The Comeback of All Comebacks

Well, the streak of venting on this blog leading to a tourney score continues. A couple days after my quick rant, I finally made a final table and closed the deal. This was a decent pickup, financially and emotionally.

I was able to keep my composure after getting pretty short stacked to make the final two tables. Then I sucked out versus a reg to make the final table. When HU came along I started down 3 to 1, but was able to take the chip lead. Then I managed to get down $73k to $1.4M and win the tourney. This was just amazing. Granted there was some luck involved, but a comeback that I'm proud of nonetheless. Hopefully, this will kick start my next upswing.

Note: My downswing on fulltilt is still in effect, so I am free to bitch about that. :-)

Suckout #1 vs PetieBigStacks from FullTilt:



I have shoved over this guys button raises 2 or 3 hands in a row and was counting on him making a tilt call.



I started HU down 3 to 1 and this save on the turn was a sign of things to come.



I was hoping for a hero call since I played my hand pretty weak.



After managing to take the chip lead, I got it in with a draw, only to be drawing dead on the turn. Notice my stack at the end of the hand. I am down to about $73k.



The start of my run.



I win a 60/40.



Suckout #2.



A sick hold.

A Long Overdue Update

It's been a while so, here's the latest happenings in my poker life.

I'll start with the FTOPS, well, after probably spending $1500, I finally won a seat into the ME. But that was all for nothing. I was able to chip up early, but proceeded to tilt my chips off to a guy that chased a gutshot and got there when the turn game me top, two. I'd like to take some credit for giving him his start for a nice run in the event. He finished in 6th place for $78k. Congrats! Appropriately, his id is "dump22".

Well, after the FTOPS concluded, I decided to take a break from poker. Running bad and playing bad is a deadly combination for anyone's emotional health and bankroll. I had no timetable for this break, only that I wanted to clear my head and start back playing when I felt the desire.

During this break, I did something very out of the ordinary for me, I watched TV. I'm not a big TV person. I'd rather be on the computer trying to find some way to become a bazillionaire. Other than basketball and football, there are only a handful of shows that I watch on a semi-regular basis. Well, during this break I was able to catch up on CSI, Lost, Cold Case, Without A Trace and my secret vice, American Idol. That's probably all the shows that I watch. I also managed to watch a few movies from my Blockbuster Online subscription. And I managed to work on a new website that I have in the works. All of this spanned the course of two weeks.

So, exactly two weeks after the FTOPS and the start of my break, I was reading through some posts on PocketFives. Coincidently, one was about downswings. After reading a lot of posts about people's various downswings and how they worked them out, I felt a lot better about my current "normal" 50 buy-in downswing. Thus, that was the fire that I needed to put in a days work.

I then proceeded to play a good number of the regular Sunday tourneys with the exception of the Stars or Full Tilt Sunday Majors. Well, long story short, I was able to secure my biggest score to date. Although it was a second place finish, I won just short of $20k in the Stars $150k $50 buy-in tourney.

Heres a screenshot:




Here are some hands from the Heads-up battle. I started down about 4 to 1 and was down 5 to 1 before making a come back. Well, after our last break, I went from being ahead 5 to 1, to being out of the tourney in second place. I'm always looking to grow and improve as a poker player and after losing my last two heads-up matches, I'm starting to study more about that aspect of the game.

Hand #1: This hand put me back in the game.




Hand #2: The first hand after the last break.




Hand #3: I played this hand horribly, but the guy was making some fairly thin calls with mediocre hands. I was hoping to get full value, but instead I valuetowned myself. LOL.



Hand #4 aka The Bustout Hand: Hopefully, this is the first of many 5-figure scores and a 6-figure score would be very nice.




Good Luck at the tables.

Andrew aka TheJunkie

FTOPS XI: Events #10 and #15

So, I'll start with the good news. Of the 7 FTOPS events that I wanted to play coming into this series, 4 have passed and I was able to play in 3. (I know that is pretty lame for "good news".)

Well, Event 10 was going pretty smoothly. No big pots, just steadily going through the tourney as the field dwindled down. Then this hand happened.

Hand #1 aka The Bustout Hand: Event 10. I have no idea what he could put me on that he was ahead of given my postion and stack size. And it seemed a bit too spewy for him to hope for a race situation.



This is admittedly, a luckfest, but the $100k for 1st was well worth the gamble to hope for a run good session. It wasn't meant to be though. Chino Rheem finished 4th. That guy is on a new heater.

Hand #2 aka The Bustout Hand: Event 15.




I still haven't won my seat for the ME yet, so I'll grind those satties hard this week. Hopefully, I can win multiple seats to offset some of my run bad.

Good Luck at the tables.

The Collapse

A few weeks ago, Full Tilt increased the starting chip stacks for the Nightly 50/50 tourney from 2k to 3k. This was great, but every since the change, for some reason, I hadn't made a deep run in this tournament. Prior to the change, I had 2nd, 3rd and 5th place finishes.

Well, last night I could finally see the writing on the wall. This was supposed to be my night to finally make it back to the another final table. With about 40 people left, I had chipped up to a nice stack which put me at the top of the leader board. I had about 250k.

As you can guess by the title of this post, poker can be a cruel game. The stacks were such that I couldn't fold any of my hands and I doubled up 4 different people. So, in a matter of 16 hands, I go from the chip leader to out in 31st place without tangling with any other big stack. This was the toughest way to go out of a tourney that I've ever had. Hopefully, this will lead to a run good stretch because I am due. A gold jersey would be nice. :)

Hand #1: The beginning of the end. I had told myself that I would fold to this guy's first SB shove without a AT+, 77+, KQ, type hand because he had gave me several walks, but I couldn't click the button.




Folded 1 hand.

Hand #2: Fairly easy call for me.




Folded 5 hands.

Hand #3:




Folded 1 hand.

Hand #4: I know the raiser is a solid player but this is an insta iso-shove with our stacks.




Folded 1 hand.

Hand #5: Sick




Folded 2 hands.

Hand #6 aka The Bustout Hand: Go figure.




For those keeping count, that's $250k to $0 in 16 hands. Take nothing for granted.

Weekend Update

After bitching and whining, I finally cashed in a tourney. To no one's surprise, it was the FTP Nightly $10 rebuy. That is definitely my bread and butter tourney. I'm a little disappointed, but I finished 2nd. I was 4 for 4 in my HU matches for this tourney. Oh well, at least I got off the cashless streak.

Hand #1 aka The Bustout Hand:




I'm also happy that I managed a couple of cashes in Poker Stars tourneys. Back to back cashes in the $10 rebuy. Not much in terms of money, but a big boost in terms of confidence on that site after going over a year without a cash. A win in that tourney would be huge. Not only is the payout usually $13k but the field is about 2000 people. That's 3-4 times the size of the FTP $10 rebuy. I think the Poker Stars field is probably softer than FTP, but it is huge.

On Sunday I played the monthly $1 Million Guaranteed tourney on Full Tilt. There were 2200 people. 1st was over $200k. I had a few big hands early, but overall the tourney was pretty standard. Not much to talk about. Surprisingly, I only had one flip and I lost. JJ held against my AQ. That crippled me and I busted the next hand. My JJ got flushed down the toilet by KJs. Fortunately, this occurred just after the money bubble so I did manage to pad the roll a little.

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming FTOPS. Hopefully, I can win a seat into the $1k and $5k events. I will probably need to win two seats into the $5k in order for my BR Management nazi-side to allow my gambler-side play in the event.

I'm also looking forward to the WSOP ME Sats. FTP has started running WPT LAPC Sats which are nice. Hopefully, this is a new trend given that they are a major sponsor for the WPT now. They are running $200, $300 and $500 weekly sats til the event which is around mid-Feb. I posted a suggestion that they change their sats to $200 or $300, a $500 and a $1k. Makes more sense to me and that is basically what they do for the WSOP ME for an identical prize package. The $500 Sat had 60 players with 2 packages being awarded. A $1k with the same number of players would have awarded 5 seats.

Oh, I was finally picked in the P5s OT Competition. I was picked by Yogiblair in the 2nd round. The comp starts in February. Hopefully, I wont be the weakest link. That would be a nice time to run good. Especially, in the FTOPS events. I think I can settle for bypassing my first 5-figure score and going straight to 6-figures. :)

Later.

First MTT Win of 2009

Well, it didn't take long to get my first win of the year. It's amazing how I literally went years without a single final table. The past two weeks I've had 3 wins, albeit in the same tourney, but wins nonetheless. And the past three months I've made a decent number of final tables. I'm very thankful and this is very encouraging for a strong 2k9.

Here are some hands from last night's win:

Hand #1: This hand sparked my deep finish. I was card dead for most of the beginning of this tourney. This was the first spot where I thought I could pick up some good chips uncontested or HU. Well, it didn't end up being uncontested or HU, but this win definitely propelled me for my run. It was kinda funny when the hands were shown, I was calling for the 9, but had no idea I had a lot more outs than just the 9. (7, 8, 9 or T)




Hand #2: In retrospect, and after some discussion with my coach, I realized that my play in this hand was pretty bad. I don't think it was awful because with my style I make a lot of high variance, high risk, reward type of plays that I have learned to deal with. KK+ is in my range for making this play.

I hadn't played with bdybldngpkrplyr prior to this tourney, but I know that he is a successful MTT player and was my biggest threat at the table. So, I was willing to gamble to get him out as quickly as possible. I just didn't think that it was this big of a gamble until the cards flipped over.




Hand #3 aka The Money Hand: We are about even coming into HU play. I had about $1.8M in chips and he had about $1.7M. I was able to grind away at him and get it in ahead for once.

Back 2 Back

Wow!

Last night I took down the Nightly FTP $10 rebuy MTT. I also won this tourney in October, my first MTT win. The exciting part of this latest win is that I also won the tourney on Monday. Yeah. I won the $10 rebuy two nights back2back. That is sick. I really hope the end of 2008 is the precursor for a monster 2009.

Nam Le speaks the truth, in the December 23,2008(Vol. 21/No. 25) issue of Cardplayer:

"In tournaments, it's all about being positive. When good things happen and you're around positive people who do good things, it's contagious. It keeps your spirits up and your confidence high. Whenever somebody does well, it keeps the group's spirits up and everyone motivated to keep playing. This game is so grueling and we spend so much time on the road that it helps a lot whenever somebody does well' it picks us up"

Here are some hands from the two tourneys:

Hand #1 (12/22/08 Rebuy):




Hand #2 (12/22/08 Rebuy) aka The Money Hand: I was able to use a betting tell that I had picked up during the last three tables to slowly grind him down.




Hand #3 (12/23/08 Rebuy): This was a close call to me. I decided to pass up on my possible edge because I believed that I had a better edge against the field.



Hand #4 (12/23/08 Rebuy): Poker is easy. This hand erased a greater than 2 to 1 deficit going into HU.






Hand #5 (12/23/08 Rebuy) aka The Money Hand:

FTOPS X: Main Event

Here we are. The FTOPS Main Event. The tourney that I've been looking forward to playing for three months since my deep run in the last FTOPS ME. This is the last big online tourney for the year, so that added to the anticipation.

I love playing poker and playing on Full Tilt, but it can be so fucking cruel at times. In a nutshell, it came and went so fast that I was in shock after that dreadful pop-up appeared that said "Dumbass, you're out the Tournament." I was so pissed that I had to go smoke for the first time in over 3 months. I "knew" what he had, but my style of play is so risky, that I couldn't bare to take the safe way out in this situation. I guess karma is a bitch because earlier, I had been discussing with another player about not folding KK preflop in an online tourney. LOL, Doh.

Overall, this was my most profitable FTOPS. I only had one cash, but it was a decent score and I won multiple Main Event seats. My last FTOPS was profitable for me as well. Hopefully, that trend will continue and I can make a big score in the next FTOPS which should be held in February.

Hand #1 aka The Bustout Hand: The tourney started off very well for me. I was getting some good cards and picking up some chips. I was up to about 9800 chips within the first half an hour. Then everything came to a screeching halt. This was the perfect setup for this guy. He was in the BB with a classic squeeze situation to disguise the strengh of this hand. When he basically put me all in, I figured that most typical online players would take this line with QQ+ and AK. Some donks with an even wider range. I definitely feared AA, but in the end, I couldn't bring myself to fold. Better luck next time.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 30/60 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: 9,096
SB: 6,404
BB: 10,490
UTG: 7,160
UTG+1: 7,435
UTG+2: 7,225
Hero (MP1): 9,180
MP2: 15,287
CO: 4,500

Pre-Flop: (90) K K dealt to Hero (MP1)
3 folds, Hero raises to 180, 2 folds, BTN calls 180, SB folds, BB raises to 750, Hero raises to 2,400, BTN folds, BB raises to 6,000, Hero raises to 9,180 and is All-In, BB calls 3,180

Flop: (18,570) 5 2 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (18,570) 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (18,570) J (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 18,570 Pot
BB showed A A (two pair, Aces and Twos) and WON 18,570 (+9,390 NET)
Hero showed K K (two pair, Kings and Twos) and LOST (-9,180 NET)

FTOPS X: Event #19

I was looking forward to playing this event. I small buyin and plenty of chips. Unfortunately, it ended not too long after it began. I finished 1382 out of 2526. The top 279 cashed.

Hand #1: This hand still bothers me. I guess I shoulda shoved. His line just completely screwed my brain. Oddly enough, if he shoves, I insta call. He put me in a shove, fold spot. A call was very bad. Not sure what he has that I'm beating which he wouldn't want to shove over my re-raise. Maybe I just over analyzed the situation.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 100/200 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: 5,266
UTG+1: 10,558
UTG+2: 13,020
MP1: 4,170
MP2: 9,580
CO: 9,445
BTN: 15,026
Hero (SB): 5,040
BB: 3,560

Pre-Flop: (300) A K dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 600, 5 folds, Hero raises to 1,800, BB folds, UTG+1 raises to 3,000, Hero folds
Results: 3,800 Pot
UTG+1 mucked and WON 3,800 (+2,000 NET)

Hand # 2 aka The Bustout Hand: My run bad switch is still on. I wouldn't have felt as bad if he had spiked the Ace or King.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 120/240 Blinds, 25 Ante, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP2: 7,378
CO: 12,936
BTN: 14,480
SB: 4,365
BB: 9,130
UTG: 8,140
UTG+1: 15,971
Hero (UTG+2): 3,315
MP1: 4,890

Pre-Flop: (585) 5 5 dealt to Hero (UTG+2)
2 folds, Hero raises to 3,290 and is All-In, 4 folds, SB raises to 4,340 and is All-In, BB folds
Flop: (7,045) 9 4 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (7,045) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (7,045) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 7,045 Pot
SB showed A K (two pair, Nines and Sevens) and WON 7,045 (+3,730 NET)
Hero showed 5 5 (two pair, Nines and Sevens) and LOST (-3,315 NET)

Please, please, please, let the Main Event go much better than this week has gone.

FTOPS X: Event #8 and Event #9

Well, Event #8 was pretty much uneventful. I was card dead for the majority of my time in the tourney. I busted 584 out of 3499. The top 390 cashed.

Hand #1 aka The Bustout Hand:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 400/800 Blinds, 100 Ante, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BB: 19,088
UTG: 14,242
MP: 20,943
Hero (CO): 11,464
BTN: 20,633
SB: 73,695

Pre-Flop: (1,800) K T dealt to Hero (CO)
2 folds, Hero raises to 11,364 and is All-In, BTN folds, SB calls 10,964, BB folds
Flop: (24,128) J 6 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (24,128) 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (24,128) Q (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 24,128 Pot
Hero showed K T (a pair of Threes) and LOST (-11,464 NET)
SB showed J A (two pair, Jacks and Threes) and WON 24,128 (+12,664 NET)

So now I'm 0 for 2 in cashing this FTOPS. Then came Event #9. I made a deep run and busted 42 out of 5370. I was so close to making a big score is this huge field. Hopefully, I can get the job done in another event.

Hand #2: This table has been extremely aggressive. When the guy limps UTG some alarms went off in my head. He had been playing very tight and not involved in any pots. But as soon as another guy limped, I muted those alarms because there was over $90k in the pot that I could pick up.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 10,000/20,000 Blinds, 2,500 Ante, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: 265,341
SB: 424,556
BB: 228,375
UTG: 349,920
UTG+1: 414,980
UTG+2: 1,975,474
MP1: 878,153
Hero (MP2): 421,488
CO: 360,100

Pre-Flop: (52,500) 8 9 dealt to Hero (MP2)
UTG calls 20,000, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls 20,000, MP1 folds, Hero raises to 418,988 and is All-In, 4 folds, UTG calls 327,420 and is All-In, UTG+2 folds
Flop: (767,340) A 2 K (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (767,340) A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (767,340) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 767,340 Pot
UTG showed K K (a full house, Kings full of Aces) and WON 767,340 (+417,420 NET)
Hero showed 8 9 (two pair, Aces and Nines) and LOST (-349,920 NET)

Hand #3 aka The Bustout Hand: The guy opening from the button was playing very laggy. Unfortunately, this was the first time that I was able to see his hand to confirm my suspicions. I had folded TT from the SB to one of his re-steals earlier before I started to question his motives. I think the overcall here is horrible. Anyway the button raiser went on to win the tourney and the $200k+ payout. Congrats! Surprisingly, UTG+2 clawed his way back to finish in 2nd place. Congrats to you as well.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 10,000/20,000 Blinds, 2,500 Ante, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: 302,841
UTG+1: 452,056
UTG+2: 183,375
MP1: 668,272
MP2: 369,980
CO: 1,910,474
BTN: 938,153
Hero (SB): 148,136
BB: 345,100

Pre-Flop: (52,500) T A dealt to Hero (SB)
6 folds, BTN raises to 935,653 and is All-In, Hero calls 135,636 and is All-In, BB calls 322,600 and is All-In
Flop: (853,336) 8 Q 9 (3 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (853,336) K (3 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (853,336) 9 (3 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 853,336 Pot
BTN showed 2 K (two pair, Kings and Nines) and LOST (-345,100 NET)
Hero showed T A (a pair of Nines) and LOST (-148,136 NET)
BB showed Q K (two pair, Kings and Queens) and WON 853,336 (+508,236 NET)