Redemption

I won the Mookie. Very very tired, will post a long report tomorrow with lots of screenshots.

For now, here's the one that says it all.


This is a relief. I look forward to the ToC.

Disappointing MATH result

[Edited]

I was a strong top-five in chips in the MATH with 20 players left in the field: I had managed to win a huge pot halfway through the tournament when my semi-bluff check-raise with an open-ended straight draw in a limped multiway pot got sniffed out by another large-stacked opponent vs. a slowplayed TPTK but I hit one of my 8 outs on the river.

Sadly, I busted out in 15th spot despite trying hard to ride that stack to the final table. I wish I could summon the energy at the conclusion of this post for a Waffles-strength rant, but my heart just isn't in it. Suffice it to say that the ultimate winner of the MATH decided to make a horrible, horrible 3-bet against me after I had opened on the button five-handed with AJs. I caught him making a move with JTo and because of his truly atrocious bet-sizing he found himself in an absurd situation, priced in to make an awful call of my 4-bet shove. FTP just decided to reward his donktastic play with a hideous river suckout. Is there any more embarassing feeling in poker than to have to call off another large chunk of your stack to see a flop with JTo vs. AJs with half of your stack at risk? Somehow I must have missed the memo that it is good strategy for a top-3 stack in the late stages of an MTT to find themselves forced to voluntarily call off half their stack preflop with J-high.

NB. Ironically, this player would go on to win the tournament and the ToC seat.

Okay, here's how the tournament began for me.

I see-sawed up and down with a starting chip stack in the early going. I got QQ once but only took down the blinds. I mised some big draws. I got AA (#1) but again got no action.

I three-bet preflop with presto and took down a nice pot with a c-bet.

My first significant hand, I played bottom set very fast on the flop but no-one bit:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6128045762: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 11 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:33:33 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: debetto (3,250)
Seat 2: dnasty13 (1,680)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (3,995)
Seat 4: Patchmaster (2,970)
Seat 5: lightning36 (6,105)
dnasty13 posts the small blind of 30
PirateLawyer posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [2s 2d]
Patchmaster folds
lightning36 calls 60
debetto calls 60
dnasty13 calls 30
PirateLawyer checks
*** FLOP *** [Td 4c 2c]
dnasty13 checks
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer bets 150 -- real men bet their sets
DaBag sits down
DaBag adds 3,315
lightning36 raises to 300
debetto calls 300
dnasty13 folds
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer raises to 3,935, and is all in -- real men play vulnerable sets really fast
lightning36 has 15 seconds left to act
lightning36 has requested TIME
lightning36 folds -- damn!
debetto has 15 seconds left to act
debetto folds -- damn!
Uncalled bet of 3,635 returned to PirateLawyer
PirateLawyer mucks
PirateLawyer wins the pot (1,140) -- I can't be too unhappy about not having to show it down
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,140 | Rake 0
Board: [Td 4c 2c]
Seat 1: debetto (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: dnasty13 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (big blind) collected (1,140), mucked
Seat 4: Patchmaster didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: lightning36 folded on the Flop

The very next hand, I get AA(#2) but sadly get no action.

Two hands later I get AA(#3) and get more action than I bargained for. Check out the brilliant limp/call preflop:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6128092542: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 11 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:37:04 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: debetto (3,250)
Seat 2: dnasty13 (1,620)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (4,955)
Seat 4: Patchmaster (2,730)
Seat 5: lightning36 (5,685)
Seat 6: DaBag (3,075)
lightning36 posts the small blind of 30
DaBag posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Ac As]
debetto folds
dnasty13 calls 60
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer raises to 190
Patchmaster folds
lightning36 has 15 seconds left to act
lightning36: 4-2os again?
lightning36 folds
DaBag folds
dnasty13 calls 130
*** FLOP *** [5c 6d 7d]
dnasty13 checks
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer bets 1,429
dnasty13 raises to 1,430, and is all in
PirateLawyer calls 1
dnasty13 shows [8h 9c]
PirateLawyer shows [Ac As]
*** TURN *** [5c 6d 7d] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [5c 6d 7d Th] [5d]
PirateLawyer: of course
dnasty13 shows a straight, Ten high
PirateLawyer shows two pair, Aces and Fives
dnasty13 wins the pot (3,330) with a straight, Ten high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,330 | Rake 0
Board: [5c 6d 7d Th 5d]
Seat 1: debetto didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: dnasty13 showed [8h 9c] and won (3,330) with a straight, Ten high
Seat 3: PirateLawyer showed [Ac As] and lost with two pair, Aces and Fives
Seat 4: Patchmaster (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: lightning36 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: DaBag (big blind) folded before the Flop

I tread water at the 3K chip mark for a while as I try to recover my equilibrium.

I chip up with small pots and the occasional c-bet here and there.

Then I get AA(#4) and get no action. Poker is rigged! (Yes, that's four of them in less than 2 hours of play. I feel like Astin but somehow I'm not getting paid off!)

I go card dead for a while and am then stuck doubling up a shorty when I open with KTs and run into KQ.

I tread water for a while and am able to pull off a stop'n'go vs. lightning, who has been giving my c-bets a wide berth.

Patchmaster has been donking it up so I reluctantly call down light on his preflop 3-bet:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6128572495: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 11 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:13:21 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: Breeze81 (5,697), is sitting out
Seat 2: dnasty13 (3,470)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (4,104)
Seat 4: Patchmaster (2,020)
Seat 5: lightning36 (5,686)
Seat 6: DaBag (2,465)
Patchmaster posts the small blind of 60
lightning36 posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Ad Qc]
DaBag folds
Breeze81 folds
dnasty13 folds
PirateLawyer raises to 420
Patchmaster raises to 2,020, and is all in
lightning36 folds
PirateLawyer calls 1,600
Patchmaster shows [Kh 4h]
PirateLawyer shows [Ad Qc]
*** FLOP *** [Ac 8c 2s]
*** TURN *** [Ac 8c 2s] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [Ac 8c 2s Js] [Th]
Patchmaster shows Ace King high
PirateLawyer shows a pair of Aces
PirateLawyer wins the pot (4,160) with a pair of Aces
Patchmaster stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,160 | Rake 0
Board: [Ac 8c 2s Js Th]
Seat 1: Breeze81 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: dnasty13 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (button) showed [Ad Qc] and won (4,160) with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: Patchmaster (small blind) showed [Kh 4h] and lost with Ace King high
Seat 5: lightning36 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: DaBag didn't bet (folded)

This set me up nicely with 6K in chips and I can finally breathe easily with a sizeable stack and buckle down to play some real poker, now having everyone covered at my table.

I finally get a medium pocket pair of nines but get a walk in the BB.

I start taking down pots preflop with good ace-x hands preflop as I expand my raising range down to A6s.

Then I have a big confrontation with another top-ten stack once Numbono is moved to my table.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6128642359: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 11 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:18:48 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: Breeze81 (6,127), is sitting out
Seat 2: dnasty13 (2,670)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (7,334)
Seat 4: NumbBono (8,885)
Seat 5: lightning36 (4,426)
Seat 6: DaBag (2,885)
PirateLawyer posts the small blind of 80
NumbBono posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Th Jd]
lightning36 calls 160
DaBag folds
Breeze81 folds
dnasty13 folds
PirateLawyer calls 80
NumbBono checks
*** FLOP *** [9d Ks 7h]
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer bets 480 -- deceptive double gutter in a limped pot = time to build a pot
NumbBono calls 480
lightning36 folds
*** TURN *** [9d Ks 7h] [6d]
PirateLawyer checks -- plan to C/R any bet
NumbBono bets 1,150 -- he bets on cue
PirateLawyer raises to 6,694, and is all in -- I expect all one-pair hands to fold
NumbBono calls 5,544
PirateLawyer shows [Th Jd]
NumbBono shows [As Kh] -- check that, he decided to go to the well with a slowplayed TPTK
*** RIVER *** [9d Ks 7h 6d] [Qd] -- thank you FTP!
PirateLawyer shows a straight, King high
NumbBono shows a pair of Kings
PirateLawyer wins the pot (14,828) with a straight, King high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 14,828 | Rake 0
Board: [9d Ks 7h 6d Qd]
Seat 1: Breeze81 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: dnasty13 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (small blind) showed [Th Jd] and won (14,828) with a straight, King high
Seat 4: NumbBono (big blind) showed [As Kh] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: lightning36 folded on the Flop
Seat 6: DaBag didn't bet (folded)

This catapulted me to the top of the leaderboard.

Then I flopped a set and again tried a reverse-Hoy on dnasty who had earlier outflopped my aces:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6128677176: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 11 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:21:31 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: Breeze81 (5,887), is sitting out
Seat 2: dnasty13 (2,510)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (14,828)
Seat 5: lightning36 (6,697)
Seat 6: DaBag (2,405)
dnasty13 posts the small blind of 80
PirateLawyer posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8d 8c]
lightning36 folds
DaBag folds
Breeze81 folds
dnasty13 calls 80
PirateLawyer checks
*** FLOP *** [Ac 8s Jh]
dnasty13 bets 160
PirateLawyer calls 160 - no need to put in a raise just yet
*** TURN *** [Ac 8s Jh] [Kd]
dnasty13 bets 480
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer calls 480 -- I'll keep letting him hang himself
*** RIVER *** [Ac 8s Jh Kd] [Kc]
dnasty13 checks
PirateLawyer bets 1,709 -- reverse-Hoy #2, only this time a straight is no good
dnasty13 folds - damn!
Uncalled bet of 1,709 returned to PirateLawyer
PirateLawyer mucks
PirateLawyer wins the pot (1,600)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,600 | Rake 0
Board: [Ac 8s Jh Kd Kc]
Seat 1: Breeze81 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: dnasty13 (small blind) folded on the River
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (big blind) collected (1,600), mucked
Seat 5: lightning36 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: DaBag didn't bet (folded)

The very next hand, I get AA(#5)!:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6128687277: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 11 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:22:18 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: Breeze81 (5,887), is sitting out
Seat 2: dnasty13 (1,710)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (15,628)
Seat 5: lightning36 (6,697)
Seat 6: DaBag (2,405)
PirateLawyer posts the small blind of 80
lightning36 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Ah Ac]
DaBag folds
Breeze81 folds
dnasty13 folds
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer raises to 320
lightning36 calls 160
*** FLOP *** [8c 7s 2h]
PirateLawyer bets 460
lightning36 folds
Uncalled bet of 460 returned to PirateLawyer
PirateLawyer mucks
PirateLawyer wins the pot (640)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 640 | Rake 0
Board: [8c 7s 2h]
Seat 1: Breeze81 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: dnasty13 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (small blind) collected (640), mucked
Seat 5: lightning36 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: DaBag didn't bet (folded)

Overall I might barely be net positive with AA in the tournament. So frustrating!

I tread water, protecting my stack as I look for a good spot to play a big pot.

I reluctantly fold to a stop'n'go:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6128870562: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 11 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:36:55 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: Breeze81 (9,217)
Seat 2: MiamiDon (2,565)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (15,448)
Seat 5: lightning36 (6,577)
Seat 6: DaBag (3,690)
Breeze81 antes 25
MiamiDon antes 25
PirateLawyer antes 25
lightning36 antes 25
DaBag antes 25
DaBag posts the small blind of 120
Breeze81 posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Qc As]
MiamiDon folds
cmitch sits down
cmitch adds 13,440
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer raises to 765
lightning36 folds
DaBag has 15 seconds left to act
DaBag calls 645
Breeze81 calls 525
*** FLOP *** [2s Ks 5h]
cmitch: hello all
DaBag bets 2,900, and is all in
Breeze81 folds
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer has requested TIME
PirateLawyer folds
Uncalled bet of 2,900 returned to DaBag
DaBag mucks
DaBag wins the pot (2,420)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,420 | Rake 0
Board: [2s Ks 5h]
Seat 1: Breeze81 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: MiamiDon folded before the Flop
Seat 3: PirateLawyer folded on the Flop
Seat 5: lightning36 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: DaBag (small blind) collected (2,420), mucked

I see MiamiDon take a brutal beat as AA is no match for 22 with all the money in preflop; and then my nemesis cmitch arrives on my immediate left with nearly as many chips as I have in my stack, so I have to be very careful (he went on to yet another final table in the BBT3 tonight), and I rate him as one of the top blogger players out there. He is very tough to play against.

Thankfully, I get moved to a new table immediately after I win this hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6129008346: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 11 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:48:15 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: Breeze81 (12,882)
Seat 2: PokahDave (11,218)
Seat 3: PirateLawyer (13,148)
Seat 4: cmitch (14,010)
Seat 5: lightning36 (7,522)
Seat 6: DaBag (3,910)
Breeze81 antes 25
PokahDave antes 25
PirateLawyer antes 25
cmitch antes 25
lightning36 antes 25
DaBag antes 25
PirateLawyer: hammer no good?
Breeze81 posts the small blind of 150
PokahDave posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Ts Th]
DaBag is feeling normal
cmitch: :)
PirateLawyer raises to 950
cmitch folds
lightning36 folds
DaBag folds
Breeze81 folds
PokahDave raises to 1,600
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer calls 650 -- this small 3-bet is fishy but I have a top ten hand and position so I will flat call
*** FLOP *** [Ah Kd Jc] -- gruesome flop! 3 overcards!
PokahDave has 15 seconds left to act
PokahDave bets 1,500
PirateLawyer calls 1,500 -- peel one card with position and a gutterball; I can set up a nice bluff with the line I've been taking here if I don't improve
*** TURN *** [Ah Kd Jc] [Qs] -- gin!
PokahDave has 15 seconds left to act
PokahDave checks
PirateLawyer bets 3,000
PokahDave has 15 seconds left to act
PokahDave: now you got me
PokahDave folds
Uncalled bet of 3,000 returned to PirateLawyer
PirateLawyer mucks
PirateLawyer wins the pot (6,500)
PirateLawyer stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,500 | Rake 0
Board: [Ah Kd Jc Qs]
Seat 1: Breeze81 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: PokahDave (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 3: PirateLawyer collected (6,500), mucked
Seat 4: cmitch folded before the Flop
Seat 5: lightning36 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: DaBag (button) folded before the Flop

I begin playing much more aggressively at my new table with my large chipstack, hoping to shift gears later on and get paid off the next time I have a monster hand.

My early stealing helps as I go card dead for a fairly long while. I am able to mix in some timely preflop steals to stay level.

I 3-bet allin with AJo and take down a nice pot.

Then after a long period of inactivity I play Q5s from the small blind vs. Hoy, who has me covered in the BB. This was a significant mistake in situation selection; I end up spewing a large amount of chips needlessly.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6129182836: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 9 - 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:02:52 ET - 2008/04/22
Seat 1: jimdniacc (8,783)
Seat 2: PirateLawyer (20,798)
Seat 4: hoyazo (22,685)
Seat 5: wormmsu (23,121)
Seat 6: BuddyDank (6,596)
jimdniacc antes 50
PirateLawyer antes 50
hoyazo antes 50
wormmsu antes 50
BuddyDank antes 50
PirateLawyer posts the small blind of 200
hoyazo posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Qs 5s]
wormmsu folds
BuddyDank folds
jimdniacc folds
PirateLawyer raises to 1,200
hoyazo calls 800
*** FLOP *** [5d 4h Kh]
PirateLawyer bets 1,400 - middle pair, second kicker = easy c-bet
hoyazo calls 1,400 - Hoy could well be floating here, or he slowplayed preflop
*** TURN *** [5d 4h Kh] [Kd]
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer bets 1,900 - time to fire a second shell now that's it's less likely he has a king
hoyazo has 15 seconds left to act
hoyazo raises to 5,700 - this smells like a positional raise but I can only beat a bluff or bottom pair
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer calls 3,800 - I decide to call and re-evaluate on the river; I might check-fold or open-shove depending on what comes
*** RIVER *** [5d 4h Kh Kd] [Ks]
PirateLawyer checks - frankly, this card completely surprised me and I froze like a deer in the headlights
hoyazo bets 14,335, and is all in
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer has requested TIME
PirateLawyer folds - I reluctantly fold but escape to fight another day
Uncalled bet of 14,335 returned to hoyazo
hoyazo mucks
PirateLawyer has returned
hoyazo wins the pot (16,850)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 16,850 | Rake 0
Board: [5d 4h Kh Kd Ks]
Seat 1: jimdniacc (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: PirateLawyer (small blind) folded on the River
Seat 4: hoyazo (big blind) collected (16,850), mucked
Seat 5: wormmsu folded before the Flop
Seat 6: BuddyDank folded before the Flop

I folded to Hoy's pressure even though I didn't really think he had the goods; all I can beat is a bluff:


I then lose another decent-sized pot (to the ultimate victor of the tournament, no less) when I show weakness on the turn and have to fold to a river bet:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6129225206: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 9 - 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:06:29 ET - 2008/04/22
Seat 1: jimdniacc (7,883)
Seat 2: PirateLawyer (14,998)
Seat 4: hoyazo (30,335)
Seat 5: wormmsu (23,071)
Seat 6: BuddyDank (5,696)
jimdniacc antes 50
PirateLawyer antes 50
hoyazo antes 50
wormmsu antes 50
BuddyDank antes 50
hoyazo posts the small blind of 200
wormmsu posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [5s Ac]
BuddyDank folds
jimdniacc folds
PirateLawyer raises to 1,300
hoyazo folds
wormmsu calls 900
*** FLOP *** [7h 4h 2d]
wormmsu checks
PirateLawyer bets 1,500 -- ace-high with gutterball is worth a c-bet
wormmsu calls 1,500
*** TURN *** [7h 4h 2d] [6c]
wormmsu checks
PirateLawyer checks -- awkward turn card but now I'm open-ended. I decide to take the free card
*** RIVER *** [7h 4h 2d 6c] [Jh]
wormmsu bets 4,600
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer folds -- sadly I can only beat a bluff here, so I choose to fold and protect the rest of my stack
Uncalled bet of 4,600 returned to wormmsu
wormmsu mucks
wormmsu wins the pot (6,050)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,050 | Rake 0
Board: [7h 4h 2d 6c Jh]
Seat 1: jimdniacc folded before the Flop
Seat 2: PirateLawyer (button) folded on the River
Seat 4: hoyazo (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: wormmsu (big blind) collected (6,050), mucked
Seat 6: BuddyDank folded before the Flop

I'm now down to an average stack as we hit the second break.

Soon afterwards early in hour three of the tournament, I get it all-in as a huge favourite but FTP has other ideas. This hand more or less speaks for itself.

I decided to play aggressively preflop here and correctly deduced that the villain here was making a move with his chips rather than a strong hand. I put him to the test and watched as FTP decided to hand out a pretty sick beat:


Full Tilt Poker Game #6129326947: Mondays at the Hoy (45101299), Table 9 - 250/500 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:15:12 ET - 2008/04/22
Seat 1: jimdniacc (6,883)
Seat 2: PirateLawyer (11,198)
Seat 4: hoyazo (31,385)
Seat 5: wormmsu (25,821)
Seat 6: BuddyDank (6,696)
jimdniacc antes 50
PirateLawyer antes 50
hoyazo antes 50
wormmsu antes 50
BuddyDank antes 50
hoyazo posts the small blind of 250
wormmsu posts the big blind of 500
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Js As]
BuddyDank folds
jimdniacc folds
PirateLawyer raises to 2,000 - standard 4xBB raise
hoyazo folds
wormmsu has 15 seconds left to act
wormmsu raises to 6,500 - strange bet size
PirateLawyer raises to 11,148, and is all in - I am not folding this preflop and with my stack size I can't flat call
wormmsu calls 4,648
PirateLawyer shows [Js As]
wormmsu shows [Th Jd]
*** FLOP *** [3h 4c Ah]
*** TURN *** [3h 4c Ah] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [3h 4c Ah 8h] [5h]
PirateLawyer shows a pair of Aces
wormmsu shows a flush, Ace high
wormmsu wins the pot (22,796) with a flush, Ace high
PirateLawyer stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 22,796 | Rake 0
Board: [3h 4c Ah 8h 5h]
Seat 1: jimdniacc folded before the Flop
Seat 2: PirateLawyer (button) showed [Js As] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: hoyazo (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: wormmsu (big blind) showed [Th Jd] and won (22,796) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 6: BuddyDank folded before the Flop

Wormmsu apologized after the fact in chat, of course, but muttered some nonsense about having the proper pot odds to call preflop vs. my 4-bet shove.

Notwithstanding the arguable truth of this assertion (sure, he was getting 4:1 to call off another 5K of his stack with a dominated holding) he butchered this hand every which way. But, any two cards can win. His 3-bet was completely awful as he priced himself in to an awful situation. He just so happened to go runner-runner flush to escape.

An example of a misplayed limit hold'em hand

This is an excellent example of how frustrating a bloggament can be. Anonymity has been preserved for the villain in this hand, but let's be very clear: this player busted out way short of the final table. Sadly, he took a bunch of my chips with him.

Full Tilt Poker, Limit Hold'em Tournament, 150/300 Stakes, 9 Players

UTG+2: 2,520
Hero (MP1): 5,045
MP2: 2,615
CO: 8,950
BTN: 3,395
SB: 6,700
BB: 4,385
UTG: 3,840
UTG+1: 1,815

Pre-Flop: (225) Q K dealt to Hero (MP1)
3 folds, Hero raises to 300, 2 folds, BTN calls 300, 2 folds

Completely standard situation preflop. I open-raise when it's folded to me and the button cold calls two bets preflop.

Flop: (825) Q 6 8 (2 Players)
Hero bets 150, BTN raises to 300, Hero raises to 450, BTN calls 150

I figure to have the best hand and charge the button the maximum for his draw or worse one-pair hand.

Turn: (1,725) 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 300, Hero calls 300

I slow down on the turn and decide to call down.

River: (2,325) 5 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 300, Hero calls 300

I'm not folding here but I have the impression I'm going to puke at showdown.

Results: 2,925 Pot
Hero mucked Q K (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-1,350 NET)
BTN showed J T (a straight, Queen high) and WON 2,925 (+1,575 NET)

I really, really go on tilt for a moment or two as I realize the villain drew to a gutshot straight draw on a two-tone flop with no spades.

The moral of the story: the play by villain here is hugely -EV, as he was drawing here in this situation to a mere 3 clean outs (the 9s is very tainted). Dodging mines like this is essential in the BBT3 bloggaments. This hand knocked a lot of wind out of my sails and I lost 3 crucial races late to bust out about two-thirds of the way to the final table (30th of 90 or so.)

By far the most crucial skill to go deep in bloggaments (besides getting lucky) is situation selection. A disciplined player in the villain's shoes would have done well to dump this hand on the flop instead of gambolling it up with a very, very longshot draw (4:1 against) to win two big bets after putting in several bets as a huge dog. He's just not getting the requisite implied odds to continue here.

Early exit in Skillz

It's relatively simple to go from a top-5 chipstack to busted out just after the first break (a span of 10 minutes) when you somehow lose five consecutive pots at showdown.

I may have to re-think my evaluation of the limit hold'em blogger events as +EV.

That being said I really liked my revised bettings patterns -- which I'll be implementing in the NL events as well -- and I'll have a lot more to say about this in an upcoming poker strategy post.

SOP at the club

Blog-worthy. An adjective used to describe the events at the alternate FCPC venue.

To be precise: that's three consecutive tournaments held in that room where I've run into quads. Tonight it was Althalee's four jacks. Ho-hum. Somehow I only managed to lose half my stack this time. With this progression I will soon barely take a flesh wound next week and somehow manage to recover to make it into the money.

I did win some very nice pots with nut straights (I was able to bust Simon when he flopped the joint and I outdrew him to the stone cold nut straight on the turn in a limped pot, which was the best payoff I got) and pulled off one superior bluff when my open-ended straight and flush draws missed but I bet out on the river nonetheless and managed to actually get someone to fold one pair.

Alas, I will need to keep plugging away and hope that I am the one who can get action with quads. I'm due for my share in that crazy room where quads seemingly occur every week.

Swing and a miss

[Edited]

How to go from second place with 30 of 95 left to out in 25th:

lose four consecutive races all-in preflop.

Signs and portents that the tournament won't go your way:

get a walk with AA and KK during the first hour and a half & win the blinds with no action with AA #2;

run AA #3 into flopped quads (but lose the minimum).

Slowplay QQ in a blind battle into oblivion.

Perhaps I can make another final table next week. I would really like to win a ToC seat soon.

NB. Congrats to Alan for taking it down. He played patient poker and really played a great HU match to grind out the victory.

A busy week ...

... spent working on an important factum as well as a trip to Seattle for the weekend to visit friends has meant no updates to the blog for a while. My apologies for the lack of content.

Now that I've caught my breath I am working on a long-delayed series of book reviews as well as a couple of poker theory posts. Expect those to start appearing in a day or so.