Played quite a bit yesterday and had a blast. Just wanted to share some stories if anyone’s in the mood for a fun read.
< AKQJT >
We kick things off with a few from a 20k buy-in called the Cut Off.
Opened wider than I normally do with A4s in the CO, kind of a one-off play for me. Big flop call was either brave or stupid but it paid of huge.
Drama! AQo on the button. I open and holy battle royale, Batman, everyone starts jamming! I join in for a not-so-friendly 4some. Well, just watch what goes down. : D
J8-hearts on the button. I wonder where the A of hearts was? I probably shouldn’t have shoved the turn. If someone had it they’d likely call anyway, but who knows how timid some of these players are? The nut was probably deep in the stub but the felt will ever keep the secret. At least I won the pot I guess.
Guy on my left was a bit wild all night. I flopped a gut from the big and checked. Knew he was going to bet and unless it was ridickaliss I was going to call. Turned my gut and knew that he was going to bet again. I was coming overtop obviously. He walked right into it. Glad to see him gone. He was a bit of a pain in the neck and had kept me quite tight for a long while. This one was satisfying af. You know the feeling. ; )
First hand of the final table and -plonk- action is to me in the +1 before I can even see who’s here. I like QJo and I open. Flop QTT and go to size up and think, “@#$% it, just shove.” Slight hesitation was all that it took. I clicked the all-in but the tab froze and a few seconds later I had been checked. Villain bet rather large and I jammed back. Had him pretty much crushed but the runout sent me to the toilet. Way too cruel and we’ll never know if he would have folded to my original plan to jam since he was only playing a backdoor gut and a (non-A) overcard. Left me micro and I was toast a minute later. Top 5 was cash and I was chip leader. Connection freeze just might have cost me a decent amount of bankroll.
< AKQJT >
Our next story is called Luckiest Fish Evar!
This was from some freeroll I think. Okay, first, this guy was short stacked for quite a while. After limp calling and folding a few times, at one point he actually said “grrr,” in the chat. I’m not going to link the hands because I don’t want to shame the poor guy, but strap in for this. Here we go.
With just under 6bb, he limp calls. 5-handed, flop is 39J 2 spades. Hero calls a min bet. It’s 4-handed now. Turn is J-diamonds for double flush draw. Hero calls yet another min bet. He’s hangin’ on. River is 8-clubs. Still 4-handed. He calls YET another min bet leaving behind just under 2bb. Showdown … he has AA (!!) Gee, good thing he didn’t overplay that. Facepalm City! : P
I couldn’t find all the hands but he hit a run of wins including one particularly large suckout if I recall, and ended up with a lovely stack of chips.
He’s up to 42bb. Guy on his right has over 100bb. He limps in. It’s 3-way and he’s in the middle. Flop is 2Q2 rainbow. He calls the min bet. Turn is A making all four suits on the board. Big stack leads min. He calls. Villain 2 folds, heads up. River is Q. Villain checks, Hero checks back. Showdown … Villain has a busted wheel … Hero 33 … Srsly 33!! 2-pair and an A on the board and he beats the board … and checks back! 3 streets with 2-pair and zero aggressive action against zombie passive opponents. Yes Q and A are scary but with 3 streets of min lead and call behind, nobody has it. They just want to chop. I’m learning from the best here. Sorry @younguru I have a new coach. ; )
Even luckier, yours truly had folded pre with 42o from the SB and I had damn near limped it in. I remember clicking fold and instantly thinking, “Nahh, I shoulda,” and THEN I saw the flop. I remember clearly because it was the second time in maybe 10 minutes that I had folded 42 and hit 22x. (shakes head)
Two hands later. Hero’s up to 44bb. Guy on his right still over 100bb. Hero calls 2x pre. It’s 3-way and flop is J3T with 2 diamonds. Small Villain min bets and gets 2 calls. Turn is 6-spades, double flush draw. It checks around. River bricks 5-hearts. It checks around and he checks back. Showdown … he has KK!! What was he afraid of, the almighty 74?? Villain 1 had Q3 for low pair, Villain 2 had pocket 77.
Daniel Negreanu look out y’all! Go fish go!! : P
< AKQJT >
On to another tourney. I forget which one, but not a freeroll. A couple of hands of yours truly being the big stack bully. (blush)
I had AA here.
< AKQJT >
!! NOOB ALERT !! Now this is the story of the day. In the afternoon I got the PM that @_Rain sends out announcing a league tourney. I don’t look at it because I’m busy playing but I keep it in mind since I’m feeling good I’ll probably play. I enter a freeroll and go deep, ending up like 11th out of 111 or something. I get out of the freeroll and I see his second PM, 5 minute reminder of league tourney. The tourney is starting in like 30 seconds! I figure, “Okay, quick, let’s play!” and scurry to join in. By the time I get in it’s late reg, I’ve missed probably 1 hand. Suddenly I see my bankroll in the upper right has been utterly decimated. Now normally I am very meticulous about looking at buy-in, starting stacks and blind schedules, but since I had just left the freeroll - here’s the !! NOOB ALERT!! - I had jumped in blindly. I had assumed that this was a Nordic Warriors 20k tourney, but no - it’s an Interleague High Roller for 250k!! >8-0 (faints)
I can’t unreg. We’re already in the second hand. Now I HAVE to cash! Excuse me a moment, I need to go change my pants!! : s
And this was my first hand (or maybe the second and I folded the first, can’t remember).
Guess what my pocket was. I’ll tell you at the bottom. (+)
I’m not a confident bluffer but when my gut busted and I saw that T on the river, I decided to play scare against a passive opponent. When Villain tanked it felt a lot longer than 15 seconds, but I took it down (fist pump). I was actually chip leader out of 25 for quite some time. Holy luck sack, Batman! I just might actually cash this. At this point I’m starting to believe.
I overbet this. I guess I panicked at all the limps (all 7 (!!) Villains limp called). 10x would have been enough. I had KK.
Like I said, I’m not a confident bluffer. I need more practice. 65-clubs, semi-bluff worked, so I’m very happy.
This is where things came apart. AKo in the HJ. Turned nut flush draw. Bet the money in too large, then whiffed the river and continued as a bluff. Got called. I messed it up. : (
Charlie is my imaginary poker angel. He sits on my shoulder and every now and then he whispers in my ear “call,” or “shove,” or “fold.” I had QJo and was ready to jam but Charlie very clearly told me, “Fold”. I said, “But Charlie, look at our stack! We won’t get a better chance!” He said, “Not this one.” I looked at it and thought, Q high, no pair and laid down. Good thing I did.
Went card dead looking for a shove after that. Never did get a better chance. Finished 13th. Bye-bye 70% of bankroll (waves). Fun as hell though.
(+) Oh yea, my hand revealed … 73o. Yup, closed limp pre from BB, flopped a pair, turned a set and rivered a boat. Doesn’t get any luckier than that. I totally had it. @younguru you were supposed to call me. It’s all your fault. : P
