OMG really? Again! Can you believe it.
I played the
Second Chance NLH tournament on August 8, 2009 at
the Bike. About the 5th hand in, I pick up pocket Aces in suicide position. With the blinds at only 50/25, I figured I'll take my chances and make it 350 to go because there had only been one limper and just 4 more people were left behind me. As I suspected, an agressive cash player who was on the button made it 1K more. Ahhh, I think to myself, a taker. . .excellent! By that time, I had already peeled off about 500 in chips of him because he had pretty much played every pot, and I believe he was steaming after I took his small blind and big blind after he called two of my pre-flop raises back to back but missed on the flop. It was time to isolate and relieve the table of this wild card. With 6K in chips, I shoved all-in; and as expected he called. He showed King-Jack of diamonds but I had the Ace of diamonds. The flop came King high with two hearts and one diamond on board; and I was only worried about him hitting another King or catching a Jack.
Now, 99.9% I want a donkey to
call off all his chips with K
♦J
♦ against my Aces. But the dealer had different ideas and put up running diamonds. Diamonds are not always a girl's best friend and I subsequently lost my most of my chips to that idiot. Down to 700, I figured it was still early and reverted to ABC poker. I'm used to being in tourneys with 1500 in chips and 20 minute blinds, so it was not that big-a-deal...other than the fact that I was steaming from the bad beat.
I pick up a couple of ladies right as the blinds got to 100/50 and the whole table limped for a family pot. I had to figure there was an Ace or two out there, so I too limped. The flop came 7-3-3, with two clubs on board. The table check around to me and I shoved. The cut-off almost called with a pair of sevens, but (unfortunately) took strong consideration of my limp and folded. KJ-Donkey, again on the button, called. He showed A♠3♠, and because he is the donkey who doubled through me and was sitting on 12K in chips, I knew he would have called my all-in pre-flop with any two cards. This hand could go no other way. Of course, I reminded him that I had the Queen of clubs. He thought it was inconsequential until the dealer put up running clubs. I won the pot with a Queen high flush. Clearly, turn about is fair play.
Within 10 minutes the Donkey had lost all of my chips to the two tightest players at the table, in back to back hands. First, he defended his small blind with some stupid hand and lost half the chips on a missed straight draw; then he managing to get his Kings cracked by the big blind who had 8/9 off suit and flopped 2-pair. KJ-Donkey didn’t know one had to announce a raise when tossing in a single chip pre-flop and it cost him the rest of his stack. KJ-Donkey then proceeded to berate the dealer for his Kings getting cracked and was escorted out of the tournament room.
I knew I had very little chance of getting my chips back once KJ-Donkey pissed them away so I had to turn my focus elsewhere. I knocked out two short-stacks before the table was broken, but had my work cut out for me when I was seated at the "Table of Death" with only 4K in chips. I called it the Table of Death because there was a knock out about every other hand and half the players at the table had already tripled up and were seriously deep-stacked. I played my heart out and because I was moved to Table 1, I figured I was seated at the final table so I worked hard on my table presence.
However, just as I had managed to break the 10K chip mark, they moved me on my big blind. Ugh! The blinds were at 800/400 and I had 12K in chips at a new table with no presence. I was somewhat comforted by the fact that I knew two players at the table who knew my game. They would not try to crack me before the money and they knew I played strong enough to only play me if they thought I was behind. Unfortunately, there were 4 short-stacks at the table and the deep-stacks were on the attack. I had to be patent and wait for a hand – but I was totally card dead. The tourney paid 18 places, and even though I took down two pots, by the time the blinds were at 1600/800, I was down to my last 4K in chips and sitting on the big blind. I ask the table for a walk so that I didn't have to go out on the bubble and the entire table folded around to the small blind. He looked at his cards and said, "I put you all in." He was a grumpy old codger who moonlighted as the timekeeper, dealer whipper, and table policeman (you know the type).
I looked down at A
♥9
♥ and figured I had little other choice. Yeah, I could have folded, but then what? What if I have to fold my small blind? I would not even have a complete bet left and I would get ante'd down before the blind came around again. I called. The old goat turned over A♣Q
♦ and I was knocked out in 20th place. That dirty rat bastard. I don't know a gentleman on this planet that would not have folded that hand simply because it was a limp pot, let alone that I had specifically asked for a walk and the table had folded around. Folding there was the gentlemanly thing to do…right? Well, the board came all low and black. No making the money for me, not even my buy-in back. With my knock out they made the deal to take the buy-in amount off of First Place to pay 19th and I walked away the
Bubble Girl.
If only my Aces had not been cracked I would have gotten deep because I played my best poker that day. I caught very little hands but that didn’t matter. I won all but two hands that I played, the pocket Aces and the A
♥9
♥. My reads were dead-on and I knew what other players were holding before I even looked at my own hole cards. I even saved a friend from busting out earlier than he did after he bet half his chips with A-10 off, then was re-raised all-in by the player to his immediate left (he would have lost to a set of Kings - with only a 10 on board). I survived each and every all-in and made amazing folds pre-flop that would have cost me my tournament life, just to get knock out on the bubble by an old heartless goat.
One time Poker Gods, just one time... give me cards that I can work with, have my hands hold-up and allow the Donkeys to go out like they should. If my Aces had held, I know I would have taken that tournament all the way. It's days like Saturday that make me want to quit, and it’s days like Saturday that make me more determined to prove to the world that I can play this game.
so we decided to just hang around the house. We watched Inkheart on DVD, played video games on the XBox 360 and lounged around the house. Eventually, we all fell asleep together, watching TV.
the day taking turns playing Fallout-3, The Vault in the comfort of our room. Well actually, Johan played while I navigated him through the quests and complained about the way he played. He turned the controller over to me a few times and I showed him what for! Ha-ha. Although I had never played any of the Fallout games before, I’m an Elder Scrolls nut, and Fallout-3 plays very similar (but not quite as good) as Elder Scrolls, IV Oblivion.
