MiniFTOPS Event #1 – My Recap | Poker From The Rail

MiniFTOPS Event #1 – My Recap

Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail

ftops.jpg" alt="" width="152" height="131" align="right" />Alternate Title: How 6-max and flat-callers tilted me

Michael Craig claims that FTOPS acts as a vampire to his bankroll, after one MiniFTOPS I’m almost willing to put that claim down. My performance certainly was not outstanding and in the end I just tilted off my chips in a way I haven’t done in quite some time. It took me 4 straight episodes of Family Guy to finally come down off the ledge and take a look at what happened.

The numbers were huge. Over 14,000 players volunteered $22 for a shot at the $42,000 first prize. The total prizepool came to $280,000 and change. That’s 70 million chips plus in play with a slow structure and plenty of room to play the NLHE 6-max format. I was all set to go and make my mark on the very first MiniFTOPS event. I had my strategy in my mind, pick my spots and use the structure against the impatient push monkeys.

Best laid plans of mice and men.

The first hour was uneventful as it should be. This tournament was going to be 4 or 5 hours before it even sniffed the money bubble. I picked up a few biggish hands, no action on my one AA hand but I did have a dead stack to my left at the start for a little chip stealing. I was as high at 7k and started the break just under the chip average. Life was good and players were dropping at an amazing rate. Then I found the table where Full Tilt grayed out the fold button for most players.

I will never be that guy who goes on and on about the sub-par play in small buyin tournaments. I won’t go on and on, I promise.

6-max is obviously not the format most suited for my game. From what I can tell, the optimum strategy is to disregard position, hand strength and the betting patterns of your opponents. Suited connectors are practically unbeatable, ace rag will never lose, and baby pairs are the mortal nuts to three raises.

My patience was paying off for awhile, even if I had to snap a couple players off who began to think my blinds were there for the stealing, but I never showed down anything that wasn’t upper deck. I started to lose some chips by open-raising with big aces only to get half the table calling down then folding to monster action post-flop. I admit that I let the calling stations get under my skin. After the 100th time of the same player making moves on my BB, I made a read that my 88 was way ahead of his junk on the flop.

Bad read as he finally had a hand for the first time we were at the same table. 88 no good versus AA with two cards to come. I take full credit for losing my patience, making a bad read, and then way overplaying afterwards. My game plan went right out the window and I have no one to blame. Except those few button-mashing, junk-calling, over-hyphenating lemurs that I’ve added to my enemy list.

At least I outlasted Michael Craig, I’m putting that on my resume.

FTOPS and MiniFTOPS information after the jump.