Heads Up. I'm not really a fan if I'm honest, but I'm a sucker for poker action and hey, it's worth the most money in tournament play so practice is certainly no bad thing. 108 people are in for the 4th in APAT's online series. Top 16 pay, unfortunately I'm not one of the lucky 20 or so receiving byes into the next round.
Match 1:
Straight into the action on the big blind. Small blind...folds. So it's going to be like that is it? I hate matches like this and the need to be patient, taking 90% of pots whilst avoiding and pot where they bet unless you have a monster. I settle down for a long stint. I quickly discover minimum raises acheive what I want them to, so decide to minimum raise with my trash and continuation bet 1/2 pot regardless on the flop. After he folds his BB to my min raise with JJ, I'm now limping my big potential hands.
I take 4 of the first 6 pots no trouble, before I check my BB with Q7. We both check a T64 flop before I check, he bets pot and I call on turn 5. River is a blank and I bet 1/2 pot on the river and he flat calls, showing QT. A rock then.
The above strategy is firmly in play. A limped QQ takes down a pot on a flop of 88T as I win 15 of the next 16 pots, most pre-flop, losing my only one when I test to see if he folds to two bullets, check folding when a 3rd heart falls on the river after he check-calls flop and turn. Shock Horror, he takes two pots in a row before I pick up AA on my SB.
I complete the BB for 20. He raises to 60. I reraise to 140. He reraises to 300. I reraise to 640. He reraises to 1400 (surely some alarm bells must be ringing). I push all-in for 2620, expecting him to call with a big pair, and he does, with KK. A bit unlucky, but I did telegraph my hand to him. An 86JJ2 board make sure I'm the 5th person through.
Match 2:
The inevitable wait sees me unearth the diamond acoustic cover of Outkast's 'Hey Ya' by a fat, bearded bloke called Matt Weddle of an alt-rock band called Obadiah Parker. I loved the original, but this cover is even better.
The next opponent is far looser, but still fairly passive. The early spoils are shared as I see what he responds to. He seemingly calls down with below par hands as is proved by his calling down with 66 on a board 24Q8Q after I flat called his raise pre-flop with KK. I'm unable to exploit this weakness, as I'm continually dealt rubbish and can't hit a pair, let alone top pair. A couple of occasions I catch two pair and trips, both times he folds to my flop bet.
He's frustrating to play against, purely playing his cards and calling down with any pair, a couple of fortuitous rivers save his bottom pair with weak kicker, and I'm soon 2 to 1 down. I briefly retake the lead when my Qc9c hits a flush on a board of 2c 8s Kc Ks 6c. He calls my check-raise on the turn and pot sized bet on the river with JJ.
I give back the chip lead when I'm forced to lay down As6s on a 3d 7c Jd 2h in the face of an unusual bet from him and then I make a mistake with J6, hitting 2nd pair on the flop and paying off his bizarrely played TT when a K on the river leads me to believe he may have been counterfeited.
My plan finally comes to fruition when I raise with AsKs, he reraises and then calls my all-in with AhTh. I'd rather have set it on motion on the flop or later, but with the cards running pretty cold, I'm forced into a pre-flop all-in. It's heart in mouth time when the flop comes 5h 8h Js, a turn of 7d gives him 4 more outs but another 5 on the river gives me the 2 to 1 chip lead.
The end is in sight when I'm dealt AdAc the very next hand. I make a standard raise and am called. He raises my pot bet on a flop of Jd 5d Tc, I reraise all-in and he calls with 7d 4d, the 2d arrives on the turn and the river is no further help to me, as he regains all his chips lost in the previous hand.
The rising blinds force my hand and my aggressive play narrows the gap slightly. At blinds 50/100 I call his standard raise in the BB holding Kc Jd. The flop comes Ks 3s Th. I check, hoping he'll lead at it, but he checks behind. The turn brings the 9h, and I push all-in, hoping he'll make a dodgy call on a draw. He does, showing Ah6h, but the Ad on the river knocks me out in 46th place.
I've made a few mistakes, perhaps I should've lead at the final flop, but at the end of the day I've got my chips in at crucial points as a 66% and 72% favourite. Frustrating, but standard.
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