theGorn
11-29-2004, 11:22 AM
Hi,
Part 2 was a little late...
4. Level 2 - Blinds 50/100
We get a ten minute break between rounds. I head off to the bathroom. I seem to be suffering from “dry mouth syndrome” and have been drinking water constantly for the last hour. The bathroom is right next to the banquet hall and there is a line out the door! Reminds me of a cubs game. I guess everyone else seems to be suffering from the same affliction that I do. OK, back to the game.
SEFG has been replaced by New York Guy (NYG). I don’t know if it’s the seat or what, but this guy is almost as loose as SEFG but seems to be racking up the chips pretty nicely.
I have 47o in the BB. 4 callers and Paul completes (SB). I think this is a great time to get some chips and raise to 600. Folded around to Paul reraises to 2000. Uh oh! I can’t think of one reason he would slowplay a hand in that position with 4 callers unless he already knew I was going to raise. I let it go of course. During the course of the tournament I was rather lucky/unlucky that most of SB/BB hand were junk and did not require much decision on how to play them.
I on the button with 5 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif6 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif and it is folded around to me and I just call. SB folds and Joe checks. Flop comes 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif6 /images/graemlins/spade.gif2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. Joe bets out for 600. He hit a piece of this flop. Without much thought, I reraise to 1800. Joe folds. Yeah! I just reraised Joe Awada. I’m the man!
I have 9 /images/graemlins/heart.gif9 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif in the SB. Joe raises to 400 and NYG, me and Troy call. Flop comes 9 /images/graemlins/club.gifc10 /images/graemlins/heart.gif5 /images/graemlins/club.gif. This is one of those nice flops but scary with the flush and straight draw out there. I bet out the pot immediately and everyone folds. Nice pot that I don’t mine just taking right there. For some reason I even show my trips to let everyone know I’m not bluffing from that position. (Like I did earlier in the BB).
End of the level I get JJ UTG + 2. Hey I could get use to this at the end of each level. I just call and there are 4 callers. Flop comes J and two rags. I check and it gets checked around. (I hate when I can’t get any takers). The turn is another rag. I bet half the pot and everyone folds. No takers....
Ended the level at 14.7K
5. Level 3 - Blinds 100/200
During the break, I wander out of the banquet hall and see Annie Duke signing autographs. This is Great! My friend Jim from work knows nothing about poker but saw Annie on Letterman. So I walk up to her and ask her for the autograph for my him Jim. I realize that Howard Lederer is right next to her so I feel obligated to get his autograph too. I never know what to do with autographs. Also was wandering around the buffet table and saw Dan Harrington pass by. That guy has had an amazing couple of years! I get back to my table and while waiting for everyone else to return I notice a guy is laying down on the floor blocking our table. People have to step over him to get to their seats. I didn’t expect to see that! (I think he was having some kind of back issues...).
Breaks over and I proceed to go card dead. Fold, Fold, Fold and more Folds. Luckily I have my stack built up a little so I can weather this run of cards. Troy right next to me has built up his stack pretty well with some good aggression and the cards hitting him pretty good. He must be around 30K and UG next to Troy is pretty healthy also. UG guys end is near though. On off the button UG raises 3x and NYG calls. Flop comes K910. UG makes a pot sized bet and NYG calls. Turn is a blank and UG raises again. Both end up all in and UG shows KK and NYG shows JQ. OW! UG is out a few hands later and replaced by Super Loose Aggressive Guy. (SLAG).
I get A /images/graemlins/club.gifQ /images/graemlins/diamond.gif utg and just Troy calls. Flop is A /images/graemlins/heart.gif10 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif5 /images/graemlins/spade.gif. I bet the 600 and Troy calls and BB folds. The Turn is an A /images/graemlins/club.gif. I bet 2200 and Troy folds. I should have slowed down on the turn or tried to checkraise but Troy seemed to know when to raise or check at the right time.
Ended the Level at ~15K
6. Level 4 blinds 100/200 ante 25
==========================
It’s break again and I see Phil Helmuth at his table eating some lunch/dinner. I decide to say hello and introduce myself since I know his college roommate. I go over and tell him about this connection. All he says is “tell him I said hi”. OK, so much for that connection. Felt a little cold shoulder. But hey he’s eating in the middle of a tourney, so I can’t complain. Also saw a real movie star. James Woods just passed me on the way to the bathroom! This tourney is so cool!
Our table breaks up at 4:30 and I move to a new table. Joe Awada is right next to me and I get to talk with him a little more. He is a really nice guy. He also manages to double up about twice in the next 10 minutes against some really loose action. He was shortstacked coming to this table. I didn’t get any hands at this table and was moved shortly after sitting down.
My next table is in the center of the room. Right in front of it is a table with Phil Helmuth, Scotty Nguwen and Doyle Brunson. I sit down in seat 5 and look for anyone famous I know. Well lookee here. In seat 4 is Freddy Deeb. And I recognize the face is seat 7 but I can’t think who it is. A few minutes later during a hand, I ask seat seven; “I recognize you, but I don’t know your name”. He says “Hi, I’m Chip!”. “Oh. As in Chip Jett?” He nods yes. Oh great! Now I know what it means to be between a rock and a hard place.
The lineup is a follows:
Seat1 : Asian Guy (AG) - Swear I saw him on last years WSOP and commentary was “HE IS TIGHT!”
Seat2 : English Guy (EG)
Seat3: I’m giving up guy (IGUG)
Seat4: Freddy Deeb (FD)
Seat5: Me
Seat6: Jeff C (JC)
Seat7: Chip Jett (CJ)
Seat8: Unlucky Guy 2 (UG2)
Seat9: Obsessive Compulsive Guy (OCG)
Here is my first big mistake in the game. I’m UTG with 1010. I limp and UG2 raises to 800. OCG raises all in to 2200. I just sat down so I have no read on either player. I think a little bit and decide I will call because I have no idea what the UG2 has. I throw my chips out there without saying anything. The dealer says raise to 4400. OOPS! How the heck did I do that? Luckily the UG2 folds after some muttering. OCG turns over JJ and I lose that race. UG2 says he had AQ and the flop had a Q so he would of beat me. (On reflection letting OCG back in the game is going to cost me and UG2 later).
OCG built himself up nicely after this win and eventually busts UG2 (AA) Vs OCG quad 6’s. One funny thing about OCG. I notice him constantly checking the backs of the cards for marks. It’s a little strange. During one hand, he folded but kept his cards to keep checking them for god knows what…
End of Level 4 - 17K
7. Level 5 - 150/300 ante 50
Its dinner break and my wife is waiting for me. Off to the Hard Rock Cafe for a 90 minute dinner break. I need it. I got a headache. After dinner and some aspirin I’m back at it.
Get 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif2 /images/graemlins/spade.gif in middle position and raise it up to 1200. JC calls and flop comes A /images/graemlins/spade.gif10 /images/graemlins/club.gifc6 /images/graemlins/heart.gif. I bet 2200 and JC folds. Aggression pays!
Here is my BIG DUMB MISTAKE hand. OCG raises to 900 and I’m in the BB with Q8o. He has raised my BB the last 3 times in a row. Its time to defend! I reraise to 3300. OCG ponders for about a minute and then calls. The flop comes A /images/graemlins/club.gif5 /images/graemlins/club.gif7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. Here’s where I decide to fire another barrel. I check and OCG bets 1500. I pause and then reraise another 5K! (What the heck am I doing!!?. (I don’t mind bluffing but the check is WEAK!). OCG ponders for about an eternity before deciding what to do. I realized while he is doing this, I am giving off a billion different signs that I am weak. I think a giant neon sign is blinking behind me with the logo “HE IS BLUFFING! HE HAS NOTHING!”. OCG even mumbles, “What are you doing?”. Good question. I am asking that same thing to myself. He calls. I am done with this hand. I check again he bets 3K and I fold. I Just lost half my stack on the world’s worst bluff. The break has gone off during this hand and the round is over and I am shellshocked! I sit there during the whole break pondering what just happened and how I will ever recover.
End of Level 5 - ~9K
8. Level 6 200-400 ante 75
OK. Time to regroup. I am still in it and need to play a tad more cautiously then I have been. I might be able to squeak it out till the end of the night if I get lucky. But the end is only two hands away....
I’m on the button and look down at A /images/graemlins/spade.gifA /images/graemlins/club.gif. Yes, that’s right. The best hand in the best position. Plus the added bonus of black Aces. That’s way cooler than any other combination of aces. Now I just need some action and I will be right back in this game. It’s folded around to Freddy Deeb. He raises to 1600. Great! I reraise up to 5000 hoping to get a call. Freddy is at ~30K. He does one better. He asks how much I have left and reraises me all in and I call of course. He flips over A /images/graemlins/diamond.gifK /images/graemlins/heart.gif. All right! I’m a HUGE favorite! The flop comes K /images/graemlins/diamond.gifQ /images/graemlins/spade.gif4 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. OK. Still good. Unfortunately the rest comes runner, runner diamonds and I’m toast.
Believe it or not, I am not disappointed. I got busted out going in with the best hand and got to play/meet with some top pros. I finished around ~180th for the day.
Thanks for reading
p.s. – I later went on pokerpages to look up how Freddy Deeb did with my money. I couldn’t find him in the standings anywhere. So either he is under a pseudonym or that was his identical brother. Maybe that means I never busted out in the tourney? Cool!
Jeff M.
Part 2 was a little late...
4. Level 2 - Blinds 50/100
We get a ten minute break between rounds. I head off to the bathroom. I seem to be suffering from “dry mouth syndrome” and have been drinking water constantly for the last hour. The bathroom is right next to the banquet hall and there is a line out the door! Reminds me of a cubs game. I guess everyone else seems to be suffering from the same affliction that I do. OK, back to the game.
SEFG has been replaced by New York Guy (NYG). I don’t know if it’s the seat or what, but this guy is almost as loose as SEFG but seems to be racking up the chips pretty nicely.
I have 47o in the BB. 4 callers and Paul completes (SB). I think this is a great time to get some chips and raise to 600. Folded around to Paul reraises to 2000. Uh oh! I can’t think of one reason he would slowplay a hand in that position with 4 callers unless he already knew I was going to raise. I let it go of course. During the course of the tournament I was rather lucky/unlucky that most of SB/BB hand were junk and did not require much decision on how to play them.
I on the button with 5 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif6 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif and it is folded around to me and I just call. SB folds and Joe checks. Flop comes 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif6 /images/graemlins/spade.gif2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. Joe bets out for 600. He hit a piece of this flop. Without much thought, I reraise to 1800. Joe folds. Yeah! I just reraised Joe Awada. I’m the man!
I have 9 /images/graemlins/heart.gif9 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif in the SB. Joe raises to 400 and NYG, me and Troy call. Flop comes 9 /images/graemlins/club.gifc10 /images/graemlins/heart.gif5 /images/graemlins/club.gif. This is one of those nice flops but scary with the flush and straight draw out there. I bet out the pot immediately and everyone folds. Nice pot that I don’t mine just taking right there. For some reason I even show my trips to let everyone know I’m not bluffing from that position. (Like I did earlier in the BB).
End of the level I get JJ UTG + 2. Hey I could get use to this at the end of each level. I just call and there are 4 callers. Flop comes J and two rags. I check and it gets checked around. (I hate when I can’t get any takers). The turn is another rag. I bet half the pot and everyone folds. No takers....
Ended the level at 14.7K
5. Level 3 - Blinds 100/200
During the break, I wander out of the banquet hall and see Annie Duke signing autographs. This is Great! My friend Jim from work knows nothing about poker but saw Annie on Letterman. So I walk up to her and ask her for the autograph for my him Jim. I realize that Howard Lederer is right next to her so I feel obligated to get his autograph too. I never know what to do with autographs. Also was wandering around the buffet table and saw Dan Harrington pass by. That guy has had an amazing couple of years! I get back to my table and while waiting for everyone else to return I notice a guy is laying down on the floor blocking our table. People have to step over him to get to their seats. I didn’t expect to see that! (I think he was having some kind of back issues...).
Breaks over and I proceed to go card dead. Fold, Fold, Fold and more Folds. Luckily I have my stack built up a little so I can weather this run of cards. Troy right next to me has built up his stack pretty well with some good aggression and the cards hitting him pretty good. He must be around 30K and UG next to Troy is pretty healthy also. UG guys end is near though. On off the button UG raises 3x and NYG calls. Flop comes K910. UG makes a pot sized bet and NYG calls. Turn is a blank and UG raises again. Both end up all in and UG shows KK and NYG shows JQ. OW! UG is out a few hands later and replaced by Super Loose Aggressive Guy. (SLAG).
I get A /images/graemlins/club.gifQ /images/graemlins/diamond.gif utg and just Troy calls. Flop is A /images/graemlins/heart.gif10 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif5 /images/graemlins/spade.gif. I bet the 600 and Troy calls and BB folds. The Turn is an A /images/graemlins/club.gif. I bet 2200 and Troy folds. I should have slowed down on the turn or tried to checkraise but Troy seemed to know when to raise or check at the right time.
Ended the Level at ~15K
6. Level 4 blinds 100/200 ante 25
==========================
It’s break again and I see Phil Helmuth at his table eating some lunch/dinner. I decide to say hello and introduce myself since I know his college roommate. I go over and tell him about this connection. All he says is “tell him I said hi”. OK, so much for that connection. Felt a little cold shoulder. But hey he’s eating in the middle of a tourney, so I can’t complain. Also saw a real movie star. James Woods just passed me on the way to the bathroom! This tourney is so cool!
Our table breaks up at 4:30 and I move to a new table. Joe Awada is right next to me and I get to talk with him a little more. He is a really nice guy. He also manages to double up about twice in the next 10 minutes against some really loose action. He was shortstacked coming to this table. I didn’t get any hands at this table and was moved shortly after sitting down.
My next table is in the center of the room. Right in front of it is a table with Phil Helmuth, Scotty Nguwen and Doyle Brunson. I sit down in seat 5 and look for anyone famous I know. Well lookee here. In seat 4 is Freddy Deeb. And I recognize the face is seat 7 but I can’t think who it is. A few minutes later during a hand, I ask seat seven; “I recognize you, but I don’t know your name”. He says “Hi, I’m Chip!”. “Oh. As in Chip Jett?” He nods yes. Oh great! Now I know what it means to be between a rock and a hard place.
The lineup is a follows:
Seat1 : Asian Guy (AG) - Swear I saw him on last years WSOP and commentary was “HE IS TIGHT!”
Seat2 : English Guy (EG)
Seat3: I’m giving up guy (IGUG)
Seat4: Freddy Deeb (FD)
Seat5: Me
Seat6: Jeff C (JC)
Seat7: Chip Jett (CJ)
Seat8: Unlucky Guy 2 (UG2)
Seat9: Obsessive Compulsive Guy (OCG)
Here is my first big mistake in the game. I’m UTG with 1010. I limp and UG2 raises to 800. OCG raises all in to 2200. I just sat down so I have no read on either player. I think a little bit and decide I will call because I have no idea what the UG2 has. I throw my chips out there without saying anything. The dealer says raise to 4400. OOPS! How the heck did I do that? Luckily the UG2 folds after some muttering. OCG turns over JJ and I lose that race. UG2 says he had AQ and the flop had a Q so he would of beat me. (On reflection letting OCG back in the game is going to cost me and UG2 later).
OCG built himself up nicely after this win and eventually busts UG2 (AA) Vs OCG quad 6’s. One funny thing about OCG. I notice him constantly checking the backs of the cards for marks. It’s a little strange. During one hand, he folded but kept his cards to keep checking them for god knows what…
End of Level 4 - 17K
7. Level 5 - 150/300 ante 50
Its dinner break and my wife is waiting for me. Off to the Hard Rock Cafe for a 90 minute dinner break. I need it. I got a headache. After dinner and some aspirin I’m back at it.
Get 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif2 /images/graemlins/spade.gif in middle position and raise it up to 1200. JC calls and flop comes A /images/graemlins/spade.gif10 /images/graemlins/club.gifc6 /images/graemlins/heart.gif. I bet 2200 and JC folds. Aggression pays!
Here is my BIG DUMB MISTAKE hand. OCG raises to 900 and I’m in the BB with Q8o. He has raised my BB the last 3 times in a row. Its time to defend! I reraise to 3300. OCG ponders for about a minute and then calls. The flop comes A /images/graemlins/club.gif5 /images/graemlins/club.gif7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. Here’s where I decide to fire another barrel. I check and OCG bets 1500. I pause and then reraise another 5K! (What the heck am I doing!!?. (I don’t mind bluffing but the check is WEAK!). OCG ponders for about an eternity before deciding what to do. I realized while he is doing this, I am giving off a billion different signs that I am weak. I think a giant neon sign is blinking behind me with the logo “HE IS BLUFFING! HE HAS NOTHING!”. OCG even mumbles, “What are you doing?”. Good question. I am asking that same thing to myself. He calls. I am done with this hand. I check again he bets 3K and I fold. I Just lost half my stack on the world’s worst bluff. The break has gone off during this hand and the round is over and I am shellshocked! I sit there during the whole break pondering what just happened and how I will ever recover.
End of Level 5 - ~9K
8. Level 6 200-400 ante 75
OK. Time to regroup. I am still in it and need to play a tad more cautiously then I have been. I might be able to squeak it out till the end of the night if I get lucky. But the end is only two hands away....
I’m on the button and look down at A /images/graemlins/spade.gifA /images/graemlins/club.gif. Yes, that’s right. The best hand in the best position. Plus the added bonus of black Aces. That’s way cooler than any other combination of aces. Now I just need some action and I will be right back in this game. It’s folded around to Freddy Deeb. He raises to 1600. Great! I reraise up to 5000 hoping to get a call. Freddy is at ~30K. He does one better. He asks how much I have left and reraises me all in and I call of course. He flips over A /images/graemlins/diamond.gifK /images/graemlins/heart.gif. All right! I’m a HUGE favorite! The flop comes K /images/graemlins/diamond.gifQ /images/graemlins/spade.gif4 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. OK. Still good. Unfortunately the rest comes runner, runner diamonds and I’m toast.
Believe it or not, I am not disappointed. I got busted out going in with the best hand and got to play/meet with some top pros. I finished around ~180th for the day.
Thanks for reading
p.s. – I later went on pokerpages to look up how Freddy Deeb did with my money. I couldn’t find him in the standings anywhere. So either he is under a pseudonym or that was his identical brother. Maybe that means I never busted out in the tourney? Cool!
Jeff M.