How not to defend your only poker title.

A couple of weeks ago I won my first multi-table tournament. Granted it was only a $2 rebuy event but it was a very big thing for me. My biggest single win before it was about $20 in a SNG. I survived 99 other players, without a single rebuy, to take the $150 1st. I’m calling it my first bracelet.

I’ve decided to try and defend my title in the same tournament. I’m not going to rebuy – to me rebuys just swell the prize fund – when I’m out I’m out. So what follows is a running commentary of how well I do. I don’t think for a second I’m going to win it and I very much doubt I’ll cash either. I’ll set my target as reaching the first break in an hour. If I reach that then I’ll set another target.

So… shuffle up and deal!

10.53pm: There are 126 entrants into the competition. Last time there were 99 and the competition lasted until 2.30am. Who knows when this one will end.

10.55pm: First playable hand is AQ. Raise to 40 with one caller who is already a short stack. Flop brings nothing (233). He bets ten, I raise him to 70, he reraises to 170. I’m not convinced he’s got anything other than high cards, I call. That seems to shut him up as we check both the turn and the river. He shows AJ. He’s out kicked, oh yeah!

10.58pm: My plan is to play quite tight while the blinds are low and then start to gamble when things get interesting. That blasé approach seemed to work last time. Played no hands for the first two hours then got the knaves twice in three hands to send me up to 9,000 chips. Never looked back from there.

11.01pm: Well, so much for conservative play. Had pocket 99s and raised it to 60. One caller followed by an all in from a short stack. I try to go all in to isolate the all in man but for some reason the poker software only allows me to raise. I do but another player is attracted by the pot odds. Nuts. The flop is irrelevant as I was always going to throw the rest of my chips in (about 200), the other caller calls too and I’m left to rue and early exit. Only they both show up and down draws and both miss. I triple up to 2,800 chips!

11.03pm: Very next hand I hit trip eights and find myself pushing a short stack all in. He has me outkicked with a King to my jack. Back down to 1,900 chips. Oh well. You win some you lose some.

11.13pm: The quiet period beings…

11.21pm: Missed the chance to triple up again. Had JQ with two all ins in front of me. Never really gunna move with JQ and when the two opponents showed AQ and KQ I was quite pleased with myself. A Jack came on the river. lol.

11.36pm: Well that’s it, my defence is over. I finished in 87th place. I put my money in when I was ahead with top two pair. Sadly, competitions like this attract drawing players. A player with more chips than me had a flush draw and he hit it on the river. In a tournament like this you need those sorts of showdowns to go your way – like they did when I won the tournament.

Oh well, at least I didn’t waste all night playing it.