Tag Archives: flush

February Wrapped Up

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Full Tilt $12,000 Rush Guarantee Rebuy (1,500 chips)

The buy-in for this tournament was low, and I’m trying to get a strategy worked out for the Rush tournaments, so I entered this even though I tend to avoid the rebuy games. Three of the players at the table double-stacked themselves before the first hand began, but the size of the guarantee was good. My play wasn’t, though. Hand nine and I had K♥ T♥. UTG raises to 60 and I call and we’re heads-up. The flop gives me two pair: 2♥ K♦ 2♦. UTG bets 165, I pop him to 660 and he three-bets to 8K. I only have 720 left. He could have the other two kings, he could have a one of the other twos or he could have the two aces he shows when I call.

Full Tilt Midnight Madness! (1,500 chips)

This game doesn’t have either the lows or the highs of the previous Midnight Madness. Sure, I dip down below 1,000 chips a couple of times in the early levels, but nothing catches fire and by the time I pick up K♥ A♥ in the big blind at 150/300/25, I’ve dropped from 8,300 to 2,650 in twenty hands. The small blind shoves and puts me all-in to call, which I do. He’s got J♣ Q♥ and pairs the queen on the turn. 120 minutes and I go out in 645th place of 3,707.

Cake Irish Open 2011 Quarter-Final Freezeout (2,000 chips)

This month’s Irish Open Finals snuck up on me. I had intended to try to qualify in one of the weekly Semi-Finals earlier in the month so that I wouldn’t be playing the Semi the same day as the Final, since it looks like the ticket winners have to join after the match has begun. Anyway, this wasn’t a game that would qualify me for anything. I played for 50 minutes and briefly broke 3,000 chips, finishing 14th of 18.

Full Tilt $19,000 Rush Guarantee Rebuy (1,500 chips)

This could have gone well but I got overconfident with pocket T♠ T♣ after nearly quadrupling my stack over 20 minutes. I was in the small blind at 60/120 and UTG raised to 480. I called and was heads-up, relatively confident with a flop of 8♦ 7♦ 8♣.  I shouldn’t have been, though. I bet 1,000 and got a call. J♦ came on the turn, giving me a flush draw and a potential straight flush. I checked and UTG bet it all, putting me all in if I called. Of course I did. Unfortunately, he had T♣ 8♣ for a set of eights from the flop. He had one of the tens I needed (which would give him a full house but me a better full house). The river was 7♥, giving him an unnecessary improvement to a full house. I was out 377th of 557.

Cake Irish Open 2011 Quarter-Final Freezeout (2,000 chips)

Another game that goes nowhere but down. Out in 12th of 15 players.

Cake Irish Open 2011 Quarter-Final Freezeout (2,000 chips)

Is my heart in these? 11th place of 12 players.

Cake Irish Open 2011 Quarter-Final Freezeout (2,000 chips)

Something screws up on my computer at the last minute and I can’t get out of this match before it begins. Only six players sign up and there’s no semi-final ticket awarded, just cash distribution. Another pair of tens is my final hand.

Cake Irish Open 2011 Semi-Final (3,000 chips)

I tote up and enter the Semi directly. Things get off to a decent beginning and by the first break I’m up to 5,200, actually in the prize ticket zone. Not great but not under the starting stack. Another hour and I have slipped below that number, to 2,500 chips. Not where you want to be after two hours of play.

There are seven players at my table. There’s a stack of 14K to my right, three stacks between 9K and 11K, and a couple of about 5K. I’ve actually made it to the last two tables out of 45 players (Cake runs 10-player tables). There are eight tickets being awarded to the Final, which just started. Blinds are 150/300/30 and I raise to 600 with 3♣ 3♦. One of the 5K stacks goes all-in. I call and he’s got K♥ K♣. A 3♠ is the first card on the flop, the rest of the cards go 8♥ J♥ 3♥ 5♥. He’s got a king-high flush but I’ve got quad threes. My Expected Value graph goes crashing through the floor but I more than double my anemic stack. I’m still at barely above half the chip average.

My last hand in the match is a better starter but it isn’t nearly as lucky. I’m heads-up with another player after calling his 750 raise from the small blind in the same level as the above hand. I’ve got J♠ Q♥ on a board of K♥ 3♣ T♠ for a straight draw. I bet 900 after the flop and get a raise that puts me all-in. Or I can stay with the 4K I’ve got behind. I call. He’s got A♦ K♦. An 8♥ and 7♠ appear but no ace or nine. Just over two hours, 15th place out of 45 players.

Cake Daily $700 Guarantee Turbo (4,000 chips)

This is almost a classic good trend for a tournament. I probed for a chance to build my stack through the first half hour, losing blinds and one small showdown. I doubled up to 5,800 with a A♣ J♣ Mutant Jack, then won another 2,900 with J♠ Q♠ three hands later.

An hour into the match I had over 15K, after a pocket 8♣ 8♦ made a set on the flop then a back door full house that won me almost 7K. A dozen hands more and I was over 23K. At the ninety-minute mark I was over 32K. I almost went out going all-in with 28K in chips (with blinds at 3,000/6,000/300) and Q♣ A♠ against J♦ J♠ pre-flop; luckily the river card was Q♠.

I wasn’t so lucky a few minutes later when I put A♦ K♣ up against A♠ 6♠. I was in the big blind at 2,000/4,000/400, there was a raise from the cutoff to 10,600, and I re-raised to 17,200, which was called. The 2♣ 7♦ 6♦ flop hit the six and he went all-in, having me covered by 20K or so. I called and lost. 123 minutes, 16th place of 174 players, ROI 90%.

It all went south on Hand 133.

Cake $1,000 Guarantee Turbo 6-Max (3,000 chips)

I managed to build well in the first hour of this match but hit a rough patch and lost three big hands that whittled my stack from 14K to 5K. Then I had the bad luck to think that my A♠ T♦ was the strongest hand of the two players who went to a T♠ 8♦ K♣ flop only to find that it was actually the guy with the other two tens in his hand. 64th of 211 players.

Paired Off

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Full Tilt Midnight Madness! (1,500 chips)

Another tale of amazing recovery thwarted!

You can see from the graph that every major loss in the match came from me holding pocket pairs (although my hand was not just pocket pairs in each instance).

I’d had the usual mixed luck in the early levels of the game. My stack had gone down to just over 1,000 chips then back up and I was at 2,245 and in the big blind at 40/80 when I got K♠ 7♠. There were eight players at the table and if the only action hadn’t been a min-raise from the small blind I might not have played that combo, but I called to see the flop, figuring the small blind had an ace. I got a great flop of A♠ T♠ 6♠ and the small blind bet out 160. I raised to 320 and he went all-in for a total of 890. I had it covered, with 1,275 over, so I called. He flipped over A♥ 6♣ for a possible full house but no ace or six showed.

Three hands later, T♥ 9♥ came into my hand in the cutoff, at 50/100. Hijack raised to 275 and I called. The button called and the blinds folded. Full house on the flop: 9♦ 9♠ T♦. Hijack checked and I led out with a tentative-looking 150. Button went all-in for 1,900, so he could have the other two tens. Hijack raised enough to put me all-in if I called, which I most certainly did. There was just about 9,000 in the pot. The button was on a complete bluff with 3♥ 2♥. The hijack had a legitimate—but superfluous—diamond flush draw with A♦ 5♦. He got his K♦ on the river but I got the chips.

I hit a plateau at that point, not gaining or losing more than 1,000 chips at a time for nearly fifty minutes. I had decent hands but wasn’t able to capitalize on them at all. Then I picked up K♠ K♣ at the 120/240/25 level in UTG+1. I raised to 600 after UTG folded, got an all-in re-raise to 1,830 from UTG+2, and called after everyone folded. He had A♦ Q♣, I was in relatively good shape. At least until the A♥ T♣ J♦ on the flop. Then I was hoping for another queen to show up but instead he got the A♠. No problem. Just a little setback.

My next hand was another pocket pair: J♥ J♣. I was on the big blind because a player had been removed for table balancing. UTG+2 with a short stack went all-in for 1,990 and got a call from the cutoff. I four-bet to 4,200 with 2,185 behind and then the cutoff went all-in for a total of 6,130. I made a rash decision and called, with 255 left. The short stack only had 9♣ 9♦ but cutoff had A♣ A♠. The board didn’t match anyone, and the aces took it.

That was Hand 126, by the way.

After the ante and the small blind on the next hand, I had 110 chips. The best thing that could be said about my T♦ 3♦ hand was that it was suited. The cutoff raised to 440. I went all-in, expecting elimination. Big blind called.

The flop was 8♦ T♥ 2♦. Not only did I have top pair, I had a flush draw! 6♣ came around the turn, then a T♣ dropped into the river slot. I had top set, at least. Cutoff revealed A♥ J♠, big blind came up with 3♠ Q♦. I was suddenly back up to 865 chips.

I let 4♦ 2♣ and my 25 chip ante go on the next hand. I knew that with barely more than 3BB I had to take a stab soon, though and on the next hand I got a sort of anemic ace that I might ignore under most circumstances: A♠ 8♣. UTG+2 was shorter than me and went all-in to 370. I went all-in for 815. Everyone else folded and left it to the small stacks. He flipped over 5♦ 5♥, but the board gave me A♦ on the flop, then added 8♥ and A♥ on the turn and river for a full house. That put me up to 1,770.

K♠ 6♠ turned up a little later, after I’d let the antes eat at me for a bit and I was in the big blind again. The button raised all-in after all action had folded to him. He had both of us in the blinds covered and I got the impression that he was trying to steal. I didn’t have the best of hands but I figured he didn’t, either, and I needed to move up. The small blind folded but I called. He had K♣ 8♦. OK, so maybe my instincts weren’t perfect.

The flop was a scary 5♣ 4♣ 9♠. But 2♠ Q♠ came on the turn and river, giving me my flush and 3,535 chips. That’s why The Grid rates K6s as Playable and K8o as No Go in a 9-player game.

Another half-hour wrestling around the 4,000-5,000 range ensued, with blinds and antes wearing my stack back down to about 3,500 when I got T♣ Q♥ as UTG+1. Blinds were 250/500/50, so I only had a limited amount of time left and if I lost another 750 to the blinds in a couple more hands I’d be in pretty bad shape. I raised to 1,000 after UTG folded. The only caller was the button, with a stack about three time the size of mine. I got a 3♦ 4♦ T♥ flop and pushed my top pair all-in for 2,485. The button called and showed middle pair: 5♣ 4♣. We both made a full house, with 3♣ 3♥ on the turn and river, but I had the better of the two and was over 8,100 chips, where I’d been 90 minutes earlier.

A couple of small wins put me up to 10,000, then another unlikely off-suit combo got me a big bump. Blinds were 300/600/75. UTG+1 raised to 1,200 and action folded to my A♦ T♣. I called and everyone else folded, so it was heads-up. The flop was 7♣ 2♦ 5♠. It seemed unlikely that he’d raised with even 46s, so when he bet out 2,600 I made another gamble and went all-in for 8,620. He called and showed 9♥ A♠. If I could avoid a suck-out, I’d be in great shape. Nothing came, another player was gone, and I took a pot of 20,935 (I’d have had 140 left if I’d lost).

My peak was 27,900 after picking up nearly 6K with  8♦ 5♠ in the big blind (400/800/100) and making middle pair on the flop. Then came the plunge.

I was on the button with 8♦ 8♠. Usually, I try to play these cautiously, per The Grid. But for some reason, when UTG+2 went all-in with 9,323 chips I called, and we were heads-up. The flop made me look like a genius: 8♥ J♠ J♥. I saw the hearts first and though it was over before I realized I had a full house. Then a 7♠ on the turn. Still good for me. Then 7♦, giving him a full house with a back door. Hey, I still had 18K, right?

Of course, at 500/1,000/125, 18K isn’t so much and ten minutes later I was down to less than14K when I got 6♠ 6♣. Not in my usual wheelhouse, as they say, but about the best I’d seen for a while (although the K♦ 7♦ I’d had five hands earlier was better according to The Grid). There was a limper in UPG+2, the flop was 5♣ 7♦ T♥,  and I made a pot-sized bet of 3,625 which got a call. The turn was 3♠. I checked and there was bet of 5,000 from the other player, who had another 24K. It seemed like an attempt to buy the pot to me. I raised all-in and he called, showing two over cards—Q♥ J♥—but nothing made. Nothing until the Q♦ on the river, anyway.

That put me out in 185th place of 3,115 players. ROI of 98% after 173 minutes.

Return to Profitability?

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Full Tilt $10,000 Rush Guarantee (1,500 chips)

I chugged along fine here for ten minutes, creeping up to 1,600 chips until my K♥ A♥ met a Q♣ Q♠ on a J♥ J♣ J♦ flop. I was down to 310 chips after that and only lasted another three hands. 392nd place out of 1,198.

Cake Poker No Limit Hold’em (1,500 chips)

This was a no-guarantee game with 42 players. I had a good hand about half an hour in when I got eights full of fives on the river with Q♠ 8♠ to beat a flopped straight. I lost a lot of chips along with another player at the hour mark when each of us were holding jacks (J♠ 8♠ for him, J♥ 9♦ for me) and the flop rolled out 3♣ J♦ 4♠. The spaded jack was first to act and went all-in for 1,605. The player between us called with another 760 behind and I re-raised to 3,210. A fourth player mucked but the second player to act called all-in, flipping over 4♦ 4♦.

I was down to 1,655 and was lucky enough to get Q♣ Q♥ on the  next hand so I threw it in pre-flop. I was in the big blind (125/250/20), two players ahead of me had gone in for 750 and the raiser went all-in to push the caller out. The queens were heads-up against 9♠ 9♥ but the flop went down 7♦ 4♣ J♠ T♦ 8♦ and the nines straightened out. If only one of them had been on the board instead of the 4! Out in 11th place with no money.

Cake Poker Roma Turbo 6-Max

Just had a little bit of money left in my Cake Poker account and put it into a ring game. Not only did my last hand of 7♦ 7♥ get double-counterfeited by the Q♠ 8♠ 9♦ 8♣ Q♣ board, but the other guy had A♣ A♥. – 135BB/100 hands.

Full Tilt Step 1 Turbo (1,500 chips)

Another classic example of me blowing the best position to bust out—or win a lesser prize, in this case. My first hand was a dreamy K♥ K♣. I went to the flop after a re-raise and call with one other player. I got K♠ A♦ 3♥ and made a doubled the pot with a bet of 555. He raised and I went all-in, getting a call. As I suspected, he had a very strong ace: Q♦ A♥ but a pair was the best he could muster against my set and I was over 3,000 chips.

Only four hands later I was dealt Q♠ Q♦. A pair of cracked aces had eliminated another player, so there were two of us with stacks around the 3K level. I made a min-raise (to 40), got a call, was re-raised to 120, four-bet to 280 and got a call from the other raiser and we were heads-up. Once again I got a set on the flop: 5♦ 8♦ Q♥. I put out a tiny 60 chip bet into the pot of 620 to see if I could get a read and he raised to 800. He might have a flush draw or an over pair or another queen. Maybe a straight draw of some kind. I went all-in and got a call. He had a set with pocket 9♥ 9♠. No 9♣ showed up so I was clear.

It was another set that cost me big. The table was down to five players. My stack was about 4,300, almost 1,500 ahead of anyone else. I was the big blind at 60/120 with a decent J♠ T♥. The cutoff raised to 360 and I was the only caller. The flop looked very nice: T♣ 2♥ T♠. I checked to see what he’d do and the bastard put out 780 to try to steal the thing from me! I put him all-in and he called. With A♣ T♦. A 6♠ 8♠ on the turn and river gave me four to a flush but that was how I lost 2,600 of my chips. I never managed to get back in to the top two slots for a Step 2 ticket.

Live by the kings, die by the kings. My last hand in the match was K♠ K♦. We were down to four players. Everyone playing was assured of at last a Step 1 ticket. I was the small blind at 100/200. UTG raised to 400. I put another 1,000 on top of that, leaving 780 behind, hoping to indicate some ambiguity and wanting to get more than the blinds and the raise. Big blind folded and I got a call. The flop was a worrisome J♠ 8♠ T♥ but I went all-in. I got a call (the player was the same one I’d lost my chips to earlier) and he showed 9♣ 8♣. I was ahead through the 6♥ on the turn but the Q♣ on the river did the deed. 4th place and a Step 1 ticket.

Full Tilt Zoom Rush 6-Max

I don’t think there’s anything of note in the 111 hands I played in this cash game session. I almost recovered from a couple of 15-20BB losses. -4.5BB/100 hands.

Full Tilt Step 1 18-Player (1,500 chips)

J♣ J♥ on the second hand here got me off to a good but unsustained start. I was over 2,000 almost immediately and the exact same hand ten minutes in put me past the 2,500 chip mark. I hovered around that point for about fifteen minutes, sank below 2,000 for twenty minutes, and very briefly managed to get up to 3,500 before slipping back down to starting stack territory (albeit at a somewhat higher blind level). 54 minutes, 78 hands, 11th place, no prize.

Full Tilt $10,000 Guarantee Early Antes (3,000 chips)

I’d been curious about the dynamics of these Early Ante tournaments. I didn’t find this one appreciably different from a standard tournament, the antes just aren’t large enough to make much of a difference when people are doing things like going all-in. At the early stages, the antes are slightly larger than the big blind but you’re talking less than 1% of the starting stack size with a 3K stack and blinds of 10/20/3. In the last level I played of this tournament (150/300/25) it’s no different than a regular tournament.

I took a big hit on the first hand of this game with a K♦ 7♦ in UTG position. I limped, UTG+1 limped, the cutoff raised to 100, both blinds called and we limpers went for the ride. The flop was T♣ 5♦ 8♠ and everyone checked. The turn was 9♥, giving me an up or down straight draw. The small blind made a pot-sized bet of 524 and I was the only caller. The river was a useless 5♠, we both checked, and he turned over a 9♦ 7♥. A king would have given me a better pair but my straight would have just been a draw.

I doubled up to 4,500 with A♠ A♣ twenty-five minutes in when K♥ K♠ had some bad timing. Forty minutes of languishing at the same level followed, with the inevitable minor ups and downs. Then with A♦ T♣ in my hand in the big blind at 50/100/10, five players limped in to a flop of A♣ T♠ J♠. Possible Broadway straight, a flush draw, top pair with an extra pair for me. I checked after the small blind, the hijack position bet 690 with 2.300 more behind. The button called, the small blind folded, and I re-raised to 2,000 to give them something to think about. Hijack went all-in for 3,020 with everyone but me folding. 7,420 in the pot, he had J♥ T♥, much to my relief and no jack appeared on the turn or river. I was over 9K and in the top 100 stacks.

A Q♦ A♥ cost me 1,500 and smaller amounts of less than half that on decent, ill-timed hands, but the blinds and antes ground away at my stack until I was down to about 3,200 at the two-hour mark. There were about 320 players left out of more than 1,100 but only 108 payouts. I got 9♦ K♦ in UTG+2 and called (150/300/25) after action folded to me. The button raised to 1,200 and the blinds folded. He’d been fairly active, so I raised him all-in (3,309) thinking he might be trying a steal. He called, though, apparently feeling good about his 8♦ T♠ (he did have another 11.5K). I was ahead all the way. The next hand played out almost exactly the same way, except for the part where he had a crummy hand. I was out in 315th place of 1,139.

Full Tilt Midnight Madness! (1,500 chips)

Typically, I don’t enter these more than once (and I’d never play multiple entries simultaneously) but my first entry into this evening’s MM! ended so heinously I had to go in again. I took a big hit on hand six with A♦ T♣. I was in the big blind, heads up for a pot of just 180 chips with J♦ 2♠ 9♦ on the flop. I bet 45, my opponent raised to 120, I called and the turn was Q♠. I put out 120 to test the waters—I had 1,200 behind—he raised to 420 (the “pot smoker raise”) and I called. 3♥ on the turn. I had nothing and folded when he went all-in. He flashed 4♥ A♠ after collecting his 1,260 profit. OK. I still had 900.

Three hands later. 8♦ J♦. Heads-up again to the flop. 5♦ T♥ 9♦. Up-and-down straight draw. Flush draw. Opponent checks to me, I raise 120 and get a call. T♦ on the turn. Made flush, up-and-down straight flush draw. Opponent bets 180. He could have a higher flush, pocket nines or fives or ten-nine/five combos for a full house, four tens, or any number of drawing hands. I go all-in. He calls with K♠ Q♦. Then the 4♦ shows on the river and his flush beats me.

Eight hands of humiliation wasn’t enough. I started another entry but ended up waiting nearly five minutes for the blinds to get to me to play. Cards are uncooperative and I’m down to 1,245 about thirty-five minutes into the game when I get T♦ T♥. Blinds are at 80/160, UTG limps in and as UTG+1, I raise to 480. The small blind raises to 1,280 and the two stacks between us get out. I have to go all-in to call. He flips over Q♥ A♠ but the board doesn’t cooperate with him, giving me a full house of fives over tens: 7♠ 5♥ 5♠ K♠ 5♣. Two hands later the same player gets it all back with interest. I have K♣ K♠ in the big blind. Hijack goes all-in for 200. The guy I tangled with before is in the cutoff and calls, the small blind folds, and I raise to 1,000. There’s a call from the cutoff. The K♦ 3♥ 2♦ flop gives me a set and I raise all-in. Cutoff goes all-in for less, leaving me 755 in the hole. 6♥ shows on the turn and 7♥ on the river. Cutoff has T♥ Q♥ for a backdoor flush and takes a pot of 4,390.

A K♠ 4♠ doubles me up with a flopped set of 4s a little later but spades fail me on the next had and I lose everything trying to triple up on a three-way all-in with A♠ 8♠ against T♣ T♥ and 7♥ 7♠. The flop misses everyone and the tens win.

My first entry went out in 2,314th place. The second was 1,500th.

Full Tilt $4,500 KO Guarantee (2,000 chips)

This was my “good” outing for the day. I entered rather late: nearly forty minutes in with blinds already at 60/120. My third hand, I was on the button with K♥ T♥. There were two limpers ahead of me. I called and the small blind was in. The flop didn’t look good for me with 4♠ 2♠ A♥ but everyone checked and I was the last to act, so I checked. The 8♥ on the turn improved my hand a bit and when the action folded around to me again I bet 320. I got one caller from a large stack to my immediate right. The 6♥ gave me the nut flush and when I bet 560 after a check the big stack folded.

I blew 300 entering a contest with 8♦ 6♣ when one of the short stacks at the table was about to get knocked out. Missed the flop entirely and when the bets and raises started flying I folded. Eventually, two players fell to pocket A♦ A♣ held by the guy on my immediate left. I picked up about 1,200 with a 600 chip post-flop bet my next turn in the big blind holding T♣ 5♦ on a 7♣ K♣ 2♣ board.

Clubs did well by me a little bit later, as well. I was in UTG+2 with 9♣ K♣ with blinds at 250/500/50. I called, as did UTG+3. The giant stack in the big blind checked. The flop was J♠ 7♣ K♠ and my 1,000 bet folded the other two players. The next hand I was dealt Q♦ A♣. I raised to 1,000 and the player to my left went all-in for 3,747 with only 2,200 in the pot. I had him covered by just over 1,000 and I called; he flipped A♠ K♣. The board gave him a king on the river but with J♦ 5♠ 6♥ T♣ K♠ that was actually the last card he wanted to see, because it made my Broadway straight. I took a bounty and nearly 5K in profit to put me over 9,750.

A T♥ 9♠ combo just a couple of hands later in the big blind went up against a couple of limpers. I had nothing on the 6♠ 5♣ Q♠ flop and both I and the other players checked it through. The T♠ on the turn was interesting, although it could have been a real pain as I found out. I checked again but the first player after me bet 1,199 with 8,122 behind. There was a call from the button and I raised to 3,000. The original raiser folded but the button went all-in to call. 8♣ J♠, so I wasn’t looking for another spade. The K♥ on the river was wonderfully safe for my pair of tens and I got another bounty.

I pushed as high as 20K but had some setbacks and was down to about 12K by the end of my first hour in the game. 8♥ 8♣ came to me on the button in the 800/1,600/200 level. There was an all-in raise of just under 10K, an all-in call for about 2,500, and a call from me with the blinds folding. The flop was a less-than-pleasing K♠ 5♣ 9♥ but an 8♦ on the turn made it all good, even with A♦ on the river. I took the 26K pot and two more bounties. Shortly after that—in the 1,000/2,000/250 level—the Mutant Jack appeared in its A♦ J♦ avatar. I raised to 4,000 as UTG+1. UTG+2 re-raised all-in to 11,280, about half my stack. Everyone else folded and I called. We were interleaved, he turned over K♦ Q♠. I got a A♣ on the flop and nothing else mattered except the bounty and the 27K pot, which put my total up to 43.5K.

Those were the last of the good days though. I played forty more hands in the match and lost money on all but two of them to antes (from 250 to 600 per hand), blinds (3,000/6,000 by my last hand), or contests (just eight hands). My next-to-last hand I started with less than 10K (after losing 5,600 on the big blind with 7♥ 4♦) and 9♠ A♦. Not usually a hand I push with, but I was down to less than two big blinds. UTG, sitting on far from the largest stack at the table with 60K, raised to 15K. Action folded to my paltry stack of 9,300 (with 2,500 already in for the small blind) and I went all-in. It was a race against 6♦ 6♥ but I caught my A♣ on the turn.

I was out on the next hand, though, calling an all-in from a 92K stack with a better ace kicker than my 9♦.

Five bounties and a small cash for an ROI of 271%. 95th out of 1,774 entries.

Mutiny of the Bounty

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Full Tilt $2,500 Guarantee (1,500 chips)

Nothing to see here. There were almost 3,700 entrants at the time I busted out. I took an early hit with a A♦ 6♦ that didn’t pan out. An 8♠ 7♠ paired the eight on the flop to put me back over the starting stack. I more than doubled up with T♥ T♣, beating a pair of nines to make it to nearly 4,000 chips twenty minutes into the game. Twenty minutes later, a different suited ace combination (A♠ 8♠) flushed through on the turn to beat a pair of kings.

I was mostly quiet after that, staying between 4,000 and 5,000 chips until just after the first hour of play, when a far weaker A♦ 3♦ combo lost out to A♠ 9♣ that got four clubs on the board. All-in against a larger stack with three clubs on the flop? What was I thinking? Out in 794th place.

Full Tilt Midnight Madness! (1,500 chips)

Very quiet for the first quarter-hour. I get a couple walks for 15 chips apiece but give it away. A couple of small opening raises go bye-bye when the flop fails to cooperate. Then I get 6♥ 6♦ in the small blind (at 20/40) with action folded around to me and only seven seated at the table. I min-raise and get a call from the big blind. The board has three over cards—including a king and queen—to my pair and the big blind keeps firing off small bets but I take the 480 in the pot when he has a pair of twos. The next hand I eliminate a player and make a profit of 1,460 when the bottom end of my A♣ Q♦ pairs on the flop. Q♦ A♠ on the very next hand only makes me 40. Then it’s quiet until about the 50-minute mark when I have A♦ K♠. I min-raise to 200 from UTG+2 (with eight players), getting calls from both blinds. The flop is A♣ 4♠ 9♣, the blinds check and I open with 600. Small blind raises to 1,200, big folds, and I three-bet all-in. Big mistake. Small blind not only has me covered but he’s got 9♦ A♥. two more clubs show on the board, and if that king had been a club it would have been real nice, but I’m out in 1,703rd place out of 2,016. Pathetic showing.

Full Tilt Step 0 Super Turbo (300 chips)

When I said I would never play another Super Turbo so long as I lived, I should have specified that only idiots play Super Turbos. I am an idiot. Five hands. I’m in my first big blind (there’s 10% of my starting stack right there). I’ve got a wretched J♣ 4♥ but lo and behold the flop is Q♣ 2♣ 3♣. I know that if I can double up or just grab some chips in this early stage I’ll be a lot better off when the blinds go up on the next hand. I bet the pot to open (90), get re-raised by UTG+1 (the only other player in except for the small blind) and the small blind folds. I shove and UTG+1—who’s already taken out one of the players at the table so he has the bog stack— calls, showing K♣ 9♣. Finished 82 of 99.

Full Tilt $2,500 KO Guarantee (2,000 chips)

I’ve taken a run at this low buy-in event a few times in the past without any luck. Bustouts in just four and six hands, half an hour at the best. Last night things clicked—at least for a while.

I was below the starting stack for most of the first ten minutes then managed to avoid having a pair of sevens suck out with a flush on my pair of queens and picked up 900 chips.

My first big win was pushing all-in with A♦ 3♦. Action had folded around to the button, who raised to 480 at the 80/160 level. Small blind folded. I had the button covered by 900 chips (out of 3,200) and my all-in was called. Up against K♥ Q♣ and an A♥ came on the flop. Things were a little worrisome with a turned J♠ but the river was safe and I got my first bounty. I picked up another 960 on the next hand with Q♣ 9♣ that made it to a king-high straight on the turn.

I made a move about 25 minutes later holding Q♣ A♦ on the button at 80/160/25. Two players ahead of me were in for 480 and I called, with the big blind following along. The flop was 4♠ A♥ J♥. The big blind checked, the next player (UTG+3) bet 755 and the hijack called. I went all-in for 3,875. All thee following players had me covered by 500 to 9,000 chips but everyone folded and I picked up 3,270 to put me over 7,500.

An hour-and-a-half into the game and I’d lost several hands, dropping down to 4,500 with blinds at 200/400/50. My hand on the button was a somewhat less-than-sterling K♣ T♥. UTG+1 limped, UTG+2 raised to 800, hijack called, I called, as did the blinds, and UTG+1 matched the raise, so the pot held 5,250 prior to the flop. The flop was 9♥ 5♠ 7♥. Nobody had put in 800 with 68, apparently, because everyone checked to the turn, which was 8♦. UTG+2 bet 1,200 with the hijack calling and I took a stab at it with my four-card straight, raising all-in for 3,655. Everyone folded and I built up to 11,300.

I got knocked down to 5,300 with another KT combo. It was suited (K♥ T♥) but slightly behind the J♦ K♠ at the end of a board that didn’t connect with either of us.

The same player gave most of the chips back on the next hand. Five players went to the flop, limping in at the 300/600/75 level. My hand was K♣ 5♣ and the flop was A♠ 4♦ 2♠. UTG+2 bet 1,200, UTG+2 raised to 2,400, and once again on the button I re-raised all-in to 4,620. The blinds and UTG+2 folded, UTG+3 called, showing 9♦ A♣, and the turn dropped a 3♥, completing the straight and putting me over 14,000.

The humdinger hand of the night was my second bounty. I had about 13,700 chips in UTG+1 and was dealt Q♥ A♠. We were still at 300/600/75; I raised to 1,200. UTG+3 went all-in for 11,460. Everyone folded to me and I called with him flipping over T♣ T♦. Things were just about over with a Q♣ 5♦ Q♥ flop but 6♣ Q♠ on the river sealed the deal for a 13,000 profit.

I was the big stack at the table for the moment but lost my next five entries into the pot, losing between 1,000 and 4,000 each try until I was down to 8,400. Blinds were nipping at everyone’s heels, at 600/1,200/150. K♣ K♥ fell into my hand in UTG+1. I raised to 3,000. The huge stack with 90K re-raised to 12,600. The button three-bet all-in to 28,297. Action folded to me and I called all-in for 8,259. The big stack called the three-bet. Big stack had K♠ A♥, the other all-in (the same player I’d traded chips with above) had J♦ J♥. The board ran out T♣ Q♥ 6♣ 7♣ 3♦ and I took just about 28K of the 68K pot. Two hands later I lost everything to the big stack, going out with a small cash in 207th place out of 3,401 entries after 150 minutes.

Full Tilt Super Satellite to FTOPS Event #44 (1,500 chips)

Sunday was the last day of the FTOPS tournaments, and early in the morning fresh off the KO tournament above I took a shot at a super satellite to the next-to-last event, a 6-max bounty tournament. The field grew to 61 entries by the end of registration, with five entries to the satellite, worth $55 each and two smaller cash awards.

Twenty minutes in I got my first break with K♣ K♦ in the cutoff. UTG picked up a ten on the flop to match their T♣ 8♠ for top pair and went all-in and I picked up the KO and 830 chips. I wiped out another small stack of 720 shortly after with Q♦ A♣ vs. A♦ T♦. A♠ A♣ against T♠ T♦ shortly thereafter made another bounty and put me over 4,000 chips. I took out two players (one with only 25 chips in the big blind) holding 8♣ 8♥ when the board showed Q♠ K♦ Q♦ 8♦ Q♣.

Forty minutes in, I’d been knocked down to only about 2,500 chips again, losing 600-900 chips on hands like A6s and A9o. Kings served me well again when I doubled up through the big stack at the table to 7,700. Another bounty  and 1,495 came my way with T♦ T♠ a few hands after that. I got a couple thousand more holding K♣ 6♣ when the board gave me a 9-high straight on the river and nobody contested my 1,000-chip bet into a pot of 3,270.

A key mistake came when the field was down to about ten players. The cutoff raised from 200/400/50 all-in to 4,105 and I was the only caller, holding Q♣ K♦ and 6,200 chips behind. The all-in showed K♥ A♣ and he got aces full of kings by the end of the hand.

Still, I was in the top five, on track to get a ticket to the satellite until I called another all-in by the same player five minutes later. My 6♠ 6♦ against his Q♠ Q♥. Out in 7th place with an award about 1.5 times the buy-in and seven bounties, bringing the ROI to 169%.

Be My Poker Valentine

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Full Tilt Crestline Gate

I’m up, I’m down, I’m up, I’m down, I get J♦ J♥ and get busted by a backdoor flush.

Full Tilt Flash

285 hands per hour. Is that too many? I play for 16 minutes, I hit 17.5BB/100 but I’ve been underwater most of the time.

Full Tilt Mach 10

I never manage to get above even over 12 minutes and a double-ended flush draw on the flop goes nowhere to knock me out.

Full Tilt Midnight Madness! (1,500 chips)

My first hand and I can’t resist going all-in with K♦ T♦ on a flop of 6d 4c 5d]. Of course no more diamonds show and the best I have is a match to my ten on the river against pocket queens. I buy in with another entry and try to play it a bit close to the vest but when people are beating your K♠ 9♠ with 6♠ T♦, it’s time to hang it up. OK, maybe I deserved to lose pushing with my 9♠ 9♥ on a J♠ 6♦ 6♥ board, but not to J♦ 7♣.

Full Tilt $2,500 KO Guarantee (2,000 chips)

Had a couple of successes but I was determined not to suffer the fate of my brash Madness! attempts. Unfortunately, after flopping a king-high straight in my first half-hour the cards dried up and I was blinded off from 4,000 down to about 2,500 over most of the course of my 100 minutes of play. A large stack with A♥ J♥ put paid to my A♠ 5♠ and another player’s A♣ K♣ in one swoop.

Full Tilt $10,000 Rush Guarantee (1,500 chips)

I got into this half an hour in, at the 30/60 level but half the field had been eliminated already. That made the top stacks a bit difficult to catch but potentially my standing was closer to the money. I think that was probably an illusion though. Got knocked out with 8♥ T♥ in my hand and A♥ 5♥ K♥ on the flop. Guy to my left had 9♥ Q♥ for the nut flush.

Full Tilt Step 1 18-Player

First out. Straight got me.

Full Tilt Step 1

Slow and steady wins the Step 2 ticket. I need to figure out what I’m doing here that I’m not doing elsewhere.

Put a Spade In It

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Full Tilt Step 1 Turbo (1,500 chips)

Trying to get back on the track. Aces in the first three hands and I win only the very first (A♣ K♣) and that’s just 30 chips. Another ace with a lower kicker pairs. I have to back off 6♣ 6♥ when triple paint shows on the flop, and A♠ Q♦ loses out to a pair of sevens.

Full Tilt Step 1 Super Turbo (300 chips)

I will never enter another Super Turbo so long as I live. You might as well just roll dice.

Full Tilt Step 1 Turbo (1,500 chips)

Lost 600 on the first hand when an ace showed up late, doubled up from 395 only because a guy with 3♥ K♠ stayed in for absolutely nothing against my A♣ J♠ all-in, then lost the whole thing with K♥ K♠ when 8♥ A♠ paired up.

Full Tilt Midnight Madness! (1,500 chips)

Entered into the tournament twice and neither went anywhere. Got knocked out the final time by a Mutant Jack that paired over my eights.

Full Tilt Step 1 Turbo (1,500 chips)

Played pretty conservatively for twenty minutes until I got A♥ 5♥ at 60/120 when we were down to six players. I raised to 240 from the cutoff and got a call from the big blind. The flop was 3♦ 4♦ 8♣ and I bet another 240 after a check. He raised all-in and I called for everything I had. His 7♠ 8♦ gave him a pair and the K♣ K♥ after the flop didn’t improve me any.

Full Tilt $10,000 Rush Guarantee (1,500 chips)

Another conservative game until the last hand. I got Q♥ Q♦ and raised from the big blind of 30 to 210 in the hijack seat. The button re-raised all-in for 1,410 and UTG+2 went all-in to 2,385. Either one put me in and with Q♥ Q♦ I took the plunge for 1,493. I saw K♠ K♥ and K♣ K♦. Neither would improve but they didn’t need to. A pair of nines and a pair of aces on the board with an errant 6 and it was over.

Cake $1,000 Guarantee (1,500 chips)

Reasonably good going for fifteen minutes until I was dealt J♥ Q♦ in the small blind at 25/50. UTG+1 raised to 100, UTG+3 called, and both the blinds went along for the ride. I got top pair with T♦ Q♥ 5♣ and bet 150. UTG+1 called but UTG+3 raised to 1,000. I wasn’t about to let him get away with that. But I should have. I called and the 9♠ on the turn gave me an up-or-down straight draw. I put in my last 280 and he went all-in to call, 40 short of my stack. The 3♣ didn’t connect with anything and when the cards turned over he had a a pair of queens, too, but with K♥ instead of an ace for the kicker. I managed to quad up on my next hand but somehow that’s not so satisfying when you’re doing it with only 40 chips.

Aces Players Club (5,000 chips)

I’d managed to almost recover from some early losses with a 6♦ 7♦ that turned into an 8-high straight on the flop. On another hand I double-pair A♦ 3♦ and push all-in to drive off an A5 that only connects on the top. Then I got J♦ J♣ and raised to 250 with the blinds at 50/100. Several players came along and the flop was somewhat disturbing, with a Q♣. Everyone checked through that and the K♠ on the turn. J♠ on the river gave me trips but at the far end of the table a player bet 1,000. I came over the top for 2,500 and everyone but him dropped out and he called. It wasn’t until he turned over his 5♠ 7♠ that I realized there was another spade on the flop. A little while later I had A♣ 9♣ and bet hard but the big stack two places to my left got three spades (including 9♠) on the flop to flush out his K♠ 5♠, which I saw after I tried to bluff him off. I had a small chance with runner-runner 9s or aces or any combination thereof to make a full house, but it didn’t happen and I was out in less than an hour.

That’s nine losses in a row. I think the streak is off.

I Never Flush

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Full Tilt Midnight Madness (1,500 chips)

Three hands in and there are four after the flop with 390 chips in the pot. I have 8♣ A♣, there’s 2♣ Q♥ J♣ on the board and I’m first to act in the small blind. I bet 200, there’s a fold and two calls. The turn’s 4♦ and I push out another 200. UTG+1 calls and UTG+3 goes all-in for 1,180. Everyone calls. The last card’s 8♥ and UTG+3 with Q♦ T♣ loses to UTG’s straight made with T♥ 9♥ (as do I).

Full Tilt $2,500 KO Guarantee (2,000 chips)

I win exactly one hand during my four minutes in this match and it does not come with a knockout bounty.

Full Tilt $10,000 Rush Guarantee (1,500 chips)

Ten minutes in and I get J♥ K♥ as UTG+1. I raise to 120 (4xBB) and get a re-raise to 405 from a stack with twice my chips in the hijack. I call. The flop is 5♥ 2♠ A♥ and I check, then he bets 625. I call and the turn’s 7♠. I’ve got nine possible draws to an ace-high flush, just like I did in Midnight madness. I bet 120 with 865 behind and he raises all-in. I call. The river is T♦. He’s got K♠ A♦ and I’m out.

Full Tilt Step 1 Turbo 6-Max (1,500 chips)

I did a little better here than in my last attempt. I managed to get up to 4K, then was busted back to 1.5K, with a last-minute double-up before I busted out in third place. No step up but I didn’t lose any ground.

Full Tilt $10,000 Rush Guarantee (1,500 chips)

A slightly longer run into the $10K than the one above but nothing to be proud of. I got beat down on a couple of hands where T♥ A♠ and K♠ T♣ failed to connect, then managed to pull off a triple up. I was in the big blind at 20/40 when I picked up A♦ A♠. UTG raised to 155, action folded to the button, who called, the small blind folded and I raised to 640. Both of the others came along and the pot had over 1,900. After the flop of Q♥ 6♠ 7♠ I went all-in for 1,270. UTG called. The button went all-in for 2,525 and UTG gave up. There was 5,750 in the pot, the button flipped over Q♣ 8♣ and with T♠ on the turn and 4♣ on the river it was mine. I managed to blow it with another ten combo—T♦ K♣—just seven hands later when trip sixes beat my pair of kings and straight draw, taking 4,630 off of me. I lasted about 20 minutes after that but never made it back over 1,200 chips.

Full Tilt Step 1 Turbo 18 Players (1,500 chips)

I had a couple near-fatal setbacks in this tournament, but in the 18-player Sit & Gos Steps the top four spots all step up. I’d been up over 3K, then back down to just over 2K when I played 9♣ A♠ from the small blind. There were four to the flop, which was an intriguing 7♠ T♠ 2♠. I made a pot-sized bet of 800 after the flop and the button raised all-in to 1,240. After my call, the turn made my nut flush with 3♠. Then the whole thing fell apart with a 2♣ on the river and a T♥ T♣ in my opponent’s hand. I managed to build up to 5K by the end of the tournament, about 75 minutes after the first hand.

Full Tilt Rush Flash

It had been a while since I sat down at a ring game and even longer since I hit the Rush tables. I played for about half an hour, losing my entire first stake on the second hand with pocket 9s against pocket kings. I bought back in and rebuilt, eventually coming out ahead with a BB/100 hands of 11.

Cake $1,000 Guarantee (1,500 chips)

Stupid moves on my part knocked me out here in 106th place out of 161 players. Another ATo I shouldn’t have played, and an obvious pair of kings on the board that beat my pocket 9s, even without another king in my opponent’s hand.

Full Tilt Rush Mach 10

A quarter hour at a slightly higher stake, I managed to pull out of a trough and make it into profitability before the end with a ten combination but only because my cards were higher than the other player who followed the trip sevens on the board. BB/100 of 3.5.

Full Tilt Rush Mach 10

This 77-minute excursion managed to eradicate the gains of the earlier sessions. After the seventh minute, I was never in the black. A Q♠ K♠ made it to four spades by the turn but no flush. T♦ J♥ paired the ten on the flop for both myself and the guy holding Q♣ T♥. K♥ A♣ paired but couldn’t beat trip fives. BB/100 of -15.5.

Full Tilt Step 2 Turbo (1,500 chips)

Turbo it was. Thirty minutes from start to finish—even with only nine people—is pretty fast. I got knocked down to 1K fairly quickly but managed to double up after a dozen minutes with an all-in move and K♥ A♦ that matched the king on the turn. Another lucky A♥ K♣ only ten hands later breathed some more life into my stack. I ended up going out in third place with a K♠ 9♠ that failed to connect with anything. Didn’t lose ground but no step up.

Puffmammy Tournament 18 (1,500 chips)

Lost a couple of early pots that hindered my play in the first rounds. Managed to build things back up but had a huge chip stack on my right for most of my night. I was in decent shape going into the break but just didn’t get the right cards at the right time as I was trying to outlast D. Didn’t work. Lost the POY point lead for the first time since mid-October, going out 6th of 8. Only down by a point, though, since D went out on the bubble (4th).

Cake $1,000 Guarantee – Bounty (3,000 chips)

Took two bounties in a three-way ace-off three-quarters of an hour into the match. I had A♥ Q♥ on the button at 75/150. UTG+3 goes all in for 1,959. Cutoff is all-in for 1,123. I’ve got 4,560 and call, the blinds fold. The cards go over 9♦ A♣ for UTG+3 and A♦ 7♦ for the cutoff. The board delivers K♦ 5♣ Q♠ A♠ T♣ and I’m up to almost 8K. I lose most of that running pocket queens into pocket aces a few minutes later, build back up to more than 5K, then end up with less than 2 big blinds when my A♥ Q♣ is beat by A♦ 4♥. Someone takes my bounty on the next hand when I go out 37th of 96.

Full Tilt Step 2 (1,500 chips)

Nine players in another Steps outing, hoping to get far enough during FTOPS to play a game. J♦ J♥ in the big blind puts me over 2,500 chips and into first position a dozen minutes in when the chip leader and I play chicken with our pocket pairs. It’s a scary board for me with 4♥ 9♥ A♣ Q♣ 5♦ but I would have assumed it was even more so for his 7♥ 7♣. I mostly rest and slide (with a couple of wins) down to 1,950 when I get A♦ T♣ in the big blind. There are seven players left, the hijack raises to 300, and the button foes all-in for 1,385. I call and so does the hijack. A tantalizing 2♦ 4♦ 7♦ shows on the flop, I check, and hijack raises to put me all-in. There’s nearly 5K in the pot; I’ve got nine outs to the nut flush; I call and each of my opponents turn over a pair of queens. Their hands aren’t going to improve. Mine doesn’t with a J♣ on the turn, but the river is 6♦. At 40 minutes in I’m back in first place (top two win Step 3 tickets).

I take a flier on K♦ T♦ a few hands later and lose 1,000 so I decide I’d better cool it. Ten minutes later we’re down to five players and I get A♥ 5♥ on the button. I’m down to 3,830 chips, the blinds are 80/160. I call after two folds and the small blind is in. Three to the flop of 3♥ 4♦ 3♦. Once again, very tantalizing. Everyone checks for another card, the 2♥ which makes my straight and gives me a flush draw. Not to mention a straight flush draw. The big blind bets 160 when it’s his time and I raise the 640 chip pot to 1,600. Big blind goes all-in and there’s 4,860 in the pot when the Q♥ shows on the river. He’s got J♠ 3♠ for trip threes but no 2, 3, 4, or jack shows to save him from fifth place.

I clamp down hard on myself. With 6,100 chips, I have twice what any of the other three players do. I do push an A♥ T♦ hard on a 2♦ 8♣ 7♦ 9♥ turn to push two players off and pick up 1,200 but mostly I let the rest of the players fight amongst themselves. The final hand I get 5♦ 5♣ in the small blind and follow the short stack all-in for about 2K. I have enough behind that I’m still the chip leader if I lose. He has A♥ K♥ but the flop is 4♦ 5♥ Q♣. Even A♠ on the turn doesn’t help him.

I guess I do flush once in a while.

The Hand 130 Curse Again

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Man, do I feel stupid.

Yesterday’s Irish Open Semi-Final got off to a decent start. With direct buy-ins, forty players were in the competition, and the prize pool had seven tickets to the final (which was set to begin two hours after the start of the semi-final).

Ax 4x was the hand of the day. I made my first two wins with 4♠ A♣ and 4♦ A♦ before a T♦ Q♥ popped me up to more than twice the 3K starting stack. Then I took my first hit from an A♠ 4♠ that turned into a 5-high straight flush.

I had a dry card spell for a while and slipped back down to near the starting stack until things kicked into gear just before the break at the end of the first hour, with blinds at 50/100. I had a sketchy J♣ 8♣ but called a raise of 200 from UTG+1. The big blind called and there were three of us to a J♠ T♣ 3♥ flop. Action checked to me in the cutoff seat and I bet 300 with both other players calling. 7♠ showed up on the turn, giving me top pair and a gut-shot straight draw. I put out another 300. The big blind called but UTG+1 gave up.

The 8♠ hit on the river. I had two pair but there was a potential flush on the board. I had 2,800 chips, covering the stack in the big blind by about 900. He went all-in and I called, and I was glad a 9 hadn’t showed because he had K♣ Q♣ for an open-end straight draw. That was all he had, though so my two pair cleaned him out.

Ten minutes later, after the break, I got the Mutant Jack: A♠ J♠. Blinds were at 75/150 and I raised to 300 from UTG+1, leaving 7,500 behind. The button, with about 6.150, re-raised to 1,050 and both the blinds folded, leaving me heads-up. I called. The flop was a somewhat worrying J♣ 9♣ 9♦ and I checked. The button put out nearly half his stack as a bet and I raised him all-in, seeing it as an attempt to push me off. He called and showed T♣ T♥, giving me a one-better two pair. The 7♣ on the turn was very unwelcome, whaat with 12.5K in the pot, but the river Q♠ meant I was up to more than 14K, or 11.6% of the chips in play in the tournament. More on that later.

Another bluff attempt gave me my next bump in another ten minutes. I was dealt A♥ 7♥ in the small blind, at the 100/200 level. The only caller was UTG and when action got to me I raised to 400. The big blind folded, but UTG called and I was rewarded with a flop of 6♥ 4♥ J♥. I wanted to try to get as many chips out of this as I could and checked. So did UTG. The 3♠ showed on the turn, which gave straight possibilities to anyone playing some low hands. I tapped the gas with a bet of 400, which was called. The flop was a somewhat unwelcome 5♥, which made it possible that my ace-high flush could be beaten by someone holding 2♥ 3♥ for a 6-high straight flush, but that’s pretty unlikely (although I saw a straight flush the other day). Since I had the 7♥ he couldn’t be straight flushing the other direction. I put out 1,000, figuring that he’d fold. Much to my surprise, he raised to 4,800. He either had the straight flush or a good fifth heart or a lot of bluff. I knew I had the best regular flush and took the chance he hadn’t bet out 400 on 2♥ 3♥. I raised all-in (I probably should have just called, he had  me covered by several thousand) and he folded.

Eventually I was up to nearly 20K in chips with just under 1/6 of the chips in the tournament. I was the chip leader (and I’d been the chip leader for a period earlier, as well). I should have been satisfied. With seven tickets to the final, the average stack at the end of play would have about 17K. All I had to do was make safe bets to stay in the mid-teens—or in all likelihood, just fold—for the rest of the tournament. But what time was it?

It was hand 130, or close enough. On hand 120, I picked up K♦ A♠. Great hand, much of the time but did I really need the chips? There were only seven at the table at 125/250/20. I was in the hijack seat and UTG+1 raised to 625. Me with my big, manly AK raised to 1,000. Everyone but the original raiser folded. A Q♥ 6♥ A♦ flops and he, impressed by my magnificence checks, as do I. An 8♣ turns up, he checks and I bet 1,000, which is called. A 2♥ shows on the river and he pretends to have a flush, betting 2,775. I call. Not only does he have a flush but at best I would have been splitting the pot because he’s got A♥ K♥.

Bad, sure but recoverable. I still have nearly 15K in chips. I’m still in the top three in the tournament. Five minutes later we’re still in the same level. I’m holding K♠ Q♥ in UTG+1 and raise to 500. The hijack (with 6K in chips) and big blind (8K) both call. The flop falls 7♠ 2♣ K♥ and I bet 500 when it’s my turn. Hijack raises to 2,000 and the big blind folds. The hijack only has 3,333 behind and I raise him all-in. Lucky him, because he’s holding K♣ A♠. No queen shows up to save me and I’m down to 8.5K and in seventh place on the leaderboard, which means unless I can climb back up I’m probably out of the running for a finals ticket. That was hand 129.

Of course, my attempts to climb back up only submerge me further. The Mutant Jack fails me at one point to the tune of several thousands chips, dropping me below the starting stack. I manage to claw my way back into relevance with a Q♣ A♣ and 9♦ 6♦ (which I wouldn’t usually play except I was in the big blind.

My last big hand came down to me in the small blind with A♥ 7♣ and the big blind with A♣ J♥. The board was 5♣ 4♥ K♥ K♦ 8♠ and it was the jack that decided the outcome. After that it was just a couple more hands before I was out in tenth place with the smallest of the cash prizes.

As it was, we didn’t finish before the beginning of the Final. My elimination came tw0-and-a-half hours into the tournament and anyone who got a ticket to the final would have had to enter after that point. Nobody from our semi-final seems to have won either of the two packages awarded in the final.

The chart below shows my chip count throughout the 179 hands I played. The green line is the projection of my chips if I’d done nothing but fold after reaching the my peak, which would have been about 13,750 at hand 180. At the time I was eliminated—with just two more eliminations to go before the tournament was over—only three of the ten players had more than 14,000 chips.

Chip count chart for Irish Open Semi-Final 30 January 2011

Chip count chart for Irish Open Semi-Final 30 January 2011. Red line shows actual chips; green line shows projected chip stack based on folding only.

After W put me out with the A4 last week at the Catsino, I ran across this report from the Aussie Millions $250,000 buy-in event‘s final table:

[Sam] Trickett was responsible for much of the mayhem during this stretch, eliminating four of the six players who fell during the bustout bonanza. He took 3.2 million into heads-up play against the 1 million of David Benyamine and the 700,000 of Erik Seidel. It wasn’t long before he scored a fifth elimination at the final table. Trickett moved all in with the board showing A♦ T♠ 8♣ A♠ and Benyamine made the call. Their cards:

Trickett: A♥ 4♠
Benyamine: A♣ 6♣

River: 4♥!

Cashing

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Somehow I missed two whole days, but in the meantime I managed to cash for small amounts several times.

Things didn’t start off well, however, with a $3K guarantee Cake R&A game on Wednesday evening. My biggest pot ever was in a $5 re-buy (in which I did not re-buy) but generally I try to avoid both re-buying and playing in re-buy tournaments. I never managed to get my poker legs, re-bought twice, but even the add-on couldn’t save me.

I entered a $1K turbo tournament at the 75/150 level with 1,500 chips, gained a little ground, then managed to double up with K♥ K♣. Then I almost lost it all and things were looking grim with less than 1,000 chips at 200/400/40 until I managed to arrest the tailspin and get up over 8K, then settle down to about 5K at 400/800/75. By the 600/1200/120 level I’d been whittled down to 2K when my A♣ J♥ ran into A♦ Q♥ on my all-in and I went out in 21st place of 181, with 81% ROI.

A $1K turbo 6-max put me out on hand 23 when I called the all-in of a K♣ J♣ with A♦ K♦. Naturally, the jack paired on the turn.

A bounty tournament with a $1K guarantee was the last game on Cake in this series. The only bounty I saw was the one I generated, though. Blinds were 75/150 and UTG+1 had limped in. I raised to 550 from UTG+2 with A♠ Q♠. Action folded back around to UTG+1, who went all-in for 3,875, more than my 2,617. I called and was just a little behind his 5♣ 5♠. Two spades hit the board but the pair held up and I was out.

Late Thursday night I moved over to Full Tilt and played the $36K Rush Guarantee which was about 20 minutes in. It’s both re-buy and multi-entry but I didn’t do either and was felted after about half an hour when my K♦ J♠ came one card short of drawing to a king-high straight to beat a pair of kings.

Last night it was back to Midnight Madness. It was a slow and steady climb without any real setbacks from the starting stack of 1,500. I think the one real mistake I made was my final hand, calling a larger all-in with J♦ T♦ which had served me well earlier in the tournament. With 15K and blinds at only 250/500/50, I could have given up the $1K bet I’d made, then made a deeper run than 560th and better ROI than 23%.

Despite not having had the best of luck playing simultaneous tables in the past, for most of Midnight Madness I was also participating in a $5K guarantee KO game, with a $0.50 bounty for each player. I don’t know if I was less inclined to take fliers of dodgy hands because I had two games going or if I was just playing well or lucky, but I hit the money here as well. This game was a bit less even than Midnight Madness. I did take in six bounties but at one point I lost more than 6K in the space of five hands with A♦ K♦ and A♣ K♠ (picking up 9,400 with A♥ J♦ over A♣ Q♣ did sort of make up for that). I lost half a 23K stack with Q♠ T♠ when my queen paired on the board but so did that of a player with A♦ Q♦. I managed to get up to 36K by the time the blinds were 500/1,000/125, then lost a chunk when my A♣ T♥ paired the top card on a T♦ 5♥ 8♠ flop but lost to pocket Q♠ Q♣. Nothing connected after that and it was A♣ J♦ running into K♥ A♦ that put me out with four hearts on the board—6♥ 2♥ A♥ Q♥ 2♣—and a flush for the better hand. 226th place and my bounties was good for an ROI of 184%.

Tomorrow morning is the weekly Irish Open semi-final qualifier. Only about twenty people registered so far and at least three tickets to the monthly final, which is in the early afternoon and will have more than thirty folks chasing a single $7K prize package plus about $3,850 in cash for second through fourth place.

40.40

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Just a couple of uneventful and unprofitable games last night, both lasting about two-thirds of an hour, after the previous day’s flurry.

A shot at Midnight Madness petered out after some calls with decent hands failed to connect and I had to abandon ship. At the end, an ace-high flush draw died without issue and I was out in 2,357th place (Full Tilt’s new multi-entry thing is wreaking havoc on place calculations).

A $5K guarantee tournament right afterward didn’t go anywhere either. We started at 2,000 chips and I never broke above 2,600.

I told Tomer D had almost caught up to me in the home league’s POY race (we’re sending someone to the WSOP for one of the $1K events). He wrote back:

Tell your friends their best investment would be to send you to the WSOP even if you don’t win the race because you have a private coach there 🙂