A Deep Run

I made Day 2 of the MSP tournament at The Venetian Resort, which started on Sunday at 11 AM. I gave it four tries on two different Day 1s before I made Day 2, so while I was happy, I needed a fairly high finish to break even. On my first attempt, I busted Day 1A only 12 places away from Day 2 (and the money). In my second and third attempts on Day 1C, I got dealt more great hands than I can remember... and they all lost. Particularly AK, which I got about 5 times and lost every time except once when I shoved pre-flop and everyone folded. I just felt I couldn’t emotionally afford to play the hand and have it lose once again.

However, on my fourth attempt on Day 1C, things went what I would call “normally” with a normal distribution of good and bad hands, good and bad flops, until the end of the day when I had a really good run and got my stack up to average or slightly above.

Note: if you want a reference for poker lingo, click here.

In the second hand I played on Day 2, I lost a big chunk of my stack. I was in the big blind with pocket 8s. Everyone folded to the player on the button who did a min raise from 5K to 10K. This is typical, even if the player has a mediocre hand, hoping to just collect the blinds. I reraised to 20K. He raised again to 60K. I decided to call. The flop was Q6Q. He could have had a Q or a bigger pair. I used up a time extension before I checked. He checked. The next card was 7. I checked. He bet 80K. I felt I had to fold. As he scooped up his chips, he said he’d been bluffing.

Then I won a decent pot with pocket Qs. I raised from 5K to 15K and both blinds called. The flop was 889. I bet 35K and they both folded.

I continued getting really great hands and building back my stack.

I got some advice from Kfir Nahum, an Israeli poker player from San Jose who moved to Vegas around the same time I did. I didn’t know him in San Jose, even though we both played at Bay 101. I didn’t make many friends playing poker in California, partly because I focused on the game and rarely talked and partly because it was very cliquish and I wasn’t one of the cool kids.

Kfir is a good player, and it was friendly advice that he gave me. He said my play took me up by stairs and down by escalator. I had been in the cutoff (one before the button) and did a big raise. He and everyone else folded. He asked, “ace king?” I said “yes.” He said he knew because I raised too much. I should play my good hands to get chips. Thing is, I actually had AQ, one of the hardest hands to play. They call it “the parking lot hand” because players with it often end up walking to the parking lot afterwards. I wanted to get people out of the hand quickly rather than see a flop. But as long as people at the table think I’m a bad player, it’s better for me. It’s interesting how many people like to give me friendly advice. Like the woman I raised when I hit a set and was sure she had pocket aces. When she reraised, I shoved, she called and busted out. Or the guy I bluffed off a pot who told me that I play too tight, so he knew I had a great hand because I only raise when I have a great hand. I like people underestimating me.

I was in the small blind with pocket 6s. The player on the button min raised. I had about 8 big blinds, so I shoved. He called with... pocket 5s. I doubled up!

But not long after, I was again short stacked in the big blind, when I got pocket Ks. The small blind shoved. I called. He had A6. Kfir said he’d folded an ace. My odds were about 6:1. But one of only two aces in the deck came on the turn. I busted out at #30 out of 522 entries.

It was a satisfying deep run, and generally I seem to be performing better lately, but I still want a win in a big tournament. I have a very busy month coming up, with the Jewish holidays and lots of business travel, so I probably won’t be playing any poker until November. Stay tuned.

About the author

Bob Zeidman is a high-stakes recreational poker player. He created Good Beat Poker, a free online poker site using patented technology for audio and video—see and hear the other players at the table if you choose.