Carbon Poker $1,500 NLHE
Another tournament that went well for the most part. I had the chip lead for a long portion of the middle part of the tournament, made only one really glaring misstep, then had the dirty done to me at the end, making it through nearly 97% of the field and still getting only a couple times more than my buy-in in profit, as opposed to the first-place payout of 90 times the buy-in. Frustrating.
Another frustration was the fact that the tournament lobby was out for most of the game. I could track my position with the statistics panel on the game screen, and I could calculate the number of entries by multiplying the chip average by remaining players and dividing by starting stack, but players had no way to know when the bubble was about to hit until we got instructions about hand-for-hand. The lobby never came back until we were at three tables left, after more than 60 players had been paid out.
Hand 3 [jh qc] UTG T3,000 15/30
I’m in seat 9, and I open to 90, getting calls from UTG3, HJ, CO, SB and BB. Nothing like a party. The flop is [5s 9h js] and with 540 in the pot, I continue for 300, with UTG3 and SB dropping out. 1,740 in the pot on the turn [7c]. I jam the rest of my chips in an over-bet, CO calls off with [8s as] on a draw with 41% equity after the other two players fold, and when the [7h] hits the river, I double up.
Hand 9 [9h td] UTG2 T6,915 20/40
UTG limps in, I raise to 120 and get called by HJ, BTN, and BB. UTG drops out. Top pair on the [2c 6h 9s] board, BB leads out for 270, I call, along with HJ. [3d] on the turn and BB checks. I bet 800 into a pot of 1,350. A call would leave either of them with 1,000 or less behind, and they both fold.
Hand 10 [ac js] UTG1 T7,875 20/40
I raise to 120 over an UTG limp. Calls from UTG2, BTN, BB, and UTG. [td 6s ah] on the flop and I bet 400 when it’s checked to me. Everyone folds.
Hand 15 [4c ad] CO T8,315 20/40
A little lighter opening hand than usual, but action’s folded to me and I raise to 120. BB is the only caller. [th as kd] on the flop, he dons with 40 into a pot of 260 and I raise to 150. He calls. [6s] for the turn. Again with the 40 bet. He only has 2,200 behind and I call. [7d] on the river, he checks and I check behind in case he hit something. He shows down [tc 2c].
Hand 24 [9c kc] CO T8,585 30/60
A couple of quick table changes. There are only five players on the new table for the first hand. I open to 180 and get called by BTN and SB. The flop is [jh 6s 7c]. I continue for 300, BTN folds, then SB shoves 1,640 and I let it go.
Hand 35 [4c qd] BB T7,925 40/80
UTG3 and SB limp to a [td ts 4d] flop. We all check. I bet 120 on the [7h] turn and they both call. [td] on the river and I bet another 300. UTG3 has me outcropped by 3,000 is the only caller, he shows [tc js] and takes the pot.
Hand 41 [qd kc] UTG T7,445 50/100/10
An open to 300 gets called by HJ and BB, both smaller than starting stack of 3,000. [9d 6d 4h] on the flop, I bet 600 into the 1,030 pot and BB calls with 1,800 behind. I bluff 1,000 after he checks the [ac] turn and win.
Hand 42 [js ah] BB T8,765 50/100/10
I made a mistake with this hand, attempting to conceal its strength by letting HJ, CO, BTN and SB limp into the pot. Then again, the flop was [ks 2h 9s], and I fold to a bet of 290 from CO, followed by a call from SB. As it turns out, I would have lost anyway, so I lose the minimum.
Hand 45 [3d 3s] HJ T8,575 50/100/10
Again, not a hand I prefer to play, but aside from BB, I’m the player with the most chips still in the hand when action gets to me. I open to 300 and both blinds call. 990 in the pot on a flop of [2h 6s jc], which gets checked around. SB bets 100 after the [4d] appears on the turn, but gets raised to 695 by BB. I’m out; SB calls with just 435 behind, then folds to another bet after the [ks] river.
Hand 48 [kd tc] UTG1 T8,245 50/100/10
I raise to 300, HJ calls (with just 375 behind), as do the blinds. The flop is [8s 5c 9h] and everyone checks. The [7h] turn gives me the open-ended straight draw and everyone checks again. The straight’s completed with a [6s] river. BB has 9K and opens for 645. I’m the only caller. I’m almost sorry to see he has the [ad jd] Mutant Jack, but I’m happy to take the pot, which puts me close to 10K.
Hand 50 [th qh] BB T9,860 50/100/10
HJ opens to 265 and I’m the only caller to the [ah qd 6c] flop. I call a c-bet of 330, then we check down the [kc] turn and [3c] river. He has [ac js] and takes the pot.
Hand 51 [ac ad] SB T9,255 50/100/10
UTG2 (same player who opened last hand) opens again to 265, with 2,900 behind. BTN calls with 3,700 behind. I 3-bet to 1,000, getting calls from both. The flop is [4s 9h ks]. UTG2 checks, BTN bets half his stack: 1,500. I shove, getting a fold from UTG2. BTN calls with [kd jh], the nine pairs on the turn and the river is [3s].
Hand 52 [qh qs] BTN T14,423 60/120/12
I open for 360 and both blinds fold.
Hand 55 [kc qs] HJ T14,663 60/120/12
I open to 360, BTN calls. [tc 7h 3c] on the flop, I check-call a bet of 498. [jh] on the turn gives me the open-ended straight draw, and I check-call 1K this street. BTN has just over 3K behind. My straight gets there, but so does the club flush. I bet 3K and UTG calls after hitting a set on the river with [9s 9d]. He has 40 chips left.
Hand 56 [ts ah] UTG1 T19,786 60/120/12
UTG limped in, I raised to 360. HJ called the raise and both BB and UTG came along. [7h 6c qs] on the flop and everyone checked. [9h] for the turn, UTG shoved 2.6K, and I folded my overs. HJ went all-in with [5d 3d] drawing to a [4x] or an [8x] for the straight. UTG had the higher straight draw with [8d 6h] but won with just bottom pair after a [qh] river.
Hand 57 [jc 8c] UTG T19,414 60/120/12
Only seven players on the table. I open to 360, BB is the only caller. I c-bet a [4h 5h 9d] river for 460 into 864, and BB folds.
Hand 60 [qc jc] BTN T19,702 60/120/12
SB is dead. The player I pulled out the straight against is in the BB for his last 20. HJ opens to 360, both CO and I call. [8c 8c 2s] on the flop, HJ shoves 2.8K with [9d ad] and wins the hand with two pair after a [7h] turn and [ac] river.
Hand 62 [7s 7h] HJ T19,312 75/150/15
UTG min-raises. UTG2 and I call. I’m pretty good with the [8h 2d 7c] flop and bet 700 when it’s checked to me. UTG has 8.4K behind, and raises me to 2K. UTG2 folds, I shove and UTG calls off with [4c 4d] drawing nearly dead. [8c] on the turn seals the deal and I pop up to the chip lead.
Hand 66 [ks jd] BB T28,618 75/150/15
CO limps, BTN raises to 450, SB folds, I call, CO folds. [4c 3s ad] on the flop and I’m pretty much done with the hand. We both check through the [6d] turn and [4h] river, he shows [ad 7d] and wins.
Hand 72 [kd js] UTG2 T27,998 100/200/20
UTG1 opens for 600 and I call. HJ is all in for 3K. Action folds back to me and for 10% of my stack, I think I can afford it. The board runs out [kc th 9d 2c qh]. I’m good from the flop but get even better.
Hand 81 [kc 8c] UTG2 T31,550 100/200/20
Table change. I open to 600 and get called by the BB, who folds to a c-bet of 800 on a [as 4s kh] flop.
Hand 90 [jc js] UTG1 T31,940 125/250/25
A minor setback to my heater. I open to 750, UTG2 shoves 1.9K, action folds to me, I call, and his [kh kc] wins.
Hand 97 [8c ah] HJ T29,440 150/300/30
Dead SB and seven players at the table. UTG1 limps in from a 12BB stack. I call BTN limps and BB (a player with more chips than me) checks. The board runs out [kd 9d kc qs 5s], it’s checked all the way down, and I win with ace high against BB’s [4s 3c], [3d 4d] for UTG1, and BTN’s [6h 8h].
Hand 98 [ad 2d] UTG1 T30.5K 150/300/30
I open to 900 and get a call from UTG2 (we’re 9-handed again), then BTN shoves 7.9K. The big stack in SB calls and I elect to sit this one out, as does UTG2 (he’d be effectively all in to call). The smaller stack’s ahead pre-flop with [ac qd] v [th ah], but a backdoor heart flush eliminates him.
Hand 106 [th qd] UTG1 T28.9K 200/400/40
Big stack at the table in BB (with dead SB again) has 43K. The other six players have between 6 and 12K. I open to 1200 and everyone folds.
Hand 110 [7s ks] SB T29K 200/400/40
Action folds to me, I raise to 1200 and BB calls from a stack about my size (after tripling up in a hand with a set against two players who made two pair). He’s way behind on a flop of [as 6s 7s] and folds to a c-bet.
Hand 115 [qd jh] UTG1 T30.3K 250/500/50
UTG has just 6BB and limps. I raise to 1,500 and CO shoves for 2.1K. BTN and blinds fold, UTG1 goes all-in, and I call for another 3BB. UTG1 has [kc kd], CO has [as 8c]. The board’s [[8s 7d 5c 3d ad] giving the shortest stack top two. UTG’s limped kings strategy gives him a little extra in the side pot, but he’s still less than 4BB.
Hand 118 [9h 5c] BB T27.2K 250/500/50
UTG has picked up more chips and has about 47K, but the players in the blinds are re-entry or late entries, the other big stack has been moved, and nobody else has more than 12K. HJ and CO limp in, letting me hit bottom two on the [9s ks 5h] flop. A loss to either player can’t take me below 20K, which is still above average, so I bet it for 1.7K and HJ calls. Then I shove the [td] flop and he folds to save his remaining 4K.
Hand 119 [ad qc] SB T30.5K 250/500/50
BTN open-shoves for 2.1K and I shove over the top, even with the bigger stack yet to act. The run-out is [5h 4h 2d 4c 7c], and ace high wins again.
Hand 123 [ks qh] UTG2 T33.3K 250/500/50
I open to 1.5K and everyone folds.
Hand 131 [jc qc] CO T33.3K 300/600/60
HJ open-shoved for 3.8K, and for some reason, I folded this. The only stack with more than 8.5K was BB, at 18K, so maybe that was it. I folded [6h 6c] on the next hand, in what turned into a multi-way pot where I would have been way behind.
Hand 133 [as 8s] UTG1 T33.1K 300/600/60
I opened to 1.8K. UTG2 called for two-thirds of his stack. BTN had 12K and called. The flop was [5d 8d 2d] and I bet 3K despite the flush. UTG2 folded with less than 2BB left, BTN shoved for a total of 10.1K, and I called. A flush draw would have gotten there, with [ks 9d] on the turn and river, but BTN just had middle pair with [ac 5c].
Hand 142 [td jd] UTG T46.8K 400/800/80
Open to 2.4K and everyone folds. The table’s just 5-handed because of a multiple elimination (by the player who would eventually knock me out of the tournament) a at the time nobody else has even a third of my stack.
Hand 143 [7c 4d] BB T48.3K 400/800/80
BTN and SB limp in. SB bets at the [7d 7h 7s] flop and I call with my quad sevens. He checks the [9s] turn and I min bet. He folds.
Hand 148 [9c as] UTG3 T50.3K 400/800/80
Open to 2.4K and everyone folds.
Hand 150 [9s qs] SB T51.2K 400/800/80
The table’s filled back up. There are a couple other stacks in the 40K range, a couple at 20K and the others between 7K and 16K. UTG2 opens for 1.8K (20K behind), gets a call from BTN (11K behind) and me. 6.8K in the pot on a flop of [5d 4s ts]. UTG2 continues for 3.4K, BTN shoves, I cautiously fold (despite, as it turns out having the most equity in the hand). UTG2 calls. My flush comes in on the [as] turn, which gives the all-in player two pair [td ah] against the [jc js] of UTG2, who then spikes [jd] on the river for a set. Wouldn’t have beaten my flush, though.
Hand 153 [tc td] HJ T49.2K 400/800/80
Big stack in BB and two others at UTG and UTG1, though I still have a 7K edge at the table. UTG limps and gets raised by UTG1 to 4K. I call everyone else folds. The flop is [8c ts 4c] and after a bet of 4.8K from UTG1, I raise to 15K. He folds.
Hand 155 [js ts] UTG1 T60.4K 500/1K/100
I raise to 3K and everyone folds.
Hand 163 [tc kh] CO T60.4K 600/1.2K/120
Table change. SB has 1BB after ante. UTG has 19K, there are three other stacks between 34K and 40K. The others between 6K and 15K. I call a raise of 2.4K from one of the other big stacks, SB shoves 14.5K, and we fold.
Hand 168 [ks qs] UTG T57.4K 600/1.2K/120
Save situation, though one of the 30K stacks has doubled by taking a big pot, so he slightly outchips me. I raise to 3.6K, UTG1 is all-in for 780 (finally), and BTN shoves for 40 more chips than I put in. SB and I make the call. The flop is [6d kh 5s] and after a SB check, I c-bet to 7K. SB folds, UTG1 has [td qd], BTN has [2h ac] and the board doesn’t do anything strange, so I knock out two players.
Hand 169 [6c as] BB T67.4K 600/1.2K/120
CO min-raises (12.3K behind). SB calls (38.9 behind). I make a loose (for me) BB call. [9c 4s jd] on the flop and it’s checked. SB bets more than half pot on the [qc] turn, and I fold, followed by the original raiser.
Hand 180 [jc qc] CO T60.4K 800/1.6K/160
Action folds to me, I bet 4.8K, and BB calls. He checks the [2s 6d kc] flop, I go all-in and he folds.
Hand 193 [kd 6d] BB T62.6K 1K/2K/200
A stack twice my size has moved into seat 2 and limps in from HJ. SB calls with about three-quarters my chips. The flop is [ks qs 2c], I bet half pot, HJ calls, and SB check-shoves to win.
Hand 195 [7c 7h] UTG2 T61.1K 1K/2K/200
After a table change on the previous hand, UTG shoves 12.5K and I fold this pair. I do the same thing with [ah qd] to an UTG shove of 24.8K, from the guy who will knock me out. Regretting. There is another stack behind me both times with more chips than me.
Hand 198 [7s 6c] BB T60.5K 1K/2K/200
A walk.
Hand 201 [js as] UTG2 T61K 1.25K/2.5K/250
My big mistake of the tournament. UTG1 shoves 30.7K and I put my faith in the power of the Mutant Jack, re-shoving. He has [ks ad], the board runs out [6c ts td 4c tc], and I lose half my stack to the player who will knock me out.
Hand 204 [8d th] BB T27K 1.25K/2.5K/250
Another loose BB call that costs me. UTG1 min-raises from a similar-sized stack, the guy I doubled calls from SB and I call. [2c 7d 7c] gets checked around, as does [qc] on the turn. SB min-bets the [jh] river, I fold, and UTG1 calls to lose to [jc 5c], holding [9c ad].
Hand 205 [ad 9d] SB T24.2K 1.25K/2.5K/250
Ten BB with a suited ace? I shove when it’s folded around to me and BB (with only 5BB) folds.
Hand 208 [4c ac] HJ T28K 1.25K/2.5K/250
Another suited ace, another shove, and more folds.
Hand 212 [ad 4s] BB T32.7K 1.25K/2.5K/250
UTG raises to 6.5K, CO is all-in for less, SB calls, and I make yet another bad call in the BB. The flop is [5h 6s 5d] and is checked around. [kd] on the turn, [6c] on the river, and SB bets 2.5K, which vets called by myself and UTG. SB takes the whole thing with [7c 7h] against [th ah] for UTG and [qd 9d] for CO.
Hand 216 [th qh] HJ T21.3K 1.5K/3K/300
I shove and get called by [6s ac] inSB. He only has 16.4K, but it’s gonna hurt if I lose. The board is kind and gives me [3d 2c 7d qd ks] for nearly a double-up.
Hand 218 [jc kd] UTG2 T43.8K 1.5K/3K/300
Raise to 9K, call from HJ. [8c kh 9s] on the flop, I shove, he calls off with [3h 3c] and I’m safe to the river with [4h 7d].
Hand 222 [th 9h] SB T74.3K 1.5K/3K/300
Big stack in HJ limps in. I just call, even though I’d normally raise this hand. BB checks. The flop is [kc 6h 7h] giving me a gut-shot straight flush draw. Everyone plays it cautious and checks. I’m actually the smallest stack involved in the hand, BB has 83K behind and HJ has twice that. [5h] completes my flush and still leaves me with a redraw to the straight flush. I bet 5K, BB calls. [2c] on the river. I mean to bet 15K into the pot of 21.4K but accidentally hit the wrong keys and make it 15,999. BB calls with [8s 4c] and a straight. Just glad it wasn’t in hearts.
Hand 225 [qh qs] HJ T102.8K 1.5K/3K/300
Big hand raises to 9K and takes it down.
Hand 226 [ah 3h] UTG2 T109.4 1.5K/3K/300
I’m not top stack at the table by 60K, but I make the raise and win.
Hand 233 [9h ac] SB T110K 2K/4K/400
HJ moves all in for 22.8K. The big stack in CO re-raises for 41.6K and even though I think this hand is playable, I don’t want to put in more than a third of my stack. As it turns out, it would probably have been a good idea, because HJ’s [2c ad] wins the double-paired board against [qc kd] of the table chip leader.
Hand 235 [qd 7h] BB T104K 2K/4K/400
A walk.
Hand 236 [7d 6d] SB T112K 2K/4K/400
The big stack raises to 12K and with only six players join the table, I feel I can make this call. I make an inside straight draw on the [td 2h 8c] flop, we both check it, and I hit a pair on the [7s] turn, check-calling 16K, but I fold to a 32K bet when the river is [ks].
Hand 240 [kd th] UTG2 T82.4K 2K/4K/400
I open to 12K and call a raise to 35.7K from SB, who only has 18.3K behind. The flop is [ac7s 6h] and I have to fold to the all-in.
Hand 243 [ks kc] BB T45.5K 2K/4K/400
UTG3 min-raises with 65.7K behind and gets a call from HJ (199K behind). CO raises to 24K (129K back) and this seems as good a time as ever to shove 10 more big blinds. CO calls and I’m up against the [ad jd] Mutant Jack. I’m good all the way on the [8h 2s 5s jc ks] board.
Hand 249 [as ad] UTG2 T107K 2.5K/5K/500
Yeah, this happened. UTG limps. I raise to 20K. Action folds back to UT, who calls. The flop is [8d 6c ac]. UTG shoves 162K. I call. He has [kc 9c] and the turn is [5c], flipping the odds from 75% in my for to exactly the opposite. [3h] on the river.
VPIP for this game was 21%, with me raising 15% of hands pre-flop. Went to showdown on 49% of the hands I played, winning just under two thirds of the showdowns.
Three hours and forty-five minutes. 249 hands. 16th of 508 entries. +210% ROI.
