I turn out to be a die on my feet kind of guy...aka FT 20k final table (almost)...aka You Decide (Jordan don't sue me!)

Openly stated goals for the evening of poker that was last night.

1. Win The Mookie.


2. Final Table the Full Tilt 20k

I failed in both attempts, but it’s up to you to decide which was a more spectacular failure.

Let me begin by saying I am back in the zone. I took Smokkee and Hoy’s recent return to winning ways as a major inspiration. Somehow I felt I was due for my next final table run very soon, given that chronologically I got hot the first time right after Hoy and Smokkee started demolishing every MTT that got in their way. Superstitious nonsense perhaps, but this week I feel fucking lucky: dialed in and dangerous.

Sadly, The Mookie didn't give a shit about any of my Daily Affirmation mumbo jumbo.

Jacks hurt me last night. Nah - that’s too blame-avoiding. I fucked myself up pretty bad playing Jacks last night. That’s closer to the bone and to the truth. Because JJ is one of mah boyz, I will refrain from using my (considerable? awe-inspiring?) intellect to come up with a devasting new way to disparage his signature hand.

The Mookie: Why is it I think I should have won this tournament by now? It certainly isn’t that I think I am a better MTT player than the brethren (or sistren – Joanne, Jules and Maudie routinely pick my bones clean. Kitty has bounced me a lot too!). Is it because I consider Mookie a friend? If anyone hangs with Mookie and doesn’t consider him a friend, they pretty much qualify for sociopathy. The dude is likable, whadya want? So it can’t simply be that. Plus I like Hoy a lot too (in a secure, comfortable with my masculinity kind of way), but have never considered myself entitled to a MATH award. I just kind of think/believe the Mookie’s the blogger tournament I am gonna win one of these days. Technically I won The (K)Not once long ago, but it was a low turnout day, with most of the heavy hitters absent, so I don’t really count it.

Yesterday was not the day. WillWonka, a man whose kings I mercilessly deposed last time out, got his pound of flesh from me, heedless of the fact he was illegally taking my blood, connective tissue, and a couple of vital organs. As I mentioned last post, it would behoove some of you to revisit The Bard for edumacation on just such niceties. Anyway, I raised my Jacks into his kings preflop and when he pushed at me post flop, cleverly joking I better not kill his kings this game, I decided to see what kings look like when the computer turns them over.

Same as always it turns out.

Yes, kids, I call and I am second out of the Mookie. How the fuck someone beat me out of the tourney is a genuine mystery considering this was hand number 3! Patience, people. Patience.

So one down, one to go, but that good vibe is going strong. And the 20k begins to feel very familiar. I make small moves here and there, play very tight early on and chip up steadily, without actually busting anyone. Until none other than the HammerPlayer himself shows up in my big blind.

The following opinion may be completely false, but I have played a lot of hands with Hoy, and certainly watched him for a long time. I have read his blog daily for months now. If there is one blogger I think I have some intuitive sense of, it would be Hoy. Thus, when I 3x’d him with AJo and he pushed at me, I asked myself – Which of the two things that Hoy is capable of doing is this? Is it a resteal, with him giving me credit for a +/- hand but one I will fold to pressure? Or is it the overbet for value, being made specifically to me, with him knowing I will interpret it as a resteal?

I did not instacall. I mulled. But there was not much in the way of information outside this. I had two high cards. I could afford either move – the call would leave me with 3k (I think), and it was early enough I could rebound. If I won, I would be at 8k and able to try playing some real poker. So I did a gutcheck, and put my boy on a resteal with one of those ineffable certainties you can't adequately explain, and I called his push.

His Q8d found an 8 on the flop, but I got all Greenstein on him and hit an A on the river. The money went in preflop, and I was okay with losing given that my read was dead on. That I won was helpful, although I shit you not - I took no pleasure in bouncing a guy I consider a friend and a teacher. All I can say is that I show my respect for my friends by playing as hard as I possibly can against them. On the bright side, he needed his sleep, given his late night win the other day. For those of you who would point to Hoy’s mantra – which I generally live by too – about calling all-ins with AJ and AT, I would just say that this particular call was contextual and I believe correct, but not because I won the hand. Your thoughts are always appreciated, so feel free, but spare some energy for the big question of the day, which follows.

After this, the 20k went great. I made a sneaky check-call to successfully induce an all-in when I flopped two pair - only to have him runner-runner a Q and an A for a better two pair. “Slow-playing Moron” I guess would be a fair criticism, but I did get all the money in WAY ahead, and that is all I really care about in these things. Because I had been up to my usual blinds pilfering ways, I survived that botched slickness and continued up the ladder. Along the way Don, Kitty, slb and JJ stopped by to rail me via IM. Can’t say it enough, I appreciate it. Makes it more fun without doubt. Smokkee also stuck around long enough to see that Ya Can’t Always Get What Ya Want is about as true an observation as any. In addition to going deep in the 20k, the dude comes in second in the Mookie. I truly chuckle when people minimize the skill involved in MTTs.

But now to my moment of truth, and an honest question. Many of you who stop by here are very accomplished players. So here is someone at the beginning of the game with limited final table experience (four non-blogger deep field MTTs and about as many at blogger tourneys) asking for your opinion. Smokkee, Hoy, Fuel, Ryan and Wes in particular I’d appreciate your thoughts, but in general I’m putting this scenario out there because I am ambivalent about both the decision and the result. Edit: I hope it's abundantly clear these are not the only people whose game I have a deep respect for. It was early morning, these are the names that came to mind - so take no offense, ye unwashed but highly lethal masses.

There are 11 players left. Fucking cool, no? I agree – I tied my previous FT 20k best finish. the final table is in sight. Blinds are 4000/8000 + 500 I believe. I have roughly 65k and am UTG+1 when dealt JJ. There are 6 players at my table. I truly believe I have a tight image. My raises have generally been respected, and I have shown enough hands when raising with the goods that I’ve been able to steal blinds even short stacked. My VP$IP at this late stage is still 22/14. UTG limps for 8k. I bet 32000 aka half my stack. It folds around to UTG who mulls and then calls me. Flop is K6T rainbow. He thinks about it again and then puts me all-in. I am down to 32k, but the kicker is that someone else just busted on the other table and now we are one bustout from the final table, with a micro stack of 14k on the other table. If I lay it down, I have a decent shot of making the final table as another microshorty with an M=2ish. The other piece of information relates to the player in question. He had a stack of 120,000+ when he called me. His bet of 32k still leaves him 60k+ behind. And he bullied me off a pot two orbits ago with a similar move. What range do I put him on? It’s possible he has a king. He’s been aggressive preflop mostly, so if he had QQ through AA he would have put me allin preflop. AK, KQ, KJ, KT – all possible. Pocket pair? Possible. Any mid powered A is also possible as are mid-pairs which I have seen him limp. He’s looser than I, with a VP$IP around 35/20.

So those were my considerations and the factors I tried to weigh. What would you do? Do you call with Jacks facing an overcard? Do you laydown and try to make the Final Table, which I said was stated goal tonight. Openly stated – ask slb or Don. I called this as my goal before I stepped up to bat tonight. Do I risk it so close to the end?

Well, obviously I did. He had pocket sixes and flopped a set which he then bet at me. He could afford the preflop raise easily and looked at the implied odds if he hit I guess, although I'm not sure calling off 25% of your stack there to the tightest guy at the table was advisable. [Edit: got to add this for clarity's sake since two guys I respect alluded to it. I was entirely kidding about villain having implied odds to call here; unless he thinks I am bluffing or playing 22-55 this call with 66 is dumb. In the context of my likely range, this move deserved to get torched.] I don’t improve and I am out in 10th. Out of 1054.

I guess deep down, I didn’t want to pussy my way into the Final Table. At the end, I badly (perhaps too badly) wanted to win and for 30k I had the chance to win 120k and be a final table factor. I checked my read and thought I was ahead (deluded myself so?) and that he was bullying me with a midpair. [I was close!] So on the whole, I like (or at least can live with) this call, but am very curious to know what you guys think.

At this point I will go out on a limb and say I believe I am becoming a pretty good MTT player. Yay Me. That said, the caveat is I also had a huge suckout in the midgame to keep me alive. It was balanced by the runnah-runnah I mentioned earlier, and although the money went in late, JJ v 66 has got to clear my karmic slate too I think.

Lastly, congrats to Lifesagrind who made the final table and was looking excellent when I left. Hope you took it down brotha. Would’ve been cool to have two bloggers final table this baby together. Next time.

Laytah.