Posted by Johnnymac 5:45 AM
I also invited Chris to write a small piece of his own about his win in the big tourney:

Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 22:25:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: chris canonico Add To Address Book
Subject: Re: Fwd: here we go
To:


Frio’s favorite $400 dollar raise: Commentary on the Melee at Merry’s



1) The Big Stack Can Impose Their Will. A couple of good cards earlier allowed me to have a stack to raise the blinds and win some easy hands. The interesting aspect of this was two fold

a. It was fun to watch players scurry away, something you cant do in $3 max raise home games.

b. Got to take a calculated risk at least once. I pulled a 4 clubs when I had 15 outs versus a pair of 5s. Got lucky, but you need luck to get to the final table. Funny thing was that Mark (3rd place) and I both rivered a 4 clubs to win big hands and stay alive... (Note, had I lost this hand, I would of still had 1k early and I would still be alive, but vulernable)

c. I believe in the 7 hours I played, there were four memorable times someone reraised my raise, thereby reinforcing the adage, the one holding the chips, calls the shots. Here’s a summary of my thoughts on these reraises.

i. Smaller stacks going all in against my bluff. No hard call here, fold politely.

ii. Mark Junell raised my $800 dollar raise against my A-10 suited. Now as Mark was the 2nd highest stack with about 15 folks left, no need to battle the 2nd stack when I could pick on little stacks later. Bad raise on my part as Junell was behind me. Easy call now, check, then fold, and live to take him on in a better position.

iii. Jimmy P in the head to head. I raised $3k with a good heads up hand (KJ), but he went all in. He put me in a position for all my chips on a spec call. Made a call that he had more than a K and decided to see what the future held. In the long term, a good decision, but it chapped me good that I conceded. Great raise on his part, but it did set up my future raises against him to get him to go all in.

2) Mouses need Dead Money. Blinds will eat up the mouses eventually, unless someone calls there raises or calls. If they raise, no need to even tempt fate and play. Give em bones and let the later blinds knock em out. In a limit game, mouses are tough.. here, just a matter of time..

3) Dead money, That’s how Phil H., Men the Master, and all make their way to the final table consistently and why my table, Fros table, and Boyds table had finalist...

4) Lots of folks loved their hand all the way to the river when 18 hands were better... Just fun to watch people get all bent out of shape on the 5th best hand on the table... Not as good as rivering John in the occasional home game, but I digress.

5) I love the Ted Hoths and Jason Bairds... Poker by the books is by the odds and there were lots of folks at the tourney who can tell you the odds of run-a-runner against the big slick. Against these folks, you need position, cards, and some huevos... that’s why I love Ted Hoth and why pros say playing against amateurs throws the bluff hand outs. Cant ever bluff against someone who loves to throw everything in, just too risky in a tournament. Some people love knowing the odds, others like reading people, I like it when people are forced to bet $400 dollars on a $1/2 blind. Ted brings that and it makes reading people really fun. Also, a tight table (the other room) is not a profitable table. In the end these tight people need cards, or else the big stack is going to blind em. Mark C was the only one from the “other room (see No.3 above)” that made final table Too tight to get any money to attack.

6) No matter whether you know the odds, play the accepted risks or win money in home games, its all about chips and luck. I didnt run into one great hand against me.. no quad-4s or full houses.. Lots of luck in that or I caught some tells so I folded... Definetaly the latter (ha), although some folks have some nice tells.. Ask who played better, the guy who went all in with Qs preflop and ran up against Ks or .... Thats just luck.... Everyone who plays either enters a showdown behind, gets rivered, or gets called on the bluff. That’s why its poker and why repeating is almost impossible... I had a good day, tomorrows could be Teds... no, wait...



Now about that rent.....

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