A lost race, a slowroll and another missed dinner break

We were seated at 1230 for the 1600 NL tournament turned shootout. I sat down at a table where everyone seemed to know each other and the complaints were flowing early, ‘Can you believe we play $1600 for this event and only get 6000 chips to start with!’ Luckily for me I was seated perfectly in front of the big screen showing the cricket and didn’t get involved in of the ‘why Star City sucks’ arguments.

The first hand i played I came in for a raise of 150 at 25/50 with QJd. I got 2 callers and the flop came down 7d6d5h…not too bad. I bet 250 and was quickly raised to 800 by the middle aged man/chief structure criticizer at the table. I called and the turn came Qh…again not a bad card. He bet 800 again and at this stage i figured him for a 87 68 sort of hand. I would have thought he would protect his hand with a larger bet if he had a set. My plan was to check call most rivers and lead out if I made my flush. The river was 3cl, not a great card for me. I checked and he quickly checked. He showed JJ and I took it down with my turned pair of queens. ‘Bloody 3 outer!’ he whinged. Indeed sir.

 

I won a couple of smallish pots with 10s and one on the blinds and was sitting pretty at about 8k at 100/200. I raised to 600 with QJh on the cutoff and was called out of the small blind by a good youngish european player who seemed to be the only decent player at the table. In the big blind the whinger also called the 600 leaving himself with only 1200 chips behind. The flop came Kh Qs 4s and was checked to me. Often I will check here and exercise some pot control but I figured the hand was good enough to bet against the big blind and wouldn’t be too hard to play in position if the european guy called. I bet 1100 and the european guy called and the whinger folded. The turn was the Ah giving me the royal draw to go with my pair. He checked to me again. At this stage I felt a bit stuck. He had me slightly covered and bet/calling here can never be a bad play but I felt like J10 was quite heavily in his range. Other possible hands for him seemed to be KJ/Q10/spade flush draw and maybe AQ. At the same time he seemed like the type of player who would make a move on the turn with a hand like the KJ, not believing my representation of hitting the A. So i decided to check and hit my royal flush and stack him. The river came the 6cl and he checked to me. At this stage I pretty much narrowed his hand down to KJ and Q10 because he most likely would’ve bet every other hand. So to value bet or not to value bet. I erred on the side of caution and checked the river and he flashed KJ to take it down. Sigh

 

I lost a couple of small pots towards the end of the last level until I picked up KK on the last hand before the break. It folded to me in the cutoff and I made it 600 as players all began leaving the tables for the break. I figured I was no chance at action until the young asian guy who seemed slightly tilted after being bluffed out of a big pot by Julian Powell bumped it up to 1700 committing himself to the pot. I quickly moved all in and he groaned heavily and very reluctantly put the rest of his chips in the pot and turned over Q4. Argh I suck at these to undercards vs a pair. The flop came 853 rainbow. Finally I’m gonna do it easy!. Bang comes the 6 on the turn as if the poker god’s have heard me and punished me with the card in the deck that gives him the most possible outs. Luckily for me the river card comes a 4 and I take the pot and walk to the break with 8.5k. Solid start.

 

After the break comes my embaressing live poker moment. First hand back I raise MP to 600 with 79h. The guy on my left thinks about it for a while and then throws out a bunch of all different chips totalling 1850. I sigh figuring I’m committed and call and turn over my hand only to realise that he still has 2000 chips left I didn’t see behind his hand. This is not good. He’s seen my hand and now we go to the flop. FLOP A FLUSH 1 TIIIIIME!!!! The flop is not good coming Q95. I check having no idea what I’m gonna do when he shoves. He looks at me and thinks for ages and checks it back!! Didn’t see that one coming. I figure I’m ahead vs AK now. Turn is a 6. Check Check. River is a 3 check check. SHIP IT TO A PAIR OF 9s!

 

I lose a couple of small pots with 10s and A10 and other than that go completely card dead leaving myself with 7k at 200/400 with 50 antes. The action folds to the middle aged woman on my right who makes it 1500 with a stack of about 5k. The action is on me as I look down at 10s. I’m not happy about it but I don’t feel as though I really have any other option here but to go all in and pray that she raise folds, even though she had probably been the tightest player on the table. It folds back to her and she seems quite frustrated. She moans and says to me ‘I’ve got a pair’. This is great! Surely she would have called with JJ+ by now so I must be dominating here. She goes into the tank for another 10 seconds and then calls. She turns over AA. WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?! SLOWROLLED!!! I can’t even believe my eyes. I always thought slowrolling was rare and just based amongst young cocky dickheads who think its funny. Apparently not. Apparently its the new trend for 55year old ladies as well. ‘10 for the poker justice!!!’ I scream but the board bricks out and I am left 2k chips. ‘I was waiting for that hand all tournament’ she says to me. I don’t respond and watch as Ricky Ponting caresses another coverdrive for four…which is all I can do from hurling abuse/fists/broken glass at her.

 

With 5bbs left I get it in 3s vs Ad8cl. Flop comes Qcl4d3d. Wow I flop a set, nice to do it easy for a change. Silly me. 5d comes on the turn leaving him with 13 outs. River comes 6h and I survive to get back to 6k at 300/600/75. Shortly after I open shove MP with A7cl and am called by the same guy with 5s. I brick out and finish in 54th place just before the dinner break. And so completes another painful day of live poker with few highlights.

For some inexplicable reason I get the desire to sign up for the 2200 6max event on Monday. I could just as easily stay home and play all the Monday tournaments online and pick up a decent score  but instead I choose to play one tournament which probably has a really bad structure and will most likely leave me extremely tilted going into the Main Event on Tuesday. I must be sick in the head!

 

Kochan