Friday $50+5 MTT cash
Took the day off work today, my first of the year. Spent most of the day just relaxing, trying to recover from the brutality of my last two months at work. But I did manage to get in about three hours of poker during the afternoon, including a money finish at a Party Poker $50+5 MTT with 426 entrants.
I've been keeping to my goal of playing a lot more multitable tournaments this year, hitting the Party $40k Guaranteed, the Full Tilt $16 Guaranteed, and other nightly $20-$50 tournaments on a pretty regular basis. After making my first final table of 2006 last friday, I was ready to make another big run exactly one week later.
I entered four MTTs this afternoon. A $30+3 and a $6k guaranteed $24+2 on Full Tilt, and a $30+3 and a $50+5 on Party Poker. I made it close to the money in the Full Tilt $30+3, busting about 20 spots from the money when I pushed AQ in to AK on an ace-high flop. The $24+2 and Party $30+3 were uneventful, but I made a great run in the $50+5, playing some excellent poker.
In the past year I feel I've evolved my tournament game from what I'd call "ABC tournament poker" in to my own style of play. I've learned a lot in the past year, from experience, from serious study, and in learning from superior players who've taken the time to mentor me. I've learned I'm capable of making sophisticated plays when i'm up against the right caliber of opponent. I'm capable of making tough laydowns. I'm capable of putting my opponents on hand ranges and in certain cases even on specific hands. I'm capable of extracting money from weaker hands. I'm capable of winning. I'm certainly not claiming to be God's gift to the MTT, i know i've certainly got a lot farther to go. I'm just saying my tournament game is exponentially better than it was this time last year. And several final tables and large cashes have come about as a result.
In the $50+5, i was sitting a little above the tournament average of T7500 chips as we entered 60 players remaining and started hand-for-hand. Top fifty spots paid. With blinds at 200/400 I raised to T1000 on a blind steal from the CO against a supremely short-stacked big blind, who pushed for T1300 total and I was forced to call and lost. A few hands later, the button raised to T1000 and I called T600 from the big blind with T6 suited. The flop came TQQ with two spades, and we both checked through. The turn was an offsuit nine, and i bet half the pot. the button just called. The river brought an offsuit eight, and we both checked - the button had built a straight with AJo and I was down to ~T4000 and in to survival mode, trying to just survive the bubble.
I fold my way through the next couple orbits, stealing the blinds once from the CO with K7s to hang right around T4k. We sat at 53 players remaining forever, but finally the bubble popped and we sprinted towards the finish. I entered ITM at T3890. People began dropping like flies - in the first orbit once ITM, we lost ten players and jumped to the second payout tier with only 40 remaining.
Got bumped tables, and stole the blinds once to climb over T5k with 35 players remaing. Folded pocket threes from the small blind to two preflop raises, which would have happened to improve to a full house and the best hand, but those are the breaks of shortstack poker.
I folded ATo under the gun, and it was a good laydown as QQ ended up doubling through a weaker ace behind me. A few hands later I pushed ATs over an early position limper and was called by KQo in late position. My hand held up, and I'd doubled up to over T10k. A few hands later I limped 66 UTG, and with a flop of 45Q I fired out a half pot bet and took it down to climb above T15k and right around tournament average with 26 players remaining. We lose another two players to drop to 24 remaining, and then we go on break. Average chipstack is T17750, i'm at T12680.
I fold another two orbits, and then face a preflop raise of T4k from a guy that i've barely got covered. I look down to find two beautiful kings and I push. he instacalls with aces, and i'm down to T130. Next hand i push my meager stack in with A3s, and I tripple up. Next hand I push my stack in with Kx and catch a king and tripple up again and I'm at ~T3k. A few hands later i'm in the big blind and face a preflop raise. I call all-in with T8o for the pot odds, and I'm lucky enough to be facing pocket sixes. I win the coinflip, and next thing you know, I'm back up to T8k
I slowly get blinded down to ~T5k when I finally make a stand, calling all-in with A7o over a early position aggressive player with a really weak/tight player (less than 4% VP$IP in the hands i'd seen him play) in the big blind for some nice dead money. My opponent turns over JQc and I'm happy to see i got my meager holdings in as a slight favorite in a coinflip. However my opponent catches a jack on the flop and I fail to hit my ace, and I bust out in 14th for a 230% ROI on my entry fee. Heck of a run from being at T130 after my kings went down in flames.
I've been keeping to my goal of playing a lot more multitable tournaments this year, hitting the Party $40k Guaranteed, the Full Tilt $16 Guaranteed, and other nightly $20-$50 tournaments on a pretty regular basis. After making my first final table of 2006 last friday, I was ready to make another big run exactly one week later.
I entered four MTTs this afternoon. A $30+3 and a $6k guaranteed $24+2 on Full Tilt, and a $30+3 and a $50+5 on Party Poker. I made it close to the money in the Full Tilt $30+3, busting about 20 spots from the money when I pushed AQ in to AK on an ace-high flop. The $24+2 and Party $30+3 were uneventful, but I made a great run in the $50+5, playing some excellent poker.
In the past year I feel I've evolved my tournament game from what I'd call "ABC tournament poker" in to my own style of play. I've learned a lot in the past year, from experience, from serious study, and in learning from superior players who've taken the time to mentor me. I've learned I'm capable of making sophisticated plays when i'm up against the right caliber of opponent. I'm capable of making tough laydowns. I'm capable of putting my opponents on hand ranges and in certain cases even on specific hands. I'm capable of extracting money from weaker hands. I'm capable of winning. I'm certainly not claiming to be God's gift to the MTT, i know i've certainly got a lot farther to go. I'm just saying my tournament game is exponentially better than it was this time last year. And several final tables and large cashes have come about as a result.
In the $50+5, i was sitting a little above the tournament average of T7500 chips as we entered 60 players remaining and started hand-for-hand. Top fifty spots paid. With blinds at 200/400 I raised to T1000 on a blind steal from the CO against a supremely short-stacked big blind, who pushed for T1300 total and I was forced to call and lost. A few hands later, the button raised to T1000 and I called T600 from the big blind with T6 suited. The flop came TQQ with two spades, and we both checked through. The turn was an offsuit nine, and i bet half the pot. the button just called. The river brought an offsuit eight, and we both checked - the button had built a straight with AJo and I was down to ~T4000 and in to survival mode, trying to just survive the bubble.
I fold my way through the next couple orbits, stealing the blinds once from the CO with K7s to hang right around T4k. We sat at 53 players remaining forever, but finally the bubble popped and we sprinted towards the finish. I entered ITM at T3890. People began dropping like flies - in the first orbit once ITM, we lost ten players and jumped to the second payout tier with only 40 remaining.
Got bumped tables, and stole the blinds once to climb over T5k with 35 players remaing. Folded pocket threes from the small blind to two preflop raises, which would have happened to improve to a full house and the best hand, but those are the breaks of shortstack poker.
I folded ATo under the gun, and it was a good laydown as QQ ended up doubling through a weaker ace behind me. A few hands later I pushed ATs over an early position limper and was called by KQo in late position. My hand held up, and I'd doubled up to over T10k. A few hands later I limped 66 UTG, and with a flop of 45Q I fired out a half pot bet and took it down to climb above T15k and right around tournament average with 26 players remaining. We lose another two players to drop to 24 remaining, and then we go on break. Average chipstack is T17750, i'm at T12680.
I fold another two orbits, and then face a preflop raise of T4k from a guy that i've barely got covered. I look down to find two beautiful kings and I push. he instacalls with aces, and i'm down to T130. Next hand i push my meager stack in with A3s, and I tripple up. Next hand I push my stack in with Kx and catch a king and tripple up again and I'm at ~T3k. A few hands later i'm in the big blind and face a preflop raise. I call all-in with T8o for the pot odds, and I'm lucky enough to be facing pocket sixes. I win the coinflip, and next thing you know, I'm back up to T8k
I slowly get blinded down to ~T5k when I finally make a stand, calling all-in with A7o over a early position aggressive player with a really weak/tight player (less than 4% VP$IP in the hands i'd seen him play) in the big blind for some nice dead money. My opponent turns over JQc and I'm happy to see i got my meager holdings in as a slight favorite in a coinflip. However my opponent catches a jack on the flop and I fail to hit my ace, and I bust out in 14th for a 230% ROI on my entry fee. Heck of a run from being at T130 after my kings went down in flames.
posted by Performify at 6:00 PM
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