WCOOP Event #2 ($530 NL Hold 'em) Recap

With the bullshit razz tournament out of the way the WCOOP kicked off for real today with 4,495 players (50% more than last year) putting up $530 to play no limit hold'em. First place was $365,218, 9th was $22,475 and 600th was $899.

Once again we were playing 30 minute limits and started with 2,500 chips. After folding just about everything for the first level, I found myself first to act with a pair of red kings during the beginning of level 2. With blinds of 15/30 I raised to 90 and got called by two players. When the action got to the big blind he reraised to 270. I had the second best possible starting hand so there was no way I was backing off. I made it 810 to go and the two original callers folded (like cheap lawn furniture!). My opponent thought for 30 seconds before just calling so I knew he didn't have AA (the only hand I was worried about) and I figured he had either AK, QQ or JJ. The flop came down 10 7 4 with 2 hearts. He checked and I immediately went all in for my remaining 1,600 chips. There were already 1,800 chips in the pot and I didn't want to screw around with my tournament life at stake so early on. After about 45 seconds (an eternity in online poker) he called with 99. Sweet! And then...the 9 of hearts came on the turn. AHHHHHH! What a bad beat! I screamed for a heart and the poker gods must have heard me because the 5 of hearts made me a flush on the river. I was up to over 5,000 chips.

We were down to 3,800 players after the first hour and I was in pretty good shape. Unfortunately a failed bluff took me back down under 3,000. With a board of 8 7 4 3 I put someone all in on the turn figuring it was unlikely they had a solid piece of a board with a bunch of junk cards. But I got called by K8 and lost a good chunk of my chips.

In round 4 with the blinds at 50/100 I dodged a bullet. The first player to act raised to 300 and I made it 800 to go with JJ. Another player moved all in for 5,500 and the first player called. Yikes! There haven't been many times that I've thrown away JJ before the flop, but this time I was pretty sure I was way behind. When the cards got turned over the player who moved all in showed AA and the original raiser showed JJ! Good thing I didn't call.

A few hands later I picked up Q10 in the big blind and got aggressive. Everyone folded to the small blind who raised to 400. I figured a raise to 400 was a little too much to be raising if he had a strong hand so I decided to put him to the test. He only had about 1,500 chips total and while I didn't have many more than him, I'd still be alive if I lost. I moved all in and he quickly called with KQ. Whoops. Luckily I had the 10 of clubs and managed to make a flush when 4 other clubs showed up. I definitely caught a nice break here.

After a few miscues I found myself with 2,110 chips in the big blind looking at AK of hearts. When the button raised to 300, I decided not to mess around and moved all in. He had 1700 chips, instantly called, and showed me AJ. I was happy to see a flop of Q 8 7. So far so good. To my great dismay the turn was a J, and as if to rub it in the river was also a J. Damn it!

I was down to 410 chips and thinking about how I was going to spend the rest of my day when I made a great comeback. First I beat A7 with KJ to get to 900 chips. Then I beat A5 with QQ to move to about 2,000 chips. Then in a big hand I beat AK with 10 10 to get to 4,000 chips. A few hands later I picked up another 1,200 chips when QJ moved all in against my JJ. Suddenly I was right back in the thick of things and feeling pretty good.

The next big hand showed up during round 6. With the blinds at 100/200, the first player to act just called 200. I was on the button with AQ of clubs and made it 800 to go. Everyone folded to the caller who put in 600 more chips. The flop came down 6 6 4 with one club. Not exactly my dream flop. My opponent checked and I stopped to think. Normally I would bet here in an attempt to pick up the pot, but I thought the most likely hand for my opponent to have was a medium pair like 77 or 88. If I was up against that kind of hand or if my opponent thought (correctly as it turns out) it was likely that I just had big cards, I might end up facing a check raise. I decided to check and see what the turn brought. Another advantage to checking here is some players would check the flop with a big hand (like AA or KK) in an attempt to induce a bluff, so if I bet the turn after checking the flop my opponent might give me credit for having a monster hand. When a 10 of clubs showed up, giving me a flush draw, I decided I would bet the turn if it was checked to me. Instead of checking, my opponent bet out 700. Given the fact that the pot already contained 1900 chips I made an easy call. The river brought the 9 of clubs. Bingo! I was pleased when I saw that I was facing a bet of 2,000 and I quickly moved all in for 3600. I got called by Q 10 and took down a nice pot.

A few hands later I put a button raiser all in with A9. He only had 2100 chips, but after he called, I was not happy to see him turn up KK. But, I was happy to see an ace on the flop and his chips added to my stack. I was up over 12,000 chips and with about 1,800 players left and and the average chip stack just creeping over 6,000 I could see the money just over the horizon.

As level 7 started with blinds of 150/300 I made a few plays that ended up costing me a good chunk of my chips and left me feeling a little shaky. After two hands where I raised before the flop, got called and unsuccessfully bluffed on the flop I found myself back down around 7,500. Ouch. Shortly after these minor blunders, while feeling like I was going down the tubes on a rocket powered jet ski, I picked up 88 on the button. Not exactly a freight train of a hand, but plenty good for a player on the button. I raised it to 900 and the small blind made it 2100 to go. Uh oh. He was a pretty frisky player and I'd seen him be fairly aggressive so I didn't think folding was the right thing to do. On the other hand I didn't want to move all in because I was fairly sure he'd call and I didn't want to put the fate of my whole tournament on a marginal hand like 88. So I just called. The flop came down 10 7 4 and he instantly moved all in. If he had a strong hand there's no way he would bet so much. Even though it was for all of my chips it was an easy call and I made it with great haste. He showed AQ and after a couple of bricks on the turn and river I took down a big pot. The call I made on the flop here was the type of call I wish I'd made during the main event of the WSOP. I'm thinking of the hand where I had 97 and was facing a big all in of the river and all I had was top pair...I should have called. I guess the important thing is I learned from that occasion and applied it here.

I was up to almost 16,000 and was in 166th place with 1633 players left. And then I went totally card dead. I'd been dealt about 200 hands at that point and taken 14% to the flop. Over the course of the next 105 hands (online you can go back and look at what happened in all of your previous hands and they keep track of all kinds of stuff so that's why my info is so specific), I played two hands, stole the blinds on both, and folded the other 103 before the flop. Although this kind of sucked it was much better than being faced with many tough decisions.

Most importantly, during this stretch the 3,895th player was eliminated and I cruised into the money. I bet some of you thought I wasn't going to make it since I didn't start off by saying, "I MADE THE MONEY!" Shame on you. :)

I was down to about 9,000 chips with the blinds at 300/600 and an average stack of 18,000 so I wasn't in great shape, but I was still alive. A few hands into the money play, I picked up AK and made it 1800 to go. A player to my left reraised to 3,000. This is a scary raise. If he was trying to win the pot before the flop he'd have made it at least 4,500 and this mini raise told me that he wanted to be called. But, there was no way I was throwing away AK. We were down to about 530 players and when we got down to 525, I'd pick up another $235 which was barely a consideration considering the amount of money involved. But, it helped me make a close decision about whether to call or move all in. I called the extra 1,200 and the flop came down K J 9. Now I was locked in. I figured if I bet and I was behind I'd certainly get called, while if I was ahead he might fold. But, I was about 95% sure that if I checked he'd bet no matter what he had and if I was ahead I wanted to get paid off. So I checked and as I suspected he put me all in. I made an easy call and was thrilled to see him show 77. I was 90% to win the pot and it would have left me with 19,000 chips...but the turn was an 8 and the river was a 10 making him a back door straight. SHIT!

I finished 528th which paid $899 for a net profit of $369. Not too earth shattering, but a solid showing and a good confidence booster. Also I feel fantastic about it when I think that I was down to 410 chips in level 4.