Another Shot at the 25k, and MATH Tonight

First things first:



The Monday night MATH tournament has been heating up for me, as I've written for the past several weeks. A lot of this is not visible to the blogging crew, but some of my homegame guys have been getting pretty loud about this weekly tournament with me over the past several weeks, this weekend being no exception as we got together for some online donkery on a couple of occasions over the weekend. These guys are either talking about winning the tournament again, winning it every week, winning it back to back, or just plain destroying everyone else who plays. It's fun because these guys are good, aggressive players, all of whom I have witnessed winning good money in tournaments live and/or online, and I am really into them being really into taking this thing down. We've managed a surprisingly consistent base of players for the Monday nightly $20 buyin tournament on pokerstars, and I hope to see you there tonight.

Is there anyone out there who actually reads this blog every day but does not play in the Hoy? Is there really? Why? Why would you do such a thing? This is your tournament after all. See you there on pokerstars at 10pm ET tonight (password as always is "hammer").

Anyhoo, so, after another several days off from my old standby tournament, I decided to return on Sunday to the nightly 35k (25k except for Sunday nights) guaranteed tournament on full tilt. I convinced my buddies drraz and jeciimd to play along as well, and I imagine a number of the bloggers not smart lucky enough to be out in Vegas for the WPBT this weekend were also in attendance. For me, as most of you know, this was big because I was on a streak of four consecutive cashes in this event over the past couple of weeks Since The Rant. These finshes ranged from 16th place to 167th place in tournaments that probably averaged around 1600 entrants overall, so it had been no small feat as I fired things up last night, hell bent on continuing the run.

As has happened often with me over The Streak, I fell a bit behind early. I called a standard-sized preflop raise with AJo -- not my best move early in a large tournament, but I was pressing a bit to try to get a head start early -- and then had to fold when the flop missed me and the preflop raiser bet out. So that was 120 chips gone within the first orbit. In the second orbit, I called a standard preflop raise with 3 other callers already in the pot with pocket 6s. Again the flop missed and I had to fold to a bet. Another 120 chips down the drain early.

After a few move hands just like these, there I sat at just under 1300 chips maybe 20 minutes into the 35k guaranteed tournament. So I'm down, annoyingly so given my lack of flop hittage (I think I've become spoiled over the past couple of weeks with all the help I've received both in starting cards as well as strong flops for my holdings) when I look down to find AKs. I'm on the button, and blinds are 20-40. The first 3 players after the blinds fold their hands preflop. Late-middle position raises it to 140 chips. The cutoff calls the 140, and action is to me.

What would you do here with AKs?

I know what happened. I reverted. I got stoopid and played this hand like the way I used to play it until a couple of weeks back. I started to feel entitled, entitled to cash in this tournament, entitled to double up early in the first round every night in this thing, entitled to get good cards and then more or less automatically win with them. Without really thinking it or meaning to send the impulses to my hands, there I was pushing allin preflop here, trying to take it down now and get myself basically back to even in the tournament, a fresh start for me to make my inevitable run.

Everyone folded around to the cutoff, who called me fairly quickly. He flipped over pocket 10s.

As an aside, this is not a smart call on his part. I did not put him on a hand as good as pocket Tens per se, so I'm not trying to justify anything about my play, which I just spent a full paragraph up there saying how it was stoopid, it was bush league, it was amateurish as far as early mtt play goes. But so was his call. With me pushing allin there preflop after a raiser and a caller, I must have something strong. Let's say I would not push there with a small pair -- 2s, 3s, even 6s or 7s, and I'm not pushing there. I wouldn't even push with 8s, personally. 9s, maybe. Let's just say that my range of pushing there was pocket 9s through pocket As, and AK, AQ suited or unsuited. I'm trying to be reasonable here. Of all those combinations, his pocket 10s are an 80% favorite over 9s, 50% against pocket 10s, 20% against pocket Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces, and 51% against AK or AQ. Basically, it's very early on in a large nlh mtt, and now he has a choice of whether to call a preflop allin where he is an overwhelming favorite to be a 51% favorite or a 20% underdog. Blechy situation for him. I'm not saying it was the redonkulous move of the century or anything (no, that's already happened to me this year, several times), and I'm not saying that I have never made that call myself in my life -- I most certainly have. I'm just saying that a Real Man lays that down, this early in a multi-table no-limit holdem event. Daniel Negreanu, he lays that down. Phil Hellmuth lays it down. Now, that's 100% my own fault for making a play that would work against Danny Boy or Phil, when instead I was closer to playing Danny Bonaducci then Daniel Negreanu here in the early rounds of the 35k, don't get me wrong, but I'm just saying, he didn't have to call.

But he did. I flopped top two pairs with my AK. Welcome to Suckout City!

Then my opponent hit a 10 on the turn and took the pot down with a set. Rightfully so. I did not deserve the pot with my play there, which is perfectly fine for the second hour of the 35k but is just not appropriate 20 minutes in, with a perfectly playable amount of chips in front of me. Bad play by me. So last night I got reminded, while the poker gods may be with me for a while still here, I can't exactly go and flaunt them or they will be happy to drop me. I need to play smart tournament poker if I expect to win, that rule applies to me just as much as anyone else. Last night was my chance to learn that all over again.

So, The Streak is over. Time to start up a new one tonight, perhaps?

So the bloggers will be returning from Vegas last night / today. I already heard about one big huge piece of news that regular readers here will know I am in to, but I'm going to let that person make that announcement however he or she sees fit, and maybe I'll link it here if and when that time comes. Otherwise, who is going to be the first blogger today to clue me in on the details of the weekend? You know, who the big hits were, who the cool new guys to meet for the first time were, how -EV managed to take down the live tournament (yes, that is the first time I have ever linked -EV on this blog, what a historic moment), what was said by the group about Iak's last-minute bagging of the event due to unforeseen work assholery, etc. Do tell fellas, do tell! I wish it would be The Dwarf, who always has a special take on these live events as he gets to meet the new guys and determine how freaked out they are by his actual size, but I'm sensing his report won't be up for a few days. So far Pauly has the first mention I've seen this morning, but that is just a cursory review of the live tournament so far, with promises of more to come. Who's going to get the first good trip report up?

One more quick administrative link: Al has what I deem to be a very cool poll up from last week called "The Battle of the Jessicas". Go take a look at Al's post, and follow the links and then place your vote on the hottest Jessica. I have to say, I voted for the big leader, but I am still surprised nonetheless at the lead she has amassed over the other two hot, hot chicks.

See you tonight at Mondays at the Hoy!!!