Okay, okay. I know my blog titles have been a little deceiving lately but I actually did have a live score yesterday. I chopped the tournament I talked about in the previous blog ($550 buyin 100k guaranteed) when we got down to 5 handed play.

The tournament was held at the Isle, which is the casino for the Pompano Dog Track. It was my first time there and I must say I was pretty impressed with the Isle casino. The dog track is old and run down but the Isle was just recently built and they have slots and a poker room. It’s not that big of a casino but they probably have 40 or so poker tables. The casino is just really clean and really nice. I was completely surprised.

I walked up to the poker desk and asked if they were still guaranteeing 100k if they did not get 200 players and they desk said yes they were. Okay, great. I don’t want to waste my time playing a $550 tournament that only has 100 players and no guarantee. Later on while I was registering the poker manager said it was only 100k guarantee based on 200 players. I really hate when casinos pull crap like this. They advertise everywhere that it is 100k guaranteed tournament and then throw some crap in like that. Of course everyone knows that 200 players in a $500 tournament is 100k in the prize pool, so when casinos say 100k guaranteed that means they are putting up the rest of the money if there isn’t 200 players. Oh well.

So it turns out they got 154 players, or 160 players. Something like that. Oh well, I’m here already, might as well play.

We started with 10k chips, with an optional addon for $10 of 1k chips, so 11k chips. The blinds went up every 30 minutes <<< Keep that in mind. The structure was crazy. 25-50, 50-100, 75-150, 100-200, 200-400 25a, 300-600 50a, 400-800 100a, 600-1200 100a, 1000-2000 200a, 1500-3000 200a, etc. I’m not sure if the last levels are exactly right but there wasn’t much room for play. When it got down to the end the blinds went like 4k-8k 500 ante, then 6k-12k 1k ante, then 8k-16k 1k ante, 10k-20k 2k ante, then 15k-30k 3k ante (where we chopped it). So basically the tournament went fast, not too extremely fast, but definitely if you don’t have chips in the later/mid stages you are in trouble. Anyway, my starting table was one of the first to break, and I kind of got a feel for how the players would be playing. One old guy kept reraising light. He was reraising raises with AQ and any pair. Normally stereotypes for older players are rock tight but this guy was tight aggressive, but after the flop he didn’t continue his aggression. So he was pretty easy to play against after all. I learned a lot from my first table about the players and then it broke shortly and I was moved to my next table. The same old guy from above along with another guy from my first table were moved with me. The first significant hand comes up when this black guy from my first table (who another regular was giving him crap for being loose aggressive) and me get in a pot. He had just lost a pot the hand before and said he was steaming and tilted while the next hand was being dealt. I have about 10k in chips and it’s the last hand of 50-100. Two players limp, one guy makes it 300, and the black guy makes it 1400 on the cutoff. I’m in the small blind and look down at two red aces. I reraise to 4k and he calls pretty quickly. I don’t put him on much. I just know he’s tilted. The flop comes 973 rainbow and I think about it for a minute and decide to try to represent AK and check to him, hoping he will fire. He checks behind and the turn comes a Qd, putting two diamonds on board. I’m really not scared of the diamonds and I was thinking this Q might of hit him, so I check to him again, still making my hand look like AK. He checks again as well and the river comes 6c. I decide I need to bet at this point, because he isn’t going to and I bet 3500 of my remaining 6k I had. He has about the same left, 6k, and thinks for a while and folds. After the hand everyone was saying that we both had AK. I was laughing on the inside lol. A couple hands later at 75-150 utg limps and about 4 others limp and I limp on the cutoff with 84dd. 7 People go to the flop which comes QJ5dd. The utg guy bets 800. I had played with him all day already so he’s pretty transparent, he has about 8k behind and I decide to call. The turn comes the 2d completing my flush and he checks and I bet 1200. He calls and the river pairs the board, the 2s. He puts on an act and then checks. Now I don’t think this is the type of player to put on a show here full on the river, so I tanked it for a minute to think if I should value bet or just check, and I decided it would be best to bet. If he raised the river I would probably fold. I bet 2k (he had 6100 left) and he thought about it for a while and called. And my flush was good and I raked in a nice pot. The old tight player with bad post flop skills raised utg to 600 it mucks around to me in the small blind and I call with JTdd. Flop comes JJKcc He bets 1200 with out 6k behind and I decide to just move in on him and make it look like a draw so he could call with a K. He calls with QJhh and the board runs out 2 and the river comes the A to chop the pot. Another hand at the same table comes up when I raise in 3rd position with 5s5h. I’ve been pretty tight only played about 3-4 hands at this table and shown down the flush, and the trip jacks, so I believe my image is pretty good. Anyway, the small blind calls and the big blind calls. The flop comes AJ7dd and the sb thinks about doing something and checks, bb checks, and I decide to fire. I bet 950 and the sb thinks about folding.. But he calls. At this point I’m 100% sure he has a Jack. The turn comes the Td and he checks and I decide to check as well. The river comes the Kd which completes everything and he checks again. I decide this is a good spot to bluff and I bet 1400. He about instantly calls me and slams down JTo on the table saying he knew he was right, lol. Then an argument ensued between the guy who called and another player, telling him how bad the call was. I just sat there. I get moved to a different table and the first hand there at 200-400 25a I’m on the hijack with AcTd and I make it 1100. A woman in the small blind thinks for a little bit and calls. The flop comes KQ9ddd and she checks. I thought about continuation betting but I figured I’d rather see what happens on the turn and see what she does before I put more money in the pot, clueless where I’m at. So I check, and the turn comes the Ks. She checks again and I decide this is a good card to fire at, and bet 1400. She thinks for a little bit and calls. The river comes the 8d, completing my flush and she checks again. I didn’t see value in betting and figured I had the best hand at this point and checked. She turned over two Tens and my ATd took the pot. I then get moved to another table and the blinds are now 300-600 50a. I have 16k in chips at the point, and I know some of the players at the table. In 2nd position a short stack moves all in for 2300 and I reshove AJo on the button. He has KT and I win that gamble. A couple hands later I raise in 2nd position with 9Thh to 1525 and the bb tanks it and it seems like he wants to make a play at me. He is considering what he wants to do and I get that weak vibe from him. He makes it 4k with about 11k behind. I decide to call him and see what he does on the flop, thinking he might just shut down if he’s bluffing. He was an older guy. The flop comes Q25h and he checks. I check behind. The turn comes the Ks, he checks and I decide to check one last time, maybe to hit my J, because he might have paired the K with AK if he does have an actual hand. The river comes the Kc and he checks again. Throughout this whole hand he looked really nervous and uncomfortable and I just really don’t think he has anything. I decided to move in on the river and he mucked pretty instantly. I move up to 26k in chips. (I know my line there is pretty weird but against these guys I think I can get away with stuff like that.) This next pot is probably the turning point of the tournament. I believe it was 400-800 50 ante and I raise on the button with 89o to 2150. The small blind calls and the flop comes T67ss. I flop the nuts. The small blind checks to me, and I bet 2450. He raises me 7k or 8k with 4k-5k behind and I think for a while and move all in. He looks pretty disgusted but calls all in with AsQh, for air. The turn comes the 5s and the river comes a black queen! But it was the queen of clubs and I hold up to win a huge pot. I start to get more aggressive now that I have chips and I raise my third hand in a row with QJo from middle position and the button calls. He had just shoved on my preflop raise the hand before. The flop comes QQ4dd and I check to him, hoping he will fire. He checks behind and the turn comes the Ac. Sometimes I would bet here, hoping that he hit the Ace with AJ or AT but I wanted to see what he would do, if he had anything or if he would maybe bluff at it. He checks behind as well and the river comes the Ks. I decide to value bet to induce a call with an Ace or King, if he has anything and bet 3300. He thinks for a little bit and calls and shows AJ, and I scoop in another pot. The blinds are now up to 800-1600 200a and it folds to me on the button with QdKh. Both the blinds have 12k and 20k. With the nature of the tournament I decided it was just best to shove, and I moved all in. The small blind folded and the big blind called with AQ. The board ran out AKJhh8h7d and I bricked a couple outs on the river to win another nice pot. Before the hand started I had about 57k in chips, so I am now knocked down to about 35k or so. UTG limps at 800-1600 200a still and I know its weak but I decide to limp behind in middle position with A9o. We are 8 handed at this point. The button limps, sb completes, and the bb thinks for a second before moving all in for 10k-12k more. UTG folds and I think about it for a minute… This guy just got to the table a couple orbits ago and I’m not really sure what he has here, but I thought he could do it with a wide range of hands and my hand is pretty strong for a limp. And I decided to gamble and reshoved all in. He flips over AK and the board runs out 663A2 and I double him up and move down to about 25k. It’s now 1k-2k 200a and a guy in middle position makes it 10k. I have 25k and AKdd on the button and shove. He calls his last 11k (21k total) with AQhh and the flop comes KT3h, he tries to shake my hand on the Kh turn… and I pull my hand back while I see that it’s not over. The river bricks the 5c and I move up to 50k. First hand off break, a tightish player makes it 12k. I know from him showing down his hands that a 4x raise is stronger (the blinds are 2k-4k now) and I have AJo on the button. I think about it for a while and shove 39k more and he tanks it. I owe him a show because he showed me AA earlier when he raised 4x and I tanked about shoving QK suited on him, but mucked. So he asks me if I will show, and I tell him yes. He told me he had a pair, which made me feel better. He shows TT and I show my AJo and I take down the pot. The very next hand I move all in in the cutoff with QJss into three short stacks behind me and they all muck and I pick up the blinds and antes, which are huge at this point. The button, which has a ton of chips as well, makes it 16k at 2k-4k and I look down at TT in the big blind. I shove all in for 75k and he tanks it for a while and shows AT and mucks. So I pick up another nice pot and I’m up to about 120k. This guy I know Rich, he plays at the casino’s I play at and he got deep and final tabled a WPT, he moves in for 19k at 2k-4k 500a in 2nd position and it folds to me in the Sb with AJ and I reshove, and the bb calls all in for less, 16k. They turn their hands over and Rich has A7o, the big blind has 58o and I have AJo. The board comes A75QT and Rich wins about a 60k pot and triples up while I move down to 95k. A few hands later a tight player in mid position limps, I complete the sb with Qjo and the board comes K96. It checks around and on the 4 turn I bet 8k and take the pot down. Pretty standard/easy hand given the table and the players being so transparent. The blinds are still 2k-4k 500a and I get AQdd on the button. I make it 10500 and the sb calls as well as Rich in the bb. The flop comes Q79dd and they both check to me. This is such a huge flop, and I know they will put it in with any piece of it, so I decide to bet it and pray that one of them will think I don’t have anything. I bet 16500 and they both muck. Oh well. Hands like that when the deck hits you it’s hard to get action because you hit the flop so hard. I probably could of checked behind but with so much in the pot already, and the structure of this tournament, you need every chip you can get. Some new players are moved to the table that are all bad as well and easy to play against. One of them limps on the cutoff at 3k-6k 500a and I move in with A2ss in the big blind after the sb completed. They both muck. (I had them both covered by a ton.) Probably the biggest turning point for my tournament comes when this hand comes up with Rich. Now since I had doubled up rich when his a7 beat my AJ he had been moving in over my raises and just moving all in in general and gotten a healthy stack. I have about 110k at this point (I lost some chips in small pots or raising to steal and Rich shoving on me and me being forced to fold.) We have been about 8 handed and we are nearing the money with about 25-30 left and 16 paid. I look down at AhAs for the first time since I got them very early in the tournament and make it 15500 (3k-6k.) Rich calls on the button and the flop comes Q77hh. I love these flops when I have overpairs because he really will never have a 7 in his hand hardly ever and if he does have a hand like QJ or QK his other outs are killed. I decide the best way to play it is check to him and see what he does. I check and he instantly moves all in. He would never do this with a seven and I snap call him. He shows JThh and I show my Aces. The turn comes the Tc and the river bricks out 2d and I move up to 220k. I am one of the chip leaders at this point. We now are in the money and we are down to 14 people playing 7 handed. I raise to 19500 at 4k-8k 1k with AJo and a short stack moves in for 39k with AKo. It comes 5522Q and we chop the pot. Then a few orbits later, with about 11 or 12 people left we are 6 handed and 2nd to act makes it 36k at 6k-12k 2ka. I shove AQo in the small blind and he tanks it for a while and shows AJ and folds. We lose some more players and make it down to the final table. I have about 330k when we make it to the final table with the blinds being 6k-12k 2k ante with about 15k more minutes on the clock. One guy gets eliminated the first or second hand of final table play and people are trying to talk about a chop. The tourny director gives us the information that each unit is worth .04 cents and me and the other bigstack calculate our equity and see that we should be getting around 14-15k in a chop. Normal payout in this tourny is 24k to first 13.6k to second, 9k to third, 7500 to fourth and so on. It’s really top heavy and 8th place is guaranteed like 2k. We try to work out a deal but the players have no clue about anything and no clue how our chips are valuable and worth more money and they keep arguing how one hand can change anything, blah blah blah. So we play on. Another player gets eliminated and we are now 7 handed and keep trying to talk about a chop. One player says he doesn’t want to chop (which is fine by me) and we continue to play. The blinds are now up to 8k-16k 2k ante and a guy who had been very active at the final table makes it 52k from late position. I look down at AQcc in the big blind, and with about 20 bbs (I had roughly 340k he had 260k) I shoved on him. He snap called with AKo and his AK held and I go down to 80k. Everyone watching the tournament started screaming that’s why you should chop blah blah and the guy to my left was like see you should of chopped!!! I immediately flip on him and tell him to shut up and have some respect. I never disagreed to chop. I tell him that I just lost a huge hand and he shouldn’t even make a comment like that to me. He apologized (But obviously these morons love to see the bigstacks lose when there is no chop.) I am now determined to come back and still win this tournament. I cant believe the morons on the rail or the morons at my table. The guy who won with the AK jumped up and all his buddies were screaming at me and everything and my blood was definitely boiling. I move my stack up to 140k when UTG raises to 50k and I move in with AQo. He calls with ATss and the board comes QT8s86 and I double up. We lose another player and are 6 handed, and then the short stack guy who told me I should of chopped to my left, blinds down to about 2 bbs lol and he gets eliminated as well. We now are 5 handed with the blinds being 10k-20k 2k about to go up to 15k-30k 3k with only 1.5million chips in play. The chip leader (who won with AK vs my AQ) has about 620k, I have 330k, another kid has about 330k or so and the other two guys have about 200k. We all start talking about a chop. We finally work something out with the chip leader getting 2nd place money for 13.6k, me and the other 350k stack getting 11.9k and the other shortstacks getting 10k and 9800. I really wanted to play this tournament out and gamble since 2 players were pretty tight and clueless about shoving light/calling light but with the average stack having 10bbs and me being card dead, I just figured it was better to almost get 2nd place money with 5 people left. So we all agreed to the deal and I worked out the numbers and negotiated it for everyone and everyone was happy and that was that. It felt good getting the cash, although I missed playing online all day for the Monday tournaments, it felt good getting deep and playing well live. Although I wanted to go for the win and the 24k, I can’t be upset at winning 12k with 5 people left. If there was more play in the tournament I definitely would of played. I hate chopping because I always regret it and always become frustrated that I do it after the fact, but I know this was the smart thing to do. I met a couple people at the Isles too (including one of the 5 that chopped – illuminati41) that play online poker and go to FAU. They were good guys and know some of the same people I know. It’s a small world especially in the poker world. So, yeah.. That’s what happened at that tournament. I finally did what I said I was going to do and took down a tournament. I actually have a picture from the tournament I will post once I get it sent to my email that is pretty funny. So hopefully I get that soon so I can post it to the blog. Other than that, I came 9th today in the afternoon $163 on FTP, where I got pretty coolered AJhh vs JJ(button) vs my BB. He potted it at 2.5k/5k and We both were about at 100k. I shoved and he had it and I bricked. I never have won that tournament, or probably never even final tabled, so it sucked getting 9th. I went card dead late in the tourny and it sucks to not get closer. I also got 15th or so in another FTP tourny to a moron. Back to the grind tomorrow. Hopefully I don’t bubble as many tournys and maybe I can actually take some down. Goodnight guys. Oh and by the way my post about Hans must of inspired him because he just got 9th in the 1k on Stars. He lost a flip to bust, sucks. But he played very well to get there and hopefully next time he wins the flip and wins the tournament. Good job bro, keep it up.