| 26 Jul | How to suck at pokerPosted by PokerBarney on 4:59PM, 26th Jul 2006Permalink |  Send to a friend |  RSS feed |
I had a spare $20 in Poker.co.uk that I was using for a league I can't play in any more, and I had some time to kill so I bought into a $10+1 freezeout with 241 entrants. Top 20 pay, first prize of over $700... nice!
I decided to play nice and tight in the early levels, waiting for some big hands to play aggressively and hope to chip up. In the past I've fared quite well in $10 buy in MTTs, but this one didn't go so well... below is a fairly complete report. Starting stacks 1500.
Level I - 10/20
Folded for two or more orbits. Completed the SB with T8o, missed and folded. Some short stacks moving all in every time I'm on the blind.. I would've missed anyway.
Stack: ~1450
Level II - 15/30
Saw maybe 5-6 hands, all trash. More folding. Stack: ~1400.
Level III - 25/50
Getting a bit concerned I haven't played a hand yet. QQ UTG, I raise from 50 to 200, everyone folds and I take the blinds. There isn't much pre-flop raising, but limpers don't give up to later raises. Stack: 1490
87o on the BB, several limpers, checked down to the river giving me the idiot end of a straight 89TJQ. I take the pot, even though the SB was slowplaying a set of queens. Or was he just away? Stack: 1690
More folding, including the SB when more shorties pushed. Stack: ~1650.
Level IV - 50/100
Crap, this is getting silly now. KJd in MP, so I open limp (probably a mistake in hindsight). Folded round to the SB who completes, BB checks. Flop comes A94, all black. Blinds check, I bet pot (300), BB calls. Turn 6. BB checks, I check. River J. BB bets 600, I call and he shows J9o for two pair. I should've raised, but I think he was playing loose enough he would've called. Stack: 665.
More folding, including my next trip through the blinds. I'm looking for a spot to shove here, but one doesn't present itself.
Q4s, folded round to me on the button so I push 5xBB. (Note, this is the 3rd pot I have played pre-flop, so I'm expecting some serious respect, plus the blinds have been playing very cautiously). SB calls with AKo and it holds up.
I'm out 124/241 for $0. What a boring, empty, vast waste of a game.
Could I have made more of it? I don't think so. I might've made a little bit of cash on the straight from the SB, but there was a big chance with 4-5 limpers that someone held the better end (a K). Was the raise with QQ too much? I don't think so.. perhaps raising to 150 (3xBB) instead, but that might let the donkeys in too cheaply. I'd rather win a small pot than lose a big one. Lastly, should I have raised with the KJ? Almost undoubtedly yes. Should I have called the river bet? Probably not. Should I have bet on the turn after his second check? Yes.. I think a shove here would win it for me.
Still got about $8 left. Might try again for one of their $6 MTTs.
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Thu 27th Jul 2006 23:56
tournies like this happen sometimes, no hands, ntohing playable, but too much respect when you dont need it. what i do is to take afvantage of the respect when i get it, put a 4x bb raise in early position with junk, then shove the flop. looks just like overcards, in the first 3 levels, especially of a $10 mtt its HIGHLY unlikely to get a call. you only need to do it every 20 or 30 hands to increase your stack by up to 30% by the time level 4 and your cards hopefully come around.
with regards to your $8 l;eft, try the $5 nl hu games, played 5 tonight and won 4. coming from behind twice. since its the lowest level buyin, its the most fishy around there.