Local tourney, day one

26. February 2005 | Category: 50outs

Our local two day tournament started yesterday. It is a 7 card stud event with a 500eur buy-in and three rebuys for 200eur each. The levels are 30 minutes, starting chips are 2,000 and first limit is 20-100 (spread limit). The amount of chips you get for a rebuy is depending on the level where you do it; in the very first level you get 3,000 in chips and if you manage to make the rebuy at the very last possible level after about 4 hours playing time you get 6,000. If you manage to last until the end of the rebuy period you get 8k chips for each of these 200eurs. In fact that makes it almost impossible to not take the rebuys.

We arrived there after a peacefull day right on time and were delighted to see that were already over 35 players registered as we had small fears that there would be way less – there is another very good tournament running this week in Bregenz, which is also very nice and a lot of people go there. After some walking around and saying hello the tournament started. But I did not manage to see the first hand – there was a massage chair available which one of the players brought along (he has a coffee/massage shop at the airport) and I naturally used it immedeatly and extensivly. When I sat down I got rubbish the first level and managed to get my 2,000 chips down to about 1,100 by calling way to much until 5th street (I just love that). The limit went up to 200-400 with a 40 ante and I got my first good hand, jacks up on 4th. I lost that being all-in to a straight on the river and was the very first one shouting “rebuy”. Nice work, lol. I relaxed, took a deep breath and decided to give these guys a little more action.

I knewed every player on my 7 handed table except one how and I was able to classify him very soon as a weak-tight player with the others being mostly pot-limit players and generally tight. They have problems with an agressive approach where you play your draws strongly and make some fance plays. While I’m the perfect candidat for FPS (fancy-play-syndrome)

Fancy Play Syndrome (FPS), a term coined by Mike Caro, means choosing unusual tactics too frequently when the more obvious choices would do better. FPS often implies that a player goes out of his way to impress opponents by using unexpected strategies that actually cost him profits through overuse.

So say Michael Wiesenberg in Cardplayer who is famous for not winning anything

I thought (and I always think so) that I am just to good to fall for the problems that are coming with it. Well, I don’t know what the truth really is but fact is yesterday it worked perfectly for me. After a dinner break the levels were 100-500 with 60 ante and as I returned to my seat holding nearly 5k which was the table chip lead (2k starting chips+3k rebuy, I was the only one so far who took it) I left the way of straight forward tournament play and it all worked out for me. I won hand after hand and when the dust seatled for the day 7 more rebuys where took at my table (none by me) and I had about 15k in chips which must the tournament chip lead or very close to it. Nice work!

Katja has about 2k in chips and also took one rebuy. Things did work out for her so good as she lost two big pots each to a rivered kings-up (king coming last…) and one big bluff did not worked out as she controlled by a sheriff holding just one small pair (she hamered herself on the way home “never bluff a dumb player, never bluff a dumb player”). Better luck for her today!

After the tournament there was cash game offered and for the first time single-table no-limit holdem tournaments. Katja and I decided to support this nice move from the casino and joined the action. The players discussed about the actual buy-in amount with all extremes from 100eur up to 1,000eur. Finally 300+15eur was choosen and cards were in the air. Early on I won a nice pot when limping in with JQo for 20 (1,500 start chips) after my friend Kai who limped only also. It was 4 players. Flop comes 9Tx and Kai bet out 200. I had this nut straight draw with two overcards and flat called. The blinds both folded. The turn brought a beautifull king, Kai checked to me and I also checked. River comes a blank and I hold the nuts with position on him. He bets out 200 and I thought what he could have and how much he would be calling for. I finally raised him 500, fearing that he might fold for more and putting me on a steal for this amount. He called, nodding his head to my hand and showing – KK! Little did I know in what danger I had been there on the river. I needled him for this play (not raising with KK pre-flop) but he took it pretty well. The levels were 15 minutes which in live play does not give you to many hands but with my now nice stack I was able to just cruise and play good cards and situations. Katja got in more trouble, surving one time with 77 against two better hands when a 7 turned but finally busting out in an unpleasant 4th place. Left were my friend Frank and Minh, a online 7stud pro (also doing some “business” with Men “The Master” from time to time), both very good players. My conficence broke when in the only passed-to-the-big-blind pot of the day I had kings and got no action. I was just able to outlast Frank somehow but lost to Minh with K high against A high. Anyway, that was a 900eur payout for second place. We choosed right away to play another one!

In this one I got some chips early when I had raised preflop with QQ, got two callers and moved in a K high flop (I know, I know, not a very good idea but I had these reaaaaaaaaads, lol). Anyway, no callers. Frank busted out three players including Katja in 10th getting nice cards and after that Pete continued to bust another three players. I won one hand and had about 2k in chips with 15k on the table, not a very good position. Dirk was in a even more desperate position sitting directly to my left and when Frank and Pete one time folded between our blinds I raised his BB with my “killer hand” 68o. Dirk called! Uhoh. In the end I made a very lucky two pair against his K high with a K in the flop. From there on was no holding back, I got dream cards for 10 hands in a row (7 times a pair including aces and 3 hands containing one ace) and busted both Frank and Pete to win this thing for a nice 1,500eur payout.

We left then, it was already 3 a.m., very tired. Today play will begin at 4 p.m. with another single table tournament and the main event will then continue at 6 p.m.

I feel ready to kill!