First (Online) Tournament – p o k e r n e w b

First (Online) Tournament – p o k e r n e w b

So seeing as the WSOP is currently under-way I thought I’d try my hand at a Low Stakes tournament at Pokerstars, very low stakes.

I registered my $0.50 and was in, 1 out of 180 players, standing to win $24 for first place. Not the most money I’ve ever seen but it would be nice to add to my current bankroll, which is up at the moment.

Now I had read a couple of articles online not that long ago about how to play online tournaments; basically play very tight at the beginning, let the other looser guys get busted out with All-In calls and wait your turn, until you get a strong hand in a decent position.

My first sized pot came from a mid-position call. I can’t quite remember but I think V1 limped in, and after a full round of checking I got high pair on the turn. I raised and got called All-In, with one other. Feeling that I should have the edge, based on the previous fishy play from both Villains, I called and won 3/4s of the pot (as I was the shorter stack).

1

Not too sure what 33 was doing here.. Most likely trying to get lucky with a Full House on the Turn or River.

As the tournament went on I started to play a little looser, noticing that the majority of players were starting to tighten up, so I could try and re-raise a little with semi-strong hands and try some half bluffs.

Another big injection of chips came from this hand. Dodging the 6 after the flop was nerve-wracking!

2

This next pot was pretty interesting. I raised to 3BB and got called by only one other. After I flopped a set he decided to go All-In on me.. Guessing that he probably had AA, QQ, JJ or 55, or something similar, I called and busted him outa there.

3

So there I was, sitting in 5th place, looking pretty strong with five figures worth of chips; more than half of highest stack.

And this is when I started to make mistakes…

I told myself that I should be playing tighter and tighter, as most around me started to play only premium hands, aside from button raising..

But I couldn’t help myself calling All-In, in late-ish position against someone UTG with a pretty small stack; about 1/3 of mine.

Looking back on the hand it was such a stupid move. The guy was UTG in the first place, and according to Jivaro he was playing about 9% of pots; really really tight. Why I didn’t expect pocket Aces or Kings I don’t know… but here is the result:

4

I didn’t get lucky with the set, and, wishing I’d be dealt pocket 7s instead, I swallowed hard and pressed on. I was now out of a money position – around 30th.

At this point I was pretty much tilted; angry with myself for calling to someone who had played so strong with a pretty weak hand, given the circumstances. So when I was dealt QQ in the small blind and a large stack called All-In I thought it was time.

All or nothing…

5

…Nothing.

So yeah I was kinda unlucky. When I saw A6o I breathed a sigh of relief, but after catching that Ace on the Turn I watched as all my hard-earned chips moved over to his stack. It was over for me.

So what have I learnt from this?

Play tighter, basically. Pick my battles with the proper hands.

I think my play leading up to my All-In 66 had been pretty good really. Considering there were so many All-In calls early on, I believe I picked my battles well, but getting impatient and wanting to increase my stack when heads up with such a tight player was a really stupid move.

Still, I’ve learnt something and I’m certainly looking forward to the next one, most likely later on today.

Cheers for reading.. Now give me some shit for being such a fish.

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