Three of my poker objectives (in realistic-but-non-trivial category) have been:
- win an MTT at The International
- cash in a WSOP, GUKPT, EPT, etc event **
- win the $20k rebuy comp on gutshot.com (Cake)
** or at least make Day2
In each case, I have been close several times.
In live MTTs at The International I have been runner up, and had other deep runs including 3 final tables in successive weeks.
In the case of the large-field live events, I couldn't say I have been right on the bubble, but I have been late on day1 several times.
In the case of the $20k ($30 rebuy NLH) on Cake, that is on every day at 8pm and I have played it many times. It is a really soft field and I regularly cash in it with a bunch of final tables already. Best place previously =2nd.
Well, last night I finally won the $20k. $4,240 for first place.
I didn't start too well - I hardly won any chips in the rebuy period (had 3,128 when I could have had 3,000 just by buying in and adding on at the break). After adding on I still had a usable stack (5,628 at the 75/150 level) but I frittered away 1/3rd of these before making a slow climb.
I doubled up with AA vs AK at the 125/250/25 level to stand on 17k and with another nice situation (KK vs AK at the 300/600/50) I advanced to 40k. Just playing very solid, tbh.
KK again - vs 52 at the 800/1600/150 level: I raise to 3,599 from the cut-off and the BB calls. The flop is T-5-T. He checks to me and I bet 6,899 into 9,198. He instantly shoves for a total of 35k. Easy call. Up to 80k now and cruising.
I start to open up a bit and am also winning vs short stacks: eg AJ vs JT.
I also pick up some nice pots in position: the SB raises me and I call with K4s on the Big Blind. Flop AK5 (two hearts). He bets, I call. He bets the pot on the turn (a 4); I call. We both check the river which is a Jack. He shows T-5. I should perhaps raise the turn but I don't want to play all-in here and I pick up a 78k pot as it is.
On 140k now and among the top few places.
I am now sat on the immediate right of "patrice1", an unbelievably aggressive player who is in every pot and winning most of them. He is incredibly loose in raising, and calling, and seems impossible to kill. I am not in the best spot position-wise.
I lose a chunk with A3 vs AT. In this pot, I feel my Ace is good and call a shove when the flush hits the river (I am confident the player does not have a flush, which he didn't. He had hit two-pair, however, and I wish I had shoved first on the river to give him the decision). Back to 80k.
I 4-bet all-in vs "patrice1" who calls with Q9 (!!) vs my pair. I hold. Back to 160k. I shove again with AK against him but he finds a fold (he must have had utter filth !)
I picked up another nice pot from the BB vs the same nutter: He makes it 12,600 from UTG (1,500/3,000/300) and I call with Kh9h. This is a call for value here!
Flop: 8-J-J (pretty good flop). Check-check. Tun is a 9. I check-call 14,400. I think I am winning but I want to keep the pot somewhat small out of position to a madman. River: Ace. Not delighted with this card as he can easily have had a random Ace to start.
I feel I have a solid bluff-catcher vs this player and when I check he bets 28,800 - about half his stack. I could check-raise for value I suppose but I call and he shows Q3 (suited).
I evenually knock this player out when I push from the SB with Q7. He only has 8bb and I feel he will call with any hand. My hand is 50% vs random cards and with all the dead money (blinds, antes) it is worth it when I have him outchipped 8-1. He calls with A2 and I make a Queen and a straight !
Now I am in a decent chip-lead with 6left. I keep the pressure up with a lot of small raises and continuation bets and a selection of 3-bets, 4-bets and re-raises based on the situations (and occasionally on good cards !)
I show few hands and am getting quite a few walks in the Big blind. It feels like they don't want to take me on. On the other hand, the 2nd-in-chips player (goliath31) unaccountably seems to pay me off with 2nd best hands in position when I bet 3 streets for value. His passive play cost him huge amounts of chips: he can raise me off these hands easily. Folding would be his 2nd-best play. Calling down is the worst of all options.
At 3-handed, I have more chips than the other two combined and I still have a 4/3 advantage when we start the heads-up.
goliath continued to play pretty passively and I felt it was a matter of time before I would overcome him. However, we were playing deep-stacked now with 850,000 chips in play at the 3,000/6,000/600 level. I did not want to get all-in too quickly when I felt I had an advantage just grinding away.
I had secured a > 3-1 lead when I 4-bet with 99 and faced a call all in from AQ. By the turn, he had a flush draw and a gutshot to go with his 2 overcards, so it wasn't too surprising that he found a winner on the river.
Back to square one ! A long heads-up dragged on.
I actually lost the lead for a short time after getting pretty deep in a hand with 5-2 and flopping a pair and an open-ender. I gave up to a shove on the turn where I had raised his lead bet; I put him on a strong draw but wasn't prepared to call with a pair of deuces !
I had to survive an all-in with AK vs JT. He had limp-shoved my initial raise from the BB (slightly odd play that one) and with my lead restored, I once again built up to a 3.5:1 advantage before getting him to call all-in with Q9 vs 77.
50/50 for the win (or else, back to square one again !) and this time my pair held.
Job done, finally !
I'm hopeful I can tick off the other two this year as well. Starting tonight at the club for the £50 freezeout again.
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