At my age I don’t like to play two nights running, and I’m playing the Super 50 Deepstack at DTD which starts Sat 17th at 3.00pm, so I decided not to play Friday evening like normal.
Therefore opted to go to the G Cov yesterday (Thurs) as I wanted to play the cash game there. Arrived after the tourney been running an hour but no cash games had started.
I planned to just wait for the cash to start however the tourney was “FREE” to enter, so I sat in. The comp was a £1,000 guaranteed Free-roll with unlimited re buys and an add on for the first 2 x 45 min blind levels where you could re-buy for £10.
Starting stack 1,000, re-buys get you 2,000, and for the top-up 4,000.
Now anyone who sits down in a poker tournament has the absolute right to play anyway he/she wants but I just don’t understand some peoples thinking. When I arrived at the table (seat 10) seat 9 whispered to watch out for seat 1. I knew him (seat 1) and didn’t need the warning! Apparently he’d already shipped in blind about 12 times winning some and losing others. He had about 8k when I sat down.
He continued in the same vein going up and down and had 3 re-buys while I was there. Personally I seriously doubted that they would make the guarantee as people on the other tables were playing fairly tight. Therefore any re-buy wasn’t actually going to add anything to the prize pool.
I fully intended to donate as little to the prize pool as possible so I could head off to the cash game without being in a hole. Also after the break is when it’s time to really start playing, and my rock like image would come in useful. So I rocked up big style folding hand after hand. Eventually I pick up QQ and flat call, seat 1 goes all in (as he was now doing every hand) and I double up.
Same again I fold hand after hand and then flat with KK, he doesn’t learn and ships in again. This time I knock him out and he doesn’t re-buy, walking off muttering under his breath bemoaning his luck!
The consensus at the table was that he’d spent £90 in a “free” comp. I pointed out that based on the payout structure he would have needed to finish in 4th place out of the 50 runners just to get his money back!
I would suggest a more sensible strategy would be to play ultra tight and even if you don’t win a pot at 25/50 or 50/100 and just pay the £20 at the break for a re-buy and add on for 6,000 chips. If you have 6500 at the break the blinds are 75/150 so you have 43 BB’s. Against the standard of player in this comp, that is more than enough.
I’d got 3,500 at the break so took the add-on making me 7,500 in chips for an outlay of £10.
During the break several players me included dashed to the little cash game (50p/£1) which had started without me noticing.
The break lasted about 25 minutes during which time I was up a little. When the tourney re-started the players left in the cash game looked very much like the type of player I like to play against (loose/passive). I was winning £20 and didn’t want to leave. Eventually I went back to the comp with £35 profit. In my mind I was either gonna chip up or get out of the comp as quickly as possible.
I lost a few blinds whilst sitting at the cash table and was down to 7,050 when I returned to my seat. The tourney had 66 re-buys and 35 add-ons so the total prize pool was £1,010.
I saw the prizes on the board, 3rd was £165 & 4th £95 the reason I noted these was that on average in the 50p/£1 game these are around the amount I would normally expect to win in it.
So I was determined not to hang around and started opening every pot that was folded to me. Blinds were 75/150 making it 425 each time. I took the blinds a few times and then lost a small pot where I was forced to show 6,5 offsuit, so back to about 7k.
Then next hand I opened with 8c,7c and got re-raised by the BB to 900. This seemed strange as this player had a tendency to over-bet his big hands normally. (He’d opened some pots for 10BB’s) Anyway I was more than willing to mix it with him so called the extra 475 and the flop came 7s,5c4c. He bets all-in (he has me covered) but I insta call and he says “ooops!” and turns over pocket 2’s. Turn and river brick so I’m up to 14k.
Very next hand I get JJ and make it 425 the now small blind ships in saying “you have nothing” I call he shows A,10 and I knock him out and I’m up to 20k +.
In the next 20 mins I win several big pots. The best of which was when I had AA in the BB. I flat call a button raise and check call his over sized cbet. Turn goes check/check and I bet river (about half pot) and he calls with a pocket pair of 8’s on a board of K,J,6,7,3.
At this point they break us up and move me to another table (20 left) and I get seat 1 . Now things don’t go so well and from this point I don’t win another showdown. Surviving by making squeeze plays in multi limped pots, 3 bet shoving or just picking on the weaker blinds.
I make the FT (10) but only 7 paid and just £45 for 7th. At this point the small cash game folds and I start to think “oh no I could play all night for nothing, and not only that but potentially lost money that I could have won at cash!”
Normally I play pretty well around the bubble time as I’m never worried about missing out on a min cash, however this time I’m feeling under pressure purely due to the time I’ve invested.
Anyway my shove/fold timing works fine and we get down to 7. We are playing for £1,010 and only 3rd and up get over £100. As a short stack I suggest a deal that we take £100 each and leave £310 to fight for. I’m surprised everyone agrees and we play on for the extra.
It doesn’t last long as average stack is about 8BB’s, I’m out 5th (I think) and when HU the 2 guys agree to take the extra £155 each. By this time it’s 3.00am.
It’s not a comp I think I’d be justified in playing normally as adequate use of my time, but my youngest daughter is 18 soon and wants to play in a casino and I feel it would be ideal for her to get some experience in.
Although there was some free money on offer at the start of the tournament I felt I had to work pretty hard and sweat a little for it!
