Travel Axe Poker Tournament
Date: Saturday, August 13, 2005
Price: $10 + $1 Buyin
Place: Poker Stars
Players: 37 players
Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
I had a fairly successful poker tournament. It was sponsored by a great travel website, Travelaxe. Travelaxe is a great site if you do a lot of traveling. You tell Travelaxe what city you're staying in and it searches about 12 major travel sites and quotes each hotel in that city with all twelve sites. You're now able to find the best deal with the best travel site.
I chose this tournament, because I'm always looking for a speacialty tournament like this. I like Travel axe and there was a prize of 2 nights at the Sahara in Vegas, plus prizes for the final table. Also, if you beat the president of Travelaxe, you win $25.
I was a little disappointed at first with only 37 players. Only because the top prize would be small and only a few people would be paid off. In this case the top prize was $180 and only 5 places were being paid. Not bad, but I thought, what the heck.
As you know, I generally like to play tight in the beginning in order to gain a tight image. Unfortunately, I was dealt A-Q suited three hands in a row. I be strong the first hand and won it without a fight. The second time, I hit my Ace, but the player I was playing fought back aggressively and I lost over half my bank role with the other play beat me with two pair. The third time, I limped in and the board hit J-9-9 and I had a raise and re-raise, so I folded to two players who hit their set of nines.
I started with $1500 in chips and now I'm down to $700. My strategy at this point was just wait for good hands. Only six occasions, I was dealt raising cards and I raised, played aggressively and won without ever showing my hands. I was now back to $1500. I like this strategy, because you can be beat in so many ways, there's no reason you want to show your cards. If I'm holding an A-J in late position, it's a strong hand, but it's hard to hit the ace or the jack. Let's just take the pot. The only time I like to slow play is when I flop the nuts or a set.
After about an hour, we're down to 21 players. I am well below average. My basic feeling was just survive. I want to make it to the final table and win some prizes. At this point, my strategy is to play solid poker and look for an opportunity to attack. This strategy worked for the most part to the final table. I reached with with about $3000 in chips. Not average but I was definitely in the middle of the pack.
This is the lession I learned. Never give up and play to win. If you're short stacked and have a long ways to go. Anything can happen and you can come out on top. Just keep playing solid poker and make the right decisions. Ask yourself, if you're playing on emotions or on the right decisions.
Things really got tough when we reached two table and we were at 6 players each. I basically had to wait for 3 players to hit the rail. Again, I have a descent short stack and I'm winning a small pot here and there. I just don't want to get trapped at any point.
I did have KT suited one seat from the button and folded only to know that I would have hit the nut flush on the turn. Oh well. I'm playing a little too tight, but I am short stacked.
Now I'm at the final table and I'm about three from the bottom of the 9 remaining players. Almost immediately the chip leader, AZSTARS, knocks two players out of the tournament. On the next hand, I'm dealt 6-6. I limp in and I hit my set on the flop in early position. I decide to slowplay, so I check and I am raised, another player calls and I call. On the turn, I figure I'm good, so I check, raise, call and then I go all-in. The two players call and I turn over my set and I triple up.
The next hand, I knock those two players out and take the rest of their chips. Now we're down to five. I just realize I'm in the money. I just made $37.
There are basically two players that I'm worried about, the chip leader, AZSTARS, and Fink22. The other two player, I knew were going out next, the question was who was going to take their money.
During the tournament, there is a great deal of chatting going on. AZ and Fink were not properly registered for the tournament and AZ was not responding to any questions from the president of Travelaxe. The other players accused AZ of being a Poker Stars bot. I guess a program that plays based on formulas.
I was almost starting to believe it. AZ was playing just like a computer. AZ would raise preflop with an Ace or big cards. His post flop best were either pot sized if he hit his hand and 1/3 the pot, if speculative. If this guy was a computer I almost had him beat based on the fact that I knew how he was going to act.
For example, if AZ bet 1/3 the pot, he was speculating. I would bet over the top and he would flop. If he bet the pot, he had a hand and if I felt I had a better hand, I'd play. For example, I played AJ even though with an AQ the only hand that would beat me. It did.
I doubled up on AZ by playing weak with a premium hand and then going all-in getting him to think I'm desparate.
Soon, I had a small chip lead over AZ. I was dealt 8-5 spades on the big blind. I was dealt middle pair with my eight. He bet out and I felt that he was trying to drive me out of the pot. The high card was a Jack and I didn't put him on the Jack, but maybe AK or KQ. I go all in and AZ calls. Low and behold, he has the Jack. I'm dead until I get runner-runner spades to complete my flush. AZ is out in a major suck out.
Head to Head
I'm now up against Fink head to head. I have a pretty significant chip lead. I'm playing pretty aggressive. I'm always raising a standard raise pre-flop. Doesn't matter what hand I have. Fink is playing at me the same way. If he goes all-in, I decide if my hand has a good shot heads up and then either play or fold. After about 10 minutes, Fink was able to almost catch up to me. He slowly grew at the three steps forward, two steps back.
I'm dealt AQ. So I'm looking to get Fink all-in. I run a standard raise. Fink re-raises and I'm all-in. Fink calls and flips over A2. I have Fink dominated only to have him hit the 2 on the river.
Fink begin to chat that he never apologizes for giving someone a bad beat. I told him there's no reason to apologize. You go in with whatever strategy you employ and you let luck determine the result. Yes, sometime you make a bad decision and get paid off for it. Sometime you make the absolute best decision and still get beat. That's poker. I believe that poker is 40% skill and 60%. If you're being dealt bad cards, no amount of skill and bluffing can help you win. The skill is picking the right spots to make move and knowing when you're beat and minimize the losses.
I'm down to 700 with 300 in the big blind. I was able to fight back to 2,000 in chips before I'm dealt 77 to lose to KJ.
Today's lesson is to persevere and never give up after taking a huge hit. I was short stacked after the first 15 minutes of the tournament and I fought back to the chip leader only to get hit by a horrible bad beat. Persevere and don't go on tilt.
