Another historical blast from the past....
So it was an interesting qualifying season for the Fallsview WPT. I played in 5 $170 single table satellites and two $460 single table satellites. The 170s had a single winner ($1240 satellite voucher) and runner up got a replay at 170. The 460 awarded three $1240 vouchers and fourth place got a $460 replay. I won 3 of the five 170s and 1 of the two 460s, for a very nice ROI. I should note that I finished last in both of the 170s I didn't win.
So I had four shots at the main event, and I ran bad and played even worse. In attempt 1, I was eliminated in 7th place, when a loose player utg raised to 700, a mp player called, and I looked down at 77 in the BB with 1900 in chips (you start with 3000 in this format). Blinds were 100-200 with a 25 ante, and I believed that I was ahead of both players, and could probably end up racing with one of the two or even force two folds if I shipped it here. I pushed all in.
I thought I was probably dead when both players called. The flop brought and ace, which I was sure had sealed my fate, and all of the money went in on the flop for the other two players. One held AK and the other A9. No sevens came, but the turn was miracle 9 for the utg guy, and he knocked two of us out in one shot.
The second $1240 was my best shot. I was dialed in and playing well. With 8 players left, I was at 3100 chips, but had a pretty good beat on the table. I looked down at QQ from early position, we were at the 150-300-50 level, and I just smooth called, hoping to get raised. It actually folded all the way to the BB, who made it $700 to go. He was the chip leader having eliminated one of the two first outs, and chipping up a little more after. He didn't look super strong. I acted agonized, before raising it to 2200 to go (1500 more), leaving 900 behind.
The guy went into the tank for about 7 minutes before deciding to call. I was sure I was ahead by quite a bit here, and I'd put my last 900 in on the flop, and maybe get away if an Ace came. The flop looked great - three babies, three suits (467). He immediately pushed, which did give me pause, but I called anyway. He had flopped a set of sixes, and I was out. Ouch.
I immediately sat for another 1240, probably not a great decision as I was still a bit steamed. I got chipped off early to about 1900 chips. I raised from the BB at 100-200 to 700 with AKs, with four limpers, and got one caller on the button. The flop came A94, three suits. I checked to the button, hoping to induce a bet from a weaker ace from the button - he bet 700, I pushed, and he snap called, which of course left me with a very sick feeling. I didn't need to see the cards - he had a set of 9s, and I was essentially dead. A pretty crappy play by me, and a pretty tough circumstance as well, but I should be smart enough not to go broke there with top-top.
Finally, I went up to play my fourth and final 1240, and again felt very dialed in. About 10 minutes into level one a kid raised under the gun to 200, I looked down at AKo from the cutoff, I repop it to 550 and he folds. I could tell he was pissed. 10 minutes later he makes a raise to 250 from the same position. I could tell that he was stronger this time. I look down at beautiful black KK. I make it 750 to go. He does a little bit of hollywood, checks his cards and pops it back to 1200 more (1950 to go). We are 20 minutes into level one (25-50). Warning bells should be going off for me here, but I'm only thinking about felting this kid.
I go into the tank for a second and then announce all in (about 3400). He snap calls and I know immediately that I've made a horrible play. The flop comes babies, so I'm not sure that the end result isn't the same, but he did have AA. I was left with 150, and was out 6 hands later. Cold deck yes, but I should be good enough to let this go when he repops to 1950 - I still have more than enough behind to do damage in this relatively slow structure, and he's showing strong, and has pretty much announced he's got AA.
I ran kings into aces once before in an important spot, during the FTP main event (500+35). After the third break I was the chip leader and got it all in against a very large stack KK vs. AA and it precipitated my run from first to out in a 25 minute interval.
So maybe I've learned something here. It has been exactly one year since I qualified for the WPT fallsview, and I've really been playing for that long (and maybe 9 months before of online on and off). So it is early in the game, and I'm still developing. We'll see at some future point if I'm good enough to minimize damage KK against AA, but the experience sure helps.
On a positive note, my net result this year ($0 result) is better than last year ($340 for two satellites). I made two ATM withdrawals, and paid them back plus all of my tournament entries through winning consistently in the NL cash games. This is becoming more and more comfortable for me, particularly at the 2/5 or 5/5 level with a 300-500 buy in. The fallsview room really has quite a few inexperienced players who come down from Toronto with many hundreds of dollars that can be exploited. I won the biggest cash pot of my life the other day ($1,850), and just missed out on a $1,900 pot playing some PLO when I flopped top set (kings), turned the nut flush draw in addition (but was behind a made broadway), and then missed my 19 outs on the river.
So I played for free though this process, but am pretty disappointed to have missed another opportunity at a big main event in my back yard - I do feel a lot better equipt to have dealt with it this year than last - I felt I could have gone a lot deeper this year and had a big advantage by knowing what to expect. My game has come a long long way, but it was not to be.
So I want to start getting regular table hours at 2/5 or 5/5 and working on my bankroll, to give me more flexibility to try some tournament stuff. My goal is to have $2,500 prior to going to vegas in November (I am going to play the venetian deepstack $540), and to get to $10,000 by the turn of the year. I want to money a major (POY) tournament in 2009, and maintain a five figure, growing bankroll.
There are positives. This is the first time in a while that my learning curve didn't have a price tag. My stamina is better - I can play longer sessions and am doing a better job of managing my mindframe with diet, sleep, etc.. I have more situational and hand experience in the NL format, and am playing with a lot of confidence. I still have to do a better job of putting together the situation when my adreline is going, instead of going with the rush that comes when you are on a big decision. I'll try to take more time with each decision, and see if I can't make myself a harder out in tournament situations. I'll let you know how I make out.
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