27 Player $1 NLHE

I entered another $1 27 player tournament recently and did fairly well in it, I ran into a couple of hands worth noting, both of them happened heads up.

So I started out with my usual TAG style as I do in most my tournaments, but I found this table to be particularly weak/passive, so I decided to play a fair bit more aggressive than usual. This strategy worked well against this particular table but it would be unwise to be aggressive at a normal $1 table due to the muppet factor.

After grinding my way through the tourney I came to the final table as the chip leader, I changed gears and started playing extremely tight, attempting to build an image for later use, this worked well and I opened up with 5 players left and pretty much dominated them until I was heads up.

The player I was heads up with was a decent player but I believe I might have had a slight edge on them due to the fact that they were giving off a nervous vibe (they're bluff sizes were too small and they were check folding too many flops etc.). The play started pretty standard with me being really aggressive and trying to impose my will over the game. I believe I may have underestimated my opponent a little bit when he started to three bet me in good spots and he started being more and more aggressive pre flop.

He managed to get back to about equal in chips and I realized I had a fight on my hands. I tightened up and changed gears in an attempt to throw him off. It worked and I managed to get the lead again by a slight margin when this hand came along:

Hand History:

BTN: 18,420 (18.4 bb)
Hero (BB): 22,080 (22.1 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is BB with A A
BTN calls 500, Hero raises to 2,500, BTN raises to 4,000, Hero raises to 5,500, BTN raises to 18,420 and is all-in, Hero calls 12,920

Flop: (36,840) 3 4 9 (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Turn: (36,840) K (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: (36,840) 7 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: 36,840 pot
Final Board: 3 4 9 K 7
BTN showed K K (three of a kind, Kings) and won 36,840 (18,420 net)
Hero showed A A (a pair of Aces) and lost (-18,420 net)

This was a real sick cooler and I actually took it quite well and didn't start tilting to my surprise. after this hand I shoved every hand for about 8 hands in a row and he folded every time (this play works because every time he folds his BB I make about 20% of my stack, so shoving is definitely the right play in my mind, until I hit about 10 000).

I won my way back to about 11 000 and picked up a nice hand in the BB and decided to shove it knowing that my opponent would think i was bluffing again, here is the hand in question:

Hand History:

BTN: 29,340 (29.3 bb)
Hero (BB): 11,160 (11.2 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is BB with T A
BTN raises to 3,000, Hero raises to 11,160 and is all-in, BTN calls 8,160

Flop: (22,320) 9 J K (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Turn: (22,320) Q (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: (22,320) K (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: 22,320 pot
Final Board: 9 J K Q K
BTN showed J K (a full house, Kings full of Jacks) and won 22,320 (11,160 net)
Hero showed T A (a straight, Ten to Ace) and lost (-11,160 net)

Quite a funny hand and another cooler, I don't mind losing to a player like this, in a hand like this because I know that he wasn't a muppet who got lucky, he was a legitimate player who got lucky, I was gracious in defeat and was happy with 2nd place and $6.

Signing off

Shane

Make Your Own Luck

Tonight I played at the Attfield tavern in Maddington. I started my usual TAG game and quickly realized that the table I was at was particularly crazy even for the free league. So I tightened up even more and watched as player after player was knocked out by three particularly aggressive players who were getting lucky.

Just before the break these three players clashed knocking one out and severely hurting another, thus creating a monster stack who was super aggressive and didn't know how to fold. I managed to make the break with about 3000, giving me 5000 after the break.

After the break my luck spiraled, the best hand I had was AJ which I folded UTG because I knew that a player to my left was going to push all in. I continued to dwindle down in chips for folding all my terrible hands, I didn't even get a chance to bluff one of my trash hands, the only time I was ever first to enter a pot I was UTG and I knew a raise, even an all in would probably be called.

So the only hand I played after the break was when I had 67c in the small blind and everyone limped, I completed the blind and the BB checked. The flop came down 67J rainbow, I shoved my remaining 2000 into the 3000 pot and got snap called by the super aggressive chip leader with J2c as he called me he declared "I'll chip you up". My problem with this is, simply folding would chip me up enough for me to be happy since there is more than I have in the pot, I said this to him as he showed me his cards and I called the 2 which came on the turn to knock me out.

I asked him why he didn't just fold considering I hadn't played 3 hands all night and this was the first time I had pushed all in, he replied with "you gotta make your own luck you know". I asked him how you do this and he simply shrugged.

If anyone knows how to make your own luck then please tell me, it could prove exceptionally useful to me, I'll even buy somebodies luck if they are willing to sell it, I simply don't have that much I guess.

Good thing I believe poker is a game of skill.

Signing off

Shane

50/50 Chances

I recently just multitabled three $1 9-player tourneys on Full Tilt Poker, I find that when I multitable tournaments I definitely don't play as good as I do on one table but I decided to give it a go.

I started off fairly well playing tight as normal and picking up small pots here and there when I picked up QQ and raised 3x the BB on the button on one of my tables and the BB shoved over the top, I called and he showed AKos and that was the end of one of my 3 tourneys. I didn't really mind because my aim was to find 50/50 chances like that or small edges and push them as far as I could because I knew I wasn't playing my best on each individual table. Whereas normally I will avoid the 50/50 chances and decline my small statistical edges so that I can try and win using skill and not relying on luck to win for me.

So I had two tables left and one was moving a lot faster than the other and we were down to four players while the other still had 8 so I had to concentrate on beating the four player one and then focusing on the other tourney. I changed gears and started running over the top of the four player tournament and went up to 2nd in chips just behind 1st. I picked up AKos in the BB and the button (who was 1st in chips) made a standard 3x bet, so I three bet him and he shoved over the top, I thought for a moment and considered folding but then remembered my game plan to take my 50/50 chances and go with it, so I called and he showed QQ, no A or K came and that was the end of table number two.

Table number 1 had about 5 players left at this point and the blinds were really starting to get high and players where getting desperate, I changed gears on this table and found that I was running over the top of these players as well. There was one point where I stole the BB from the button about 5 times in a row and the BB said to me "your a donk" after he folded his fifth time straight to me, I thought about asking if I am such a donkey why don't you play me post flop? But instead I decided not to aggravate him because I liked the source of chips, I stole his BB 4 more times until he only had 3 BB left and he shoved over the top of my button raise which I snapped off with AJos and knocked him out, needless to say followed by a barrage of insults.

While on this table I actually didn't run into any spots that I thought me and my opponent where 50/50 and I found myself with a commending chip lead heads up (about 5 to 1), I also knew that the player I was versing was a muppet and folded far too often. the first hand I picked up AJ and ended up all in against him with 1010. He won and we continued, I pushed him back to about 5 to 1 again when I picked up 99 and went all in against his K10, he won again. About three hands later I shoved with KK and he called with 77, that beat hurt, but we continued. At this point I was beginning to tilt because he just wouldn't go away, I turned up the heat and got caught out a couple of times and we ended up about even in chips, I started playing properly again and pushed him back to about 2 to 1 when I picked up AJ and he showed 22, once again losing, this hand completely put me on tilt and I shoved my very next hand which happened to be 89h, he flat called with K3os, another 50/50 to my disbelief. And that was the end of my multitable event. Poker can be cruel at times.

Signing off

Shane