DTD 20/20 weekend part deux
So as my last piece explained we were having a cracking day out at the DTD 20/20 in December in which I played pretty terribly but managed to consume plenty of ale and a lovely burger whilst my travel companions managed to consume even more lager and cash for over four grand.
I busted from the 20/20 event at a pretty nice time, about six o’clock. This gave me time to have another drink or two, something to eat, play some cash and enter the £40 deepstack at 20.00. From the point that I exited the 20/20 my day got better bit by bit.
The cash went well, I sat down at a £1/£2 £200 cap game with £140 with the same again kept in my wallet as a fall back. We started three handed but the table soon expanded to eight handed. I won’t go into detail but I got a great table with some real soft players but as I wanted to play the deepstack I only had about half an hour to kill. The cash went well, I got maximum value for a pair of aces, got a couple of bluffs through and was well up when I played a hand well (IMO!) but had to let it go on the river. The result was that I made over £50 in the thirty minutes I played which meant I was freerolling the entry fee to the £40+£6 comp.
I buy in with my other two companions who’d been knocked out and only just manage to get to my seat as my cards are dealt. First hand I look down at a pair of tens sat on the button. I must say that tens are my least favourite poker hand, I’ve lost more than I’ve won online with them so I have some pretty conservative ways of playing them deepstacked, I really think more people should do this. In this instance I decided to play them pretty slowly, like a small/mid pair rather than treating them as a premium hand. There’s a raise from UTG+1, a mid position call and I flat call as well. The three of us see a Q57 flop. UTG checks, MP bets, I flat call as does UTG. I’m not 100% where I’m at here, I don’t think I can fold the flop to a single bet with one overcard and I have position to re-asses the turn. The turn comes a beautiful ten. UTG checks, MP bets, I call and UTG raises!! MP gets out of the way and I’m sat there happy as a pig in shit. Obviously he may have the QQ but if he has then good luck to him, I’m putting him on TPTK, two pair or another set. I ship the rest of my stack, he insta calls, I flip, he shouts that I’m a ‘lucky boy’ and storms off having showed a set of fives. A double up first hand of the comp, yours truly is chip leader!!!
After that I continue to run hot, the only problem is that I did scare off some people as my big stack is scaring people out of pots and I’m not getting good value for some really good hands. By the first break I’ve run my 8k starting stack up to over 24k. I then go on to lose a big pot which nearly costs me the comp. A player I’d intially marked as soft, but subsequently re-assessed as anything but, had raised from MP. I flat call on the button with 55. Flop comes AA10. He bets and I call, standard cbet, let’s see what happens. Turn comes a blank and we both check. Similar to my hand in the 20/20, I don’t like my hand enought to bet but still think I may be ahead so check the turn with the intention to call a bluff possibly on the river. River comes a Q and he makes a massive overbet, something like 6k into a 2k pot. I think a little this time but still read it as a pure bluff. I’ve not got good odds, I should let it go but I was getting brave, thought it was a shit bluff by a shit player and make the call. He shows AQ for a boat, great read Gaz!!!!
This hand severely tilted me. I was drinking, I’d made myself look silly, I got check-raised off a pot shortly after and was in danger of throwing my stack away needlessly. My 24k stack was now down to about 13k so I’m still on the tournament average but I felt like I was losing it. I’m just regaining my composure but not really enjoying the poker. I didn’t really like anyone else on my table, I had a bit of needle with one player who I tried to straighten out as being cocky when he said something thinking I couldn’t hear but when I asked him straight he said he was paying me a compliment, dunno which was right but he certainly backed down. I then get KK. I get most of a players stack in by the turn, hit trips on the river after the flush completed and I really, really read him for the flush so just checked down the river in position. It was only then that I realise the board had paired on the turn also thus giving me a full house and meaning I miss out on 4k of chips but more importantly look like a complete tit to everyone else there. I decided to stop drinking at this point as I was in FBMT. (Full Blown Monkey Tilt copyright Kev Stevens)
Luckily I get moved tables to a really friendly table which I can calm down at. There are some really nice older fellas on there. We talk Golf and Football, compliment each others play rather than the usual criticism and bravado bollocks that younger players usually bring to the table and I remembere why I love poker again, it was great. My stack tootles along nicely and I build it along with the average whilst we lose a few more players. Before I know it we’re down to two tables but the blinds are starting to bite. I’m letting my stack dwindle but rather than start shoving every chance to get, I learn from my mistake in the 20/20 and start to use selective aggression. There are no major hands until I pick up J10 on the button. I’ve got about 8-10 BB’s from memory. Previously I’d shove here, but I just raise 2.5BBs. People will argue with this strategy but I’m starting to change my thinking now. There are five reasons I did this but I won’t bore you with them. Bottom line is that the BB calls, I flop the nut straight and we get it all in on the turn as he’d hit top pair. before you know it, we’re on to the final table.
The final table is a strange affair. Minimum cash is £125 I think, going up in £50 increments for the first five or so out, then the final five spots jump something like, £300, £425, £665, £1,000, £1,750. At this point one player suggests a nine way split for £500 each. This is usually something I’d reject out of hand but the average stack was probably about ten BB’s, you’d have to finish third or better to get more than the deal, and with the blind/stack ratio, no-one could honestly say they had enough of an edge to assure themselves of that. Most were happy to deal but the few bigger stacks obviously didn’t want to so away we go. The highlight of my final tabel was the free drink you get for making it!! I opted for the Vodka and Red Bull as it was now about 3am.
I had a competent player to my left, a female nit to my right. Three big stacks of average ability to the left again, one good player and one TAG further to my right, soemthing like that anyway. The problem I had was that many fo the final table were relatively short stacked. I had the three big stacks to my left with a player I think capable of a re-steal so I’ve got to wait it out.
I played the final table as well as I could. I wait out three eliminations, steal a couple of pots and get sucked out on for a really big pot but before I know it we’re down to four handed. This was the toughest part of the tournament. I had the female nit to my right who was short stacked and the two huge stacks to my left. This meant stealing was hard and the woman on my right was trying to wait me out. I realised I couldn’t really aim for the two top spots but had to finish above the woman as it was a £240 pay jump from fourth to third. I played four handed the tightest I’ve ever played short handed in my life. I was completely card-dead but I made some small raises that looked like really strong hands, were read as such but were actually steals. I outlast the woman with only about four BB’s left. I shove the button with 4/5 as I’m pot committed from the blinds after that and get looked up by KJ which hits and knocks me out.
I must thank my good friend Rich Wootton for his company during the breaks of this competition. A bit of sensible conversation and someone watching me play who I don’t want to look a tit in front of really helped me to concentrate!!
All in all the £40 comp was great The structure is as good as you can for the time frame you have, everything about the place is brilliant, I cashed for £665 from an effectively free buy-in and I go home happy. It takes about another half hour to get my mates Wilko and Chris off the cash table, DTD have now refused to serve them any more ale and they’re arguin like a pair of children. We leave the club about half four and I got home at 6am, tired, sober again, but happy.
Thank you DTD, can’t wait to see you again.
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[...] DanM wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptSo as my last piece explained we were having a cracking day out at the DTD 20/20 in December in which I played pretty terribly but managed to consume plenty. [...]
[...] Dan Cypra wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI’m just regaining my composure but not really enjoying the poker. I didn’t really like anyone else on my table, I had a bit of needle with one player who I tried to straighten out as being cocky when he said something thinking I … [...]
Awesome <3
nice follow up report Squirmy. WP for the 3rd place.
Nice review Sir and well played.