I suppose my main event was a fitting end to the series and a paradigmatic WCOOP experience. In the early stages I plundered the satellite qualifiers, going on an early rush that made me chipleader with 1400 players remaining. Over time the table got tougher and tougher, with 3-bet pots becoming the norm and 4-bets not uncommon. I went card dead for a few hours, with people coming over the top every time I tried to steal, except for the few times that I actually legitimate hands, when I either won the blinds or ended up having to make a big fold post-flop. I spent the last few hours of the day rocking a 20-40 BB stack and finding spots to pick up pots without showdown. Eventually I got into a coin flip, the first time I’d been all in for my tournament life, and won it to reach my high point for the tournament, which by that time was still just 75% of the average. Then it was back to card dead as I blinded down, finally getting all in with AK for my last 19 BBs. Villain had Aces, and I was eliminated with an hour to go in the day and about 10% of the remaining field needing to be eliminated before we made the money.
Here are the hands that constituted my early rush:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 5200 Tournament, 30/60 Blinds (8 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button (t29121)
SB (t24371)
BB (t19125)
UTG (t17250)
UTG+1 (t16605)
MP1 (t22915)
MP2 (t11682)
Hero (CO) (t19575)
Hero’s M: 217.50
Preflop: Hero is CO with K♦, A♠
UTG bets t180, 3 folds, Hero raises to t540, 3 folds, UTG calls t360
Flop: (t1170) 4♥, 10♦, 3♣ (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets t777, UTG calls t777
Turn: (t2724) 2♠ (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets t1888, UTG calls t1888
River: (t6500) 5♦ (2 players)
UTG bets t5200, Hero calls t5200
Total pot: t16900
Results:
UTG had J♥, J♣ (one pair, Jacks).
Hero had K♦, A♠ (straight, five high).
Outcome: Hero won t16900
His turn/river line makes no sense to me. The only better hands he can expect me to fold on the river are QQ, KK, and TT. If he thinks those constitute a large enough part of my range that a bluff is profitable, then he ought to fold the turn.
This guy was playing $.10 MTTs earlier this week. He played a bunch of WCOOP satellites and seems to have binked one, which was good news for me:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 5200 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds 10 Ante (9 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP3 (t30465)
CO (t19236)
Button (t18938)
SB (t20094)
BB (t15748)
UTG (t9692)
UTG+1 (t21636)
MP1 (t18939)
Hero (MP2) (t25896)
Hero’s M: 107.90
Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A♣, 6♣
3 folds, Hero bets t300, 2 folds, Button raises to t700, 2 folds, Hero calls t400
Flop: (t1640) J♠, 3♦, 6♥ (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t800, Hero calls t800
Turn: (t3240) 6♠ (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t1500, Hero raises to t4500, Button calls t3000
River: (t12240) 7♣ (2 players)
Hero bets t9886, Button calls t9886
Total pot: t32012
Results:
Button had 10♠, 10♥ (two pair, tens and sixes).
Hero had A♣, 6♣ (three of a kind, sixes).
Outcome: Hero won t32012
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 5200 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds 10 Ante (9 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG (t30190)
UTG+1 (t19196)
MP1 (t19990)
MP2 (t20469)
MP3 (t15558)
CO (t12774)
Button (t21686)
SB (t18799)
Hero (BB) (t41982)
Hero’s M: 174.93
Preflop: Hero is BB with 8♣, 8♥
2 folds, MP1 bets t300, 1 fold, MP3 calls t300, 3 folds, Hero calls t200
Flop: (t1040) A♥, 10♣, 8♠ (3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets t500, MP3 calls t500, Hero calls t500
Turn: (t2540) A♣ (3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks, MP3 checks
River: (t2540) 7♠ (3 players)
Hero bets t1777, 1 fold, MP3 calls t1777
Total pot: t6094
Results:
Hero had 8♣, 8♥ (full house, eights over Aces).
MP3 mucked J♣, 9♣ (straight, Jack high).
Outcome: Hero won t6094
Given how deep we were here, I felt I needed to be cautious. 8’s full is a monster hand, especially given that there isn’t a real likely card to pair someone’s kicker if he has an Ace, but it’s not worth my stack. Looking at it now I think maybe I should have gone for a river check-raise, though that looks awfully strong, and I think my bet is bigger than the bet that someone would make with bare trips.
The joy of playing deep-stacked with tourney donks:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 5200 Tournament, 60/120 Blinds 15 Ante (9 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG+1 (t31530)
MP1 (t19201)
MP2 (t18955)
MP3 (t18105)
CO (t15185)
Button (t11809)
SB (t21301)
BB (t18664)
Hero (UTG) (t45894)
Hero’s M: 145.70
Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7♥, 7♦
Hero bets t360, 7 folds, BB raises to t899, Hero calls t539
Flop: (t1993) 7♣, 5♦, 2♠ (2 players)
BB bets t1249, Hero raises to t3333, BB raises to t6840, Hero raises to t44980 (All-In), BB calls t10910 (All-In)
Turn: (t37493) 9♥ (2 players, 2 all-in)
River: (t37493) J♦ (2 players, 2 all-in)
Total pot: t37493
Results:
BB had A♦, A♥ (one pair, Aces).
Hero had 7♥, 7♦ (three of a kind, sevens).
Outcome: Hero won t37493
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 5200 Tournament, 150/300 Blinds 40 Ante (8 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB (t60366)
BB (t33086)
UTG (t18708)
UTG+1 (t26939)
MP1 (t83256)
MP2 (t15660)
CO (t52200)
Hero (Button) (t39901)
Hero’s M: 51.82
Preflop: Hero is Button with 9♣, 9♠
UTG bets t600, 4 folds, Hero calls t600, 2 folds
Flop: (t1970) 9♥, Q♠, 6♥ (2 players)
UTG bets t1200, Hero raises to t3200, UTG calls t2000
Turn: (t8370) Q♥ (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets t2777, UTG raises to t5999, Hero raises to t36061 (All-In), UTG calls t8869 (All-In)
River: (t38106) 10♣ (2 players, 2 all-in)
Total pot: t38106
Results:
Hero had 9♣, 9♠ (full house, nines over Queens).
UTG had 7♥, A♥ (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won t38106
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 5200 Tournament, 300/600 Blinds 70 Ante (9 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP3 (t54815)
CO (t45651)
Button (t38389)
SB (t27878)
BB (t46928)
UTG (t14997)
UTG+1 (t68768)
MP1 (t27154)
Hero (MP2) (t79212)
Hero’s M: 51.77
Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 10♣, K♠
3 folds, Hero bets t1200, MP3 raises to t2745, 4 folds, Hero calls t1545
Flop: (t7020) Q♣, K♦, J♠ (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks
Turn: (t7020) 2♠ (2 players)
Hero bets t4444, MP3 calls t4444
River: (t15908) 5♣ (2 players)
Hero bets t9999, MP3 calls t9999
Total pot: t35906
Results:
Hero had 10♣, K♠ (one pair, Kings).
MP3 had A♦, K♥ (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: MP3 won t35906
Villain was actually pretty close to folding river. On the one hand, I think AK is about the best hand he checks back on the flop, but I’m also not sure how many other hands are in his calling range. AQ? AJ? I’m not confident he’s 3-betting QT or JT, though clearly I believed he was 3-betting light sometimes to make this call pre-flop (which still may not be good against a good player).
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 5200 Tournament, 350/700 Blinds 85 Ante (9 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG+1 (t78905)
MP1 (t37593)
MP2 (t42924)
MP3 (t194184)
CO (t51956)
Button (t27059)
SB (t85187)
BB (t20301)
Hero (UTG) (t57727)
Hero’s M: 31.81
Preflop: Hero is UTG with A♦, Q♦
Hero bets t1400, 3 folds, MP3 calls t1400, CO raises to t4350, 3 folds, Hero calls t2950, MP3 calls t2950
Flop: (t14865) Q♠, J♦, 3♣ (3 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks, CO bets t7350, Hero calls t7350, 1 fold
Turn: (t29565) 4♠ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets t18550, Hero folds
Total pot: t29565
Results:
CO didn’t show
Outcome: CO won t29565
This is one of the hands I’m least sure about. Part of that is the benefit of hindsight, after playing more with Villain and seeing how aggressive he was. At the time, it sure felt like I was beat. This really isn’t an ideal board for him to barrel into two people, but there were a few draws he could have. Obviously I wouldn’t be folding a diamond turn.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 5200 Tournament, 300/600 Blinds 70 Ante (9 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB (t71975)
BB (t45231)
UTG (t39499)
UTG+1 (t19464)
MP1 (t50136)
MP2 (t12147)
MP3 (t67448)
CO (t30694)
Hero (Button) (t67198)
Hero’s M: 43.92
Preflop: Hero is Button with A♥, A♠
6 folds, Hero bets t1200, 1 fold, BB calls t600
Flop: (t3330) 6♠, 10♣, 3♦ (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t1666, BB calls t1666
Turn: (t6662) 6♣ (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks
River: (t6662) 7♦ (2 players)
BB bets t4255, Hero folds
Total pot: t6662
Results:
BB didn’t show
Outcome: BB won t6662
This one might look crazy, but I’m still happy with it the morning after. It’s not inconceivable that Villain is floating out of position, but I think if he had Ace-high he wouldn’t feel the need to turn it into a bluff. 98 and 54 got there, and 87 picked up enough value that I don’t think he’d bluff that either (and he would be, with this bet). The only thing I can beat is a value bet from a T or an out of position float with air, and I had a bit of a read on Villian that he would have bet smaller with those hands.
As I said, I ended up getting all in with AK and losing to AA. While in one sense that sucks, it’s also oddly reassuring, because it means that any mistakes I made earlier in the tournament were essentially null and void. Even if, say, I should have folded that AQ, I still would have lost my ass with the AK (the table was playing so aggressively that folding AK pre-flop was out of the question pretty much ever).