Las Vegas Day 3
I recall that I wasn't able to sleep very well on my second night in Vegas. I think it was a combination of the loss on the second day and the fact that I knew I had to wake up early to eat and prepare for the $150 tournament at noon. I woke up at 11:15 and tried my hardest to let the shower of the gods actually snap me into the realm of the living. I rushed and got dressed and power walked through the Venezia Tower, out through the casino floor and back up another escalator to the shops. There I found a Panda Express and spent entirely too much money on my mediocre meal of orange chicken and white rice with soy sauce.
After devouring my Chinese and feeling ready to vomit, I rushed downstairs to register for the tournament. I was really looking forward to this event because I know that tournaments are my bread and butter. I know that this isn't saying much and some who know me would probably refute this, but I truly believe that I am the best large field tournament player that I know. I was really looking forward to this event especially because of the structure. It was $150 buy in with 30 blind levels and 7500 starting chips. There was a ton of room to play under this structure as the first level was only 25/50. My only problem was how little sleep I got the night before. I was having a lot of trouble focusing and I was hoping that once the pressure started to be put on I'd be able to focus a little more.
The tournament drew a grand total of 81 players and paid out to the top 9. I remember looking at the tournament board and getting super discouraged. I really wanted to make some money but I just felt this feeling of remorse for even buying in at that moment. Something told me that there's no way I'd ever be able to outplay at least 72 other people and be able to make some money. This was a notion that, in retrospect, I'm glad I quickly dismissed.
The first real hand happened at the 50/100 level when I raised from middle position with T9h to 150. There was one caller out of the BB. The flop came down two hearts. He checked it to me and I led out for 300 and he called. My third heart on the board hit the turn giving me the flush and BB led out into me for 500. Peculiar. That was MY card, not his. I popped it up 1000 more and he called. Blank fell on the river and he led out for 2000 here. This was a substantial pot at this far into the tournament and the only hand I could put this guy on was a flush. I guess a standard move here that would be profitable more often than not would be just to shove but something told me he was being honest. I couldn't lay down the T9h in this spot so I opted to call. I flipped up my cards and he looked incredibly disheartened. He flipped up the 65h for a smaller flush and I scooped the pot. Looking back I'm still glad that I just smooth called the river because he could have easily played A6h the exact same way and in that scenario I would have went broke on the first hand that I showed down.
Riding the high I decided to make a raise with 83 off when it folded to my button. A disheveled Asian called my raise out of the BB. This hand I got extremely fortunate because he just would not go away, but I think that this represents one of the situations where fortune really does favor the brave. The flop came down J42 and he checked to me. I made the standard continuation bet and he called. A 5 hit the turn making me open ended to the river so when he checked to me again I bet about 3/4 of the pot. If he happened to think I was just stealing or actually hit something I still had outs as it was a completely rainbow board. He called once again and fortune really struck me when the 6 hit the river, completing my straight. He checked once more and I bet out a fair amount. He looked incredibly angry and said "I don't see how you can be holding a 3." and eventually called, tabling J9. I flipped up 83 and he threw a hissy-fit and got up to tell his friend at the other table about how he got donked out on. I didn't dare tell him that if he raised me I would have gone bye-bye.
After this I made my first misplay of the day. This one, however, worked in my favor. I picked up QQ in middle position and I threw in a chip but did not announce my raise. The dealer took this as a limp and that I expected change. I didn't dare show to the table that I meant to raise because I didn't want to give away my hand. There were two more limps and the BB, the man who i beat flush over flush earlier moved his stack in for about 1900 more. When it got back to me I moved in over the top and got the most peculiar look from the Russian who looked like a tween in the SB. He thought forever, probably being an idiot with something like AT but then eventually folded. BB flipped up A6 and my QQ was way ahead. I finished the job I could have done earlier and busted him out after the board didn't help him.
It was from this point on that my tournament started to take a dive. It folds to my button and I raise 3x blind with A6h. The SB, a cockney fellow who I befriended in the later stages of the tournament makes the call and the BB mucks. The flop comes down KQ2 no hearts. He checks and I make the standard continuation and he calls. T falls on the turn and the same thing happens, check bet call. Now for WHATEVER reason I thought that the board was KJ2T and not KQ2T, so when another Q fell on the turn I thought I had completed Broadway and I couldn't believe my fortune. I've never honestly misread the board this bad. I had NO idea. So when he led out for 2000 I made it look like I was trying to get value out of the hand. I raised 3000 more and he pondered forever before eventually making the (rather loose) call with K8d. I didn't say a word. I flipped up my A6 and did not speak. When the pot was shipped to him I looked at the board again and silently chastised myself for being a fuckshit. That was when the whole other side of the table's conversation reached me and they said they were shocked I didn't have a Q and that they all thought for sure I setted up on the river. I coolly replied with "That's what it was supposed to look like, sadly it didn't work I guess". So in conclusion I accidentally made a good play that didn't work? Weird hand. I felt super noob.
I was left with about 5300 in chips as the blinds/antes were climbing. I went dead for a while until I finally picked up two black aces. With blinds 200/400 I popped it up to 2000 instead of just moving all in. I guess I wanted to ensure I would be called if someone caught some part of the flop, and judging by my loose table I assumed that I would have better odds of doubling up on the flop than pre-flop. I LOL'd when I got 5 callers. The flop came down J82. Two players checked to me and I plopped my remaining stack in the middle. Fold fold and another guy, with two people yet to act after him counts out the chips and calls me. The other two fold and he flips up J3c. I survive the next two cards and more than double up.
It's at this point that the table breaks and I'm moved to seat 8 at a much more aggressive table with two large stacks directly across from me in seats 2 and 3. I'll pick up at this point tomorrow...
After devouring my Chinese and feeling ready to vomit, I rushed downstairs to register for the tournament. I was really looking forward to this event because I know that tournaments are my bread and butter. I know that this isn't saying much and some who know me would probably refute this, but I truly believe that I am the best large field tournament player that I know. I was really looking forward to this event especially because of the structure. It was $150 buy in with 30 blind levels and 7500 starting chips. There was a ton of room to play under this structure as the first level was only 25/50. My only problem was how little sleep I got the night before. I was having a lot of trouble focusing and I was hoping that once the pressure started to be put on I'd be able to focus a little more.
The tournament drew a grand total of 81 players and paid out to the top 9. I remember looking at the tournament board and getting super discouraged. I really wanted to make some money but I just felt this feeling of remorse for even buying in at that moment. Something told me that there's no way I'd ever be able to outplay at least 72 other people and be able to make some money. This was a notion that, in retrospect, I'm glad I quickly dismissed.
The first real hand happened at the 50/100 level when I raised from middle position with T9h to 150. There was one caller out of the BB. The flop came down two hearts. He checked it to me and I led out for 300 and he called. My third heart on the board hit the turn giving me the flush and BB led out into me for 500. Peculiar. That was MY card, not his. I popped it up 1000 more and he called. Blank fell on the river and he led out for 2000 here. This was a substantial pot at this far into the tournament and the only hand I could put this guy on was a flush. I guess a standard move here that would be profitable more often than not would be just to shove but something told me he was being honest. I couldn't lay down the T9h in this spot so I opted to call. I flipped up my cards and he looked incredibly disheartened. He flipped up the 65h for a smaller flush and I scooped the pot. Looking back I'm still glad that I just smooth called the river because he could have easily played A6h the exact same way and in that scenario I would have went broke on the first hand that I showed down.
Riding the high I decided to make a raise with 83 off when it folded to my button. A disheveled Asian called my raise out of the BB. This hand I got extremely fortunate because he just would not go away, but I think that this represents one of the situations where fortune really does favor the brave. The flop came down J42 and he checked to me. I made the standard continuation bet and he called. A 5 hit the turn making me open ended to the river so when he checked to me again I bet about 3/4 of the pot. If he happened to think I was just stealing or actually hit something I still had outs as it was a completely rainbow board. He called once again and fortune really struck me when the 6 hit the river, completing my straight. He checked once more and I bet out a fair amount. He looked incredibly angry and said "I don't see how you can be holding a 3." and eventually called, tabling J9. I flipped up 83 and he threw a hissy-fit and got up to tell his friend at the other table about how he got donked out on. I didn't dare tell him that if he raised me I would have gone bye-bye.
After this I made my first misplay of the day. This one, however, worked in my favor. I picked up QQ in middle position and I threw in a chip but did not announce my raise. The dealer took this as a limp and that I expected change. I didn't dare show to the table that I meant to raise because I didn't want to give away my hand. There were two more limps and the BB, the man who i beat flush over flush earlier moved his stack in for about 1900 more. When it got back to me I moved in over the top and got the most peculiar look from the Russian who looked like a tween in the SB. He thought forever, probably being an idiot with something like AT but then eventually folded. BB flipped up A6 and my QQ was way ahead. I finished the job I could have done earlier and busted him out after the board didn't help him.
It was from this point on that my tournament started to take a dive. It folds to my button and I raise 3x blind with A6h. The SB, a cockney fellow who I befriended in the later stages of the tournament makes the call and the BB mucks. The flop comes down KQ2 no hearts. He checks and I make the standard continuation and he calls. T falls on the turn and the same thing happens, check bet call. Now for WHATEVER reason I thought that the board was KJ2T and not KQ2T, so when another Q fell on the turn I thought I had completed Broadway and I couldn't believe my fortune. I've never honestly misread the board this bad. I had NO idea. So when he led out for 2000 I made it look like I was trying to get value out of the hand. I raised 3000 more and he pondered forever before eventually making the (rather loose) call with K8d. I didn't say a word. I flipped up my A6 and did not speak. When the pot was shipped to him I looked at the board again and silently chastised myself for being a fuckshit. That was when the whole other side of the table's conversation reached me and they said they were shocked I didn't have a Q and that they all thought for sure I setted up on the river. I coolly replied with "That's what it was supposed to look like, sadly it didn't work I guess". So in conclusion I accidentally made a good play that didn't work? Weird hand. I felt super noob.
I was left with about 5300 in chips as the blinds/antes were climbing. I went dead for a while until I finally picked up two black aces. With blinds 200/400 I popped it up to 2000 instead of just moving all in. I guess I wanted to ensure I would be called if someone caught some part of the flop, and judging by my loose table I assumed that I would have better odds of doubling up on the flop than pre-flop. I LOL'd when I got 5 callers. The flop came down J82. Two players checked to me and I plopped my remaining stack in the middle. Fold fold and another guy, with two people yet to act after him counts out the chips and calls me. The other two fold and he flips up J3c. I survive the next two cards and more than double up.
It's at this point that the table breaks and I'm moved to seat 8 at a much more aggressive table with two large stacks directly across from me in seats 2 and 3. I'll pick up at this point tomorrow...