Last nights escapades...

So following on yesterday's comments... I fired up a couple of tourny's when i got home yesterday. I never cashed in most of them, but had some interesting experiences, but let me just speak about the main experience.

I played a $22 NLHE big blinds tourny. This type of tournament naturally favours the LAG player because the blinds are high, so when you steal you get rewarded.

So 360 entrants. and I'm sitting in 1st place for much of the tourny with 40 or so left.
Down to 18 and i'm hovering around 7th, 8th.
Down to 10 and I'm sitting in 9th place.

Now i'm on about 58,000 chips. Chip leader has 300,000 chips. And one player at my table, (two tables of 5 players) has about 55,000 chips and is the shortest stacked player at the tournament.

He has been quiet for a while. Then there is a 5 min break.

He comes back from the break, and goes all-in first hand. No-one defends.
He goes all-in second hand. No-one defends.
He goes all-in third hand. (he's now sitting with about 68,000 chips)
I look down at two beautiful pocket JACKS... and i'm thinking. Hmmm... What can he have?
A3o, maybe A7o... possible K10o? I'm thinking at best one under card, one over card. Maybe a small pair. Now take a moment to think about your play here?

Have you thought about it? Really have you? Did you make the call, your tourny life is on the line here? This is a quiet player, all of a sudden making moves... can he have three genuine monster hands three times in a row?

What do you really think the correct play is here? Fold or call? Think of an answer before you read on and commit to it.

Okay so this is what he turns over:
KQ offsuit. Flop comes AQX and not help for me, and i'm out.

FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!

I honestly think my call was correct. It was ultimately a race, but one that i couldn't get away from! I win that hand and i'm sitting in the top half of the final table. How much longer must i really wait for a better hand? He was making moves and i gave him less credit for his range.

Do you think the better play is to 'survive' and make the final table... in the hope someone else goes out? What is your play? I was playing to win and i wanted the double up. It would have made me a serious contender to win the tournament. I had been playing well, and was fresh and juiced.

I think i was just unlucky he hit his Q. It's the same as your standard QQ into AK race. I did have a nice hand earlier in the tournament when someone ran KK and another person ran QJ into my AA in the same hand, and i trippled up!

At one stage of the tourny, there was this short stack, who goes all-in. Now at this point i was tourny leader and look down at A9 offsuit with 70,000 odd chips. He had about 3000 chips. It's an insta call for me, but i thought, he's two or so off the money, and time wasting... let me help him survive and time waste a bit for him. Then there's me time wasting and i reckon, wait i might need my timebank at a later stage... so i just call.... He turns over A9 offsuit as well... four hearts on the board and I knock him out! Shame... just like what happened to me the other day... sick. I was sad to do that to him... but this is poker and its all part of it hey!

So that's me for now. Sad news is, the next time i'll get to play a tournament will be next week. No tourny time for me until then :( :( :(

Oh i must just say, i was so tempted to play some cash game last night... i was itching and pretty much... struggling to hold down my addiction... but I DID, I DID. I Didn't play cash game. I was true to myself. Instead i fired up 4 SNG's (whilst playing tournies)... and it helped get my mind of cash game, and i'm guessing it prevented any further leaks (or huge cash wins)... and like i say, NO CASH GAMES until i win $1000 in tourny winnings. Possibly then, i can go back and play some cash games again.

Anyway, keen to hear what's happening out there with you all, so blog it up!
Fin