Tournament Report

Whilst the tournament is still semi-fresh in my mind I'm gonna jot down a few notes about it.

For the tournament to guarantee 20 $6k packages it needed 400 people willing to pay $300. However, maybe due to the fact that it started at 1am only 283 started, which meant Stars stumped up the extra $23,000+….a pretty sweet deal.

The tournament started well, when in the first level I flopped 2 pair in the SB against a couple of limpers in an unraised pot. I bet the pot on the flop and turn with both limpers staying with me. The river was a semi-scare card, completing a back-door straight and aiding on the side of caution, and not being able to beat much if I get raised, I just check/called a 500 bet. He had one pair and busted flush draw and I win a 1700 pot at the 10/20 level which gives me a bit more room to play with. After the first level I started getting a better feel at the table. The guy to my immediate right was incredibly aggressive and raised about 80% pots when it folded to him in the C/O or button. So, I decided to try and do something about it. It folds round to him in the SB and he makes it 150 to play at the 25/50 level. I have J10 in the BB and call. The flop comes K,3,7 rainbow, and whilst not great for me I can't imagining it hitting too many of his hands as he's so aggressive. He bets the flop, and I 3x raise and then he insta 3 bets me. Bad timing it seems (or just outplayed..), so I let it go, but just the fact of bluffing actually settles me down a bit. Soon after, once 6 players have limped to me pre flop, I have 99 in the SB, I raise the pot thinking that A) I'm likely to have the best hand and B) I don't want to play a multi-way pot with 9's. The UTG limper however decides he wants to limp re raise me for 1/2 his stack and I have to fold. So now i'm back to my starting stack....


Still at the 25/50 level, I finally pick up some premium; aces. A fairly tight-ish player in EP makes it 150, and it folds to me in MP. I make it 500. It folds back round to him and he decides to push his 3.5K stack in with 5's. Seems a very strange move as I hadn't been that active but the aces hold and I'm back to being in the top 25% or so, and 1st in chips at the table. A couple of levels later I get in a very interesting spot with the guy who is 2nd in chips at the table. Here's the hand....


PokerStars Game #19495525859: Tournament #99559965, $300+$20 Hold'em No Limit -
Level V (75/150)
Seat 1: kyomi (6610 in chips)
Seat 2: londongee (5915 in chips)
Seat 3: samsonov888 (7235 in chips)
Seat 4: alocakoc (4240 in chips)
Seat 5: TrickFish (7185 in chips)
Seat 6:Playing A (7630 in chips)
Seat 7: BradST (5185 in chips)
Seat 8: Luxembourg (4175 in chips)
Seat 9: KingTaylan (8842 in chips)
londongee: posts small blind 75
samsonov888: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS *** Dealt to Playing A [Qd Qh]
alocakoc: folds TrickFish: folds
Playing A: raises 290 to 440
BradST: folds
Luxembourg: folds
KingTaylan: folds
kyomi: calls 440
londongee: folds
samsonov888: folds
*** FLOP *** [Th Js 5d]
Playing A: bets 780 kyomi: calls 780
*** TURN *** [Th Js 5d] [Td]
Playing A: checks kyomi: bets 1350 Playing A: calls 1350
*** RIVER *** [Th Js 5d Td] [Ah]
Playing A: checks kyomi: checks
*** SHOW DOWN *** Playing A: shows [Qd Qh] (two pair, Queens and Tens) kyomi: shows [As Kd] (two pair, Aces and Tens) kyomi collected 5365 from pot


This is one of the hands I think I semi-misplayed. Obviously, now I know he has AK if I bet the turn I'm sure I take it down. Reasons for checking the turn was that the pot was already getting quite healthy and if I bet the turn it has to be about 1k and then if I get raised I think I have a pretty tough decision. In hindsight, on the turn I think he can have a lot of hands that I beat: 66-99, AJ, KJ, AK and only a few that I don’t; 55, JJ, KK & AA( both unlikely). More reasons for betting the turn! Anyway, I kind of got away with it, as he could of got a bit of value out of me on the river.

So, now I’m back to my starting stack again! I got pretty card dead for quite a long time and the next hand I played was at the 125-250 level with a 25 ante. It folds round to the SB (big stack) and he min raises. I have 6s8s and decide to call. The flop comes down 5, 5, 6 rainbow. He checks which is slightly surprising and I bet 500, he calls. The turn is a J and it goes check check. The river is my bingo card, another 6. He checks and I value bet 1000, he calls and shows A3. Although not a huge pot, it got me back up to around average stack.

I’m not sure if the next hand classify’s as a mistake but it was, in hindsight a missed double up.

Seat 1: ~US&Co~ (11735 in chips)
Seat 2: Playing A (6810 in chips)
Seat 3: fishbones11 (18475 in chips)
Seat 4: holdplz (5175 in chips)
Seat 5: FreeDomL1fe (270 in chips)
Seat 6: jonk (18075 in chips)
Seat 7: Bluffman9000 (2510 in chips)
Seat 8: AgentNo9 (9957 in chips)
Seat 9: bisquit11 (23200 in chips)
~US&Co~: posts the ante 25
Playing A: posts the ante 25
fishbones11: posts the ante 25
holdplz: posts the ante 25
FreeDomL1fe: posts the ante 25
jonk: posts the ante 25
Bluffman9000: posts the ante 25
AgentNo9: posts the ante 25
bisquit11: posts the ante 25
holdplz: posts small blind 125
FreeDomL1fe: posts big blind 245 and is all-in
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Playing A [Qd Ac]
jonk: folds
Bluffman9000: folds
AgentNo9: folds
bisquit11: calls 250
~US&Co~: folds
Playing A: raises 450 to 700
fishbones11: folds
holdplz: raises 4450 to 5150 and is all-in
bisquit11: folds
Playing A: folds
Uncalled bet (4450) returned to holdplz
*** FLOP *** [9s Kd Qh]
*** TURN *** [9s Kd Qh] [Jc]
*** RIVER *** [9s Kd Qh Jc] [3c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
holdplz: shows [Ad Jh] (a pair of Jacks)
holdplz collected 915 from side pot
FreeDomL1fe: shows [Kh 7s] (a pair of Kings)
FreeDomL1fe collected 1205 from main pot

However, I think AJ is at the very bottom of “holdplz’s” range….so pretty sure it’s a fold.

At this stage of the tournament there is about 110 left and I’m coming approx 95th. Desperate times, but I’m still patiently waiting for a good spot to shove. A serial raiser then raises in the CO and I’m on the button with A10o and re raise all in. Judging on the amount of times he raises pre I think he folds about 80% of the time here. When he calls I’m pretty happy to see 8’s, and even happier to see an ace on the river. That double up puts me back in average chips with 100 to go.

With 45 to go, and coming about 35th I get in a big spot. It folds round to the SB and he makes it 3k and the 500-1k level. He’s coming 25th in chips. I have A5 and with 16K I think this is a pretty easy shove due to the amount of stealing going on at the table. He call’s which I hate and has A4o. Whoever wins this pot would be coming about 10th, but the board blanks and we split the pot.

With 35 to go, I get in another interesting spot. Blinds are 800-1600 and I have 25K, in MP with 9’s and I have decision whether to push or make a standard raise. My M is only 5 ½ so to raise and then fold is pretty sick, but due to the folding equity you have in satalites I think if I, raise to 4K and get in a tricky spot on the flop or pre, a 20K stack is still workable. So I elect to make a standard raise….I then get RRAI by a guy with 16K and start to think whether I can really fold? However the big stack then decides to push his stack in and it makes my decision fairly easy as I’m likely to be up against one over pair. The smaller stack has JJ and the big stack has KK…bad timing.

With 30 to go, and coming 28th I’m in desperate need of chips. A guy one 35K makes a standard raise to (4.5K) and it folds to be in the SB. I have 22K and k3o. I think it’s not a bad spot to re-steal and push. He folds and it’s a big pot to win with all the blinds and antes.

So after playing 6 hours we and 29 left we get a 10 minute break. At the time the last thing I wanted was a break, I didn’t wanted to ponder what we were playing for I just wanted to keep playing well and keep making good decisions. The first hand back I have K9s UTG and we are 7 handed. I’m coming 27th and with an M of 5 push. Everyone folds and now I’m coming 19th! First time in the bracket….

A couple more orbits later and 2 more players gone I push but don’t get the same luck. As I’ve mentioned I run my 910 in to QQ and AA and lose…however, I think a big stack will certainly call me with AK/AQ and if I win the pot I reckon I’m there.

Next time perhaps.