An Exciting Run
I played in a major tournament at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas last Friday.
On the first hand, I was in the big blind with K♦4♦ for $200. On player raised to $700. The starting stack was $50K, so I called. The flop was 2♦4♣7♦, giving me a pair of 4s with a flush draw. I bet $1500, he called. The turn card was 5♠. He bet $3000. I called. The river was 3♥. I checked, he checked. He showed AJ. I thought I'd won with my pair of 4s until I realized he'd rivered a straight. He had nothing but A high until that final card. Fortunately, the next hand I got 83 in the small blind and decided to call the min raise. The board ran out 5885K. I made back all the chips I'd lost in the previous hand and then some.
OUCH!!! I was dealt pocket Js. The blinds were $200. One player raised to $3200. I called. A third player called. The flop was 7♣J♣K♣, giving me a set of Js. One player bet $3K. I raised to $6K. Third player went all in. He either hit a flush or a set like me. If he hit a set of 7s, I was ahead. If he hit a set of Ks, I couldn't win without getting an extremely unlikely quads. If he had a flush, I had a small chance of getting a full house to beat him. He might also have AK with a flush draw, which would put me slightly ahead in a coin toss. I decided to call. He showed 4♣5♣ for a small flush. I needed to pair the board but didn't. Fortunately, I had a bigger stack than him. That left me with only $12K out of the original $50 starting stack. Still very playable (60 big blinds) but way behind everyone else.
I started winning small hands. My stack went up to $20K. So far, this had been an exciting tournament, and I'd only been playing less than an hour.
I got A 10. I raised from $400 to $1100. Another player raised to $3000. I called. The flop was 38 10. I shoved. He called. Oh, no! Did he have an over pair (AA, KK, QQ, or JJ)? Nope, he had AK. I doubled up! Now at $33K. Very comfortable. I could relax.
I kept winning hands. My stack was up to $41K.
I got pocket Qs. I raised from $400 to $2K. Another player raised to $12K. I thought about shoving, but his stack was only a little smaller than mine, so I called. The flop was 7QK. He shoved. I called. He showed pocket As. I doubled up! What a crazy tournament. My stack was up to $67K, nicely above starting stack.
I got dealt trip 10s and lost a very big pot to a straight. I was down to $29k.
Down to $21K.🙁
I started winning small pots and coming back slowly. I was up to $27K.
At the second break, I was short stacked with $15K (15 big blinds). I felt like I played one of those hands wrong, but I can't figure out how I could have played them better.
I got dealt A 10 followed by A 10 followed by A8. I shoved each time and won. I was up to $21K.
I got down to 8 big blinds. I got AK and shoved. I got one caller with KQ. The A on the flop helped me to double up. I was still on life support but not dead.
I won a couple of small pots. Still short stacked, though.
Blinds went up. I was down to 8 big blinds. 🥴
I shoved with pocket 5s. I got called by pocket 6s. I flopped a 5 for a set. I doubled up! Someone was looking out for me.
Poker pro David Peters just joined the table.
The same player who called my shove last time, shoved this time. I called with pocket 8s. He had KQ and got a K. I lost half my stack.
I shoved with AQ. I got called by KJ. I got a Q and doubled up. I had 20 big blinds. Not great, but not desperate anymore.
I raised under the gun with A♦5♥. David Peters shoved. I folded, but another player called. The board ran out with four diamonds. I would have tripled up if I'd stayed in. Dave busted out and bought back in.
Poker pro Nick Petrangelo was on my left for most of the tournament.
A shorter stack than me (believe it or not) shoved. I called with AQ. He showed A2. I knocked him out.
I got A5 in the small blind. Everyone folded around to me. I raised from $1600 to $4000. Nick Petrangelo called in the big blind. The flop was A56 with two spades. I checked. He bet $4000. I raised to $9000. He shoved. I called. He had two spades for a flush draw. He didn't get it. I doubled up!
I got up to $85.5K, just a little below average. Which I was very happy about.
I just saw David Peters buy in for the 3rd time. That's the one problem playing against pros. They'll keep buying back in.
I lost a big pot, then won a small one. Not a fair trade.
I won a big pot against two players when I had A9, and the flop was AJ9.
My stack was $113K, almost average.
I saw a guy self-destruct. He had amassed a giant stack early on. He beat me with a straight to my trip 10s. A few hands ago, he got beaten by a straight flush. Now he's betting and raising every hand, and his stack is shorter than mine. He must be on tilt because there’s no reason for him to be betting so much rather than waiting for decent hands. By the way, he’s a really big guy—looks like John Fetterman with a beard.
I won a couple decent pots. I got up to average stack again.
I won another decent pot. My stack was above average!
That player who had the big stack just busted out and seemed to be on tilt busted out.
Poker pro Anthony Zinno sat down at my table. I like him. On TV, he seems like a nice guy and always wears a suit at the televised final table.
We went on break. I had a very good stack. After this break there were no more rebuys, and the play then gets tighter, which I like.
I lost a really big pot to Nick Petrangelo. I had KJ. We were betting a lot back and forth. The board ran out 47K7A. When the A came, he bet huge, and I had to fold. I won a couple good pots after that, so I was just a little short of where I was before that hand.
I think I misplayed AK. The flop was AAJ. I checked, figuring one of the other players would bet. Everyone checked. The next card was 6. Everyone checked again. The last card was 2. One player bet $18K. I called. The third player raised to $35K. The were 3 spades on the board. I had to fold because it looked like he had a flush.
There were 90 players left out of 308. 39 get paid and go to Day 2 tomorrow.
80 players left.
I got dealt Q♣10♣. I raised under the gun. The two biggest stacks called me. The flop was 8♣J♦3♣. I had a straight draw and a flush draw. I checked. One player did a big raise, the other player called. I called. The turn card was 9♠. I now had the nut straight and still had a flush draw. I checked. One player did a big bet. The other player called. I shoved. The first player folded. The second player thought and then called with Q♥J♠. The next card was K♠, giving me a straight to the king. I more than doubled up! I had a really big stack. And only 73 players left.
The guy to my right was playing his first tournament. I’ll call him the “new guy.” Earlier he won with a straight flush to the queen. Just now he shoved and got called by Nick Petrangelo. He showed pocket Ks. Nick showed pocket As. The flop was K10 10. The new guy doubled up and Nick had only $15K, three big blinds.
I knocked out Nick Petrangelo.
Poker pro Chino Rheem sat to my right.
60 players left.
The AK that I thought I played wrong earlier? The player who raised on the river told me he had AJ, meaning he had flopped a full house, which means I actually lost the minimum on that one.
I played some hands that maybe I shouldn't have. I had A9 and lost a lot to AQ. I decided I needed to tighten up to make the money.
50 players left.
My stack was getting short. I asked myself, do I play tight to try to just get into the money or take risks to try to increase my stack?
The new guy shoved with pocket 7s. He got called by pocket Qs. Another player folded and accidentally flipped over a 7. That meant there was only one 7 left in the deck... and it came out on the river! The new guy knocked out the second largest stack at the table and then (probably) had the biggest stack in the tournament.
Oh well. I got pocket 9s. I shoved. I got called by the new guy with KQ. He got a Q. I'm out at 43, just 4 places short of the money. It was an exciting tournament, though, with lots of ups and downs.