Exactly half of the cash is paid out to the top 2 in each of the first 3 tournaments, and the other half is reserve for the top 2 in the final tournament. The blinds are raised quite quickly, taking some of the skill out of the game, but to accommodate 4 tournaments in one night, it is necessary.
Having now explained the logic behind the tournament style (not that it's at all relevant to the story, just thought others could make use of it in their home games) I'll now try to explain how I played one very pivotal hand that led to my victory in the 4th tournament. As always, your feed back would be appreciated. (all chip counts are approximate)
Final 3 (Top 2 Pay)
$25000 on the table
blinds are $300/$600
Dealer has $8500
Small Blind $5000
Big Blind $11500
For the record, I'm the small blind, so I'm playing with the short stack, but I'd just tripled up a few hands before when my all-in with 66 was called by both players, and I was very lucky and made a 6-high straight after the 2 big stacks smartly checked it down the entire way to try and get the elimination.
Despite the blinds being very high in relation to my stack, at least I have something to work with, and then I'm dealt A-9 in the small blind. The dealer folds, and as I'm considering my action, I see the Big Blind appear to fold his cards, and they're now sitting between him and the dealer.
I ask him "Did you just fold?".
This player is a very calm, collected individual and simply replies "No."
I stare at him for a few seconds to see if he gives me a little smile like I caught him folding his cards when he's in the Big Blind and I haven't raised. I've played hundreds of games of poker with him, he's been easily the most successful poker player in our group, and is known as being a very solid, probably tight, and always aggressive player when he's involved in a hand.
I think about it for a few seconds, and decide that despite any facial expressions giving it away, he probably was planning on folding, and therefore must have a very weak hand. I have a very good hand with my A-9 in a 3 handed game, and decide this is as good a time as any to steal his blind and continue my momentum.
I raise it $1200 on top of his $600 blind, expecting him to admit I caught him acting out of turn, and then he would fold. To my surprise, he does call, and my read here is that he's trying to defend his accidental fold, and plans to steal the pot from me later in the hand.
The flop brings 3-6-Q rainbow, and I decide to check it here to see what my opponent does. He checks as well, and at this point I'm pretty sure he has nothing. If he'd hit anything, after I had checked the flop, he would have bet and try to win the pot right there.
The turn is another K, not a card I'm really afraid of, but at this point I really don't have much money left. I'm hoping my opponent will check it down to the river and that Ace high will hold up as the winning hand. He checks and the river brings a 6, pairing the board.
I stick with the plan, although at this point I'm wishing I had bet on the turn. I check, and my opponent quickly grabs 20000 in chips and puts them in the pot. I still only have Ace high, and with only 32000 left, it really forces me to a very tough decision. I start to think about how the hand has played out so far, trying to imagine what he could have.
I'm pretty sure that, having played with him before many times, he would have bet when he had a pair, either on the flop or turn, so his bet on the river when the board has paired reinforces what I had thought all a long. He has nothing, he knows he can't win the hand by checking, so he fires off a large bet hoping to make me fold even if I think I have him beat. Being wrong would leave me with 12000, and the blinds are shortly going to raise to 4000/8000.
I call, knowing that if I'm right and he has absolutely nothing, he won't call my re raise, no matter how small it is, and if he has any kind of a pair, my re raise would be so small he would have to call, and I'd be done.
His head drops, a painful expression on his face shows me I was right. He flips over 2-5, expecting to see at least a pair when I show him my cards. I show Ace high and rake in the chips, my hands actually shaking a bit as this was a very difficult call to make. Normally quite vocal when he feels his opponent has made a brutal play, (I've been the recipient of several tirades before) he was strangely quiet here.
From here, I go on to win the tournament, despite losing a potential elimination all-in when my JJ loses to the short-stacks 99.
OK, that's about it, please feel free to ad your comments by the link below. I'd love to hear different opinions, it's the best way to learn, and I am just a student.
6 comments:
i would have folded.. since he could easily have a pair of threes and by the river he felt that they were good.
how come the 8 in the river pairs the board?
My mistake, the river was actually another 6, not an 8
Good initial read, but I would have been worried about the 3. I would have been all in early, or fold from a bet by him.
Thanks for the replies. I guess like most people actually at the game, the general feeling is I should have folded, but I totally believe that if he'd hit any part of that flop, even bottom pair and a crappy kicker, he would have bet. Especially considering he called my preflop raise with the intent to defend his blind, and perhaps his accidental fold preflop.
I'm likely wrong, but I always welcome everyone's advice and critisism, it will make me a better player in the long run... I hope.
I think he should have folded as soon as you caught him folding. You had him pegged from the beginning, and it must have frustrated him the rest of the night.
How did he play after that?
Well, he didn't last much longer in that tournament, but it didn't really seem to change how he normally plays.
As far as him folding when I caught him trying to fold out of turn, it was never confirmed with him that I was correct on that. It was just something I caught out of the corner of my eye, maybe I didn't see it correctly.
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