FTOPS Event 12: $1000 NLHE 6-Max

I knew Monday night’s FTOPS was a 1K NLHE, but I was pleasantly surprised when I was “seated” to find only five other players at my table. I had no idea it was a 6-max! I was less pleasantly surprised to find two other regulars in the FTP 10/20 games at my table. Dammit, I play tournaments because I want to play with fish! Not only were these guys ten times better than the average player in the tournament, but I knew they were also going to be much more aggressive when stacks were deep. That meant I would have to play high variance poker, which I’d much prefer to avoid in such a well-structured event.

Thankfully, my table broke pretty quickly and I was moved to a softer one. This time, I got to be the undisputed aggressor. For a while, I was getting no respect:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 20/40 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

UTG: 8,010
Hero (MP): 6,890
CO: 7,410
BTN: 7,380
SB: 4,930
BB: 4,130

Pre-Flop: (60) J A dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 120, CO calls 120, BTN calls 120, SB folds, BB raises to 520, Hero raises to 1,240, 2 folds, BB raises to 4,130 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: 2,740 Pot
BB mucked and WON 2,740 (+1,500 NET)

Eventually, that reputation got me a big payday, though:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 60/120 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

SB: 4,820
Hero (BB): 5,841
UTG: 7,055
MP: 9,651
CO: 6,488
BTN: 4,895

Pre-Flop: (180) A 4 dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG raises to 240, MP calls 240, 3 folds, Hero calls 120

Flop: (780) 8 9 T (3 Players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP checks

Turn: (780) K (3 Players)
Hero bets 601, UTG raises to 1,920, MP folds, Hero raises to 5,601 and is All-In, UTG calls 3,681

River: (11,982) 3 (2 Players – 1 is All-In)

Results: 11,982 Pot
Hero showed A 4 (a flush, Ace high) and WON 11,982 (+6,141 NET)
UTG showed J K (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-5,841 NET)

But it wasn’t to last. I lost two medium-sized pots on bad beats to short stacks, then Valuetowned myself against a guy who I still think may have been loose enough to show up with worse Aces here:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 140/280 Blinds, 25 Ante, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

UTG: 54,174
Hero (MP): 11,705
CO: 11,010
BTN: 10,714
SB: 19,723
BB: 5,384

Pre-Flop: (570) A J dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 780, CO calls 780, 3 folds

Flop: (2,130) T 5 A (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets 1,320, Hero calls 1,320

Turn: (4,770) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (4,770) 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets 2,580, CO calls 2,580

Results: 9,930 Pot
Hero showed A J (two pair, Aces and Tens) and LOST (-4,705 NET)
CO showed A Q (two pair, Aces and Tens) and WON 9,930 (+5,225 NET)

Finally, I shoved A9 on the button over a raise from the chipleader in the CO, but he had AQ and it was lights out for me.