Monday, October 20, 2008

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!


The last two Saturdays, I've been making a run up to Foxwoods to play in some satellite games for a seat in the World Poker Finals in November. It costs $10K to enter directly, which is way above my price range. Besides, if I can't win the satellite, I don't deserve to be in the main tournament.


The Saturday before last, I played three tournaments, and busted out in every single one of them. I came in 12th out of 57 in the $150 multitable event -- six got seats. The bubble got $43, so I'm actually glad I didn't bust out then.


But I won last Saturday. First, I played in the $150 super satellite again, and didn't catch a hand until blinds were 100/200, and I picked up AQ. The guy in the small blind re-raised all in after I raised for about half my stack, so I called. I was up against KK, and couldn't catch an ace. I ended up crippled, and then waited three more hands until the antes kicked in and I reached the big blind, then went allin with motown J5, got protected by a 77, caught a jack, but he flopped a set.

So I bought into another Act 2, figuring this would be my last game, except for maybe a few Act 1 satellites. Well, there was this old man across the table who was extremely aggressive. My ability to read people was really on time. Eventually, I became short stacked, and raise in late position with AJ for about half my stack. He called in the small blind, calling station that he was (and boy did he get lucky catching cards against people). Anyway, flop was Q rag rag, so I figured I could either push or go, but instead, I checked to see what he would do. He made his standard 1200 chip bet. I knew he had an ace, but I figured he didn't pair, and perhaps I had him dominated, so I shoved for my remaining 1500, and he of course called, then flipped over Ace three (with no threes on the board). I turned a jack and doubled up against him.

Very next hand, I catch AA, and with his doubling of me, I was healthy, so I put in a 3X raise to 1200. He called, and all others folded. Great, I'm thinking, now to play this right. Flop came King rag-rag rainbow, and since I was first to act (him on the button now), I checked, and he bet 1200. I think for a while, see no danger on the board, so I smooth call. Turn is a blank also, but now two clubs. So I check, counting precisely on his aggression. He again bets 1200. I had 3000 left, so I raised him allin. He thinks for a good long while, then folds. I never showed the rockets.

After that, people got desperate because the blinds were so high, and I either had drawing hands with tons of outs (like 14 in one instance for the nut flush, which I caught), or had them beat, so I called every instance and mowed down three of them. Now, I'm the massive chipleader. After it got down to three, and the bubble was yet to pop, I started shoving people around. I bluffed one hand (the only one in the game) for like 4000 chips (about 1/3 of my stack) against the middle stack, and he folded. I stole about three orbits of blinds. I really put the heat on them. Then the guy who was short proposed we all chip in $80 for the loser to rebuy into Act 2. I thought it was a bad proposition for me, since I had most of the chips, and figured I could let the other two beat each other, but then I acquiesced, because it could have been a long, pitched battle. Sure enough, the next hand I catch 99 on the button, so I raise, and the dude in the SB goes allin for like 800 more than my 3.5X raise. I instacalled, he had A8, and my nines held. I won a $1100 entry into the final satellite game for a $10000 seat in the WPT Foxwoods Poker Finals.

There were virtually no entrants for Act 3, so I figured I have to go back next weekend, or the following weekend for Act 3. Wish me luck.

After I took that down, Jawbitch told me she was taking the kids into the city to see a show, so I might as well stay and play. So I did. I took down another $500 in the cash games. Not bad for a day's work!