Apr 24 2009
The Ebb, The Flow & One Big Oops: Final Table
In my previous post I talked about the ups and downs of a typical poker tournament. I picked my spots and was able to weave my way through the field to the final table of 8. At this point I’m not nearly the big stack at the table but not the low man either. I think it’s fair to say that I can still comfortably play “my game”… for a while at least.
Hand #1
As with the beginning of the tournament I find myself on the button with good hand: 77. I raise and get two callers and we’re off to the flop:
Definitely not the flop I wanted after raising with two sevens. Small blind leads out with pot sized bet and I’m forced to fold. He gracefully shows AQ. Terrible timing but I can’t think of another way to play this hand.
Hand #2:
After that first hand I go into chip conversation mode for a couple of table rotations playing only two pots when I was in the blinds. At this point blinds are $750/$1,500 and I’m feeling like I’m in an “all-in-or-fold” situation (which I hate). I put my last $4,750 in on JJ which holds up against the big stack’s KQ off suit. I decide not to push my luck and fold QJ on the next hand.
I’m up over $8,000 and feeling pretty good and then the cards go dead again. After a couple of rounds where I don’t see anything worth calling with (let alone raising with) I’m getting desperate again and have to make a move.
Hand #3
I’ve got 52 off suit in the small blind and there’s been one caller. The big stack at the table is sitting to my left in the big blind but he’d just lost a pot so I’m hoping that if I call he’ll just check and let us take a cheap flop. That’s exactly what happens and off we go:
Just about as much as I could hope for playing garbage like 52. I quickly check as do my other two opponents and I start to salivate at how beautiful an A on the turn would be. There would be little chance somone would put me on 52 and I could potentially double up if someone was holding a decent A if I move in.
BOOM!!! What a beautiful card! I immediately move all in and the big blind folds. The other player thinks for a moment but pretty confidently calls and turns over A9 doubling me up.
There’s certainly quite a bit of luck here as there always is when you turn the nuts, but I felt really good about the way that I played this hand. I was getting a good price to make a call out of the small blind and as they say, “any two cards can win.” Looking back I’m not sure what I would have done if the big blind raised in that spot. I suppose it would have depended on my read and how big the raise was.
Hand #4
And we’ve come (after two posts) to the “one big oops”. I’m sitting in the big blind with A6 of hearts and I check to see a flop. There was a caller on the button and only he and I were in the hand with blinds of $1,000/$2,000. I’m good friends with this player, we’ve played together forever and it was one of those hands where we were talking and checking as the hand played out… or so I thought. The flop came:
This looks pretty good for my hand but I decide not to push my luck and check which my opponent does as well.
Well that’s a complete miss. At this point I’m figuring I’m behind to at least a pair. I check and so does my opponent.
Beautiful!!! I just made the nut flush on the river in an unraised pot. The thought crosses my mind that he may have made a boat (simply cause every time I see a pair on board when I’m holding a flush I think about it) but I don’t think it’s all that likely. For some reason I move all in and get an insta-call. OOPS. He turns over 22 for quad deuces on the river. Dammit. This brings me down to a stack of $2,1oo with me sitting in the big blind of $2,000 the next hand. I pick up a suited 75 and move in for my last $100 which doesn’t hold up and my day is done.
Looking back there was a couple of mistakes made.
- I still like my check in the big blind with a call on the button. I suppose I could have raised here and depending on the size of the raise he might have went away with 22. Starting the hand we were just about even in chips so he may not have wanted to tangle with a small pair.
- After the flop I’m glad I didn’t put in a bet. There’s no way he was folding his set. I’m lucky that he didn’t put in a bet here cause I definitely would have called it trying to hit my flush.
- I’m OK with my check on the turn here trying to catch my flush. In retrospect he made a risky play by checking and allowing me to catch my flush.
- The deuce of hearts was a terrible card! It looked beautiful but it was one of the few that would lose me the hand.
- I NEVER should have moved in here. That said, if I would have made a standard bet I would have almost certainly have been raised and knowing how he and I both play the money was going into the middle anyhow.
I’ve had MORE than my share of luck in Cleveland Poker League games so I suppose this is just part of “luck leveling out”. I won’t say it didn’t sting but looking back it’s a hell of a story. Can’t wait to get back to the table.
See you after the flop!
followed by a turn of 
and a river of 
. Hinkle thinks about it for a moment and moves all in with his ten high! Akenhead calls immediately and we’re off to the flop.
Talk about a perfect flop for you hand. When they turned over their cards prior to the flop Akenhead asked if Hinkle had a pair — Hinkle kind of dropped his head and he flipped over his cards showing that he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. After this flop you could just see the defeat on Akenhead’s face and Hinkle immediately apologized. At this point Akendead needed running Aces or running Kings to give him a victory. Unfortunately neither would come.
giving Hinkle four Tens and his bracelet.