Yesterday was day 1 of the LAPC and I had spent the last week or so debating whether or not I should play in the first event. It is what I have been playing for all this time.
Even though I don't have the money for it, I decided to just go for it anyway.
I got to Commerce at about 12:00 and the tournament was set to start at 3:30. It was a $335 buyin and was expecting 1000+ players.
I brought $600 with me that I was willing to lose. In fact, I already had the mindset that I was probably going to go home with no money in my pocket. I guess its better that way sometimes so it doesn't hurt if it actually happens.
I buy into the $200 game hoping to make my buy-in so that I can just take a break-even on the day.
Early on, I called a raise with 8 9 suited and flopped a flush. We ended up getting all-in on the flop and too my delight the player I was all in with only had top pair top kicker and had no flush draw. He didn't catch perfect-perfect and I was up about $150 on the table. A little while later I went upstairs to register for the tournament.
I was gone for a lot longer then I expected to be and when I came back they were about to pick up my chips. As luck would have it, right when I got to the table the previous hand just ended and it was my turn to post the BB so I didn't have to wait any hands or post $8.
There are several limpers and I pop it to $25 when I look down at KK. I get a couple callers and the flop comes down
10 4 4.
I bet out $40 and I get raised to $100. I would like to believe that no one called me pre-flop with just a 4 so I decide to put my opponent on A 10 and I go all-in. He thinks about it for a while and the longer he takes the more I think he has A 10. With that said and with the way things have been going I tell him, "lay it down and I'll show you. I have you beat." I then tell him that I will show him a card if he shows me one. We agree and he shows the A of spades. I let him pick which ever one he wants and of course he picks one of 2 red kings. I tell him again, "I don't have AK, lay it down I'll show you. I don't want to get drawn out." Of course the table thinks I'm a complete idiot but Ive been losing almost every all-in for the last few weeks. He finally calls and I actually dodge the turn and river and our caller shows A 10. I was so relieved that I had already gotten it all-in twice and actually held up. I had him covered and my stack was now up to about $650 which covered the tournament plus a little bit more.
I pick up a few more pots and my stack climbed to $800.
I end up chopping the blinds and flip over JJ. Oh well. The very next hand I'm on the button and I pick up JJ again and raise to $35. I get one caller and the flop comes down
8 4 3.
I bet out $50 and a player with $150 goes all in.
Only because of my recent run, it smelled like a set, but I said to the table, I guess its only going to cost me another $100 to see if I'm actually running hot today. I call and the turn is a J and our opponent flips over J 8 and is drawing dead. I get up right then and there and say that I am ready for the tournament. It was 2:00 at this point and I went upstairs to give one more shot in the satellites. (I don't know why I bother.)
My worst case scenario before the satellite is that I lose the tournament but I will still make $340 on the day. Life is good. I buy-in to the last $80 satellite of the day and start off hot again.
We get down to 4 handed and I'm thinking one time, lets take one of these down.
4 handed there was one guy who had the most chips, I was in second and the other two players were on life-support. The big-stack screwed me over by playing terribly and he doubled up everyone but me multiple times. I end up being the shorted stack and get knocked out. I come to find out later that the big stack came in 3rd and the two short-stacks ended up taking down the satellite.
The tournament started and I was amped. Altogether there were 1192 entries and first was 78K.
Early on, I get no cards and finally pick up JJ. There are several limpers of 50 and a raise to 300 which is a large raise. I wish I would have just pushed because I'm sure I would have just taken it down but something told me not to. I just call and I take the flop heads-up.
Flop
K 6 9 all diamonds. I have no diamond.
My opponent who I have position on and is sitting right next to me looks at his cards and something about the way he looked at his cards sent off a warning sign.
I put him on A of diamonds and some rag kicker. So I'm ahead. He checks and I check behind. The turn is a 10 and he bets 600. I call immediately and a diamond peels off on the river. He bets out another 600 and I fold immediately and he shows AJ of diamonds.
I am down to 1200 from my original starting stack of 2000 and I am still getting nothing. I pick up AJ after several limpers and raise to 250. They all call and we take the flop.
Flop
J 9 8.
I could not be more displeased with the flop because with all those callers I can smell Q 10.
I bet 500 and the guy who knocked me out of my satellite goes all-in for 800. I am forced to call and sure enough he shows Q 10.
Great, twice now people have flopped the nuts against me. I am now down to my last 400 and could not be more disappointed. There was too much too play for and I refused to give up. I let the blinds pass all the way around twice before I found QQ and went all-in for 175. There was a raise and a caller prior to my all in so it was my chance to triple up. My queens held and I was and I was now up to 575. I let the blinds pass all the way around twice again before I made my next move. I picked up KQ UTG and pushed all in for 400 hoping to at least take down the blinds which were now at 50/100. I got 3 callers and the flop came all rags. This guy makes a huge bet and everyone folds and shows JJ. One time, let me hit my coin-flip I yelled out.
Sure enough a King actually came on the river and I was back!. I had a chip-count of 1700 and actually had a chance again. One round later I saw Q 5 in the BB and checked my option after several limpers. I flopped 2 pair and led out immediately for a pot size bet. I got one caller by a fish. The turn was a 7 and I went all-in. He debated for a while and finally called with Q 10. I dodged the river and now had a stack of 3800. I couldn't be feeling better. I took a stack of 3600 into the break which was pretty respectable. After the break I knocked out the guy who flopped Q 10 on me when my KK outlasted his 44. I was now up to 4800 in chips. Unfortunately that would be my peak. A new player came and sat down and limped in for 150. My stack was at about 4200 and I raised to 600 when I looked down at QQ. He went all in for about a 1000 more or so and couldn't be more nervous. I called immediately and he had KK. I couldn't hit my 2 outer like so many have done against me and once again I was crippled.
My last hand, there was a middle position raise and I looked down at AJ which looked like pocket aces considering the cold cards I had been getting for several rounds. I went all in on his raise of 600 (blinds 100/200). It was 1900 more for him to call and if he called and lost, he would be crippled which was why I made the play I did. Plus I had been playing really tight and had only shown down big pocket-pairs. I figured that would be enough to warrant a fold but I then heard his little speech. "I think you have AK but you're short-stacked so I have to call." I knew it was over and he showed AQ. I didn't suck out and I was out of the tournament.
We were about 3.5 hours in and there were 600 left and I looked around and thought what could have been.
I took a walk and went back to downstairs. To my delight, the Commerce main room was the most packed I had ever seen. Every table had a game going, and there were 30 players on the wait-list for both the $200 and the $400 game. I had to put my name down and took a walk around the room. The stacks were the biggest I had ever seen in that room. I get to my table and right off the bat I win two really nice pots. The second one I flopped a set of Kings and induced a bluff on the turn after checking on the flop and betting out on the turn. The biggest hand was when I raised with 6 6 and flopped top set. I picked up $100 off one player and cleaned out another who had about $350 to start the hand. Ironically enough I had QQ run into KK again but I was able to lay it down pre-flop without really even thinking twice about it. All I can say about that is LOL Donkaments because I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of making that laydown in a tournament whereas I didn't give much thought in the cash game.
I walked off that table up another $700. I was now up $1000 on the day and was up $1400 in the $200 which more then shatters my previous record of $950. I decided to go for gold and bought into one last table. I came up $100 right away before my last big hand of the night. I was sitting on a stack of $300 and flopped a set in a raised pot pre-flop with 3 3. Reality returned because most of the time I have flopped sets lately it has been on all same suit boards. I put the initial raiser all in and he called and had flopped the nut-flush. I couldn't suck out and ended up dropping that buyin. I left not long after and remembered how good it felt to run good for a change.
The swings in this game are unbearable and I hate poker for that but I am still in the learning process of dealing with these swings. I am not back by any means since I am still looking for a job. I have a friend who wants to play tonight so I'm going to give it a go once again. Hopefully I can run well for two days in a row.
Take care.
-Gary
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