What goes around comes around |
|
Posted Fri Feb 13, 2004 10:54 am GMT by JimTheBullet
I like the bad beats section - everybody moans about a piece of horrible luck they suffered, usually resulting in them getting knocked out of a tournament. Of course for every person that takes a bad beat, somebody else benefits from a great big slice of luck. How come we have a forum about bad beats but not about outrageous luck???
Anyway, a tourney I played in earlier this week illustrated this point beautifully. The tourney was White Sands on Paradise Poker - this is a $20 buy in multi table tourney and first prize is usually £1,100 - $1,400. Anyway, I am at the final table with a short stack - but not critical. I have about 12,000 tc, the blinds are about 2K - 4K (can't remember exactly). There are still 10 people left. Anyway, as with most final tables, the action is really cagey. Most pots are being taken down before the flop and if they aren't there are not normally more than 2 players at the flop. I get dealt AQs in middle position and it is folded round to me. With the blinds and the antes the pot is already about half the size of my stack so really I have to go all in or fold. Given the immense tightness of the table I opt for the all in strategy. It is folded round to the button who has a huge stack and he raises my all in about three times more which makes me think I am up against KK AA or AK - none of which I would be comfortable against. He turns over the big boys - AA and I prepare to walk in tenth place (about $70 if memory serves). Anyway, I can't remember the exact sequence but basically the board makes me a straight to the queen on the river and I take it down and more than double through.
The tournament progresses and I find myself down to the last 4 in second chip position. I am in the big blind with KK and the button raises into the blinds (he is chip leader with slightly more than me) for about a third of his stack - and mine. Now I have played a lot with this guy and I know that he is perfectly capable of making that play with any two cards - in any case, in a four handed game you are definitely moving in with KK in that spot. So, I move all in over the top of his raise and sit back to wait for him to fold or (hopefully) call as I must be favourite. The fact that he doesn't immediately call tells me all I need to know - he isn't holding AA so I am dying for him to call. Eventually he does call and rolls 44 - great! 80% (give or take a bit) favourite to scoop a game breaking number of chips. Of course, the 4 comes on the flop, the turn and river are no help and I am gone in fourth (won about $400).
I wasn't bitter - I reviewed my play in the tournament and I reckon I was involved in two showdown hands that ended up being bad beats. If it had all gone according to the odds I would have finished tenth - as it was I finished fourth so it wasn't too bad.
What goes around comes around as they say.
Did you know that participating in a poker forum can help you improve your own game? Be it by sharing experiences or simply asking for help, participation in a forum helps you focus and keep 'on topic' which will help you improve your game. You can learn from other players feedback and from their experiences. Why the THP poker forums? We offer one of the best managed texas holdem poker forums available, and the community within is far more friendly than those typicaly found on other sites. We've made a 'lurkers edition' of the poker forum available here on Holdem Poker Online, but we encourage all visitors to register and join in on the conversations on TexasHoldem-Poker.com
|
|
