The Fitz last night ~ My night (long and winding)

Iago

Ok, so Rory won a wedge, a stonking huge wedge, and you'll all congratulate him but be honest you much prefer reading about us having our hearts torn out by the game

Anyway last night was the most frustrating night I've ever had. I arrived at 4.45 full of hope and "with a feeling" it was going to be a good night. Sat down at the freeroll table and watched a succession of all-in bets get called and double players up. About 10 hands in I had KK in middle position and knowing I'd get a caller I pushed. Blinds were 25-50 and I pushed for 750. I got 4 callers.

AJo
AJo
68o
9Js

Flop was 7 K 8
Turn was a blank
River a 10

9Js took the pot. Buyin!!

So after another buyin and topping up nothing too dramatic happened, made it to the final table and we were down to 7 players. I'm on the button-1 and the blinds are 500-1000. Player in front of me goes all-in for 3.5K and I make my first mistake of the night, instead of raising all-in for th 15K or so I have, I flat call with KQo. The BB mulls over a raise before flat calling as well.

Flop comes down 4 7 Q rainbow and the BB immediately pushes, he has me covered but I call him and he turns over 44 for the set. Maybe he would have called my all-in raise anyway, maybe he wouldn't, but it was shocking play on my part.

So on to the first STT, first hand it's raised to 200 in front of me and I have AQs auto push and called by 99, I hit a Q on the flop but he hits a 9.

Second STT, I got no cards at all and I was down to about 700 when I found AA on the button, I flat call for 300 hoping that at least the SB might complete. She folded, pokertroll checked in the BB, and the flop came down rags. I bet half my remaining chips and Mark folded, I think it was obvious that I had a strong hand preflop, but I was counting on the SB completing and maybe one of them hitting a pair on the flop. I went out a couple of hands later on a nothing hand.

Third STT, I made my second mistake of the night. Having got myself into a significant chip leader position with 4 remaining I lost concentration. Blinds were 100-200 and I was on the button, the smallest stack was all-in before me for 175 and I just flat called the 200 so that two of us could play against him and take him out. Unfortunately the SB had other ideas and raised it up to 1,000. I then proceeded to act the fuctard and re-raised all-in on A9o, which he called without hesitation. He had AQo and it held up to double him up and leave me second in chips. A couple of blinded away hands later and he had the game sown up, although I got €60 back for second.

So now I had to decide whether to play the main game or not. Around about 8.25 I decided that I would pay into it. (possibly my 3rd mistake but hey I was there and I felt like playing). There was some seriously ropey play on the first table I was on. Players calling 4-5*BB raises with A2o and A3o and hitting trips on the flop etc. very strange. One hand in particular sticks out though.

Blinds are 50-100 and UTG makes it 800 to go, he's called by the player next to him and everyone else folds.
Flop comes down Qc Jc 2d

Utg bets 1,000 and is called
Turn is 8h

Utg bets 1,500 and is called
River was 4c

UTG bets 1,000 and the other player re-raises all-in and UTG calls.

UTG turns over Ad8d for a pair of 8's
UtG+2 turns over T9s for the straight.

Exactly what was UTG thinking? I've no idea...

That kind of play continued with me seeing practically no cards at all. An ill-timed bluff cost me 1,800 chips but I made them back over two hands catching the same player making the same move. Both times I had bottom pair but I felt he was stealing and I was right.

So far my three best hands had been AJo which took a pot of 200 in the first few hands

22 which was one of the hands that caught the guy on the steal
and KQo which got called and beaten when I pushed on a low board.

So out for the break and back in with 6,600 in chips. Between coming back from the break at 10.45 and getting knocked out at around 12.50, I played maybe half a dozen to 10 hands. Three of which I was on the BB and it wasn't raised and the others I bluffed and won preflop and obviously one was the last hand I played. I didn't see a playable hand at all after the break. I got K2o 5 times, Q4o twice and J6o too many times to mention. The two times I did get a marginal hand to play it was raised and called in front of me and I had to lay it down (both times I would have lost)

With 4,800 left and the blinds at 600-1200 I was dealt A8o and pushed, the BB had Ako and out I went in 29th-30th (not sure which) on the plus side I'll never have that frustrating a night again.

ionapaul

I was also surprised by the amount of ropey play on my first table last night (was on table 8 with Rory) - by the time I discovered who the awful and / or blind drunk players were (about 10 minutes in), both of them had generously donated all their chips to others at the table!

Being card dead is probably more frustrating to me than getting premium hands and making a dog's dinner of them - it is hard to sit there and be blinded away without feeling involved in the game. It is something covered in 'The Zen of Poker', the ability to sit there and repress the natural desire to play for the sake of playing, and something I definitely need to work on. BUT then we always come across players who play with all sorts of rubbish and make something of these hands! Sometimes I wonder should I take a leaf out of Eamon's book and play those Q6 o hands...

corblimey

ionapaul, you've just reminded me of my last 3 tournaments . For me, the most disappointing of getting rags all night is laying them down and then seeing a set on the board or a flush on J2. I sometimes wonder if I should be taking more of a chance with my dead hands, as you say yourself, some people go all in with sh1te and double up.

Iago

corblimey wrote:

as you say yourself, some people go all in with sh1te and double up.

and you should sit there and let them. It balances out in the end, just because the flop hits the rubbish doesn't justify playing it.

For me last night was frustrating but it's over. I came away happy that I'd done everything I could (which admittedly wasn't much) to play the game the right way and make the right decisions. That's all you can do and hope the cards are with you.

Dave

play the game the right way and make the right decisions. That's all you can do and hope the cards are with you.

Realising that is the first step to getting your tilt under control.

You've pretty much described my live poker "career" in Dublin to date there aswell.

corblimey

Iago wrote:

and you should sit there and let them. It balances out in the end,

Yeah, but I'm rarely there in the end to see it

jimbling

the only time you can play crap is when you have an excellent read on a number of players... sometimes you can risk some chips early in a hand, then using your reputation, and your read on the players take down the pot.

personally, the only time I do this is in my home games (and even at that very rarely, otherwise it wont really work), where i have a good read on 3/4 or the reg 6/7 players.
In this case, I may raise with suited connectors etc... then, even if I dont hit, if I read the other players as weak i can play the post-flop aggressively and take down the pot.

I am way behind on my reading skills in other live or online tournaments to try this much... unless i am getting rags all night, and feel i have to make some moves.