Bond18 - Around the World in 90 Days: Day25

Posted by Bond18 | Filed under Bond18

I settle into my seat on table 6 and find seat 9 even more uncomfortable than imagined. There is only a tiny bit of space between the back of my chair and the guy sitting in seat 6 on the table behind me, to the degree that I already know we’ll be jamming into each other all day and dealers will have to shove me into the table just to make a change over. Whatever though, I’ve got a chair, 15,000 chips, and hour levels to work with, plus a table full of nobody I’ve ever seen before. Cards get in the air with 25/50 blinds.

My table seems very tight weak to start. There’s not even much in the way of limping, just a lot of folding over and over. In most live tournaments, and especially early, I’ve developed what I call a ‘Small ball LAG/Big ball TAG’ style. That is to say, I open raise quite a few pots, continuation bet at a higher frequency than online, and occasionally bluff scare cards, but for the most part don’t get very out line. I try to build an aggressive image and then when I play a big pot and start multi-barreling I have it a large percent of the time. Obviously in tough tournaments or if I happen to draw a tough table with many thinking players I can’t be so consistent, but creating an image in small pots that I abuse in larger ones seem to trick normal live players just fine.

That’s how things go in the early game, with my playing a lot of small pots where I raise pre and almost always take it down when I C bet. Occasionally I check-fold on the really bad boards to fire at, but for the most part things go smoothly. My first interesting hand comes with my fabricated aggressive and spewy image:

My stack: ~15k. SB: ~15k. Blinds 25/50. I hold 33 UTG.

Pre-flop: I call 50, folds to the SB, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: J 6 3 rainbow

SB checks, BB checks, I bet 150, SB check min raises to 300, BB folds. I look at him for a couple seconds, then grab two “500” chips and fling them into the pot, making it 1,150. The SB thinks it over and calls.

Turn: 6.

SB checks, I think briefly than bet 2000 (in live, betting a bit smaller like 1500 may be better) and he thinks for a little while then folds.

For almost half an hour things go smoothly and I slowly increase my stack. The blinds go up and I’m involved with the same player again:

My stack: ~17k. SB: ~15k. I hold AJo UTG, blinds 50/100.

Pre-flop: I raise to 300, folds to SB, SB calls, BB folds.

Flop: Ah Jd 3h

SB bets 500. In the same fashion as before I quickly fling 1,600 into the pot. SB thinks it over and folds. Damn it.

Things are fairly quiet for me during 75/150, though I still play a few small pots and keep a fairly aggressive image. I talk to a young guy in seat 6 and he tells me he posts on 2+2 every now and then. I ask him where he’s from and when he says Sweden I tell him “Alright then Swede, no folding to you I guess.”

“Is that the image we Swedes have?”

“Just a little.”

There’s a player on his direct right who is also young and European. He’s raised the last three pots in a row to 550, and on the fourth time he does it we get involved:

My stack: ~17k UTG: 14k UTG+1: ~16k. I hold AdAh in MP2. Blinds 100/200.

Pre-flop: UTG raises to 550, UTG+1 calls, folds to me in MP2, I re-raise to 2050, folds back to UTG. UTG now goes into the tank for a very long time. He pulls out a large stack of chips and stares me down. He counts down his chips, looks over at UTG+1, and then stares back to me. He tanks for so long that another guy on the table calls on the clock on him. After quite some time ticking down, he finally passes. I figure that’s all the action I’m going to get for this hand, but the moment the action is on UTG+1 he quickly calls. Odd.

Flop: K Q 6 rainbow

UTG+1 checks, I bet 3200, UTG+1 calls.

Turn: 7

He checks, and I don’t think going for 3 streets against a good thinking player on this board texture is good at all. I check back.

River: A

I feel a quick jolt go through my body. Some people shake noticeably when they have a monster; most often you see it in their hands. I shook, but only for half a second. Luckily UTG+1 was looking down at his chips and didn’t see the lightning bolt go through me. UTG+1 bets in the area of 4000, it’s all the chips he has in front of him except his singular ‘5000’ chip behind. As the dealer is counting it down I announce all in and push my stack in. He grimaces then throws his last chip in, and when I table my AA he turns over his QQ and disgust. Sick river.

I win a few small pots for the rest of 100/200 and the blinds are increased again. It’s not long into 150/300 I’m involved:

My stack: ~34k. Seat 1: ~16k. I hold 9c8c UTG+2, Blinds 150/300.

Pre-flop: 2 folds, I raise to 800, MP1 calls, folds around.

Flop: 9d 8s 4d

I bet 1200, MP1 calls.

Turn: Qh

I think it over, then fire 3200, MP1 calls.

River: 2s

I try to lean over and look at MP1’s stack, but he’s sitting in seat 1 and in seat 9 with no room and a dealer in my way it’s very hard to tell. I decide not to risk this guy’s tournament life, and fire 5,500. He very quickly calls and when I table my two pair it’s shipped the pot.

An orbit or so after my two pair I’m moved to a new table, and as it turns out moved to the seat directly behind me. My new table contains online player The_D_Ry and WPT winner Juha Helppi. A couple rounds into the table I 3 bet the player on my right with A6o to create 3 bet history. He folds and tells me well played. Two hands later I’m involved again:

My stack: ~44k. Juha: ~9k. Button: ~11k. I hold AdAh on the HJ. Blinds 150/300 with 25 ante.

Pre-flop: Folds to me on the HJ, I raise to 800, CO folds, button calls. Juha in the SB studies me briefly then makes it 3,600. The BB folds and I pause for a moment. I look aver at Juha’s stack, then over at the buttons stack. I then take my stack of “1000” chips and slide them into the middle. The button folds, Juha puts the rest of his stack in and tables AK. When he sees my AA he gets a completely disgusted look on his face and begins lamenting his luck to his friend. He’s already out of his chair when the flop hits. Wow, someone actually stood up against me.

Flop: K J 3

Please God no.

Turn: 3

No, not this time, no.

River: 2

Phew.

The rest of the 150/300 level things go smooth and I only play small pots. The blinds are increased to 200/400 but the table is pretty TAG so I don’t see any major action. With nine minutes left in the day the clock is paused and it’s announced we’ll only be playing six more hands. I raise one of the first five and fold the rest. On the very last hand I peek down at JJ. This could get interesting…

My stack: ~51k. Button: ~45k. I hold JdJc on the CO. Blinds 200/400 with 50 ante.

Pre-flop: Folds to me on the CO, I raise to 1,100, button makes it 3,300, blinds fold. The button player in this hand is fairly aggressive and has 3 bet me once before but isn’t incredibly spewy or anything. He’s in his mid 30’s perhaps, European, has a ponytail, and seems angry at the world. He seems very quickly agitated and one time when the dealer tried to make him change from the pot and got a little confused he got very agitated then refused to pull his “500” chips back from the betting line and let it sit there out of spite. I decide 4 betting here, while certainly an option, isn’t really that likely to get him to jam over 100 BB’s pre with a bunch of crap hands just because it’s the last hand of the day. I think calling with the intention of calling down very wide on multiple streets post flop is a better alternative, so I go with a call post.

Flop: 3s 5s 6d

I check, button bets 4000, I tank for a little while then call.

Turn: 3c

I check, button thinks for a bit and checks behind.

River: 9h

I think my action over on this street quite thoroughly. I think if I bet here there’s very little he can pay off with, and getting raised is not fun in this spot. Meanwhile, I think if I check he’ll desperation bluff this pot a huge percent of the time, as well as value bet some worse hands every now and then. I check with the intent to call any bet, fully expecting him to fire something like 10,000 which I will absolutely insta-call. Unfortunately he checks behind and I table what must look like the most weakly played JJ of all time. I think it makes sense in this spot though.

When it’s all said my chips total 61,800. I can’t remember the last time a day of poker went so incredibly smooth. Every C bet worked when I wanted it to, I got paid on almost every big hand, and I got set up hands in my favor. No complaints here.

Checking out the stacks now I find I’m in 7^th place with 135 left and 27 paying. Perhaps, just this once, things will keep going smooth.

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