So...... bit of a rollercoaster tonight @ Luton G Casino for their UK Open
http://www.thehendonmob.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44269Trip ReportWe find out about the tournament and then contact Luton G to find out if I can transfer my 'goliath' seat £112 from 2011 to this tournament for a 'freeroll'. I'm told by the day manager that as long as G Coventry can forward the money then all is ok. So I tell him, meh - I'll play anyways and just refund it to me when you get it all sorted, he's cool and we're on.
Get there tonight a few minutes late as I had to get petrol, change a tyre because one of my wheels is wiggly and then inflate the spare properly.
So we sit down and we've got a reasonable looking table at first glance. I recognise some as Luton G 'regulars' but they're not actually very solid fundamental players and actually more recreational, with one reg looking stranger whose betting action alone screams 'live reg'. Turns out over the first 30 mins that he does seem solid and the rest do seem very 'good' for me. Doesn't look like I'll be getting many bluffs through, but also looks like we're getting paid if we make a hand.
Fast forward another hour or so and we've played very little, a few raises IP and a check from the BB a few times when limped to us and we find
type hands.
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Raise Axcc over a few limpers..
Snap call behind from btn, folds.. Limper 1 peels, Limper 2 folds.
pot 2k
Flop 
Check, I cbet 1100, snap fold, raise 2.5k.
I check stacks and were 25k deep eff.
I call.
Pot 7k
Turn 
He checks, I check.. (minimum he has a Q or a flush.. Often he will check a strong hand here)
Pot 7k
River 
He confidently bets 5k and I snap...
Q9o.. WP sir, nice hand - guy who snapped behind me pre tells me "its sick, I folded 99".
Lolaments..
Playing solid so far, keep it up boy.
Nice dodge there, good live read and adjustment. Not long ago I'd have been scrambling to get my stack in with an A flush, now I realise its a really good show down value hand but doesn't warrant a stack off in this spot.
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Then we carry on and play relatively snug, we peel
in hijack and flat vs an EP raise and a MP flat. Flop is Q9xhh and PFR checks, the MP then leads for 60% pot and I flat, PFR folds. I expect the leader to have Qx, Xxhh and 9x type hands here a bunch... so I'm probably calling two bets and folding to a third, or betting turn small myself and ckback river (gets me the showdown). He leads small on brick turn and true to plan I flat... River is a 9 and he checks, I realise he's got a Q and that he isn't folding it unless i bet some stupid amount = not worth it (might not fold anyways) + I beat some missed draws etc...
... yep thought so.
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Continue again and Nirvana comes over to say hey and talk about the blog. We have a little chat and then he's off the the toilet as this hand begins.
I peel
from BB vs an EP raise, a flat and SB call.. I make it up for very little more and find
Pot 3.5k
SB checks, I check, PFR bets 1600, call 1600, SB raise 3200... I'm not folding this spot vs him as he will have Jx here a LOT. I jam for 15k effective and the PFR tank folds KJ. The caller behind of the 1600 now snap rejams for 18k and the SB tank folds QJ.
Somehow I get a "Yeah, thought you had that.." as he tables
.
We do a hold and I'm now catapulted up to 35k.
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After he is back from the toilet I wanted to go over to discuss some stuff and say thanks for the comments and advice, we chat for a few hands and go over why I don't just play low level tournaments (proven winner live) as I explain that 'that would be too easy, I want a challenge and to make some real money'.
I finally get back to my stack and find its my BB... I just get there in time to get my hand..
- nice hand.
An EP raise, has been met with a call from behind and a call from the SB for 1200 each. I make it 3200 to go and the first two flat. Turns out the second caller is the same villain from the
hand and he's now all in. This makes a nice size pot of 8k with the EP raiser having 11k behind.
Pot (4.8k + 3.3k)
Flop 
I check to either induce or allow him to catchup... I can't win a lot here imo. He checks back.
Pot (4.8k + 3.3k)
Turn 
I bet 2.5k to either induce or to get a call from AK/ worse... he shoves. I snap and they're both dead with AJ and 55 respectively. Up to 50k @ 100/200 (avg is 28-31k)
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We lose a few small pots, and have a change of some players.. Think one was moved and another couple have been eliminated (hand above n so on). We now have a guy I know well has some good moves for an older gent but isn't very good at finding the fold button, we'll call him LRec1 (he comes up later).
We also now look to 3bt IP vs suitable villains and find one at the end of the table who seems to have an opening size tell, so I 3bt the first 3 times he does it - I have AA first time then junk and he snap folds each time (read seems good).
Then do the same vs LRec1 and he snap 4bts.... yer yer whatever...
We get a misdeal where we would've made tptk vs him on Jxx when he only has 12bb's and shoves flop, don't know if we'd have nocked him out or not but he causes some fun later.
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At some point we get
UTG and open into a really nice 'spot' where the people behind us are mostly tight and the people oop are pretty loose.
We flop Kx5 and end up check, check, bet/calling on K9563 where I didn't like a river 3bt because I think the guys peeling range vs me pre is mostly 78's instead of the 42.
Sick that I made that flat, in the past I never would have... but it didn't make sense for him to have any kind of 2p that doesn't bet turn and so he only has 42 and 78 imo.
Sick to range someone that tight when i have two blockers.. but I was right and found the call.
Really happy with that one.
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Then we get into very few pots for a while... losing little by little, there are 145 entries and the cardroom are clearly struggling.
Just goes to prove, set a good structure and slap on a gtd = lots of players.
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Plenty of action is had at the table and we're watching chips being shuffled around when some more new guys turn up.
We've had a table avg of less than 1/2 tournament average and now arrives 150k (3.5x avg) in the form of a tanned jordie shore look-a-like.. he's clearly a gymfriend and doesn't seem very optimal with it. However we're not sure yet and he starts off VERY aggressive. 3bts my first btn open to his BB, 4bt jams 100bb vs my small 3bt and other such things. I decide its going to be easy to let him give those chips away, lets not go crazy. But we need to adjust our ranges to compensate IF he doesn't slow down.
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Next thing I know I'm getting a double up with
vs
on
after I check both flop and turn and when 4 way the straight next to me just jams for 30k into 10k. Lollers... he wasn't happy.
VERY NEXT HAND
I find
otb and flat two limps, I haven't seen aggro guy yet in this senario but I think he raises blind... (not sure) either way he's giving off some live tells he's not so strong and we're now pretty deep. My hand plays well multi way and when the other two call, I repeel again! (FFFFSSSHHHH!)
He snap bets 5k and the other two fold... here is where I decide what I'm doing with the hand.
I have 65k eff (avg is 32k) and he thinks i fold a lot to him... (i have... 5/5 times or something) I can't guarantee he will 'take off' for three streets but I DONT expect him to slow down with much of his range.
Imo am either going to have to
call, call, call
or
raise, check, fold
or
call, minr, fold
or
fold.
I don't like the options that end in folding tp to a guy that's shown a lot of aggression with a big stack and clearly doesn't seem to be optimal. It's very 'hero-y' and I'm sure when Deadman does it the guy always has AQo.
But in this case I decide to opt for the call, call, call line as I think its the most likely to extract and allow his 'bluffs'... and if he EVER rebluffs me if i raise then it would be horrible to 'bluff' with a tp type hand.
I call call call on
and he tables
...
SIGHHHHHH!.
#wpsir
#welcometovaluetown
#goodbye2xavgstack
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So that sucks but I regroup immediately, remind myself that he IS going to overvalue hands and that as long as I don't get caught up in his little wars and just let him out aggro himself I will be fine, sucks he's too my left but I'm not going to let that stop me. (read - realise i have to play 'good' hands vs him and make pairs - often)
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Carry on again grinding a little and the blinds are moving on up...
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Value hands!
We open air and get folds, then next hand
We find QQ and open, all fold. SUCKS!
Then next hand we find AKo open and this time get two callers - pairrr pls.
FLOP
Check, check and I decide to check back. The two villains in the pot will overtown themselves with Ax on turn and river and I'm never getting credit for AK if i do. I've noticed recreational players seem to not believe if you take a check, bet, bet line for value.
Anyways LRec1 is the BB and he check raises a
turn.
I just shove since it's only 10k more and he has Axhh or 10xcc like ALL THE TIME.
He takes a few minutes to call it off but decides that he can 'outdraw' a lot of my range and 10k into 50k now becomes 'ok'. He calls and is shown the badnews... needs a 10balllll!
No corner pocket and we're back to 65k with a decent stack and a decent aggro dynamic developing with the jordie shore wannabe next to us.
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Back to super solid, make a few raises/ attempts to take it down... lose a couple of small pots but nothing major.
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I asked for the 'blind structure' @ 11something and get a 'huh' reaction from the cardroom staff - wp guys... its a festival, get your ****ing structure on the table for all to see!
This is now easily 1am and we're apparently playing 11 levels not 9 as instructed @ the start.
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Oh wait that's 10 levels and 9+10 aren't what we were told....
"structure please..."
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Another hour or so and we're almost out of the woods in general... nope nothing yet, a comment about how "I can write it on paper if you really want..."
I'm like "no, what I really want is a printed copy on every table like there should be, so everyone can see it, coupled with your rules... tbh!"
I get a "hmmmmmm......." look and he admits I'm right and its unprofessional of them but the tourny clock isn't playing ball. WTF you only use it 7 days a week......
Whatev...
I carry on with the poker and after the previous hand with LRec1 he seems a little wary of me now... so I decide to exploit this by pounding his BB a bit.
I open
knowing I'll get a lot of honesty from behind and if the 'aggro' dude decides to 3bt jam 200bb's then that's cool too. He folds and we manage to get hu vs LRec1, our plan is to evaluate the flop and to exploit his relatively common 'tendancies'.
FLOP
AAK
Now I don't normally like messing around on a big card flop like this, but in my mind he has QJ/ KJ/ KQ/ Ax type hands a fair bunch here... but also a LOT of 107ss or J4cc type hands.
So I cbet small, with the intention of betting small, small, massive... which is a line ive seen HIM use for VALUE... and the more I play with recreational players the more i realise if you use 'their lines' against them... THEY BELIEVE THEM!
There is also a whole bunch of poor table talk from him, betraying his hand strength to a A9 max/ Kx fair chunk, sometimes QJ type hand.
Turn
8
I continue with the small turn bet, setting up a bit river bet, but not one that will cripple me. I want to leave myself 50-60% of my stack after I bet, to fully leverage my stack size advantage over him.
River
2 and he checks again..
This time I consciously do the same thing I've done everytime I've had a river decision (almost always for value) and I take a long time before then making my bet of 22.3k into a 20k pot.
Now because I've seen him do this for value and he KNOWS every single time I've bet big today and been called I've ALWAYS had 'it' whatever it was.
He starts to tank and give off his "I have a real hand type speach and acting etc..." which means to me he has <A9 for sure. I'm like "meh, he probably isn't folding an A."
Then he starts talking to himself and the guy next to him (not answering) about the previous AK hand and how it was so obvious I 'had it' and this time is the same, I've just been milking him and its just value.... "but its too sick for him to have AK AGAIN>>......." and after an arduously boring 5 minutes he sighs in the call as he walks from the table... leaving himself less than 15bb's....
"good hand sir, I guess you win.." - as I muck and sigh it off.
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Back to just under avg now then.
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lolz. @ bluffing in LIVE tournaments..
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Continue on as we grind our 25bb's as the levels increase and swallow us up, we don't get ANY good reshoving spots, no open shoving spots and eventually get to 14bb's with
and even though its a misdeal (everyone's hand is one to the left) I've already open shoved and been called by my DIRECT LEFT....
Which means that if bust this hand then I 'should' have gotten a double up, but if I double up then I should have bust.
Obv he has KK and does a hold.
Sucks... and that's how to bust a 2x avg stack with 30 mins left.
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not really upset as I feel like I played super good, really solid with a couple of small mistakes, one big bluff... and that's aboutt it.
sucks to go out on a misdeal... but hey hoe.
Better luck next time I guess, I've told Charlene she's got Sat night....
She doesn't know about the sweat with Callum I'll be doing for an hour, but other than that I'll leave the Luton G tourny to itself cos I'm not rolled to take too many £100 shots atm.
I will be grinding the £50 comps I feel are good value but mostly just online and waiting to use my final dtd500 and dtd150 tickets.
nn all, peacE!
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