Saturday night I played in a NL home game tournament. It was the first time I’ve played in almost 2 months.
My wife was out visiting her family, so I spent most of the afternoon playing video games. It probably wasn’t the best way to prepare for the Slot Gacor Hari Ini tournament, but oh well.
Before the tournament, there was a small cash game going on. It looked like a brutal game, before I sat down, there was a kid that just lost a big pot and started crying. It was horrible. Well, I sat down anyone and bought in for $20 (It was a $0.50/$1 NL game). We only had about 10 minutes before the tournament so it was a quick game. The last hand, I limped with 6-6 and the flop came 4-5-6. I called a medium-sized bet with only the bettor in the pot. The turn was a 2 and we both checked. The river was a A and I thought I was probably good and bet the pot. Unfortunately, he called and showed a 3. He said he put me on 7-8. Weird.
But, I did end up $8 before the tourney started, so not too bad.
We started the tournament with 35 players, 3500 in chips and 25/25 blinds. I don’t remember really any of my hands from the first couple levels (I should write them down next time.) But, I do remember that there were 2 all-ins in the first level with someone getting knocked out of the tournament. So there was some action.
Once we went down to 3 tables, a new player sat down at my table. From the times that I’ve played with him, he usually switches from loose/aggressive to tight. When he sat down, it looked like he wanted to push the table a bit. I limp UTG with 7-7, the new player is to my left and raises to (i think) $400 with the blinds at $50/$100. Everyone folds and I call. The flop comes 8-6-5. I check and he bets $600. I call. I think he as 2 big cards, but he could have an overpair too. The turn is a 2 and I check and he bets $1100. I call and the river is a J. Not the best card for me. I check and he checks behind and shows AQ.
In another hand, with the blinds at $50/$100, I call a button raise to $300 with AJ. The flop comes A-Q-3. I check and the button bets $600. I raise to $1600 and the button moves all-in for like 6000. So far, I’ve seen this guy call all the way down with Ace-high and bet all the way with bottom pair. At first, I really didn’t put him on any decent hand. Then I remembered earlier in the tournament, they called out this guy’s name for knocking out 2 players in the first level, so he obviously showed some hands too. I was feeling OK with my play, so I folded. He showed pocket 3s. Whew.
I remember that about halfway through the tournament I was thinking about how weak I was playing and that I needed to get a little more aggressive if I wanted to do well. After that, I started raising more pre-flop and taking down some pots with flop bluffs.
When we were down to 2 tables, I was pretty lucky on some hands. I doubled up with flopped middle pair against a good draw. Then, with the blinds at 200/400, the pocket 3s guy raised to 1100 preflop. It was folded to me in the BB and I look down to K-K. I moved all-in for about 6000. He thinks for a good while and finally calls thinking I have 2 big cards. He shows 9-9 and doesn’t get lucky.
It seemed like time flew by and I was sitting at the final table. I had a little above average stack at the table. I tried taking the pots that nobody wanted and kept my head above water. Once we were down to 5 players, a relatively tight player raises to $2100 with the blinds at 300/600. I’m on the button and reraise to $6k with AK. He thinks for a second and moves all-in for about 11k more. I put him on a big hand because of his style, but I also know that he could be putting me on a weak hand. I call and he shows AQ. Lucky for me that I wasn’t dominated. I end up winning the pot.
With 4 players left, the short stack was nursing his chips for most of the final table. He finally finds a hand and moves all-in for about 6000. I’m in the BB for 2000 and have 9-9. He doesn’t show his hand, but it didn’t matter much since I flopped a 9. There was a K on the turn which had me a little worried, but ultimately he shows AA for the loss.
With 3 players, I’m again in the BB and the button raises to 4500. It’s an easy call with 7-9. The flop gives me 2 pair and I’m golden when I hit the full house on the turn.
Then it was down to 2. At this point it was almost 3 (thanks daylight savings time) and I was really tired. I was down about 70,000 to 55,000 with 1000/2000 blinds. We decide to go for a chop. If this were an afternoon tournament, I would have finished. Especially since I was setting up the other player for about an hour before we were heads-up.
Anyway, it was a fun tournament. Thanks again to the hosts for letting us in (and those honey roasted nuts were great).
Ah, one more thing before I go back into hibernation. What is the common tipping ettiquette for tournaments? I usually tip 10% of my winnings up to $100 (I don’t play too many big tournaments). I noticed that some people don’t tip. Hopefully this is because they don’t know the correct amount. So could you leave some comments on what you think are good amounts.
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