jacki
05-04-2004, 10:45 AM
OK, this is all from memory, so please excuse the vagueness of some of it...
Ho-Chunk Casino in Wisconsin Dells (about 45 min. north of Madison) is hosting a $200 buyin, $100,000 no limit hold'em tournament. It's different than most tourneys i've seen. There are five preliminary rounds. The top 20 players (100 total) from each round move on to the final round at the end of the month. Top 50 are paid, from $500 for 11th-50th, to $25,000 for first place.
I entered the second of the five "satellites" yesterday. My strategy was to play pretty tight, since I only needed to last to the top 20, regardless of how many chips I had.
First hour and a half: No cards. Stole some blinds. Won a small pot with QQ and no action. blah blah. Stack at about T1600 or so. Man, would I love to win $25,000.
Second hour and a half: My tight image and better cards allow me to steal a lot more blinds and pots. I build my stack up to about T4500.
But then I raise T1500 (blinds at 200-400) with AQs, and get called by one of the few people at the table that I respect. Flop comes KK7r, none of my suit, other player bets T1000, and I reluctantly let it go. Down to less than T3000.
I don't think I voluntarily play a hand the rest of the way, and the blinds start to bleed me down. I get moved to another table with only about T2000.
We take a break. I walk around the tables and count stacks. There are only 27 left. The blinds just went up to 500/1000 with a T100 ante. The next round will start with me in the SB. There goes T600. I start doing the math, and figure I can make it around the table once, and then the next BB will force me all in. I decide to see if I can wait it out, unless i get dealt a monster.
The first hand we come back. I fold my junk, but someone at my table goes allin. He busts.
Down to 26.
Next hand, I'm on the button. Fold. But at another table, I hear that 3 are allin. I get up to go see, but the crowd around them blocks my view. I go back to my seat. The crowd tells me that 2 players just busted out.
Down to 24.
Next hand, another player at my table busts. He probably had enough to outlast me, but he's the type of player I was counting on to pull me through to the top 20.
Down to 23.
The players at my table now figure out that I'm just trying to cling to my last few chips to sneak into a spot in the big final, and are actually kind of pulling for me, since they are all relatively safe with pretty big stacks.
A few hands go by, and there's another bustout at another table.
22 left!
The Big blind gets to me, with 22 still left. I pay my ante, and pay as much of the BB as I can (I think about T200-300) I get Q9o, and I'm done. Everyone folds to the SB. Who flips over.....
94o
A Q hits on the flop, and I live to see another hand.
My huge win allows me to pay the ante and SB, with enough left to ante for a few more hands. In the SB, I get KsJs, and I seriously consider calling. But the big guy on my right, who has a fairly big stack and has been playing just about any 2, limps in. I decide to lay it down.
The flop comes QsTd7s. I say 'aw, shiat.' But loosey-goosey bets T1000, BB folds, and we'll never know...
But then my ears tingle, and I know someone is all in at another table. Again, the crowd blocks my view, but the big yell and a guy storming away from the table lets me know I only need to outlast one other player.
21 left!
I fold my next hand, and look over at the next table and see two huge stacks allin! WHAT LUCK! I don't remember the cards, but the flop had already come. Bigger stack had top set. Smaller set had nut flush draw (clubs). Turn a blank. If no club comes on the river, I'm going to the final.
The river is a...
T of clubs. Ouch. We play on.
I fold the next couple of hands, and am down to my last chip, worth T100. I say "All-in for my ante!" and a few onlookers come to watch. One of them is the other short stack from another table. Apparently, he told his table to just fold his hands for him.
At my table, I don't look at my cards. Of course, there are 2 callers, plus the blinds, instead of the usual fold around the table to the blinds. Crap, now my 2 random cards have to beat 4 hands.
Flop comes 236rainbow. The short stack from the other table, a young kid, probably from UW-Madison, asks what I have. I tell him I don't know, but decide now might be a good time to look.
I turn them over, and I see...
As 7d
And college kid is happy, because he's going to the final, and I'm not, unless there's a miracle.
Turn comes.
It's an Ace!
The river is a 7, and I have top two pair. Nobody else has anything, and I win my T700 sidepot and survive! College kid mutters "unbelieveable" under his breath, and goes back to his seat. The players at his table tell him that one of the hands he folded was AKs. Wow. Wonder what would have happened had he been there to play it?
Anyways, as thrilled as I am to survive, I've only got enough to last me until the BB hits me again, which gives me 3 more hands.
But then I look and see that college kid is allin on his Big blind. One guy raises to about T3000. Nobody calls. College kid turns over Q-rag, and raiser turns over KK, and I'm very happy /images/graemlins/smile.gif
There's a K on the flop, no more help for college kid, and I get one of the 20 spots into the final!!
I actually got high-fives and handshakes from everyone at the table.. It was pretty sweet!
Anyways, the final is in three weeks, I'll let you know how i do (unless I bust out first /images/graemlins/tongue.gif )
Ho-Chunk Casino in Wisconsin Dells (about 45 min. north of Madison) is hosting a $200 buyin, $100,000 no limit hold'em tournament. It's different than most tourneys i've seen. There are five preliminary rounds. The top 20 players (100 total) from each round move on to the final round at the end of the month. Top 50 are paid, from $500 for 11th-50th, to $25,000 for first place.
I entered the second of the five "satellites" yesterday. My strategy was to play pretty tight, since I only needed to last to the top 20, regardless of how many chips I had.
First hour and a half: No cards. Stole some blinds. Won a small pot with QQ and no action. blah blah. Stack at about T1600 or so. Man, would I love to win $25,000.
Second hour and a half: My tight image and better cards allow me to steal a lot more blinds and pots. I build my stack up to about T4500.
But then I raise T1500 (blinds at 200-400) with AQs, and get called by one of the few people at the table that I respect. Flop comes KK7r, none of my suit, other player bets T1000, and I reluctantly let it go. Down to less than T3000.
I don't think I voluntarily play a hand the rest of the way, and the blinds start to bleed me down. I get moved to another table with only about T2000.
We take a break. I walk around the tables and count stacks. There are only 27 left. The blinds just went up to 500/1000 with a T100 ante. The next round will start with me in the SB. There goes T600. I start doing the math, and figure I can make it around the table once, and then the next BB will force me all in. I decide to see if I can wait it out, unless i get dealt a monster.
The first hand we come back. I fold my junk, but someone at my table goes allin. He busts.
Down to 26.
Next hand, I'm on the button. Fold. But at another table, I hear that 3 are allin. I get up to go see, but the crowd around them blocks my view. I go back to my seat. The crowd tells me that 2 players just busted out.
Down to 24.
Next hand, another player at my table busts. He probably had enough to outlast me, but he's the type of player I was counting on to pull me through to the top 20.
Down to 23.
The players at my table now figure out that I'm just trying to cling to my last few chips to sneak into a spot in the big final, and are actually kind of pulling for me, since they are all relatively safe with pretty big stacks.
A few hands go by, and there's another bustout at another table.
22 left!
The Big blind gets to me, with 22 still left. I pay my ante, and pay as much of the BB as I can (I think about T200-300) I get Q9o, and I'm done. Everyone folds to the SB. Who flips over.....
94o
A Q hits on the flop, and I live to see another hand.
My huge win allows me to pay the ante and SB, with enough left to ante for a few more hands. In the SB, I get KsJs, and I seriously consider calling. But the big guy on my right, who has a fairly big stack and has been playing just about any 2, limps in. I decide to lay it down.
The flop comes QsTd7s. I say 'aw, shiat.' But loosey-goosey bets T1000, BB folds, and we'll never know...
But then my ears tingle, and I know someone is all in at another table. Again, the crowd blocks my view, but the big yell and a guy storming away from the table lets me know I only need to outlast one other player.
21 left!
I fold my next hand, and look over at the next table and see two huge stacks allin! WHAT LUCK! I don't remember the cards, but the flop had already come. Bigger stack had top set. Smaller set had nut flush draw (clubs). Turn a blank. If no club comes on the river, I'm going to the final.
The river is a...
T of clubs. Ouch. We play on.
I fold the next couple of hands, and am down to my last chip, worth T100. I say "All-in for my ante!" and a few onlookers come to watch. One of them is the other short stack from another table. Apparently, he told his table to just fold his hands for him.
At my table, I don't look at my cards. Of course, there are 2 callers, plus the blinds, instead of the usual fold around the table to the blinds. Crap, now my 2 random cards have to beat 4 hands.
Flop comes 236rainbow. The short stack from the other table, a young kid, probably from UW-Madison, asks what I have. I tell him I don't know, but decide now might be a good time to look.
I turn them over, and I see...
As 7d
And college kid is happy, because he's going to the final, and I'm not, unless there's a miracle.
Turn comes.
It's an Ace!
The river is a 7, and I have top two pair. Nobody else has anything, and I win my T700 sidepot and survive! College kid mutters "unbelieveable" under his breath, and goes back to his seat. The players at his table tell him that one of the hands he folded was AKs. Wow. Wonder what would have happened had he been there to play it?
Anyways, as thrilled as I am to survive, I've only got enough to last me until the BB hits me again, which gives me 3 more hands.
But then I look and see that college kid is allin on his Big blind. One guy raises to about T3000. Nobody calls. College kid turns over Q-rag, and raiser turns over KK, and I'm very happy /images/graemlins/smile.gif
There's a K on the flop, no more help for college kid, and I get one of the 20 spots into the final!!
I actually got high-fives and handshakes from everyone at the table.. It was pretty sweet!
Anyways, the final is in three weeks, I'll let you know how i do (unless I bust out first /images/graemlins/tongue.gif )