It’s been a while since I updated the blog, so I thought I’d better make the effort. I’m not running too well at the moment, so to be honest it’s a chore to sound cheerful.
However, Mr.Cool reminded me over dinner last night, ‘I am in sunny Barcelona playing poker for a living.’ Errr, reality check, I guess it’s not a bad life after all.
Anyway, I managed to lose my 1st round World Heads Up match in just under two hours. I was determined to try and minimise the risks and play small pots but in the long run it probably meant that I didn’t play aggressively enough early on, and then too aggressive at the death.
I had been behind all the way after my opponent hit some big flops in the first 10 minutes. Eventually though I had battled into a 28k to 12k lead.
The blinds were now 400/800 and about to go up to 600/1200. So the amount of play was reducing. I had just won a couple of pots in succession and I felt I was finally getting on top of my tough opponent. However, I was just about to make a critical mistake.
Having picked up A-4 on the button, I made up the extra 400. I felt, if I raised, that my opponent was just about ready to pile over the top all-in. I would have been left having to make a tough call in a bigger pot than I wanted to play. So I limped.
My opponent decided to raise it up though, to 2800. This left me with a tough decision as he had raised about 40% of the hands in the last 20 minutes. So I decided to move all-in and try and get him to fold. He would have been left with slightly over 9k. Unfortunately, he called instantly with A-J. I was dominated.
I was now behind 16k to 24k and the very next hand I paid a double penalty. My opponent raised again and I looked down at Big Slick on the Big Blind. I gave it the appropriate 4 second dwell and then moved all-in again.
Unfortunately he wasn’t going to pass his pocket Kings and I was in trouble. I couldn’t catch an Ace on the flop and that was the end of me.