To call or not to call...

Cheesy title I know, but se la vi.

This is simply nothing more than a trial run of 2 things, the blog to ensure everything's working...and moreso, my ability to write. So far, we're off to a terrible start.

In any event, this is, afterall a poker blog, so maybe poker should be the order of the day. Today I just played in an invite 3 table Sit and Go with a group of friends, deepstacked, all of the friends were talented poker players, all of whom I've logged many hours at a table with and have a solid read on.

This event meant alot to me from the vantage point of me trying to feel comfortable and confident at the table again after a bit of a dry spell before I go to Las Vegas and play several large buy-in tournaments during my trip there including the $2000 buy-in World Series Of Poker event.

For the first hour of the tournament, in which we all started with 10,000 in chips, I did absolutely nothing basically, and hovered at around 9,800 in chips. We took a small 10 minute break for the smokers at the hour mark and when we came back I had decided I felt comfortable with my spot at the table and was looking to press the action at a relatively tight table.

The first big pot I played was, unfortunately, a bluff. The old adage "don't play a big pot without a big hand" meant little as I felt I had to start pressing the action since during the first hour the best hand I had seen was A/8 offsuit. I looked at 7/2 off in the cutoff and decided to make a play, with blinds at 50/150/300, and my stack at 9,600, I raised to 900, not looking to buy the pot but hoping to build a pot for myself to steal later in the betting. I got called by the BB, a very solid player I have alot of respect for, but a player whose fairly tight. The flop came Qc/10s/9c, and he immediately checked the pot to me. I decided to make a continuation-bet stab, a fairly standard play, and bet 1400, which he went into the tank for a bit before calling. The turn was a 6d which is a good card since I represented strength on the flop and he looked like he was drawing. He checked the turn again and I bet out 2500 this time, and he again went into the tank for a few minutes before straight raising my bet. Right then I had decided he was bluffing, but couldn't decide if it was a semi-bluff with a J for an open ended straight, or clubs for the flush draw. Either way the problem was I wanted to push over the top all-in, but my stack of 4,750 isn't enough to make the play, because if he has either of those semi-bluffs he's commited to calling. I mucked my hand and he rolled over 7/7 for what he thought was a bluff. Suddenly I had done the one thing I despise doing in tournaments, bluffed off half my stack.

A few small pots ensued until my first hand on the comeback trail. Blinds still the same, 50/150/300 it was folded around to me and my 4300 in chips on the button, where I looked down at A/K offsuit. Looking at the stack size I saw the opportunity to try one of my favourite plays in poker when I saw the BB on the short stack at around 1600 in chips. Immediately I shoved all-in from the button. SB folded to clear the way, and now the BB is facing an all in from the button against his small stack, and in alot of spots you'll find the range of hands the player is willing to call with loosens greatly. The short stack called all-in and tabled Ks/Js, and the board came J/6/A/3/K to give me top 2 and the win putting me back to 6750.

I stole a few small pots building my stack to over 8000 when my next big hand came up. Blinds now at 75/200/400 the pot is limped to the SB who tops up. In the BB I look at Qc/3c and check. The flop is magic, Qd/Qh/6s. SB promptly checks it to me and I check behind. The turn is also magical, Ad. Now typically that's not that big a card because you'd suspect in a blinds battle the SB would raise any ace, but I feel good that the player would limp with a naked ace in this spot to me. The pot rests at 1325, and the player shoves all in for 3,200. I literally have said called and tabled my cards before he's done shoving his chips in, and he shows Ah/4d drawing to 2 outs. He misses, and suddenly my bluffing off half my stack is a distant memory as I sit at close to 13,000 in chips. I win another pot shortly after, and bring my chip stack up higher, to 18,900 heading into break #2.

After a meal break, I basically run card dead for what seems like an eternity, and eventually get a table change. Table change brings no help and I'm sitting at 15,000 just through antes/blinds, I steal a few blinds to recoup and I'm back at that point roughly when my next really big hand occurs...

A player I have a ton of respect for is sitting to my immediate right, we both started at the same table and made the move to this table after the table break down to 2 tables, and we're both fairly even. He's a true grinder in every sense of the word, a player who will milk chips for all their worth, and a player who, if he went onto a pro circuit, would be a very successful player for a living because of that philosophy. The blinds are now up quite a bit, 200/500/1000. It's folded around to his SB, and he tops up with a call. I look at 10d/6s and check. The flop comes Qs/6h/3h. He checks. I bet out, 2500 into 3400. He doesn't even hesitate before shoving all in, 15,800 more to call. I'm holding 17,300. I go into the tank for quite a while, because my gut feeling is he doesn't check a Queen here, and I am holding the best hand I think. I'm slightly concerned he might have gotten really tricky with a big pair, maybe he's holding 3/3, and maybe he's holding 6/3, Q/6 or Q/3 for any combo of two pair hoping I'll bet it. For all I know he has J/6 and has me out kicked. And obviously a hand like Qh/whatever other heart you want is a slow play hand. After running through all that, I'm still firmly of the beleif that I have the best hand here. Players who have been knocked out start to crowd around and I finally announce call, leaving myself only 1500 in chips behind, and table 10/6 for mid-pair, 10 kicker. He tables the type of hand I had decided he had, a flush draw, but he tables a really ugly flush draw if you're sitting in my seat, 2h/4h for a gutshot straight flush draw. I get alot of "wow, nice calls" and stuff, which are absolutely trivial when I start hearing them so I literally walk up the stairs and out of the way so I don't have to hear them. I don't want to hear "wow nice call" congrats before I've won the pot. The turn, 6d, doesn't really change that much at all, the river, As, certainly does as I rake a big pot, and am now sitting in one of the top 4 spots in the tournament chip-wise.

A few hands later, I get to the reason this entry is named as it is, and it stems from the structure of the tournament. 3 tables, 24 players, the buyin was $100 a peice, the prizes are for top 4, and are $1000, $500, $300, $120. A top heavy prize pool obviously, especially being the night where earlier that day I had just forked over nearly $700 in airfare and insurance for the afformentioned trip to Las Vegas.

And so, this hand occurs...we're 10 handed, blinds are 300/800/1600, the cut-off limps into the pot, I call from the SB with 10c/3c, and the BB checks. The flop is 2h/4c/5d, a decent flop in that it gives me a draw, but I want to be patient, I'm sitting on just under 30,000, and the other big stack at the table is the BB in this pot, and an agressive player, so I certainly don't want to lead at it and face a raise. Instead I check, he checks, cut-off checks, and the free turn brings the 8c, making the board 2h/4c/5d/8c. The pot is just over 6000 and now I decide I'm willing to bet, 4500 at the pot. The BB raises over the top all-in, 24,100 to call. Cut-off folds and we're back to me. I count my stack, and can only laugh, 24,600. The decision is fairly simple as far as I'm concerned, 24,100 into 39,300 is pretty close to the right odds assuming he's holding an 8 which I'm fairly confident he is. I can hit any Ace, 6, 10 or a club. Luckily the clock is paused since we're playing hand for hand, because I went into the tank for quite a while, eventually the TD stepped in to call the clock. The whole time players that are either eliminated or are waiting at the other table are coming over, looking at my cards, and walking away to discuss what they'd do. The question to me isn't, is calling right. Because mathmatically I beleive it's fairly close to right. The question is philosphical, and involves the payout structure. Do I care, if I finish 4th and get my money back? Do I care, if I finish 3rd and make 200? Not really, not at this moment. The only thing I see is if I win this pot, I have over twice as many chips as anyone else in this, and we're breaking to final table on that note where I feel absolutely sure I'd end up heads up at least, and make one of the top 2 spots, and pay for most of(or all of), my airfare. So it's all up to that question, as the TD counts down the last 10 seconds of my clock I decide to go for it and call. The BB immediately knows I'm drawing big and before I table my cards he's upset because he didn't want that call. The turn wiffs me, it's a 3s which does give me a 3 to little consequence. The next hand I'm in blind and quadrouple up before we go to final table, and the first hand at final table I find myself UTG with Ks/7s, and push, but lose.

After the tournament I stand up, walk around for a few minutes and think to myself that I did basically what I wanted to do. I went all out for the first prize by making that call on the draw, but more than that, I built my confidence up, big time, for the trip to Las Vegas, especially with the 10/6 off call. I felt like I played as well or better than anyone in that tournament, I just took one chance to go for it all, and came up short. Such is poker. But despite not cashing, I did reach final table, and did feel very good about the performance, which really has me excited after a dry spell. After I got home I played an online 180 man Sit and Go on Pokerstars and came 7th, eventually having my A/K fail to improve against Q/Q, so that also helped get me in a confident state of mind.