A Day At The Races

I played in three daily tournaments on Sunday. Here's what happened:

Harrah's $45 11am 10am: I got to Harrah's about 10:10 in the morning. I was gonna walk over to the Poker Room to register for the 11am tourney, and head up to the buffet for some breakfast. However, as I walked towards the room, I noticed that two tables were running. As it turned out, they changed their schedule since I was here a month ago, and the tourney started at 10am. I got into the tourney one hand before late registration ended as the 16th player.

The players got knocked rather quickly including two different double eliminations, and it only took around 30 minutes to combine to one table. I helped out by knocking out a lady with my AQ. I raised preflop, c-bet the Flop, bet again when I hit the A on the Turn, and went All-In on the River. She called the whole way, but she didn't show her hand.

At the Final Table, I was 2nd in chips. The Chip leader was from my table, and he seemed to have a clue about the game. Unfortunately, he got seated on my Left+1.

Even though there was some short stacks, it didn't take long for us to get into a big pot. It folded to me in the Cutoff, and I raised with KTh (sorry, I don't remember the specific amounts and blinds). Only the Chip Leader called from the SB. The Flop was 8-high with two Hearts. He checked. I bet. He check-raised. I insta-shiped all in with just a Flush Draw and two Overcards.

The reason for the All-In was from a few hands earlier. A Shortstack moved All-In. The Chip Leader considered making a thin call, but said that making those calls is a good way to blow a chip lead. I took this to mean that he would fold to an All-In, but I was wrong. He called rather quickly, which I didn't like. I turned over my Draw, and he got that "Are you kidding me?" look on his face. He turn over QJh for a Flush Draw and two Overcards. The Turn and River were bricks, and I win a monster pot with K-high.

Since I had such a monster stack with eight players left, I went into Lockdown mode. There was no reason for me to play without a "real" hand, and I did pick-up a few hands. When we got to the first break, there were only five players left. I had over 21k, which was more than half of the chips in play.

I stayed in Lockdown mode, waiting to get to the money. When it was four handed (400/800 level), I got into a big hand. It folded to the SB who just limped. It was a lady who had knocked out a few players, and was second in chips. I just checked my option with K9o. The Flop was K 4 3. She bet 1000, and I called. Turn [K 4 3] 9. She bet 2000. I think she has a real hand like Two Pair, so I min-raise to 4000 with my Top Two Pair. She just calls. River [K 4 3 9] T. She quickly goes All-In for 7500, and I call. She shows KT for a rivered Two Pair.

Suddenly, my monster stack is down to around 6500. I now have to go from Lockdown mode to Steal mode. Fortunately, the other two player were Super Nits and on my Left. I was able to slowly grind back my stack. When we got to three handed, we did a quick chip count. The Chip Leader had just over 25k, I had 16k, and the third player was under 5k. It didn't take long to get rid of the shortstack.

Only two players got paid, and the Floor brought over the payouts. The payouts were 65% & 35%, which was $312 and $168 for a prize pool of $480. I suggested a tweak to the payouts since we were close in chips; $200 each and play for the $80. She agreed.

Heads-up didn't last long, as I made short work of her. I got a good chunk of her chips when I raised with 93o on the Button. I hit nothing on the Flop, and bet the Flop and Turn. I backed into a K-high Straight by the River, but she didn't call my value bet. The match ended a few hands later. She was quite happy to get the $200, and I was quite happy to get another notch on my belt, even if it was a small notch.

Peppermill $65 1pm: When I got to the Peppermill at 12:50, there was a long line for tourney registration. As it turned out, this tourney got 70 players, which was huge for a daily tournament in Reno. I had some good, some bad, and some ugly. I finished in 27th place.

Peppermill $95 (Cash Me Out) 6:30pm: This tourney had a more reasonable field of 42. I got down to the final two table when this hand happened. I raised to 4000 in the 700/1500/200 level with AK. Only one of the Blinds called. The Flop was K-high. He checked, and so did I. The Flop was rather dry, and it was good one to trap with. The Turn was a Ten. He bet out 3000, which was about 40% of his stack. I grabbed my stack of 1k chips, and pushed them foward. He though for a bit, and reluctantly called with AQ. As you can guess, the River was a Jack, giving him Broadway. This left me with 3500, and I was out two hands later in 14th place.

It's hard to complain about the 4-outer. I've been really good at avoiding the 2, 3, and 4-outers lately, so I was kinda due for one. But still, Ouch! That hand would have put in decent shape to make it to the Final Table where I can work my magic.