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#223 – Under the Big [F]TOP[S]
I am amazed by the initial reception of this fifth running of the FTOPS. The first event, $200 + $16 NLHE drew over 4,000 players. The second, starting earlier tonight, $200 + $16 HORSE, pulled in a field of over 1,000. I find this remarkable. The guarantee for the first event was $500,000, the same as the (recently increased) Sunday Guarantee tournament.
If Disco Stu and the other tournament directors are doing their jobs, the guarantee provides enough of an inducement to attract a field but then the size of the field itself becomes the attraction. So it’s no big deal when a tournament exceeds its guarantee; to the contrary, it’s a big deal with it DOESN’T.
But this was 4,165 players for a Wednesday night event! 27 Full Tilt pros joined the field.
Speaking of which, I was one of the 27 and the occasion caused me to reflect on my personal FTOPS performance, which has been horrible. I spent about $5,000 on buy-ins during FTOPS III and IV and didn’t cash a single time.
But don’t worry. I’ve played two events in FTOPS V and have nothing but two early bust-outs to show for it.
Actually, that’s not even accuarate. I picked up a new enemy, a player at my HORSE table named z20ranger. Five minutes in, during 10-20 blind Hold ‘Em, z20ranger raised to 40. I called the 20 in the big blind with T-8o. It was a great flop: T-5-6 rainbow. I checked, he bet, and I went for the check-raise. I bet after the deuce on the turn and after the eight on the river. He showed A-K.
“Keep calling fish” and “Moron” were his immediate comments. But he acted like he was going into labor the second time. Again on my blind, I called his raise with K-6. The flop came 3-4-5. As before, I check-raised and he called.
In the brief moment before the turn card appeared, I thought about a story Ted Forrest had told me about Hamid Dastmalchi. He said there was a period of time when Hamid seemed to lose his mind at poker. “I wanted to play any hand with a six so if the board was 2-3-4-5, he could crush a guy with an ace.”
I was praying for two things: (1) that the turn was a five to make my straight, and (2) that z20ranger had A-X to make the “idiot” end of the straight. My prayers were answered. He had A-T and tried a couple raises before realizing he was stuck. He called a single bet on the river.
What he didn’t understand – and compounded by complaining about MY play – is that you have to call more out of the blind in limit hold ‘em compared with no-limit. The amount to call is less because you’ve already put in have the amount of the raise. And if you’re heads-up, you’re usually not a big underdog and you can put a lot of pressure on one opponent with a check-raise if he whiffs – even if you have just 3rd pair or a gut-shot draw. Especially early in a tournament, you’re getting great odds to make that play.
But don’t listen to me, z20ranger. Read Howard Lederer’s chapter in the STRATEGY GUIDE. Or Andy Bloch’s pro tip that just came out about HORSE, the game we were playing in this tournament.
It was a moral victory of sorts that I outlasted my enemy but I still busted plenty short of the money. But 16 of the 17 Full Tilt pros who played the HORSE suffered the same fate.
Apart from the other blogs I’ve told you are coming, here are a pair of things I’m working on: (1) I’m keeping track of how all the Full Tilt pros are doing, individually and as a whole, in the FTOPS. Maybe this is because misery loves company. But “we” collectively aren’t doing much better than “I” individually am doing. I’ll give you the stats as the FTOPS continue. (2) I’m trying to get Clonie Gowen to come to Scottsdale to play Sunday’s event, which she is hosting. Just because.
