The Final Table

I took another shot at a big no limit hold 'em tournament in the middle of 2006. The buy in was a bit more than I was used to, but I liked the structure better. I got off to a bad start and had lost 75% of my starting chips after getting flushed on a pot where I held top two pair. I didn't let the suck out bother me as I managed to pick up A-Q and steal some blinds and limps and then I doubled through a few hands later with A-10 against A-8 when I made two pair on the turn. I picked up my aggression just a tad as we got deeper in the tournament, I was cruising along with an average stack or a slightly below average stack when I picked up 3-3 in middle position. I made my standard raise of about three times the big blind. This raise had won me several small pots at this point in the tournament. I was surprised when another player moved all in for about 10 times what I had bet. I read him as having A-K. If he had a big pair, I didn't think he would bet as much as he did. While I hate calling off all of my chips with a small pair, I knew I had the best hand. I also knew that I needed to do something to accumulate chips if I wanted any chance of even cashing in this event. I called. I was right.

I didn't like the flop. My opponent held Ac-Kc. The flop came Qc-10c-x. I went from being a small favorite before the flop to an under dog on the flop. Any club, jack, ace or king and I was done. My threes held up. I was now in a good chip position and managed to catch the small blind stealing with Q-10 when I held A-Q. After winning that pot, I was at a comfortable chip level, but I knew that there was still lots of work to do. As we got near the bubble, play tightened up, as it normally does. I picked up a couple of small pots with out much resistance and held my chip stack steady. The bubble finally burst and I was glad to have made it in the money. Going from 18 players down to 9 took a while. Every time a short stack made a stand, they managed to double up. I folded that same 3-3 when another player reraised me. She later told me that she held K-K. I said I folded 9-9 (you always have to be playing poker). I raised with K-Q and folded when another player moved all in on me again. I later picked up A-A and caught a player stealing with J-10 and won a big pot. I stole a pot after a player limped with A-10 and I raised with Q-J. I was taking advantage of my table image to win these pots. I also got involved in a 3 way all in pot with A-K. My two opponents held A-K and A-Q. The A-K held up and I chopped a decent pot. After my stacking taking some big swings, we were down to about 14 players. I went card dead as we went from 14 down to 10. Going into the final table, I was short stacked. My plan was to push at the first sign of a good hand. The blinds and antes were worth stealing at this stage of the tournament. However, someone else managed to get all in before I did and the final table was set for the next day.

We bagged our chips after playing for 12 hours. I was dead tired. I was also excited to know that I was at the final table and still had a chance to win it all. I knew it was a long shot, but it was a shot none the less. I got back to the casino the next afternoon. I was willing to agree to a deal of some kind as I would make more than 9th place money in any scenario proposed. A deal didn't happen, so we played on. My plan was to push all in on my first hand. I figured I didn't have much to lose and I was playing to win it. While I wasn't going to look, I looked anyway and saw Ac-4c. That was good enough to go all in with. I took down the blinds and antes. Two hands later I picked up K-Q under the gun. I raised all in again. I had one player reraise all in behind me. I didn't like that. I also didn't like when a third player called the bet. I was even more worried when a fourth player was contemplating calling as well. This player finally folded his 10-10. I was up against A-A and A-K as I suspected. My K-Q didn't hit and I was out in 9th. It was a great experience and a nice cash too (small 4 figures). I know I didn't have to push with K-Q, but I was playing to win, not to move up the ladder.

Omaha 8/b Cash

I also took a stab at a big omaha 8/b tournament in early 2006. I quickly noticed that most players understood the fundamentals of the game, but still did not play it well. Around the second level of the tournament I picked up Ac-6c-3s-Jd in the small blind. This is a marginal hand, but with 6 limpers in front of me, it was worth seeing a flop. I flopped the nut flush draw with a back door low draw to go with it. I check called the flop. The turn killed any chance of a low and completed my flush. I checked with the nuts. I knew I had this hand won as long as the board did not pair on the river. It was bet and called by two players and then I made it two bets. I got one caller and then to my surprise, it was raised again. There was one caller before it got back to me and I capped the betting with everyone putting in 4 bets.

I was glad when the board didn't pair on the river. I led out with a bet and one player paid me off (that last bet put him all in). I was up against the 2nd nut flush and two sets. I scooped a huge pot at that stage in the tournament. I went card dead after that, picking up a small pot here and there. I rode that big stack for a while, but then blinds got high and I was getting somewhat short stacked. I got lucky to river a wheel late in the tournament when I really needed chips. We finally reached the money and I was glad that I had done well in this tournament. Long story short, I tried to steal on the button with K-K-J-2 and got called by two players and ended up going out shortly after the bubble burst. While it was not a big cash for me, it was a cash in a major tournament and it gave me confidence that I can hold my own in the big tournaments.

I hate A-Q and K-Q

I decided to take a stab at some bigger no limit hold 'em tournaments at my local casino in early 2006. I felt very confident in my game and just wanted to take a shot and see if I could make a big score. In one tournament I got off to a good start and was catching a lot of premium hands. I managed to double my initial stack of 2000 without ever showing down a hand. I tried to eliminate a short stack with 4-4 in what I thought was a race situation. It wasn't. He had 5-5. After the antes started to kick in, I was holding my own, but not accumulating chips at the rate I needed to. Catching a lot of bad hands will also do this. However, I was delighted to pick up Q-Q in late position.

There was a raise from a middle position player and I decided to reraise all in with my queens. I had this player covered by a bit, so I knew my tournament life was not on the line. He thought about it for a long time and the longer he thought, the more confident I was in that my queens were the best hand. He eventually called me with A-Q and hit his ace on the turn. I was now short stacked and had one move. A few hands later the player I doubled up earlier who held 5-5 put in a small raise. I looked down at K-Q and decided it was time to take a stand. I reraised all in and he called me with A-K. Needless to say, my hand didn't hold up and I was eliminated.

A few days later I took another shot at a tournament. Again, I was off to a good start and picked up Q-Q 3 times in the first level. I managed to maintain a below average to average sized stack through the tournament but managed to get deeper than I did a few days prior. With about 60 players remaining and 27 getting paid, I went on a bit of a hot streak and managed to steal blinds and antes to get me to a more comfortable chip level. I get moved to a new table and end up doubling up a short stack with my As-6s vs. his 3-3. A few hands later I'm in 2nd position and I see A-Q. The player under the gun had just dragged in a big pot and limped. To me, that limp was a sign of a weak hand. I figured this player was just "playing the rush" and wasn't too strong. I pushed all in and when the action came back around to the limper, he called. He had A-K and I was out.

I think these examples just confirm what people say--A-Q and K-Q are trap hands. While they look good, you are easily dominated. When you are dominated, you usually don't win the hand. It is just that simple. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't play A-Q or K-Q, but you just need to do so carefully.

I can play Stud too

I'll be the first to admit that seven card stud is not my best game. However, I am always trying to improve my play in all poker games. I took a shot at my local casino's monthly stud tournament in February 2006. What I was looking forward to was the fact that we would be playing fixed limit stud--not spread limit like in the cash games. I was dealt split kings early in the tournament and played it very strong and got a player to lay down a weak two pair. My basic strategy was to keep betting as long as my board kept looking stronger and my opponent didn't catch any cards that were too scary for me. The stakes were getting high and I was getting mildly short stacked. I played my split jacks for 4 bets on 3rd street and managed to double up my stack. I was quickly moved to another table where I played my pair of 4s real strong and got lucky to make trips on 7th.

I quickly got a big stack and went into big stack playing mode. I was being a bit of a bully, but it also helps when you keep catching cards also. Before I knew it, I was at the final table with an average sized stack. We discussed a 7 way chop as the antes and bring-ins were very high relative to our stacks. One player with a lot of chips didn't not want to chop so we played on until we lost two more. At that time, the original player who didn't want to chop was very short stacked. After he gets eliminated, the rest of us chopped with the chip leader getting a premium cut. I was pleased with my overall play. I played a relatively straight forward game and was getting lucky at the right times. I wish the structure of the tournament would have allowed for more play at the end. I ended up in 3rd place for the tournament.

Don't get too fancy in Omaha 8/b

I've been an advocate for quite some time now that when playing low limit omaha 8/b, you should just play ABC poker. If you have the nuts, you should raise, if you have a draw to the nuts you probably just want to call. Sure, there are all kinds of circumstances and situations that would call for doing something out of the ordinary. However, playing a simple strategy will win you money in the long run. There are just too many bad omaha 8/b players out there. I see way too many river bets called with nothing more than an 8-7 low.

I had just taken a seat in a $4/$8 omaha 8/b game with a half kill (we would play $6/$12 when the kill was in effect). The first hand I was dealt was As-2s-7c-9d. This is a marginal hand as I don't have much of a good draw to the high other than the spade flush or making a 9 high straight. However, when I make my straight, that also puts low cards out on the board which devalues the hand somewhat. Knowing that this was a loose table, I limped in as did 7 others. The flop came 3c-9s-Js. I liked my hand. I had the nut flush draw and a back door nut low draw. I check called the flop and we took a turn with 5 players left in the hand. The turn was the 6d. I now had the "nut nut" draw. I also had a made hand with a pair of 9s which I knew would be no good unless I paired my ace or hit another 9. Part of me didn't want the low to hit as I was fairly certain that I'd be getting quartered and only winning a small pot. I really wanted the spade to hit--the river was the Ks. I just made my hand. I checked with 3 players left to act behind me (we lost one after the turn betting). Sure enough, one player bet out and the other two folded. The dealer was in the process of pushing the player the pot when he realized that I was still in the hand. I announced raise and was quickly reraised back.

How sick is that. I go for the check raise and get reraised. I knew I was beat, but the pot was so big that I had to pay it off. For all I knew, this player had the second nut flush where I held the nut flush. Of course, the other thing going through my mind was that I ran into the straight flush. I paid off the third bet and saw Qs-10s. I flashed my two spades as I threw my hand into the muck. What I failed to do in this hand was recognize that I was not holding the nuts on the river. Reading the board is so easy to do. However, sometimes you get clouded when you hit what you think is your perfect card when it is actually a disaster card. That is what happened to me. I would have been better off by one bet if I just led out, got raised and paid off the one extra bet. Because I got fancy with a check raise, I ended up paying off one more bet than I had to.

Nut Nut

"Nut Nut" is something you always want to say when you turn over your hand in an omaha 8/b game. I was playing in a small stakes on line omaha 8/b game (most of which are pretty soft) and picked up the following hand: Ah-2c-6h-Kc. With several limpers, I limped as well and wanted to make sure I hit the flop big before committing any more money to the pot. The flop came 10h-4h-7c. While I hadn't made anything yet, I had draws to both the nut flush and nut low. After a bet and a call in front of me, I raised on my big draw. As desired, everyone behind me folded and the other two players called the bet. The turn was my gin card--the three of hearts. This completed my nut low and nut flush.

The betting on this street was what got interesting. I was last to act and by the time it got to me there was already a bet and a raise. I made it 3 bets and the initial bettor capped it at 4. Everyone called. At that point, I figured I would be getting 3/4 of the pot and split the low. The river card was an off suit queen--basically a blank card for my hand. Just like on the turn, there was another bet and raise before me. I made it 3 and it got capped again. When all of the hands were finally turned up, one player showed A-5-6-10. He flopped top pair and top kicker, turned a straight and a low but neither was good enough. The other player who turned out to be the real donkey showed Kh-Qh-9-8. He had a big draw on the flop and made the flush on the turn. However, this player was the one that kept doing the extra raising for me.

While clearly, both of my opponents were justified to play their hands, their betting was not done too well. I think this hand clearly shows you that you need to be very careful when you are chasing non nut draws in omaha 8/b and to not go too crazy with your raising when you get there.

Exploit your table image

Sometimes you can have a session at the table where you can do nothing wrong. You're catching cards at the right time and always seem to end up with the nuts. Of course, nobody can continually catch the nuts hand after hand. However, after catching a good run of cards, your opponents will not be as inclined to play a pot with you. A good player will capitalize on this and exploit their table image. This is why many people say that you lose more money when playing longer than you should after losing and you don't win enough money when quitting early when you're winning. While the latter part of that statement might not make sense, you are giving up on a well established image if you quit early after winning. If you keep playing, you have the potential to win even more. Of course, if you already prescribe to a method of a time limit at the table or some other factor, then you should quit when you planned to.

I was able to take advantage of my table image in my usual $1/$2 no limit hold 'em game in late 2005. In the first orbit of play, I busted a player with set over set. A few hands later I play a big pot after my 9s-7s made a flush on the turn and put a good dent in another player's stack. I know I play better when I'm "free rolling" on won money at the table. In other words, I become a much more dangerous player when I have accumulated a lot of chips. I played pretty solid for the next couple of hours, building up my initial buy in of $200 to almost $700. I really hadn't made any bluffs as I was catching a lot of cards. I had A-Q crack an opponent's slow played A-A when I it a flop of Q-Q-x and my opponent moved all in on the flop. Needless to say, I was the one player at the table that nobody wanted to mess with. If I wasn't out playing my opponents, I was out flopping them.

Of course, other than getting lucky, you have to get your opponents to lay down the best hand every now and then to be a winner. This was where my table image really came into play. I picked up A-10 in late position after some limpers, so I raised the pot to $12. I was surprised to get 4 callers, but that is somewhat typical for the no limit game I play in. The flop came 10-8-5 rainbow. I liked the flop--I had top pair with top kicker. The action that followed was quite interesting. The first player to act led out for another $12--less than one fourth of the pot. I read this bet as weak and put him on some kind of straight draw or a pair of 8s. Hands like 9-7 and J-8 and J-9 came to mind. One player folded and then another player raised to $35. This was the same player that I made a flush on earlier. I knew that this player had seen all of my good fortune that night. This player was also a good enough player to lay down medium strength hands. I also figured that he was tilting a bit after losing over $400 by my estimate. I reraised to $100. The initial better quickly folded and my victim was clearly frustrated. He flashed the 8c-5c and threw his hand into the muck. My hand quickly followed and I took down a nice pot. I don't know what my other opponents held, but I'm sure that this player got priced into the pot with a suited connector. I don't mind his call that much as there were several donkeys at the table. However, I knew my image and reputation from prior hands made him fold (reraising to $100 doesn't hurt either). I was asked if I held a set of 10s. I lied and said that I had flopped a set of 10s again (that was my set from earlier in the session). I guess the moral from this story is to not be afraid to exploit your table image and put your opponents to the test when you have a big stack.