PPP and Defying,
Just got back from the tournament. I knew it was going to be different then playing online poker, but I didn't realize how MUCH different it would be. When I first got there, I jumped in a $60 satellite to the main event (even though I already paid my $250 buyin) to see if I could win a seat and get some of my cash back; plus I wanted to get a feel for the room, cards, chips, etc. Ended up finishing 3 of 10 with the top 2 players winning satellites. I didn't have to waste the $60 bucks, but I'm happy I played the satellite. I was able to shake out some of the nervousness and survey the competition.
The Main Event started at 10:00am. There was a 15 minute "Chip Up" break after the first hour and I'm pretty sure I lost a 500 dollar chip and I don't know why? Anywho, ended up playing 7 hands in 3 hours. With the average live game running 30-35 hands an hour, I estimate I played roughly 6% of hands (I usually playing 10-15% online). The hands I had were, 99, 22, 22, A2 clubs (in bb), 89 diamonds (only loose hand I played, and I would have spiked a 4 outter to hit the nut straight had I made it past the turn), and JJ. The biggest problem I had wasn't chips, it was dealing. The tournament was a self deal tournament until the final 5 tables. I haven't played a live game in 3 years. Everything I do is with a mouse or a key pad. Needless to say, I couldn't shuffle and people were getting mad, which made me more nervous, and made me shuffle even slower. I would have been ok, but one of the guys in the satellite told me I was shuffling wrong and I had no clue what the fuck he was talking about.
Final Hand - Had JJ UTG and decided to just call 600. 2 folds, guy raises to 1800, SB shoves. I probably should have let this go, but the SB was playing a shitload of hands and I really didn't put him on anything devastating, especially since he just went ALL IN. No re-raise, just a monkey shove. Maybe I give people too much credit, but I put the man on 88, 99, or 1010, and I was sure I had him crushed. So I think for a second and make the call. Guy turns over KK and I don't catch a straight, flush, or jack. In retrospect, I should have raised proper in first position with JJ; original raiser probably would have re-popped me and then the SB KK holder would have shoved and I could have folded.
I didn't have to call for the my tournament life, but honestly, I was bored. I know that is a poor reason to blow $250 bucks, but I didn't see myself excelling in this type of environment. The people playing were your average gunclub, vfw, or fire house players. If this is how most tournaments are (or at least start out until these people are eliminated), then I'll stick to online poker. I honestly don't think I will ever play another large live game again. I like to play fast and I like to play as much as I can at one time. I play better when I'm in 5 tournaments at a time. On top of that, I was pretty tired. Delaware has been getting pounded with rain and I had been stranded for 2 days prior, only being able to make it in to town during low tide. The only road in and out of where I live was filled with about 2 feet of water the last 2 days and unfortunately, high tide was at 6:30am, so I had to leave at 4:45am to drive 45 minutes then wait until 8am to start playing. It was the only way I could get through the water, so needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night and it just made things a little bit harder/made me care less. However, I'm back on the horse and am fired up to play the $10K 10+1 R/A at CAKE!!
:toast::toast:
