$15+1 MTT - a running log

Took third place last night in a $15+1 No limit tournament with 1599 Entrants. Paid out just over nineteen hundred dollars. Below is a running log of commentary and analysis from that play:

7:40pm - entered a $15+1 MultiTable Tournament. No Limit Hold'em, 1599 entrants. Almost $24k in the prize pool, with first taking over $5k and 40th place paying out over $100. Top five pay over a grand each.

8:05pm - first big hand that caught something. If I'm in a pot early, i'm raising pre-flop. Usually nothing connected on the flop, and I even chased a couple hands and bled off a few chips. Then I won a big three-way pot with Jack King Off (flop was 6TJ two hearts, someone holding two more hearts pushed in front, player with J9 called and I called - my KJo held up and I was in the chiplead for my table.

8:11pm - Jack King Off again, taking down a T500 pot.

8:28pm - we're having a ton of connection problems at our table. I think its Party, as its affecting about half the table including me.

8:30pm - Dealt AA, 3x blind raise and I just take down the blinds. Down to 964 players. Average stack is T1683, I'm sitting T2212.

8:42pm - Q4c in the big blind. UTG min-raises to 100, everyone else folds, I debate and call. Looky there: 4s, 8s, 4d. I bet 150, he re-raises to 300, I re-raise to 750 and he calls the 600. The next card to fall is glorious - the Qs. If he's on the flush draw, the card that just gave me the full house just completed his flush. I check, he raises all-in and I quickly call. Sure enough he's got the ace-high flush, and i've taken a 2-1 chiplead on the rest of the table. Hand history posted in Comment #1.

8:57pm - I raise in early position with sixes, a small stack pushes and I call. He turns over eights and I drop down a little. Two hands later AQo in the big blind takes down a decent pot to more than make up what I just lost. 612 players left, average stack is T2600 and I'm sitting just over T4000.

9:05pm - I bleed off T700 in chips with QJs when someone raises me all-in when i've only flopped a gutshot and I have to fold. Down to T3200 and time to tighten a little. Blinds are 75/150, 575 players left. Average stack T2771.

9:10pm - AKc UTG. Min-raise to T300. One caller who's got T500 left after calling. Flop comes 45J rainbow and I raise him all-in. He calls with J9o, but I catch a King on the turn and jump to T5100. 460 players left, T3491 average chipstack.

9:19pm - 54o sees a free flop from the big blind. I catch a 5 on the flop, its checked around and I get to see a 4 on the turn for free. Win a decent little pot when someone assumes I'm bluffing and calls a bet with ace-high.

9:29pm - player to my left cracks aces from the big blind when he catches a five-outer on the river. Next hand I get aces, and manage to isolate the same player to my left all-in: he's holding queens.. He can't crack them twice in a row, and I'm up over T10k.

9:40pm - I crack someone's kings with ATo when I catch an ace on the flop. He's out.
9:44pm - ATo again, this time I knock out A5o. He's out in 286th. We hit the second break two hands later. I've got T14745 and am chipleader at my table. Average stack is T6k. 268 players left on 27 tables. We're 88 players from the money.

9:58pm - QTh on the button catches a really nice flop of 9JK rainbow. Pull down a decent pot, but I probably could have milked it more... Hand history posted as Comment #2. I'm sitting T16645, average is T7k, 228 players left.

10:09pm - AKo UTG takes down a decent pot when I catch a king on the flop. Sitting T19454. 204 players left. Counting up the reported stacks from all the tables in the lobby, I'm currently sixth in chips overall.

10:22pm - We're in the money. Sitting at T18681, just double the average of T9k.

10:37pm - having not played a hand in forever, A5s looks good in early position and I min-raise to T1600. Button pushes for T4k total. I call, he turns over ATd and I catch no help. Down to T14k. Table gets busted up two hands later.

10:40pm - Blinds at 500/1000 brings a new sense of urgency. I min-raise with ATd, get two callers, get a terrible flop and I'm down to T12667. 118 players remaining, and for the first time in a long long time I'm below the average stack of T13666.

10:48pm - Dealt pocket queens. Raise half my stack, no callers. Take down the T1500 blinds. Table gets broken again. Sitting at T13k, average is almost T17k with 95 players remaining.

10:53pm - AKc. Push from early position, no callers. Again take down the T1500 blinds. We hit the second break, I'm at T14667. 85 players left. Average stack is T18881.

11:06pm - Dragged a big pot when I re-raised someone holding what I assumed to be a monster draw. I held JQo, flop came 2-9-T rainbow. He raised in to me, I came over the top all-in, assuming that if he held something like top pair I was sitting on 14 outs. He went to the time bank, and eventually folded. Hand history posted in Comment #3. Jumped back to the average stack with T20k.

11:09pm - Lost T6k with A7s. Was the fourth time I'd seen AXs on this table and I figured it was time to play it. No help on the flop and my opponent pushed and I couldn't call. Down to T15k, 65 players left, average is almost T25k.

11:19pm - AKo for the third time in the last two circuts. Folded it one time, when someone raised all-in in front of me. Won a decent little pot this time. Have climbed to T25k. 57 players left, average is T28k.

11:39pm - Pocket tens. I 2x the blinds, big blind calls. Flop comes 8h, 4h, 7c. I had seen this player before (and had notes on him) - he pushes, I go through my time bank and then call. He turns over A4o. My tens hold up and I'm up to T43k. 41 players left, T39k average stack.

11:51pm - AKo doubled up off AQo when an Ace hit the flop. Now sitting at T70k. 32 players left. Average stack is T52k.

11:55pm - Just won a monster pot. Player ahead of me limps. I try to limp in middle position with A6d. Was raised by late position, the early limper calls and I call as well. Flop comes 8d, 9d, 2s. Four to the nut flush plus an overcard. I raise out 10k, am re-raised another 10k by the original raiser who is now all-in. Man in the middle cold calls the re-raise and I call as well. Turn comes seven of hearts, giving me four to the nut flush, the bottom end of an open-end straight draw, and the ace for an overcard. I push, the third player drops out, and I'm facing pocket kings. Twenty outs on the river - about the best possible place I can be with a draw - and I catch one of them, the ace. Hand history posted as Comment #4. Now sitting at T143k, double the average of T70k. 23 players left. From a quick glance at the lobby, I'm sitting fifth overall.

12:16pm - won another big one, knocked out that same player I had notes on, sitting just to my right, when QJo caught a jack on the flop and another on the turn. He called my all-in with only the top pair (aces). Hand history posted as Comment #5

12:18pm - Two beautiful black aces. Took down a monster pot when I re-raised and then was re-raised all-in pre-flop by someone holding queens. Hand history posted as Comment #6. Moved in to the chiplead overall with T300k. 16 players left on two tables, average stack is T100k.

12:43pm - Pocket Kings catch another on the flop and take down a good pot with trips.

12:47am - Bleed off a little chips to a slowplayed trips, thought my top pair (ace with ten kicker) was good. Now second in chips with T300k. Eleven players left.

12:54am - First hand of the final table. I raise one-off the blind on a semi-steal with Q5 spades. Get one caller. Flop comes 9J5, two spades. I've got four to the flush plus bottom pair. I bet out, he re-raises all in and I deliberate and call. He turns over JKo. I catch my flush on the river and am back in the chiplead.

12:59am - lost the chiplead when I didn't call from the SB with K2s when the pot was raised with a caller ahead of me. Flop came down two twos, and I would have taken a massive lead there - two big pocket pairs tangled, and instead a very good player is now at T600k. I've got T400k and a 2-1 lead on third place.

1:03am - called with A9h from the small blind in to two raisers. Caught top pair top kicker. Made a ridiculous 1/10th bet at it, was re-raised pot sized and folded. Bad play by me there, posted as Comment #7 for posterity. Down to T350k, in to third place with a 2-1 lead on fourth.

1:12am - smallstack forced in by the blind, i raise pre-flop and end up isolating with QQ. He holds K9o and catches two pair on the flop. He busts out fifth next hand, and fourth immediately follows.

1:14am - walked in to the final three with the following standings:

Seat 3: Performify ( $359940 )
Seat 7: mjdorff ( $183124 )
Seat 8: Strodigity ( $1055936 )

1:21am - Third place has done a great job chopping pots from both myself and especially the chipleader. Standings now:

Seat 3: Performify ( $269940 )
Seat 7: mjdorff ( $512496 )
Seat 8: Strodigity ( $816564 )

1:24am - Chipleader is in the small blind and min-raises. I'm in the BB with J4d and call. Flop comes As, 6d, 7d - I've caught a fourflush and immediately push - chipleader deliberates - and eventually calls - holding pocket eights. I am very happy with my near-coinflip at this point: twelve outs (three jacks plus the nine remaning diamonds) should catch 46% of the time, and already sitting third in chips this is about as good as I can expect. Not in the cards tonight though, and I'm bounced in third. Final hand posted in Comment #8 for posterity.

Third out of 1599. $1918 payout for a big big boost to the bankroll. My biggest single poker payout to date in fact. Very very nice.

I feel I played some very very solid poker tonight. Only a few minor mistakes, and didn't repeat my most recent frequent mistake, overplaying AK preflop. I also can't help but notice thats a 7th place and a 3rd place from two consecutive 1600-person tournaments. Good stuff... I think I really need to focus more on big tournament play instead of the little SNG play.