Poker is a tough game sometimes
I know that no one likes to read about tough beats. Well, that's not entirely true. I do. Here's the setup.
I buy into a $5.50 satellite with 42 people. I finish in 3rd (got outdrawn...argh) to win a seat to a $15 + 1.50 tournament with $10,000 in payouts. 635 people registered. I tried to play tight early and folded what became a set, then folded what flopped a full house. Then got into trouble with overcards that kept missing. With just 30 people eliminated, I was in trouble.
I'm a sticky player in general. Short-stacked I tend to make good decisions in tournament play. I kept folding, some of which turned out to be pretty good decisions with overcards since none of them went on to be the best hand. I doubled up whenever I could, and with about 500 players eliminated, I was still in trouble. Not all-in-with-the-blinds trouble, but needing a big hand to come around before a few more rounds of blinds.
With 140 or so people left, I get A-A with a small raise (2x bb) in front of me. Wanting to encourage another caller, I smooth call. The big blind goes all in for a little more than the pot. The initial raiser calls. I reraise all-in for another few hundred knowing I have the initial raiser pot committed. He calls.
We turn over:
BB: A-10 off suit
Initial raiser: 8-10 diamonds
Me: A-A
This is fantastic. The initial raiser was trying to steal, and is now just hoping to get lucky. He's such a large stack that it isn't going to cripple him to lose. The big blind hates life right now. His hand is dominated by my aces, giving him just one live card, and his opponent already has one of them showing, whereas he would need both of the remaining two to catch up to me. There are outside flush and straight draws, but I am feeling very good. I should triple up and be in great shape to outlast another 70 people to make the money, which starts at $30 payouts and extends to $2200. Not bad for my $5.50.
Below is a picture of what happened.
Poker is a tough game sometimes.
I buy into a $5.50 satellite with 42 people. I finish in 3rd (got outdrawn...argh) to win a seat to a $15 + 1.50 tournament with $10,000 in payouts. 635 people registered. I tried to play tight early and folded what became a set, then folded what flopped a full house. Then got into trouble with overcards that kept missing. With just 30 people eliminated, I was in trouble.
I'm a sticky player in general. Short-stacked I tend to make good decisions in tournament play. I kept folding, some of which turned out to be pretty good decisions with overcards since none of them went on to be the best hand. I doubled up whenever I could, and with about 500 players eliminated, I was still in trouble. Not all-in-with-the-blinds trouble, but needing a big hand to come around before a few more rounds of blinds.
With 140 or so people left, I get A-A with a small raise (2x bb) in front of me. Wanting to encourage another caller, I smooth call. The big blind goes all in for a little more than the pot. The initial raiser calls. I reraise all-in for another few hundred knowing I have the initial raiser pot committed. He calls.
We turn over:
BB: A-10 off suit
Initial raiser: 8-10 diamonds
Me: A-A
This is fantastic. The initial raiser was trying to steal, and is now just hoping to get lucky. He's such a large stack that it isn't going to cripple him to lose. The big blind hates life right now. His hand is dominated by my aces, giving him just one live card, and his opponent already has one of them showing, whereas he would need both of the remaining two to catch up to me. There are outside flush and straight draws, but I am feeling very good. I should triple up and be in great shape to outlast another 70 people to make the money, which starts at $30 payouts and extends to $2200. Not bad for my $5.50.
Below is a picture of what happened.
Poker is a tough game sometimes.
posted by jerm at 17:52
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