Tournament Report

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Inspired by EMarkM, Here are some hands from last night's $36 + 3 satellite to PokerStars $200 +15 NLHE on Sunday. I've omitted any hands with no post-flop action for brevity.

70 players, 11 get the tournament buy-in, 12th place gets $191.

Hand #4 10/20, 7 handed, I have 1,500
I'm in the BB with J /forums/images/icons/club.gif J /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif UTG raises to 180, C/O raises to 980. I think about it and decide I'm behind and muck. UTG goes all-in, C/O calls and his KK beats UTG's A6s.

Hand #14 10/20 8 handed, 1450

One limper to me in MP with 9 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif 8 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif , I call, SB completes, BB check. Flop comes (K /forums/images/icons/heart.gif Q /forums/images/icons/heart.gif 7 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif ) SB bets 60, we all fold.

Hand #28, 15/30, 9 handed, 1360
I'm in the BB with K /forums/images/icons/club.gif 5 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif , folded to the SB who completes. Flop (3 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif T /forums/images/icons/heart.gif J /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif ) check check. Turn (Q /forums/images/icons/spade.gif ) SB bets 90, I call (questionable, I know). River (J /forums/images/icons/club.gif ) SB bets 90, I fold.

Hand #30, 15/30, 8 handed, 1225
I'm on the button with 7 /forums/images/icons/club.gif 7 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif MP (2795 who's been raising a lot of hands) open-raises for 120, I decide to go after him and reraise to 600. He thinks a bit and puts me all-n (pot=2125). 3.4-1 to call. If he doesn't have an overpair, and I have no reason to think he does, the odds are too good to pass up. I call. He turns over A /forums/images/icons/heart.gif K /forums/images/icons/heart.gif (better than I thought he had), but no A, K or flush materializes and I double up to 2600.

Hand #33, 15/30, 8 handed, 2600
One limper to me with A /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif 2 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif in MP. I call. All fold to the BB who checks. (pot=105). Flop comes (7 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif Q /forums/images/icons/club.gif 5 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif )BB bets 30, we both call. Turn (A /forums/images/icons/heart.gif ) checked around. River (K /forums/images/icons/club.gif ). BB bets 300, UTG folds. I think of 3 scenarios: 1) he likes the K, 2) He has a bigger, but not great, A and now he thinks it's good, 3) he's bluffing. 2 out of 3 ain't bad so I call and take it down. Hand history shows he had 6 /forums/images/icons/club.gif 5 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif .

Hand #39 25/50. 8 handed, 2990

I open-raise to 150 in the C/O with J /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif T /forums/images/icons/heart.gif . Only the BB calls. Flop: (9 /forums/images/icons/club.gif J /forums/images/icons/spade.gif 3 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif ) BB bets 150. Funny size bet, and he's seemed timid to me, so I call. Pot is now 625. Turn (K /forums/images/icons/spade.gif ), BB again bets 150. I put him on A9, QJ, a flush draw or a medium pair. I raise to 750 and he folds. I'm up to 3465

Hand #42, 25/50, 8 handed, 3465

I limp UTG+1 with A /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif 2 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif and only the blinds call. Flop (4 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif 2 /forums/images/icons/club.gif T /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif ) checked around Turn(K /forums/images/icons/heart.gif ) checked around again, River (5 /forums/images/icons/club.gif ) we all check again and my ducks take the pot - I'm up to 3565.

Hand #47, 25/50, 8 handed, 3490
I open-rase to 150 from the C/O with 6 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif 5 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif , only the SB calls. Pot=350. Flop (4 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif 7 /forums/images/icons/club.gif 3 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif ) He checks, I check behind. Turn (8 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif ) He bets 150, I raise to 750, and to my surprise, he calls. River (Q /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif ) He checks, I bet 400 and he calls and I'm up to 4840. Hand history shows he had 5 /forums/images/icons/club.gif 5 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif

Hand #48, 25/50, 8 handed, 4840
The very next hand I pick up Q /forums/images/icons/heart.gif Q /forums/images/icons/spade.gif 2 off the button. I open-raise to 150, only the BB calls. Pot=350. Flop (5 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif 7 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif 5 /forums/images/icons/club.gif ) BB bets 50 (????), I raise to 700 he comes back all-in (an additional 855). I think and decide he didn't call my preflop raise with 77, and if he has A5, I'll just take my lumps, so I call. He turns over A /forums/images/icons/club.gif 3 /forums/images/icons/club.gif for the nut flush draw that doesn't materialize and he's out and I'm uo to 6570 and am now chip leader.

Hand #89, 75/150, 8 handed, 6695

Between then and now, I've stolen the blinds 3 times and folded to a reraise once in 3.5 orbits. I'm UTG+1 and open raise to 450 with 9 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif 8 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif , small stack calls all-in but his total is only 105. He has Big Slick, but I spike a 9 on the flop and he's "walkin' back to Houston" and I'm up to 6950.

Hand #113, 100/200, 8 handed, 6950

We're down to 24 players when I pick up A /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif 9 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif in the BB. Folded to the button(7071) who raises to 800. I decide he's stealing and reraise to 2600. He calls. Not what I wanted.

Flop (A /forums/images/icons/heart.gif 9 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif 3 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif ) Whoah! His preflop call of my big raise against my stack makes me think that he has a big pair, or less likely, AK. Either way, I couldn't have asked for a better flop. I go all-in, and he calls amost immediately (!!?!). Fearing he has 33, I breathe a sigh of relief when he turns over A /forums/images/icons/spade.gif Q /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif . He has 3 outs twice to beat me, and when the turn comes 6 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif , he loses one of those outs. I'm smiling, counting my chips, thinking I can sit out and be one of the top 11 when the river comes Q /forums/images/icons/club.gif , the second time in 15 hands this guy has spiked a Q on the river to eliminate someone.

I shrug, type "majQa'" in chat and go to bed. Even in light of the fact that this was a super-satellite with 12 places getting an equal prize, I can't fault my play on the last hand.

Comments welcome on all hands.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

> Hand #42, 25/50, 8 handed, 3465
> I limp UTG+1 with A 2 and only the blinds call. Flop
> (4 2 T ) checked around Turn(K ) checked around
> again, River (5 ) we all check again and my ducks take
> the pot - I'm up to 3565.

Bet that flop. They both limped/checked preflop, and checked the flop. If you bet, they're gonna have to have a T or better to call, especially since you could've been trapping with the preflop limp. Take it down now.

> Hand #47, 25/50, 8 handed, 3490
> I open-rase to 150 from the C/O with 6 5 , only the SB
> calls. Pot=350. Flop (4 7 3 ) He checks, I check
> behind. Turn (8 ) He bets 150, I raise to 750, and to
> my surprise, he calls. River (Q ) He checks, I bet 400
> and he calls and I'm up to 4840. Hand history shows he
> had 5 5

I would tend to bet more here, since he showed a lot of strength with that turn call. However, you may have bet as much as he would call, so it might have been the perfect amount. Always hard to say.

Also, I would usually bet this flop. They don't expect it to have hit you, so you might as well see if you can start building a pot now.

> Hand #113, 100/200, 8 handed, 6950
How many chips was the average stack going to have when you got down to 11 players? If you were at or near that mark, this might have been a time to fold to the chip-leader, and continue to pick on the short stacks. While I agree that A9 is going to be a favorite here more often than not, and that he is going to fold here pretty often to your reraise, it is a high risk play. In a regular tourney, I would play the hand like you did most of the time. But, if there was a total of T100,000 or less in play, then I might just give up my blind this time, and be happy to make a few steals and limp into 11th place. It also depends a lot upon how tight or loose the others are playing. If there's a lot of gambling going on, be that much more inclined to sit out a lot of hands in a super.

Overall, a good job.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Average for 11 players left would be about 9,500

[Greg (FossilMan)]

Then you were right on the edge of whether it was correct to play that hand or not. The tie-breaker is how fast everyone else was playing, or how tight. The faster they're playing, the more you should've folded the A9.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)