Peter
11-10-2004, 07:37 AM
Since about half a year, there have been weekly poker tournaments in the local casino. Since they don’t have much room or want to spend too much money on it, the structure is pretty stupid. Ten players can enter, they will play for 1 hour and the two people with the most chips at the end of that hour will advance to the next round. There are 5 of these rounds in a row, so in total, ten players will advance to the final table. The final table is played as normally, you’re out when you lose all your chips and the tournament ends when one player has all the chips. The buy-in is 10 euro, with unlimited re-buys of 10 euro for the first half hour and one add-on which can be bought until the announcement of the last three hands. Players start with T300 in chips, blinds start at 10-20. At the final table, players start with T500 in chips and blinds at 20-40. One week it is limit holdem, the other the other week it’s no-limit holdem.
As you can understand, the rounds where players have to qualify for the final table are basically a crapshoot. Everybody except the chip leader will generally go all-in on the last hand. I have played 2 or 3 of these limit tournaments and didn’t like it that much. Yesterday I decided that the no-limit tournaments might give one a better chance to advance to the final table, even though I have almost never played no-limit. I entered my name on the 9 pm list, but I finished diner earlier than expected, so I decided to take a look at the start of the 7 pm round, which was the first round. There were only three players, so I decided to play that round as well.
The very first hand I’m dealt KK on the button and I raise to T50. SB calls and the flop comes QJx. SB checks, I bet T50 and SB raises all-in. I call and SB flips over JTo. Unfortunately, the river brings a T and I have to rebuy.
A couple of rounds later I get KQo in BB and call a raise to T50 by the CO, after UTG had limped. Flop comes Qxx, I check, UTG checks, CO bets T50, I raise all-in ( I have CO covered, UTG has us both covered). UTG folds, CO calls and has KK. This time I’m the lucky one, since the river brings another Q.
It was decided the blinds would be kept 10-20 until the last three hands, then they would go to 50-100. Nothing interesting happens until then, except that one player has had to re-buy about 5 times and decided he had enough of it. So we’re left with three players for the last three hands, blinds 50-100. I’m BB with about T300, UTG has a huge stack and SB has about T500. So I basically have to go all-in every hand and hope I knock out SB.
I get A9o in BB, UTG folds, SB calls, I go all-in and SB folds. Next hand UTG folds, I raise all-in with 22 in SB and BB (big stack) folds.
The last hand the other short stack made a big mistake. The hand before he had asked how much I had. I had T420 at that time. He had T600. I won that hand so after that hand I had T520, but he didn’t think about that. Of course I go all-in on the button (with A5s), SB folds and BB thinks he has enough and folds. I win the blinds and end up with T570, while BB ends with T500. So I get to play at the final table. Unfortunately, this starts at midnight so I have a lot of time to kill and I end up losing 170 euro at the blackjack table in that time.
I did watch a while at one of the other qualifying rounds and there was one older man who had never played holdem before, but thought it was good fun to enter. His first hand he keeps betting every round, after the river he turns over his A9 and announces: “Twenty”.
At the final table there are some people who are used to playing no-limit and a couple who have no clue how to play any form of poker. I fall in between. After a couple of hands I get AQo in SB, there are four limpers (blinds are 20-40), I raise to T120 and everybody folds except a very passive calling station. Flop comes KKx, I bet T100, she calls. Turn is a blank and we both check, river is a blank as well and we again both check. She had AJo and I’m the second in chips. A couple of hands later I get As7s in LP and limp after 2 other limpers. SB (chipleader) tries to make a string raise, which is not allowed. The BB says he wanted to raise, but now checks his option. The flop comes AJx, two spades. SB bets T100, everybody folds and I just call. I was a little afraid of him having a better kicker and if he hadn’t I might as well let him continue the betting. Turn brings another A, he bets T400, and I call again, since the chances he has a better ace has lessened, so I might as well let him keep betting. River brings the Ks, he bets enough to put me all-in, I call. He has A6o, I turn over my As7s and everybody thinks it’s a split pot, until they notice I have the flush. I’m the chipleader, yay. After one complete round, blinds advanced to 50-100. Nothing really interesting happened in this round except that a couple of players got busted and that I played scared poker: I’m in the CO with AJo, MP raises to T300, he has about T300 left, I’m chipleader with T2100 and SB has about T1600. I fold. I think I should have raised all-in here.
After a while we’re left with 5 players, blinds are 100-200 and I’m the chip leader with about T1900, second who looks like a good no-limit tournament player has about T1300, one player is all-in on the BB, other two fold to me on the button, I raise to T500 with JJ, SB folds and BB flips over AA and wins. I’m glad he was all-in.
After a couple of hands I get AA in SB, while BB is all-in. Two players fold, button goes all-in and I immediately call. Button had KQo, BB had Q5o and I manage to bust two players.
We’re three handed, and I’m still playing scared poker. I get no hands on the button and when I’m in the blinds, the second chipleader has position on me. I don’t know how to handle that. I finally decide to play a hand. UTG folds, I raise all-in with 95s, and BB takes a long time. Apparently I have some tells, because that’s why he finally called me he said. He had KJo and I was out.
I won 192 euro, so for the evening I was up for 2 euro’s and a lot of fun.
Peter
As you can understand, the rounds where players have to qualify for the final table are basically a crapshoot. Everybody except the chip leader will generally go all-in on the last hand. I have played 2 or 3 of these limit tournaments and didn’t like it that much. Yesterday I decided that the no-limit tournaments might give one a better chance to advance to the final table, even though I have almost never played no-limit. I entered my name on the 9 pm list, but I finished diner earlier than expected, so I decided to take a look at the start of the 7 pm round, which was the first round. There were only three players, so I decided to play that round as well.
The very first hand I’m dealt KK on the button and I raise to T50. SB calls and the flop comes QJx. SB checks, I bet T50 and SB raises all-in. I call and SB flips over JTo. Unfortunately, the river brings a T and I have to rebuy.
A couple of rounds later I get KQo in BB and call a raise to T50 by the CO, after UTG had limped. Flop comes Qxx, I check, UTG checks, CO bets T50, I raise all-in ( I have CO covered, UTG has us both covered). UTG folds, CO calls and has KK. This time I’m the lucky one, since the river brings another Q.
It was decided the blinds would be kept 10-20 until the last three hands, then they would go to 50-100. Nothing interesting happens until then, except that one player has had to re-buy about 5 times and decided he had enough of it. So we’re left with three players for the last three hands, blinds 50-100. I’m BB with about T300, UTG has a huge stack and SB has about T500. So I basically have to go all-in every hand and hope I knock out SB.
I get A9o in BB, UTG folds, SB calls, I go all-in and SB folds. Next hand UTG folds, I raise all-in with 22 in SB and BB (big stack) folds.
The last hand the other short stack made a big mistake. The hand before he had asked how much I had. I had T420 at that time. He had T600. I won that hand so after that hand I had T520, but he didn’t think about that. Of course I go all-in on the button (with A5s), SB folds and BB thinks he has enough and folds. I win the blinds and end up with T570, while BB ends with T500. So I get to play at the final table. Unfortunately, this starts at midnight so I have a lot of time to kill and I end up losing 170 euro at the blackjack table in that time.
I did watch a while at one of the other qualifying rounds and there was one older man who had never played holdem before, but thought it was good fun to enter. His first hand he keeps betting every round, after the river he turns over his A9 and announces: “Twenty”.
At the final table there are some people who are used to playing no-limit and a couple who have no clue how to play any form of poker. I fall in between. After a couple of hands I get AQo in SB, there are four limpers (blinds are 20-40), I raise to T120 and everybody folds except a very passive calling station. Flop comes KKx, I bet T100, she calls. Turn is a blank and we both check, river is a blank as well and we again both check. She had AJo and I’m the second in chips. A couple of hands later I get As7s in LP and limp after 2 other limpers. SB (chipleader) tries to make a string raise, which is not allowed. The BB says he wanted to raise, but now checks his option. The flop comes AJx, two spades. SB bets T100, everybody folds and I just call. I was a little afraid of him having a better kicker and if he hadn’t I might as well let him continue the betting. Turn brings another A, he bets T400, and I call again, since the chances he has a better ace has lessened, so I might as well let him keep betting. River brings the Ks, he bets enough to put me all-in, I call. He has A6o, I turn over my As7s and everybody thinks it’s a split pot, until they notice I have the flush. I’m the chipleader, yay. After one complete round, blinds advanced to 50-100. Nothing really interesting happened in this round except that a couple of players got busted and that I played scared poker: I’m in the CO with AJo, MP raises to T300, he has about T300 left, I’m chipleader with T2100 and SB has about T1600. I fold. I think I should have raised all-in here.
After a while we’re left with 5 players, blinds are 100-200 and I’m the chip leader with about T1900, second who looks like a good no-limit tournament player has about T1300, one player is all-in on the BB, other two fold to me on the button, I raise to T500 with JJ, SB folds and BB flips over AA and wins. I’m glad he was all-in.
After a couple of hands I get AA in SB, while BB is all-in. Two players fold, button goes all-in and I immediately call. Button had KQo, BB had Q5o and I manage to bust two players.
We’re three handed, and I’m still playing scared poker. I get no hands on the button and when I’m in the blinds, the second chipleader has position on me. I don’t know how to handle that. I finally decide to play a hand. UTG folds, I raise all-in with 95s, and BB takes a long time. Apparently I have some tells, because that’s why he finally called me he said. He had KJo and I was out.
I won 192 euro, so for the evening I was up for 2 euro’s and a lot of fun.
Peter