Day 1
It has been a while since I last posted. I have not played much poker the last 45 days. This entry ends that! My current trip leads back to Vegas for the "Floating Royals Invitational" at Harrah's. At stake, 75k and a seat to the 2008 WSOP- Main Event. In the week leading up to the event, I play some online and also one free tournament at Augy's with Nationwide Poker. This is hardly the perfect tune-up for this type of tournament but it gets me some time at the tables and to work out the rust in my game. Going into the event, a lot has happened / transpired since my last entry. Will I stay in Denver or move? ; recent passing of my Uncle Robert, career options.
Let me cut straight to the point, a clouded mind or a mind full of other thoughts besides poker does not inspire or help produce the best conditions for playing your "A" game at the tables. I did not advance to Day 2, I did not make it to the 2nd break of day 1. In fact, I played some of my worst and best poker in the same day. How is that possible, you may ask. Easy, inconsistency and a lack of focus.
In the first level, I made 3 mistakes within the first 20 minutes, limping in with a high pocket pair in the face of 3 callers; checking top 2 pair and losing to a straight on the river; over betting a bluff instead of bluff value-betting. It's a wonder that I did not get eliminated in the first 20 minutes. With only 1500 chips to start the tournament and blinds at 25-50, the action tends to be fast. After the end of level 1, I was down to 825 and in desperation mode. I would not say I was the odds on favor to win but my odds for making it inside the final 5 tables for this event was at 3/1.
Level 2 starts and I begin attacking the table with my short stack and manage to grow my stack back to 1600, a little more than what I started the tournament with. A key hand occurs in level 3 with the blinds at 100-200, I'm dealt pocket 3s and raise to 600 from middle position and get called by the button. It is heads up and the flop is 3, A, K all different suits. I now have a set of 3s and my opponent has Aces, with his Q kicker in the hole. the turn is a 7, I check and so does he. Leading up to this hand, I had been picked off two times with my large bets on the end and lost basically over 40% of my stack due to those 2 river bets. So, on this river, I raised all-in with my set of 3s and my opponent thinks about it for a long minute and calls off his remaining chips with a confident thrust "I call your bluff" and I flip my cards over for a set of threes and pick up a pot worth over 4,000. I now had a fair amount of chips to work with and a stable chip base to play some poker. The reason this move worked is because I advertised two times earlier in level 1 this same huge move and it was bought by the caller. This can be dangerous as you may risk all of your stack to set this up for a future large pot but when it works you can amass a huge amount of chips.
1 st break comes around and I have around 3,900, not alot of chips but I have above the the 8x big blind stack requirement. When your chip stack falls below 8xs the big blind, you are in desperation mode and will need to push all-in otherwise you risk being blinded out of the tournament. Level 4, blinds at 100-200 with 25 antes, I am dealt J,J in the big blind position, the button calls and I check. It is heads up to the flop, J,A,2. I check my set and the button checks as well. I have been watching the button play and thus far he always checks when he hits the flop. I get the distinct feeling that he is slowplaying pocket Aces. The turn is a Q and the river is a 4. It is checked to the river and I bet out 600 into the pot to test the strength of my hand. I am re-raised to 1200, 600 more into a 2450 pot. I am getting 4.5 to 1 on my money into this pot. Fairly certain that I am beat in this hand, I still decide to call and he shows a set of Aces. Dammit, should have trusted my read. Now my stack is down to 2450 and my once modest stack is now shrinking. I manage to make it to level 6 with around 1800 in chips and need only to survive another level and I would be able to advance to Day 2. I am dealt K,2 suited in the button position and decide to limp in for 400. The big blind checks and the flop is K,2, 6 with two spades showing. I check my two pair and the turn is another spade, the big blind checks and now I bet 800 into the pot. He re-raises me all-in and I call. He hit his flush and I screwed up by not betting on the flop. I'm out at the tail end of Day 1 and my steak of money finishes ends at 4. I played terrible today and we all go through bad spells. The key factor is how do you bounce back from it and do you learn anything from the spell? I did and also needed to mentally be more focused but its hard when things outside of the tables are looming and have big implications.
Come back for my next entry on the advantages/differences of free poker vs tournament poker (with your money) and on whether I decide to stay in Denver or not?
Chewey
