I really hate playing poker like a donk!!
I really hate playing poker when I self-destruct!
And that's exactly what happened one hot summer downtown Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget Grand Series Poker tournament this past Saturday..
Played the $125 No Limit tournament at the Golden Nugget with 151 players, and despite the high juice/rake and less than average dealers, this is the one of the best structured tournaments during the summer. I've played this tournament ever since they started running a few years back. Unfortunately, I'm drawn the goose-egg, haven't cashed once in 3 years, but I continue to go back because I like banging my head against a brick wall over and over!
So I came roaring out of the gate, dropping 3K from a starting stack of 12, during the first level. I ran what I call the "No Peek Bluff". Basically, when I'm the BB blind, I'll call a small raise from the button or cutoff, then play the hand blindly...I check raised a 9 5 2 board and bet the turn and river when a 2 and 4 fell. On the river I was raised....I finally had to look my cards and saw I only had 8 7 off...and played "Hollywood" before mucking my 8 high...lol...The No Peek bluff usually works out for me...but not this time..I guess this should have been a sign of what was to come...
Fortunately, my table was full of weak-passive fish where I was able to rebuild my stack to a little above starting stack using positional raises and bets. By the first break, I was back up to 11K. After the break, I won a small pots, then doubled up a short stack when my KK was no match for my opponent's Q10 hearts, when he nailed a flush on the turn...oh well...
My table broke and got moved to a table full of big stacks, and had a run of bad cards and bad flops and by the second break I was down to 7500....
My wife, who had busted from the Binions Classic $160 tourney, came to sweat me and gave me some words of encouragement. Few hands after the break, I peeked and saw one ace and shoved my 7K stack in the middle...The guy next to me calls....He turns over AJ Clubs...I squeeze my other card as I turn it over and see the beautiful ACE OF SPADES...WOOHOO Pocket aces....I had to fade a flush draw but managed to double up.
His brought my stack size to about 17K or about 20 BB, so I wasn't out of the woods yet, but at least I acquired a little fold equity so at least I had a 3-bet all in my arsenal just in case I wanted to come over the top of an aggressive player.
Few orbits went by with dead cards...I did call a raise from the BB with 6-4 hearts after four callers hoping to flop a big draw, two pair, or something where I could shove my stack in....Unfortunately, I didn't flop anything so it was check/fold with that....
Then this hand comes up..with the blinds 400-800 100 ante...Four people limp into the pot. I'm in the small blind with 10-8 offsuit, and complete the bet out a 15K stack..BB checks and we see the flop 6 handed...flop comes 10 4 2 rainbow. I lead 2000...Everyone folds to the button, who has me way covered, calls...So we're heads up....turn is a 5...I lead for 4500....Button peers at my stack, then have an awkward eye-contact...and says ALL IN!!! I knew I was beaten at that point...With just 9600 left...the pot was near 10K, and mathematically, it was correct to call, but I had a gut feeling I was beaten. At this point, I think tournament survival and putting my money in at a another spot was the optimal decision, and reluctantly folded my top pair...
So being back down to 9600, I go two orbits without picking up a hand..Finally picked up AK when my stack dwindled to 7100...and shoved over a Early position raise...He had AQ...AK hold up and a I double again. Then I lose a couple of small pots. Then our table breaks..My stack shunk to around 9K...
I had no such luck in my next table...Again the cards are horrific and with my stack down to 7 K, I double up twice against the same player with A6 vs. JJ, and AQ vs. 1010...At the dinner break, I have 41k and feeling confident I could go deep. At the dinner break, there were 44 players left and 18 gets paid.
My wife and I have dinner at the Aloha Specialties at the California Hotel/Casino never tasted so awesome. My wife and I discuss a few poker strategy and I knew if I just played my game I could get to the money (Unless I hit a bad beat or a melt down...Foreshadow alert!!!) When we get back I count my chip stack again and see I have 26 BB left...Plenty of time to work my stack and try to put myself in a position to win this tournament...
My CONFIDENCE WAS SKY HIGH!!!! YOU HEAR ME..MY CONFIDENCE WAS SKY HIGH!!!!
THEN DISASTER STRIKES in the most vicious way. I, Ron Baltazar, known at balt999 in the blogosphere world...SELF DESTRUCTED ON THE FIRST HAND AFTER THE BREAK..DETAILS ARE HERE....
I post my SB and Ante....It's folded to the cutoff and tosses a 5000 chip without saying raise, so the dealer rightly says it's only a call...I clarify to the dealer it's a just a call, and the dealer confirms it was. I, now peek down and see QJ offsuit..I complete my SB...The BB (A loose player) with a monster stack check his option...Let's take his SELF DESTRUCTION STEP MY STEP Shall we???
STEP 1) Flop comes Q 9 9 rainbow...I check...(First mistake, I should have led this flop) Big blind bets 6K...Cutoff player folds...I call
STEP 2) Turn is a 8...I check again...(Again I should have led the turn)...BB annouces ALL IN.
STEP 3) Before the Big blind finishes saying ALL IN...I SNAP CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT????
STEP 4) Big blind turns over KQ and the river bricks out and just like that I'm out of the tournament!!!
STEP 5) I gather my stuff and make a quick exit out of the Golden Nugget feeling as if I was just punched in the stomach!!!
I walk towards the California Hotel/Casino to get my car from valet, I think about how quickly I was out of the tournament totally ignoring the smell of dried piss from the alley swimming with the hot Vegas Air....
The 20 minute drive home was the longest drive I ever had..I turned off the radio and drove silently as I went over my bust-out hand. I can't believe I inexplicably snap called without thinking about the hand through. I take pride in taking my time when I have to make a tough poker decision. If I would have thought about the hand for 5 seconds, I guarantee you I would have mucked my hand. When the BB goes all in, he wasn't doing that on a bluff. I had 40K and it would have dented his stack significantly. In addition, I played with his guy for a hour and didn't see him bluff once...let alone make a ALL IN BLUFF!!!! All this factors pointed to mucking my QJ...
I beat myself about this hand all night....I was pretty quiet the rest of the night...laying on my bed staring blankly at ESPN not comprehending what I was watching...I kept going over the QJ hand until I fell asleep that night...
Patience has never been my best trait unless I'm playing poker....so it's ironic I wasn't patience when I was about to make a tough poker decision....
This Brain-Fart, as I told everyone, had me re-examining my poker game, and I came to this conclusion....it's not the poker that holding me back from having success. I know the math, understand the metagame aspect, know the game theory behind no limit. It's the mental aspect I need to work on. How to take my time to make decisions, how to keep my ego in check in tournaments, and to think things through.
I'm going to do my best to consciously be aware of my mental state of mind when I'm playing poker and make the proper adjustments to improve my poker game. I have to stop thinking poker tournaments are a sprint instead of a marathon...if I do that I think the results will come.
Will I learn...I hope so...
Patience is a virtue!!
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