sick

I have to start trusting my instincts!!

Freeroll on UB, top 50 get a "TEC" (tournament entry chip, I think)... 1700 start, down to 800 in the first 12 minutes!! 1st hand played I got the nut flush, the river paired the board, and I fought my urge to raise the pot-sized bet from the BB. I called, and took the pot, but I was doing what I am striving to do: tight, aggressive, carefully-thought-out poker. No need to bust out this early. Last freeroll I paid close attention to was a Poker After Dark on tilt, 400 starters, and I took 5th (which got me nothing, but still...). This one was shaping up just like that: everyone pushing stupidly, marginal hands pushing and getting crushed by patient players waiting for Monsters. That was my strategy (patiently waiting), and it worked to perfection....mostly....

Another few rounds of hands are a blur, but I had pushed my 1500 up to close to 3000, when this hand takes place... in the BB with AA. UTG goes all in for ~2200, called by the big stack at the table (10K), folds to the cut off who almost calls (or is just slow with the mouse), and I of course PUSH here, fully expecting the big stack to call the extra 800 or whatever... UTG pushed with K2o, big stack pushed with KJ. Board is 7J7x7. I triple up.

Another few round later, blinds 20/40, I'm sitting around with around 8300, I wake up to KK in MP. Some limpers, and I pop it to 250. Cut-off min-raises. SB calls, guy to my right calls, I pop it again to 1.5K, trying to isolate here... all 3 call. "Woops!" I'm thinking, and say out loud to myself: "One of these guys might actually have aces." Would be hard to believe, as the only quality hand I've seen shove this deep so far was QQ. But I remind myself that I've got to be careful here, as my kings won't always hold up against 3 opponents. I also tell myself that an ace on the flop, and I'm done with this hand.

Flop comes J high, all spades... and I'm not holding one. Checked to me, so I bet.... and what do I bet?

I bet it all. I'm all in.

Gee, brilliant move. On an all-spade flop, not holding one spade, and still to act is the one stack that had me covered by almost 2-1 before the hand started, I decide to push and put my tournament life at risk, with an M that's over 100, I decide to put it all at risk.

And what does he do? Calls.

And what does he call with? As Jc.

And what does the river bring? A spade.

I almost resisted the urge to push there. Almost, though, doesn't cut it. At the beginning of the hand, I knew that I should proceed with caution. But I didn't. On a terrifying board for my hand, I pushed. And I got drawn out on.

That hand was not one that I had to go broke with. We're only in the 4th blind round; 500 runners left, and I've got a stack roughly 1.5 x's the average stack. I've still got SO much play left! Yes, I had Kings. KINGS! And I shoved on a scary board. I could have played this SO many other ways...

here's a couple:
1
smooth call the reraise preflop. Bet the flop - about 1.5K (leaves me with 6300 back) ; if I'm raised - fold. I don't have a spade, and I don't need to go broke here -- no guarantee of course I'll go broke, but my cowboys became quite vulnerable to that flop. On the turn & river check / fold (OK to call a small bet as we may be good if there's no ace out there, but anything more than 1/5 the pot will be a fold.


2
smooth call the reraise preflop. Check the flop; if it's checked, then shove the turn - unless it's another spade or an ace.


Biggest mistake, after thinking about this? Well, OK, shoving that flop was the biggest mistake, but my 2nd biggest mistake was the preflop reraise. I built a pot I felt like I couldn't get away from. I should have realized I was going to get all 3 callers with my bet - sad to say, but it wasn't big enough to be scary. My only other option that I could think of, would have been to shove preflop. I mean, I don't think that the big stack would have laid it down, so I still would have busted, but I would have been much happier about my play.

Gotta control myself!