veeRob’s Blog

I’m running on fumes right now! Got next to no sleep last night, and spent all day setting up for the Full Tilt Poker Challenge to be aired LIVE on Fox Sports Net tomorrow. Every weekend I’ve been doing the UltimateBet World Poker Challenge in LA, but this weekend we broke down all our machines and brought them to Vegas for this show. It’s been nuts.

I did find time to squeeze in a $1000 tournament as part of the Plaza Ultimate Poker Showdown, though. Upon returning from LA, I hassled GambleAB for not having played the two $500 events that I missed. I told him I was jealous that I missed them, as they were a little easier on my bankroll than the $1000+ events that were left. A few minutes later and we agreed to have him buy half my action for the next day’s $1000. Even better, we went down to the Plaza to play a $120 satellite, and we ended up heads up and chopped, so I paid a total of $120 to play. Sweet!

139 people started the tournament with $3000 in chips each. In the first round, at 25/25 levels, I raised to 75 or 100 with Jc Tc. Four people or so called me and we saw the flop of Qd 9h 8d. Not a bad flop for my hand, eh? Two people check, so I make my continuation bet, hoping someone will come back at me with AQ or better. Instantly the girl to my left raises my 225 bet to 725, and all fold back to me. I Hollywood for a bit, trying to sell that I have an overpair and I can’t put her on AQ or a set. I finally push all in, and she takes a few seconds and calls. I show her the nuts, and she shows 99 and asks for the board to pair. It doesn’t, I’m the chip leader, and she’s out. My table is not too thrilled that I busted out the only set of boobs at the table. I’m only disappointed because now the old men won’t be so distracted.

A few hands later a horrible player I had played in the satellite the night before raised from 25 to 50 UTG. Two players called, and I looked down at Ac Jc on the button. I didn’t think anyone had much of anything, and I think I should have reraised here, but instead I just played it safe and called to see a flop. We saw a flop that was something like As Th 3h, and min-raising guy bet out like 125. Two players fold to me, and I make it 525 to go. All fold back to the original bettor, and he calls. Hmm, is he on a flush draw? Slowplaying AT or better? We’ll see on the turn. The turn is the Qd, and he goes all in for 975. There’s a lot that beats my measly top pair, but I know this guy plays pretty loose, so I am pretty sure to have the best hand. And if I’m wrong, well I have a king for the straight and possibly a jack for better two pair, so I finally call. He shows 7h 8h for a pure flush draw. I love it. When the Ah hits the river, I thought I knocked him out. Oh wait, I only have trip aces, he has a flush. Damn. Good call, but bad results. My favorite part is when someone next to the guy says, “Nice bet.” Umm, I don’t think it’s a nice bet if someone figures out your game and calls you with the best hand. Whatever, still OK on chips.

I get my revenge a bit later. I limp UTG with ATo for 200, and the same guy raises to 800. Someone else calls, as do I. Normally I pitch ATo UTG, but I’m feeling confident about my reads at this table, so I decide to take a flop with it. The flop comes ace high and I check, and the raiser bets confidently. The other player folds, and it’s on me to decide if my aces are good. He bet like he has AK or even AQ, but again, I’m just not buying it. He definitely doesn’t have a crap hand like 67s this time, because he made a real raise, but it feels like he’s got KK or QQ here. I just can’t give him credit for top pair. I push all in, and he calls after a short deliberation. “Nice hand,” I say as I flip my ATo. He shows me KK, and I double up on him. “I guess it was the wrong time to make a move,” he says. Wait a second, didn’t he just call in? OK, whatever you say, sir.

Less than an orbit later, I believe, I get Ad 2h in MP and make a standard raise to steal the blinds. My nemesis/buddy that has made a flush and paid me off with kings calls my raise, and we see a flop heads up. The flop comes Qd 5d 4d. Wow, what a great flop… gut shot straight, flush draw, and overcard! This guy can’t stand a pot not getting bet, so I check to him and he bets. I instantly check raise all in. He calls and shows As Kd. Funny, he must have thought he had the worst hand but was gambling on a draw, but instead he has the best hand and is up against a good draw. I’m actually a few percentage points ahead of him with my draw, and the 3h on the turn has him drawing dead for a win. The 6d on the river only digs his grave further, and I send him to the rail with my nut flush. Thank god he didn’t play his hand correctly and reraise me preflop, or I never would have seen the flop and got committed to my hand.

Not much happens for awhile, but I observe an older gentleman telling every dealer that he’s his favorite dealer, so he has to raise this pot or call this bet, etc. I’m ribbing him every time I raise, telling him to call since his favorite dealer is up. He’s not calling my raises, though, but I’m clearly getting to him. He raises my BB of 200 to 600 from the cutoff, and I decide to see a flop with my Qs 8c, warning myself to play the flop carefully. The flop comes down Qh 7s 6h. I have top pair, but I’m not sure what he has and if top pair is good enough here. I check to him and he bets the pot confidently. Hmm, maybe he has a real hand here and wasn’t just stealing. AQ? KQ? Geez, there’s so many hands that beat me. But I just can’t get AK out of my head. I know that’s about the only hand I can beat that he’d be betting here, but I’m just so sold that he has AK. After a few minutes, I decide that my top pair is good enough, and I push in. After all, if he does have AQ or KK, I have my 8 to make two pair. And I always have my backdoor straight draw. As soon as I’ve got my all in out there, he’s pushing the rest of his chips out. Uh oh, I was dead wrong, as there’s no way he’d call, let alone that fast, with AK. I show him my measly Q8, and he flips up Ah Kh. Whoops. I was 100% right about it being AK, but he has the overcards as well as the flush draw, which makes him a 55-45 favorite over my hand. He is the one on the draw, however, and he misses both the turn and the river. I knock another player out, and I have a commanding stack of around 12k when most are at around 6k.

Right before the dinner break, I get moved to a very tough table. I have no reads on players, so I’m playing very cautiously. Even worse, some of these players have bigger stacks than me. Waaaah… I liked being the big stack at the table. I’m not getting many hands, so I’m just sitting back and holding onto my stack. The dinner breaks come, and I’m running just ahead of the pack.

When I return from dinner, I see we have around 35 people left. 14 places pay with 7 making it onto the TV show. Average stack is around 10k and I still have my 12k. We get going again, and I am getting blinded and ante’d away. No hands to speak of at all. Finally when my stack has been chopped down to 10k, and the average stack is 13k, I raise from 600 to 2400 with ATo, and am reraised all in by a player who has me covered. As much as I want to put him on a small pocket pair, I feel like I am dominated, and I’d be racing for my tournament life anyway. I muck, and I’m in very bad shape with around 10x the BB.

I push in the cutoff without looking at my cards, and I take down the blinds uncontested. Turns out I had 78o. Another orbit goes by, and I get no hands. In the cutoff again, all fold to me and I decide I need to push to survive another orbit. I look down and see Js 6s, and I curse myself for having looked this time. I have no backup plan if anyone calls me, though I reason the spade draw is my out. Ouch. I push, the BB wakes up with QQ. He flops a set and turns quads to have me drawing dead. D-E-A-D. Out in 23rd place.

This was the longest tournament I think I’ve played to date. 7 1/2 hours, and I can’t remember any time where I played poorly. My money went to the center only when I had the best hand. I lost a few races but won a few, too. I question my own push with J6, but I still had quite a few people until the money, so I needed to get some chips repeatedly to try to get to the money. I really wish the cards would have cooperated with me towards the end, as I think I could have had a better shot if I could have doubled up once after the dinner break. Through the entire tournament, I didn’t have AA, KK, QQ, or JJ once I don’t believe.

Anyway, time for bed now… gotta be up early to do some magic TV stuff. Make sure you all tune in… 3pm on Fox Sports Net!