Our annual Sutter's End Paintball/Poker trip was highlighted for me by my first ever live tournament win. Most players couldn't believe that I had never done it before, but this was the very first time I've ever taken home a first place trophy. Good times.
My cash game play wasn't as successful, we played two nights of it, and I was in the negative on both. Down 12 on Friday and out of 30 on Sunday. Still, with over 110 in the positive on the Saturday night tournament, it was a profitable weekend.
I must say I was most proud of my end game play. I got lucky early on, running into kings twice to double up twice (including kings versus kings where my pair had a heart and made a flush on a four heart board). After that with a lot of chips, I tightened up substantially and won only a small handful of pots. But when it was time to play four, three and finally two way - I was able to shift gears and use SELECTIVE aggression to not only maintain my stack, but actually accumulate as well.
I was especially effective heads up - I started with a three to one chip lead, and I knew going in that it was still very much anyone's game to win or lose. My opponent, the vaunted Cali Al, refused a chop even though the hour was late and so we did battle.
Probably the best advice I ever read about heads up play, which is still a weak point in my game, is that it's a dance. You act and react based on what your partner (in poker, your opponent) does. He's aggressive, you tighten up. He's tight, you push. Cali Al is tight. My objective in my head as we started - keep the pots small, keep stealing as long as he'll put up with it, if he fights back go away (unless of course I hopefully have the nuts).
As the cards fell, when he hit something, he would get me to fold. When he drew blanks I would pounce. I had mostly junk cards, but it didn't matter. By acting based on what HE did, I was able to build my stack whenever he didn't have very good cards or a monster draw - which is, as we all know in poker, most of the time. He caught on pretty early, but he still wasn't willing to pull the trigger with nothing. Advantage, and ultimately victory - me.
He who fires with the best timing, barring a couple of monster coolers, will win in heads up play. In Hold-Em, you miss the flop well over two thirds of the time. In heads up play, you can use this to your advantage if you have an opponent who doesn't stand up to persistent aggression.
That's not to say I was a complete bully. When Cali called my pre-flop raise, I would only sometimes make a continuation bet; unless I hit. When Cali did call my flop continuation bet, I was done with the hand (unless I had hit something). That said, when I caught a piece Cali would fold nearly every bet I made on the turn, and I used that to my advantage to keep firing, even when I was only on a draw or had hit middle or bottom pair.
In the end, I got in with the worst of it K-10 versus his A-6, and I got lucky with a king on the flop. I wasn't thrilled with my play, especially since he had been so tight - I could have gotten away from it. But at that point, I was almost priced into calling simply because the blinds were so big and his remaining chips so few. A good dilemma to have.
The following Monday night I donked out of flat-line, completely sleep deprived. This week I will make my first deposit into the league since it began. I'm still ahead, because I cashed out over $300 at the end of last season, but I was hoping to never have to send money in again. Hopefully this will give me more incentive to start winning.
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