Sunday, September 27, 2009

About That 3rd Tourney

So I left off the last post when I was still playing a $4K guaranteed rebuy PLO tourney on Friday, and I haven't gotten a chance to report on the results. Well, here's how it ended:


I'm pretty sure you won't hear me talking about how upset I am that I didn't win this thing. 2nd place is pretty nice, and so is the $1K prize.

Early on, I was in for 2 buy-ins and took a river beat on a pretty wretched call (naked Q-high flush draw calling off his stack). It was right before the rebuy period ended, and I really didn't intend on buying in for 4-5 buys, but given the quality of play that had busted me at that point, I figured I still had a solid edge, so I bought back, took the optional 2nd rebuy, and then also took the add-on. So there I was, in for $50 in this thing, and feel a little stupid about it.

But sure enough, I stuck around, and hit the final table in ho-hum position:


All I can say about this run is that I hope I didn't use up all of my poker luck for a while. I had to dig out of some nasty spots and hit some very lucky cards to survive as long as I did. Consider a few hands here....

Just inside of the money, with 14 players left, I played this hand:

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 1200/2400 Blinds (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
saw flop saw showdown
MP1 (t55468)
MP2 (t33600)
CO (t63904)
Hero (SB) (t65434)
BB (t108438)
UTG (t65941)
UTG+1 (t88296)
Hero's M: 18.18
Preflop: Hero is SB with J, 7, K, Q
UTG calls t2400, UTG+1 calls t2400, 1 fold, MP2 calls t2400, 1 fold, Hero calls t1200, BB checks

Flop: (t12000) 8, K, 10 (5 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 bets t5000, 1 fold, Hero raises to t21000, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls t16000

Turn: (t54000) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets t42034 (All-In), UTG+1 calls t42034

River: (t138068) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t138068
Results:
Hero had J, 7, K, Q (straight, King high).
UTG+1 had 9, A, J, K (straight, Jack high).
Outcome: Hero won t138068

So I was a 3.4-1 dog going to the river there, and hit one of my 10 outs.

I tried to offer my condolences, and the chat conversation went like this:
noldmax: u had me crushed...tough beat
TopKorneR: u and u were 2 stupid to see it
noldmax: so what, you're just mucking in my spot? please
TopKorneR: not shoving

I'm pretty sure he's wrong...I pretty much have to shove here, since I am still going to have to call if I check and he shoves. And at this point, I have 2-pair to go with my OESD and 3rd-nut FD, so this could well be for value.

I had one more miracle go my way, midway through the final table. I was short-stacked and just looking for a hand to shove. I saw what seemed decent to shove with, and turned out to be pretty far behind:

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 4000/8000 Blinds (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
saw flop saw showdown
SB (t69464)
BB (t75893)
Hero (UTG) (t64159)
MP (t233222)
CO (t137732)
Button (t358530)
Hero's M: 5.35
Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7, Q, Q, 2
Hero bets t28000, 4 folds, BB raises to t75893 (All-In), Hero calls t36159 (All-In)

Flop: (t132318) 2, 9, 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)
Turn: (t132318) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)
River: (t132318) K (2 players, 2 all-in)
Total pot: t132318
Results:
BB had A, 7, A, Q (one pair, Aces).
Hero had 7, Q, Q, 2 (two pair, sevens and twos).
Outcome: Hero won t132318


With my opponent holding both a Q and 7, I'm hurting badly pre-flop, but even as a 4-1 dog, I luck out and hit a miracle 2-7 on the flop, which holds up and keeps me alive.

I took this snapshot with 4 players left, on the assumption that I'd be documenting some sort of meltdown when I went from chip leader to busto with 4 left.


But I managed to outlast 2 more, getting heads-up at a pretty big disadvantage. The final hand went like this:

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament, 8000/16000 Blinds (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (SB) (t181732)
BB (t757268)
Hero's M: 7.57
Preflop: Hero is SB with 2, J, K, J
Hero bets t38000, BB raises to t114000, Hero raises to t181732 (All-In), BB calls t67732

Flop: (t363464) 3, 4, Q (2 players, 1 all-in)
Turn: (t363464) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: (t363464) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: t363464
Results:
Hero had 2, J, K, J (two pair, Jacks and nines).
BB had 9, A, 7, K (three of a kind, nines).
Outcome: BB won t363464

Hey, if my lucks gonna run out, it might as well be once I've wrapped up a $1K prize, right?

It could be a long time before I get a wide open day to fire up some more tourneys like this, but when that day comes around, there will be a pretty high standard to reach after this monster tourney day. Until then, I'll be back grinding the 6-max tables.