Day 2 - Part 2

Day 2 of the invitational is upon us and the field has been narrowed to 400 players; only the top 250 will finish in the money. On the 1st hand of the day, I am dealt a suited J,10 and limp in from middle position. There are 4 other players that limp into the hand. Already, there is over 1,500 in the pot. The flop brings Q, 9, 8 giving me the nut straight. The big blind bets out 600 into the pot and it is folded around to me. Immediately I go into the tank and ponder my next move. I replay the big blind's action from my memory and put him on a high pair. Could this player be putting a move on me? No, he was way too excited when he saw the flop. A,Q or Q, Q? I believe he has Q,Q. If this is the case, I'm going to move him all in and try to take down the pot right here. I announce "raise" and move all-in and am called. The big blind flips over Q,Q for a set and trails my made straight but does have live cards. The turn is a J and the river is a 2, giving me a pot of over 5,600 and doubling my chip stack.

I lay low for the next 30 minutes before picking up 5,6 suited in the button position. This is another multi-way pot and is only the third hand that I have played today. The flop brings 5,5, A. I now have a set of 5s. It is raised and re raise to me. During my observation of the players involved in this hand, I put both layers on a pair of Aces with a high kicker. I smooth call the raise and it is now heads up action. The turn is a 6, giving me a full house. The other player bets 1200 into the pot and I call. There are now three spades on the board and i believe has the A, K of spades. The river is a 7 of spades and now there are four spades. With over 6500 in the pot, I am looking to extract the maximum amount of chips that I can form this player. He puts out a feeler bet of 1200 and I re-raise all-in for my remaining 8,200 and am insta-called. He flips over A,K spades for the flush but I flip over my 5,6 for the full house and this hand leaves the other player with less than 600 in chips. My chip stack has now swelled to over 30,000/ On this hand, I smooth called the flop and turn to set the player up for drawing to his hand on the river. This can be a risky play but if your hand holds up, then you can extract the maximum amount of chips from your opponent and make him pay for his draw on the river. The very next hand I am dealt 9,9x in the small blind position and I move all-in with the blinds at 200,400. Player X puts in his last 600 and the action is folded to me. We are now heads up and he flips over A,K of spades again. What are the chances of us getting heads up back to back hands. My hand holds up and my stack is now at 42,000.

During the next three levels, I eliminate three more players from the table and my stack swells to 51,000. we are now inside 250 players and the field has been narrowed to less than 150. The blinds are now at 1000, 2000 and I am dealt pocket 4s in the middle position. There are three players in the hand and I raise to 5500 to see where I stand in the hand. I get three callers. The flop is 4, A, K, all spades. It is checked to me and I bet 3500. Player 2 (the big blind) bets 4000 and I call. The turn is a 7 of spades and it is 6000 for me to stay in the hand. I look at my set of fours and realize that he has made his flush. For the next 30 seconds, I look at my opponent and tell him nice flush and fold. He flips over 10, 9 spades for the flush and I congratulate myself for folding and saving chips. This hand sets my stack back to 24,150 and has definitely taken some of my swagger for the day.

Just when I was trying to mount a comeback and regain some of my lost chips, I am moved to three different tables in less than a 30 minute span. The blinds are now at 4000, 8000 with antes at 500. I am dealt a pair of 6s and move all-in for my remaining 27,000 and am called by one player from middle position. He flips over K, J. The flop is 2, 9, 5, the turn is an 8. Keep the board low, keep the board low- I tell the dealer. With over 65,000 in the pot, this hand would definitely give me some traction for advancing deeper into the tournament. The river is a stinking J, giving the other player a pair of Jacks and in the process sending me out in 97th place. Yeah, I got a payday but I was definitely looking to make it to the final 20 in this tournament. I made the walk to the payday line and within 20 minutes the field had been narrowed to inside 40. You may question my all-in move of the last hand but with blinds raised every 15 minutes ,there is not a lot of room for playing many hands and the hands that you do play must be selectively aggressive. Each orbit now cost 12,000 in blinds and 5000 in antes. Had I folded every hand for 1 orbit, then my stack would have been reduced to 10,000. In this type of tournament format, you have to start gambling and making a stand with your hands whether it be a low pair or high pair or risk getting blinded out with any two random cards. I chose to make a stand with my mid pair and nearly succeeded. If my hand had held up, I could probably have coasted to inside 40 and my payday would have tripled.

This tournament definitely stirred the tournament bug in me and makes me wonder how often I will be playing in the coming 12 months. The 2008 WSOP Circuit schedule has been released and I am in the process of choosing my travel dates for the next 9 months. Come back here for my next entry- trip wrap up and my projected 9 month poker schedule.

The 2008 Campagin is Upon Us!
Chewey