For the third year in a row in my decade old home game, I hosted a January Tournament of Champions in my garage - where winners from the previous years dozen or so tournaments all sit down in a freeroll to play for the season championship and a $1000 prize pool. Click here for a brief rundown of the day and some pictures. Read on for a more detailed and poker-centric analysis.
The pool is collected over the course of the year from each regular tournament - 10% of the total entries or $100, whichever amount is smaller. I stop pulling from each prize pool when we reach 1K, though I still do not pay my own $40 entry so I can buy snacks, cheap trophies and occasional goodies for the players. In other words - there is ZERO rake on my home game, all funds get back to the players either in cash payouts from the TOC or in Oreo cookies, trophies and small fun stuff. This, and the fact that the entry is small, makes for a 100% legal and almost 100% drama free home game.
This year there were ten of us. Or rather, there were supposed to be. Pepper Street beast P-Money had scheduled a family vacation for the week and obviously couldn't change his plans, especially since he won his seat only a month ago.
This was good and bad news. Bad as a friend and competitor, good news for my bankroll. Lately I would have to say that P-Money is for sure my biggest nemesis on the home game felt. He recently moved from the Valley to Belle (right near the Bike) and has been playing at the Bike a lot more. His game has shown it, the guy is good. Money-wise of course I was happy he wasn't there, but as a friend and admirer of his game I felt bad that he had to miss it.
We each started with 25K in chips. I was the only player among us to have won two tournaments during the year, so I got an extra 5K to start. In 2015 I had won three tournaments during the year and also managed to take down the TOC, so there was pressure on the returning champ to defend his title!
I'm going to try and remember some hands and action - my memory is a bit foggy after this much time has gone by. As always on this blog, I try to be as honest as possible about my own play and the play of my opponents. As the players discussed herein are also all my good friends, I will take pains to avoid any disparaging terms like "fish" or "donkey" or "calling station" or "card rack" or "luck box" (all of these terms by the way certainly apply to me as well on occasion) but I will be absolutely honest about what I think of their play.
If any of you happen to read this - please know I am solely commenting on your play, it has nothing to do with you as a person of course. Also remember that the person I am most critical of is myself, so you are in good company.
We started at 1pm, it was an absolutely stunning day. Saturated blue sky and white puffy clouds, like a painting. After so much rain, it was great to get a brisk and beautiful afternoon.
Everyone was in good spirits and it quickly became evident that this exuberance was translating into a desire to play big pots. With over 400 big blinds at our disposal and half hour levels and a flatter structure than usual, I was absolutely shocked that the very first hand had a bloated pot. And the hand after that, and the hand after that.
I would say the table on the whole was well balanced between solid/experienced and softer/less experienced players. But everyone seemed eager to go to war right off the bat.
Of course, they are all used to my monthly Saturday night tournament which has 20 minute levels and skips the 250/500, 400/800, 1200/2400 and 4000/8000 levels. In these events, yes, you have to get involved right away and chip up, as the structure is fast (so I can get upwards of 30 people out of my garage by 1am at the latest) and rapid chip accumulation is essential.
But this event, I am fully aware, is an entirely different beast. First of all it's a Sit-N-Go, which rewards players for being tight early and super aggressive late by it's very nature. And second of course, it's a marathon not a sprint. The structure is designed with 10 people to last about 7-8 hours. This day it would end in just over 6 hours, which tells you just how aggressive people were.
So I sat and smiled as folks slugged it out. We took a break after three levels and through the dust I could see a couple of truly short stacks (amazing since our starting chips would still amount to 100 big blinds on level four) and a couple of chip mountain ranges. My stack had grown, but just by a third or so. Almost all of the chips I gathered were without showdown, mostly on the flop with a simple C-bet. Occasionally on the turn with a second barrel if I had no show down value.
I confess it is a genuine struggle to remember any specifics on the hands I was involved in at this stage, but I can say with certainty that the first fellow to bust out, Bob, did so by applying his usual strategy engaging in binary mode when determining whether to call pre-flop or not. Call or fold - regardless of the size of the bet or number of other players in the hand.
Robby, a smart but newer player who is part of our study group, woke up with an overpair at one point and raised it up pre with a 5 or 6x. A not so great sizing for a tournament as he is basically playing his hand face up and Bob snapped called without hesitation. I believe he had 86 suited. He flopped top pair and called off all three streets, even with an Ace turning and a ten hitting the river. Robby's post flop betting sizes were all correct or close to it, so he dragged a substantial pot at showdown. Bob's early exit was assured because of his boundless optimism and pervasive feeling of disbelief.
In my opinion he was for sure one of the softer players at the table, but I have played cash with him before and he can be pretty formidable. Because his supply of chips at our lower stakes are easily replenished, he uses them as tools pretty effectively. His propensity to not believe folks betting into him also makes him sticky (and therefore tilting) and because it's not a tournament he doesn't go away until I kick everyone out. So I fear him on my left in a cash game, in a tournament - not so much.
The aforementioned Robby would bust out an hour later, after getting tangled up in some big pots and getting the worst of it. One hand in particular stands out that was especially devastating for him, both chip-wise and emotionally.
Directly to his left was the formidable G-Bone, who was likely the 2nd or 3rd best player at the table besides me of course ha ha ha. Seriously, G-Bone is a damn good poker player who like me works very hard on his game. On any given night he can take me to school and everyone else in the garage. We do talk poker together, and I try to be completely transparent as I gain a lot of insight from him. Sven is my other closest poker confidant, more on him later.
So anyways, Robby three bet, an okay but not great sizing that I thought was too small, from the button after one limper. This again narrows his range of holdings, as we now have eliminated overpair premiums. His three bet range in general is narrow to begin with. We can eliminate medium and lower pairs also as he would never three bet with them. Also broadway cards are out except for AK or AQ and maybe a suited AJ but probably not. So based on his sizing and actions alone, we know pretty much what he is holding. Very likely AK, perhaps AQ, possible but not likely AJ.
G-Bone defended his small blind because he knew both the big blind and original limper were calling, and for the reasons mentioned above no doubt.
I forget the action almost entirely, but I do remember that Robby indeed had AQ and had flopped or turned top pair and G-Bone had flopped a huge draw that improved on the turn and hit on the river for a baby flush. Robby bet all three streets. His C-bet was small, his turn bet was quite a bit larger (he had hit the board) and his river bet was again on the small side - indicating a medium strength hand that he felt obligated to bet for value but didn't want to lose too much if he was beat. I also doubt very much that he considered what he would be called with that he could beat.
In any case, G-Bone thought briefly and of course called with his flush. Robby was aghast at his "luck" and from that moment on was tilted until his exit. I remember afterwards he pushed with KK pre-flop with a stack size that was completely wrong for such an action. Then he declared (I'm para-phrasing) "From now on that's how I'm playing good cards, it's the only way to win with them."
I was a bit surprised to hear this coming from him, though I know he was being a bit faecetous. We will all have to discuss it for sure at our next strategy group meeting, which at this point is a bit overdue.
Play continued and at this point the next shortest stack was my poker pal and dear friend Sven, who is often a poker mentor to me as I am to him on occasion. He too was in tilts-ville, brought about (he told me later) by being not just card dead but so card dead that he couldn't come in with two tough and one sticky players on his immediate left. So we're talking not just a lack of premiums and pairs, but a lack of broadway cards and suited-connectors and suited aces.
With around 50 big blinds effective he three bet me correctly, it was folded to G-Bone who carved out a slightly oversized 4-bet. I believe it was 4x the three bet, I would've preferred a 2.5x (especially considering what he had) but at any rate I speed-ejected my cards and Sven tanked a bit before flatting.
Now not being in the hand, it was easy for me to deduce that G-Bone had AA or KK. He was never doing this with any other holding this deep against this particular opponent. (He loathes QQ.) There were still too many softer targets available at this stage. Sven told me afterwards that this too was his instinct. But in the heat of the moment, an ever bloating pot combined with the card-dead-itus strain of tilt that was coursing through his veins - with a safe board he planned to check raise, which would commit him to the hand. He indeed carried through when the board was all low cards and was forced to call off when G-Bone snap-pushed the CR.
Of course Sven had KK, G-Bone AA. In my mind, even this deep, this is a bit of a cooler - as both players are aggressive and very capable of bluffing a lot if the opponents and situations are right. Sven of course was in agony as he rose and said his farewells. He added half-jokingly "Well, I guess that's all the poker for me in 2017."
So the good news for me (or at least my wallet) was that two solid players had both tilted their way out the door. The bad news was, there were still several capables remaining.
One of them in particular, James, who has always been a solid player but has lately turned into a bit of a beast, was correctly cranking up the aggression and was bludgeoning the table with well timed aggression. Raising nearly every time it was open folded to him and following through with good sized c-bets. Because his sizing was so perfect, 2.5 or less pre and 1/2 pot post, he didn't have to win every pot and yet he still was turning a profit.
I must say, when James played his very first game in the garage he was very green. He obviously had played poker before, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had never played a no-limit tournament in his life. I have seen this before in my garage from other folks, and they almost always don't come back or if they do it's for a handful of tournaments over six months and then I never see them again. I always try to make it super friendly and fun for them and so do my other regulars, but as light and as relaxed as we all usually are - we are unavoidably a very card-focused and sober group. I have been told more than once "Everyone's cool and all, but you guys are some serious players."
So I was a bit surprised that James showed up for the very next tournament and during a break came to me and asked what book he should read first to get better. I of course said then what I would still say to an inexperienced player "The tournament poker Bible, Harrington on Hold-em Vol. 1"
So I'm assuming James read it, and took my advice as to what to absorb/apply and what to take with a grain of salt as the game has evolved (even then) significantly since the book was released. I assume this because he showed up a significantly different player and improved every time he came back. He cashed a bunch that year and yes even took down a tournament, something I had done only rarely at that point.
And so he was solid from then on, cashing fairly regularly, not taking any more down (as the room figured him out a bit, as is always the case) - but holding his own with everyone and gaining immediate respect from all of the vets.
BUT, and this is the point of all this long winded exposition, over the last year James has cranked it up and is now on another level of selective aggression and thoughtful decisions. He has joined a somewhat elite group of folks at Pepper Street who are capable of opening with any two cards and barreling again and again with air if the need arises.
So, with him on my right - which was good because I didn't get tangled up too often with him and when I did I had position - I was hamstrung a bit with 6 players still remaining as I was reluctant to three bet with several short stacks behind me that I didn't want to call off.
However on literally three separate occasions I woke up with JJ when James had opened to my right. Once I was on the button, once I was small blind and the third time I believe I was the big blind. The first time he simply let it go. The second time of course he flat called and I believe I got him to fold the flop or turn as the board missed both of our ranges. The third time I remember very well because the player on the big blind - Rooster, let it rip with A10 and I of course snapped and my hand held.
Rooster probably has more live poker experience than the rest of the table combined. He is quite capable of bluffing, and did so with relish early on in the tournament when he seized on an opportunity to get me off my overpair (which he likely had deduced I had since I had been so inactive early on) with a nice and large lead out (or was it a check-raise) on the river with air. He gleefully showed and I was genuinely impressed but not discouraged as he had position on me and I had no desire to call his oversized bet regardless of whether he had the goods or not when all I had was one pair. I am all but certain that he never ever bluffs with a bet that size. Of course if he's reading now he might want to take note ha ha.
5 players remained. We were paying the top 3 spots, $500, $300 & $200 respectively. The winner would also get this...
Immediately to my right was Junior - a newer player to my game but a long time regular at G-Bone's. Junior is a fun player to go against (or tilting if you let him be) because he is for sure an "any two will do" type of guy who enjoys trapping a great deal and also getting into his opponents heads with unorthodox betting patterns and sizes. I've had a few years to dial in on him, so he is not the scariest opponent for me, but I absolutely respect his game and recognize that what he is doing is not random whatsoever. There is a method to the madness of a maniac as we know, and if one of them knows what they are doing, they can be deadly.
Immediately to my left was last year's TOC second place finisher Sharon. She had moved to Chicago a few months after winning her seat - but had used her Southwest flier points to return to Pepper Street to "Win my bracelet this time". I admired her confidence and my heart was especially warmed that she would go to all of that effort to come play poker with us.
Sharon's game hasn't changed too much since her TOC finish last year. I might venture to guess that she plays a little more cautiously, which was good for me this time around as she was on my immediate left for the entire tournament. She folded a ton early, then shifted to a bit more active later - but just a bit. In general she knows what she is doing, but her monster bet size tells are still present and her tendency to call off with medium strength holdings was once again her undoing this time around.
Between not getting any value with her premiums, yes people tend to fold to 10x pre-flop, and overplaying AK and AQ respectively twice, she had a tough time accumulating chips. With AK she hit top pair but that was it and paid off her opponent who rivered 2 pair. With AQ she simply didn't fold with Ace high and G-Bone fired two big barrels before finally checking back the river with trips. I wonder, and I'm sure so did G after she showed her cards, if he could've gotten value on the river. Probably.
But as is often the case, she did have quite a bit of the run good - which allowed her to gain a sizable stack in one particular hand where she hit runner runner to suck out against Rooster, I think. I wasn't actually in the garage, I just came back from the bathroom and saw the chip transfer and heard the story.
Her stack got whittled down after that a little bit, when her Ax's failed to connect a few times and she was out-played post flop by G-Bone and James and Junior on separate occasions. But then she got all of her chips in as a huge favorite against James who couldn't find a fold (and probably should have) to her shove on the flop. Again, her monster over-bet told everyone what we needed to know, big bet = big hand. James was dead to 2 cards, one of which spiked immediately on the turn.
So long Sharon, thanks so so much for making the journey. I was a little sad inside that she didn't make the money, both because I genuinely like her a lot and because I would rather have her to contend with than the three fellows that were remaining.
At this point I got very active, as I had enough chips to maneuver quite a bit after the flop. I believe G-Bone and James both had me covered initially but by just a little. Junior was the shortest stack but by no means was he out of it. However, I picked up super fast that all three of my opponents really, really, REALLY didn't want to walk away empty handed. The only one who I thought might be a little okay with it was Junior, as he has a lot of gamble in him and is also degenerate enough and savvy enough to know that it was time to get going.
As I raised and barreled and barreled again, my stack grew. Much to my surprise, even Junior was letting go of his weak and medium strength holdings post-flop and shockingly even pre sometimes.
Occasionally I had the goods, most of the time I did not. The Matrix was in full view as I knew now was the time to crank it up and get chips. I was so much in the zone that I truthfully barely noticed when Junior busted. I believe it was me that did the deed, but honestly, I was so focused that I barely remember that he was gracious and hung out to watch.
I was so oblivious to anything outside the game in fact that I incorrectly first reported him as the third place finisher over on the Pepper Street blog! James had to e-mail me after the post went up to kindly remind me that it was he that finished third.
Of the three of us it was James who got whittled down the most, as he was very active in opening from the button and I just wasn't having it. I called just about every single one of his raises, probably with 80% or so of my holdings, and looked for ways to take the lead and the pot. I also was ruthless from my button. For an orbit or two after the bubble burst I relaxed just a bit, then when I realized neither James nor G-Bone was going crazy, I resumed the punishment - this time literally not looking at my cards when I was on the button until after the flop. And sometimes not even then. Shhhhh...
Again, my mind is a blank when it comes to James' exit. I know he was pretty short when it happened - and I know I was the one who busted him. He was happy enough with a $200 prize in a free roll and I made sure to congratulate him and mention how much I think he has improved over the last year or so.
And then there were 2. Junior was kind enough to snap a couple snaps before leaving - leaving the two gladiators to duke it out.
I kept with my plan right away of raising without looking from the button until after the flop. But I balanced it, as I know G-Bone would pick up on what I was doing, with looking every third button and if it was in the bottom 20% of hands I would let it go.
I confess I didn't tell the truth on the Pepper Street blog to him - and I've been meaning to tell him face to face, but I didn't pick up any premiums during the entire battle, save for AK once and AQ twice. The best I got was 99 which I flopped top set with and I was praying G-Bone would catch up and get stacked on the turn or river - but alas he made a nice laydown. I don't know what he had, but I had been so active I was thinking that if he had any showdown value at all he would call. But he thought about it, and finally released. Ergo, it was a good ass laydown.
After hammering and hammering, and yes sometimes getting hammered back and having to release - G-Bone is a good player after all - G-Bone finally dipped down into the danger zone and began to use his stack to rip over the top. I think he had about 20 big blinds, but regardless, I had him so out-chipped that I knew I would be forced to call pretty soon. He climbed back out once so he could open with a regular raise. I of course was defending incredibly wide - folding only with utter garbage which I probably should've been calling with at this point to balance my range entirely. But soon he dipped back down again - and again I knew I would have to call pretty wide on most rips.
I hemmed and hawed and finally let it go with Q10o and 78 suited respectively. Then I dragged a few more pots and then he shipped it pre and I looked down at precisely what I didn't want to see, a low pair. The math told me what I had to do but I didn't like it, even though he wouldn't hurt me that bad if he doubled up - it just meant back to the grind. I grimaced and called with 55.
He flopped top pair with his broadway cards, I turned a set and that was that.
I finally let my emotions back in and I was elated to have done this two years in a row. I must say that if I could run and play as well in casinos as I do in my garage, I might actually give this poker thing a serious try as an income supplement. Maybe.
G-Bone was gracious as always in scooping up $300 - I am very much looking forward to attending his game as often as I can. I owe him a lot for the players, inspirations for hosting and his helping me talk through hands. He was so gracious that he said I out-played him, maybe so, but really I felt that I just carried the momentum I'd had since the bubble and was lucky enough that it stuck as I imagine we were all pretty card dead. I felt super happy that I had played so well, but I also realized that all it would've taken for G-Bone, or James or Junior for that matter, to do the same thing I did would be a mini-heater at bubble time. I have big respect for all of their games.
Speaking of G-Bone's game, did I mention I love it? It is generally soft, he is for sure the best person who plays there (sorry Junior!) although Sven has been showing up lately ha ha to give us all a run for the money, and on any given night either of them can beat me like a red-headed step child, but I love mixing it up with the rest of his crew. Most importantly they are all like my gang, which now has a lot of G-Bone's gang in it, extremely cool people. The only negatives about his place are the distance to travel to get there, which actually is fine with the use of Waze on a Friday night, especially coming back and the super super flat structure (combined with a small prize pool) which means that we don't finish until 1, 2 or sometimes 3 in the morning, often only getting a hundred bucks or so in profit. But really, I'm complaining about more poker to play and a deeper structure? Maybe I should slap myself.
Yes, I should.
Anyways, it was fun pounding this out - but at the moment, believe it or not, I'm pretty much out of things to say except I'm extremely happy with my game right now and I'm really hoping to work hard this year to make it even better, especially in Casinos.
I think one thing that has really helped me in my garage, is that I've told myself that it isn't my job to play super tricky and/or run all over the softer players - it's my job to be a good host, and be kind and gracious no matter what and simply just enjoy myself. So without the pressure to win, I simply let go and focus on making good decisions and reading my opponents, without a thought to the trophy or the money, which deep down I wouldn't mind at all if someone else were to emerge on top. The more a variety of people win, the more successful an event the game will be and that matters a whole helluva lot more than forty bucks.
I need to find a way to constructively carry this approach over to casinos. Let's face it, when I plop down a Benjamin or more to play against complete strangers, I put my war face on and my super competitive juices get flowing. I enjoy this no doubt, but it does create tension and stress sometimes where their likely shouldn't be.
When I am driving to Commerce or any of the LA card rooms, I always say aloud to myself something like - "I'm going there to have fun, I'm not going for the money, I'm not going to outmaneuver or beat up on other players. Just make good decisions."
I really need to take this to heart and try to get into the mental space where I am approaching Hollywood Park like I'm approaching the San Fernando Valley where there are no Casinos. Where my main goal is to simply enjoy the experience by playing one hand at a time, with little or no thought to payouts and/or climbing the ladder. Only when I can really envelop myself in this frame of mind, will I have a chance at actually wreaking havoc on a regular basis among the swarthy degenerates of LA and the blinged-out grinders in Vegas.
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