First real tourny win.

BloodBath

Well i'm not a poster on this forum usually but I will be visiting more often I think. I'm writing this down for my benifit as well as I will probably forget a lot of the details in a few days.

I've been playing poker on and off since I was a kid playing with family ect, then with friends. I've only recently got big into it in the last 3-4 years. Watching a lot and playing a lot online.

I played my first real tournament tonight. It was only a small local event with 20e entry and re-buys for the first 2 hours. The total attendance was 90. Tbh I was expecting a very low skill level with the odd shark but I was wrong.

The table I was at had some very solid players who gave very little away and never called with **** hands. I decided to play safe, as I usually do, and take in what everyone else was doing. I eventually got a hand worth checking the pot out for. I had a stack of near 2000 in chips and 2-2 in my hand in the SB with no raises so I decided to check the flop out. Out pops 2 - 3 - 4. So I'm thinking to myself I pretty much have this in the bag. I don't want to give anyone any cheap cards with a straight draw so I go all in. I get called and he reveals pocket 5's. I'm in a dominant position but he has 10 out's making the odd's roughly 60-40 in my favour. I hold my breath as the draw is revealed. Out pops an ace giving him his straight and the river doesn't save me.

Gotta praise the re-buy's as I pay another 20e for another 2000 in chips. I continue playing careful just scoping out the others at the table, especially on 2 of the 10 who have now massed a nice stack and have been playing some v nice cards. I manage to get my stack up to about 5k by the break.

At the break we have the option of buying another 3k in chips for another 20e so I figure why not. It's gonna buy me a few more hands. The tournament resumes with the chip leader on about 35k or more and the blinds at 400-800 if I remember correctly.

I play it safe but for about 20-30 hands solid I get nothing of interest and with a table of at least 8-10 I can't afford to go in with bad hands. My stack dwindles to about 4.5k at which stage i'm in the BB for 2000. I have a terrible 7s-4s but decide it's time to go all in despite 2 other players in the pot. They reveal A-10 and K-Q. I pretty much accept i'm out until I hit the flush on the river and triple my stack.

This is where my luck turned. I actually started filling some great hands after this. 4-5 hands later I wait till it's my turn to act and check out my cards to reveal A-K unsuited. 1 guy has already made a decent raise and 1 called. I go in over the top and raise all in. At this stage my stack was about 30-40k and the blinds are pretty meaty. Both of them call. 1 reveals K-K, the other K-Q. I **** myself as I wait for the flop and out pops my savior ace. With only 1 other K in the deck I know my odd's are pretty big and I win the pot giving me the biggest stack at the table.

I play it really safe from here. Picking up the odd few k here and there but mainly losing through the blinds. I manage to battle down to the last 2 tables and begin to turn up the heat as my stack has again dwindled to about 50k. I check my cards on my turn again to reveal A-A and 1 person has aready gone all in. I call her and beat her doubling my stack.

I play safe again until there is about 6 at the table then I start calling with some slightly dogier hands but manage to pick up a few pots , losing very little. They know at this stage i'm a very safe player so I can start to bully them a little and continue winning until we reach the final 10.

There was no chip count but judgeing by the stack sizes I think I was the chip leader going into the final table with a couple of others very close. I again play very safe, staying out of things, mainly due to bad cards, but I did fold some nice ones in tough big money situations.

We reach the final 6 and I still have a big stack so I start to turn the heat up a little again, getting some good hands and winning some big pots. I reach some 1 on 1 situations with people with low stacks and call because of my rich position. I win most of the them and procede to knock 2 of the remaining 6 from the table with another knocked by another player leaving us with 3.

One of them has nearly as many chips as me and the other is running very low. He goes all in and I call. I have the better hand but he wins and doubles up. 2 hands later he goes all in again and doubles up off the other guy. At this stage he has about half my stack. He is in for a huge BB so I go all in. Can't remeber what hand exactly but it was better than his. He wins it though and now becomes the chip leader.

A few hands later I go all in with him again and take my chips back with the worse hand, then bring him all in again a few hands later and win again with the worse hand. Down to 2 and I have roughly 3 times his stack. I play it really safe, folding in the small blinds when I had crap and raising high in the BB even with dodgey hands.

He eventually goes all in on the BB. I check my cards to reveal A-10, great hand in heads up. I call him and he reveals J-10. I have him in a dominated position and can't beleive I may be about to win. The river comes out, to my horror, 10-J-J. Nothing but 2 aces can save me and he doubles up and is pretty even on chips. I then bully him again going in a lot, with semi decent hands and winning his blinds. Eventually I get him down to about 1/5 of my stack again when I go all in on the BB with crap. He calls to reveal a better hand and he takes the pot but i'm still in a good position. A few hands later I go all in again and he calls. Tbh I can't remeber what either of us had but I have the better hand and won it and the tournament with the nice sum of 1000e and a big grin. The buzz from winning was unreal. I can only imagine how the wsop players must feel beating the best in the world and taking home millions.

I'm sure some of you are veterans of the circuit and this is probably small fry to some of your winnings but it made my night and thank you if you were bothered to read it. I base my style on Howard Lederer's style of careful but calculated play as I am not much of a reader of players yet but I was watching like a hawk all night and did make some good bluffs and folds based on body language and their bets. There are some regular events around the midlands lately so I think I'll be attending a lot more from now on. I don't expect to have a repeat of my first any time soon but I'll enjoy it either way. Good luck to you all.

-edit- I forgot to mention, there was one other hand that nearly knocked me out at the final table with about 6 players remaining. I have A-Q or something similar and the other guy has some pocket 7's or similar. The flop comes giving me no pair, and the draw and river the same. I'm almost all in and think i'm beat until someone notices that there were 2 pair on the board higher than his 7's and my A high wins it. A bit of a bad beat for him but the odd's were near 50-50.

careca

With ninety odd players thats a great win, in any persons language. Well done.

BloodBath wrote:

. 4-5 hands later I wait till it's my turn to act and check out my cards to reveal A-K unsuited. 1 guy has already made a decent raise and 1 called. I go in over the top and raise all in. At this stage my stack was about 30-40k and the blinds are pretty meaty. Both of them call. 1 reveals K-K, the other K-Q. I **** myself as I wait for the flop and out pops my savior ace. With only 1 other K in the deck I know my odd's are pretty big

AK, KK and KQ. How many Kings do ye play with
Sorry pedantic I know !!

RustySpoon

Congratulations - that was a good win.

BloodBath wrote:

There are some regular events around the midlands lately so I think I'll be attending a lot more from now on.

Where was this tourney on?
I am living in Laois and find it hard to get to a good live game - the game in Kildare being the exception (although i haven't been at that in a while due to one thing or another). Was at one of the games in the Gandon Inn and found it be a bit of a rip off.

roryc

U should think of making the odd trip up to the big smoke for a game in the fitz. Fair play on the win

BloodBath

Originally Posted by BloodBath
. 4-5 hands later I wait till it's my turn to act and check out my cards to reveal A-K unsuited. 1 guy has already made a decent raise and 1 called. I go in over the top and raise all in. At this stage my stack was about 30-40k and the blinds are pretty meaty. Both of them call. 1 reveals K-K, the other K-Q. I **** myself as I wait for the flop and out pops my savior ace. With only 1 other K in the deck I know my odd's are pretty big


AK, KK and KQ. How many Kings do ye play with
Sorry pedantic I know !!

Sorry look at the time of the post, I was really tired, The other guy didn't have a K. Maybe A-Q or something, can't remember exactly. There was defo still 1 king in the deck.

Where was this tourney on?
I am living in Laois and find it hard to get to a good live game - the game in Kildare being the exception (although i haven't been at that in a while due to one thing or another). Was at one of the games in the Gandon Inn and found it be a bit of a rip off.

It was in the bridge house hotel in Tullamore. As far as I know it's once a fortnight or at least once a month, usually on a tuesday or wednesday night when the club isn't on. I have to say it was well organised and run with some quality players, at least at my table. I was talking to another player and he was saying the previous one he was at had some terrible players at his table but I suppose you get them at most tournies. There is another one starting in clara from next wednesday. They are hoping to make it a regular event afaik. Registration starts at 7 in Dock. I'm not sure if that's a hotel or something else but I'll find out.

U should think of making the odd trip up to the big smoke for a game in the fitz. Fair play on the win

Yeah I'm going to keep an eye on the Dublin events and make the journey for a bigger tournie. I really enjoyed that and wouldn't mind trying my luck against some of Ireland's premier players.

Thanks for reading and replying

Lafortezza

Congrats on the win! Detailed tournament reports are always nice to read but paragraphs are your friend!

BloodBath

Yeah sorry that was probably not the easiest to read, edited