Intemperate Fortune Abandons Me Again...aka I blow my own foot off just miles from home...aka Sigh with A Capital 'S'
Twice in one seven day stretch I get within firing distance. Which means it will be a short aeon or two before the Fates align themselves for me again. Many thanks to Mookie and Joanne for railing me - wish I could have put on a better show at the end. Shortstacked it was 55 Preflop into 88 and KK sequentially. Online poker being what it is [no, not illegal (at least not yet) - I meant "rigged" in the tinfoil hat sense of the word], we all flop an 8 to teach my friend to my right a lesson in open-limping monsters.
Although I am sure there were many, a single critical error in the endgame stands out.
I over-played AQ0 to an all low flop and c-bet 15k (65% pot) I could ill afford to lose. His likely range certainly included overpairs, but for some reason I fixated only on hands I could beat. I ended up calling his value bet on the river in order to meet bullets. I can't describe how disappointed I am in this one hand - I have made this mistake enough times to know better. My 4 year-old son would have check-folded there. OK, it's true he's gifted, and could read at 3, but you get my meaning I think. That misfire dropped me from floating in the middle of the pack (my favourite spot to strike) to having to play catch up from the last of 20 players. Eventually it forced my weak push with Presto (Dammit Fuel, share the Mojo!) and that was that.
There was one read I did like, though it also empoverished me. I 4x'd 16k from UTG with 99 (I may stop doing that forever with these lousy fucking semitough pairs.) The player to my immediate left pushed with 55k. I had 35k behind, it folds around. He has watched me play some big hands, but not show any. I did win two hands early on nice plays, but who knows if he was paying attention. He is a solid player and has made only made big moves with big pairs as long as I have been at the table. Would you call off the rest of your stack here?
I didn't - I felt certain I was WAY behind - a race would have been welcome, but for some reason (monsters under the bed?) I didn't think I was racing. He didn't show so who knows? I lay it down and between those two hands I say good bye to about 39k in total. They did me in. One definitely feels like an error. One I'm not so sure of. Poker, like life, likes to give you the beating and leave it up to you to learn the lesson. In this particular example (eerily similar to my dilemna with Jacks last time - well, maybe not all that eerie, really) I am still a little unclear on the lesson. Ah well, not the first time.
And that's that.
The good news is I did some math - for my five cashes in the 20k, over many, many attempts - I am still slightly positive for this Fool's Errand. Assuming you place no value on my time, frustration and nascent need of anti-hypertension meds. I clearly don't.
But all this should inspire you guys and dolls. There are puh-lenty of better MTT-playing bloggers than me. If I can finish top 20 in this biotch twice in four days, one of us could take this thing down within a few weeks if we were all making conscientious stabs at it.
For my own part, as dumbly results-oriented as it is - I am not done with this windmill just yet.
Wish me luck.
Laytah.
posted by Iakaris aka I.A.K. at 2:14 AM
8 Comments:
I was sure you would make it deeper than you did - though where you reached was impressive enough.
There were a few plays made that I would question, but without the benefit of hand histories I'm not likely to remember them specifically.
It was a great showing nonetheless, and thanks for the <3's ;)
Lurking quietly as you made your run, I'm still wondering if the way he played those aces was brilliant or donktastic. And I feel your pain when it comes to non-premium pairs. You still had chips when you laid them down. At best, you were racing. At worst, you were dominated.
How many people were at your table when you raised UTG with 99? How many hands had you played recently? What kind of player was the guy who pushed?
I'd still raise with medium pairs UTG some of the time. But, if you play them, NEVER LIMP. Remember, a lot of people will fold hands that could beat you on the flop to a UTG raise.
I like limping low pockets.. cheaper to get away from and if you set up you can get paid easier. Take the 9's for instance, if he cold calls, and 9K3 hits.. if he has any lower pair or AQ or something he is going to fold to your bet. However if you limp and he has a KQ or something you might stack him. It works both ways of course as you can take down some pots you maybe should not.. but that tends to cost you money when the guy actually hits his king..
Jo - yeah I agree wholeheartedly, in fact I am actually encouraged that that was NOT my A game. I just kind of grinded that one out, and was fortunate to hit big hands often enough to keep me going. Hopefully it will all come together in the near future. Thanks again, for the sweat. Good to see you posting too, I had never heard of a sugar rose.
Hacker - yeah, he calls my 3x from the button. He calls my c-bet. He checks the turn (as did I - deeply suspicious I was fucked). He then bets 1/5 the pot 9k at the river. Not the way I play Aces, but what can ya say - it worked.
Wolf & Waffles - we were 8 handed when I got 99. I had been in two big hands in the last two orbits, won both but didn't show. The dude who pushed was solid, that I think was the big factor - I had watched him do this with big pairs twice in the last 40 forty minutes, he got called both times. It smelled of TT - AA (OBFV). At best I think I was racing (which I would take), but felt there was a good chance I was dominated.
I have been raising with these medium pairs UTG, but had two crippling results this week when it came to crunch time. Tough ones to take really - I'm not sure I know what the lesson here is? Push preflop? You're only going to get called by better hands or strong Aces which have you running. Limp and fold to the inevitable position raise (why limp in the first place then?). Call the All-in for your entire stack, when your read tells you are dead money? Just fold them and wait for a better hand? Seems too weak that late in the game. I think figuring those things out, as well as a few other gaffes are what is standing between me and the next step.
BTW...that was me deleting my comments, I kept making ridiculous grammar errors!
55 only works for me in critical situations.
Awesome work, Iak. You are really firing with the 20k's. You should consider the party 40k as well -- it plays a lot like the ftp 20k, and it's every night just 20 minutes later. It takes a short while longer (less than an hour more on average, having been to the final table in both) because there are usually 75% or so more people (2200-2500 on average I'd say), but in exchange you also get the much larger prize pool, including around 9-10k for first place instead of 5-6k as the 20k usually pays out. With the way you're playing lately you should definitely be able to smush the field.
Anyways, one thing to consider is that -- and you know I like to raise with those middle pairs preflop generally -- as you're getting down to the nitty gritty near the final table, it is often beneficial to play a little closer to the vest, at least before other people have acted. I have many many times laid down the 9's to an allin reraise when we're really down to crunch time, so I think that was the right move. Personally I think you have to raise with them there, as I don't think a limp is where you want to be and I don't think that helps you when the inevitable overcards come out on the flop. In my view, raising preflop and trying to win the blinds is your best bet with a hand like 9's at that point in a big mtt. Just my 2 cents, as if you need advice from me with the way you're slamming these mtt's lately. Keep up the great work, maybe I'll bump into you at your table again this evening.
Keep grinding bro, your big cash is just around the corner.
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