Yet another final table at Viejas

Let's see. That's 8 of 13 now. I could make a copy of my last live tournament post because it went down pretty much the same way. I had to change my game plan a little and really tighten my hand range. There was a LAG in seat 1 that was actually a really good player. At the second level though I finally was able to double through him with J-10 offsuit (I was able to limp with this hand). the flop came J-9-5 rainbow. I was last to act. 3 to the flop. The first guy checks and LAG bets half the pot. I think for a second and call. First guy folds. the next card is a rag and LAG makes a pot size pet. I think about it for a second and come over the top of him. He immediately calls with pocket 8's. The next card misses both of us and I take down the pot.

The truth is I couldn't find a hand to play today. At least in the first hour. The other important hand I remember was waking up to A-K after the LAG had already raised 3x the blind. One of the guys between us goes all in with his 3 chips that he had left. I call "all in" and the LAG makes a groan. He goes into the tank for about a minute before he folds the hand. I hit a K on the flop to take out the all-in. A 9 hit on the turn and the LAG starts to moan some more. After the hand he tells me good bet and tells me he had pocket 9's. If he had called with the 9's he would have had about 6 chips behind. I guess he thought it wasn't worth it. Thank God. That hand left me near the top of the chipleaders at my table. I think playing so few hands to that point definitely helped me in that situation. In fact, I can only remember losing 1 hand at showdown today.

2 guys bust out at the same time and we have ourselves another final table. Although this time, the big stack doesn't want to deal. We play a circuit and this hand comes up. The guy UTG makes an all in bet. It fold around to me. I find Q-Q. I didn't push immediately. I was thinking if I should fold to the more money. I would have broken even for the day with my-ev play on the machines if I went out here. That was good enough for me. I call his all in (he has me outstacked). Then the guy in the big blind calls as well. I think he had us both outstacked as well. The first guy turns over A-J, the second guy turns over something like 10-9, neither improves and I take down a pivotal pot for me. I knocked neither one of the guys out but severely crippled the first guy down to 1 chip. A couple of hands later another double knockout occurs, bringing us down to six players. Two stacks twice my size get some extra money and the rest of us take down 10x our buy in. Another good score. Another final table.

I think one of the things that has led to my success in the live MTT's is that I'm learning to play to the strengths and weaknesses of the other players at my table. Whereas on Friday I was able to limp and raise with not particularly strong starting hands, I knew that wasn't going to work today with the aggressive players I was up against. So I tightened up my range, won a couple of pots with good cards at showdown, and was able to steal a few blinds in the middle of the tournament due to my tight table image.

In the past I might have gone on tilt against a guy that was as aggressive as seat 1 was. Today, I was able to pick my spots and make him pay for his aggressiveness as opposed to my usual pushing back with nothing or next to nothing. That's sent me home from many a tournament in the past. It's been nice having this vacation time off to play a little poker and gauge my abilities against guys that play tournament poker every day. I'm thinking that I'm more than holding my own and that maybe I should pursue playing the live tournaments a little more aggressively. Of course, I could be just getting lucky. There's always that.

Tournament re-cap

Ho hum. Yet ANOTHER final table appearance by yours truly. That's 7 final tables in my last 12 live tournaments. I really should play live more often. Maybe it's just where I play. Although I went 2 for 4 in Vegas in February.

I wish it would transfer to my online playing. I don't think it's because I'm a great reader of people that I play better live. It might be because I don't make a lot of bored donkey moves in a live tournament for fear of embarrassing myself. I have no such fear when I'm playing online. I really have a hard time keeping my concentration up over a couple of hours in online MTT's. Playing live I really watch what's going on around me and rate the players I'm playing against much more than I do online. Who knows. Maybe I just catch cards live. I caught a few today.

First level of the tournament. The guy two to my right raises to $200 from 25/50 blinds. I look down at 10-10. I call the $200 to see the flop, everyone else folds. The flop comes Q-10-x. Dude is first to act and bets $1,000. The tournament starts off with $3,000 in chips. I'm not going to call, I can't see him having queens, maybe a-q? I push the rest of my stack and declare myself all in. He looks at me, and calls saying he hopes I don't have a queen because I'm in trouble if I do. He tables A-A I flop over my set, he doesn't improve and I've doubled through him. The amazing thing is he is the son of the guy I doubled through back in the $100 tournament I played at viejas in December. Really cool guy, he's in a wheelchair but plays some great poker. The really amazing thing is that he only had about $150 in chips after that hand but played himself all the way back to the final table himself. It was a win - win situation which was pretty cool cuz I like the guy a lot.

I take down a couple of more pots including knocking a guy out when my 8-3 in the big blind turned into a full house on the river and he got all of his chips in with A-8. Guess he should have raised me out of the pot. Eventually we color up and then the table is broken.

The blinds are moving up faster now. I'm down to about 9 $500 chips after the $100 chips are colored up. A lot of stealing going on. Finally, I'm in the small blind when a guy to my left goes all in with K-Qo. I look down and find A-A. I call (I think I have him out stacked barely), he doesn't improve and for the first time that day at the tables I sat at AA didn't get cracked. Whoo, I have some breathing room now. I steal a couple of blinds, I'm up to about 24 or 25 pinkies, then this hand happens.

The guy opens from UTG or real close with an all in for about half of what I have. I look down at A-Q suited. I think about it for a minute and finally call. everyone else folds. He turns over 6-6. Flop A-J-6. I can't catch him and he takes down half of my chips. the blinds at this level I believe are 3-6 pink.

We are down to 3 tables when we color up to.... um I'm not sure what that color is. Some kind of ugly light green, not the dark green which equals $25. Anyway they are $2,500 chips. After we race for chips and I don't catch a one, I'm left with 3 of the puke green chips. Actually it must have been broken down to two tables, twenty players left in the tourney. I'm in the big blind with my 2 chips and one behind. The small blind raises me and I call blind. He has 9-6o. I have 10-3o. We both wiff on the flop, the turn, and the river. Whoo-hoooo!!! Double up for me but I still have a lot of work to do.

Maybe the pivotal hand for me is one I don't play at all. The wheelchair guy raise to 6 chips (blind are 1-2 Puke greens or pg's) I look down at A-J suited. There's only about 13 of us left and if I call I only have 3 chips behind and if I raise he is sure to call having me out stacked. I lay it down. I was figuring him for a pocket pair and didn't want to get in a race. After the tournament he told me he was holding A-Q. Good thing I didn't call. A few hands later an all-in 3 way occurs, 2 guys bust and we are into the final table.

At the final table everybody decides to chop even. It was unbelievable. There were 3 stacks that were easily ahead of the others. I don't know if it was me. I was probably in the middle somewhere but was more than willing to take 4th place money without playing a hand.

How about that? Some actual poker content. I'm going to have to start making notes when I play because there were some better hands that I was involved with but can't for the life of me remember. Including a couple I lost.

The bad thing is that I donked off a couple of buy ins on those gosh darned one armed bandits. If I could stay away from those I'd probably be a winning player.

Tomorrow I'm entered in to some Poker Stars Free Roll. The top 4 prizes are are an entry into the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Wish me luck, I'm going to have to lay a bunch of bad beats on a lot of people to take that one down.