May 13 2009
Backing Into 2nd – Better Lucky Than Good
Tournament poker is a game of patience. There’s quite a bit of skill involved as you need to play your cards well and take advantage of opportunities presented to you, but there’s also a ton of luck involved. You could play your cards nearly perfectly and still get drawn out on. You can get your money in good and still come up on the losing end of the hand. I was recently the recipient of some good luck along the way (though I do think I played pretty decently).
Hand #1
Quite literally the first hand of the night which I normally do not like playing. I’m in the big blind and look down to see Ten/Three off suit. Definitely not the kind of hand I’m looking to get cute with, especially in the first hand of the night. I manage to flop a three and take the pot down after checking the hand to the river. For the second tourney in a row, I’m off to a good start.
Hand #2
Big Slick is not one of my favorite hands. Its looks so pretty when you first see it and then you realize (or maybe you don’t) that it’s nothing more than a drawing hand. Unless you flop a pair you’re in pretty bad shape. That said I always play it either really strong from the get go or really tentatively. Probably not the best way to play this hand to get the most value out of it, but it’s all that I’m comfortable with. Obviously with all of this talk, you know that I looked down at AK (this time on the button). I called a small raise and we’re off to the flop 3 handed:
Just about a perfect flop for my hand. The initial raiser leads out with a $20 bet (minimum), I call and the big blind folds. The turn comes a 9 and I call a $50 bet. At this point I’m guessing he’s either on a straight draw, has a pair of 6′s or (hopefully) a weaker ace. The 9 at this point really doesn’t scare me (unless he’s got A9 but I think he’d be betting quite a bit bigger if he’s holding two pair here). The river comes another 6 for a final board of:
If he was holding a 6 then he just outdrew me and hit his set on the river. If he’s holding an ace then I’m golden and if he was drawing he missed. He checks and I jump at the chance to make a bet. I fire $100 into the pot and he promptly folds.
Hand #3
I picked up 77 three off the button. I decided to raise and try and take it down rather than getting fancy and trying to flop as set. I was called and we were off the river which contained two over cards. I bet and was called and we both checked the turn. The river came and left us with four straight cards on board. My opponent bet and between the four card straight and two over cards I was forced to fold. It turned out she had nothing but 55 in the hole and caught trips on the river. I was irritated that I got outplayed in this hand but you’ve got to give your opponent credit for a hand sometimes and if they’re willing to make a play like that into a board like that you’ve just got to tip your cap.
Hand #4
The very next hand I pick up 88 and once again raise only to get a caller. The flop comes down AK7 and I’m once again forced to fold my middle pair after a nasty flop. I’m really not a big fan of these middle pairs because of just this reason. Sure you can win a big pot if you flop a set but more often than not you’re going to see a couple of overcards on the flop and you’re going to have to either put on the brakes or go bet right into it.
The Final Table
The final table was pretty uneventful for me right up until the very end. We had started the tournament with two tables of 8 and when we combined there were two VERY large stacks that had come over from the other table – they’d essentially knocked everyone out up till that point. They were both sitting to my left so in most positions I was able to see what they were going to do before I had to act. I went into “stay out of the way” mode for the most part and allowed them to knock out the other players at the table.
We got to the final four player: the two large stacks and two smaller stacks (myself included). I sat back and watched as the large stack called the other short stack’s all in move. Short stack had QQ, big stack had 52. As I saw the last spade peel off the deck to give the 52 a flush I smiled to myself realizing that I’d just made the money. When the big stack player knows how to play the game AND catches cards it’s a pretty unbeatable combination.
So we’re down to two… the two HUGE stacks and little ol me. I figure it’s a foregone conclusion that I’m going to take third but I refuse to give up and keep playing my game. I get REALLY short a couple of times and get a gift double up with I move in with A7 off suit and get called with 34 suited. My hand holds up and I’m able to make it another couple of rounds. The next time I’m on the button I fold, small blind raises and big blind calls. The flop comes out and small blind bets and big blind calls. At this point I’m starting to wonder what kind of hands we’re going to see. The turn comes out and we get another round of betting. Now I’m starting to think that I might have a chance to back into 2nd. The river comes and we get a bet followed by an all in!!! I’m literally PRAYING for a call here cause either way I’m in great shape.
- I could have just gone from 3rd to 2nd without even playing a hand.
- At the very least one of the large stacks is going to be crippled giving me a chance to move up.
Luckily (for me) the smaller of the large stacks called and was knocked out!
The Final Hand
We started heads up play and I had about a 25:1 chip disadvantage. That said I didn’t just move all in the first hand I saw. I managed to play a dozen hands or so before this hand came up. I looked down and had 97 on the button and called. He checked and we were off the flop:
I figure with a pair and an inside straight draw this is about as good as I’m going to see without getting blinded out so I put the rest of my money in the middle and I’m immediately called by K9 of spades. I was actually a little surprised that I was ahead here but figured if I was going to get called it would either be by a made pair or a big draw. I improved on the turn hitting another 7 but saw my dream of double through get crushed when a third spade fell on the river giving my opponent a winning flush.
All in all I can’t complain about the way I played. I got outplayed in a couple of hands but based on the cards that I was getting I’m pretty happy. One thing that I would change would not allow myself to get quite so love (if possible). I simply don’t like being in that “all in or fold” mode when I don’t have enough in my stack to make a dent in a big stack. That’s when you get called by a garbage hand and get drawn out on (see QQ vs. 52 above). Luckily the next Cleveland Poker Leage Game is coming up shortly!
See you after the flop!
