Boy, I'd love to play if one of these 6-max shootouts. Some of these relatively well known pros - what are they thinking?
5 handed at 5k/10k, Robin Keston raises UTG to 25k with AcJc. Mick McCool is sitting on the button with TT. Now obviously these shows are heavily edited (craply, I must add, why show a non-entity of a hand where Channing limps 78s, Tyler checks 94o. The action goes check, check, check, bet, fold - wtf?!), so there is the possibility of play we've missed which may account for the actions here.
Keston's stack is short, no more than 130k iirc. McCool has 180-190k I believe and Channing and Josh Tyler to act behind him. 5 handed without exceptional information there is no way McCool is passing his TT, but he somehow finds a smooth call here. Now it's not a great spot granted, but raising is by far and away the lesser of two evils. It is staggering to think that Keston is suddenly going to lose interest in the pot with 65k in it, with only the winner progressing. Position is irrelevant and aggression is everything here. He moves all-in dark (I like it, doesn't alter the hand dramatically, but has the chance of screwing with McCool's mind) and McCool passes on a K9x 2 club flop. How he can call pre and then fold post-flop, I don't know. What does he want to see? It's a pretty decent flop!
These tournaments are crapshoots from the sounds of things, McCool has no option but to ship it in with his TT and put the decision back on Keston. He's not passing, so it's raise or call, and it's clear to me which option is better.
The other one was one of the last hands. Blinds are stupid, 10k/20k, Channing has 260k, Tyler 340k. Tyler raises to 100k with KQ. I'm don't like this.
- If Channing folds, fine. He's taken the blinds. Fine
- If Channing holds a weak/mediocre hand. He'll pass, can't possibly make Tyler fold, it's a scared raise, it's begging for an all-in pre.
- If Channing holds a strong hand, he'll move all in. Tyler will have to call. Not terrible, if I'm up against someone better than me, I'll take a shot with KQ here.
- If Channing chooses to make a move with a stop n go, Tyler will need to hit, or he will find it near impossible to continue. There was a comment in commentary about Channing getting the upper hand, so perhaps Tyler had been sitting back a bit. If he misses and Channing shoves, he can't call with K high.
Imo, a raise to 60k opens up more possibilities. Channing could shove with a wider range, believing he has more fold equity, as stated, I'll take a shot with KQ here, so I don't mind that. He could call with a wide range and look to outplay Tyler. With a hand that plays well post-flop, I like that option too. Should Tyler miss, he's lost 40k less.
Of course Channing throws a spanner in the works and just smooth calls. I would think he's intending a stop n go with Tyler apparently clamming up during the end game - who knows, shite editing. It's a nasty spot, I don't like making a move with A9 here, but I wouldn't expect him to pass, and if he intends to bang the flop he can't really do too much else. The board is 983 and he now checks. Tyler inexplicably moves in with his K-high. Channing has smooth called 40% of his stack pre and then checked a 9-high board. Do you really think he's folding?! You check behind, pray you hit, and if you don't, scold yourself for making a rubbish, scared pre-flop raise. Channing obviously snap calls and wins.
I can only think that some of the bigger names have old habits ingrained. Like making use of position, position and position in McCool's case, and in Channing's case, not getting it all-in pre-flop in a race for your tournament life when you have an edge. Channing doesn't have much of an option. Whereas the youngster seems to have taken the aggression thing too far, and lost his cool when the going got tough.
Two pretty elementary mistakes. Pretty much leads to both being eliminated. Boy would I love a shot at one of these.
Saturday 16 August 2008
Saturday 9 August 2008
And another thing...
I've even managed to flop quads...and get paid, twice in less than 24 hours. Not even online too. The run is definitely over!
Cash, raise with KQ, several callers. Flop KKK. I get all the chips from 33...somehow.
And then in the Wednesday tournament. Am involved with 88 and see a T88 two spade board. The beautiful As peels off after the flop is checked, and the money flies in on the river against KsXs. Not something my opponent would normally do, but he was on tilt!
Cash, raise with KQ, several callers. Flop KKK. I get all the chips from 33...somehow.
And then in the Wednesday tournament. Am involved with 88 and see a T88 two spade board. The beautiful As peels off after the flop is checked, and the money flies in on the river against KsXs. Not something my opponent would normally do, but he was on tilt!
Wooooooo
See the date of the previous post? Early June...
That's because I have fuck all to report, apart from the coldest streak of my life.
2 months without a final table, with people doing their very best to out-do the current 'worst bad beat I've ever suffered' champion.
New entry, in 2nd place:
Wednesday £50 comp.
With 14k (one of the chipleaders) and blinds 200/400 I raise the button to 1200 with AA. Rik in the BB is well aware of my aggressive rep, and reraises to 3700. Sticking in a reraise gives the game away, so I just smooth call in position, expecting him to fire on the flop.
Flop J 6 2 rainbow
What a flop, and Rik leads out 4000, I move all-in for his last 3k or so. He comments 'I don't want to play this comp with 3000' and calls with T9o.
Turn 9
River T
Bah, argh, soapytitwankcuntbollocks.
Anyway, it's been stuff like that for 2 months, I have no problem getting a stack - just keeping it. Finding hideous spots against the worst players with my tournament life continually on the line. I'm sure I can't do anything any differently, I'm sure I'm making the correct long term decisions - I will take a +EV gamble if it puts me into a dominant position.
Anyway, 2 weeks ago, the tide began to turn. I wasn't experiencing any bad beats! The big problem is that I was either getting fuck all hands to get bad beated with, or getting hideously cold-decked when monster stacked.
£10 rebuy, 1k starting stack, 90 mins in I've built it to a massive 23k. No-one else has more than 1800. I promptly get other stacks all-in or committed against me 7 times. One is a 6 way pot where I'm racing on the side and pretty unavoidable given my chip position. The other 6 times I am significantly ahead (AQ twice and AT v A6, 6 hits twice and flush once. Q4 v AK on QJJ board, 88 v K9 etc etc) and lose 5 of them. I go to the break with 'just' 14k.
It gets built to 18k, before James Bagley raises to 1200 with blinds 200,400. He has 9k or so. A weak-tight old fella calls from the CO, he has 14k. With odds in the BB with 86o it's an easy call for me.
Flop 6c 6d 3c
I've checked dark, and I plan on betting most turns.
Turn Ah
Not that one, I check, Bagley fires 1600, old fella smooths, I repop to 7600. Bagley folds and Villain moves in. He is seriously bad enough to go broke here with AJ type hands. But he has A6 - of course. Gah. I am crippled and soon out.
Anyway, Sunday 2nd I made a final table! I did only manage 9th after isolating the short stacks shove with KQ, I make trip Ks but he hits a flush with his bare Jh. A7 is soon smashed by TT which sets up on the flop. But it's a final, the tide had been ready to turn for a couple of weeks. Was still feeling good about my game and online had kept me afloat.
Wednesday though, I finally got a slice of luck in one of my customary hideous spots (AQ cracking KK) and although I was unlucky not to win heads up, a slight deal meant I took £500 for 2nd, overturning a 10 to 1 chip deficit at one point, gaining the chip lead and getting the money in on the turn as a 2 to 1 favourite against a player who'd won 7 out of his last 9 tournaments. I'd have taken that at the start and after a rocky midgame.
That's because I have fuck all to report, apart from the coldest streak of my life.
2 months without a final table, with people doing their very best to out-do the current 'worst bad beat I've ever suffered' champion.
New entry, in 2nd place:
Wednesday £50 comp.
With 14k (one of the chipleaders) and blinds 200/400 I raise the button to 1200 with AA. Rik in the BB is well aware of my aggressive rep, and reraises to 3700. Sticking in a reraise gives the game away, so I just smooth call in position, expecting him to fire on the flop.
Flop J 6 2 rainbow
What a flop, and Rik leads out 4000, I move all-in for his last 3k or so. He comments 'I don't want to play this comp with 3000' and calls with T9o.
Turn 9
River T
Bah, argh, soapytitwankcuntbollocks.
Anyway, it's been stuff like that for 2 months, I have no problem getting a stack - just keeping it. Finding hideous spots against the worst players with my tournament life continually on the line. I'm sure I can't do anything any differently, I'm sure I'm making the correct long term decisions - I will take a +EV gamble if it puts me into a dominant position.
Anyway, 2 weeks ago, the tide began to turn. I wasn't experiencing any bad beats! The big problem is that I was either getting fuck all hands to get bad beated with, or getting hideously cold-decked when monster stacked.
£10 rebuy, 1k starting stack, 90 mins in I've built it to a massive 23k. No-one else has more than 1800. I promptly get other stacks all-in or committed against me 7 times. One is a 6 way pot where I'm racing on the side and pretty unavoidable given my chip position. The other 6 times I am significantly ahead (AQ twice and AT v A6, 6 hits twice and flush once. Q4 v AK on QJJ board, 88 v K9 etc etc) and lose 5 of them. I go to the break with 'just' 14k.
It gets built to 18k, before James Bagley raises to 1200 with blinds 200,400. He has 9k or so. A weak-tight old fella calls from the CO, he has 14k. With odds in the BB with 86o it's an easy call for me.
Flop 6c 6d 3c
I've checked dark, and I plan on betting most turns.
Turn Ah
Not that one, I check, Bagley fires 1600, old fella smooths, I repop to 7600. Bagley folds and Villain moves in. He is seriously bad enough to go broke here with AJ type hands. But he has A6 - of course. Gah. I am crippled and soon out.
Anyway, Sunday 2nd I made a final table! I did only manage 9th after isolating the short stacks shove with KQ, I make trip Ks but he hits a flush with his bare Jh. A7 is soon smashed by TT which sets up on the flop. But it's a final, the tide had been ready to turn for a couple of weeks. Was still feeling good about my game and online had kept me afloat.
Wednesday though, I finally got a slice of luck in one of my customary hideous spots (AQ cracking KK) and although I was unlucky not to win heads up, a slight deal meant I took £500 for 2nd, overturning a 10 to 1 chip deficit at one point, gaining the chip lead and getting the money in on the turn as a 2 to 1 favourite against a player who'd won 7 out of his last 9 tournaments. I'd have taken that at the start and after a rocky midgame.
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