Well THAT sucked!

I awoke this morning and thought it would be a good day to play in the Derby Lane tournament. I needed some practice for next week's tourney there and for the charity tourney at Hard Rock coming up in a bit. I called ahead (using my VIP status, heh-heh) and reserved a spot. I got there at 12:50 p.m. and took my seat. I learned early on that my table was going to be one of the final three so I didn't have to move at all for at least three hours, provided I didn't bust out.

I have to admit I played some of the best tournament poker of my life today. Every time I looked down I saw 82o. The cards just ran so cold. The best hand I had all day was 99, and that is no lie. I played position so well and since I played so tight people kept folding the best hand to me. I bluffed in perfect spots and managed to revive my once decimated stack to about $11K as we entered $1K-$2K blinds. My table was short-handed and I was under the gun with A♥J♥. We hadn't seen a flop in about six hands because we were so close to the money that people were folding anything. So I pushed hoping the steal again, and someone with $8K left called with A♠K♠. Oops! My only mistake all day and it cost me dearly. Neither of us paired and I was down to $4K. And guess what? It's break time, color up the purple $500 chips! Well, I didn't have any so I just had $4K even. Also, two people went out on that final hand (at another table) to get us to 19 players. One more and I'm in the money, but they're finally collapsing our table (which sucked because I would have seen at least five hands without having to pay). I got moved to the final two tables and was placed two off the blind.

After the break the blinds went to $2K-$4K so I had one bet left. We were hand for hand at that point and no one went out on the other table. So I looked down at Q8o. Not a bad hand (statistically better than average) but everyone at my table had like $15K-$40K. If I push there I think they all call me and check it down. I don't like my chances, so I fold and wait to see what happens at the other table. Wait! Someone's all-in!!!! Can I make the money? Can this be my shining moment? Nope! All-in won the hand.

I looked down at A♥4♥. BINGO! If I'm going down it's with a suited ace. I pushed and the whole place practically shut down. I got three callers and someone made a spade flush on the turn. Yep, that's right. I was the bubble boy in Saturday's 150-player tournament at Derby Lane.

I was absolutely proud of my play today, except for that one hand. But the push was reasonable and had worked so many times that I really thought I was going to get away with it again. Here's why I think it's reasonable: The blinds are $1K-$2K. People at my table are playing scared. Three players to my left are clutching to their short stacks. A suited AJ is a raising hand when you're playing short-handed like that. Only one guy could have busted me and he was in the BB so I figured I was ahead of a random hand. So that just really leaves me one hand to beat, the kid with $8K. So, AJ is a raise or fold hand. I figure a raise needs to be to around $6K, but that would leave me $5K and the blinds are going up. So I push and take my chances. The odds caught up with me. If I had won that hand I would have had about $20K going to the final two tables. I easily make the money and then who knows?

I guess the reason I'm proud of the way I played (despite not cashing) was I made ZERO straights, ZERO flushes, ZERO two-pair, ZERO trips. I made ONE full house and that was because the SB pushed for only $600 more and it was just me and him and I already had $600 in the BB. I called with A♠9♠. and he had K2o. I flopped an ace, turned another one and paired my 9 for a boat. But, that was the only hand I really hit and didn't need to. I had EXACTLY two pocket pairs all day (99 and 66). I bluffed a guy off a hand with the 99 when he showed 10-10 and I folded the 66 preflop to a raise and a reraise all-in. I would have been killed as one had AK and the other KK.

So, what did I learn? Well, I can still compete at the tournament level despite NEVER playing them anymore, and I should have folded AJ when I was so close to making the money and doing some real damage. Or maybe I shouldn't have. Oh well. THAT sucked!

Comments

[Erwin Blonk]

So that was that sucking sound I heard......

[brettotte1]

yup. we've all had days like that. in one tourney i got moved and hadn't played a single hand yet and was 1/2 my starting chips.never folded a winner, so i knew patience was helping me since everyone would play to the rivertold the new table i had never seen a flop & they snickered. waited a few hands and went all in since blinds were now 50-100 and i was down to 750 in middle position.the guy on the button says he would NEVER call this, but he says he'll pay me off. he only has 1500 himself, so it seems rather strange to me especially after he show me 7-2 off!i show pocket 10's and the flop comes up 3-4-9turn is a 6river is a 5 and i'm out while he laughs while scooping up the chips

[Anonymous]

no mistake... if you play conservatively you probably cash. but conservative play never won a tourny... especially the silly florida tourneys and there ridiculous structures. great job. sometimes you do the right thing and still lose. if that werent the case they would winning and not gambling.

[Loren Finkelstein]

Despite bubbling, nicely done. If it's any consolation, that AJ vs AK is how I busted out of the big one. :-)

[Christopher Cosenza]

Thanks guys. I am still thinking about it 8 hours later, but I have to be encouraged by my play. Hopefully I can improve on it next week and the week after that. If I were playing cash games at Foxwoods for nearly four hours I might have $800 to show for it. Here, I have only a story. Sometimes I hate tournaments. 8-)

[Short-Stacked Shamus]

Is Q8o really statistically better than average? No matter . . . .Tough out. Love that pic, though.

[Gabriel]

short-stacked shamus, I think the average poker hand is Q6 or Q5, something like that, it's called the computer hand because it's about 50% when ran against any two random cards.Chris I don't think you made a mistake at all. AJ is a fine hand to steal with and your stack wasn't so big that an all-in looked like an obvious steal. You just got unlucky and ran into AK. From what you've said it sounds like you had really crappy hands but still got yourself into a position to pick up a decent cash, a lot of people would have fallen apart long before that. Also folding to try and make the cash isn't a great play because I'm pretty sure you're more concerned with making a run at the win than you are with getting your buy-in back. Getting your buy-in back doesn't make good podcast material ;)

[Bodie25]

Don't feel bad Chris, I probably would have made the call with the 66, that is how stellar my game has been lately...

[Short-Stacked Shamus]

Yr right Gabriel (& Chris) . . . Looking around a bit I'm seeing Q7 being most freq. designated as the "computer hand" (the median starting hand).