Given the deep stacks, short-handed format, and substantial buy-in, this was probably the FTOPS event I was looking forward to the most. Sadly, the other players at my table were giant nits during the rebuy period. I got AK on the first hand and open shoved, then shoved a more times just trying to get up a kinda crazy image, but no one would play along. I even tried trash talking in the chat box, but they kept folding anyway.
Finally I got 22 in the SB and open raised 3x. The player in the BB re-raised, and I shoved because for like 40 BB’s in a rebuy I really ought to be able to get 22 in pre-flop profitably in a blind battle, but of course nitbag showed up with TT. I’m pretty sure mine was the only rebuy our table had- most players didn’t even double buy initially, and at least one didn’t take the add-on.
After the rebuy period was over, I tightened up for half an hour or so until the blinds got appreciable and then started min-raising a lot of hands. I’m increasingly convinced that, especially in 6-max tournaments, that’s the way to go. People are already not adjusting well to the short-handed format, and smaller raises is the best way to exploit their excessive tightness. When people did re-raise me, it was usually some amont like a full 3x my raise which was way larger than it needed to be. Basically no one was calling as light as he should out of the BB, and even when they did call, they sucked enough at post-flop play that it was fine anyway.
I built up a nice stack this way, though there were two guys on my right doing something kind of similar. I was making money picking spots to 3-bet them until someone behind woke up with a hand and cold 4-bet shoved.
After a few of those re-raises, this happened:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 170/340 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP (t20502)
CO (t18250
Button (t5100)
Hero (SB) (t8221)
BB (t5270)
UTG (t9409)
Hero’s M: 12.46
Preflop: Hero is SB with A
, A
1 fold, MP raises to t750, CO calls t750, 1 fold, Hero raises to t2000, 2 folds, CO calls t1250
Flop: (t5240) 8, Q, 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks
Turn: (t5240) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets t6196 (All-In), CO calls t6196
River: (t17632) K (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: t17632
Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
CO had 9
, 7 (straight, nine high).
Outcome: CO won t17632
If the BB had been any good, I would have just called pre-flop and counted on him to shove over the three of us. I wasn’t confident he would recognize what a good spot it was for him, though, so I had to re-raise myself.
On the flop, there was only one pot-sized bet left in my stacks. I figured that most hands that would call a flop shove would call a turn shove as well- maybe even more. Plus I give Villain the chance to bluff shove. This is exactly the kind of hand I wanted him to shove, though, and instead he drills the gutter on the turn. Bah.
So sick… Keep running em Andrew, your luck will hold up eventually. Hopefully mine will in a Sunday Milli for once as well.
– Mac