This is from yesterday's Greektown 11am $75 tourney.
"Shuffle Up & Deal" 4000 chips - There was a larger crowd than normal due to the Holiday (that's why I was there). We started with 59 players on six tables. This tourney normally gets 20-30 players. I'm on Table 5, and I don't recognize anyone at the table.
End of Level 1 (25/50) [25 minute levels] 4050 - The table was tight/passive as expected. I raised one hand to 300 with ATc, and took down the Blinds plus one limper.
Level 2 (50/100) 4100 - I raised to 500 twice, and took down the Blinds plus limpers. I limped on the Button with K8. I hit the K on the Flop, and called a bet of 200 by a Early Position older gentleman. He bet the Turn. I folded, assuming that he had me out kicked.
Level 3 (100/200) 5400 - It folded to me in the Cutoff, so I raised to 800, and took the Blinds. I also raised in Mid position with AQh. I got one caller, and took it down on the Flop.
Level 4 (150/300) 10100 - After a few player limped, I checked my option in the BB with T2d. Flop is Ad Th 6d. (Hello, Big Blind Special) I lead out for 1100. One player called. Next player went All-In for 3500. It folded back to me, and I ship it All-In. The Caller folded, and the All-In showed AQ. I hit another T on the Turn, and take down a sweet pot.
The table broke immediately after this hand, and I was moved to Table 1. Very first hand, I've looked at AKd in Early Position, and raised to 1000. I got one caller, whiffed the Flop, and folded to his bet.
Level 5 (200/400/25) [30 minute levels] 9875 - I raised to 1500 with JTh in Mid position. I got one caller, and took it down with a Flop bet.
After a couple of limpers, I also limped with 98d in the Cutoff. The Button raised to 2000. The BB and a limper called. I really didn't want to call because the implied odds just aren't there in a tournament. But I was getting a little under 4-1 odds, and with this being a fast tourney structure, I needed to take some chances. So I called, but completely missed the Flop. The Button ended up going All-In and everyone folded.
Break Time. 30 players are left, and I've got an above average stack.
Level 6 (400/800/50) 13525 - With many shortstacks holding on for dear life, I started to step on the gas, and steal the Blinds and Antes. I didn't have any resistance, but a few players started to make comments about it. Every Blind vs Blinds situation was either a Walk or I raised and took it down.
Level 7 (600/1200/100) 18500 - "Push & Pray" has begun for the Shortstacks, so I had to slow down on the stealing. I did raise to 3100 in Early position with AKs. I got one caller, but he reluctantly folded on the Turn.
Level 8 (800/1600/200) 28000 - First hand of the Level, I post my blind, and continue stack chips from a pot I had just won. I then looked up, and realized that I'm the UTG player. By this time, it folded around to the SB, who pushed All-In for 3250. The BB starts to count his small stack of chips, and looks at me, probably wondering why I just limped in. I try to keep a "poker face", and not influence the action. He reluctantly folded. I say what happened, and called the micro raise. I turn over A5 (Sweet!). He showed A9 (Drat!), and wins the pot. The BB would have called if it wasn't for me limping in, and would have hit a straight on the River. This "Accidental Blind" didn't hurt my stack much, but it was a little embarrassing.
Later in the level, the same player had gotten some more chips, and min-raised in the Cutoff. I'm the SB and called with T9d. The BB also called. Flop was T high. I check. BB bet 4000. Cutoff folded, and I shipped it for 10k more. The BB, who's been really tight, thinks for a bit, and reluctantly folded.
I've now got the chip lead at our table. There are 14 players left, but we've been stuck there for a while. The Shortstacks just keep hanging around on both tables.
Level 9 (1600/3200/300) 0 chips - First of all, that's not a typo. The Blinds actually doubled in one level.
We finally got to five handed about halfway though the level. The player from the Accidental Blind hand went All-In from the Cutoff. He had gotten a large stack through a ridiculous suck-out against another player. I'm the Button with AQh, and went All-In. Everyone folded, and he showed AA. You got to love the 5-handed, shortstack cooler. This left me with 300 chips. So I have just enough to ante the next hand, and lost when my 95o doesn't hold up. I finish in 11th place, and bubbled the Final Table.
Some people say that the perfect "Real Life" example of the Butterfly Effect is a poker tournament. One single action early in the tournament can impact the outcome, whether it's a simple misdeal that would have been an AA vs KK hand, or an accidental call instead of a raise to save a player some chips.
My "Accidental Blind", which seemed so insignificant at the time, got me eliminated from the tournament 45 minutes after it happened. Now, I'm not saying that I would have won the tournament if this didn't happen. With that dude being out of the tournament, all the cards would have been different. Hell, I might have been eliminated even earlier. You just never know.
I found out later in the day that he was involved in the Chop for $900.
Nice Hand, Sir.
2 comments:
Wow that huge blind level jump from level 8 to 9 is just redonkulous. Did I misunderstand you though, that you had ZERO invested and shoved with AQ0 when you had an above avg chip stack?
He was the Cutoff, and I was the Button.
With the redonkulous blind jump, plus the fact that we had so few bust-outs in the previous hour meant the Average Stack was 21500 with 11 players left. That's just under 7 Big Blinds.
I had 28000 at the start of the level, but this hand was halfway through the level. So the Blinds & Antes were eating up my stack. I think I had around 22k - 23k for the AQ vs AA hand.
To me, this was just a cooler. Because everyone was so shortstacked, I was not gonna "Fold to the Money" when we are at two tables.
Had this happened with 6 or 7 players left, then I might have let it go, and tried to "Survive to the Chop".
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