I was going to play the HORSE event, but the buyins just didn’t line up right for me. The 10K was out of the question, even the 1K was a touch high, and the $100 was too small for me to add two hours onto what was already a potentially long session (the day’s second event was scheduled to run for 12 hours before stopping for the night).
I played the $300 and the $3000 two-days, but they ended up being one-day tournaments for me. The $3000 got nearly 1000 players, and my table was about what I was expecting: a lot of solid players, no one phenomenally good, and a soft spot or two. Unfortunately, the soft spot became a problem for me. Here, my attempt to isolate him got me into to trouble:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $3000+$150 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
CO (t10875)
Button (t11839)
Hero (SB) (t8611)
BB (t10850)
UTG (t9775)
UTG+1 (t9900)
MP1 (t8075)
MP2 (t10075)
Hero’s M: 114.81
Preflop: Hero is SB with 9
, 9
3 folds, MP2 calls t50, 2 folds, Hero bets t250, BB calls t200, MP2 calls t200
Flop: (t750) 6, K
, 5 (3 players)
Hero bets t567, BB calls t567, MP2 calls t567
Turn: (t2451) 5 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t1450, 1 fold, Hero calls t1450
River: (t5351) A (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t8583 (All-In), Hero folds
Total pot: t5351
Results:
BB didn’t show
Outcome: BB won t5351
The BB was possibly my most skilled opponent- unfortunate to have him on my left. The turn is a good spot for him to bluff with a draw, but the problem with calling is that it sets him up to shove the river. I guess I could call that, too, but I dunno. I guess folding turn is probably correct. You could argue for checking flop as well, but I was still looking at as an isolation play, hoping to get BB out, and if fishy calls, I’m comfortable playing out of position against him. Too bad it backfired.
The same fish took me out a bit later:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $3000+$150 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds 10 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
CO (t10245)
Button (t11004)
Hero (SB) (t3982)
BB (t11770)
UTG (t8571)
UTG+1 (t10015)
MP1 (t4040)
MP2 (t8516)
MP3 (t21223)
Hero’s M: 16.59
Preflop: Hero is SB with K
, K
2 folds, MP1 bets t300, 1 fold, MP3 calls t300, 2 folds, Hero raises to t1111, 2 folds, MP3 calls t811
Flop: (t2712) 5, 4, 3 (2 players)
Hero bets t2861 (All-In), MP3 calls t2861
Turn: (t8434) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: (t8434) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: t8434
Results:
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and fours).
MP3 had A, 7 (straight, seven high).
Outcome: MP3 won t8434
I lasted a while longer in the $300, but eventually bluffed off my stack:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $300+$20 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 50 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP2 (t26848)
MP3 (t24581)
CO (t3799)
Hero (Button) (t16360)
SB (t17599)
BB (t8725)
UTG (t24137)
UTG+1 (t4450)
MP1 (t16052)
Hero’s M: 15.58
Preflop: Hero is Button with J, K
4 folds, MP3 bets t1000, 1 fold, Hero raises to t2666, 2 folds, MP3 calls t1666
Flop: (t6382) 5, 2, 9 (2 players)
MP3 checks, Hero bets t2444, MP3 calls t2444
Turn: (t11270) 10 (2 players)
MP3 checks, Hero bets t11200 (All-In), MP3 calls t11200
River: (t33670) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: t33670
Results:
Hero had J, K (high card, King).
MP3 had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: MP3 won t33670
Villain raised a fair bit from late position. This was the first time I’d 3-bet him, but I was fairly confident that even if he flatted a 3-bet with a big pair pre-flop, he wouldn’t continue to slowplay the flop, especially not when I bet so small. I do think he’ll fold some better (ie Ax) hands and also sometimes peel kinda light, making the turn shove more profitable. I wasn’t going to shove just any turn, but I wanted to give myself the option. When I picked up the gutshot, it felt like a good spot.
He had the kind of hand I wanted him to have, he just happened to “suck out” on the turn. I’m inclined to say he would have folded unimproved on the turn, but then again you know tournament players and their overpairs! (Insert snarky comment about cash game LAGdonks and their crazy bluffs.)