Caesar's nightly tourney report (Long)

[EZgo]

Saturday night at Caesars -- a $220 tourney (really $120 + $100 rebuy, but everyone rebuys). There were roughly 70 players. After the first break, blinds are at 100/200 with a 25 ante, and I'm starting to get short stacked. I get a few marginal hands in middle position that I raise to 1200 to steal the blinds and antes. At this level, it only needs to work a couple of times to make a difference. I stole a few pots. I get TT under the gun and make it 1200 to go. The button raises all in (I have him covered). I call and he turns over 99. My tens hold up and I'm really starting to build a nice stack. I steal a few more blinds and antes and on the last hand before the second break I get rockets in the small blind. There's an early position raise, and a late position reraise. I've got them both covered and only want to play against one person. I figure the late position player is committed, so I move all in. Works perfectly, the first raiser mucks and the late position raiser calls and shows KK. Very lucky for me to have this situation. My rockets hold up and I sky-rocket to about 35K in chips.

After the break, we get a few new players at our table. I'm in seat 10 (immediately on the dealer's right), and there is some friekish Irish dude in seat 1 (the dealers left) that I can't really see, but he also has a pretty nice stack. I always like to get a good read on the guy on my immediate left, but it's hard from this seat because my view is totally obscured, so I just focus on his hands and his bets. In the next few rounds, the Irish friek wins a few nice pots by showing down a monster starting pair after limping preflop. I also think that once he's in a pot with a strong starting hand, he tends to handle his cards differently. He -- likes to touch them, and play with them more. I steal a few blinds and antes, win a nice pot with ATs hitting a A on the flop, build my stack to 60K, about dead even with the friek in seat 1 -- we are the co-chip leaders at the table. Then the turning point…. I get KK under the gun and raise to 5x the BB, the friek calls, and everyone mucks. Immediately, I'm watching him and thinking he has a big pair with a chance for aces. I'm obviously very worried about aces -- he's fondling his cards just like he has in the past. The flop comes all rags under 8, rainbow. I bet the pot, roughly 6000. He thinks for 10 seconds, and moves all in. Tough spot for me. I don't want to play a big pot with this guy, but I probably have the best hand. Why such a big bet? I ask him and get nothing. I go into the tank. I can lay this down, and still be in great shape. But I try to get a little more information. I ask the dealer if I can show my hand without mucking, hoping that I can get a read. I'm really not that good at this, but I thought anything could help. The dealer calls the floorman over and explains the situation. I talk to the floorman to clarify, and the friek does seem to be getting a little nervous. I'm not worried about a set -- he's got a big pair. I'm thinking AA, QQ, or JJ. I figure this is it -- if I win this pot, I should be able to cruise deep into the money. I call -- roll my KK and he shows QQ. It holds up, and I soar to $120K in chips. There are 18 players left, with roughly 300K chips total in play, and I've got 40% of them. I'm a monster chip leader!

Over the next couple of levels, I run all of the table with garbage cards, and build my stack to 160K. We get down to the bubble (10 players at two tables). They are going to pay the top 9. I love the bubble in this situation. Everyone is scared to play a pot, especially against the chip leader, and I'd like to preserve it as much as possible. Some moron proposes a deal where we all chip in $20 for whomever busts out on the bubble. Of course everyone loves this idea except for me. I hate it -- it's simply charity. If I want to give to charity I will, not to a poker player. So I say so -- no deal for me, and I'm pretty animated about it. WTF -- it's 12:30 am, and I'm working on 6 hours sleep for three days. No deals. This was probably a mistake -- now everyone hates me. As the chip leader, I want to bully everyone with my chips, not with my mouth or attitude. So a few minutes later, I realize it's totally stupid, but I'm thinking that maybe I need to do a little damage control and not make it everyone against me, so I agree to the deal and chip in $20. Whatever.

The bubble bursts, and we consolidate to one table. Unfortunately, the second chip leader ( a 350 lb. black guy ) gets seated to my immediate left. We play down to 6 or 7 handed, and my chip lead is still firmly intact with roughly 180K. I'm pretty much cruising. Then a pretty big hand occurs…. An early position player raises to 3x the BB (I think blinds are 1000/2000 with a 50 ante, so the starting pot is roughly 3500). Then the button who is short stacked moves all in for 8500. I'm in the BB with 77 and a huge stack. I know I don't have the best hand, but I'm thinking the EP raiser will call, and we can check it down, so I'll get to see all 5 cards to hit my set, and I'm getting nearly 3:1. Also, if my set comes on the flop, maybe the EP raiser pays me off. It was a bad call, but I was on a roll. And besides, this was peanuts to me. So I call, and the EP raiser calls. Before the flop, I say "Don't turn over your cards, there could be a side pot." And the button all in guy takes offense at this, and starts berating me "as if we don't know how to play this game, blah, blah, blah." Anyway, the 7 doesn't come, we check it down, the button shows rockets to sweep the pot, and triple up to a decent stack. He then goes on a little tirade that he's coming after me, and I pretty much ignore him.

We play down to the 3 handed -- me, 350 lb. black guy, and Mr. Button tirade *sshole. I've got 160K. 350 lb. black guy has 120K. And f*ckface has 20K. I'm feeling good. The two of them start telling me that I should chop. I say no way. He says, "I do this all the time. This is a small tourney for me. Anything can happen -- you should chop." I wouldn't have been offended if they offered some proportional or equity based chop, but they want to go 3 way even. I say no way. Let's play. 1st place is $4500. 2nd place is $2400. 3rd place is $1400.

Back and forth a little bit. I'm probably steaming a little, from all the table chatter and chop talk, but I'm still pretty focused on playing smart, aggressive poker. Blinds are 3000/6000 with a 100 ante, so starting pot of 9300. Moron on the button folds. From the SB, I have 54o, and I limp in. The monster in the BB checks his option. Flop comes 542 rainbow, for my top two pair. I bet the pot. Godzilla raises to 20K more, and I move all in. I don't want to give any cheap draws to the straight or a hand like 77 or A5 or A4. The pot is big enough already. He thinks for just a minute and calls. I have him covered. He shows 53o for top pair and an open ended straight draw. You know where this is going now, don't you? He's got eight outs, which makes me a 2:1 favorite, but the A hits the river, and I'm crippled…. chips and ego. That turned out to be a $3000 river. We take a break, and I go check out the 200 hot chicks in line to the night club just outside the poker room.

When I get back, it becomes pretty clear that the two dooshbags have made an arrangement to soft play each other, and work on busting me out. I'm holding my own though, with a stack even to Mr. Button tirade. King Kong has us both crushed. I'm trying to play for 2nd place money, but it's obvious that if I'm going to get it, I'm going to need to bust out the other short stack, and the longer I wait to do that, the bigger disadvantage I'm going to have. In the SB, the other short stack raises to 3x the BB, and I move all in with A7s hoping to take it down right there. He calls with 99, and it holds up. I bust out third for $1400. Then incredibly, they chop two ways. It's pretty clear they had an agreement which is complete B.S. I learned to soften the edges a little bit as the big stack, and be a little gentler when I say I want to play it out.