FOFC PokerStars Colossal Squid #43 (5/7/2006)

[cartman]

It's that time again. We've had good turnouts the past couple, let's keep the momentum going!


Tourney #24292431
FOFC Colossal Squid #43
NLHE $10+$1
Sunday, May 7th, 9:00pm Eastern
Password: mayflowers

[cartman]

Sunday bump

[Maple Leafs]

I'll try to make it.

[Radii]

i'm in.

[primelord]

I'm in as well

[Maple Leafs]

i'm in.
I'm in as well
Um, maybe I'm not in after all...

[TroyF]

I'm in. Preparing to get smoked. Oh well, at least when someone gets my money, it's someone I halfway like. :)

[primelord]

I'm in. Preparing to get smoked. Oh well, at least when someone gets my money, it's someone I halfway like. :)

You don't appear to be in. :)

Late registration still open.

[primelord]

Dola,

N/M I wasn't sure who TAF was. I'm an idiot. :)

[primelord]

Barkeep stop luriking in here and come play

[TroyF]

TAF1972, I'm there.

[primelord]

Matt bested me heads up. Congrats on the win Matt!

[kcchief19]

Again, I feel like I have to come here and explain myself and apologize to some suckout victims.

First up, Maple Leafs. Midway through the tournament with seven left, I'm shortstacked -- 685 chips -- and with the blinds at 50/100 I need two good cards. Wahoomac limps, Sean raises 3BB and Panerd calls. I'm looking at pot sixes. I nearly held off with two people betting into the pot in front of me, since I figured one of them had to have a better pair than mine. But given the situation and the opportunity to perhaps triple up, I push. Wahoomac and Panerd fold, Sean calls and flips over pocket kings. Flop comes Ac3h5s, which isn't much help but some. I utter a Poker Stars friendly curse word. Turn brings a 4h and suddenly I have eight new outs. One of them comes through with the 7c, and I hit the runner-runner straight to the seven. Terrible beat for Sean, but he survived to third place.

Next, Panerd and TroyF. Still seven-handed, Troy raises 4BB UTG+1 and Panered moves all in, which was only 45 more chips. I'm looking at AcKs. I'm back down to just over 1,000 chips, so I'm still in a position where I'm looking for two good cards, especially with blinds now at 100/200. I move all-in and Try naturally calls 220 more. Troy shows 7c7h and Panerd shows Tc9c. Given the chip situations, I'd probably do the same thing as both those guys did. Turn brough an ace and I triple up. Statistically, I was actually a very slight favorite, so this wasn't nearly the suckout that the hand against Sean was.

About eight hands later we are four-handed and I get 7d6d UTG. I like suited connectors, especially shorthanded, so I see this as an opportunity to maybe steal the blinds or possibly see a flop that might really hit. I raised to 3BB. Primelord folds, Cartman raises to 6BB and Sean folds in the BB. I stew a bit before make a decision. At this point, the raise is too tempting. I've got Eric covered by about a 1,000 chips. I figured if I call and miss the flop completely I'll still be in third position and if Eric and I go all-in I'll still have 1,000 chips left and can try to stay alive. I call, and the flop brings 5d4c5s. I figure that flop didn't help Eric at all, but I've flopped an open-ended straight draw. Eric comes out betting 600 and I call. Flop brings a Kd and Eric bets most of the rest of his chips and I'm committed at this point and I call, especially since I now have a flush draw. The river is a 3s completing my straight, Eric bets all-in and I call. I think I could be faulted on the preflop call -- but shorthanded I think that's an almost automatic call. I'm somewhat surprised to learn that post-flop I'm actually ahead, although Eric caught back up on the turn. I'm committed at that point, so I figure I had to keep going.

THe big hand that put me ahead for good was going head to head with Sean again. Sean raises to 3 BB in the small blind and I call with a Jc9c -- more suited cards that I like to play shorthanded for cheap if I can. Flop is a head turner -- 7s7h7d. Sean and I had a hand like this a while back in a Colossal Squid tourney, and I know he's a sharp, aggressive player. I figure if he's got the case seven or has flopped a full house he'll check it and if he's got an ace and think he has the best hand he'll bet big and try to win the pot. Sean checks, which puts me on alert. I check, and the turn brings a 9h, giving me a full house. Sean bets 200, and this smelled to high heaven to me. Again, I figure if he has the nuts he'll want to trap me, so I'm thinking at this point he's just hoping that any bet will make me fold. I call and the river brings the Js, improving my full house. Again, Sean bets 200 and I'm confused. I'm pretty sure I've got the best hand and Sean is just hoping any bet will make me fold. I raise to 800 and he reraises all-in. I'm worried at this point that he has a higher pocket pair than jacks or has the seven, but again I'm committed since I've got Sean covered better than 2-1. I call and he turns over Kd9s. Whew!

Primelord claimed he had 97 there and would have taken Sean down and crippled me. Too bad. :)

Primelord and I battle for a while, trading jabs and folds. There was a big hand when with a flop of AsTs4h I check Ad2d and Rick bets 1200. I reraise 2400 and he folds. I'm assuming he didn't have an ace there and was trying to steal the pot after my check.

I had one major slip heads up with pocket tens. I raise 3BB preflop and Rick calls. The flop is Kd7c4h. Rick checks, I bet 4BB and he calls. The turn is 9c and Rick bets all-in. I'm pretty sure he has the king at this point, but given that I've got an almost 4-1 edge in chips, I decided its worth a call. It's worse than I think -- he's hit two pairs with kings and sevens and I double him up.

The big hand came with me having pocket fives in the BB. I fully admit I play low and mid pocket pairs like shit. I'm just never comfortable with them. Even heads up, I tend to play them cheap hoping to turn a set. Here I raise to 4BB and Rick reraises me from 800 to 1400. I nearly folded, but I figured heads up pocket fives were still a very strong hand. I nearly reraised all-in, and probably should have in retrospect if I wanted to play them. But with a light lead in chips I figured it would only cost me 600 more to see the flop and if I miss the set I'll only be slightly behind in the chip count. Flop brought Ac5h3d and I was dancing in my chair. Rick comes out firing with 2,000 chips and I reraised him to all-in. He (allegedly -- I believe him) lays down KK. That was just a curse for him talking about how strong KK was earlier in the tournament. :)

I finish Rick off later with K9 vs A5 when I catch trip nines.

I suppose in retrospect the suckout against Sean with 66 vs KK was the only awful beat, although I certainly won more races than I should have expected. I think the preflop call with 76s against cartman was loose, but as I said I really like suited connectors shorthanded.

[kcchief19]

Cartman probably lost the spreadsheet with the standings with his computer meltdown, so it will probably be a while before I can look at my four wins in the standings and just stare at them. :)

[TroyF]

I really didn't have a choice but to call the pair of 7 there. my mistake may have been not moving all in pre flop, but there was no real way you weren't going ot call anyway.

I'd made a pretty nice comeback to even be in the thick of things anyway. The only hand I really had a tough time with was heads up with Radii. I had A/K of spades. I bet, he called. Flop came down 6/4/9 or something like that, all red cards. I put in a feeler bet and he went all in.

I was thinking when he called me it'd be a medium pair, somewhere in the 9-J range. I folded.

Later on I called ML with a pair of 8's, but he caught his flush on the river and put me in a tough spot. A couple of lucky all ins and I doubled up twice before the pair of 7's nailed me.

All in all, a pretty good game from everyone I think.

[primelord]

Tournament Recap

Level 1: Blinds 10/20, Chips 1,500
Seat 1: primelord
Seat 2: cartman
Seat 3: Wahoomac
Seat 4: radii
Seat 5: Maple Leafs
Seat 7: TroyF
Seat 8: panerd
seat 9: kcchief

Hand #1: I am dealt Ac, 8d on the button. It's folded to me and I raise to 4x the BB and the blinds fold. A fantastic start! :) 1,530 chips.

Hand #4: I am dealt As, 8s UTG+1. kcchief folds, I raise to 3x BB and everyone folds. 1,560 chips.

Hand #6: I have Qd, 5h in the BB. cartman limps UTG, everyone folds to kcchief who completes the SB and I check. The flop comes 9c, 4d, Kd. Everyone checks. The turn is the 6h. Again everyone checks. The river is the Js. kcchief checks, I think for a moment at taking a stab at the pot, but at only 60 chips I didn;t think it was worth it. I chek and cartman checks. kcchief flips over AA and cartman has 88. I am playing between the two biggest nits in history. :D Matt takes down the monster 3 BB pot with his rockets. 1,540 chips.

Hand #22: I have 7h, 6s on the BB. It's folded to Troy in the CO who raises to 4x the BB. It's folded to me and for reasons that are beyond me I call. The flop comes Ks, Qs, 4d. I check, Troy makes about a pot sized bet and I fold my trashy hand I should never have been in. 80 chips down the drain. 1,420 chips. IT should be noted that the table is playing exceptionally tight at this point in the tournament.

Hand #23: I have Kc, Jh in the SB. It is folded to me and I raise to 3x BB. cartman folds. 1,440 chips.


Level 2: Blinds 15/30, 1,440 chips, 6th place in chips
Seat 1: primelord (1,440)
Seat 2: cartman (1,510)
Seat 3: Wahoomac (1,340)
Seat 4: radii (940)
Seat 5: Maple Leafs (1,490)
Seat 7: TroyF (1,480)
Seat 8: panerd (2,240)
Seat 9: kcchief (1,560)

Hand #31: I have Qs, 5d in the SB. It's folded to me and I raise to 3x BB. cartman folds his BB. 1,440 chips.

Hand #33: I have Ac, Qc in the CO. Folded to panerd who raises 2x BB in MP. I raise to 150, everyone folds back to panerd who calls. The flop comes 9c, Qd, Js. panerd checks, I bet 210 and panerd folds. 1,680 chips.

Hand #34: I am dealt As, Ts in MP2. panerd limps from UTG+1 and I raise to 120. It's folded to panerd who calls. The flop comes 9h, 2s, Qh. panerd checks, I bet 210 and he folds. panerd said shortly after that, that he had two small pairs on those hands (77 and 44 I believe) and that he needed to stop calling me. I told him that he had me preflop on both of those hands, but that I connected with both flops. I obviously lied. :) I was half telling the truth at least. 1,845 chips.

Hand #38: I ahve Ah, 9h in the BB. Wahoomac raises to 3x BB from UTG+1. It is folded to me and I call. The flop comes 7h, 6s, 5c. I figure it is unlikely that flop helped him and if it did I likely have at least 5 1/2 and possibly as many as 8 1/2 or so outs. If the flop didn't help him I also thought he was unlikely to call my bet. I bet 120 and Wahoomac folds. 1,950 chips.

Hand #41: I have Ah, 9h again this time in the CO. It's folded to me and I raise to 3x BB. cartman calls on the button and Wahoomac calls in the SB. The flop is pretty solid for me 7d, Ac, 5h. It's checked to me and I bet 210 and both players fold. 2,145 chips.

Level 3: Blinds 25/50, 2,115 chips, 2nd place in chips
Seat 1: primelord (2,115)
Seat 2: cartman (1,345)
Seat 3: Wahoomac (935)
Seat 4: radii (1,450)
Seat 5: Maple Leafs (1,850)
Seat 7: TroyF (1,165)
Seat 8: panerd (2,180)
Seat 9: kcchief (960)

Hand #46: I am dealt Ac, 2c in the BB. It's folded to TroyF in the CO and he raises 2x the BB and I call. The flop comes 4c, 3h, 8h. I check and Troy bets 100. I thought about peeling one off here, but it would be a very loose call even if I had a full 8 1/2 outs. I can't be confident if I catch an A and I don;t think Troy is paying me off here if I hit. So I fold. 2,015 chips.

Hand #48: I am dealt 7s, 2s on the button. It's folded to me and I raise to 3x the BB. Wahoomac calls in the BB. The flop comes 9h, Tc, 6h. My play all game here had been to bet around 2/3 of the pot when checked to. I figured Wahoomac might look me up if I did it again. So my plan for the hand is to check the flop through if he checks. If the stars align I will catch my gutshot, but I am betting any scare card that comes on the turn if he checks to me again. Wahoomac does check the flop and I check behind. The turn is the 5h is which is scary enough I think here. Wahoomac checks I bet 200 and Wahoomac folds. 2,165 chips.

Hand #54: I am dealt 7h, 6c in the BB. It's folded to panerd on the button who limps, kcchief folds in the SB and I check. The flop comes 7c, 3c, Qs. I check and panerd checks. The turn is the Kh. I bet 150 and panerd folds. 2,235 chips.

Hand #59: I have Kd, 3d in MP1. It's folded to me and I try and take advantage of the tight table and rasie to 3x the BB. Wahoomac raises to 300 in the CO. Everyone else folds back to me. My plan seems to have back fired. I don;t want to give the impression that I can be run over thoguhas this is the first time anyone has really played back at me so I call. The flop is of no help to me 7s, 8s, Qd. I check, Wahoomac bets 250 and I fold. 1,915 chips.

Hand #61: We lose radii on this hand. He had AQ and got all-in with panerd on a K 5 A flop. Unfortunately for radii panerd had flopped a set of 5s which improved to a boat on the river.

Hand #63: I am dealt Tc, 8s in the SB. It is folded to me and I fold my SB to cartman. The only rerason I post this hand is because I had been raisisng/stealing every hand that was folded to me on the button or in the SB. T8o is actually far strong enough for me to try and steal here, but I think it is important to show a solid thinking player like cartman that I am willing to fold a SB to him. It lessens the risk he is going to play back at me the next time I get T8o and want to steal. 1,840 chips.

Hand #64: I am dealt Ac, Qs on the button. panerd open limps from MP and it's folded to me and I raise 4x the BB. Everyone folds. 1,965 chips.

Hand #65: I open raise 3x the BB with As, 7d in the CO and everyone folds. 2,040 chips.

Level IV: Blinds 50/100, 2,040 chips, 3rd place in chips
Seat 1: primelord (2,040)
Seat 2: cartman (1,395)
Seat 3: Wahoomac (910)
Seat 5: Maple Leafs (2,450)
Seat 7: TroyF (1,565)
Seat 8: panerd (2,755)
Seat 9: kcchief (735)

Hand #69: I have Js, Jd in the BB. Wahoomac open limps from UTG+1, folded to panerd who calls on the button, kcchief folds his SB, I raise to 500, Wahoomac calls and panerd folds. The flop comes 9h, 8h, 6h. That's a fairly scary flop for me, but Wahoomac only has 410 chips left. I bet to put him all-in and he calls. He turns over 8c, 7c and I am a slight favorite to win the hand. That turns to me being about a 2:1 dog when the turn is the 7d. The river is of no help to me and I lose about half my chips. 1,130 chips.

Hand #73: I have Ad, 7s in MP. It's folded to me and I raise to 3x the BB. cartman re-raises in the CO to 500 and it's folded back to me. This is a critical decision for me. cartman has both played tight and not played back at me all night. He also is down to about 1,300 in chips so the 500 bet is a significant portion of his stack. I doubt he makes this play with any hand that I am ahead of except maybe KQs. I am getting about 4.75:1 to call which is not horrible, but if I call and have to fold the flop I will have less than 600 chips. I decide it's too likely cartman has a very strong hand and lay it down. 780 chips.

Hand #76: I am dealt 9h, 9d in the BB. Apparently I got disconnected on this hand because Maple Leafs made a min raise from MP, it was folded to me and I folded. I don;t recall this hand and being short stacked like I was there is now way I would have not pushed with this hand. 680 chips.

Hand #77: It seems the poker gods wanted to give me a second chance because I am dealt the exact same two cards 9h, 9d on the next hand in the SB. Wahoomac raises UTG to 2x the BB, panerd calls in the CO and it's folded to me. I push in my 680, Wahoomac calls and panerd folds. Wahoomac shows Ac, Kc and it's a race. The final board is Jh, Js, 8d, 6c, 6s and I double up. 1,660 chips.

Hand #82: I am dealt Js, Th UTG+1. I open raise to 3x the BB and everyone folds. 1,810 chips.

Hand #86: We lose Wahoomac on this hand. Out of the BB he flopped two pair with 53. cartman flopped a flush draw though and after they got all-in on the flop cartman caught his flush on the turn.

Hand #92: I am dealt Td 8d on the button. It is folded to me and I raise to 3x the BB. Everyone folds. 1,810 chips.

Hand #93: I am dealt Ad, Kh in the CO. I open raise to 3x the BB and everyone folds. 1,960 chips.

Level V: Blinds 75/150, 1,960 chips, 2nd place in chips
Seat 1: primelord (1,960)
Seat 2: cartman (2,685)
Seat 5: Maple Leafs (1,865)
Seat 7: TroyF (1,815)
Seat 8: panerd (1,905)
Seat 9: kcchief (1,695)

Hand #96: I am dealt Ah, Ts in the BB. TroyF open raises 2x the BB from the CO and it is folded to me. Getting 3.5:1 I call. The flop comes Tc, Th, Js. We both check. The turn is the 5h. Again we both check. The river is the Ks. Having failed to trap Troy for any bets I throw in 600 on the river and he folds. 2,335 chips.

Hand #98: I have Kd, Th on the button. It is folded to em and I raise to 3x the BB and everyone folds. 2,485 chips.

Hand #105: I have Ah, 8d in the CO. I open raise to 3x the BB and everyone folds. 2,485 chips.

Hand #108: I have Qc, Qd in the BB. It's folded to panerd who open raises to 300 on the button. kcchief folds and I re-raise to 900. panerd calls. At this point I am about 100% certain he doesn't have AA or KK. With almost 1,900 chips in the pot I am going to push any flop that doesn't have an A or K. The flop comes 5s, 5c, 2d. There is virtually no way panerd has a 5 so I push in my last 1,585. panerd calls and flips over Td, Ts. I am in fantastic shape as I am about a 92% favorite to win the hand. The turn and river bring no help to panerd and I double up through the chip leader. 5,045 chips.

Hand #114: I have Td, 9d in the SB. panerd open limps from the CO, I call and cartman checks. The flop comes 3s, Jh, 6c. We all check. The turn is the 8d. In retrospect I wish I had taken a stab once I turned the OESD, but we all checked the turn. The river was the 5h. Again we all check and panerd has the winning hand 5d, 4c with the rivered 5. 4,670 chips.

Hand #115: I have Qh, Js on the button. It is folded to me and I raise to 3x the BB and everyone folds. 4,895 chips.

Hand #122: I have Kh, Jh in the CO. It's folded to me and I raise to 3x the BB. It's folded to Maple Leafs in the SB who pushes all-in to 1,405. I thought about this one awhile. Maple Leafs had played pretty tight most of the night. I thought this play likely was a fold so I dumped my hand. After the tournament I went back and verified with SnGPT that a fold there had an equity of $28.36 and I call had an equity of $27.66 so a fold was correct. Maple Leafs also mentioned that he was tired of me raising his blinds. :) 4,445 chips.

Level VI: Blinds 100/200, 4,445 chips, 1st place in chips
Seat 1: primelord (4,445)
Seat 2: cartman (2,185)
Seat 5: Maple Leafs (2.005)
Seat 7: TroyF (1,400)
Seat 8: panerd (645)
Seat 9: kcchief (1,320)

Hand 126: We lose panerd on this hand as we had a 3 way all-in preflop between kcchief (Ac, Ks), panerd (Tc, 9c) and TroyF (7c, 7h). The final board was Qh, 8d, 5h, As, 8c. panerd was knocked out and TRoyF was crippled.

Hand #127: I am dealt 4c, 3c on the button. I open raise to 3x the BB and everyone folds. 4,445 chips.

Hand #129: TroyF is all-in against Maple Leafs preflop. Maple Leafs catches an A to go with his A9 on the flop and Troy's Q2 can't improve to beat him and we are on the bubble.

Hand #135: I open raise to 3x the BB with As, 6d in the SB and cartman folds. 4,445 chips

Hand #136: We get into the money when kcchiefs 76s makes a straight on the river to beat cartman's AK (paired the K on the turn).

Hand #138: I am dealt 6d, 2c in the SB. I open raise to 3x the BB and Maple Leafs pushes all=in for 2,185 chips. I reptend to think about the decision for a few seconds and then muck my hand. I did promis Maple Leafs that the next time he did that I was going to call. 3,945 chips.

Hand #141: I am dealt Qc, Qs in the SB. I open raise to 600 and I am hoping I get to keep my promise, but Maple Leafs folds. 4,245 chips.

Hand #142: On the next hand I am dealt 9d, 7c on the button. I thought about stealing here, but decided to fold. Maple Leafs raises to 600 and kcchief calls. The flop comes 7s, 7h, 7d and I would have flopped quads. :) Both players check the flop. The turn is the 9h and I would have made quads and a pair! :) Maple Leafs bets 200 and kcchief calls. The river is the Js. Both players get all-in on the river. Maple Leafs shows K9 for 7 full of 9s and kcchief shows J9s for 7s full of Js. If I would have just made my steal I could have knocked them both out right there. :) We are heads up now. 4,245 chips.

There is a lot fo merit to posting the entire heads up session, but I am tired so I will just post the big hands. I might come back later and post them all.

Hand #152: I raise to 4x the BB out of the SB with Jc, 9h. kcchief calls. The flop comes 4h, As, Ts. kcchief checks, I bet 1,200 and chief check raises to 2,400. Nice play by him I fold. 3,145 chips.

Hand #156: I raise to 4x the BB from the SB with Ah, Tc and kcchief calls. The flop comes 9s, 2s, 3c. I push all-in with my 2,445 and kcchief folds. 4,450 chips.

Hand #160: I mis-click and complete the SB with 7s, 5h and kcchief checks. The flop comes Ac, 8h, Qs. I figure if I am in the hand I will take a stab at the pot and I bet 800. That backfires as Matt calls. The turn is the 9h and we both check. The river is the 4s. Matt bets 600 and I am thinking my 7 high is no good and I fold. 2,845 chips.

Hand #161: I have Kh, 7h in the BB. kcchief raises to 600 out of the SB and I call. The flop is Kd, 7c, 4h. I check kcchief bets 800 and I call. The turn is the 9c. I push all-in for 1,445. Matt calls and flips over Td, Ts. The river is the Ah and my two pair is good. 5,690 chips.

Hand #174: I have As, 9d int he SB. I raise to 4x the BB and kcchief calls. The flop is 9s, 2s, 6s. Matt checks, I bet 1,000 and Matt folds. 6,190 chips.

Hand #177: I have 4s, 3s in the BB. kcchief raises to 600 in the SB and I call. The flop comes 9h, Ac, 5d. I check, Matt bets 800 and I fold.

Hand #179: I have Kh, Ks in the BB. Matt raises to 4x the BB. I re-raise to 1,425 and Matt calls. The flop comes Ac, 5h, 3d. This is not a good flop for me. I bet 2,000 and Matt raises to 4,000 which would put me all-in. Looking back on this hand I really hate my flop bet. A bet of 1,000 would have still made Matt fold if he missed, but would have left me with over 2k in chips if he raised. As it is now if I lay down the hand I am left with 1,340 chips. Still I am 100% certain Matt is not bluffing here. I tell him I am laying down KK and fold. He shows 55 for the flopped set. 1,340 chips.

Hand #182: I have Th, 8h in the SB. I push all-in preflop for 990. Matt calls with Jd, 2d. I ctahc an 8 ont he flop and chief gets no help and I double up. 1,980 chips.

Hand #185: I have Ad, 5s in the BB. kcchief raises to 4x the BB and I push all-in for 1,980 chips. Matt calls and flips over Kd, 9c. The flop has a 9 in it and I get no help from the turn or river. Matt gets the well deserved win.

[TroyF]

Hand #22: I have 7h, 6s on the BB. It's folded to Troy in the CO who raises to 4x the BB. It's folded to me and for reasons that are beyond me I call. The flop comes Ks, Qs, 4d. I check, Troy makes about a pot sized bet and I fold my trashy hand I should never have been in. 80 chips down the drain. 1,420 chips. IT should be noted that the table is playing exceptionally tight at this point in the tournament.


A/T spades. You didn't give me the chance to hit the Royal. Bastard.

Hand #46: I am dealt Ac, 2c in the BB. It's folded to TroyF in the CO and he raises 2x the BB and I call. The flop comes 4c, 3h, 8h. I check and Troy bets 100. I thought about peeling one off here, but it would be a very loose call even if I had a full 8 1/2 outs. I can't be confident if I catch an A and I don;t think Troy is paying me off here if I hit. So I fold. 2,015 chips.

A/Q

Hand #96: I am dealt Ah, Ts in the BB. TroyF open raises 2x the BB from the CO and it is folded to me. Getting 3.5:1 I call. The flop comes Tc, Th, Js. We both check. The turn is the 5h. Again we both check. The river is the Ks. Having failed to trap Troy for any bets I throw in 600 on the river and he folds. 2,335 chips.

Speculative hand. Table was still tight, I wanted to see if I could get a couple of bites with the smaller raise and then catch something. I think I had 6/7hearts. When the flop came out with biggies and no potential for a straight, I was check folding from the get go.

[Barkeep49]

Barkeep stop luriking in here and come play
I wasn't even lurking here. I went to bed shortly after this tourney started. I don't think I've missed 2 in a row ever since I started playing regularly in this tourney.

[Radii]

I'd made a pretty nice comeback to even be in the thick of things anyway. The only hand I really had a tough time with was heads up with Radii. I had A/K of spades. I bet, he called. Flop came down 6/4/9 or something like that, all red cards. I put in a feeler bet and he went all in.

I was running a little short in chips b/c of a hand I gave away a bunch of chips to panerd on, so it didn't take much for me to be ready to push. I'm pretty sure the flop was 643. I had 88 and remember for sure it was higher than the entire board. I figured if you had a pair higher than mine I would bust but any other overs and I'd probably pick up the pot.

[Radii]

Good stuff primelord, very entertaining to read.

[TroyF]

I was running a little short in chips b/c of a hand I gave away a bunch of chips to panerd on, so it didn't take much for me to be ready to push. I'm pretty sure the flop was 643. I had 88 and remember for sure it was higher than the entire board. I figured if you had a pair higher than mine I would bust but any other overs and I'd probably pick up the pot.


Good to see I wasn't far off in my read. I said I thought a pair in the 9/J range, just a tad off and it really didn't matter. I was doing OK, but not great at the time. Makes me feel better that I folded that one.

[Maple Leafs]

Hand #76: I am dealt 9h, 9d in the BB. Apparently I got disconnected on this hand because Maple Leafs made a min raise from MP, it was folded to me and I folded. I don;t recall this hand and being short stacked like I was there is now way I would have not pushed with this hand. 680 chips.
Yes, you were disconnected when the hand was dealt. I raised because I figured with you disconnected and Matt short-stacked it would be an easy steal.

[Maple Leafs]

THe big hand that put me ahead for good was going head to head with Sean again. Sean raises to 3 BB in the small blind and I call with a Jc9c -- more suited cards that I like to play shorthanded for cheap if I can. Flop is a head turner -- 7s7h7d. Sean and I had a hand like this a while back in a Colossal Squid tourney, and I know he's a sharp, aggressive player. I figure if he's got the case seven or has flopped a full house he'll check it and if he's got an ace and think he has the best hand he'll bet big and try to win the pot. Sean checks, which puts me on alert. I check, and the turn brings a 9h, giving me a full house. Sean bets 200, and this smelled to high heaven to me. Again, I figure if he has the nuts he'll want to trap me, so I'm thinking at this point he's just hoping that any bet will make me fold. I call and the river brings the Js, improving my full house. Again, Sean bets 200 and I'm confused. I'm pretty sure I've got the best hand and Sean is just hoping any bet will make me fold. I raise to 800 and he reraises all-in. I'm worried at this point that he has a higher pocket pair than jacks or has the seven, but again I'm committed since I've got Sean covered better than 2-1. I call and he turns over Kd9s. Whew!
I didn't like this hand. I'm fine with checking the flop -- no reason to get fancy, since this is exactly the sort of spot where I'd be checking anyways with a monster. I was trying to look weak on the turn and induce a bluff that I could push. When that didn't work, I misplayed the river -- should have just called, since this seems like one of those hands where my push isn't getting called by anything that doesn't have me beat or chopping.

As small stack against two better players I felt like I needed to take a shot, but if so I should have done it earlier in the hand. Knowing what you were holding, it wouldn't have worked, but I still would have prefered it.

[kcchief19]

Again, a wonderful contribution. I should fulfill my pledge and do a diary next time out. For now, I'll offer a running commentary alongside the heads up:

Hand #152: I raise to 4x the BB out of the SB with Jc, 9h. kcchief calls. The flop comes 4h, As, Ts. kcchief checks, I bet 1,200 and chief check raises to 2,400. Nice play by him I fold. 3,145 chips.
I have A2s and heads-up any ace is playable. I didn't think this was a complete pot steal, but I thought maybe he had a high pair or a spade draw and a check-raise would scare him. It worked, probably because it was a flat out steal and I got lucky. Slow playing can be deadly, but it works here.
Hand #156: I raise to 4x the BB from the SB with Ah, Tc and kcchief calls. The flop comes 9s, 2s, 3c. I push all-in with my 2,445 and kcchief folds. 4,450 chips.
Have 7s, 6d -- unsuited connectors. I wouldn't call with this with a bigger table, but again heads up it's worthwhile to see a flop relatively cheaply. Missed the flop completely, Rick bets and I run.
Hand #160: I mis-click and complete the SB with 7s, 5h and kcchief checks. The flop comes Ac, 8h, Qs. I figure if I am in the hand I will take a stab at the pot and I bet 800. That backfires as Matt calls. The turn is the 9h and we both check. The river is the 4s. Matt bets 600 and I am thinking my 7 high is no good and I fold. 2,845 chips.
This hand confused me last night, so now it makes a heck of a lot more sense. I had As, 2d, and checked the flop since I'm fine with seeing a flop for free with a weak ace and since Rick has been so aggressive that the limp is a sign of strength. Duh. Rick bets the flop and it's not enough to chase me off my aces despite the weak kicker. I'm confused when Rick checked the turn, so I decide I'll bet the river no matter what. Now I know why it was an odd hand.

Hand #161: I have Kh, 7h in the BB. kcchief raises to 600 out of the SB and I call. The flop is Kd, 7c, 4h. I check kcchief bets 800 and I call. The turn is the 9c. I push all-in for 1,445. Matt calls and flips over Td, Ts. The river is the Ah and my two pair is good. 5,690 chips.
A hand I referenced earlier. I bet the flop representing the king and hoping my tens were good. As soon as Rick called the flop, I knew I was beat. I called the all-in because at that point I was borderline pot committed and it didn't make a lot of sense to lay down the tens when there were only three cards that could have me beat and with Rick playing pretty aggressive tonight that he could have sensed weakness from me and was trying to steal the pot. Big misread on my end that luckily didn't cost me too much.
Hand #174: I have As, 9d int he SB. I raise to 4x the BB and kcchief calls. The flop is 9s, 2s, 6s. Matt checks, I bet 1,000 and Matt folds. 6,190 chips.
I had another hand I like heads up that I would throw away most of the time -- 8h, 9c. I call to see the flop and catch top pair. I check fearing the flush draw and Rick bets out. It was a perfect bet for taking down the pot. I he had bet half the pot or less I would have called and hoped another spade didn't hit. As it turns out, I was in a better position than I thought. I didn't think he had the flush yet at that point, but he certainly had a spade.
Hand #177: I have 4s, 3s in the BB. kcchief raises to 600 in the SB and I call. The flop comes 9h, Ac, 5d. I check, Matt bets 800 and I fold.
I have Ad, 7c. Not crazy about my kicker, so I bet half the pot hoping that Rick doesn't have a ce. He didn't and folds. Glad I chased him off the gutshot straight draw.
Hand #179: I have Kh, Ks in the BB. Matt raises to 4x the BB. I re-raise to 1,425 and Matt calls. The flop comes Ac, 5h, 3d. This is not a good flop for me. I bet 2,000 and Matt raises to 4,000 which would put me all-in. Looking back on this hand I really hate my flop bet. A bet of 1,000 would have still made Matt fold if he missed, but would have left me with over 2k in chips if he raised. As it is now if I lay down the hand I am left with 1,340 chips. Still I am 100% certain Matt is not bluffing here. I tell him I am laying down KK and fold. He shows 55 for the flopped set. 1,340 chips.
The poker gods wanted me to play this hand because it was the second staright hand I had pocket fives. On hand #178 Rick bet 4BB to 800 and I reraised to 3000 hoping to take down the pot there. As I've mentioned, I'm not comfortable with small and mid pocket pairs, so this raise was a bit odd. Some players maybe called there or reraised a smaller amount. I'm only called if I'm beat, but I'm hoping a pair is good there. On this hand, I raised preflop to 4BB and Rick reraised me. Had he come back with a larger raise like I did on the previous hand, I would have folded since I hate hands like this. That was the perfect reraise for a call, especially since I had enough of a chip lead at that point that if I miss the flop completely I'll still have the lead. I'm pretty sure I'm beat at this point, but it was worth paying him off to see if I hit my set. BINGO! I hit my set and see an ace. Rick has about 3300 chips left and puts 2000 into the pot. I figured he'd hit his ace and it was a good card for me, but in reality it was a horrible card for me. I'll bet that if the ace wasn't on the board it would have ended here. I reraise Rick to put him all in if he calls. It was a huge laydown, and while he though I had an ace he was right to lay it down. With strangers I wouldn't show the fives, but since this is a friendly game I wanted Rick to know he made the right call and I wasn't just bluffing.
Hand #182: I have Th, 8h in the SB. I push all-in preflop for 990. Matt calls with Jd, 2d. I ctahc an 8 ont he flop and chief gets no help and I double up. 1,980 chips.
I thought about letting Rick have the blinds since I had such a rotten hand, but I'm already in for 200 and the call only cost me 790. If I wasn't suited I would have let him have it. He's shortstacked and will almost have to go in with anything, so there's a chance I'm competitive. Didn't think I'd be a slight favorite, but I'll take it. The flop was good to both us. Rick caught his 8 and I picked up a gutshot straight draw, so all I need to knock him out is a J or a T. Neither comes and Rick doubles up.
Hand #185: I have Ad, 5s in the BB. kcchief raises to 4x the BB and I push all-in for 1,980 chips. Matt calls and flips over Kd, 9c. The flop has a 9 in it and I get no help from the turn or river. Matt gets the well deserved win. A very loose call from me, but again I'm sensing that despite the double up a few hands ago that Rick is still in an all-in mode and may be betting with less than a strong hand. I should have know he'd have an ace in this situation and in retrospect a better play would have been to fold. But given the cost and the chip stack, I felt it was a reasonable call with K high. I got lucky and that's the ball game.

[kcchief19]

I didn't like this hand. I'm fine with checking the flop -- no reason to get fancy, since this is exactly the sort of spot where I'd be checking anyways with a monster. I was trying to look weak on the turn and induce a bluff that I could push. When that didn't work, I misplayed the river -- should have just called, since this seems like one of those hands where my push isn't getting called by anything that doesn't have me beat or chopping.

I think you're dead-on in your analysis. I don't have a problem with checking the flop at all. If you bet there is a chance you take down the pot right there, but with a flop like that there is no reason to believe you don't have the best hand and may be able to induce a steal from me.

I didn't like the limp bet on the turn at all. If it was meant to confuse, it worked. A check there might have induced a bet from me that you could have then called or reraised. A raise there might have taken down the pot. That bet suggested to me that there was no way you could beat my full house. At worst I'm chopping the pot. That said, this bet might have worked with a different crowd, but it didn't work on me because I'm familiar with your game. You are pretty good at trapping, which is something you did to me to win a Colossal Squid a few tourneys ago when we were heads-up. I was very wary of your traps. That's why I just called the turn and didn't reraise.

I think you're also right about the river. With the overcard coming out and facing a reraise, I would have only called there. The 200 bet didn't matter much -- it was somewhat of a meaningless bet into such a big pot. I was trying to pick a number that I thought you would call with my bet and I was surprised you went all-in. I certainly thought there was a chance you had pocket kings or something, but given the earlier betting pattern I didn't think that was likely. I thought there was a reasonable chance you had a jack and we would chop. A call would have been a perfectly reasonable move there and a flold would have been a tight laydown. I think the reraise would have been a last choice.

I was also hoping you remembered our last heads-up battle and recalled how you trapped me to win. I thought that might make you looser than you normally are.

[Maple Leafs]

I didn't like the limp bet on the turn at all. If it was meant to confuse, it worked. A check there might have induced a bet from me that you could have then called or reraised. A raise there might have taken down the pot. That bet suggested to me that there was no way you could beat my full house. At worst I'm chopping the pot.
Given that you also had a 9, there was no hope of the move working. But without knowing what you had I thought it was worth a shot.

I was also hoping you remembered our last heads-up battle and recalled how you trapped me to win. I thought that might make you looser than you normally are.
No memory of that, although it sounds like my usual style.

[kcchief19]

Given that you also had a 9, there was no hope of the move working. But without knowing what you had I thought it was worth a shot.
To a certain degree, I didn't put much stock in my nine. My fear is that you had a pocket pair making a higher full house. If your betting had represented a higher full house, I would have walked away. But if would have required a substantial bet on the flop or the turn. Once we got the river and I had my own full house better than the nine, I was much less likely to go away.

[Maple Leafs]

But if would have required a substantial bet on the flop or the turn.
Sorry. I only bluff all my chips if it's Primelord.

[primelord]

A very loose call from me, but again I'm sensing that despite the double up a few hands ago that Rick is still in an all-in mode and may be betting with less than a strong hand. I should have know he'd have an ace in this situation and in retrospect a better play would have been to fold. But given the cost and the chip stack, I felt it was a reasonable call with K high. I got lucky and that's the ball game.

I certainly wouldn't call it a very loose call. I ran it through SnGPT and given the range of hands I would push with in that situation the call had av EV of 48.1% and a fold had an EV of 48.0%. So in other words it was literally right on the line between calling and folding. I am going to have a hand like K5s or QJo just often enough there to make the call ever so slightly better than folding.

So really you were in a no lose situation there, statistically speaking. Either play could be considered correct.