A second!
I haven't been playing poker that much recently, just the odd game here and there usually for not very high stakes. For some daft reason I played the £6.50 45-man turbos on Stars, but without too much success (I busted the ~$30 I had in the account).
Anyway back to Crypto-world and last night I joined the 10:00 $55 tourny. 102 runners, top 20 paid and I came in second for $1020. Which was nice. I didn't play particularly well early (partly because I had my laptop open and was working at the same time as playing so played very tight early), but I was pleased with my final table play - especially when 3 and 4 handed. A strange reversal for me.
Some highlights:
I'd been dealt no hands for the first 3 hands when I pick up 22 on the button. I call a raise from a LP player to 90 - essentially set-mining - but my mind was not really focussed. Flop K76r. He bets 160 into the pot of 225, which for reasons I can't explain I call. Obviously it is a continuation bet and he may not have a K (or a pair), but I keep getting into these set-or-no-bet situations, because I haven't hit my set. So I Call. Turn is a Q. He checks, and I bet 300 into the 545 pot. He calls. River is a 3. He checks again. There is 1145, and we've both got about 900 left. I optimistivally push and he folds. My best guess is he's played JJ or TT quite well here. I certainly got lucky, although I played off my opponents weakness well.
An orbit or two later I get KK from MP. Playing 2010 with blinds at 25/50 I reraise an early raiser to 400 and the BB calls. He pushes on an Axx flop and I lay it down. Reluctantly. He acted something of the maniac after this, so he may not have had the A.
I get dealt nothing until I get AQo in the SB. Playing 1300 I lay it down(!) after an UTG raise of the 150BB to 450. I put his range such that I'm behind too much here, but its unusually tight play for me. I'm working on the assumption that there are enough weak players at the table for me to pushbot against later, but its a debatable fold. Or possibly a terrible fold.
I'm then either dealt junk or have to lay reasonable hands down until I push from MP with JQo and an M of under 4. I suck out agains AQ. I tend to look at this as lucky (which is was) but looking at the hands leading up to this I'm happy with how I played them, as I was disciplined enough to avoid just calling my stack off when I was clearly behind. So maybe I deserved the luck. I'm up to 2300 M~8.
I may another move when I've got K9s on the button - this time restealing (!) from an MP raiser. Its not a terrible move, and is a continuation of my not-just-restealing-from-the-BB tactics, but he's got AJ and calls. I suck out again. Up to 4300. An M of 14, and almost a playable stack.
I steal blinds till I'm up to 6200, and then complete my SB with 84o (2 limpers). I've been doing this for some time waiting to *really* hit the flop and make up for all the times I don't and this was the time! The flop was a dreamy 843. Couldn't be better. I check, and the first limper open pushes 4400 over the 2k pot. I snap-call and his KK is beaten. Up to 12000.
I've got the biggest stack at the table - which increases even further when I hold-up against an AQ - despite him having a flush draw, a gut-shot straight draw and 2 overs on the river. All the money went in pf. I've then got 17k. Noone else has more than 6k. There are now 2 tables left, and about 14 players. The final table bubble took *ages*.
I stal a bit more (and then have AQs beat AK (with a flush) and AKs beat JJ). I had enough chips to take on both these opponents - and I was clearly right to do so, but winning the close (and not so close) contests sure helped. Up to 26k. W're approaching the bubble, and I misplay one hand terribly. I've very rarely been raising with junk, but I do with 96o, and an called by the BB. Amazingly I flop a straight, but misread it as a straight-draw. I push the flop and take it down, but I could have been a lot more sneaky. Pay attention!
As things whittle down I'm playing really well, and taking full use of the earlier luck I have. Its a terribly nitty last 1/2 tables and I'm able to just keep buildin my stack. We spend ages 11-handed, and then the final table shrinks quickly till 3 are left. I also play well here, as I'm the only person showing much aggression, and I enter HU with nearly a 2:1 chip lead, but I get a bit unlucky here. On one hand my opponent and I are both drawing to a straight, and he plays very passively until calling my semi-bluffs. He calls my river push too - after I miss my draw - but he's rivered a J which pairs his. I play well to recover from this, but eventually am called by a better hand.
Overall, sure I got lucky when I needed too but my late play (not detailed here because of replaying problems) was actually pretty good.
This tournament seems to have got a lot weaker recently and the 1.30am finish is actually maintainable. I won the 6K on the 30th, but if you include that in October, I've made more money as I do from my job (not including pension/SAYE etc). Nice.
Anyway back to Crypto-world and last night I joined the 10:00 $55 tourny. 102 runners, top 20 paid and I came in second for $1020. Which was nice. I didn't play particularly well early (partly because I had my laptop open and was working at the same time as playing so played very tight early), but I was pleased with my final table play - especially when 3 and 4 handed. A strange reversal for me.
Some highlights:
I'd been dealt no hands for the first 3 hands when I pick up 22 on the button. I call a raise from a LP player to 90 - essentially set-mining - but my mind was not really focussed. Flop K76r. He bets 160 into the pot of 225, which for reasons I can't explain I call. Obviously it is a continuation bet and he may not have a K (or a pair), but I keep getting into these set-or-no-bet situations, because I haven't hit my set. So I Call. Turn is a Q. He checks, and I bet 300 into the 545 pot. He calls. River is a 3. He checks again. There is 1145, and we've both got about 900 left. I optimistivally push and he folds. My best guess is he's played JJ or TT quite well here. I certainly got lucky, although I played off my opponents weakness well.
An orbit or two later I get KK from MP. Playing 2010 with blinds at 25/50 I reraise an early raiser to 400 and the BB calls. He pushes on an Axx flop and I lay it down. Reluctantly. He acted something of the maniac after this, so he may not have had the A.
I get dealt nothing until I get AQo in the SB. Playing 1300 I lay it down(!) after an UTG raise of the 150BB to 450. I put his range such that I'm behind too much here, but its unusually tight play for me. I'm working on the assumption that there are enough weak players at the table for me to pushbot against later, but its a debatable fold. Or possibly a terrible fold.
I'm then either dealt junk or have to lay reasonable hands down until I push from MP with JQo and an M of under 4. I suck out agains AQ. I tend to look at this as lucky (which is was) but looking at the hands leading up to this I'm happy with how I played them, as I was disciplined enough to avoid just calling my stack off when I was clearly behind. So maybe I deserved the luck. I'm up to 2300 M~8.
I may another move when I've got K9s on the button - this time restealing (!) from an MP raiser. Its not a terrible move, and is a continuation of my not-just-restealing-from-the-BB tactics, but he's got AJ and calls. I suck out again. Up to 4300. An M of 14, and almost a playable stack.
I steal blinds till I'm up to 6200, and then complete my SB with 84o (2 limpers). I've been doing this for some time waiting to *really* hit the flop and make up for all the times I don't and this was the time! The flop was a dreamy 843. Couldn't be better. I check, and the first limper open pushes 4400 over the 2k pot. I snap-call and his KK is beaten. Up to 12000.
I've got the biggest stack at the table - which increases even further when I hold-up against an AQ - despite him having a flush draw, a gut-shot straight draw and 2 overs on the river. All the money went in pf. I've then got 17k. Noone else has more than 6k. There are now 2 tables left, and about 14 players. The final table bubble took *ages*.
I stal a bit more (and then have AQs beat AK (with a flush) and AKs beat JJ). I had enough chips to take on both these opponents - and I was clearly right to do so, but winning the close (and not so close) contests sure helped. Up to 26k. W're approaching the bubble, and I misplay one hand terribly. I've very rarely been raising with junk, but I do with 96o, and an called by the BB. Amazingly I flop a straight, but misread it as a straight-draw. I push the flop and take it down, but I could have been a lot more sneaky. Pay attention!
As things whittle down I'm playing really well, and taking full use of the earlier luck I have. Its a terribly nitty last 1/2 tables and I'm able to just keep buildin my stack. We spend ages 11-handed, and then the final table shrinks quickly till 3 are left. I also play well here, as I'm the only person showing much aggression, and I enter HU with nearly a 2:1 chip lead, but I get a bit unlucky here. On one hand my opponent and I are both drawing to a straight, and he plays very passively until calling my semi-bluffs. He calls my river push too - after I miss my draw - but he's rivered a J which pairs his. I play well to recover from this, but eventually am called by a better hand.
Overall, sure I got lucky when I needed too but my late play (not detailed here because of replaying problems) was actually pretty good.
This tournament seems to have got a lot weaker recently and the 1.30am finish is actually maintainable. I won the 6K on the 30th, but if you include that in October, I've made more money as I do from my job (not including pension/SAYE etc). Nice.
posted by PP at 8:43 PM
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