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
Showing posts with label chip leader. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chip leader. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Monday $300 +30
After the horrible play that I performed this past Saturday (and no, I am not talking about the musical version of Tuesday's With Morrie at community theater), I was hoping to re-focus and play solid poker at the clubs' Monday $300+30. Not sure if it is the summer or just because of a recent police visit, but there were only 17 players in tonight's game. It started out well.
It was 25-50 I was on the button with Qh7h and called the bet (started with 6k in chips). SB calls and BB makes it 225 to go. One of the regulars had whispered to me earlier that this guy was loose and not very good so I call. SB folds. Flop comes out Qd+10h+4h. BB throws out 400 chips. I take a minute, see top pair with the flush draw and throw out 1200. Loose guy throws out 3000 on what I think is a bluff and I go all-in. He calls for the last of his chips and shows A-10 offsuit. So he has a pair of 10s. He does not improve and I double up. With only 17 in, doubling up early is a good place to be.
I am chip leader at this point and end up donking off about 3k or my chips on some aggressive play and some big re-raises against me. A little while later, another good hand comes to me. A good player to my right (and on the button) raises to 500 (blinds 50-100), I look down and see A-A. I call. Flop comes 2-5-6 rainbow. I check, for some reason he goes all in. I figure if he had a strong hand, he would draw me in. I think he put me on A-K or A-Q. I call and he shows pocket 7s. He does not improve and now I have about 20k in chips. The two tables combine and we are down to final table. I am in the lead, with 1 or 2 players close to me and a bunch of short stacks. After awhile and not much action we are down to 5. Top 4 get paid. 2 players say they don't want to deal, i figure I can sit back and only play strong hands and wait until the bubble gets broken. It takes awhile, but steve, a solid player gets beaten on 2 bad hands and finally is knocked out when his pocket 8s get beaten by A-J when a J comes on the flop. There are now 4 of us, all in the money, and we briefly talk a deal, but the short stack does not want to deal. Soon after I raise to 3k (blinds 500-1000) with K-Joff and am raised to 6k by the button. I call and watch as the perfect flop comes out 9-10-Q rainbow. I check, button throws in 3k, next card 7 and I throw in 5k. Hoping that he thinks I am trying to steal. He calls. River comes a 3 so I have the nuts as there is no flush draw out. I follow up with 10k and he mucks. A few other strong hands later and a bluff or 2 and I have close to 40k in chips. The other three players all have around 22-28k. We decide to talk and we end up chopping with me winning in 1st and getting $1500 and they all splitting 2nd for $1200. Yes, I could have waited and played it out (first place was $2500) but figured at this point I am guaranteed second and one bad hand and I am short stack. So it was good to take it down and I felt good about my play. All for about 2.5 hours work.
Also, unlike the last few times I have cashed, I did not go right back to a 1-2 table and lose a few hundred. I collected my winnings, tipped the dealers and left.
It was 25-50 I was on the button with Qh7h and called the bet (started with 6k in chips). SB calls and BB makes it 225 to go. One of the regulars had whispered to me earlier that this guy was loose and not very good so I call. SB folds. Flop comes out Qd+10h+4h. BB throws out 400 chips. I take a minute, see top pair with the flush draw and throw out 1200. Loose guy throws out 3000 on what I think is a bluff and I go all-in. He calls for the last of his chips and shows A-10 offsuit. So he has a pair of 10s. He does not improve and I double up. With only 17 in, doubling up early is a good place to be.
I am chip leader at this point and end up donking off about 3k or my chips on some aggressive play and some big re-raises against me. A little while later, another good hand comes to me. A good player to my right (and on the button) raises to 500 (blinds 50-100), I look down and see A-A. I call. Flop comes 2-5-6 rainbow. I check, for some reason he goes all in. I figure if he had a strong hand, he would draw me in. I think he put me on A-K or A-Q. I call and he shows pocket 7s. He does not improve and now I have about 20k in chips. The two tables combine and we are down to final table. I am in the lead, with 1 or 2 players close to me and a bunch of short stacks. After awhile and not much action we are down to 5. Top 4 get paid. 2 players say they don't want to deal, i figure I can sit back and only play strong hands and wait until the bubble gets broken. It takes awhile, but steve, a solid player gets beaten on 2 bad hands and finally is knocked out when his pocket 8s get beaten by A-J when a J comes on the flop. There are now 4 of us, all in the money, and we briefly talk a deal, but the short stack does not want to deal. Soon after I raise to 3k (blinds 500-1000) with K-Joff and am raised to 6k by the button. I call and watch as the perfect flop comes out 9-10-Q rainbow. I check, button throws in 3k, next card 7 and I throw in 5k. Hoping that he thinks I am trying to steal. He calls. River comes a 3 so I have the nuts as there is no flush draw out. I follow up with 10k and he mucks. A few other strong hands later and a bluff or 2 and I have close to 40k in chips. The other three players all have around 22-28k. We decide to talk and we end up chopping with me winning in 1st and getting $1500 and they all splitting 2nd for $1200. Yes, I could have waited and played it out (first place was $2500) but figured at this point I am guaranteed second and one bad hand and I am short stack. So it was good to take it down and I felt good about my play. All for about 2.5 hours work.
Also, unlike the last few times I have cashed, I did not go right back to a 1-2 table and lose a few hundred. I collected my winnings, tipped the dealers and left.
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