Rebuy Event

Thursday, January 3, 2008 - 8:30 AM
Inside 24 hours before The New Year Invitational at Harrah's, I decide to play in a multiple re-buy tournament to simulate the aggressive style that is needed in some the early stages of a fast-tournament. A fast tournament is where you start with less than 40xs the big blind in chips. I do not know what the blind structure is for this invite but have been tipped off that the blind structure will be aggressive and that the antes will be kicking in during Level 2.

Early in Level 1, I'm able to pick up a few small pots and increase my stack from 4500 to 6800 through position plays and continuation bets on the flop. Level 2 approaches and I run into top 2 pair with my middle two pair. My stack is reduced to 5400 at the end of Level 2. Level 3 is where it gets interesting. I end up going all in on the flop with a set of 10s and run into a set of Jacks, what a cooler! I go busto but wait this is a re-buy tournament and you can rebuy as many times as you want up until the end of the rebuy period if your stack is below what you started with. I plop down 100 and rebuy- either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid. I am dealt Blind insta-calls with the top set- 9s and small blind goes busto with the lower set 8s. I'm really proud of the way that I played this hand and lost the minimum- 550 as opposed to more. 10s can be dangerous and are best for pre-flop wins because when the flop hits, its anyones game. By the end of Level 3, I'm down to (1) 500 chip and will not be rebuying anymore.

Level 4 Blinds are 100-200. I am dealt J,10 diamonds and push all-in from middle position. I do this because the blinds are coming up and I need to make some action for a big pot. Need to get my stack to 1600ish and I can be competitive with force. There is one thing that alot of players hate and that is a pesky short stack that keeps growing. They hate to call and double you up but they also want to get rid of you while they can. I end up getting my flush on the flop and grow my stack to 1500 on this hand. Level 4 ends with me having 2600 in chips and the rebuy period is over. We have gone 65 players to 59 players. I say out loud to the table "This ain't gonna be easy!" and the player to my right smiles "No, you got alot of work ahead, partner!". So, I decide to talk to different players at the table. My non-chalant talk is designed to draw everyone out and see what there playing style is going to be since the rebuy period is over. Based on my info, I'm targeting the players that play tight and are not blind defenders. These are the players that will be padding my stack, its sounds cold but it's the truth. I manage to steal the blinds 4 times in this level and grow my stack to 4800, 300 above where I originally started. The short stack was no longer a short-stack. Not much happens in Level 5 as the action gets more aggressive and I go back into hiding and grow my stack to 6900, the average stack is 7800 and 39 players remain. A lot of players busted out in Level 5.

Level 6 blinds are 200-400. I raise to 800 from mid position with 2,3 spades and it is folded to the button Player Z(chip-stack18,000), who reraises to 1600. I immediately go all in for 6200 and he folds. He says out loud " Damn, I was trying to steal and I give him the line "Nice Laydown, he shows me 8,3 and I am doing cartwheels inside. Remember this player, for we will be meeting at the final table.fast forward to Level 11 blinds at 2000-4000 and we are down to the final table of 9. Thus far in the last 3 levels i have shown down only 1 hand and am able to maintain my stack at 15,000. The stack counts are as follows: 9,000; 15,000 me, 28,000; 42,000(player Z); 36,000; 29,500; 8,500; 7,500; 11,500. In the button position with no one in the pot before me, I raise to 8,500 with K,10 and only the small & big blinds remain, small blind calls and only has 5000 more and the big blind folds with his short stack of 11,000. I end up winning the hand and the big blind exclaims out loud, I would have won with my J,10. Lucky for me that he folded and my stack is at 31,000. With the flip of a switch, I get busy again the next three hands and am able to eliminate the remaining short-stacks at the table and my stack is at 52,000. i am now the chip leader and all eyes at the table are on me. Level 6 ends and Level 7 begins. I lay low during this level and my stack is at 41,000- 3rd in chips. Player Z has 51,000 and there are only 4 players remaining. This tournament pays the top 6 and I survived the bubble and am looking for the big payday. Level 8 blinds 4000, 8000- I raise to 16,000 from mid position with A,10 and Player Z calls, the flop is A,A,10. i know that Player Z is aggressive so I check and he fires out 12,000 into a pot of 48,000. I think to myself "Why so little and say out loud, I don't think you have the Ace and push all in with my last 5,000 and he says I have the boat with his pocket 10s. I flip my cards over and say "I have the bigger boat and you have no outs- there are no more 10s!" Sweet Justice, see 10s just don't hold up. Now my stack is at 86,000. The rest of the action is me getting lucky on coin-flips A,K vs K,J K,Q vs 8,8 and the final hand 2,3 vs A,J. I take down this tournament for a 1st place of over 8k and this is a nice way to start 2008. This tournament's for you HB and this is the one year mark of the day we lost a great friend & mentor. I don't know of a better way to honor his memory than to win a tournament under the most difficult of tournamen situations and with only one chip left in Level 3.

The Chewey "Orange" Express is coming to a tournament near you!
Happy New Year!
Chewey