 2s 8c] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RikkiDee: shows [Ad Ac] (two pair, Aces and Eights)
dwgum16: shows [Ks Kh] (two pair, Kings and Eights)
RikkiDee collected 4080 from pot

Oh the humanity. Obviously I can’t fault my opponent for putting me all in with KK, and am I glad I didn’t have QQ. But now I’m up to chip leader with 6 to play. Which means I am already guaranteed more than $255 which is the magical mark that makes this tournament more profitable than a regular $50 sit&go. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.

But, being the dumbass who can’t learn a lesson about protecting a big stack that I am, I decide to push my opponents around again. This time I hit a flush draw and put my opponent all in, he called with top pair and I didn’t hit, so I’m back down to medium stack. I’m a genius.

With the blinds 100/200 and my stack hovering around 1500 with 5 players remaining, I am feeling the pressure to make a move. I havn’t made any all in moves yet so I decide to do it here, against the other short stack in the BB, who has been folding a lot, so I figure I have a good chance to steal the blinds here.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [2h Js]
dabomb1637: folds
bigott20: folds
RikkiDee: raises 1150 to 1350 and is all-in
dwgum16: folds
nitsuj966: calls 1115 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [4s 2s 6c]
*** TURN *** [4s 2s 6c] [3c]
RikkiDee said, "interesting call"
*** RIVER *** [4s 2s 6c 3c] [4h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
nitsuj966: shows [Th Qc] (a pair of Fours)
RikkiDee: shows [2h Js] (two pair, Fours and Deuces)
RikkiDee collected 2730 from pot

He calls me for all his stack with TQo, ok. Sure, I only had J2, but you gotta give me more credit than that. So with this lucky double up I manage to sneak my way into the final three. Chip count starting at:

Seat 5: bigott20 (4360 in chips)
Seat 7: RikkiDee (1990 in chips)
Seat 9: dwgum16 (7150 in chips)

In this tournament, only the final two paid anything really significant ($1200, $850), while third paid around $480. I was short stacked, and decided it was going to be first or third. I then pick up this hand.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [Kd As]
dwgum16: folds
bigott20: raises 400 to 600
RikkiDee: raises 1590 to 2190 and is all-in
bigott20: calls 1590
*** FLOP *** [Js 8c 2d]
RikkiDee said, "ugh"
RikkiDee said, "gg"
*** TURN *** [Js 8c 2d] [6s]
*** RIVER *** [Js 8c 2d 6s] [Ks]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bigott20: shows [Ac 2c] (a pair of Deuces)
RikkiDee: shows [Kd As] (a pair of Kings)
RikkiDee collected 4455 from pot

Phew, lucky me. Again, I don’t blame him for raising with A2 from the SB, but to call my reraise is pretty bold, he wouldn’t be getting 2-1 odds, so his call really makes no sense. But since people are people, he can’t fold A2 and almost knocks me out. But now I’m in good shape, 2nd in chips with a fishy man who will call an all in with A2 in third, damn it feels good to be a gangsta.

After a few uncalled all-in’s by my opponent, the blinds are starting to creep up on my chip stack as well, as they had just gone up to 200/400. I feel it is necessary to start stealing some blinds as well, trying to keep up. So it is this hand that eventually ends me, but I would like to discuss how I could have avoided losing all my chips on this hand. I’ll start off by stating my hypothesis that it is not possible not to lose all my chips. Lets begin.

Lets start off with the chip stacks.

Seat 5: bigott20 (2270 in chips)
Seat 7: RikkiDee (3705 in chips)
Seat 9: dwgum16 (7525 in chips)

I have the lead on third but not by that much.

bigott20: posts the ante 25
RikkiDee: posts the ante 25
dwgum16: posts the ante 25
RikkiDee: posts small blind 200
dwgum16: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [Ah 8c]

I’m dealt A8o in the small blind, a raise is necessary if it is folded to me.

bigott20: folds

So it is folded to me, I must raise, but how much? I have to ask myself, what is the purpose of this raise? Is it to steal? Is it a value raise? Well, with A8o, out of position, I am more than happy stealing the blinds. If I get a call, and I don’t hit my ace (or even if I do) I’m going to be in trouble, so this is a stealing situation. A regular 3-4bb raise would pot commit me anyways if my opponent was to reraise me, so lets just go all in to maximize the chances of stealing the blinds.

RikkiDee: raises 3280 to 3680 and is all-in
dwgum16: calls 3280
RikkiDee said, "bah"
*** FLOP *** [8d 5s 3d]
*** TURN *** [8d 5s 3d] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [8d 5s 3d Js] [Qd]
RikkiDee said, "gg"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RikkiDee: shows [Ah 8c] (a pair of Eights)
dwgum16: shows [Kc Ks] (a pair of Kings)
dwgum16 said, "vgg"
dwgum16 collected 7435 from pot

So he had kings, easy call. Now lets see how I could have avoided this.

If I raised 3bb up to 1200, he would do one of two things; raise me all in (most likely), or call (less likely). Once I raise to 1200 the pot becomes 125+200+400+1200 = 1925 and I am left with 2280. If he then reraises me all in the pot becomes 1925+2280=4205 and I am left with the decision to call getting just under 2-1 odds on my money. Since I have an ace, I am guaranteed to get at least 2-1 odds (unless he has aces) so I need to call. Now I could fold, choosing not to gamble and keep my 2280, but I order to win tournaments like these I think it is necessary to make profitable all in moves in order to win in the long run. But some could say he would only make this reraise if he has me substantially beat, which is true in this case, but the way this player played, he would probably do this with any pair or any good ace. Since it is a coinflip if he has a pair under eights, and I’m about a 2-1 underdog vs higher pairs and bigger aces, I think this call is pretty much right on. The question is just do I want to gamble on a coinflip? (I consider getting 2-1 odds when you are behind 2-1 a coinflip since you are being offered the correct odds). In this case I do. Of course all this is moot since I just went all in, but I’m just trying to justify the fact that no matter what raise I would have made, I would have been going all in anyways. And considering the fact that about 90% of the time I would just steal the blinds and antes, this is definitely a +EV play – it just didn’t work out this time.

So that’s that. Third place in a field of 81 players isn’t bad, actually it is pretty damn good for me. I enjoyed this double shootout a lot, and hopefully can join others when they are running. Too bad stars doesn’t run them often. The great thing about them is you get the chance to make it to a final table for real tournament cash, with a good chance of taking the whole thing down since the blinds and stacks are all reset, so there isn't the all in fest that plagues the big MTT final tables. Additionally, the blind levels are 15 minutes instead of the regular 10, and that is always a plus (for what is basically a sit&go).

I’ll take the $500 third place prize and take it as a lesson learned.

GG
Always good to change things up.