My Recent Tournaments
Category: Poker
This week I went along to my local tournament feeling rather refreshed after having a couple of weeks away from poker over christmas. Upon arriving I found out that a new league was going to be starting off again after the success of the last one, which added some extra excitement to proceedings.
(I managed a very respectable 4th place in the grand final tournament at the end of last years league).
In the first half an hour or so I had one confrontation of note, after limping into a pot from late position with (Ks,5s). Of course I didn’t have much of a hand, but I do sometimes like to see some action early on when the blinds are very small. I picked up a straight draw on the flop which then became a straight by the turn, however I was wary of a bigger straight. Due to this possibility, I cautiously flat called my opponents bets, only to find he had a two pair right up until he made his full house on the river. It could have been far more damaging than it was though, and I only lost 1,000 of my 6,500 stack. Later on I also checked down a top pair feling I was outkickered and was proved right, and so my damage limitation skills were certainly on form.
The killer blow came after just over an hour though with the blinds at 200/400. In very late position with two limpers, I decided to move all in with (A,10) reasoning that if either limper had a stronger hand than (A,10) they would have raised the pot themselves, and so couldn’t possibly call me. It was simple logic, yet perhaps flawed, as the more inexperienced player who had limped in, called, then turned over (J,J).
I hit my Ace, but then she hit her Jack too, an so it was all over. I perhaps shouldn’t have been quite so aggressive on that hand, but my reasoning was fine seeing as anyone in their right minds, in early position, with (J,J)…really should have raised preflop. But alas that is poker for you, players and cards will always surprise you when you least want them to.