Start to 2005 - World Poker Open - Tunica

Welcome to my blog. Lets just say that my 2005 poker year did not start off with a bang. More of a thud. Being in the south, the start to the poker new year always begins in Tunica with the World Poker Open. I planned for this and had a nice $4000 cushion to fund this years tournaments. I planned on starting with the $500 NLHE (No Limit Hold 'em for newbies out there) followed by the $500 rebuy NLHE and the $1000 NLHE. Sprinkled in were the single table satellites and super satellites for the $10,000 Main Event.

January 7, 2005 $500 NLHE Event

I get to Tunica the night before and promptly get in the long line for the single table satellites. I go 0-3. Oh well, thats poker I say. I have a friend buy me into the $500 event as the line is very long and he was already there early on Thursday. There were 1449 runners. I play exactly three hands, lose all. I make a short stack stand on the button with a very short stack with AJ0 four handed. Lose (like I should) to AQ. Out before the first break. Onward and upward.

January 8, 2005 $500 LHE Event

I had no intentions on playing this event as tournament limit poker is really like watching paint dry in Tunica, but with nothing else to do, I sign up. There were 1117 of us that wanted to spend this Saturday watching paint dry. Good initial table, with a bully three to my right. He is consistently raising in late position and I am waiting to bust into him. We both have decents stacks midway through the second level. For the third time in a row, he raises my big blind from the cutoff position. I have A3s and decide to play back at him on the flop. I call this raise and the flop comes 45J rainbow. I check, he bets and then we get into a raising war with it four bet in the end. Turn is a 9. I bet he just calls. The river is the beautiful 2. Regardless of this card I think I already have the best hand. I bet he calls and just goes off when he sees that my wheel just ran over him. I misread him, he had presto for a flopped set. Lucky I know, but believe it or not, that hand got me going and before I knew it, we were down to 100 players with 80 making the money. I survive the bubble, make the money and fold crap cards all the way down to 52nd place, good for $1276. Great for me, positive cash flow from the main tournaments. Oh, I went 0-3 in single tables and invested $600 into the super satellite the previous night and went out early with my AA getting pounded.

January 9 $500 NLHE (w/rebuys) (I know Gyndok - me and rebuys do not get along)

This event intrigued me as I have never played in a rebuy event this large. However, I thought the prospects of rebuying 2 or 3 times would limit the field during the $500 weekend series of events. I was right as only 628 players signed up. I decided that my budget was going to be $1500 regardless of how well I was playing. My first table was fairly aggressive (rebuys cause that) and had some bracelet holders. Freddie Deeb (finished third in this event) and Avner Levy (multiple WPO winner) were at my table. Avner was three to my right and Deeb was three to my left. Avner tripled up early and used this opportunity to take long breaks to avoid rebuying. I got down to 700 in chips, rebought and doubled up the very next hand with 9-10s when i flopped both an open ended straight and flush draw. Hit the straight on the turn and get all the chips in v. the BB. He had 9-10o. I rivered the flush to scoop a nice pot. I stay at around $3000 in chips and get moved to a new table. Not a great table, but not that bad.

Last hand before the rebuys are done. I limp UTG with 99. UTG +1 calls and mid position player shoves a stack equal to a rebuy amount. Folds to me and I have a decision to make. I think about it for a few seconds and call (Other limper folds). My thoughts were that my hand was good and if I lost I could always add on, but if I win I could save the $500 add on. He had AKo and won the race with an A on the flop. I add on and have $4000 in chips, which I think is average.

First hand after the break, I am in the BB. Blinds are 100-200. Folds around to a rookie in the SB. He raises to 400. I have AA. I make it 1000. He calls. The flop comes KQ4 with 2 spades. He checks, I shove, he calls immediately. I panic thinking I ran into a monster until he turns over AJ?!?!??! I am a huge favorite. My AA holds and I double up to $8000 which is now the boss stack at the table. I like my chances as we are down to 360 players and I have some solid reads on the players to my left.

I build my stack up to 10,000 and then this CRAP happened (which as you will read in my future posts is indicative of my 2005). I am on the button with AA, blinds are 200-400 w/50 ante. The other big stack at the table is four to my right and open raises with a bet of 4,000 leaving him 3,000 in chips. Weird large raise. Folded to me and I shove knowing he is almost certainly pot stuck with that opening raise. He grimmaced and said he had to call, which he did. He had AQs. Okay, so I am not a good enough player to survive when I am a 95% favorite. Flop came KJ3, and while he was walking away from the table the ugly 10 came on the turn. Sigh. Back down to 3,000 instead of being at 20,000 and a real threat to make it very deep.

I lasted about thirty more minutes and got all my chips in from the button with AKs v. QQ. The Board bricked off and I went out around 270 or so. Played the best I had played in months and drove back to Nashville very dejected.

The $1000 NLHE was very uneventful and I went bust around the third level.

The next post will talk about the 0-5 in the $330 single tables and the $3000 NLHE debacle.

Play well and see you at that felt.