Last Friday I was bored and entered a satellite for the FTOPS $100 rebuy. At the time I didn't even know it was a rebuy tourney :) I was in one of those moods where I felt like playing and entered one of the first satellites I saw. Obviously I won a seat.

The tournament was Saturday and the field was extremely weak. Many of the players did not initially double their stack and some even quit after their first stack was gone. The tournament was interesting because I must have changed tables 9-10 times and had to get a feel for the dynamic at each new table and adjust my play. I would finally get a good feel and then I would move again. Sometimes I would curse for moving and other times I would say a quick prayer to the poker gods for moving me. It actually made me pay attention a lot more because I had to change gears so often.

The worst table change came when I had a decent stack and the two chip leaders in the tourney were directly to my left. They were both playing 30/20 and making life difficult for me...stealing their blinds was out of the question. I thought the following hand was interesting:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 1,700/3,400 Blinds, 400 Ante, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: 85,978
BTN: 167,391
SB: 51,224
BB: 90,873
Hero (UTG): 121,187
UTG+1: 313,636
UTG+2: 343,915
MP1: 42,214
MP2: 193,920

Pre-Flop: (8,700) Q K dealt to Hero (UTG)
[color=red]Hero raises to 8,500[/color], UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls 8,500, 3 folds, BTN calls 8,500, SB folds, BB calls 5,100

Flop: (39,300) 9 4 4 (4 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks, [color=red]UTG+2 bets 17,000[/color], 2 folds, [color=red]Hero raises to 60,000[/color], UTG+2 folds

Results: 73,300 Pot
Hero mucked Q K and WON 73,300 (+47,400 NET)

He was leading at a ton of pots and figured the only way he might make a call or shove is if he had tens or JJ but doubted he would even make that call since my line is strong. There was no way he was leading this with a 4 or with 99.

I did not get very good cards but took advantage of my image at the various tables and definitely played the player. One time my girlfriend happened to look over and said "Why are you putting so much money in with 76?" "Babe...because he's going to fold"

I'm going backwards chronologically in tourney hands but I was considering shoving in the following hand:

We were 20-30 people away from the bubble. I had been raising quite a bit and taking most down preflop as our table was playing very tight. The Villain was a high stakes cash game player and was well aware of bubble dynamics. He could be doing this with total junk but I have no fold equity if I shove.

Reasons for folding: I'm raising from utg+1 so that should look pretty strong so he must have something. I can fold and still abuse everyone.

Reasons for shoving: QJs does very well against his wide range and a double up is always nice.


Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 500/1,000 Blinds, 125 Ante, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: 21,533
BTN: 8,190
SB: 4,591
BB: 36,711
UTG: 20,424
Hero (UTG+1): 17,589
UTG+2: 28,015
MP1: 33,219
MP2: 25,496

Pre-Flop: (2,625) Q J dealt to Hero (UTG+1)
UTG folds, [color=red]Hero raises to 2,500[/color], UTG+2 calls 2,500, [color=red]MP1 raises to 9,000[/color]

I'm not sure what the correct play is.

And then the bustout hand. The reraiser was playing pretty LAG 27/18 . When he flipped over Q10o I was ecstatic but alas. Still won a little cash though.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 3,000/6,000 Blinds, 750 Ante, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP1: 275,305
MP2: 264,104
CO: 135,742
BTN: 347,646
SB: 190,930
Hero (BB): 104,437
UTG: 106,410
UTG+1: 61,008

Pre-Flop: (15,000) A K dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, [color=red]MP1 raises to 17,600[/color], [color=red]MP2 raises to 53,400[/color], CO folds, [color=red]Hero raises to 103,687 and is All-In[/color], 3 folds, MP2 calls 50,287

Flop: (233,974) 9 2 T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: (233,974) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (233,974) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 233,974 Pot
MP2 showed T Q (two pair, Tens and Nines) and WON 233,974 (+129,537 NET)
Hero showed A K (a pair of Nines) and LOST (-104,437 NET)


I'm currently playing FTOPS #9 but its uneventful. I have been at the same table though for 2 hrs which is amazing...lol. (I just looked in PT and I changed 14 times last night)

I just cashed out some from FT so my roll isn't big enough to play all of the NL events so I'll try to sat in to some. Unless some tworags pro wants to back me....Cmon Bond, I'm plus EV BABY!


edit: Event #9 Nursed a shortstack for a long time and with M=5 shoved 77 from MP and ran into QQ. Finished 218

I'm extremely upset at how I ended this tournament. I was 2nd in chips with 15 left when the hand below happened. I was in a good situation in this tourney and only had to really worry about 3-4 players...Adanthar being one of them. I did not think through the hand properly and instacalled on the turn. Part of this is to vent because the few people I talked to at work don't understand my blunder. They just say "Holy crap, you won $5500" I'm a teacher and that's a season of coaching a 3-4 month sport for them that I made in one night...they don't get beyond that.

Full Tilt (6 handed) Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

Seat 2: MP (1,886,861)
Seat 7: Hero BB (1,317,097)


Preflop: Hero is SB with J, J. Hero posts a blind of 50000.
2 folds, MP raises 100,000, 2 folds, Hero (poster) raises 325,000, MP calls.

Flop: T, 2, 8 (2 players) pot 686,000
Hero bets 500,000, MP raises 1,000,000, Hero calls 486097 (All-In).

Turn: 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP showed 8 8 and won (2,658,194) with three of a kind, Eights

Final Pot:


This isn't a bad beat post. He flopped a great hand but I did not analyze the flop like I should have. Once I reraised his minraise and he just called I can pretty much rule out KK+ from this type of player. He raised my flop bet and my dumbass instacalled without thinking...that's just poor. Hit the damn time button, talk out loud to yourself like you had been doing the whole tournament, don't act like a fing donk and instacall because you have an overpair to the board. There were no straight or flush draws and I was one of the only stacks that could put a dent in him so there is no way he's raising this spot without a set or the off chance he called preflop with kings or aces.

I still would have had a manageable stack if I folded (M=5)...especially with the players that were left. This isn't a post to advise "fold if you're beat" because I didn't know where I was at in the hand. That's the problem with this whole hand. My advice is to TAKE YOUR TIME. Think through the hand carefully...there is a lot of money at stake. I don't play in enough tourneys to be in these situations that often so fing up this prime opportunity really hurts.

I was playing very well in this tourney and self destructed. With 190 or so left I was in the top 20 with a 95k stack. My table was playing very tight near the bubble so I took advantage and was raising a ton and when the bubble broke I had 130k and was in 8th. I went card dead for awhile until:

Blinds 1700/3400 a400

Hero 95K on button
20/7 Villain 40k UTG limps
Everyone folds to me and I raise to 11,000 with 5 5 and he calls.
K 8 7
Villain checks
What can he have here? He's put in 1/4 of his stack. I assumed something like 33-JJ I discounted QQ+, AK as I would expect a reraise preflop.
He has 29k left and the pot is 30k. I bet pot and he instacalled with QQ. Interesting way to play the ladies.


A few hands later I was in the BB with A10o with 53k. New player to table is in the small blind with 100k and limps in after everyone else folds. My M=6 after the blinds and they were shortly moving to 1000/2000 so I shoved. He calls with AKs. Game over. 95th He ended up winning the whole thing.

It was disappointing because I felt I had an advantage over everyone at my table. Til next time!!!!
I was also going to play in the main event but was way too tired.

I haven't posted in awhile because I haven't played that much poker recently. On Sunday I got the itch to play in a tournament and was going to play the $300 FTOPS tourney. During the first few hands of a satellite I got in a mini argument with my girlfriend...enough of an argument where we needed to talk right away :) so I shoved with some crap hand and we had our little talk.

So since I didn't play on Sunday I entered the $1000 buyin tournament through a $200 sat. I took a nap when I got home from work and was giving a test the next day so I felt ready to play. Below are a few hands that I'd like some input on. I'll give any needed info first and then explain my thought process afterwards. I'd really like some input on hands #6 and 8.


Hand #1 The villain has been pretty straight forward thus far.

Hand#1

He raised from EP, called my rr and check called the flop. I thought 77-1010 and AK were most likely. I didn't see any other hand with a nine getting here. I didn't bet the turn because the range I put him on hit all of this. I didn't bet the river either because I didn't see him calling with anything that I had beat. He ended up having the one hand that might have called a bet.


Hand #2 The villain was playing tight. 8/4

Hand#2

His river raise seemed like 2 pair or a flopped straight and I didn't know how much of a raise he would call. He had about 4000 left so I raised a little less than half. Bigger raise?



Hand #3 At table for 1 orbit. Both opponents had been active.

Hand#3

Fold? I know this was a fold but it was tempting. In that 1 orbit the villain had reraised twice already which made me consider taking my chances for 20% of my stack. What range of hands should I push with?


Hand #4 The first raiser was Lynette Chan and she was playing 36/36. The caller had a big stack and was calling everything.

Hand#4

I thought this was a good time for a reraise and anything else but a shove left me nothing to bet the flop. Hello pretty ladies!!



Hand #5 The villain is Lynette again. She was playing very aggro 36/36 and we're on the bubble. 216 get paid, 250 or so left. She had been reraising frequently.

Hand#5

Bad shove? I called preflop assuming there was a good chance that Chan would shove and I intended on calling if badestchic folded. I thought Chan's range was very wide here and once she reraises I know she's not folding to my push. Normally I would reraise dabadestchic but I had already done so a couple of times recently.


Hand #6 Villain was very active 25/23

Hand #6

I flat called the reraise hoping to trap as the villain had been very active. I thought for sure that he would bet the flop as he had been and all of his reraising hands got there on the turn. AA, AK, QQ, JJ
My small turn call was more out of frustration than anything else. He most likely had QQ or JJ. I may have actually saved money on this hand as I would have been allin vs many other players preflop.


Hand #7 My bustout hand.

Hand#7

This was one of the first hands after the break and I was finishing up an email so I didn't evaluate the hand like I should have. The first raiser's range is very wide as he's pushed twice with some crap so I was really only concerned with badestchic. My M was 5 and I said "Screw it" and pushed. In retrospect Dabadestchic's flat call looks suspicious as I assume she would isolate with many hands. I'm not sure about this one with two players in the pot already.


Don't hold back with your comments.

I'm going to add some hands as I go...hopefully it will help me play better after my idiotic play I just made :)

I'm the chip leader on button with QJ
CO who's been fairly active limping or raising 70% of hands raises to 1000 at 150/300
I cold call and see a T 4 5 flop. He bets 1200 leaving himself around 3000. I shove like a monkey for 1/4 of my stack. Really? Did I just do that? He calls with QQ. This is bad on so many levels there's no reason to discuss it.


Bubble is ready to burst and I get K Q in mp and raise to 2500 at 500/1000 ante 100 and get 2 callers
flop 4 7 K
I bet 6000 into 9000 pot and second caller with 14k behind shoves. My king is probably good as he's likely on a draw and I called 8000 more and I hold up to his A Q .
We're on the bubble and his shove could be anything. I got lucky to survive the flip. Stack now 45k

Moved to a new table. Avg stack for tourney 25k...everyone at table has at least 40k :(
Getting some terrible cards and big stack to my right is raising a ton.


800/1600 MP player has been shoving every other hand but decides to fold this time when I have AA in the SB. Next hand big stack to my right raises to 4500 and I reraise with AQ on the button to 13,000 and he folds. Very next hand mp limps and I rr with 77. He calls and flop is Q 10 J.
He checks and even though this flop is scary as hell he has to be scared of AK and likely has a med pair so I bet 2/3 flop and he folds after thinking for awhile. Stack 62k



1000/2000 a200 Folded for a bunch of orbits. MP 25K stack raises to 6000. He has been raising or shoving a bunch to get his stack here. I call in bb with K J flop 36J rainbow...I check he bets 8000...I put him in and he calls with 88. I think I fold preflop to many players...not sure if correct or not...stack 89k
Big stack who was in 2nd is knocked out after playing like a dumbass...raising 73s ep and betting huge on flop. Then he shoved on an A flop with tens. His two opponents in those hands are the chipleaders now. I barely won anything off him. I need to switch tables :)



1500/3000 a300 2nd in chips minr and I repop to 18000 with 33 and he calls
flop is 3 2 5 He checks and I bet 2/3 pot hoping he looks me up with draw or med pair....he folds. I don't think he's betting the turn if I check.
Two hands later 10k short stack pushes and I isolate with 1010. I hit set but he sucks out with 4 flush A J
stack 101k



2000/4000 a400 Folding a bunch. MP player raises 4x leaving himself around 40K
I've been playing tight and shove (rr puts him in anyways) with AJs in the bb. He thinks for a long time and calls with 99 and I miss with overs and flush draw on turn. I thought for sure he would fold a medium pair....he said he almost did...o well. I was 9th in chips with an M of 10 and winning that hand would put me in 3rd. Stack 40k pushbot time



2500/5000 a500 Shove fest going on. Don't think 24o is good :)
I shoved with T2o from button with M of 2.5 into stacks that were my size and got called by AQo by sb. Bye bye
22nd $500 profit $350
Probably would have won more playing cash games but felt like playing a tourney.

Feel free to comment on any of the hands.