So close, yet, so far ...

This past Saturday, July 8th, I joined another NLHE tournament hosted by poker bar tour philippines. Entrance was once again P 1500 + P 300 registration fee. This week they offered a one-time rebuy of P 1500 to get 1300 worth of chips when you get 500 chips or lower. Or, after the 3rd level (during the break), you can avail of addon of 1500 worth of chips for P 1500.

I arrived little early and proceeded as usual to watch the cash game going on. It always makes me laugh seeing the old guys fight out rules and acceptable behavior at the poker table. I noticed across the table the P 1 million winner and felt a little intimidated at the prospect that he could have joined the tournament (I later found out he didnt, whew!).

When the tournament did start, 7 out of the 10 guys knew each other, so the chit chat was very animated and fun. That relieved my anxiety a little bit. I decided to play differently this week, by playing more hands and playing aggressively more often whether or not I had the best hand. I hoped this would work in my favor since the previous night my friends and I played a poker game and the top 2 winners of the evening played aggressively. My first good hand was a pair of kings. I went out and bet 300 outright. 2 guys came in. The flop showed all numbers, no potential straight or flush, so i bet 300 again. Both guys followed again. A 10 showed up next, so I bet 400. The first guy folded, but the 2nd guy stayed on. The river was a number, so I decided to trap my opponent by checking. Unfortunately, he checked as well. I turned my cards and he showed his pocket queens. To bad, he must have thought. I raked the huge pot in and was pretty happy.

Next good hand I got was pocket 8's. So i came out betting 300, 3 guys came in the pot with me. The flop showed Q-8-10. I was so amazed I flopped the trips. So I slow played it. Just checking. Everyone else did. Turn came out 4. So i bet 300 again, 2 players folded, but one stayed in. River showed another Q. I was scared, if this dude has a Q, im screwed. So i came out betting 500 to scare him off. He acted scared, then reraised me 1000. So i naturally called because I was pot-committed. He turned up Q-10! Full House! Somamabitch! I could not believe my luck. I showed him my pocket 8s and he commented by saying, "Slow played the trips?" Well, If i had gone all in, I would cried rivers of blood. That was a huge blow!

Later, I found myself down on the chipcount after break. I was then dealt an AK suited. So i came out betting 500. The guy across me asked how much chips I had left, and to my surprise, all the good players (I assumed), said in unison "700!". So he called. The flopped paired my Ace, so I thought I had the best hand and just checked to trap again. He fell for it and bet 700, I called and showed my AK or big slick. He gasped 'cause, If I remember correctly, he needed at 2 specific cards to beat me. I took the pot naturally and he smiled and said "nice hand". "Thanks ...", I said loudly, ".. for doubling me up", I said to myself.

Next, at dealer button position, I got a 56 suited, and called the big blind. The flop came out 3-6-2, so I bet 200. One guy folded, 2 others stayed in. the Turn showed up a 5. So i bet 400, both folded and I took the pot along with the antes! Sweeeeet!

One time, I had pocket 2s when the blinds were 20-40. I gave a hundred chip to bet a hundred, so I could scare people off and just steal the pot, but since I didnt say I bet, the dealer just assumed I bet 40, and just wanted change for the 100. 4 guys came in and they all checked, I bet 300 at the flop that did not help me. One guy stayed in. Turn didnt help so I just checked. Other guy thought I was trapping so he checked as well. River didnt help either so I checked. He looked at me long trying to decide If I was trapping. He decided to bet 500. So i thought to myself, he was not have any hand and was just trying to steal the pot. So i called, he had J4, and there was a 4 on the flop. He beat my 22s with 44s. Dammit! Should have bet big!

One hand I got AJ off, so I bet big at 500. Flop paired my Ace so I bet big again 300. The guy who killed me with the full house earlier, stayed along with me. Turn came out number, so I bet 500. He called. River came out number again, so I checked. He checked as well and asked what I had. I showed my AJ, he said "Ahh" and just folded. Apparently, you can just fold your hand to concede at a showdown on the river. The guy who I beat with AK asked what he was holding and he said, "Pocket Balls", meaning he was just playing aggressive in hopes of stealing the pot or hoping I had a smaller hand. This same guy later commented by saying that its hard to steal the pot in our table since theres an aggressive guy at the table and motioned at me. I was flattered at the thought that I was aggressive since that was the table image I was going for when I started.

It started going downhill when the antes kept going up and I kept getting off suited numbers. Literally no face cards for a really long time. I reached a point when I had only 300 in chips and antes at 100. This was when out table was collapsed and I was transferred to another table. I sat beside a guy I knew by face playing in last weeks tournament. I put my ante for the round, and held my 200 ashamedly. I was dealt pocket 99s. The dealer then said, "Sir, paki baba lang po ang chips natin para makita ng lahat". That was when I said, "All-in 200!". When everybody saw my chips, thats when they said "kaya pala tinatago". The guy beside me went all-in as well. While we were waiting for the the guy beside him to decide, he said to me, "pare, patingin ng cards mo" So I showed him my pocket 9s, and he showed pocket Qs. He then said something to the effect of "walang personalan pare, maganda lang talaga hand ko" I respected the fact that he wanted me to know that he wasnt just blindly after my 200 chips but wanted to get the most out of his hand in case anyone else called his all-in. The guy beside him then called the all-in as well, showing his hand as KQ off. 3 players only for possibly my last hand of the day. The flop showed 9-8-7. Everybody just gasped and shouted at awe. "I am still alive!", I thought to myself. The guy beside me then said, "I dont care about that, I just want to take my share off the pot" The turn came out number, so the guy beside me was still ahead, but this time he also had a flush draw. So he said "king of clubs! king of clubs!" jokingly to the other guy. Another club did come out and he got the side pot, while I got the antes and main pot. Woohoo! What a hand!

But I couldnt stay for long, I was big blind next, then small blind. I had only 800 left when I picked up A6 off. I would have gone all-in if it werent for this american guy who bet 2400 at the pot. I got scared at what he had and just folded. He was asked if he had low pairs or something, he said yah. Dammit! Next i got Q4 off. So i went all in and the guy beside me called again. He had KQ off so only a 4 would help me. Flop paired his king. Turn gave me a reason to smile because it gave me a flush draw if a spade came on the river. It didnt however. People at the table shook my hand, as well as the organizer who remarked "Sayang! next week na lang siguro". "Sana nga next week", I said back at him with a forced smile.

I called up my girlfriend to tell her the news. On the way home, I contemplated at my game and strategy and was peculiarly happy. I enjoyed myself and was able to identify key mistakes so I could do better next time. Hope I do better next week. Drinks of me with the boys if I finish at the final table.

Ill be back next week with an account of the July 15 tournament at the ACF again. Wish me luck!