ULTIMATE POKER CHALLENGE DAY 2 PART 1 REPORT by BLAIR RODMAN

[Blair]

I came into today feeling great and ready to play. The first thing I did was ask Tom Franklin about the hand yesterday in which I’d laid down the set. I said “Tommy, one of us made a great play in that hand yesterday.....” ’two nines.” he said immediately. He put me on two queens and had just called rather than moving in because if he missed and I moved in on the turn he could get away from it. This was just as I thought. He was really surprised that I had a set. I mentioned the hand later to Amir, who had seen it come down. He told me Tommy also told him he had 9’s. Knowing I made the right decision put me in a good mental state to start the session.

They didn’t redraw for the second day, so my table was the same, and the limits were still 600-1200/200. There were 28 left. We would play down to 7 today.

On the first hand, Kristy Gazes raised on the button to 7k. I called from the big blind with KhQh. The flop came 3 babies. I lead with a bet of 8000. If she had just two big cards, she’d have a hard time calling, since it would pretty much commit her to playing for her whole stack. She convinced me that she had a real hand by quickly moving in the rest of her 30k. Losing 13k on the first deal wasn’t encouraging, but I still felt good.

I picked up a few pots through aggressive play, and got back to about 65k. Amir raised my big blind, as he would many times throughout the day. We’d battled throughout the first day, and it would continue right until the end. My end, anyway. I called with K7. The flop came Q-9-4. We both checked. The turn was a 4. Again we both checked. The river was an ace. I bet 5k into a 12k pot, figuring he wouldn’t call with less than an ace. I was wrong. He thought for about 2 minutes, then folded an ace face up. Wow! Not sure what he was thinking there.

I raised from the button with KT. Men called from the BB. The flop came KhJh2s. He checked, I bet, and he raised. I didn’t give him credit for a big hand. If he had AA or AK, he would have re-raised pre-flop. I put him on a draw, most likely hearts with a big card, or QJ. I moved in and he called quickly. He showed Ah2h. I was a small favorite and my hand held up, putting me well over 100k.

Men, again. I pick up KK on the button. Amir raises up front, and I make a hefty re-raise. Men re-raises. We were five handed at the time, so even though I had a bad feeling, there’s no way I’m laying down kings in this spot. I moved in and he quickly called, showing aces. ****! If I lose I’m down to about 40k. I was rooting for the king of hearts, and bam! There it is in the window (the first card you see in a flop) and behind it was the king of diamonds. I flopped quads and an unhappy Men was no longer at work. My stack’s now over 250k. Amir said after the hand was over that he’d had 6’s. If Men had slowplayed his aces, when the 6 hit on the turn I’d have broke them both. But, bad things weren’t to happen to Amir in this tournament.

At this point were down to 21 players, and they combined to three tables. The leader after the first day was a young Finnish player named Patrick Antonius with over 241k, more than double the next closest player. I didn’t know him, but I know the Scandinavians are talented and super-aggressive, and I was hoping Patrick wouldn’t take the vacant seat to my left. Luckily, he sat down at the next table. Oops, wrong seat. He got up and came to the seat to my left. I introduced myself, and found out that he’s up for the 'rookie of the year' back home. He had about 250k, as did I, and might be a big problem for me. He could keep me handcuffed unless I could get him off kilter.

In the first pot after the new players arrived I made a sizeable value bet on the river with KT in a pot with Amir in a spot where many players might have checked. The next hand I picked up 66 in the cutoff. We’d been joking about how much money had been lost with 6’s at our table. I raised to 6k, and Patrick raised to 21k. I called. I checked in the dark, a play I learned from Marcel Luske and Lee Nelson, and one I like to use in this spot. The flop came Kd-Qs-3s. He checked behind me. I put him on either an underpair to the queen, or a big hand like a set. The turn was the 7d. I bet 22k, hoping he’d fold an underpair. If he had a big hand, I would hear from him here. The board was too dangerous to not put pressure on me if he had a hand. He just called, so I stuck with my read. The river was the ace of diamonds. I bet 45k. Unless he’d hit the diamonds, I didn’t see what he could call with that went with his earlier actions. He thought for a while, then folded jacks face up. I showed the 6’s.

There was a lot of discussion on my forum among readers following the blog on Pokerwire about exposing the hand . Most felt it was a mistake. Even my co-author Lee questioned it. Ok, here’s my explanation:
At this point I was probably the chip leader in the tournament, with Patrick right behind me, both in chips and playing position. If I let him, he was going to handcuff me. I could fight back with big power plays, but that would put my whole stack in jeopardy. Another way was to keep him confused in the small-ball arena, so he’d think twice before entering my pots without a real hand. I needed to look unpredictable to him. I’d just shown down a value bet on the river with the KT. Here was a chance, in almost the same situation, to show a bluff. I’m not worried about giving off physical tells, so that wasn’t an issue. And I don’t mind players knowing I’m capable of a bluff like this, because it will help to get my value bets paid off in the future. Showing the hand had him off-balance, which was my goal.

A few hands alter I raised on the button with 6-5. Patrick called. Flop A-6-3. He checks and I check behind him. I could have bet here, but I had a hand that could develop into something, and I’d be forced to fold to a raise. Besides, my check had him worried that I had a monster, which might get me a free card on the turn. The turn was a 5. He checked again. Now I’ve got a choice whether to play a big pot or a small one. If I bet and he raises, I’m going to be committed for my whole stack, which would be silly at this stage. If I check, I’m risking giving a free card that could beat me, if I'm not beaten already. I chose the low road, checking behind him and hoping to get a bet paid off on the river, which was a 7. Oops! Not what I had in mind. If he bets here I’m calling. He might have made a straight, but he ‘s not going to bet enough into this small pot to hurt me if I lose. Had I made a bet on the turn and created a bigger pot, he could make a sizeable bet and put a lot of pressure on me. If he checks I’m going to make a good bet. If he raises, I’ll have to do some figuring. He checked and I bet 20k. He called, and was obviously frustrated when he saw my two-pair. Mission accomplished. He’s frustrated, confused, and will probably stay out of my way, which allows me to go about my business.

Amir had been moved to another table when it got short-handed. I looked over to see him all in vs Andy Bloch. If he got ko’d we’d be down to 2 tables. Here’s the hand from Pokerwire:

Andy Bloch [Ad][Qd]
Amir Vahedi [Jd][8c]

The board came [7h][4s][6d][As][5c], giving Vahedi a straight on the river.

Amir would live to fight again, and fight we did. I’ll save that for the second part of this report

[HoldingFolding]

Excellent stuff. Where do you usually post these?

[jedinite]

For those who missed it, like me: Part One from Blair.

[Firefly]

I don't like showing the 6s there...but thats more opinion and you certainly provided a context which does merit showing them down,nh

[billyjex]

Thanks for posting these, they are very interesting. You play a very good, very disciplined game.

[HiatusOver]

Thanks for the report, great read...could u explain the advantages of checking the flop in the dark like "Marcel taught u" in the 66 hand?

[TomHimself]

another ty post! great trip reports, keep them coming [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img], and hopefully you will continue contributing to this forum

[Exitonly]

partic antonius won an EPT event, i think London.

[KramerTM]

These posts reveal the level of thinking that must go into these tournaments in order to be a consistent winner. Great stuff... thanks.

[Blair]

I write these for my forum, killphilpoker.com I started writing tournament reports back in 2004 at the WSOP. They can be found at http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/wsop.cfm