A bundle of baseball metaphors
Saturday night, i went on a really nice SNG tear. Something like 35% ITM and 65% ROI across ~25 $33 SNGs with an occasional $55 mixed in. Including a very nice "home run" of four consecutive wins in a row during the series. Fresh off that bankroll boost, and fresh off conversations with a couple local poker semi-pros during a break at work today, I elected to parlay some of that winnings in to a shot at the Party Poker Super Monday tournament ($150+12).
This would be the highest online tournament buyin I'd ever played. But I was determined to bring my "A" Game, and not play as scared money. Perhaps too much so - in the first two orbits I lost half my chips. I called a preflop raise with unsuited connectors from the big blind, and then when the preflop raiser continuation bet the ace-high flop, I re-raised him. He hesitated but then called, and I was confident he didn't have an ace. The turn brought a fourth of my suit and gave me a gutshot, and when he checked to me I bet quite a bit as a semibluff. He instacalled, which suprised me big time. The river was a blank, and he checked and i checked behind - he'd hit a set on the turn, and when I missed my straight and flush draws on the river I lost a big chunk of chips. About three orbits later, I got all my money in the middle preflop with AKc (preflop raiser in EP, I re-raised in middle position, he pushed, I called) and found myself up against the hilton sisters (QQ). I caught two clubs on the flop, giving me a lot of outs, but i couldn't connect and I was out of my first Super tournament in roughtly 1001th place (out of 1550 entries). Swing and a miss...
However, after the Super Monday, I entered the Party $40k Guaranteed, the Full Tilt $16 Guaranteed, a Full Tilt $10+1 doublestack tournament, and another Party $20+2 MTT. The $40k Guaranteed was nothing special. However I made a serious run in the doublestack tournament before bleeding off all my chips in a series of bad calls, a couple bad beats, and a couple lost coinflips to finish just outside the money.
I then finished in the money in the other Party $20+2 MTT, losing with AQ vs someone's KTo once ITM. Nothing spectacular, just a contact single but it advances the runners.
I then stepped up to the plate and made a great run in the Full Tilt $16 Guaranteed. I'll pick up a recap starting on the bubble:
11:35pm - We've got 76 left of 787 entrants, and the top 72 pay. I'm currently 12th in chips, and have been floating between 15th and 7th for the last twenty minutes or so. I've got an aggressive bigstack seated two to my left, he's been floating in and out of the top five chipstacks for the last twenty minutes or so. He seems solid and aggressive, and we've traded a few shots but have lately been trying to stay out of each others way.
11:40pm - I see a free flop with two limpers from the big blind with Kh4s. The flop comes jack high with two hearts and gets checked around. The turn drops the ace of hearts, and the aggressive bigstack bets 2/3 the pot. Its folded around to me, and I make a really marginal call with the nut flush draw. I catch a heart on the turn, but stupidly check to the aggressor who smartly checks behind. I should have bet something small, maybe 2000 in to the 7000 pot. It would have been an obvious milking bet, but perhaps I could have gotten something out of him. Still a nice pot that jumps me back in to the top ten in chips.
11:43pm - the bubble bursts and all hell breaks loose. There are a lot of stacks of T3k - T4k and with blinds of 400/800 with 100 antes, people are correctly getting very aggressive. I call a small-stacks push from the big blind (getting 3-1) with K4o and end up splitting the pot against his KJh when the board pairs on the flop and drops perfect perfect K-A to give us both two pair with an ace kicker.
11:45pm - with a very short stack in the big blind and the bigstack in the small blind, I open limp JTo from the cutoff, planning to call a push from the small stack but "conspire" with the bigstacked small blind to eliminate him if possible. The flop comes down ace high with two clubs, and I bet the flop when checked to me and take it down. I jump over T31k, and am currently 13th in chips. We're down to 59 remaining.
11:50pm - AQo on the button. MP raises, a shortstack pushes behind him, and I push to isolate the shortstack. Folds to him, the shortstack has A9c, and I'm a big favorite. I catch an ace and a queen on the rainbow flop, and I drag the decent pot. JJ on the very next hand and I re-raise a MP raiser who quickly folds, and I jump over T42k, currently third in chips.
11:57pm - I fold pocket sevens to a MP push. Good thing cujofan's not around to berate me. Next hand I raise from MP with A4c, and fold to a re-raise from the (former) bigstack two to my left. Good thing too, as next hand I'm dealt two beautiful aces and get a raiser in front. I double his raise to 5k, he pushes, and he's got tens. I catch an ace on the flop and improve to a boat on the turn, and I jump over T50k and to third in chips.
12:01am - big blind has T5k and I push him in from the small blind with A7o. he instacalls with A8o, but we both end up splitting the pot.
12:06am - fold 26d in the big blind to two limpers and a preflop raise from the button. One of the limpers pushes to the raise, and the limper ends up outracing the button's 88 with AQo. After that hand our table gets balanced, and the chipleader drops in to my left. So I've got #1 in chips immediately to my left, and #2 in chips immediately to his left. Great placement.
12:12pm - i try a resteal from the big blind and it gets picked off. MP min-raises preflop and I call with 46h getting better than 3-1 thanks to the antes. I then lead the flop which is jack high with two diamonds, and he pushes. Ah well. Down to T45k and tenth in chips. Two hands later I open KJo from the CO its folded around, then get AJo the hand after and likewise drag the blinds + antes. Back over T52k.
12:15pm - pocket sevens UTG+1. I open limp, get one caller, and then take down the pot with a bet on the Jc6d4d flop.
12:26pm - we return from break, i'm seventh in chips with T52k. I fold KQd UTG+1 because I don't make it back from break in time and my hand is folded while I'm trying to type in a raise. Chiplead behind me pops it as soon as I fold, so I convince myself he had AA and it was a great laydown.
12:28pm - i weakly fold 26o in the small blind to the massive chipstack sitting to my left. Good news is the hand before the "second biggest stack" who was two to my left ended up doubling up someone three to my right, so the chips are starting to flow in the right direction.
12:30pm - I've been quite since the break, so I 3xBB from MP with K5h, and take down the blinds and antes.
12:32pm - folded to the small blind who completes against my big blind. I pop it up 4x with 22 and he folds. Next hand we consoldate to three tables (27 remaining) and I get moved to a much better spot on the new table. Third in chips (overall) is two to my right, and the rest of the table is nicely dispesed.
12:37pm - pure steal from the CO with J2s, the small blind pushes, I let some time tick and then fold. down to T42k, and 14th in chips. 20 players remaining, and we're now six-handed at my table. Time to rachet up the aggressiveness.
12:43pm - just a terrible run of cards while six handed. 26o, 35o, J2o, etc. Down to T36k and 15th place.
12:45pm - big stack open raises from the CO and I push from the small blind with A8o. he instacalls with JQo. Flop drops an eight but also a queen, and then a second queen on the river just adds insult to injury. I'm out in 20th place. I was 15th in chips when I pushed, and sitting 15th out of 20 remaining and getting my money in the middle as an aggressor in a 56%-43% coinflip was a solid play. I made the right read and the right move, gambling at the right time with +EV to try to hit a bigger payday. Double up there and I run to the final table pretty easily. Getting to the final three tables of a decent large-field tournament, we'll call that a tripple.
This would be the highest online tournament buyin I'd ever played. But I was determined to bring my "A" Game, and not play as scared money. Perhaps too much so - in the first two orbits I lost half my chips. I called a preflop raise with unsuited connectors from the big blind, and then when the preflop raiser continuation bet the ace-high flop, I re-raised him. He hesitated but then called, and I was confident he didn't have an ace. The turn brought a fourth of my suit and gave me a gutshot, and when he checked to me I bet quite a bit as a semibluff. He instacalled, which suprised me big time. The river was a blank, and he checked and i checked behind - he'd hit a set on the turn, and when I missed my straight and flush draws on the river I lost a big chunk of chips. About three orbits later, I got all my money in the middle preflop with AKc (preflop raiser in EP, I re-raised in middle position, he pushed, I called) and found myself up against the hilton sisters (QQ). I caught two clubs on the flop, giving me a lot of outs, but i couldn't connect and I was out of my first Super tournament in roughtly 1001th place (out of 1550 entries). Swing and a miss...
However, after the Super Monday, I entered the Party $40k Guaranteed, the Full Tilt $16 Guaranteed, a Full Tilt $10+1 doublestack tournament, and another Party $20+2 MTT. The $40k Guaranteed was nothing special. However I made a serious run in the doublestack tournament before bleeding off all my chips in a series of bad calls, a couple bad beats, and a couple lost coinflips to finish just outside the money.
I then finished in the money in the other Party $20+2 MTT, losing with AQ vs someone's KTo once ITM. Nothing spectacular, just a contact single but it advances the runners.
I then stepped up to the plate and made a great run in the Full Tilt $16 Guaranteed. I'll pick up a recap starting on the bubble:
11:35pm - We've got 76 left of 787 entrants, and the top 72 pay. I'm currently 12th in chips, and have been floating between 15th and 7th for the last twenty minutes or so. I've got an aggressive bigstack seated two to my left, he's been floating in and out of the top five chipstacks for the last twenty minutes or so. He seems solid and aggressive, and we've traded a few shots but have lately been trying to stay out of each others way.
11:40pm - I see a free flop with two limpers from the big blind with Kh4s. The flop comes jack high with two hearts and gets checked around. The turn drops the ace of hearts, and the aggressive bigstack bets 2/3 the pot. Its folded around to me, and I make a really marginal call with the nut flush draw. I catch a heart on the turn, but stupidly check to the aggressor who smartly checks behind. I should have bet something small, maybe 2000 in to the 7000 pot. It would have been an obvious milking bet, but perhaps I could have gotten something out of him. Still a nice pot that jumps me back in to the top ten in chips.
11:43pm - the bubble bursts and all hell breaks loose. There are a lot of stacks of T3k - T4k and with blinds of 400/800 with 100 antes, people are correctly getting very aggressive. I call a small-stacks push from the big blind (getting 3-1) with K4o and end up splitting the pot against his KJh when the board pairs on the flop and drops perfect perfect K-A to give us both two pair with an ace kicker.
11:45pm - with a very short stack in the big blind and the bigstack in the small blind, I open limp JTo from the cutoff, planning to call a push from the small stack but "conspire" with the bigstacked small blind to eliminate him if possible. The flop comes down ace high with two clubs, and I bet the flop when checked to me and take it down. I jump over T31k, and am currently 13th in chips. We're down to 59 remaining.
11:50pm - AQo on the button. MP raises, a shortstack pushes behind him, and I push to isolate the shortstack. Folds to him, the shortstack has A9c, and I'm a big favorite. I catch an ace and a queen on the rainbow flop, and I drag the decent pot. JJ on the very next hand and I re-raise a MP raiser who quickly folds, and I jump over T42k, currently third in chips.
11:57pm - I fold pocket sevens to a MP push. Good thing cujofan's not around to berate me. Next hand I raise from MP with A4c, and fold to a re-raise from the (former) bigstack two to my left. Good thing too, as next hand I'm dealt two beautiful aces and get a raiser in front. I double his raise to 5k, he pushes, and he's got tens. I catch an ace on the flop and improve to a boat on the turn, and I jump over T50k and to third in chips.
12:01am - big blind has T5k and I push him in from the small blind with A7o. he instacalls with A8o, but we both end up splitting the pot.
12:06am - fold 26d in the big blind to two limpers and a preflop raise from the button. One of the limpers pushes to the raise, and the limper ends up outracing the button's 88 with AQo. After that hand our table gets balanced, and the chipleader drops in to my left. So I've got #1 in chips immediately to my left, and #2 in chips immediately to his left. Great placement.
12:12pm - i try a resteal from the big blind and it gets picked off. MP min-raises preflop and I call with 46h getting better than 3-1 thanks to the antes. I then lead the flop which is jack high with two diamonds, and he pushes. Ah well. Down to T45k and tenth in chips. Two hands later I open KJo from the CO its folded around, then get AJo the hand after and likewise drag the blinds + antes. Back over T52k.
12:15pm - pocket sevens UTG+1. I open limp, get one caller, and then take down the pot with a bet on the Jc6d4d flop.
12:26pm - we return from break, i'm seventh in chips with T52k. I fold KQd UTG+1 because I don't make it back from break in time and my hand is folded while I'm trying to type in a raise. Chiplead behind me pops it as soon as I fold, so I convince myself he had AA and it was a great laydown.
12:28pm - i weakly fold 26o in the small blind to the massive chipstack sitting to my left. Good news is the hand before the "second biggest stack" who was two to my left ended up doubling up someone three to my right, so the chips are starting to flow in the right direction.
12:30pm - I've been quite since the break, so I 3xBB from MP with K5h, and take down the blinds and antes.
12:32pm - folded to the small blind who completes against my big blind. I pop it up 4x with 22 and he folds. Next hand we consoldate to three tables (27 remaining) and I get moved to a much better spot on the new table. Third in chips (overall) is two to my right, and the rest of the table is nicely dispesed.
12:37pm - pure steal from the CO with J2s, the small blind pushes, I let some time tick and then fold. down to T42k, and 14th in chips. 20 players remaining, and we're now six-handed at my table. Time to rachet up the aggressiveness.
12:43pm - just a terrible run of cards while six handed. 26o, 35o, J2o, etc. Down to T36k and 15th place.
12:45pm - big stack open raises from the CO and I push from the small blind with A8o. he instacalls with JQo. Flop drops an eight but also a queen, and then a second queen on the river just adds insult to injury. I'm out in 20th place. I was 15th in chips when I pushed, and sitting 15th out of 20 remaining and getting my money in the middle as an aggressor in a 56%-43% coinflip was a solid play. I made the right read and the right move, gambling at the right time with +EV to try to hit a bigger payday. Double up there and I run to the final table pretty easily. Getting to the final three tables of a decent large-field tournament, we'll call that a tripple.
posted by Performify at 9:34 PM
4 Comments:
Sounds like a great night. Way to go.
"I fold pocket sevens to a MP push."
*shakes head* I don't even know who you are anymore...
Nice job man. You've had some impressive results lately, keep it up. I got a feeling you're going to get over the hump VERY soon and hit a nice score or two.
Glad to hear that you are running well! Good job!
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