Sunday, August 14, 2005

Big Social Group Tourney - August 13, 2005

48 players, WSOP blind structure.

First table, less than one hour in, I get agressive with pocket jacks, and when the flop comes in 9-6-3ish rainbow, I go all in. Of course, I'm facing pocket aces. To my great shame, I suck out with a jack on the river and double up.

Same table, I'm facing a true WSOP veteran who has made a bet which states he's got top-class holdings. I've got position and suited paint that I can't put down, and I catch lucky, much to his chagrin. Living on the edge, I guess.  I looked it up at cp.com, and if he had what his bet seemed to imply, I was the 4 to 1 underdog, and I was being offered maybe 1.5 to 1 odds at the initial bet.

Same table, I limped with 7-8 os or some other inferior holding with four other players. A-7-x comes up. My probe bet chases 3 away, and I assume I'm facing an Ace. Turn - A, river 7. He makes a huge bet on the end, and I can't fold my second-best boat so I call. He's pulled such a stone bluff on me that he doesn't even show his cards. Sigh of relief.

Next Table, I make a raise into two very good players who are SB and BB, and they both call. I flop the nut straight, and I check from early, and I'm happy to hear a bet and a raise. My all in pushes off the probe bet, and the raiser takes my all-in offer. He explains before calling that he knows what I've got, but that he's got to go for the nut boat because he's too low-stacked to continue in the tourney otherwise. cp.com puts the odds as 82.1% in my favor. He failed to suck out, but it was not a bad play on his part, as he was very pot-committed.

Another interesting hand involved an all-in battle after the flop with K2 vs K7, except that K-2-x was already on the board. K-2 is the 74.4% favorite at that time.

Final Table Syndrome (FTS) - Losing one's focus after hours of play because one is so excited about being within reach of the prize money.

After much patience and more than a few skirmishes, I make the final table. I've got a healthy stack, and I personally take out at least two players at the final table, but then I go haywire.
My focus wanes just when I need it most, I make a couple of bad decisions and I'm desperate and looking at the bubble. I pull pocket 8's from the SB and offer an all-in to steal the blind. BB happily agrees from his pocket aces and takes 90% of my remaining stack. (Same player pulled pocket aces on me the last time we butted heads and crippled me there as well. Maybe I'll wait for pockets before I go against this guy again....)

One hand later, I accept an all-in offer from the chip leader, who has KQ to my Q9. I fail to suck out.

I didn't use the notebook this time, but I was constantly counting my chips.

I need to learn more about final table focus, or I can see repeating this behavior over and over. Getting cocky at exactly the wrong time.