From Worst to First pt. 2
- Jason
profileAnd now I’m going to finish up my report of the 10k Guarantee on FullTilt on Monday night….
So close to the bubble and having an avg stack but with a smallish M, what is your play? Mine is to loosen up and take a ton of stabs with marginal hands. If you face real pressure then you might be up against a monster. But at this stage the majority of people left at least have some kind of a clue what they are doing. Sure there are still some maniacs and luckboxes left but hopefully you have at least some read on your table. And most people that have some kind of clue are smart enough to lay down marginal hands at this stage against aggression, even if they suspect a bluff.
So I steal some pots, get paid off on a few where I really did get some decent hands, and am able to stay right around the average stack the entire way to the final table. There wasn’t a single hand that sticks out as memorable as I did catch some nice big pairs but just kept above water with no action on them.
At the final table, the play was pretty standard. There were 2 rocks, a couple short stacks, 2 solid players, and a maniac. Once I got a read on the players I didn’t know I stared chopping away at pots and stealing when I could. We got down to 6 players when I made a mistake, even though mathematically it ended up being correct. I tried to steal from CO+1 with QJs. A short stack pushed and I had a decision to make. I was getting about 2.1-1 on my money and to call was only 1/4th of my stack. Losing would only take me down to a little below average and winning would move me into the chip lead. I called hoping that he was playing Ax or a small pair. He turned over ATos so both my cards were live and it was about a 60-40 proposition. So mathematically it was the correct play. However, we still had I believe 2 short stacks at the final table with 6 players remaining. I easily could and should have waited for a better spot.
So for the next orbit or two i sit tight and then pull off a big bluff on the maniac. He had shown a willingness to bet ANY time it was checked to him in position. I had defended my blinds against him a few times but missed and was not willing to go to war. I figured that I had set him up for a bluff at this point. So I called a raise with 79 from the SB. He bet half the pot with an Ace-rag flop after I check to him and I called. I could have made a move there, but I felt I was ok to wait for the turn as this was the first time I had check-called him. The A on the turn sealed the deal in my mind. Could he have an A? Sure. But he had been involved in a ton of pots and if I could take the pot, it would increase my stack by about 50%. So I check, he does his automatic bet, and I push. He folded almost instantly and I showed just to try and induce some tilt and get him to call me next time I had a real hand.
Now I was in business and went to the chip lead without much problem. We lost two more players and now the money was starting to get serious. I ended up losing a big pot when I got a call I wanted from a stack that wasn’t really desperate after I re-raised him all-in when I got KK on the button. He took a long time and called with A7 and spiked the A on the turn after flopping the 7. I still had chips left but it could have been a prime opportunity to tilt and dump my chips off. I forget how the 3rd and 4th place people went out but it was now heads-up with the maniac. He had almost a 2-1 chip lead but I knew that if I could catch a hand or two and get even I could outplay him. The opportunity came on the 2nd hand when I limped from the button with an A and hit it on the flop and he had 2nd pair. I just called his flop and turn bets and he folded to my river push. After that it was mostly just picking some spots until he bluffed at a pot and I called him down with 2nd pair. That gave me a 7-1 chip lead. Two hands later I limp again from the button with KJ (against a maniac it’s nice to keep the pot small in position because you know that they will bet into you) and the flop comes J62. He pushes with 64 and my top pair held up for the win.
The final payout was $3500 for my biggest single cash ever and also the largest field that I’ve ever placed first in. Overall, I was pleased with my play. It just goes to show though that it takes skill AND luck to win a larger MTT. If I hadn’t sucked out on the bubble, I never would have been able to make the rest of my brilliant moves and donkey plays.
Oh and fuck Bill Frist!
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