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Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Not Quite $100k

Another day, another final table.

I bowl Monday nights, so no $16k guarantee for me. Instead, I played the later $8k guarantee using my last token at FTP, while watching 24 in beautiful HD. I played my normal game, I think, and got enough cards to keep up with the blinds most of the time. Every time I’d look up to see that I’d dropped down to about half average (which happens a lot when I keep folding and half the field busts), I’d win a significant pot. No exciting hands for most of it, though. Just raising preflop and taking it down on the flop or turn, usually.

I was only all in preflop three times. Once, late and shortstacked with 44 vs AJ. I pushed from the button, he called from the big blind. I won. (What?! I won a race?!) After that, I had AK in the big blind, and it folded to the small blind who pushed and had me slightly covered. He had J8s, and the flop came AAx. And then the hand I busted on. I was also all-in on the flop once, with JJ vs 88 on a nine high flop. I called his raise from the big blind, and then bet out on the flop. I wasn’t slowplaying so much as not wanting to see an overcard hit. He raised, and I pushed. I hit a set on the turn for good measure.

Some exciting IRC chat:

<metsfan_> crap, break
<metsfan_> i mean
<glyphic> crap break?
<metsfan_> crap break?
<metsfan_> nah
<metsfan_> haha
<glyphic> geez… tmi
<metsfan_> i dont need a break for that.
* metsfan_ plays on a laptop.
<biggestro> tmi
<metsfan_> but dammit, wtf is wrong with my stomach right now
<metsfan_> its going nuts.
<glyphic> yeah, wireless is cool
<metsfan_> something I ate really messed me up

Yes, I really did play some of the tournament in the bathroom. That’s what I get for getting an egg salad sandwich from 7-11, I guess. My stomach really bothered me all night, and still does now.

It was a strange feeling, coming to the final table as chip leader.

I stole a little bit, got a few good hands, but for the most part I stayed out of things at the final table for a while. I let the shortstacks battle it out. I did bust one guy with 77 vs AQ on an A7x flop. Checkraised him all-in, my only checkraise of the tournament. I’m not quite sure how I ended up with all these chips, given that I was staying out of people’s way, but four handed I was in good shape.

ganf01 and onesandzeros passed the shortstack back and forth for a while before onesandzeros finally won the battle and busted ganf01. Three handed, I got outplayed (or just had worse cards; I’ll never know) a bit and we ended up all about even in chips. I did get to drop the hammer with a preflop reraise, though. onesandzeros pick the wrong spot to bluff all in, and ran into JackDuece13’s flopped top two pair, and we were heads up, with him having about a 2:1 chip lead. Then I got run over. I suck at heads up, and I know it. I was weak-tight, and letting him push me around. I also couldn’t even flop a pair. I finally got all in with K8 vs A9 and lost. I need to practice playing heads up, but I’m so rarely in this situation in big multitable tournaments (last time I was, it was against a Guinness-fueled maniac). I guess I also need to read Harrington Volume II (and finish Volume I).

Second place, for $1478.40. The past two days have wiped out January, and then some. Thanks to all my IRC railbirds!