(This wasn't for the picture I wanted to use, but the only that didn't make me throw up. The pic comes from All In Poker Blog. Check out it. ... Notice the straight flush. If you can't read the picture, just click on it to make it larger.)
In my first foray into tournament poker this year, I learned that playing badly nets you big pots. It's not the way I like to win, but, unfortunately, it's the only way I won at the Showboat 7 p.m. tournament on Thursday.
I played so poorly, it wasn't even funny and I even felt uncomfortable winning that way. I am not very good at winning what I consider the wrong way. It's a strange feeling for me to get my money in when I am way behind. It happened three times on Thursday that I put my money in moments of desperation only to come away with a massive pile of chips.
I am not very good at recounting hands, which is why there isn't much of it in my posts. I also don't want to bore people with replaying hands because there is nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary about them.
The short story, I have J-9 and go all-in with less than 10 big blinds left. Two people call with K-Q and K-10. Jack hits the flop and holds up, so I triple up. Another hand, I raise with Q-J of diamonds. I get a caller, then min-raised (the guy also moved all-in). I call and so does the other. The flop comes with a K and one diamond. Check, check. The turn is a 9D, so I bet. The guy pushes all-in, I feel desperate and I call. He has pocket 9's. The guy who was all in has pocket K's. So I'm up against two sets and I hit the 10 on the river for a straight. I win again and I felt sick about it.
The other hand I sucked out on was when it folded to me and I raised on the button with AH-10D. The big blind moves all-in for a little less than a min.-raise. I call and he has pocket 10's. Two hearts hit the flop and the board flushes out and I take home that pot as well.
The one hand I actually played properly with the math and everything is the one where I got snapped off. I have Q-3c in the big blind and the blinds are $1,000/$2,000. There are two callers and the small blind min.-raises it $4,000. So I just need to call $2,000 to win $16,000 because I know the other people are calling. I am getting 8-1 on my money, I have to call.
I don't watch the flop and pay attention to the man to my right. He leads out for $10,000. I look at the flop and it's 8-Q-3 (no clubs). I make it $30,000. The others fold and now the bettor goes into the tank. He questions if I flop a set, I don't respond. He starts counting his money and says to himself that if he calls and loses, he still has enough money left over, which was wrong because I had him covered.
So he pushes all-in and I call. He has A-Q, which is the exact hand I put him on.
Turn K
River 8
I get negated.
He takes down the pot with two pair, aces and eights. I had just $1,500 left, enough for the small blind on the next hand and go down, but not even swinging. I get knocked out 28th out of 84 people.
First lesson of the year: When you play bad, you win and you play good, you lose.
Just kidding. I have to play better. The last hand I would have played the same way every time. The hands before that, not so much.
In my first foray into tournament poker this year, I learned that playing badly nets you big pots. It's not the way I like to win, but, unfortunately, it's the only way I won at the Showboat 7 p.m. tournament on Thursday.
I played so poorly, it wasn't even funny and I even felt uncomfortable winning that way. I am not very good at winning what I consider the wrong way. It's a strange feeling for me to get my money in when I am way behind. It happened three times on Thursday that I put my money in moments of desperation only to come away with a massive pile of chips.
I am not very good at recounting hands, which is why there isn't much of it in my posts. I also don't want to bore people with replaying hands because there is nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary about them.
The short story, I have J-9 and go all-in with less than 10 big blinds left. Two people call with K-Q and K-10. Jack hits the flop and holds up, so I triple up. Another hand, I raise with Q-J of diamonds. I get a caller, then min-raised (the guy also moved all-in). I call and so does the other. The flop comes with a K and one diamond. Check, check. The turn is a 9D, so I bet. The guy pushes all-in, I feel desperate and I call. He has pocket 9's. The guy who was all in has pocket K's. So I'm up against two sets and I hit the 10 on the river for a straight. I win again and I felt sick about it.
The other hand I sucked out on was when it folded to me and I raised on the button with AH-10D. The big blind moves all-in for a little less than a min.-raise. I call and he has pocket 10's. Two hearts hit the flop and the board flushes out and I take home that pot as well.
The one hand I actually played properly with the math and everything is the one where I got snapped off. I have Q-3c in the big blind and the blinds are $1,000/$2,000. There are two callers and the small blind min.-raises it $4,000. So I just need to call $2,000 to win $16,000 because I know the other people are calling. I am getting 8-1 on my money, I have to call.
I don't watch the flop and pay attention to the man to my right. He leads out for $10,000. I look at the flop and it's 8-Q-3 (no clubs). I make it $30,000. The others fold and now the bettor goes into the tank. He questions if I flop a set, I don't respond. He starts counting his money and says to himself that if he calls and loses, he still has enough money left over, which was wrong because I had him covered.
So he pushes all-in and I call. He has A-Q, which is the exact hand I put him on.
Turn K
River 8
I get negated.
He takes down the pot with two pair, aces and eights. I had just $1,500 left, enough for the small blind on the next hand and go down, but not even swinging. I get knocked out 28th out of 84 people.
First lesson of the year: When you play bad, you win and you play good, you lose.
Just kidding. I have to play better. The last hand I would have played the same way every time. The hands before that, not so much.
1 comment:
I loved the line, "When you play bad, you win". Always seems true when you play tournaments at the Borgata and elsewhere. Great blog, keep it up.
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