Quote:
Originally Posted by Turningham
Sick run, Gratz! Can't wait for the next installment of hand histories!
Thank mate, running pure in late stages of tournaments is the fix we all crave, and I was in for a treat.
Final 2 tables
With 16 players still in it's only 3 until the money, but I've lost my momentum and I'm sitting on 230k at 10k/20k as one of the shorter stacks. Mincash is only $110, but you're so desperate not to go home empty-handed after you've played just the 1 tournament for 10 hours, that I was getting quite nervous. I didn't find any spots until on the stone bubble a shortie gets it in with AJ vs AK. He spikes a J on the river...
Play continues and or our table a player goes all in. Folds to BB who has to call 80% of his stack. He talks and tanks and winds up calling with K
Q
. The all in player shows 5
5
. When the king hits the river you can see the utter disgust and disappointment in her face. These sweats can be so sick and cruel, but it's also fantastic fun in it's own way.
With the bubble bust I start recording my hands. I'll leave out the trivial stuff, but with stacks so short there are plenty of possible spots
Making final table
13 left, 6 handed play, blinds 15k/30k
Hand 1: BTN, 170k, Q9o. I shove and get folds.
Hand 3: HJ, 215k, A
5
. I shove and get folds
Hand 4: UTG, 260k, A8o. I fold. I chickened out with this middling ace after having shoved 2/3 previous hands.
Hand 5: BB, 260k, Q3o. SB completes, I shove, he folds.
Hand 7: BTN, 275k, A8o. I folds to tight CO open to 70k.
10 left, 5-handed, blinds 20k/40k
Hand 11, BB, 275k, 94o. BTN limps, SB completes, I check. Fold to SB 70k bet on A634 turn.
Hand 12/13, SB/BTN, J9s. Folds to early shoves. Bubble bursts on other table.
Final table
9th pays $200, 1st $4500. I'm 8/9 in chips and start in Lojack with 215k. Blinds still 20k/40k, average is 450k.
Hand 17, UTG, 215k, 5
5
. Clear shove obviously, but need 8 folds now! 7 players fold, but BB snaps with A
K
, It's funny after having played so many tournaments where you've busted deep in a flip, you sort of automatically resign to the fact that you're out. I was sweating every card like crazy, but the board remained friendly: 7
4
J
6
3
Hand 20: BTN, 390k, T
9
. MP opens to 100k, folds to me. This is the player who burst the bubble by tank calling with K
Q
, I think I have very little chance of getting a fold if I shove and will always be behind. I fold.
Hand 24: MP, 390k, A4o. I fold with 6 players behind.
Messing up my shoving ranges
8-handed, blinds 30k/60k
Hand 26: UTG, 390k, 2
2
. I fold. Felt like a mistake, still does. Push/fold is not my forte, and I chicken out sometimes.
Hand 28: SB, 405k, T5o. I got a walk last hand, and BB is a competent player who is able to call of correctly. I fold.
Hand 30: CO, 390k, 7
7
. MP (265k) snapshoves, I fold. Probably close, dunno.
Hand 36: SB, 330k, A
Q
. BB misclick folds, UTG opens to 120k and it folds to me. Jam either way, but even more so with BB out and UTG aware of that. UTG calls with 6
6
. Again I thought "fun ride, time to go home", but the board runs out A
K
4
3
7
and suddenly I have an above average stack!
I fold some hands and we lose some players.
Let's run this up!
6-handed, blinds 40k/80k
Hand 49: BB, 630k, A
Q
. SB (chipleader) minraises to 160k, I shove, he folds.
Hand 50: SB, 790k, J
8
. I have given BB (now blinded down to 280k) two walks already this FT and this ends now. In. Your. Face! He snaps with A
J
... Board runs out Q
9
3
8
5
Hand 55: BB, 1.16M, A
7
. We're now 5-handed, average is ~1M. SB (starting FT chipleader, now 1.1M) opens to 185k. In hindsight I should shove here, but there are two shorties and SB does not appear like a competent player. I feel comfortable seeing a flop versus him, so I call.
Flop 7
6
2
, pot 370k. Villain instajams ~900k. In theory I would go through the thought process of how unlikely this jam is with a bigger pair/two pair/set. Which means I'm ahead. Which means I have to figure out how much a call versus his range that might contain straight/flush draws is ICM correct.
In theory, yes. In practice, and I'm not proud if this, his demeanor and instaship screamed of wanting to shut it down now and I snapcall the massive overbet. I show my hand, and I see his disgusted face before I see his hand. Seeing that look, you don't get that online. And call me an *******, but this part of live poker is just awesome. Realizing from someones face that you just crushed his soul, before you see his cards. He flips 3
3
and my hand holds.
Just like that I now have 2.3M with 5M in play 4-handed, and my eyes start to wander not to 4th place money, but to 1st place. I was just focused on laddering for the last hour and a half, but now I'm chipleader!
Let's get that money!
4-handed, blinds 40k/80k. 4th: $850, 3rd: $1300, 2nd: $2400, 1st: $4500.
Hand 59: BB, 2.3M, 8
6
. UTG (other big stack with 1.6M) opens to 175k. I call.
Flop 8
5
3
, pot 390k. I check, UTG bets 200k. I contemplate a raise but the sizing eludes me. I want to pressure him and not give free cards, but what size has enough fold equity but doesn't commit me? Suggestions? Or just not raise? I wind up calling.
Turn A
, pot 790k. I check, he bet 375k, I fold. I don't believe he's bluffing here much into chipleader and it costs too much to find out.
Hand 69: BTN, 1.8M, A
J
. There have been a bunch of shoving by the shorties but no showdown, and some walks. SB has 2M, BB 800k, UTG 400k. I opt to open to 175k to induce BB to shove but have some wiggle room vs SB. SB folds, BB shoves, I call. BB shows A
T
.
Flop A
2
3
, pot 1.6M.
Turn T
River 8
Can't win them all...
Hand 71: BB, 1M, K
9
. UTG folds. BTN folds. I know what SB is going to do and I know that I'll call the shove. Loose and be short. Win and be a contender. SB shoves, I call. SB shows J
9
Flop Q
T
7
, pot 1M.
Turn 7
River 9
There is this snap moment when river comes where we both check if the straight didn't come in, but I'm good.
We shake hands and I propose to look at a deal. We count chips and stacks are thus:
Me: 1.25M
Middle aged asian guy (
MAAG) to my left (very solid): 1.9M
MAWG: 1.7M
With blinds at 40k/80 leaving us all short I mention I'm down for an even chop. MAWG is fine with it (probably because he just got his big stack) but MAAG has to think about it. I'm sitting there cool as a cucumber like I don't give a ***, but internally I'm desperate for such a favourable deal. Three minutes later MAAG speaks up: "**** it, let's chop".
I take home $2700. I split a cab with MAAG, who makes me pay for it, and it turns out that he has final tabled the NPL Quarterly three times and won it once for $52k last year. This year he chopped another tournament for $20k. It sounds like I got an awesome deal in the even chop, but hell, he makes
me pay for the cab?!