Sunday Tourney Results...

As advertised yesterday, I planned to play in several online poker tournaments. I did not end up playing in all of them that I listed, however, I managed to make a few of them. Below are the results/storylines for each of the poker tourneys.

Bodog 100K Guaranteed Satellite

Look, I have to admit, Bodog has some killer overlays in their tourneys, butI am not certain I like their new "feel." They did something to the software, whereas now I have tabs, vs. the multiple screens of old. They put in a picture-in-picture feature, so I can keep my eye on the table as long as I have the program on my desktop. I do like that, but the lobby isn't updating like it used to. I think, however, its a matter of getting used to "new" versus being content with the "old," so I'll suck it up and continue to play.

Tourney begins where I find myself on a loose passive table. Round two of the blinds, I find am 4 handed (limpers) in the big blind sportin' AQs. I raise 6x, 1 limp drops out. This wasn't what I wanted, as my raise was designed to get me 2-3 handed. I keep in mind going into the flop that I am not 2-3 handed and we're still early in the tourney (read, I won't "marry my hand unless I get the better of the flop). Flop comes QJ3 (of which, 2 hearts, 1 suited club to me). Not too bad a flop. I figured to have the best hand here, or if not, damn close and able to redraw. I throw out a 3/4 pot continuation bet. The short stack reraises to allin, folds around to me. I make like I am thinking for a second, and make the easy call, knowing I'll still have suffiicent chips if I lose. He flips over J-shit clubs, giving him the same backdoor flush draw I have (he's dead there) and middle pair to my top pair. Turn and river miss him completely, I chip up, he bounces from the tourney.

Hour 1 ends, 28 of 45 remain. My stack sits at 2555 - 4th largest of the eight at my table. Table is still too donkified for my liking. Bodog stats are showing a 5% saw flop rate for me, which I know to be false (I'm closer to 15%, but who's counting). Two guys to my immediate right seem to be taking turns putting in the big preflop raise, and if they're not some clown two to my left is. So yes, for anyone keeping score, the table appears to be a bit more aggressive than it was in the opening minutes. I'll be looking to pick and choose my spots and have breathing room with my stack being about 28x's blinds, as my entire arsenal of tricks are still available to me. I have betting power and also can afford to lay down a hand.

Third hand after the break, I peak at AA in the SB. Thief two to left limps UTG. Action folds around to me. I decide to throw him a pitch I am sure he'll catch. I raise to 300, a weak looking raise. BB folds, thief boy ponders and makes it 900. I'm smiling, giving my daughter the high five as she is watching/playing with me. I decide what the hell, let's make it all-in. He quickly calls. Flips himself over a pp of sixes. Flop misses all, I take her down unimproved. 2 hands later, he bounces with AQ v JJ. My stack sits at 5.1G, now leading the table. Stats still accuse me of a 5% saw flop rate.

Blinds move to 50/100 and things are looking good - 24 remain.

AKs against a player who limped preflop. I throw a 4x raise out there (blinds 50/100), he calls. This coming after he'd seen my AA play, QQ raise, JJ raise. I'm rather certain he is aware of my table image, as his commentary seems to be following along with the hands, so either he is paying attention and taking notes, or he just likes to read himself talk. He calls, flop comes 3-4-4. I check. He throws out a 1/4 potbet, I check-raise to the pot. He calls. I'm thinking that he's trying to steal at this point and have the better hand. So, barring q-j-10, I am jamming the pot. I'm thinking he has AJ or A10, actually, and would interpret the checkrayz as aces, kings, which would cause panic if he was holding a lower pp. Though, I'm not sure he'd limp with a low pp, and surely wouldn't be a "caller" preflop. Turn comes 8. I jam the pot, he calls and turns over A-8o. River misses, I'm crippled. I thought he'd lay down his hand and that the community cards had not helped him. My read was correct in that he either had A-less than I, and a small pocket pair was not something he had. I'm wondering though what he read me at? Did he read me AK right on? Probably not. Did he have me on twos? Or a steal? prolly not, once again.

In thinking about it, I'm rather certain that he talked to hear himself speak (one of my original possible observations), and that he was likely unaware that his opposition had a set of cards in the hole. 8 PP's (AA-99, 44, 33) that beat him as of the turn. 5 pp subject to redraw. 5 AX (Ak, q, j, 10, 9) cards subject to redraw on the river that out did him. 1 Ax (A4) that had him at that point. Too many ways for him to be rivered. I'm even more convinced he had no read at all. Bodog'd again, nuff said. Still liking their overlays, despite my lack of success there.

Tommorrow I will write about my other tourney experience, as there were an interesting hand or two from the Hollywood Celebrity tourney. Things came up and I was unable to make the River Belle events I listed. The NZ Poker Champs Super Satellite Qualifier did not hold, due to lack of interest. I don't understand the logic behind that. I WANT that package. I'm working with Kiwi, having offered them suggestion as to how to get any one of their satellite qualifiers off the ground (they've held only two in the last two weeks).

As for CheckRayz news, I am building the Calendar for the end of Feb-mid March this week. Check back here and on the Rayz site for tourney announcements. I expect to have a significant number of freeroll poker tournaments to offer for the upcoming month.

Cheers,

Mike



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