online play

Well, I played my first tournament for the day. I got outta work early since the government closed early today due to inclement weather. I play at Pokerstars almost exclusively. I have accounts at Full Tilt and Party Poker but the tournament action is so active at Stars that I rarely play elsewhere.

Well, the first tournament, I took first place. A couple of key hands helped me.

1. My 2d2c vs Qc9c: I flopped a set with 9s 2s 8c. Obviously I really liked my hand. Didn't realize my opponent had top pair with a backdoor flush and straight draws. The turn brought a Tc. A great card for both of us. It created more outs for my opponent and I was value betting the entire time but eventually got all in after the river. Here's the break-down:

Seat 1: cjm321 (1610 in chips)
Seat 2: chip danser (2810 in chips)
Seat 3: stendas (1470 in chips)
Seat 4: davey0725 (1530 in chips)
Seat 5: tl (1190 in chips)
Seat 6: jim1111111 (1890 in chips)
Seat 8: Spookster999 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Slaughter84 (1500 in chips)
jim1111111: posts small blind 10
Spookster999: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to tl [2d 2c]
Slaughter84: calls 20
cjm321: folds
chip danser said, "t"
chip danser: folds
stendas: raises 60 to 80
davey0725: folds
tl: calls 80
jim1111111: calls 70
Spookster999: folds
Slaughter84: calls 60
*** FLOP *** [9s 2s 8c]
jim1111111: checks
Slaughter84: bets 200
stendas: folds
tl: raises 400 to 600
jim1111111: folds
Slaughter84: calls 400
*** TURN *** [9s 2s 8c] [Tc]
Slaughter84: bets 120
tl: calls 120
*** RIVER *** [9s 2s 8c Tc] [5d]
Slaughter84: bets 200
tl: raises 190 to 390 and is all-in
Slaughter84: calls 190
*** SHOW DOWN ***
tl: shows [2d 2c] (three of a kind, Deuces)
Slaughter84: shows [Qc 9c] (a pair of Nines)
tl collected 2560 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2560 | Rake 0
Board [9s 2s 8c Tc 5d]
Seat 1: cjm321 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: chip danser folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: stendas folded on the Flop
Seat 4: davey0725 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: tl (button) showed [2d 2c] and won (2560) with three of a kind, Deuces
Seat 6: jim1111111 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 8: Spookster999 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Slaughter84 showed [Qc 9c] and lost with a pair of Nines

2. My next semi-big pot was when I lost a pot with pocket Aces. I always feel I am the only one who could lose in the most creative ways with Aces. There was a severe short stack in the BB and ended up calling my raise with Js5s. He flopped a flush draw and I hit my Ace on the turn but it was the As. Of course! Here's that break down:

Seat 1: Player1 (2185 in chips)
Seat 2: Player2 (1755 in chips)
Seat 3: Player3 (370 in chips)
Seat 4: Player4 (1455 in chips)
Seat 5: tl (2210 in chips)
Seat 6: Player6 (4100 in chips)
Seat 8: Player8 (1425 in chips)
Player2: posts small blind 15
Player3: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to tl [Ac Ad]
Player4: folds
tl: raises 60 to 90
Player6: folds
Player8: folds
Player1: folds
Player2: folds
Player3: calls 60
*** FLOP *** [Ks 2s 4h]
Player3: checks
tl: bets 120
Player3: calls 120
*** TURN *** [Ks 2s 4h] [As]
Player3: checks
tl: bets 160
Player3: calls 160 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [Ks 2s 4h As] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Player3: shows [5s Js] (a flush, Ace high)
tl: shows [Ac Ad] (three of a kind, Aces)
Player3 collected 755 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 755 | Rake 0
Board [Ks 2s 4h As 7c]
Seat 1: Player1 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Player2 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: Player3 (big blind) showed [5s Js] and won (755) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 4: Player4 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: tl showed [Ac Ad] and lost with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 6: Player6 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Player8 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

3. Here's a very pivotal hand for me in the tournament. It involved a great setup of a huge bluff. First, let me set the stage. Jim1111111 has been playing loose and aggressive the entire tournament. That information helped me out in this particular hand. He and I were the blinds, I was the SB and he was BB. Everyone folds. I pause and limp. I have 6d 4s. The flop: 2d Ac 6h. I flopped middle pair. I felt it was the best hand at the time. I bet out 75 and Jim1111111 raises to 150. That bet is totally meant to steal. I know he doesn't have an Ace since he would have raised with any Ace pre-flop to avoid seeing a flop as a short stack. So I call pretty much immediately knowing my 6s were good. The turn brings on the Qh. I check and he had about 1565 and bet 900 of it. Now, I still didn't quite believe him so I check-raise him back another 900 which put him all in. Now he's put into a bad situation. I called his raise after the flop and check-raise him on the river. He had to believe I hit the Ace and laid down his hand. Afterwards, I show him the bluff. I felt too smug. I probably shouldn't have done that. Here's the history (hx).

Seat 1: cjm321 (2950 in chips)
Seat 3: stendas (2545 in chips)
Seat 4: davey0725 (2400 in chips)
Seat 5: tl (3590 in chips)
Seat 6: jim1111111 (2015 in chips)
tl: posts small blind 75
jim1111111: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to tl [6d 4s]
cjm321: folds
stendas: folds
davey0725: folds
tl: calls 75
jim1111111: checks
*** FLOP *** [2d Ac 6h]
tl: bets 150
jim1111111: raises 150 to 300
tl: calls 150
*** TURN *** [2d Ac 6h] [Qh]
tl: checks
jim1111111: bets 900
tl: raises 900 to 1800
jim1111111 said, "man"
tl said, "call"
jim1111111 said, "q q"
jim1111111: folds
tl collected 2700 from pot
tl: shows [6d 4s] (a pair of Sixes)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2700 | Rake 0
Board [2d Ac 6h Qh]
Seat 1: cjm321 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: stendas folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: davey0725 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: tl (small blind) collected (2700)
Seat 6: jim1111111 (big blind) folded on the Turn

I ended up winning that sit-n-go. A nice $135 into my account.