Get Back Jack: Tournaments and Cash Game

I’m going to increase the amount of the chip values in the tournaments for this blog to make it more understandable. This will just make the blog easier to read.

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$10.00 Buy-In
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We started the first tournament with our usual $2500 in chips and blinds start at $25 and $50 increasing every 15 minutes.

I like to play almost every hand at the first level because it’s mathematically correct to do so barring the pot has been raised. I won a pot and was slightly in the black. On the 6th hand the guy UTG limped as did the guy to my right. I limped with 10s 3s. The button limped and both blinds were in. The pot size was $300. The flop was Q-10-3. Both blinds checked it to the guy in the one hole who bet out $250. I decided to make a pretty normal raise with 2 pair so I made it $600. Everyone folded back to the original raiser who studied for a minute and then moved all-in for $2200 more. I thought he might have me beat, but there are several hands I can beat in this situation. (KK, AA, AQ, KQ, QJ, Q9, Q8, A10) Not to mention this particular player and I have a long history and he could’ve just been trying to blast me out with air.

Let me say this too. The blinds go up fast in our game and in order to be there in the end and have a chance to win, you need a big stack when you get there or the blinds will eat you up forcing you to play stop and go poker. Also, if you don’t win 1st, its really not worth the effort because the second and third pay-outs are minimal. I had $2375 left and I decided to call. He showed me Q 3 for a better 2 pair. I didn’t catch a miracle 10 so I was down to $175 in chips.

Looking back on the hand, I couldn’t have played it any differently against that player after the flop. It’s just a cold deck situation where all the money’s going in no matter what. The only way I could’ve avoided this situation was if I had folded before the flop.

2 hands later, I picked up Ac 8c so I put in my $175 which was a raise of $125. The button called and the SB called. I flopped and Ace but the button showed A 10 and I was gone.

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$20.00 Buy-In
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The second tournament was pretty uneventful for me. Honestly, I can’t remember any confrontations that were really key to me making it to third place which by the way payed nothing.

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Cash Game
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I played well in the cash game which was nice. I feel like I have a bigger edge in the cash game vs. the tournaments. I can play my style which changes between “Passive Trapper” to “Aggressive Thief” to “Aggressive with the Nuts”. HAHA. I mainly play pretty patiently and passively most of the time though.

One of the big pots I was in involved the same player that crippled me in the first tournament. We were playing NLHE and since its a cash game and the games change, only the dealer has to ante. The player in the 2 hole, Ole’ Catfish, made it $1.25 which in something he does pretty much every hand in the NLHE cash-game. I look down at 7c 8c and called. I think there was one more caller. $4 in the pot. The flop was 7s-8d-2d. The original raiser bet out $2.50 just like he did in the tournament with 2 pair. Although the bet was the same, I was sure I had him crushed this time with top 2 pair. I once again made it $6 and when it got back to him he moved in for $12 more and I snapped my already wounded arm to call him. He showed the same hand 7d 8s. The turn was 10d and the river was the Ace of diamonds which gave him a flush with his 7d. I didn’t let it get to me and started to build a pretty good stack.

The last hand I’ll mention was a hand contested between me and the guy to my right. 7 card shuck H/L Declare was the game. Its regular Shuck H/L format, but at the end players have to shoot. Shooting is done by take 2 chips in your hand and putting your hands under the table and then deciding which way you can win the pot. After you decide, you put the amount of chips in your hand that correlate with the way that you think you can win. No chips for low, one chip for high, and 2 chips if you think you have it won both ways. I you shoot both ways and only win one way then you lose it all.

On the sixth card I had J-2-5-6 up and A-3 in the hole. The pot had been built up pretty good and was at around $15 with no limit on the betting. After making my 6 low I bet out $3 and everyone folded except Ass-Wad. This player will stay in sometimes just to shoot. What I mean by that is, in heads up situations in this game, he’ll call players down and try to shoot the opposite way they are shooting. If he does so correctly, he automatically wins half the pot no matter his holdings. I’ve seen him do it about 10 times now and he does it pretty successfully.

On the 7th card I caught a great card 6c. The reason it was a great card was because at this point my opponent was sure I was shooting low, but now I had the 6 in the hole I could shuck my up 6 and hopefully hit a high card or a pair showing. So that’s exactly what I did after I bet $4 and he called, I shucked my showing 6 and and drew a Q. So now I have J-2-5-Q showing. I bet $4 on the river and he called. I took my chips off the table and quickly lifted my empty hand back up onto the table shooting low. He studied and studied which was when I realized that he had definitely noticed the odd shuck I had made. He finally shot ... low! I scooped the big pot.

Actually this player hand done the same thing to me previously with and obvious straight and then shucking one of his up straight cards a few weeks ago. Gocha back haaaaaaa haaaaaaaa.

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$10.00 Tournament: -$10

$20.00 Tournament: -$20

Cash Game: +$50

+$20 for the night
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