A Game That Will Live In Infamy: Hands 281—300

Bovada $2K NLHE 6-Max

We’re closing in on the end of hand-by-hand coverage of a 6-Max tournament in this penultimate installment. When we left off Tuesday, we were down to 5 of 143 starting players. Player 5 had been fighting his way back from the bottom, the chip leader—player 32—had lost a chunk of chips, only to recover, and players 7 and 140 were struggling to get back in the game. I’m player 50, cruising along in 2nd place.

HAND 281 1500/3000/300 35J 9 3
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 CO TJ 201.7K 9
32 D AT 259.5K 24 42 31 13 0
7 SB 26 96K 16
140 BB JK 58.4K 21
5 UTG 77 99.4K 30 58 69 87 100

UTG raises to 9.1K and I call from CO. The big stack in D re-raises to 27.2K, the blinds fold, UTG shoves 99.1K, I fold, and D calls. You might think this is a “coin flip,” but it’s closer to 2:3. Nothing comes for D, and the former chip leader is cut down to third place.

HAND 282 1500/3000/300 245 A 2
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 UTG 34 192.3K 21
32 CO 69 160.1K 25
7 D TK 94.2K 19 36 26 36 50
140 SB KT 55.1K 21 38 26 36 50
5 BB T7 213.3K 15 26 47 26 0

How often do you see three-four with a better-than-average chance of winning a hand pre-flop? In this hand, it would would have beat everything else with a pair of fours, never mention the wheel straight. But I fold it. D limps in, SB calls, BB checks. They all check it to the river, D and SB split the pot.

HAND 283 1500/3000/300 8QJ J K
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 BB 4A 192K 21 28 2
32 UTG K9 159.8K 25
7 CO 88 96.1K 28 50 86 88 100 100
140 D 54 57.1K 12
5 SB T3 210K 14 22 12 12 0 0

CO limps in with eights, SB calls, I check my ace. CO flops a set and bets 6K, which gets called by SB, who’s drawing for a nine. They check the turn, then CO bets 22.5K on the river. SB has nothing and folds.

HAND 284 1500/3000/300 287 Q 3
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 SB 46 188.7K 11
32 BB 6A 159.5K 34 46 57 76 100
7 UTG K9 109.3K 28 34 25 13 0
140 CO J6 56.8K 12
5 D 95 200.7K 15 20 18 11 0

UTG limps in aloing with D. BB checks. Everyone checks down to the river, where the ever-ambitious D puts in a bet of 6K and gets BB to fold the best hand. UTG picks off the bluff and wins with king-high.

HAND 285 1500/3000/300 JJT 4 4
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 D 6K 186.9K 19
32 SB 59 156.2K 5
7 BB 2A 124K 28
140 UTG 66 56.5K 11 14 8 3 0
5 CO 99 191.4K 37 86 92 97 100

The short stack in UTG shoves his sixes and CO with the better pair shoves over the top. With one of the sixes dealt out, UTG is in even worse shape than he’d otherwise be. and he’s eliminated in 4th place.

HAND 286 1500/3000/300 84A
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 UTG 27 186.6K 17
32 D 3A 154.4K 32 55 94
7 SB Q5 120.7K 21
5 BB TJ 253.3K 30 45 6

D min-raises to 6K and gets called by BB. D bets another 6K on the flop with top pair and BB folds.

HAND 287 2000/4000/400
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 BB 5Q 186.3K 13
32 UTG K7 162.8K 37
7 D 8Q 118.9K 29
5 SB 63 247K 20

New level. And a new level of perfidy. SB opens to 12K with [6h 3d] and I fold. With everyone in the hand, I did start out with less equity than him.

HAND 288 2000/4000/400 639 2 6
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 SB J2 181.9K 30
32 BB 92 162.4K 7 28 82 90 100
7 UTG 39 118.5K 19
5 D Q5 252.2K 44 72 18 10 0

D limps with his queen, and he goes to the flop with BB. On the flop, BB gets lucky in two ways. One, he makes top pair, even though one of the other nines is dead. Two, he’s up against Mr. Aggressive. BB checks the flop, then calls 5.8K from the man with nothing. BB gets even luckier on the turn, picking up one of the two deuces remaining for two pair. And, of course, Mr. Aggressive, who bets another 11.6K when BB checks to him. BB calls. The six on the river might concern BB, but he checks again and this time D checks behind, so BB takes the pot approaching 50K.

HAND 289 2000/4000/400 94Q 9
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 D 2A 179.5K 30
32 SB K7 187K 26 65 83 93
7 BB 87 118.1K 24 35 17 7*
5 UTG 5Q 230.4K 21

Action folds to SB, who raises his suited king to 8K. BB brings his suited connectors along for the ride. SB c-bets 8K on the flop, BB calls. BB is drawing exceedingly thin on the turn, but when SB fails to follow through with a bet, BB puts out 16K and gets the dominating hand to fold.

HAND 290 2000/4000/400
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 UTG 83 179.1K 15
32 D 5T 170.6K 30
7 SB 2J 135.3K 26
5 BB Q3 230K 29

BB gets a walk.

HAND 291 2000/4000/400
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 BB 2K 178.7K 32
32 UTG J8 170.2K 19
7 D J5 132.9K 14
5 SB AJ 233.2K 35

SB opens to 13.6K and BB (that’s me!) folds.

HAND 292 2000/4000/400
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 SB 32 174.3K 9
32 BB 3T 169.8K 24
7 UTG 82 132.5K 25
5 D A7 238.4K 42

D raises to 12K and wins.

HAND 293 2000/4000/400 735
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 D T8 171.9K 20
32 SB JQ 165.4K 44 51 18
7 BB J9 132.1K 18 22 16
5 UTG 78 245.6K 18 27 65

It’s a big stack world and we just live in it. UTG limps, SB calls, and BB checks. Why SB just calls, I do not know. Four-handed, jack-queen is pretty strong. After the flop, of course, it’s too late, UTG has his teeth into the pot and bets 6.8K after the blinds check.

HAND 294 2000/4000/400
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 UTG 73 171.5K 20
32 D 9J 161K 40
7 SB 84 127.7K 24
5 BB 59 254.8K 15

Everyone folds to the big stack.

HAND 295 2000/4000/400 6QT
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 BB 26 171.1K 5
32 UTG A8 160.6K 45 45 9
7 D 66 125.3K 41 44 91
5 SB 22 258K 10 11 0

UTG min-raises his ace, D and SB call with their pairs, and I sit out another hand. D lucks out with the case six showing up on the flop. He bets 20K when it’s checked to him and wins the hand.

HAND 296 2000/4000/400 542
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 SB T2 166.7K 25
32 BB 7Q 152.2K 20
7 UTG KQ 146.5K 37 70 5
5 D 4K 249.6K 18 30 95

UTG limps and D—as if he knows what the flop’s going to be—raises to 14.2K. Frankly, I think UTG should re-raise here, but I don’t think he should have just limped in, either. Anyway, he calls the raise and after the flop burns away his equity, he doesn’t have any choice but to fold to D’s c-bet of 18K.

HAND 297 2000/4000/400
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 D 34 164.3K 16
32 SB 38 147.8K 7
7 BB A5 131.9K 44
5 UTG Q8 271.1K 33

BB wins when everyone folds.

HAND 298 2000/4000/400
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 UTG J9 163.9K 7
32 D 9Q 145.4K 21
7 SB 9A 135.1K 46
5 BB JT 270.6K 26

SB limps in and gets blown off his superior hand by BB, who raises to 13.6K. For fuck’s sake, guy, you’ve got an ace with one guy behind you….

HAND 299 2000/4000/400 J47 A
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 BB 6J 163.5K 21
32 UTG TA 145K 40 66 76 100
7 D 94 130.7K 16
5 SB 3K 275.9K 23 34 24 0

UTG raises to 8K and gets called by SB, naturally. BB doesn’t lead out, and UTG pulls off a free card, catching the ace on the turn before he bets another 8K to win.

HAND 300 2000/4000/400 JT3 A
PLAYER POSITION CARDS CHIPS START PRE-FLOP POST-FLOP PRE-TURN POST-TURN PRE-RIVER RIVER
50 SB 97 159.1K 25
32 BB 54 158.2K 18 24 51 38
7 UTG 67 130.3K 21 34 14 10
5 D 2Q 267.4K 35 42 35 52

UTG and D limp in with suited hands. Everyone checks the turn, even though BB pulls into a commanding lead with the flush draw. He falls behind on the turn, though he still has both wheel straight and flush draws, but D takes advantage with the Broadway draw and bets another 7.8K for the win.

Summary

Forty hands ago, not long after the tournament was down to only five players, player 5 was on relative life support, with 44K, less than 20% of then-chip leader player 32, who’s lost 90K. I’m down to 160K from just over 200K. Player 7 is essentially unchanged.

  • 15 of the 20 hands in this batch were played 4-handed. The significant change with four players has been an increase in the relative percentage of walks. Only about a 5% increase compared to the five- and six-player hands, but that’s half again as many since the overall number is 10%.
  • Player 5 is remarkably consistent. I’ve tracked him for 150 hands now, at a variety of different stack sizes. His low player number means he was among the first players to join the tournament, and it’s possible he plays the 6-Max regularly, registering early. His current VPIP is 57%, and he’s putting in a raise (either opening or re-raise) pre-flop with 28% of the hands he’s dealt. SO he’s limping or calling half his hands.
  • Meanwhile, I’m playing just 29% of the hands I’m dealt, with a PFR of 21%.
  • Player 7 is putting money into a lot of pots (29%) but he’s only raising 7% of his hands pre-flop.
  • The chip leader is tighter than me by a bit (27% VPIP/18% PFR).

Day off tomorrow. Everything comes to an end in Saturday’s edition, and there’ll be some statistical mop-up on Sunday.