Overdue Update [02.23.2007]
First of all, sorry for the lack of updates. As you know, I�ve been traveling non-stop. Here is everything that has happened over the past two months as best as I can recall from my almost non-existent notes. The details are a little fuzzy in some of the smaller tournaments, but I put some of the interesting hands in from the bigger events.
The day after my win in the Bahamas, I flew directly to Tunica with my new partner in crime: Alan Sass. Expect big things from him in the future.
Unfortunately, Tunica didn�t go so well. There were a bunch of smaller tournaments that I played. The players there played differently from anyone I had ever played with before, so it took me a few days before I had a good feel for how they played. There were a lot of weak players with very poor technical games. After I figured out the spots they were overly loose in, and the spots they were overly tight in, I thought I had a pretty big chance of doing well.
The 5k circuit event was great. It was by far the softest field I�ve ever seen in a buyin that big. Unfortunately luck was not on my side as I lost a pretty big 70/30 day 1, and then lost 90% of my chips when I read someone for weakness and made a huge raise. I was right, and my ace high was the best hand. For some strange reason, he decided to call with his gut-shot, and he hit. I was forced into all-in mode after that, and found a great spot with a coin flip getting 3-1 on my money, but lost that as well.
After all these tournaments, I had been playing the big PLO cash games, practicing for the 5k tournament, and felt like my game was decent. I started off OK in the tournament. I knocked out Barry Greenstein, won a big pot against Nick Schulman, folded the second nut flush in a crucial spot, but I lost more coin flips than I won, and as far as I can tell, PLO is all about coin flips. I�m certainly no expert at the game and I�m sure I made a few mistakes, but I feel like I can play at least reasonably well.
The 10k main event had a pretty good structure. I played a sick hand during day 1:
UTG limped for 100, and I raised KQ of clubs to 400. Only UTG called.
UTG was Chris Reslin or Reslock or something. He�s an older guy, but plays NOTHING like typical older guys. He played a small ball style, but his style was a lot more loose and aggressive than most of the small ball players you might be familiar with (like JC Tran or Daniel Negreanu). He never passed up a spot to bluff.
So he called my raise, and the flop came Ah 9s 6h. He led into me for 450 which I was sure meant weakness on his part. I had king high w/ no draw� so I called. The plan was to take it away on the turn.
The turn was the 6s which paired the board and added another flush draw. He bet again, this time for 1100. After that I knew he didn�t have a set or an ace, because he definitely would check raise those hands on the turn. I called again planning to take it away on the river.
The river was the 4d and he bet AGAIN for 2300. I was positive he didn�t have a strong hand, so the question was raise or call? I was a bit worried he had something like 22 or 33, but I didn�t think he would fire the turn with those hands. His most likely hand was definitely a missed draw or just complete air like JT. After a couple minutes of deliberation I decided to just call. He flipped over T8s (gut shot on the flop, flush draw on the turn), and my hand was good.
I finished day 1 slightly below average in chips if I recall correctly. I started off well day two, stealing blinds at my table knowing it would break soon. Unfortunately before it broke, my queens ran into aces. Not only was it a big blind vs. small blind hand, but my opponent had probably the biggest possible stack size that wouldn�t leave me a chance to fold. That hand ended up costing me about half my chips.
Blinds increased, and I couldn�t get much going at my new table. My stack got pretty short, and I sucked out on someone when I made a desperation all-in. That gave me chips to work with, and over the next hour I chipped up pretty well, but none of that mattered as I ended up getting an overpair all-in vs a pair and a flush draw, and I could not win that race.
So after Tunica, I flew straight to the Borgata. I played the 5k event which also had a great structure.
I had about 10,500 chips at the 75/150 level and limped utg+1 with 77. Someone in middle position limped along, as well as both the blinds.
The flop came 987 rainbow giving me bottom set. The SB checked, and the BB led out for 450. I called, and the SB called.
The turn was an 8 completing the rainbow. The blinds checked to me, and I bet 1300. The SB folded, and the BB check raised to 3k. This was a really fishy underbet, so I just called.
The river was a king, and he bet 6,000. I tanked pondering a fold. However, I figured a straight was possible, as were trip 8�s, or maybe even a random holding that he had butchered, so I moved in for like 700 more. He called of course and showed 99 and I was out of the tournament. I�m not sure if I should have gotten away from this one or not. Twin Caracas and Alan Sass were at the table, and they both said I should have folded, so it was probably a mistake on my part. My weakness is definitely not being able to make big lay downs, but I�ve been working on it and making some improvements.
The 10k main event went very weirdly for me. Everyone started off with 30,000 chips which was great.
At 50/100, I raised QQ to 400 in middle position after one limper. The SB reraised to 1500, the limper folded, and I called.
The flop came KTT and it went check, check. The turn was a Q filling me up. The SB bet 3,000, and I just called. The river was a 9 and the SB led into me for 8,000. I felt he was week here, and really wanted to raise, but it was so unlikely that he would call me with a worse hand, so I decided to just call. He flipped over AQ, and my hand was good.
At the 75/150 level I started playing a style I had never played before. The table was playing really poorly, loose and passive, so I decided to limp around 75% of my hands for this entire level.
So a player in MP limps, as well as the CO. I have 42o on the button so I call, as do both the blinds.
The flop came A53hhx (5 players, 750 in the pot). The blinds checked, and MP led out for 3,000! I raised to 8,000. Everyone but MP folded who reraised most of his stack. I set him in and he happily called with A5o. He was not so happy when I flipped over my hand which held up. The final pot was around 60,000 chips. There is no way my opponent should have hemorrhaged away that many chips with just two pair. Basically, that kind of play was why I was willing to limp 75% of my hands. In general, I don�t recommend that style.
I played one hand REALLY badly. Basically it took me WAY too long to figure out my opponent had aces when I was trying to set up some kind of stupid bluff. It didn�t cost me that many chips, but I�m really ashamed of myself for butchering a hand that badly. I�m too embarrassed to even discuss it here.
I lost some chips on another hand when I flopped top pair and some guy bet really small on every street with his aces.
There were two hands I found interesting because I couldn�t really figure out my opponent, so I posted them on 2+2. You can read about them at http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=tourn&Number=9024916&Searchpage=1&Main=8945591&Words=+ZeeJustin&topic=&Search=true#Post9024916
So yeah, I busted day one; it�s probably a good thing too, because I think I had some severe food poisoning the next day. I will spare you the gross details, but let�s just say it was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life.
I was planning on going to visit some friends in NYC, and then going back home to hang with family for a couple of days after the Borgata, but I was so sick that I just decided to fly home.
The LAPC has been going on throughout February. I have played only around 5 or 6 tournaments. I made one final table, although I have to say that event was extremely frustrating. I had a monster chip lead twice. I played some of the best poker of my life, winning pot after pot without showdown, but I got incredibly unlucky in my all-in pots. I lost my first huge chip lead by losing like three coinflips in a row, and I lost my second huge chip lead when my over pair ran into a horribly butchered flush draw. We got all-in on the flop, and I lost. I played a ridiculous amount of coin flips in this event, and the only two I won were against close personal friends of mine that I busted out of the tournament. It probably sounds bad that I played so many coin flips, but basically I was playing a loose aggressive style, and the small stacks kept pushing all-in when I was pot committed to call, and they never were more than a 60/40 favorite against me (except once). By the time the final table came around, I was pretty short stacked, and just didn�t pick up any hands. It was one of those tables where no one busted because the short stacks kept sucking out on the big stacks. Even I had one suck out for all my chips, but it was irrelevant since I got sucked out on the very next hand for all my chips.
At least I finally have some Card Player points because of that, although it�s not much. I�ve been trying to find out why the results were never submitted for my win in the Bahamas, because those 612 points could really come in handy.
I also played the 5k WSOP Circuit Event in San Diego (Rincon). I played ok, but if you know me at all, I�m never happy just playing ok. Luck certainly didn�t go my way, and that is not a good combination. I lost just about every pot I played, despite hitting just about every flop. Against the player directly to my left, I flopped top pair top kicker three times, and lost all three of those pots. Sometimes stuff like that happens, and even though you get away from some of the hands cheap, you can�t really do much if you never win a hand.
Tomorrow is the Main Event of the LAPC. I haven�t bought in yet, and I�m not sure if there are two day 1�s or not, so I don�t know if I play tomorrow or Sunday. Either way, I am really looking forward to this event. Some people are expecting it to break the Bahamas record for biggest WPT ever, so it�s gonna be a whopper. I�ve had plenty of time to relax and enjoy myself, so I�m confident that I�m going to bring my A+ game.
-Wish me luck!
-Justin Bonomo
