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[Jan. 27th, 2008|07:06 pm] |
I've always had a love/hate relationship with myself. I'm usually feeling it pretty strong one way or the other. I ache to be more in the middle, more of the time. There is definite value in learning to view onesself with relative indifference in gambling or, speculation in general, for that matter. Why can't I view myself the same way I look at Melissa Joan Hart or Belgium or pork products. Strangely, I have absolutely no opinion on this person, place, or thing. Now to apply that indifference to myself...easier said than done.
I was so not liking the $100 buy-in w/$50 rebuy on Friday nights that I even wrote that I would avoid it. Naturally I went down to take another crack at it, but of course. I prefer to think of myself as having moxie and stick-to-it-iveness (ooh, spellcheck is going to like that one), rather than as a degenerate, stubborn loser. Mostly, I think I'm gravitating toward this tournament because it's the last remaining over $100 buy in at that casino. It's not worth the drive for a $50 buy in and right now I don't have the time to sit for a long cash game session.
Long story short, I took my vengeance on this tournament by logging a strong second place finish. Over half the field took the rebuy option making a prize pool of over $3000. Not bad. I got to the heads-up at a 3-1 chip disadvantage with some rather elevated blinds. Never really had a shot. The chip leader nearly doubled up by taking the third place finisher out. That's the way it shakes out sometimes. What can you do?
I'm happy with the poise I showed in the intermediate stages of the game. I had an absolute calling station on my right. His personality was also not the best I've seen. He employed the dancing fist pump at one big pot win when the river bailed him out. Eyes were rolling all over the place. I was about to get the bad end of one of those. He limps in from second to last position. I limp in from the button with an offsuit king-nine. I flop top two pair. Nice. He's checked to and bets solidly. I double his bet. All others fold. He calls. (Mistake #1) The turn is a jack. No flush possible. He checks (Mistake #2), as this makes me certain I'm way in front. I bet three times his flop bet. He calls. (Mistake #3) The river is an ace. He checks again (this would prove to be mistake #4). Now I'm a little weirded out because I figured him for a slow-play of aces or ace-something, maybe ace-nine? There is that straight out there. Can't be a set. That would be bet with. So I check and show my king-nine. He turns over ace-jack for two better pair. I'm speechless. Runner-runner for two pair. Good lord. He was really quiet on this one. I think even he was embarrassed. He found his footing quickly though because when we came back from a break he was giving the floor a hard time about the color-up having taken place while he was absent. Sorry, your highness. The epilogue to this story is that he tried to stone-cold bluff the second-highest stack on the river when a card hit that could have made a straight or a flush. His bet was about 4 times the pot. The gal calmly thought through the hand, reading that move as a bluff, and called with three of a kind. Beauty. A tough call. Very impressive on her part. I was really excited to see her finish just in the money at fourth. He, of course, could not pass on the opportunity to get snippy. He's all, "How do you call with just a set there?" Not missing a beat, another guy jumped in and was all, "How do you bet out with less?" Snap!!
The other highlight from that night came when we were down to six. A chop was proposed. Six ways would pay $533 a piece. I have 15K with blinds at 500-1000 making me about the fourth largest stack. Fourth would pay $323. Chips were fairly evenly distributed. After watching the play at the final table I felt like I could still win. I also felt like I was the best player. I calmly and firmly decline the chop. Eyebrows were raised. Given my chip count there is the very real possibility that I'm walking out of there with just my pride. It can be a messy situation. You are basically telling the other folks that you think you are better than them. Sometimes people get bent out of shape about it. Once I'd thrown down the gauntlet like that there was no time to become a shrinking violet. I got real aggressive whenever I had position. It played nicely against my tight image that come from me watching and waiting as final table began.
Anyway....got $969 for the second place finish, $819 net of the buy in and re-buy. Have to be pleased with that. That's over $400 more than I would have earned with the chop.
I was feeling sky-high as I enthered the $215 buy in today at the place just down the road. As well as I played on Friday it hard to understand how it could all fall apart in the span of 36 hours. I was trying to bluff a lot when I read weakness. Ran into a lot of check-calls. That's not necessarily always a bad thing. Just fire again. Then, there were some check-raises. That is a bad thing. It means that I've been figured. Is it just a one time thing or are people starting to learn my style and how to counteract it? I'm starting to lose anonymity there, I think. I felt a higher caliber of play today as well. That makes sense given the hgher buy in. The weekend warriors will start to get priced out at that level leaving only the real tough hombres and mujers (sp?).
The pots that I was buying counteracted the pots I was losing when I was getting called down on about a one-to-one basis. I went out on a rather silly play on my part. I limped in from the small blind with pocket sevens. Three to the flop. The board is eight high and rainbowed. I should be good here. I bet the size of the pot (450). Big blind folds. The other limper raises me all in. He got me covered almost two-to-one. This guy is someone who I know to be an extremely strong player. I think he is actually better than me by a significant margin. He is definitely the type who could bluff at this pot believing he has two live over cards. If he held a pair above eight he would have been raising pre-flop. The only hand he could have that I need worry about is any eight. If he holds an eight, I'm obviously up poop creek. The all in here feels bluffy to me. It's the kind of thing a large chip stack tries against an aggressive player (I had been playing excessively aggressive) banking that I'm betting out with air again. The only hand I'm worried about is eight-something. Since I knew he could be holding only that to beat me I felt it unlikely that he caught it. Not exactly brilliant logic. Sometimes it's about feel more than anything. I call and he shows ace-eight. Whoops. I certainly didn't need to call there. I had plenty left in chips to work with if I fold. And so I get 36 hours of loving myself followed up with five or six days of self-hatred. That ratio seems about right.
Tournaments: 8
Profit: $1095
Wins: 0
Money finishes: 2, 25%
Top 30 percent: 3, 37.5% |
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