River Palms Cash (4th)

I finally got in the money at the River Palm's! This weekend Felicia and I played the $40 buy-in tournament at the Palm's and I managed to get 4th :-)

Felicia wanted to get out of the house with all the bad weather that was coming our way, so we ended up getting a room at the Palm's for a couple nights. We played one of the morning $10 tournaments ($15 with the dealer add-on) and I was reeling with the "crap-shoot" quality of the amount of chips/blinds/time-per-level. It was awful! Not to mention, that the first 3 levels were limit hold'em; waiting till after the break to turn to NL. Needless to say, I didn't make the money ;-)

On Sunday, Felicia reminded me about the $40 tournament. At first I thought, "oh, no, not another tournament with a terrible structure." Then she reminded me about the T2K in chips and the 30 minute levels. {The blinds were actually 20 minutes for the first hour, but then 30 minutes after that.} Plus, with, again, a dealers' add-on for $5, you could chip up to a total of T3K. Finally, although not technically a rebuy, you could add-on at any time within the first hour of the tournament for an additional $40 for T5K in chips. So you can either try to play on $40 for T2K, $45 for T3K, or $85 for T8K altogether.

Our table seemed to be more conservative and didn't do the add-on until the break after the first hour. Felicia told me that most her table did the add-on right away so they could have the full T8K to play with.

Being a conservative table, there was a lot of folding and not a lot of crazy play. I'll have to say that this helped me. A few times I was able to limp with a marginal holding to see what developed. Nothing really did, so I never got any good chip lead or anything. First decent hand was AKo during the 25/50 level; raised 2 limpers to T200. I was able to knock out the blinds, but both limpers called. After a flop of Kxx, two suited, I took down the pot with a T600 bet after I was checked to. This held me for a while.

One nice thing about being tight, they tend to believe you when you steal. I had A2s in the cutoff, raised to 3xBB and was folded to. After this, I pretty much had to sit on my chips as I got absolutely nothing. I probably should have stolen more, but I like to have something to steal with ;-)

Another time the it was folded to me in the cutoff, I had KJo and raised to T1000. This time I got a cold call from the button, a min-reraise from the SB to T2000, and a cold call from the BB. If I was HU, I would have just mucked it, knowing that I was beat. However, knowing that the button would call (and seeing that the SB actually only had 400 left after the raise), I called getting 7-1. Predictably, it was all little on the flop. The BB called the SB's all-in (so I didn't have to after missing the flop ;) and we got to see that the SB held TT. The BB was on a draw, that got there, and the SB was out.

The BB was an Asian guy that I played with in the side games twice. I knew his MO. He'd bet draws, but if he had absolutely nothing, he would check. This was good for me. He knew that I was tight and would fold if he had nothing playable. Also, I knew that I could probably take him off a hand if he had nothing.

All that is well and good if circumstances go your way; unfortunately, they don't always!! -grin-

Once again, our table was on the tight side for most of the night (as people were busted, there were some that got moved to our table that weren't so much). But I remember one guy in seat-1, I'll have to name "Bulldog". No, it wasn't because he wore those silly T-shirts regarding stupid attitude stuff (like the don't have enough people with attitude problems), but that the poor man had such an under-bite that it gave him a bulldog appearance. So, watching Bulldog fold-fold-fold, I fully expected him to fold to my open-raise in mid-position when I held ATo. I got cold called by the Asian guy, and then by Bulldog in the BB! Ouch...Probably dominated here. Flop was KsQsX. Bulldog checked (he was an opponent that would check-raise..so), I checked, Asian bet. While I know that he bets draws, Bulldog called all-in (being tight he was constantly short-stacked). Knowing that I was beat in at least one spot, I folded. Asian had As4s for the flush draw; Bulldog had AQo for 2nd pair. Asian misses the flush, Bulldog takes down the pot that I might have knocked him out in with a J on the river for the straight! I'm not sure that Bulldog would have checked again, thinking that I might have checked a set of K's on the flop... We'll never know :-p

Anyway, I got short-stacked later in the tournament. I had only 2 1/2 the BB; there were like 2 or 3 limpers, and I look to see AA in late position! I chuckled, tossed my remaining chips all-in, knowing there was no way I was getting anyone to fold. Then I even get an over-call, also all-in, from the button! Oh boy, I really didn't want a multiway pot with AA...or did I?? They stood up with a final board something like KQJ-K-x. On the flop, the Asian shoved in having flopped two pair with QJ, but I resucked with the K on the turn :) Now I had some chips!

I actually got AA another time in the tournament. Spinnerman (one of those guys that have the round-metal card cappers that they spin) open-min-raised UTG in the 10-seat). Bulldog cold called for 2/3's of his chips (?why not just stick them all in?) and I have AA again and shove. SB thinks about it for a little...this guy was moved to our table and was definitely NOT a conservative player, he saw most flops and stayed about even...he eventually called all-in with K8s. While I didn't want a multiway pot again, it saved me. Spinnerman chucked his (what we learned later) medium pocket pair, Bulldog put the rest in with 77, and we saw a board of Q7x-x-8. So, SB only made a pair of 8's with his K8s, Bulldog pulled down the nice main pot with his set on the flop, and after I pulled in the side pot, I found that I only lost T1500; phew!

I mostly sat on my chips as we came to the bubble and I was finally in the money for the first time in a while :-D.

I stole some here and there, putting my chips in with AK and TT and KK.

Once at the final table I got a whole bunch of nothing. Short-stacks were taken out here and there. Bulldog finally got the boot. Asian guy got short and shoved in twice; no call once, another he got a call, and his KQo made a one-card flush on the river for him to double up. Spinnerman was still (he had a huge stack when he got moved to our table, and with selective aggressive play, kept it...plus, sucking out on QQ TWICE with AK helped!).

One of the people that got moved to our final table, directly to my right, was a guy that I've played with before that makes me look loose! Only one limper, he's short-stacked, so doesn't complete the SB with A3o. He didn't like his kicker, so he didn't play, even though there was only one limper, a dealer, who was very loose (dealer and loose.. Aren't they synonymous?). Board was something like A35xx and the dealer never bet. I won with a pair of 5's and he showed QTo. Tightguy tells the Spinnerman, to his direct left (after the seat redraw for the final) that he would have had two pair with his A3 but didn't play it. Brother! If she had an ace, she would have raised!

Tight guy, of course, got himself blinded out after a while. He did get AK once, but Spinnerman had already raised with AK himself, and they just split the blinds.

OK, we get down to 6 players, I'm still getting no hands and I just had to give up my BB. In the SB, the guy to my left had about as many chips as me, so I can't really wait him out unless the blinds change. Only one limper and I see KJo in the SB. If I complete, I only have T3K more, and the blinds are now T3K/T6K. I know there's no way to raise out the limper, and possibly not even the BB, since he only has a few chips left too. But he'll be all-in in the SB. So, I complete, hoping that he won't go all-in (watching him play, seemed he was just trying to reach a higher spot, so felt he wouldn't). No raise from BB and we see the flop, turn and river cheap. Limper bets the river when a possible flush gets there. I can't see him bluffing in this position, being that either of us short-stacks would probably call with any piece of the board as we had no chips left. Since I just had K-high, I mucked and held onto my 3 remaining chips. (From a high of T45K, to T3K...Wow).

Very next hand, blinds go up to T5K/T10K, guaranteeing that the guy on my left is all-in in the SB. He doesn't survive and there's only 5 left. Spinnerman is UTG and raises, I fold, the SB calls, BB (other large stack) goes over the top all-in and Spinnerman folds to the big reraise. SB calls all-in with AQo. BB has AKs and makes a nut flush on the river! (Spinnerman said he had a pocket pair.)

There I am, sitting with a mere 3 chips, and the SB, who could have waited me out, gets knocked out instead! I, of course, get knocked out in the BB with 43o, but end up getting $360! (They paid the full final table, so was a little spread out, but still top heavy with about $980 going to first.) Spinnerman ended up winning after having his QQ hold-up in a final all-in battle.

I still need to be more aggressive to try to get to the higher money, but either way, I'm happy for the cash in this otherwise dry spell!

Posted by Glenn