The Road to Council Bluffs

It has been over 40 days since my last blog entry. I have not played much live tournament poker but have played tons of poker online and get to see 10xs as many hands and situations in a shorter time span. Playing online can be addictive for many reasons such as the ability to play online when ever you want, you can play as you're laying in bed, can play when you're sick or under the weather (to a certain extent), there's always a tournament online.

In order to prepare for the World Series Circuit in Council Bluffs, I am playing at least two to four online tournaments daily and in the weekend leading up to Council Bluffs, I am playing in a local live free-roll tournament which drew over 140 players. I finished inside 30 in that tournament and could have easily finished deeper in that tournament had it not been for this hand: Under the gun, blinds at 400-800, I raise it to 2000 and am smooth called by player in seat 7. Heads up to the flop and it is 8,8 A. I have second quads, not the absolute nuts, but damn close to it. At this point, no hand is ahead of me but if we are to play until the river,then I could lose. I check the flop hoping for action and I get it. My trap has worked as Seat 7 probably has Ace, Rag. He bets out 4200 into a pot of 5200. I immediately re-raise all-in for my remaining 10,500 and he calls with A,3. The turn and river are running Aces and he rivers the nut , Quad Aces. The whole table is stunned and is in a complete upheaval at the turn of events. I am out in 29th place. I quietly walk away from the table and can't believe my luck. He catches 3 aces in a row to get higher quads, where's the badbeat jackpot at, when you need it? i shake it off and say to myself, bring Council Bluffs on, this beat has fueled my desire for tournament poker (live).

Here are some of the results of my money finishes in the online tournaments that I have played in the last few weeks: 34th of 5000, 56th of 5000, 59th of 5000, 91st of 8000, 121st of 10,000, Now what story would not be complete with some of my non-money/donkey finishes: 2900th of 5000, 3124th of 5000 and a few others. In the past few weeks, I have made a small fortune in these online free-roll tournaments a.k.a donkfest rolls because it is not uncommon to see all-in with 2,7 by other in level 1 of these events but that's the nature of the beast. Playing online can hurt your live observation of other players but can definitely help you recognize and hone your betting pattern recognition skills. Questions such as why did he/she bet 3xs the blind when all day they have been betting 5xs or why the all-in move when there are two of one suit on the flop. These questions can be answered easier and become second nature when you play lots of online poker and parlay these into the live tournament arena.

The plane lands in Omaha and I catch a shuttle to Horseshoe Casino. It is time, I register and begin my quest for the 2008 Circuit. Here are the events I plan to play in the next few days:

Feb 19-Event 2 No Limit Hold em - $550

Feb 20 - Event 3 No Limit Hold em - $330

Feb 21 - Event 5 Omaha Hi-Low - $330

Feb 22 - Event 6 Limit Hold em- $330

Feb 23- Event 8 H.O.R.S.E.- $550

Feb 25- Event 9 Circuit Championship- $5,500

Chewey's Corner will be providing daily updates of Chewey's tournament experiences at Council Bluffs during the next 10 days. 10 days, 7 events, 1 goal- Win! Poker Across America's members Chuck P. and Manny V will also be in Council Bluffs to begin their quest for circuit glory as well. Come back here for the latest updates and blog entries of Chewey and Team Poker Across America.

On the Prowl for Antes!
Chewey