The Andy Bloch interview can now be heard in its entirety. Just listen to the newest podcast release.
Also, Karaoke Phil spent some time at the Minnesota State Fair yesterday. You can catch a glimpse of him on the web at:
http://www.livecast.com/live/Default.aspx?dotheimpossible08
Click on "Day 6 of Minnesota Political Theater" and then go to the 8 min 18 sec mark through about 8min 50 sec. You'll see Phil off and on for about 11 or 12 of those 30 seconds (he's the one in the background handing out literature).
Finally, Running Aces has come up with a name for their HPT Tournament in November. Drum roll......it'll be called .....The 10,000 Lakes Poker Championship.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
New CPL podcast discloses that Andy Bloch interview took place
This week's podcast wraps up the CPL 2008 Summer Session, talks about the TOC and the tournament at Running Aces (including Karaoke Phil's Heartland Poker Super Satellite and Omaha H/L tournies.
But, the big news is that CPL Co-Director Mark Cardenas scored a 20-minute inteview with FullTilt Poker pro Andy Bloch. Yes, Andy Bloch. But, you'll need to tune in to next week's podcast to hear the full interview - a little teaser for you.
But, the big news is that CPL Co-Director Mark Cardenas scored a 20-minute inteview with FullTilt Poker pro Andy Bloch. Yes, Andy Bloch. But, you'll need to tune in to next week's podcast to hear the full interview - a little teaser for you.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Running Aces website not always right--By Blind Me Down
So it's a Monday night and the wife is in San Diego. I went online to
check the Running Aces tournament schedule and noticed an 8:30
tournament scheduled for 8/18. 5000 chip stack, 20 minute blinds and
a $100 + 15 + 5 buy in. Sounded nice so I called up dad (Cowboy
Wally) and headed out there. We arrived at 8 sharp and asked the
cashier if we could buy in for the 8:30 tournament. She said we were
the 4th people to ask about a tournament that didn't exist. We were
pointed in the direction of the card room manager who was also
baffled by this. After a couple minutes of confusion we got him
online to check out the website and were told to wait while they
sorted this out. There is supposed to be Midnight Madness tournys on
Mondays but there online schedule was saying otherwise. We continued
to do some complaining about how far we drove and what they could do
to accommodate us. He finally decided to call the tournament director
whose shift didn't start until 10 for the midnight madness game. The
tourny director then came in over an hour early and held an 11 player
sit and go for those of us that came out there for the game listed
online. The impromptu game had the same blind structure and starting
chip stack that was advertised online and we all sat at 1 crowded
table and got things underway. After all the dust settled and things
moved into there rhythm it was a very nice tournament. They never do
sit n go's with that structure and never with 11 people but they bent
over backwards to make sure we were all happy customers. I have to
hand it to them for taking a bad situation and trying to make it
right. The tournament lasted 2 and a half hours and paid the top four
places. $500 for 1st, $300 for 2nd, $200 for 3rd and $100 for 4th.
Wally had a roller coaster game being short stacked early on, then
chipping up to 8500, then back down to the short stack where his A 2
suited ran into A Q off suit. Once it got to the turn he had almost
every card in the deck as an out with a flush draw, straight draw,
the 3 remaining dueces and even the board pairing would have worked.
The A Q held up and he went out in 6th. I myself played about as
water tight as I possible could have and found myself heads up at the
end. The other guy had me out stacked six to one at least and after
doubling up once, I went absolutely card dead. I couldn't get
anything going and lasted about 15 minutes before going out in 2nd
place and taking home $300. Not bad for a quickly thrown together
game by a card room that seemed to want to do everything they could
to make things all well and good.
check the Running Aces tournament schedule and noticed an 8:30
tournament scheduled for 8/18. 5000 chip stack, 20 minute blinds and
a $100 + 15 + 5 buy in. Sounded nice so I called up dad (Cowboy
Wally) and headed out there. We arrived at 8 sharp and asked the
cashier if we could buy in for the 8:30 tournament. She said we were
the 4th people to ask about a tournament that didn't exist. We were
pointed in the direction of the card room manager who was also
baffled by this. After a couple minutes of confusion we got him
online to check out the website and were told to wait while they
sorted this out. There is supposed to be Midnight Madness tournys on
Mondays but there online schedule was saying otherwise. We continued
to do some complaining about how far we drove and what they could do
to accommodate us. He finally decided to call the tournament director
whose shift didn't start until 10 for the midnight madness game. The
tourny director then came in over an hour early and held an 11 player
sit and go for those of us that came out there for the game listed
online. The impromptu game had the same blind structure and starting
chip stack that was advertised online and we all sat at 1 crowded
table and got things underway. After all the dust settled and things
moved into there rhythm it was a very nice tournament. They never do
sit n go's with that structure and never with 11 people but they bent
over backwards to make sure we were all happy customers. I have to
hand it to them for taking a bad situation and trying to make it
right. The tournament lasted 2 and a half hours and paid the top four
places. $500 for 1st, $300 for 2nd, $200 for 3rd and $100 for 4th.
Wally had a roller coaster game being short stacked early on, then
chipping up to 8500, then back down to the short stack where his A 2
suited ran into A Q off suit. Once it got to the turn he had almost
every card in the deck as an out with a flush draw, straight draw,
the 3 remaining dueces and even the board pairing would have worked.
The A Q held up and he went out in 6th. I myself played about as
water tight as I possible could have and found myself heads up at the
end. The other guy had me out stacked six to one at least and after
doubling up once, I went absolutely card dead. I couldn't get
anything going and lasted about 15 minutes before going out in 2nd
place and taking home $300. Not bad for a quickly thrown together
game by a card room that seemed to want to do everything they could
to make things all well and good.
So, next time you want to go out to the card room for a tournament
listed online, call ahead to make sure it actually exists.
-Blind Me Down
Monday, August 18, 2008
Fall Poker Classic schedule now up
Even though we're now sweet on Running Aces, Canterbury Park continues to be a player in the Twin Cities poker scene. Their signature event is probably the Fall Poker Classic, a series of 15 events taking place each October. Canterbury has just released the schedule for this year which you can view here: http://www.canterburypark.com/Poker/FallPokerClassic/tabid/146/Default.aspx
Karaoke Phil is especially jazzed up for the OH8 tourney on Wednesday, October 15. That, and yet another indication that Running Aces is generating competition in the area which directly benefits players. For the Fall Poker Classic it is added chips (Canterbury is calling it "Deeper Stacks" and "More Chips!!") - meaning more play for your dollar and a greater advantage to skill (versus luck) per tournament.
Karaoke Phil is especially jazzed up for the OH8 tourney on Wednesday, October 15. That, and yet another indication that Running Aces is generating competition in the area which directly benefits players. For the Fall Poker Classic it is added chips (Canterbury is calling it "Deeper Stacks" and "More Chips!!") - meaning more play for your dollar and a greater advantage to skill (versus luck) per tournament.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Running Aces adds tourneys
Running Aces continues to evolve (though they still have a little work to do) and has added a couple of new tournaments.
The 3rd Sunday of every month will now see a $100 ($80 plus $15 plus $5) OH8 Tournament. The web says 3000 chips starting stack the photocopied handout for the tourney says 5000. Either way, it's 20 minute blind levels and a 3 pm start. And, either way, Karaoke Phil is jazzed up about this one.
Also, on December 11 - there's a $10000 free roll for the top 100 tournament players. Not much about it on the web and the hand out seemed to be a little off as it stated that results from:
Super-Satellite, No-Limit, and Limit tournaments would not count towards points. That doesn't seem to leave much left.
The 3rd Sunday of every month will now see a $100 ($80 plus $15 plus $5) OH8 Tournament. The web says 3000 chips starting stack the photocopied handout for the tourney says 5000. Either way, it's 20 minute blind levels and a 3 pm start. And, either way, Karaoke Phil is jazzed up about this one.
Also, on December 11 - there's a $10000 free roll for the top 100 tournament players. Not much about it on the web and the hand out seemed to be a little off as it stated that results from:
Super-Satellite, No-Limit, and Limit tournaments would not count towards points. That doesn't seem to leave much left.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
CPL at Running Aces!
The CPL 2008 Summer Session comes to a close with 3 CPL Members playing in a medium buy in tournament at Running Aces in Columbus MN. With a 5000 starting chip stacks and 30 min blind levels there definitely was plenty of poker to be played tonight. But in the end...non on the CPL folks made it to the money.
After level 3, NewLife was ahead of Blind Me Down and Verbal with over 8000 in chips, Verbal was sitting at 6800, and Blind Me Down was damaged with around 3100.
However, NewLife was the first CPL member knocked out during level 4 as Greg ran into pocket aces, not once but twice in a row...and against the same opponent!! Somebody check the automatic card shuffler...
Blind Me Down went out during level 5, and Verbal hung in until the end of Level 6 where my pocket 8's did not hold up against A-Q even though I survived the flop...and was a 74% favorite.
Oh well! It was a great time and I look forward to the next outing at Running Aces!
Mark
--
CPL Director Mark Cardenas
and
CPL Co-Director Phil Fuehrer
Find the Podcast on ITunes: CPLDirectors Podcast
After level 3, NewLife was ahead of Blind Me Down and Verbal with over 8000 in chips, Verbal was sitting at 6800, and Blind Me Down was damaged with around 3100.
However, NewLife was the first CPL member knocked out during level 4 as Greg ran into pocket aces, not once but twice in a row...and against the same opponent!! Somebody check the automatic card shuffler...
Blind Me Down went out during level 5, and Verbal hung in until the end of Level 6 where my pocket 8's did not hold up against A-Q even though I survived the flop...and was a 74% favorite.
Oh well! It was a great time and I look forward to the next outing at Running Aces!
Mark
--
CPL Director Mark Cardenas
and
CPL Co-Director Phil Fuehrer
Find the Podcast on ITunes: CPLDirectors Podcast
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Blind Me Down Wins the 2008 Summer TOC!
In a fabulous Tournament of Champions that lasted 5 hours and 24 minutes, Mike "Blind Me Down" Behr came out on top with his patented methodical play, and scored a buy in ticket to the Running Aces Tuesday night tournament!
9 CPL members made it to the TOC this session and 2 hours and 20 minutes went by before anyone was knocked out...and it wasn't until the 300-600 level before players really started falling.
Below is a recap of this very exciting TOC:
Karaoke Phil was knocked out in 9th after taking several blows in a row and running up against monster hands and getting out drawn.
Nanoman went out in 8th after making a valiant effort at shifting gears and going all in several times in a row to freeze the field. But coming into the TOC as the short stack made it an uphill climb for Nanoman.
Jeff 'Matusow' Matson went out in 7th even though he had the chip lead going into the TOC after a great regular season! Jeff never really got anything going and found himself with his hand in the 'cookie jar' and against Pocket Aces to bring his TOC to an end.
Hollywood Bauer went out in 6th in what may have been the most painful 4 hours of poker he has played in a long long time. Hollywood just could not get any type of a hand at all and found himself too low on chips when he actually did. (The CPL Complaint Department is still looking into Hollywood's accusations that his requests for 'any cards at all' went unanswered)
Wanda 'Wicked1' went out in 5th after hanging on by her fingernails for quite a while as she refused to lose and kept doubling up to stay in the TOC. But eventually she was blinded down as the blinds kept increasing. A great finish in the money for Wanda!
Malinda 'Nemesis' went out in 4th, but she was only about 2 hands away from the 'Ticket Round' after NewLife Durand was crippled by Verbal Cardenas when Verbal went "All In" and caught a flush on the river. But Malinda's stack could not handle the 1000/2000 blind level for long and Newlife doubled up just in time to watch the blinds tear down her stack. A great finish in the money for Nemesis!
Greg "NewLife" Durand went out in 3rd and captured one of 3 Tickets for a buy-in for Running Aces Tuesday tournament. NewLife almost missed the ticket round as noted above, but gained 'New Life' just in time to hold out for the ticket.
And this left Blind Me Down vs Verbal heads up for the TOC Championship. Blind Me Down came out playing aggressive early and put Verbal back on his heels and in less than 25 hands it was all over. Mark 'Verbal' Cardenas went out in 2nd place, captured one of the 3 Tickets for the Running Aces tournament, and also shattered the "TOC 2nd Seed Curse" by actually making it to the Ticket Round even though he was seeded 2nd going into the TOC, a feat that has never been done in the history of the TOC! But I must mention that it was close as Verbal found himself drawing for a flush for his TOC life while on the Ticket bubble. Whew!!
The three Ticket winners agreed to play at Running Aces, this upcoming Tuesday 8-12-08 at 6:30pm to represent the CPL in this medium buy in tournament. Everyone is welcome to come out and cheer on the CPL Members from the rail....or buy in yourself and join in the fun!!
Congratulations to all of the CPL Members for making this 2008 Summer Session a competitive and fun one!!
Stay tuned for info on the CPL 2008 Fall Session tentatively scheduled to start on 9-3-08....
9 CPL members made it to the TOC this session and 2 hours and 20 minutes went by before anyone was knocked out...and it wasn't until the 300-600 level before players really started falling.
Below is a recap of this very exciting TOC:
Karaoke Phil was knocked out in 9th after taking several blows in a row and running up against monster hands and getting out drawn.
Nanoman went out in 8th after making a valiant effort at shifting gears and going all in several times in a row to freeze the field. But coming into the TOC as the short stack made it an uphill climb for Nanoman.
Jeff 'Matusow' Matson went out in 7th even though he had the chip lead going into the TOC after a great regular season! Jeff never really got anything going and found himself with his hand in the 'cookie jar' and against Pocket Aces to bring his TOC to an end.
Hollywood Bauer went out in 6th in what may have been the most painful 4 hours of poker he has played in a long long time. Hollywood just could not get any type of a hand at all and found himself too low on chips when he actually did. (The CPL Complaint Department is still looking into Hollywood's accusations that his requests for 'any cards at all' went unanswered)
Wanda 'Wicked1' went out in 5th after hanging on by her fingernails for quite a while as she refused to lose and kept doubling up to stay in the TOC. But eventually she was blinded down as the blinds kept increasing. A great finish in the money for Wanda!
Malinda 'Nemesis' went out in 4th, but she was only about 2 hands away from the 'Ticket Round' after NewLife Durand was crippled by Verbal Cardenas when Verbal went "All In" and caught a flush on the river. But Malinda's stack could not handle the 1000/2000 blind level for long and Newlife doubled up just in time to watch the blinds tear down her stack. A great finish in the money for Nemesis!
Greg "NewLife" Durand went out in 3rd and captured one of 3 Tickets for a buy-in for Running Aces Tuesday tournament. NewLife almost missed the ticket round as noted above, but gained 'New Life' just in time to hold out for the ticket.
And this left Blind Me Down vs Verbal heads up for the TOC Championship. Blind Me Down came out playing aggressive early and put Verbal back on his heels and in less than 25 hands it was all over. Mark 'Verbal' Cardenas went out in 2nd place, captured one of the 3 Tickets for the Running Aces tournament, and also shattered the "TOC 2nd Seed Curse" by actually making it to the Ticket Round even though he was seeded 2nd going into the TOC, a feat that has never been done in the history of the TOC! But I must mention that it was close as Verbal found himself drawing for a flush for his TOC life while on the Ticket bubble. Whew!!
The three Ticket winners agreed to play at Running Aces, this upcoming Tuesday 8-12-08 at 6:30pm to represent the CPL in this medium buy in tournament. Everyone is welcome to come out and cheer on the CPL Members from the rail....or buy in yourself and join in the fun!!
Congratulations to all of the CPL Members for making this 2008 Summer Session a competitive and fun one!!
Stay tuned for info on the CPL 2008 Fall Session tentatively scheduled to start on 9-3-08....
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Blind Me Down Wins CPL Week 12!
In a week that was full of tension and riddled with amazing river catches...Week 12 of the 2008 Summer Session will go down as one of the best final weeks before the TOC. This was largely due to the miricle run that Vince " Cursed One" was undertaking....he needed to not only do well during Week 12 to make the TOC...but he needed to win....and then get some help on top of it.
And help he got...Nanoman went out first and put his TOC chair in the hands of others. But it all turned futile as Vince found himself after the second break with an even chip stack against two others and just couldn't get the breakaway hand to really guarentee him a heads up finish. Vince finished 4th.
The night belonged to Blind Me Down and Nemesis as they ended up heads up with a stack of chips that was almost even...however after only a couple of hands Nemesis found herself all in! She survived and doubled up. Then she doubled up again....and suddenly Nemesis was in the chip lead heads up against Mike!
And then the back and forth began....and it kept going back and forth...blind for blind....between Blind Me Down and Nemesis all the way through to the 500-1000 blind level until Blind Me Down sealed the night with A-8 off suit over Nemesis' K-3 suited for the win during Week 12!
Congrats to Blind Me Down!
This wraps up the 2008 Summer Session regular season matches and the TOC seats are set!
Below are the 9 CPL Tournament of Champion participants for this 2008 Summer Session and their starting chip stacks for Saturday's TOC.
| Points | Starting Chips | |
| Jeff M | 110.40 | 6420 |
| Mark | 95.30 | 5820 |
| Greg | 92.20 | 5690 |
| Scott | 83.60 | 5350 |
| Malinda | 80.70 | 5230 |
| Mike | 76.80 | 5080 |
| Phil | 75.40 | 5020 |
| Wanda | 67.30 | 4700 |
| Shane | 43.80 | 3760 |
| Vince | 36.80 | 0 |
| Bill | 29.90 | 0 |
Below were the points awarded during week 12!
| Mike | 26.1 |
| Malinda | 15.4 |
| Wanda | 11.3 |
| Vince | 9.0 |
| Phil | 7.7 |
| Jeff M | 1.0 |
| Scott | 1.0 |
| Mark | 1.0 |
| Bill | 1.0 |
| Greg | 1.0 |
| Shane | 1.0 |
Classic Quotes from Week 12:
"I looked up 'Calling with Big Slick Before the Flop' on Google and got no hits" -- Comeback Kid
"He's okay (Patrick Antonius) but Mike (Blind Me Down) is better looking" -- Wicked1
"Do I really have more than one All In move?" -- Karaoke Phil
"I didn't realize Scott (Hollywood) was still playing!" -- Cursed One
"Bill (Comeback Kid) is on Tilt and he's not even playing!" -- Hollywood Bauer
--
CPL Director Mark Cardenas
and
CPL Co-Director Phil Fuehrer
Find the Podcast on ITunes: CPLDirectors Podcast
Blind Me Downs© thoughts on being blinded down
First off - Great job Phil! Even though you didn't make it you should
have at least proved to yourself that you can and for that very
reason it would be worth doing it again. I don't think anyone makes
it to the bubble in a game like that without having some game
themselves. Way to represent the CPL.
have at least proved to yourself that you can and for that very
reason it would be worth doing it again. I don't think anyone makes
it to the bubble in a game like that without having some game
themselves. Way to represent the CPL.
Now, blind me down mode was invented for moments exactly like the one
you were in. In my opinion (and I've written zero books on this that
have been on the number 1 best sellers list a total of zero weeks and
critiqued by absolutely no one important) is that you don't play any
hands unless you are almost certain you have the best of it going in.
I.E. pocket kings and pocket aces. I think even A K suited is suspect
at this point. Unless you're on the button with A K and can steal
some blinds you don't want to get called by someone with a high pair
and then just not hit your over card. In the situation when you had
pocket 10's I think its an insta-fold. At best there you are looking
at probably two to four overcards to your pair. If its 3 or 4
overcards you now have to avoid 9 to 12 cards from coming up. And in
the likely instance that someone will have an over pair you have to
worry about hitting your 2 outs to take the hand. It's a very smart
fold. The fact that you would have had quads in that situation
doesn't make it a bad lay down. I've put myself into blind me down
mode online so many times it hurts to think about it and more often
than not I have come out ahead and in some situations gone on to win
the tourny. In a tournament where 8 people are going to win and that
ninth person is going home with nothing there is no reason to take
your chances. You just sit there and wait for human nature to go into
effect, which is to say, someone else will get desperate and make a
bad move first. It was unfortunate that the three people behind you
all doubled up but the likeliness of that happening again would have
to be low. I think the odds were in your favor and it was just bad
luck, and lets face it, we have all seen are fair share of that and
it never means going against the odds is right.
On a closing note, I may have some sort of rights to the "Blind Me
Down mode" phrase. I'm going to have to look it up with the copy
rights people and check with my lawyers on this one but until further
notice it should be reserved for me. Just to avoid any legal battles.
I'm sure you understand. Thanks in advance!
-Blind Me Down ©
Monday, August 4, 2008
Matson Takes 3rd CPL Win during Week #11
Jeff 'matusow' Matson bested the field of 10 again during this 2008 Summer Session and has recorded his 3rd win of the Session vaulting him to the number one spot on the CPL Leaderboard and positioning himself to make a run at breaking the all time CPL Scoring record!
It was another up and down night at the CPL, but Burnsville has been good to Matusow who has 2 CPL wins at Hollywood's place! However, it wasn't all Donkey's as Matusow was heading straight down Blow-Up highway and I again was "SURE" he was going to do the Matusow blow-up....but again...he avoided it and ended up instead taking a chip lead into heads up play against Wanda 'Wicked1".
In fact, this was a repeat of the last time we were at Hollywood Central...Matson vs Wicked1 Week #4 which then gave Matson his first ever CPL Win! During Week 11 it was different as Matusow won pot after pot after pot during heads up play and the next thing we knew...Wanda was all in for the second time and could not catch on the community cards and we crowned Jeff with his 3rd CPL Win!
Congrats Jeff!!
Welcome back to Blind Me Down whose mere presence increased the run time of the CPL week to almost 3 hrs.
It was another up and down night at the CPL, but Burnsville has been good to Matusow who has 2 CPL wins at Hollywood's place! However, it wasn't all Donkey's as Matusow was heading straight down Blow-Up highway and I again was "SURE" he was going to do the Matusow blow-up....but again...he avoided it and ended up instead taking a chip lead into heads up play against Wanda 'Wicked1".
In fact, this was a repeat of the last time we were at Hollywood Central...Matson vs Wicked1 Week #4 which then gave Matson his first ever CPL Win! During Week 11 it was different as Matusow won pot after pot after pot during heads up play and the next thing we knew...Wanda was all in for the second time and could not catch on the community cards and we crowned Jeff with his 3rd CPL Win!
Congrats Jeff!!
Welcome back to Blind Me Down whose mere presence increased the run time of the CPL week to almost 3 hrs.
CPL Honorable Mention goes to Bill....who caught two straights and lost with both hands....tough nite. Did I mention that I took Bill out with big slick from the small blind?
CPL Week 11 Points Awarded
| Jeff M | 24.1 |
| Wanda | 14.3 |
| Mark | 10.4 |
| Shane | 8.4 |
| Malinda | 7.1 |
| Scott | 1.0 |
| Phil | 1.0 |
| Bill | 1.0 |
| Greg | 1.0 |
| Mike | 1.0 |
| Vince | 0.0 |
CPL Leaderboard Adjusted
| Jeff M | 109.40 |
| Mark | 94.30 |
| Greg | 91.20 |
| Scott | 82.60 |
| Phil | 67.70 |
| Malinda | 65.30 |
| Wanda | 56.00 |
| Mike | 50.70 |
| Shane | 42.80 |
| Bill | 28.90 |
| Vince | 27.80 |
--
CPL Director Mark Cardenas
and
CPL Co-Director Phil Fuehrer
Find the Podcast on ITunes: CPLDirectors Podcast
Friday, August 1, 2008
Phil's Adventures at Running Aces - HPT Super Satellite
CPL Co-Director Phil Fuehrer made the trip to Running Aces on Friday morning to play in the $80 ($68 plus $10 rake plus $2 for dealers) Heartland Poker Tour Super Satellite. The top 20% of winners received entry into the $340 satellite to the main event playing there in November. There were 37 players with 3 “re-entrys” for a total of 40 players and 8 seats to the satellite being given out. Here is a partial report (you’ll need to listen to the next podcast to get the ending):
From Phil
Okay, I show up at 9:45 am (tourney starts at 10:30) and am player number 5 buying in to the tourney – guy behind the counter tells me it’ll possibly just be a single table. Eventually, there are 4 tables. I go play some Pai Glow for 35 minutes (ending up $15).
The tourney starts promptly at 10:30 am. Blinds at 25/50 and we have 5000 in chips. My strategy is to play tight/aggressive for the first 4 levels (up to blinds of 200/400 at level 4).
LEVEL 1: I receive 3 quite playable hands (based on position and table play) including A/K suited (that hits the A on the flop and K on the turn) and pocket Js. I end level 1 with about 6200 chips.
LEVEL 2: I try to play A/9s in position (and one or two other marginal hands – including 8/7s). They pretty much all miss and I end the level with about 5400 chips.
LEVEL 3: Tighten up a little this level and end with 6400 in chips – don’t remember any hands though.
LEVEL 4: The big hand in this level was A/Jo for me in MP. I had about 7500 or so in chips. I thought I had a pretty good read on a guy (he was to my right) that was first into the pot with a limp. I sensed that if he had an A (which I didn’t think he did) it was A/8 or something like that. I thought he may have had a small pair, but more likely something like J/T or 9/8. I raised which got everyone else to fold. He riffled his chips thinking through his next action and then moved all-in for about 3500 more. I insta-called and he tabled K/T suited. I don’t think either one of us hit and I took him out. I ended the level with 13700 in chips.
BREAK – There are 26 players left.
LEVEL 5: Another largely uneventful level and I ended with about 13500 or so chips.
LEVEL 6: Disaster strikes very early in level 6 (even though I told myself to tighten up even a little more since I had a good stack and there are only about 22 players left). I got cocky. Dan Akroyd (okay, not actually Dan, but a guy that seemed to Elwood Blues) came to the table to my immediate left. Folding to one MP limper (a guy that liked to play a lot of hands – loose/aggressive player with bad teeth – I’m thinking meth) and then more folds to me in the SB. I decide to limp with K/Q off. Elwood checks his option. The flop is K/7/5 two hearts. I check (I’m looking to check raise here as I figure meth boy can’t beat K/Q though he’ll bet and the BB likely can’t either). I thought Elwood would check but he bets out 4000 into a pot of 3000 (leaving himself about 3500 behind). The limper folds. I look at Elwood and his remaining stack and he says, “Yup, you can see how committed I am to the pot.” I’m thinking he has a flush draw or hit one of the cards and was pushing. I move all-in on the check-raise. Yes, he was committed to the pot and turns over K/7. I don’t improve and he wins with 2 pair to my pair of Ks. I drop to about 3500 chips.
A few hand later we’re down to 20 players and we collapse to two tables. Elwood goes to the same table I do by he’s at the other end with his 20K or so chips. I get whittled down to 1500 chips (with blinds at 500/1000) after folding my SB. I keep folding including K/3 suited in EP figuring I have 2 more hands to choose from and then the BB - “I’ll get something better,” I tell myself. I don’t. The BB comes and it’s J/6 off. There’s a raise to 4000 by Elwood and all folds. I can go heads up. I only have 500 left and I’m thinking these might be live cards. I call. He has A/Q. I hit a J while Elwood doesn’t improve and I double up. A few hands later with Elwood in the BB I get K/Q suited. I push all-in for 3000 (first into the pot). Everyone else folds to Elwood who says, “This isn’t a good hand but we gotta knock some people out.” He calls and turns over 10/6. I hits a Q and chip up to 6500. A couple hands later I move all-in with A/Q, get called and double up again. I end the level with 14500 in chips.
LEVEL 7: The missed hand?? I have pocket 9s OTB. UTG bets 3200 (blinds at 800/1600). Elwood – 2 players later – raises all-in for about 6500 (he lost that entire big stack). He gets a smooth call two players later. I’m faced with a bet, a raise and a call. It’s about 6500 to me with 16000 in the pot and I’m at about 14000 chips. I figure I’m screwed – one or both of the other players (UTG and limper will call) and one of them likely has an overpair to me. I fold. Both the other two players do call and table A/K, A/Q and 5/5. Ultimately, I would’ve lost the main pot (a K hit) but my 9s would’ve taken down the side pot.
I do take down a pot later with pocket 4s after a flop of 2/3/7 and end Level 7 with 18500 in chips. There are about 14 players left.
Listen to the Podcast to hear the conclusion to the tournament.
From Phil
Okay, I show up at 9:45 am (tourney starts at 10:30) and am player number 5 buying in to the tourney – guy behind the counter tells me it’ll possibly just be a single table. Eventually, there are 4 tables. I go play some Pai Glow for 35 minutes (ending up $15).
The tourney starts promptly at 10:30 am. Blinds at 25/50 and we have 5000 in chips. My strategy is to play tight/aggressive for the first 4 levels (up to blinds of 200/400 at level 4).
LEVEL 1: I receive 3 quite playable hands (based on position and table play) including A/K suited (that hits the A on the flop and K on the turn) and pocket Js. I end level 1 with about 6200 chips.
LEVEL 2: I try to play A/9s in position (and one or two other marginal hands – including 8/7s). They pretty much all miss and I end the level with about 5400 chips.
LEVEL 3: Tighten up a little this level and end with 6400 in chips – don’t remember any hands though.
LEVEL 4: The big hand in this level was A/Jo for me in MP. I had about 7500 or so in chips. I thought I had a pretty good read on a guy (he was to my right) that was first into the pot with a limp. I sensed that if he had an A (which I didn’t think he did) it was A/8 or something like that. I thought he may have had a small pair, but more likely something like J/T or 9/8. I raised which got everyone else to fold. He riffled his chips thinking through his next action and then moved all-in for about 3500 more. I insta-called and he tabled K/T suited. I don’t think either one of us hit and I took him out. I ended the level with 13700 in chips.
BREAK – There are 26 players left.
LEVEL 5: Another largely uneventful level and I ended with about 13500 or so chips.
LEVEL 6: Disaster strikes very early in level 6 (even though I told myself to tighten up even a little more since I had a good stack and there are only about 22 players left). I got cocky. Dan Akroyd (okay, not actually Dan, but a guy that seemed to Elwood Blues) came to the table to my immediate left. Folding to one MP limper (a guy that liked to play a lot of hands – loose/aggressive player with bad teeth – I’m thinking meth) and then more folds to me in the SB. I decide to limp with K/Q off. Elwood checks his option. The flop is K/7/5 two hearts. I check (I’m looking to check raise here as I figure meth boy can’t beat K/Q though he’ll bet and the BB likely can’t either). I thought Elwood would check but he bets out 4000 into a pot of 3000 (leaving himself about 3500 behind). The limper folds. I look at Elwood and his remaining stack and he says, “Yup, you can see how committed I am to the pot.” I’m thinking he has a flush draw or hit one of the cards and was pushing. I move all-in on the check-raise. Yes, he was committed to the pot and turns over K/7. I don’t improve and he wins with 2 pair to my pair of Ks. I drop to about 3500 chips.
A few hand later we’re down to 20 players and we collapse to two tables. Elwood goes to the same table I do by he’s at the other end with his 20K or so chips. I get whittled down to 1500 chips (with blinds at 500/1000) after folding my SB. I keep folding including K/3 suited in EP figuring I have 2 more hands to choose from and then the BB - “I’ll get something better,” I tell myself. I don’t. The BB comes and it’s J/6 off. There’s a raise to 4000 by Elwood and all folds. I can go heads up. I only have 500 left and I’m thinking these might be live cards. I call. He has A/Q. I hit a J while Elwood doesn’t improve and I double up. A few hands later with Elwood in the BB I get K/Q suited. I push all-in for 3000 (first into the pot). Everyone else folds to Elwood who says, “This isn’t a good hand but we gotta knock some people out.” He calls and turns over 10/6. I hits a Q and chip up to 6500. A couple hands later I move all-in with A/Q, get called and double up again. I end the level with 14500 in chips.
LEVEL 7: The missed hand?? I have pocket 9s OTB. UTG bets 3200 (blinds at 800/1600). Elwood – 2 players later – raises all-in for about 6500 (he lost that entire big stack). He gets a smooth call two players later. I’m faced with a bet, a raise and a call. It’s about 6500 to me with 16000 in the pot and I’m at about 14000 chips. I figure I’m screwed – one or both of the other players (UTG and limper will call) and one of them likely has an overpair to me. I fold. Both the other two players do call and table A/K, A/Q and 5/5. Ultimately, I would’ve lost the main pot (a K hit) but my 9s would’ve taken down the side pot.
I do take down a pot later with pocket 4s after a flop of 2/3/7 and end Level 7 with 18500 in chips. There are about 14 players left.
Listen to the Podcast to hear the conclusion to the tournament.
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