Where things can get pretty igry ...Rick's Cafe Americain

To recap the format, the players each receive T2000 and the blinds start at 25/50.  The levels are 15 minutes long, with antes added into the mix at ~level 5.  I think that there were 27 players this week. (At least 25, but I don’t know if all three tables had 9 players. Ours did.)

The tournament started auspiciously, as I was dealt The Hammer on the button.  What a tragic waste of the button on the first hand of the tournament.  The cutoff stole my button with a significant raise, so I didn’t have to think about the merits of a bluff-steal on the first hand of the game. (No worries. I wasn’t really thinking about it.) The cutoff (we’ll call him Whatzizname) proceeded to take two large pots and steal the blinds once and he took an early chip lead.  I hope he enjoyed that time at the top because it didn’t last.

Two hands later I was dealt 66.  Whatzizname limped and I raised to T150.  I got one caller in MP and Whatzizname reraised me to T250.  I threw in the extra 100, as did MP.  Flop was Q-6-2 rainbow.  I checked my set, MP checked and Whatzizname bet 500.  I didn’t figure him for QQ because he limped initially, so I raised to 1000.  MP folded and Whatzizname called.  A 2 on the turn gave me a full house.  Whatzizname bet another 500 and I raised all-in for my last 250.  Whatzizname called and showed KK. (Nice read on the meaning of the limp-raise. -ed. He didn’t have ladies, did he?) He didn’t get the miracle save on the river, and Whatzizname no longer had enough chips to be much of a factor.  (I apologize to Whatzizname, but I don’t remember his name and can’t think of a witty nickname. Nice guy. Played good cards, but ran into a monster.)

The blinds went up to 50/100 and I stole a few.  I had enough chips to play at pots, and my table image was good.  I wasn’t playing many hands, so when I jumped in I got respect.  After a lot of folding, I looked down at AKs in late position and bumped it to 500.  The BB (Chad) pushed all-in with 1125.  I had him outchipped by more than 3000, so it was an easy call.  It was even better when he turned over AQs.  He didn’t get his Q or his suit - or the T to complete his post-flop straight draw - and Chad was the first player out of the tournament.  I was up to over 5000 and probably the chip leader at the tournament in the early going.  That wasn’t going to last either.

Two seats to my right was the only woman in the game.  Robin had never played poker (maybe tournament poker) before, but got lessons in starting hands before the game started.  Before the tournament started, her friend said to her “Just call with the hands I told you to call with, and raise with the hands I told you to raise with.” I still made the stupid play that I am about to describe.  I had 99 on the button.  Robin raised from MP to 300 and I called.  There was one other caller.  Based on what I heard before the tournament, I should have narrowed her hand down to AA, KK, QQ or AK.  Maybe AQ.  All I knew was that she had been following that advice.  She rarely limped and this was her first significant raise.  Still, I had the stack to see a flop to make my set.  The flop was 8-4-2 and she bet another 500.  Alarm bells were ringing, lights were flashing and the Ghost of the UCB was moaning Get Out ... Get Out in my ear.  Somehow, I asked her to count off and I raised her for her last 625.  Smooth move, dummy.  Not surprisingly, she called with KK and doubled through on my stupid play. This, as it turns out, matters later on.  I slowly blinded away (my tilts tend to take the form of passive play, not overwrought aggression).  When our table broke, I had a slightly above-average stack, but I squandered the opportunity my early play had given me.

My second table was coffehousing central.  Everyone was talking - about the last hand, about their play at a local cardroom, about eachother.  It was a great table; the poker talk was smart and people were joking without trying too hard to be funny.  Not much happened cards-wise, though.  Two hands at this table are worth a mention.

I knocked out one of the reputedly good players when, at 150/300/25 and three limpers, I raised my KK to 1000.  Two limpers folded, Nixma helpfully suggested to the last player “It’s a steal,” and the guy listened and came over the top all-in.  I called, and though I don’t remember his cards, he didn’t stand much of a chance.  I was back over 6000. The blinds were getting higher, though, and my stack wasn’t holding up because I was getting blinded away.  In the BB I made the mistake of looking at my cards too early.  I had 92o and I either did or did not react.  All I know is that, after it folded around to the SB, he raised me and said that he didn’t think I liked my cards.  He backtracked, and I still don’t know if he was kidding.  I don’t think I reacted, but I clearly didn’t like my cards, so who knows?

The tables merged when we got down to 9 and we redealt for position and the button.  Not surprisingly, the table is eight sided, not nine.  It also didn’t help my comfort level that the big stacks were sitting next to eachother, so there were four of us cramped together on one side with our small stacks requiring little room (of course our large asses could have used more).  I didn’t do anything interesting at the final table.  I sat down with a below average stack, but was probably 4th out of 9.  The top two stacks dwarfed the rest of the table.  Robin was still hanging around, but was the short stack and would probably have to go all-in very soon.  Word was that she had already survived three all-ins to make it to the final table.

The blinds and antes chewed away at my stack and I wasn’t doing enough to protect it.  I was afraid to try and steal the blinds because I was so outchipped, I figured that the only bet I can make is all-in - without enough chips to expect a fold.  With 5 players left (top 4 pay - 110/80/55/25) and T2900 left (small stack by a significant margin) I got KJs on the button.  This was going to be my all-in hand, regardless of the action in front of me.  The blinds were at 400/800/100 and I couldn’t afford to have the blinds come around again.  The chip leader (Charlie), with over T15000 in front of him, bumped it to 2000 UTG.  The cutoff (Sheffield) folded and I pushed all-in for 2900.  The blinds laid down and then ... SO DID CHARLIE!!!  It was inconceivable to me - and especially to Sheffield - that he wouldn’t call the bet.  The pot was at 5600, so he was getting 6-1 odds on the last 900 he has to commit.  There is not a preflop hand that doesn’t justify that call.  He claimed that he was holding The Hammer (72o, if you didn’t click through before), but that still doesn’t justify his play.  According to the Two Dimes poker calculator, two overcards are a 2.3:1 favorite.  The only way that I am too heavy a favorite to call is if I have an overpair (and even that may not be true; I may have the blind level wrong).  As Ferrari would no doubt tell you, the pot odds more than justified the call - especially when winning the hand would have busted me out on the bubble and guaranteed a finish in the money for everyone at the table.  I was thrilled with his fold and was back over 5000.  I was still the short stack, but I was very close to the player in fourth.  Not surprisingly, the player in the fourth was Sheffield who couldn’t stop lamenting the laydown by the chip leader.

While I was blinding away, two things happened.  First, Robin doubled up twice.  All told, she survived at least six - and maybe as many as eight - all-ins.  She was the dog in at least three.  Second, a few hands after my miracle survival, Sheffield busted out in 5th and I made it into the money.

I didn’t survive long after that.  I survived one all in (QTs beat J9s) and then lost another (A3s lost to QQ).  After I went out the top three decided to chop.  Charlie gave Phil (who was in third place, right behind Robin) $5 and Robin took second place money.

I should have left immediately.  I had to wake up this morning to go to Skadden Arps this morning for an 8AM training seminar. (I’m headed to Florida as part of the Kerry/Edwards swing-state volunteer legal team.) Instead, I stuck around to watch the pot limit Omaha/8 ring game in the loser’s lounge.  It was like a train wreck.  Players who I knew to be quality NL hold ‘em players were AWFUL at Omaha/8.  There was a lot of calling, but almost no reraising.  People kept trying to use four cards from the board.  People were chasing lows with A5.  It was horrible but I didn’t want to sit in and end up playing until morning.  Instead I watched until 3AM.

I ended up not going to sleep until 4:30.  My alarm went off at 6:40 this morning and I hit snooze.  I didn’t stop hitting snooze until 9:15. Then I shut off the alarm.

At least the weather was nice for the ride home.

Blogrolling

I’d like to welcome Poker Prof to the Game Room.  He not only linked to Rick’s, he linked to Anybody But Bush.  You have to love a guy like that.  Insightful poker commentary and a worthy read.

I’d also like to let everyone know that Nixma has an improv performance with UCB on Monday night.  See his site for details.  I’ll be there (I think).