Operation successful, patient dead.
Mysterious internet connectivity issues had just as mysteriously resolved themselves last night, so I was happy as a pig in mud playing poker and listening to the radio. This week's Fighting Talk was not a vintage edition, but still had its moments. To compensate, the latest podcast on Words at Large from the CBC had a very interesting interview with Margaret Atwood.
In poker, the main event of the evening was the 11pm $2.20 NLHE MTT on Stars. Am a bit annoyed with myself about this one as I finished near the bubble, and put myself into a bad spot where I had to make a move. The bubble is quite irrelevant, but I should have been able to get quite a lot deeper. The hand that really cost me proved what a donkey I still am.
With the blinds at 100/200, I(6700) was in MP with Q♦Q♣. All fold to me, and I bet 600. My left hand neighbour(4700) called and everyone else folded. The flop comes K♠T♣7♥. I bet 1000 at the 1500 pot, which was called. This was where things started to get ugly. On the 6♣ turn, I decided to fire one more bullet, 1800 at the 3500 pot. Again called. We checked down an innocuous river, and, unsurprisingly, my opponent had K♥Q♥. I think my turn bet was just pure eructation of chips -- what else except a king or a set can call my bet on the flop? Ok, AT, JJ, possibly even some smaller pairs, or QJ (if that calls in the first place), might take a gamble, but I should be happy to check those hands down to the river (the opponent was quite passive). So that hand basically cost me half my stack, and the poker gods made sure that I didn't miss the lesson by following up with a period of dead cards.
Which brings us to our final exhibit, which took place at a different table.
Blinds and antes were now 200/400/50, and I (3700) picked up A♦Q♦ UTG. For some reason (probably misplaced worries about the bubble) I didn't push but simply opened with a 1200 chip bet (which can look stronger than the push here). My immediate neighbour (17000) called, and we saw the flop heads up. I'd already decided to push any non-wildly threatening flop, and followed through when it was T♠9♣6♥. Unfortunately, my dearly beloved neighbour with Q♠J♠ had flopped an open ended straight, backdoor flush, draw and, getting better than 2:1, certainly had the odds to call. Stars didn't prolong my torment, delivering the 8♦ on the turn, leaving me just 3 outs to a split pot, which didn't arrive.
I actually don't have much of a problem with my play on the final hand. My chips went in with the best of it, and while I can't be happy with the outcome, I think that in the same situation I'd play it the same way again. The annoying part of course is that I shouldn't have been in that situation at all, and was there only owing to my own idiocy on the earlier hand. With a larger stack, there'd be no need for me to push on the flop. I'd probably continuation bet, but would then shut down with the 8 on the turn. It would have been a fairly significant flesh wound, but not the coup de grâce.
In poker, the main event of the evening was the 11pm $2.20 NLHE MTT on Stars. Am a bit annoyed with myself about this one as I finished near the bubble, and put myself into a bad spot where I had to make a move. The bubble is quite irrelevant, but I should have been able to get quite a lot deeper. The hand that really cost me proved what a donkey I still am.
With the blinds at 100/200, I(6700) was in MP with Q♦Q♣. All fold to me, and I bet 600. My left hand neighbour(4700) called and everyone else folded. The flop comes K♠T♣7♥. I bet 1000 at the 1500 pot, which was called. This was where things started to get ugly. On the 6♣ turn, I decided to fire one more bullet, 1800 at the 3500 pot. Again called. We checked down an innocuous river, and, unsurprisingly, my opponent had K♥Q♥. I think my turn bet was just pure eructation of chips -- what else except a king or a set can call my bet on the flop? Ok, AT, JJ, possibly even some smaller pairs, or QJ (if that calls in the first place), might take a gamble, but I should be happy to check those hands down to the river (the opponent was quite passive). So that hand basically cost me half my stack, and the poker gods made sure that I didn't miss the lesson by following up with a period of dead cards.
Which brings us to our final exhibit, which took place at a different table.
Blinds and antes were now 200/400/50, and I (3700) picked up A♦Q♦ UTG. For some reason (probably misplaced worries about the bubble) I didn't push but simply opened with a 1200 chip bet (which can look stronger than the push here). My immediate neighbour (17000) called, and we saw the flop heads up. I'd already decided to push any non-wildly threatening flop, and followed through when it was T♠9♣6♥. Unfortunately, my dearly beloved neighbour with Q♠J♠ had flopped an open ended straight, backdoor flush, draw and, getting better than 2:1, certainly had the odds to call. Stars didn't prolong my torment, delivering the 8♦ on the turn, leaving me just 3 outs to a split pot, which didn't arrive.
I actually don't have much of a problem with my play on the final hand. My chips went in with the best of it, and while I can't be happy with the outcome, I think that in the same situation I'd play it the same way again. The annoying part of course is that I shouldn't have been in that situation at all, and was there only owing to my own idiocy on the earlier hand. With a larger stack, there'd be no need for me to push on the flop. I'd probably continuation bet, but would then shut down with the 8 on the turn. It would have been a fairly significant flesh wound, but not the coup de grâce.
Labels: mtt
posted by Michael Albert at 8:25 am
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