
I knew it was my last chance for a while because I was going to be a dad.
Little did I know it would be this long but life has a tendency to throw curveballs.
And so it goes.
It's all about making choices (like playing a hand or not) and execution (playing good or not) and getting lucky (most important of all).
I Wanted to Come Out Ahead
I told you before that I started off great but then sort of ran out of bullets. It was off to the cash-game tables for me.
Not the very best preparation for the big one (aka the Main Event), since cash games and tournaments are different spices, but better to play than to not play at all.
You're right -- I could have played smaller buy-in tournaments instead. There are plenty of those every day during the Series.
But I wanted to make money. And who wants to get lucky in those events when you could've used that luck in bracelet events?
I wanted to come home ahead, like a responsible father. I definitely didn't want to come home having blown the cost for my daughter's first seven years.
My plan was to win the $10k Main Event buy-in in a cash game for the dream we all dream of.
The Good Thing was the Mississippi Straddle
I couldn't spot one fish from the rail. So I went back to the Rio and the $5/$10.
The good thing at the Rio was the Mississippi straddle, where the button has an optional $20 straddle and the rest the same option anti-clockwise if the guy to the left declines.
The Bellagio was a full feeding frenzy but my old regular game, $10/$20 No-Limit, was full of piranhas playing with $10k and $20k stacks, straddling and four-betting like crazy.
The bad thing was the rake of $5, which was pretty much a given every hand with the straddle. I think they took rake pre-flop and for split pots as well.
I don't remember exactly but the rake was really bad by American standards.
Since a lot of players declined the straddle on the button, and almost everyone didn't understand how to adjust to the Mississippi straddle, the game was good anyway.
You should always try everywhere and every way to get people away from traditional six-man and full-ring no-limit cash games and tournaments. You will prosper, because the monkeys all of a sudden have no clue.
The very best thing about the $5/$10 at the Rio was that the pros saw the rake and decided to take their business to the strip.
The $4k Pot Went to the Leprechaun
It was a great game the whole month but you had to table hunt the right table and constantly adjust to the different dynamics.
Players straddling and not straddling, people adjusting differently, and players with very different stack depths – it was really a full-time job playing that game.
I lost the biggest pot I played - as usual - when a guy changed seats when I sat down so he could three-bet me light all day long.
I called his first min-raise with tens and saw the flop come K-T-6. I check-raised him 1.2 times the pot but he was not going anywhere with his 98.
A seven on the turn sealed my fate and the $4k pot went to the leprechaun.
He really thought he was a pro and really thought he had outplayed me.
And he really didn't understand that his escape plan of bluffing - if missing his four outs to my whole range on the turn - had no chance to succeed.
After 8 Hours, Disaster Struck
Besides that I grinded away, showing a steady profit, but there were a couple of tournaments I had a real itch to play and the grinding didn't really do the trick fast enough.
I don't remember why but for some reason I was at the Bellagio. The $10/$20 game looked good so I took a shot.
There's nothing wrong with that. I was fresh and rested and felt focused and strong.
I played good. Real good. By far my best session all summer. The two fish left but I stayed because I was in the zone.
Most people straddled for $40 so the game was running high, but I picked my spots with my small bankroll.
I pushed at the right times, I pulled at the right times and I dodged the bullets.
I made some great laydowns, I made some good bluffs, and one or two hero-calls that made people's eyes pop.
After about six hours I was moved to the main table. After about 7.5 hours I was pondering leaving.
After eight hours, disaster struck.
There are Many Reasons to Leave a Good Game
I was up more than $9k, almost the buy-in to the Big Dance. And not by getting lucky but by playing awesome.
I felt good. I had just got myself a couple more bullets to tournaments that really deserved to be played. And I got Aces on the button.
There are many reasons to leave a good game, even if you're not HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired).
The most important are: that you're playing with too much of your bankroll; that you need to lock up some “feel good;" that you would be devastated if you lost your chips; or you have a social commitment to attend.
I knew I was playing well above my current funding (close to 50% of the bankroll I recall), I would feel great with this win, and I would be completely devastated if I went broke.
I decided to quit. I would play to the big blind – of course - and then leave. And I would play like a nit.
Even a Complete Nit Plays the Rockets
But even a complete nit plays the rockets on the button. Everybody folded to me and I made it $220 to go. Like I just wanted to pick up chips in the middle.
Behind the $40 straddle sat a girl who was flying high. She was good, but not as good as her $25k stack suggested.
She had been hitting every hand and winning every pot she played. I was sure she felt invincible.
When she looked at her hand I could see she had something good. She looked at me, but I was already looking at the blinds still left in contention.
They folded and she raised to $800. I had her. And a bad feeling.
A lot of men play badly against women. They fold everything because they cannot believe the fairer sex can bluff.
Or they try stupid bluffs for their whole stack because they think they can intimidate women.
I tried to represent the latter kind of sexist pig. It would work extra well because those kinds of men are extra bullish if a woman is winning and walking on water like she was.
I Never Accept Those Kinds of Offers
I made it $2,200. She studied me and I tried to look strong as a double reverse tell. She took the bait and said “all-in."
The pot was over $22K and she asked me “once or twice." I never accept those kinds of offers.
If you try to bluff me you can forget about trying to get the variance down.
But this time it made so much sense. It was literally the make-or-break moment for the rest of the Series up to the Main for me, and she was so goddamn lucky.
But: “No.”
A queen came on the flop. I had already put her on queens so I stood up and left. She's not really supposed to have queens there, but I just knew.
I wanted to say, “It must be great being you, getting paid for lessons," but I said nothing.
I have lost bigger pots, but this one hurt so much more because of all the circumstances.
That's Why Poker is So Hard
Some pots kill a piece of you. That's why poker is so hard.
This pot took a piece of my heart and I can never forget it. How many pots can you lose before there's nothing left?
How many do you have left?
About Ken Lennaárd:
Sweden's most controversial poker blogger Ken Lennaárd has been around the professional poker circuit for almost 20 years. Among his numerous accomplishments are Swedish Championships both live and online, three WSOP final tables and over $1.5m in live earnings. He's now bringing his singular poker voice to the English world via PokerListings.com. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Note: Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not represent the views of PokerListings.com.
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