$50+10 Wednesday Tourney 8.30.07

I will preface this post by saying I left up today, but I want to focus this post on a few things I observed about my play, my decisions and my play.

1. I believe I am a better tournament player than cash game player. I believe this to be due to my patience and ability to represent hands, even when I may not have them.
2. I do not come off arrogant or cocky (despite people knowing I do pretty well in tournaments at the club), in fact, I do my best to be respectful and nice. I have a good rapport with the other players and I do believe, at least in the beginning rounds, this can work in your favor as people may not want to mix it up with you.
3. In tonight's $50 tournament I started out well. Tripling up in the first half hour and then hitting pocket As twice for another couple of wins and suddenly I am on about 2200 in chips (500 to start) and feeling comfortable.
4. I hit a few more good hands and when we go from 7 to 5 tables, I am sitting on about 3600.
5. I think at this point, I should play a little looser, but I do not raise on random hands, I like to have potential AND position and probably could be a little more aggressive.
6. 83 players to start. I take a big hit with 2 tables left in a hand I did not need to get involved with - pocket 7s in early position. 7 players, short stack pushes, I call. He shows AQ and AAQ hit on the flop. on a coin flip type hand, when near the bubble, I should just call, not push.
7. We get down to 10 players and start talking chop. I have 8k in chips. Chip leader as 19k. 2 people with 1000 and 1500 respectfully and the blinds are 500-1000. We start talking and top place wants 1200. Bottom 2 places will take 300 and the rest get somewhere between 400 and 900 depending on stack. I agree to the chopm but here is my thought later. There was a very good chance that 2 players would be down in a few hands. That would mean, assuming that happened that the min I would get was 200 (the original prize breakdown went from 2500 down to 100 for 10th). So by agreeing to the deal I was basically going from $200 at the worst to $500 with the deal. Yet, I am really 1-1.5 hands away from chip lead should the cards come and the $2500 that it brings. In retrospect I feel I should have asked for more or not chopped and played it out, playing for the payout. If I get busted, so what, the potential was there.


I then made my second mistake. I told myself that I would play a little 1-2 for an hour or so. The problems with this are such- I do often have a hard time transitioning from the speed and strategy in a tournament to the slower pace of the 1-2 game. And it is a different style of play and I notice that I do not play well when I jump in after a tourny. Second mistake, thinking I would sit down for an hour and then leave. If I have just played 2.5-3 hours, then either commit to stay for awhile or leave. To sit down non-committed is not good play. Finally, after all those tournament hands, I stopped reading the cards and players. I bought in for 200 and about 20 minutes in see pocket Qs. I throw out 15 (an underbet now that i think of it), get 2 callers. Flop comes out 3h-4c-5c. I throw a continuation bet of $30 out, other player calls, button makes it a hundred. Instead of analyzing, I go all in thinking maybe he is on a draw or top pair or an overpair, but not as big as mine. Player to the left goes all in over the top. Button calls. next card is an 8d and a js. I turn my hand, player to the left mucks his unfulfilled flush draw and the button shows 6s7s for the straight (which he flopped of course). With that flop and such an overbet, I should have just felt that I lost the $45 and given in on the straight draw on the board, but I was tired and ready to leave and it cost me another $155.

Hopefully I will learn to stay with my post tournament promise.
$50 +10 buy in, $500 chop, $50 in tips, $200 at the table
+190