What is an i-pod anyway?
I got an email from Virgin poker site yesterday advertising their 'Bootylicious' tournament. This is a new monthly tournament where the top 10 can win added prizes. It quotes a choice of: Apple Ipod, a choice of Virgin Experience days for 2 (go-karting, paintballing, spa day etc), dinner for 2 at London's Kensington Roof Gardens, a case of specially selected Virgin Wines or a Virgin Books package.At $10 entry I wasn't interested as my usual level of buy-in is $3, but I posted it up on the Punter's Lounge forum in case anyone else fancied it. With only 30 mins to go, GotaFancy? (poker mod par excellence) flagged up that there were only 23 registered, so I decided to give it a go after all, as I'd had about $13 sat unused in my Virgin account since we had a league series on the site several months ago. I often play the V-points freeroll on a Sunday, but with such a small amount left in I never played any buy-in games. Saving it for a rainy day I suppose, or a Saturday in October.
So the tournament started with only 38 in, paying top 5 places the $380 prize pool and the booty for top 10. I'm sure Virgin expected more in!
Well I played my usual tight game, (which generally leaves me short-stacked around the bubble), but by the time we got down to around 20 I was already clinging on for dear life. Then I got dealt QQ which held up all-in, followed immediately by QQ again :-) which successfully took the blinds, and I'm sitting pretty in 7th.
Well I played my usual tight game (which generally leaves me short-stacked around the bubble)(hehe!), and I'm floating between 9th and 11th with 11 left in. Enough chips to withstand a few rounds of blinds so it's basically a fold strategy and hope someone else goes before me. I rememember folding 88 and AKs before I was dealt JJ on the small blind. I decided to call (since all-in was not putting anyone off calling me) and the flop comes K2A. Had to check and hope for the best, and thank goodness Danarama checked back, and continued to check the turn (7) and river (8), because I would probably have folded to a call and hoped my 500 chips would outlast someone for another circuit. So my JJ beat his Q3 and I'm back to 9th and folding again.
A10s - fold; K9o - fold; A8o on the big blind and everyone folds round to the small blind, and I wait for the raise which will steal my blind.....and instead it's a fold. A hugh sigh of relief and cheers MCFC81 (and you're not kidding anyone with that name - he's a different age on every site!)
Meanwhile I'm watching the other table, and their short-stack keeps surviving too.
Another set of good hands folded - AKs, Q10o, A8o, at which point the short-stack hits her blind, calls the small raise to put her all-in, and goes out. Very unlucky Donna.
15 minutes of creeping death finally over! Woohoo - final table and I've won my choice of booty. I'm sitting in 9th and the money starts at 5th. What strategy now?
It tends to be something like: "don't play the hand if you don't have to", ie. fold if it's not my blind, unless it's a pair. So I throw away A5, A7, Q5, J8, and then go all-in on my small blind with A7 and win a 3-way pot against 97, KJ and 22810Q on the board. Back to folding, and before long we're down to 7 (guess who's 7th!)
I get 38 on my big blind which I fold to a raise and decide not to call against 2 with my J9 small blind which leaves me with 960 chips. With blinds at 1200/600 I throw these all-in before I hit my next blind, when I get A10s, and manage to find 2 more Aces on the board. Someone goes all-in, and out, next hand so I'm 6th/6.
Big blind time, and I'm looking at my ladies again (QQ). Small blind tries a steal, and I'm all-in, hitting a Q on the river for good measure, and leaving my caller as short-stack. More folding, then short-stack comes up against his blind and loses.
I'm in the money! (and short-stack!)
I survive several more rounds, helped by KK, then get Ah2h which I only played knowing I could not get through the blinds another time. The other short-stack also goes all-in with his A4o and the small blind calls to cover us both with AJo.
Flop 5d, 7d, 9h, turn 7h, river 3h. Nice little flush, thank you very much. 4th/4.
I get K5s on my next small blind and decide, for the first time, to push when I could actually have waited. I'm called by Q8 and although I pair my 5, he pairs both his Q and 8 and this time only one card is my suit.
Out in 4th for $45.60 and an i-pod (probably). My biggest win in a buy-in tournament. And with fellow Punter's Loungers in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 8th, a good night for the forum, and a good spot by me in telling them about it!
And the moral of the story? Don't call if you don't have to!
posted by AvonGirl @ 12:19 am
2 Comments:
"And the moral of the story? Don't call if you don't have to!" ..
Wish i'd read this before tonights SP odds tourney
good write up Helen, congrats
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