Aces go down in flames...And a bad beat KO's tournament #2

Well, after my epic battle with Brian, I expected to do better in my match with Cornish James. Well, I lost, and it wasn't even close. Our match only lasted 13 hands. I guess it was a little bit of bad luck, and a little bit of ignorance on my part. There were two hands that killed me. Both hands I made Aces up, only to be shown a full house by Cornish. The last hand was just dumb on my part. I was down about 700 to 1300 when I caught pocket Aces in the big blind. I raised it up and Cornish called. I think the flop was five-five-three. I led out and Cornish called. The turn was a King and I moved all in. Cornish called instantly and showed me King-five for the full house and my exit from the tournament was complete. It happened so fast I didn't seem real. I had fought my way to this point to loose in 13 hands? I guess I just assumed my aces would hold up and I would be in control of the match. I didn't even think that he could have a five.

Cornish went on to win his next match that night, which put him into the finals against unimpressed. I don't know if his luck finally ran out or if unimpressed was just to tough, but it was the end of the road for him. Congratulations to unimpressed on the win. I just wish I would have got a shot at him.



Oh well, on to tournament number two! This time the format was changed from a single match to best two of three. I was matched up with p_Enid, who's real name is really a good guy, even if he is from Philly. The first match went kind of slow, I think we were both trying to feel each other out. I ended up winning the first one by grinding p_Enid down until I had all the chips.

The second match I came out more aggressive. I picked up a lot of pots on the button uncontested by raising with junk cards. I chipped away until I had about a 1400 to 600 chip lead. I raised from the button for about the tenth hand in a row, but with a real hand this time, Ace-Jack. P_enut just called from the big blind. The flop came seven-seven-six and he moves all in. I take a second to think this over and my instincts say "he ain't got it" so I make the call with my Ace high. P_enut turns over five-three for a gutshot straight draw. This gives him ten outs twice, but an Ace, a Jack, or another six would cut him down to the four outs for the gutshot. He pairs his five on the turn and the river is a blank.

P_enut compliments me on the call and apologizes for sucking out on me. "Sorry", "That was the best call I have seen online in a long time." I thank him for saying that but now I am crippled and the blinds have gone up again. I try to stay aggressive but I just don't have the chips. Six hands later I am out.

Match three I try to play the same aggressive style that worked so well in match two. The cards are against me this time though. P_enut catches some big hands and traps me. In the end, it's not even close. P_enut advances to the second round with a 2-1 victory.

I don't know if I really recovered from the Ace high hand of match two. Somehow I just knew that my hand was good. It is easy to shove all your chips in preflop with pocket aces. It is not that easy to call an all in bet with nothing but Ace high on a board of seven-seven-six. I made a great read and a tough call, and I was right. The cards sometime have different ideas though. P_enut and I played for almost an hour and a half at that point and I think I was starting to figure him out. I ran the hand through the card calculator at www.pocketfives.com and it showed me as a 62% favorite to win the hand when I made the call. Not nearly the 80% that pocket aces are preflop, but I think that loosing that way would have been easier on me.

Well, I think I am going to go play some Omaha hi/lo at Ultimate Bet. I have been running pretty well at the cash games over there so wish me luck!

longclaw vs Brian...The Epic Battle

Well, I played my second match of the All In HU Championship and it was nothing but epic! I have to say it is the longest heads up match I have ever played. Titan uses a very slow blind structure as opposed to some of the other sites out there and I think that works better for a trapping style of play. I tried to warm up for my match by playing an aggressive style and I was the one who was getting trapped. I lost four in a row before I figured it out. I played one more and I got real lucky to win that one. I really didn't feel good about it, but I went and found Brian and we played our match.

If the first hand was any indication of how the match was going to go, I was going to be in trouble. Brian raised from the big blind and I called. The flop came King-Queen-Two. I completely missed the flop with my Four-Nine offsuit. Brian bet about the size of the pot. I toss my hand in the cyber-muck and he shows me a set of twos. Oh brother, my luck is still running bad. I proceeded to get more crap for hands and Brian chips slowly away at me. I am not that worried though, as long as I can double up and get back to even I feel I am ok. Well, that was about to change as well.

With the blinds at 10-20 Brian raised from the button to 70 and I called from the big blind with Queen-Ten of Hearts. The flop came Six-Jack-Nine with two spades. I bet 80 chips with my open ended straight draw and Brian Calls behind me. The Turn is the Ten of Spades, giving me top pair, but making a flush possible. I bet out 200 chips and Brian immediately raises me another 200. I think for a long, long while. Something tells me he hit his flush. If I call, I will only have 200 chips left, so really it is all-in or fold for me. Even though I have only 400 chips left, I fold. Brian shows me Four-Five of spades. He did have the flush and I would have put my money in with no chance of winning. Oh well, time to get lucky or go home.

Brian punishes me with his big stack. He picks up the next four or five hands without a fight. Finally I pick up Ace-Three in the big blind and I raise from 40 to 120 and Brian folds. The very next hand I am dealt Ace-Five suited. I move in from the button with my last 360 chips and Brian calls with Ten-Nine. I spike an Ace on the flop and double up to 760. Whew, nothing like getting it all in as a 60% favorite. I feel a lot better though.

Now I have a little more breathing room and some chips to work with. I catch a pair of Queens on the turn three hands later and I come over the top of Brian's 120 chip bet. I am almost back to even now, but more importantly, I am getting my confidence back, only to hit another bump. I flop top and bottom pair, only to have the middle card pair on the turn to give Brian trips. I feel lucky to only lose 280 on the hand. Time to switch gears!

When a player switches his playing style from tight to aggressive, or aggressive to tight, he is said to be "switching gears." I start raising aggressively on the button and take down a lot of uncontested pots. I still don't raise out of the big blind unless I have a real hand though. I am trying not to play a big pot out of position. I chip away at Brian and hit a few big hands and suddenly I am in the lead and pulling away from him. Now instead of him raising from the button, Brian is folding out to me, not even wanting to see a flop.

We trade chips for a while and Brian pulls into a 1020 to 980 chip lead when I pick up Queens. I check my option from the big blind. The flop comes King-Ten-Four with two spades. I check to Brian and he bets 120. I check raise to 240 and Brian calls. The turn is the Ace of spades and it goes check-check. The eight of hearts comes on the turn and I move all-in. Brian folds out to me and I am up 1280 to 720.

I raise from the button the next hand with Queen-Three offsuit and pick up Brian's 60 chip big blind without a fight. Hand #66, Brian calls from the button and I check my Five-Ten offsuit. The flop comes Five-Ten-Eight. Top and bottom pair again. I think this could be it. I check to Brian and he bets 120 chips. I just call, hoping he won't get suspicious. The turn is a King and I check again. Brian doesn't disappoint me and bet 180 chips, and I flat call again. The river is a seven and I see he only has 300 left in his stack. I bet 180, hoping he will move all-in on me. He does and I call. Brian shows me King-Jack for top pair. My two pair has won the hand and the match!

I was really worried during this one. Brian made it very tough on me. I think I need to work on my heads up game a little more. Find a balance between aggression and trapping. I ran into some bad luck during the match early on. When I semi-bluffed my straight draw and had to lay it down, I didn't know if I could make it back. Moving in with Ace high preflop was a very dangerous play. I lose that hand 40% of the time, but I got lucky with this one. If I where in Brian's shoes, I don't think I can make that call. As badly as he had me down, he could have picked a better spot to finish me off. I feel the worst thing he could have done is double me up like he did. He played very well to get me down that badly, only to let me back in it when you know that even if you are a favorite, it isn't by that much. You have to play a big stack very carefully. You can pick your spots, you don't have to make a desperate move. I think he just took a chance to finish me and it didn't happen, and by doing so he let me back in the match and I was able to pull it off.

Well, my next match should be today. I get to play CornishJames. He is from England so I might get it done this afternoon. I am going to go play some more and see if I can get back in the groove. Win or lose, I will let you know what happens.

MSR Heads Up Championship Round 1

Well, I have played my first match of the MSR Heads Up Championship. I caught a HUGE break six hands in. My opponent, Jamey, had been raising almost every hand, and with cards like 2-6 offsuit and 9-2 offsuit I really couldn't do much. I decided to call him down with a King-Seven, only to have him show me a King-Nine. I was down 750 chips to 1250 chips when on hand number six I caught pocket tens on the button. I decided to slow play them and I flat called. Jamey raised from 10 to 20 so I decided to pop it another 60. He called the extra 60 and we saw a beautiful flop of King-Four-Ten, and even better than that, Jamey bet 180 chips into me. I flat call, hoping he will continue to be aggressive. The turn is a Five, and Jamey bets 300 chips. I only have 480 left so I move all-in. He calls me and shows King-Nine. Sweet! I have him drawing dead and I take a 1500 to 500 lead.

The rest of the match, I play defense with my big stack. Jamey wins about 5 hands in a row but he only picks up the 20 or so chips from the blinds. With the blinds so low I let him steal from me. I really don't want to double him up and let him back into the match. I win a few pots here and there and Jamey's stack floats between 400 and 650, but he can't seem to catch me. We trade chips for another 25 hands before I finally get him. I called a raise with King-Three and the flop came King-Eight-Three. Two Pair! Jamey takes the lead and bets 100 chips into me and I flat call. The turn is UGLY, another Eight. Damn, my three is counterfeited, and now Jamey moves in for his last 420 chips. I don't think he would play trips this way, he would probably try to trap me, so I call. Jamey shows Ace-Five and the river is a harmless Queen. I win!

I really wanted to win this one because Brian, the host of the podcast, won his first round match as well and now he has to go one on one with the great one! Ha ha, just kidding. I do want to beat him though. I would love to hear him describe my brilliant play on the show.

More good news came to me later last night. The best player in the field, Mr. Yo, was severely cold-decked and was eliminated from the tournament. I watched most of it, and it was tough. In the hand that crippled him he flopped top two pair, only to have his opponent flop a straight. He fought back but eventually lost. It is nice to know that if I advance I won't have to play him.

How do I know he is the best player in the field? Well, he is the only one of our group to actually win a seat to the 2006 WSOP $10,000 championship. I did think about how I would play against him though. I figure the best strategy would be a Hoyt Corkins "longball" approach. I would try to get him to play big pots with me. Take some of the skill out of it and hope to get lucky. If he would raise I would move over the top or fold. The more post flop play there is, the bigger the advantage for Mr Yo. I figure the best chance to win is to force the action and make him gamble with me.

Well, my next match won't be until Saturday so I need to get in some practice. Wish me luck!

Happy Happy Birthday....So close!

Well, Saturday was my birthday. I turned 31 years old. Why does that sound so old to me? Anyway, I had a pretty good day. I recieved a Craftsman 12" compound miter saw as a gift from my wife and the rest of the family. It is pretty sweet. It chops through a 2x4 like it isn't there. I have built an L shaped addition to my bench in the garage to really use it effectively. I built it with a drop down area so the topof the cutting area is even with the rest of the bench so it will provide support for longer pieces when I cut them.

Anyway, after my son got up from his nap my wife and I decided to run to Cape to get some food. We ended up at AppleBees. I hade the key lime chicken which was pretty good. Even better than that, Grant actually halfway behaved. He did try to pick up a girl who was there with her prom date! I told him she was too old for him and we left and went to WalMart. Heck of a birthday so far, huh? Well, it's about to get a whole lot more interesting....


MySportsRadio.com held their fourth set of listener tournaments at Titan Poker. There is a freeroll followed by a rebuy tournament. I played in the first two freerolls, and I cashed in the first and made the final table in the second. The last time I missed the freeroll but played in the cash game and I made the final table again. I felt like I played pretty well but I just couldn't get the cards when I needed them. That was all about to change.

I was determined to gamble it up this tournament. I told myself I would rebuy as many times as I needed. The second hand of the tournament I call an early position raise with Jack-Nine of diamonds. I would normally throw this hand away here, but since it was a rebuy tournament I took a chance. The flop came with two diamonds and I called a big bet from the early position player. The turn was the queen of diamonds, giving me my flush. The early position player made a bigger bet and I moved all-in. If he has a bigger flush I will just rebuy, but he shows King-Queen for top pair. Two hands and I have doubled up. The deck completly hits me square in the face. In the next ten hands I pick up Aces once and Kings once and send two more players to the cashier for a rebuy. Wow, twelve hands in and I have over 6000 chips! I decide to sit back and chill for a while.

I let about 15 hands go by without a lot of action when I pick up a Queen-Jack suited. I raise to three times the big blind and the button, who has around 3000 chips reraises me. I flat call and the flop pairs my Jack, so I lead out about 3/4 of the pot. The button moves all-in, and I just don't buy it. I call, knowing I will still have over 3000 chips if I am wrong. The button shows pocket eights. Sweet! He doesn't catch an eight on the turn or the river and he is of to the cashier for a rebuy and I have close to 10000 in chips. The player in second place has less than 5000 in chips.

I open up the other table and I see them chating about me. "OMG who keeps feeding longclaw?" and "longclaw has 10000!" Sweet! I run my stack up to about 15000 before the first break. The second hand after the break I get pocket tens. I call a raise from a guy who has about 7500 chips and the flop comes Three-Five-Ten with two diamonds. I lead out with a 1500 chip bet into a 2500 chip pot and he raises me to 3000 and I decide to push in. He thinks about it so long he almost times out before he folds. I am up to 17000 in chips and then I decide to chill again.

I play my way to the final three. I eliminate the third place player with my Ace-Seven vs his King-Seven. Heads up starts and we are close to even in chips. I pull into a 3 to 2 chip lead when I pick up pocket sixes. I raise and my opponent flat calls. The flop comes King-King-Five. Everything I have read says this is a good flop for me I bet and he flat calls. The turn is another King. Great! I think I have the best hand as I put him all-in with my full house. He turns over King-Nine for the nuts and I am crippled. He has me 5 to 1 in chips and I get rags for a couple hands. 7 to 1 in chips and I push in and double up with an eight high. Two hands later I find pocket Aces and double up again. The very next hand I catch Kings and take another chunk of his stack. I am actually able to pull back in the lead for a while, but then it goes south. The last hand I flopped a flush draw and moved all-in, only to have my opponent show me his two pair. The turn gives me a straight draw to go with my flush, but the turn gives my opponent a full house and I am out. Oh well, I tried.

I bought into the tournament for $3.30, and I won $48.00 for second. Not too bad of a return, and a pretty good birthday present. Next time, the MSR Heads-up Championship.