Ok... so... wow, what a day! The last I checked in, I had 180,000 chips, was heading to dinner, and only had 51 more people to the money... and then I briefly posted to let people know I made the money.
But how did that happen? What was the blow by blow? How did I finish the day? Well, all of that more in the final blog post of the evening...
So I come back from dinner and get Q 10 off in the big blind with a raise from... you guessed it, seat 6. So I call and the flop comes Q J 10 rainbow - two pair, but while he will raise on anything from the button, there's also a decent chance he has 4 to a straight... so I lead out, he folds, more winning.
So I fold for a while, but it's ok - when you have as many chips as I do, life is good. Then I pick up A10 off in a late position with a raise and a caller in front of me, so I call. Flop comes Q 5 K... I missed. I check, he bets, next guy folds, and I call... why not, I have lots of chips. Turn was a 5, I check, he bets, I fold. C'est la vie...
I got 9's in a middle position and raised with them, but a late position three bet me to 18,500 and I elected not to pay an extra 10,000 to play 9's out of a position with a guy whose hand was good enough to three bet.
But it was ok, because I picked up 5's in a late position, raised with them, and won me some antes and blinds.
Then I pick up a nice KQ suited in a late position... beautiful. So I raise and seat 9, my nemesis (All day he calls me... all the time... calling and raising)... anyway, my nemesis in seat 9 calls. Flop comes 5 8 K with two clubs and no diamonds (I had diamonds). Top pair, second kicker. I bet big - 28,000. He calls. Turn is a 9 of diamonds... still have top pair, second kicker, with two clubs on board and no flush draw for me. So I bet out big again - 30K. He calls.
Now I'm in trouble. He's either chasing a flush I know he's going to hit on the river, or he's got one heck of a hand. But which is it?
River was a 6... of spades. Black, but no club. Even still, I'm unhappy he didn't go away and check. He studies my stack and bets 48,000. Recap - we're 17 people away from the money, there was over 150,000 in the pot when he bet 48,000... making it a 200,000 chip pot. I have approximately 100,000 chips left because 60,000 or so so of those chips are mine. Oh, and there's no way I'm winning this with top pair, second kicker.
There's really only one move here and it's folding... I think even Jay Cutler would fold this hand. But I can't do it. Seat 9 has been driving me crazy all day - every time I raise, he calls. Every time I check, he bets and he always has position on me.
And so, I called with the following philosophy - I'm probably going to lose, but the chance at winning 200,000 chips is so great, that I'm going to call and pray he's bluffing and then just use the remaining 50,000 chips to get to the money if he's not. Essentially, I'm counting this as being out of the tournament if I lose, but saving just enough chips that I can fold every hand and still make the money.
He had the 67 of clubs... which gave him a straight on the turn. He called my preflop raise with suited connectors, flopped the open ended straight flush draw and called my first bet with a draw, hit his straight on the turn, and bled me dry on the river.
My tournament is over... I fold every hand until the money an hour later and am left with an M Ratio of about 4.5 when we hit the money. I order a celebratory beer and consider whether or not I'll be around when it gets to the table... a quick shove is in order, I'm done.
So I pick up J10 suited in the small blind and raise to 7,000 instead of shoving - I should shove, but I'm already "out of the tournament" and in the money, so really I can do whatever I want - I'm just playing carefree poker. So he comes back over the top on me and puts me all in, which I readily call. He has pocket 2's, I have the jack and ten of spades - fitting that stupid seat 9 should put me out.
Flop comes 10 4 8 with two spades. Hey now! Turn was the King of spades, I win, and the river was a 10 in his eye... take that seat 9!
Next hand I've got A3 suited on the button, raise, and win some antes and blinds.
I'm now up near 100,000 chips... I'm almost back in the tournament. Back in the tournament? But I was out of the tournament? Done!
This is glorious - I'm in the money and I have 100,000 chips to play with! I'm invincible!!!
I'm so invincible in fact, that I raise with pocket 5's from a middle position. I got three bet, I folded, he showed AK... maybe not all that invincible.
Invincible enough to raise with QJ though... to a call from... seat 9. I hate you so much seat 9. Flop comes 10 4 5... sigh... check. He bets... might or might not have something, but he has position and has had my number all day. Sigh... fold.
I protected my blind a bit calling a raise with KJ off in the big blind, but missed a Q 4 6 flop. But we both checked and I got a free turn - an ace. So I bet it, he folded, and I took down a small little pot.
Then... sixes. What's that you say? Sixes aren't a good hand? Nonsense... I'm invincible. So I call a raise with my sixes from a late position, which prices in seat 9, and the small blind folds. Seat 2 was a short stack - about 40k - 50K, and he was the one stalling to try to get to the money and now we're in the money. Anyway, it's his big blind and with a raise and two calls in front of him, he shoves all in. The original raiser folds, and I reflect on my sixes.
Now, it doesn't actually matter what I have, this is a phenomenal opportunity for me - I've got blinds and antes in the pot, I've got two extra raises/calls in the pot, and I've got a chance to go one on one with a shorter stack with a pocket pair, which probably makes it a race that I'm ever so slightly leading. Moreover, if I lose, I've still got a 50K short stack left to shove with... so I move all in and pray that boxes out seat 9, which it does.
Seat 2 flips over AJ off, I've got sixes. It's a race!
8 10 Q
Ok, a 9 or a k is a straight for him. And he's still got two overs. Not the best flop for this guy.
Turn was a 4. C'mon 2 of diamonds or anything low. 3 of hearts... or even a 6. C'mon low...
River was an 8, I just took down a huge pot.
Round four is over, I'm in the money, back from the dead, and I've got 144,000 in chips. Game on.
The challenge now, of course, is that I need to get out of crazy poker mode. See, when I made the money, inner Tiffany went to bed. And since I was already "out of the tournament" after my stupid beat from seat 9, once I hit the money, I turned the reigns over to inner Jay Cutler. Now, the problem is, I need to get him back on the bench... but it's hard to put that Jay Cutler genie back in the bottle.
Early into the last round of the night I get 5's in a middle position. It's like Alshon Jeffery streaking down the sideline in double coverage with a safety over the top - how do you not take that shot?! Raise! Flop came J J A... check check. Turn was a King. I checked, he bet, I folded.
AQ off under the gun got me antes and blinds, which was nice.
I got J10 suited in the small blind and called a raise with another caller in front of me. When the big blind called, we had a 45,000 preflop pot. Flop came 2... 2... 2. Ummm... rainbow. Obviously. Ugh. I check, seat 9 bets, everyone else folds.
Almost an hour into the round, I'm in the big blind and seat 9 raises under the gun. Of course he does. Everyone else folds, I look down at pocket kings. Sweet manna from heaven! So I raise to 21,000 and he calls. Please no ace. Please no ace. Just please no ace. Flop comes...
Q 7 2
Glory! I'm first to act... hmmmm... Jay thinks we should get as much as we can out of this pot and says that I haven't done a good enough job maximizing my good hands, so I check... giving the guy who loves to chase flushes a free card if he wants it... and he does, he checks.
Turn is a 6... the second spade on the board. I check again... I'm baiting him, no way he can resist betting here. Check.
Son of a...
Are you kidding me?! He just checked twice? Seat nine?! Grrr...
River is a 5 of spades. Oh my. I may have just let him hit a flush. No, I couldn't have. I wouldn't have. It's at that moment that I resolve I am playing those kings for every chip I have and I lead out 15,000... he ponders and calls. I show kings, he mucks... but as he does, he flashes me a queen.
Wait... what? This guy flopped top pair... and checked... twice?! That hand should have paid me off. I mean, yeah, I won 40,000, which stems some of the bleeding from all the blinds and antes (I'm now losing 10,500 every 15 - 20 minutes), but how do I *only* win that? Damn you seat nine, damn you. I tell you, he's got my number.
With about an hour left in the evening, I picked up AJ suited in a middle position and raised. Seat nine called. Flop came 9 9 J with none of my hearts, but two spades. I led out with a 20K bet, he called. I hate being out of position with this guy. Turn is a 6 of spades - three spades on board. While I loved my top pair top kicker on the flop, I'm now a little weary with the third spade on board, but I bet out another 20K - let's see if he raises... or possibly folds. Nope, he calls. River is the king of spades. 4 spades on board. There is no way I am winning this hand with my ace jack of hearts. I know that. I do. But I can't give seat nine another pot. He's had so many. Even when I have the better hand, he still seems to win. So I shoved. Full on, hard core bluff. Basically, I was representing the ace of spades... and, quite frankly, I was betting he didn't have the ace of spades. Literally, that's the bet I was making - I bet my last 90-some thousand on a 120,000 pot that he didn't have the ace of spades.
And he did.
He actually hesitated for a while, worried I had pocket jacks or J9, but ultimately made the call. He was playing ace of spades, nine of diamonds - he hit the trip nines on the flop and had me the whole way. And I totally could have knocked him off those if he didn't have a spade when that fourth spade hit the board... and based on how much he hesitated when calling with the ace of spades, I may have even been able to knock him off a flush with a middle spade... but he had the ace of freaking spades.
And, done. That's it. Up and down the entire day - I was definitely in the money, then I lost a ton and might not make it, then I made a ton and I was definitely in, then I lost a ton and I'm basically out of the tournament, then I'm in the money, then I double up, then I win a giant pot, then I'm doing great again, then I bet 100,000 chips that seat nine doesn't have the ace of spades and he does.
God, I hate that seat nine. I think that's part of the reason I did it too - I just couldn't let seat nine win that pot. Over my dead body was seat nine going to win that pot. And it was.
Anyway... fun!!! This was really a fun year - I got to sit with a couple former champions, including Johnny Chan, I cashed, and I had a general roller coaster ride of a tournament... it was really a lot of fun.
I officially finished in 765th place - good for top 12% and $15,000. In the five years I've been doing this, I've finished in the top 8%, the top 11%, and the top 12%... so that's pretty good I guess, but I think I squandered some good opportunities today - I should have been able to play into day four.
What's interesting is I don't think I typically bluff a whole lot - I mean, outside of this tournament obviously. I mean, sure, some position raises or continuation bets every so often, but that's just poker. And sometimes I'm betting on the other guy not having something which is kind of like a bluff, but I usually have a draw to go along with that.
Several times in this tournament I got to the river, knew I lost the hand, and made giant bluff bets... and I think I lost most, if not all, of them. Moreover, I made a couple river calls that I knew I lost the hand on... I bet those moves combined for hundreds of thousands in losses across the days. Bluffing on the river when I missed my hand and calling bets when I know I've lost - those are two things that I think I would like to work on for next year...
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