So we each start out with a stack of 2000, blinds 25/50 and the first hand I watch, Ming Lee makes it $150 to go on my right. Ken Kubey raises to $500, Ming calls. I start getting the idea that these guys may be serious. Flop is ace high, Ming checks, Ken checks. Turn is a blank. Ming puts in a bet. Ken shows his namesake (KK) and folds. Did Ming have a set of aces here?
Now, I'm in the BB, Ming in the SB, same limits. I have the $2000 I started with , and Ming has 2500 due so some hand he played... Ming limps, I have 6d4d, and check. Flop comes AdQc3d. Ming checks, I bet 150, trying to take it. Ming check raises another $150. I think about all three options including going ballistic, and decide calling is the best. Turn is the 2s, Ming checks. I decide to take the free card. River is the 8d, Ming bets 300. I call. Ming shows AA.
Both Spencer (Zorak) and "Bombay" Jack M agree with my play, with others saying I should have bet more at some point, Patri saying I should make some kind of raise on the river.
In the Fundamentals of Go by Kageyama, the author describes how professional go players treat beautitiful shape as if one has seen the face of a lover, and that one should be trembling with eagerness to play the move which makes the shape. Well, anyway, that's usually my reaction when I get pocket aces or kings in no-limit in terms of moving my chips in. Apparantly, there are folks who play a more sophisticated game.
Blinds go up to 50-100, I have around $2500, and make it $275 to go on the button with Ts7s. Abdul defends. Flop is 752 rainbow, Abdul checks, I bet 500, Abdul check-raises 1000 more and has around 175 more behind. What do you do? I go into the tank and fold. Opinons? I put him on like A-7 or higher pocket pair to commit essentially all his chips.
So I pick up nothing that round, and get AK under the gun in the 100/200 round with 1100 left. To me, it's an automatic all-in. Abdul calls with TT. An ace or king hits the board and I win. The very next hand, Abdul makes it 1000 to go, and I'm in the BB with TT and now 2300 in chips after posting the BB. I go all in, I think this play is right, even though I'm not going to like a call, and Abdul folds. I show and say "this is the ay to play pocket tens!" Frank Brabec who just came to our table makes the comment "There's going to be some cosmic justice some day and I don't wanna be around when that happens."
The same 100/200 round Frank Brabec limps. Because of what happened earlier, I'm already suspicious. I find Ks7s and can't really justify folding so I call, saying "For just $100 more I could lose my whole stack, what a bargain!" Ken Kubey calls in the BB. Flop is As7c5s. For some reason I put Frank on QQ, KK or AA, and I check. Ken checks and Frank decide to bet 300. At this point I feel he doesn't have AA and decide to check-raise to 1000. The best laid plans of mice and men... well Ken calls 850 all-in with his A5, Frank folds and shows KK, and I have to river the 9s to win.
Abdul then says "I now see how you win all your tournaments, you get lucky!" I know Abdul and it wasn't meant in disrespect at all, but it's very true--over the last 120 tourneys, I've won about 10% of the tourneys I've entered and every one of them I've gotten lucky at some point. Most of your equity in tournaments is finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd so your main goal should be to win. And you do have to get lucky at some point to win, so in a sense it should be part of your plan to get a little lucky and to maximize your advantage when that lucky run happens. Most of the time it fails but I'm happy to win the 10% or so of the time I do have some luck.
At this point we break for cake, and I have around 5500. I talk with a bunch of people but I forget most of what was said, still thinking about the hands. Actually what I remember is watching Beth Even play 1-5 stud with no ante and show down AKQ456 on 6th street, six different suits, so I tell her to play a little tighter (Seriously though, she's just learning stud and cashed out ahead in that game, this hand *was* a good image play.)
Then I get a series of hands where I'm getting odds to put people all-in and so I do and win. I take out two players with J8 in the BB when it's only 700 more to me, I take out abdul with 22 on the button, and a few other players. All in all I take out about 10 players total and buid my chip count to around 12K, then we start the final table.
Jeff Okamoto did a good job of covering the final table so I'll just make a coupla brief comments. JP Massar took me aside and reminded that this was a supersatellitle--that essentially I only needed to win half the chips. This was good advice as I played more conservatively than I would have and was never really in any danger. The two key hands I thought was one early on against Roger Park where he made it 2500 to go,and I had AKs and made it 10K to go, and he folded. Then with 6 players left. Leee Jones openes for 2500 on the button, I'm in the SB for 500, the BB is in for 1000 and had 1500 more. I and Lee both have around 15K. I see 77 and decide to call and try to eliminate the BB. The BB folds! So now I'm heads-up with Lee. Flop is 653, I check, Lee bets 5000, I go all-in and he folds. This was part of the reason I had 24K after the break (out of 66K) and could just cruise in, which is basically what I did.
Well it's time for me to catch my plane for Vegas so more later when I get back!
William Chen
wchen@cyra.com 510-633-5000 x208
or w_chen@ix.netcom.com