Posted by Junelli 10:07 AM
On Sunday we held Waring Poker Tour III. To say it was a last minute tournament would be an understatement. The initial invite email went out 48 hours before the tournament started. I'm very pleased with myself for throwing together a good tournamnet so quickly.

We had 26 players. The buy-in was $100 and each player was allowed 1 anytime Re-Buy and 1 Add-On (each for $60). Therefore, the most that a player could put into the tournament was $220. Nearly everyone exercised both options, but a few only bought the add-on. The total prize pool was approx. $5,240.

The random seat draw did not do me any favors. I was clearly at the toughest table: Kenny Tam, Rick Daly, Curtis W., Lee W., Jeff Brannen. Nearly everyone was a skilled player and it made for a tough afternoon.

Our table was extremely tight, and many hands weren't shown down. I had plenty of playable hands in the first few hours, but nothing materialized. I flopped a lot of straight and flush draws, but rarely hit them. The betting was generally small relative to the pot size. So several times I was getting the right price to chase my draws. They never hit and about an hour before the break I had already lost 50% of my chips. The only memorable hand I had all afternoon was a straight-flush. Unfortunately there was only 1 other person in the pot, and he folded to my bet, giving me the small pot. That was it. Not one other straight, flush, boat, set, etc. My day was defined by bottom and middle pair with straight/flush draws.

Another important factor was my ability to concentrate on the game. As the tournament host/director, I was constantly distracted for the first 3 hours. This is very difficult to overcome, and next time I really should get someone else to run the tournament for me. It's too much to try to do both.

I survived the break, and picked up a few hands after the break. I was forced to move to another table when we got down to 14 players. I folded every hand for 45 minutes, and the blinds were eating through me. About 2 spots off the BB, I was dealt JT (the best hand I had seen in 45 mintues). I didn't have too many hands left in me, and was getting desperate. I moved-in expecting to steal the blinds. Unfortunately, Kenny Tam was holding QQ and wasn't going anywhere. I was eliminated in 12th place.

The results were:
1st - Kenny Tam ($2,100)
2nd - Rick Daly ($1,570)
3rd - Chris Knudsen (1,050)
4th - Ned Price ($360)
5th - Michael Robertson ($160)

When it got down to 5 players, the table was hyper-tight. Very few flops, and almost no showdowns. A minimum raise would usually win the pot. I suppose I was dealing everyone shit cards.

I felt bad for giving Michael Robertson advice. During one of the breaks I reminded him of how tight everyone was playing and that he couldn't just sit there and fold all evening. The blinds were eating through him, and he hadn't played a hand in a long time. I told him that the aggressive players were going to win, and he needed to start making some moves. He moved all-in with A4 against and AQ. Sorry Michael. Ignore me from now on. :)

Anyway, things changed when it got heads-up. Kenny and Rick briefly talked about cutting a deal, but decided against it. The pots went back and forth for about 30 minutes with no significant wins/losses. The defining hand however came when Rick was dealt 78o against Kenny's 63 of diamonds. The blinds were $800-$1600, and both players limped in. The flop was AAQ with two diamonds. Kenny leads out with a bet of $2,000. Rick moves all in for about $22,000. Kenny calls. Rick is ahead with 8 high. The turn is a 6 giving Kenny the lead. The river is a 7 giving Rick a pair of sevens, but unfortunately it's a diamond and Kenny has the flush.

After this hand Rick has approx $5,000 in chips to Kenny's $35,000. Rick moves all-in a few times and picks up some blinds, but eventually runs into a big hand and the tournament is over.

The tournament started at 12:45 and was finished by about 7:45. It was a great afternoon, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

-Junell

6 Comment(s):

Posted by  Anonymous, at 3:20 PM, March 01, 2005  

Was johnnymac his usual predictable self?

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Posted by  Anonymous, at 3:33 PM, March 01, 2005  

Oh boy, here we go again

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Posted by  Johnnymac, at 3:38 PM, March 01, 2005  

No, but Canonico is always predicatble, even away from the poker table.

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Posted by  Johnnymac, at 3:39 PM, March 01, 2005  

(I am predictable that I can't spell)

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Posted by  Junelli, at 5:46 PM, March 01, 2005  

Classic!

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Posted by  Dr Fro, at 7:42 PM, March 01, 2005  

did Morris go all-in first hand?

or does he only do that in cash games?

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