The £220 Empire Success!

Hey Ho

It has taken me a day to realise just how increadibly lucky i was to get as far as i did because i sucked out more times than Michael Jackson has had a face opp. Well. To start from the beginning i suppose.

Turned up at the Empire casino with £500 in pocket and about 3 hours ahead of the event start so i thought i would sit down at a cash table. Not a good idea. I got dicked for £300 from plays that i thought weren't made at the stakes i was playing and to be fair a part of the loss was to do with my own idiocy in not recognising the retardedness and in increasing the pot size when i could have played small ball. So not a great start. After the session i had an hour to spare before the event started so i rang up a mate who i know has time for my bad beat stories and for some reason he has patience with me. Some would think he revells in my poker bad luck as if to say get a real job you fucker, im on nigh on min wage and you think ure phil ivey, but i don't think he's like that anymore as he realises i might be a decent player. He gave me his best wishes for the tourney and off i went into the tourney room to get going. And get going i did!

Second hand in i am dealt 33. I try to raise but i didn't announce it and only put in a single chip, rookie error but i will get there. 3 more people call and i see a flop. A 3 8 rainbow. I am loving this and get a raiser into me i re raise he calls. Turn 8. He checks i bet out he calls. River 3. Quads!!! He checks, i bet out he folds an ace. So i nice little introduction.

I soon realise from looking at the clock and after playing an hour that this tourney doesn't allow for much play and our stacks according to how many hands will be played and what the chip sizes will be meant i was taking marginal spots to get a big stack or bust, because i wanted a final table to make my time worthwhile.

A7clubs. I raise 3x bb and get one call. Flop K 8 2 two clubs. I check, he bets out a quarter of his stack and having the same stack i re raise all in thinking i am live on my Ace and the 9 other clubs. He dilly dallys and calls with AK no club. Drawing to 9 outs so around 35% to double up i think. Turn is a dud and the river is a club.

Blinds are getting higher and i find AJ of spades. The big blind is short on chips so i elect to flat call as i want to keep it small in case i get a re raise, whereby my AJ shrivells up. 5 other callers i believe behind me, and then the short stack big blind pushes all in. I am on a stack of 9000 hes pushed for 3000 blinds then are currently at 150/300. I gather that the big blind has recognised weakness with the limps and is pushing with a marginal hand for value so i re raise all in to get the undoubtedly weak limpers behind out. And the showdown is AJ vs KQ, he hits his queen and i am hurt. Blinds get up to 200/400 by now and i have a stack of 7000 and see 52 on the button, everyone folds to me, i have a tight SB and BB so i raise 1200, both call, eeeeeek. Flop 2 10 7, both check to me and i fire 2750 to try and save myself, but sb pushes all in and i fold. So after that misplayed hand and some few hands later i am down to 2850 with blinds still at 200/400 and i find A9 in early position. I push all in. Everyone folds up until dealer button who stalls and folds, then the sb stalls for even longer and starts asking me questions, i'm thinking he has worse so i am enticing him to call with statements like my hand is pretty good wouldn't mind a call, and the honesty in my voice was natural he sensed this and folded A10, BB folds as well, so i take it down. The dealer button folded 77 which shocks me but hey ho.

Next hand after the break i find AQ on the big blind, the button raises me and i push all in he shows A8 and i win it. Some hands later a very shortstack pushes all in, i re raise all in to isolate with A10 and everyone else folds, he shows 108diamonds and i win that. So by the table change i am on 10 big blinds.

Second hand in after table change i find JJ on the big blind everyone folds to the dealer button who raises me 3x BB i move all in and he calls with 99 and it holds. Move table again and second hand in someone moves all in from utg with a 12 BB stack and i find QQ i push all in to isolate and hes done it with A6!! It holds and i have a very nice 30xBB stack. It gets whittled down however when a bluff utg raise with 7 on the table is called by the SB who thinks about shoving but doesnt. Flop Ace high when i have only 7J and he bets out all in and i fold. Annoying. It wasn't too much of a bad play but in hindsight i should have just waited for a nice hand to push with, but if it worked i could have started stealing some chips pre flop. As it stood i had a 12 BB stack which was soon to be a 9BB stack with the blind increase soon coming. I find 44 from the cut off with all action folding to me, i thought i should push and did, get insta called by a 5BB stack and the sb Folds AJ. Showdown and i am up against QQ and don't improve. The SB would have won the side pot against me if he played so i would have been out. Next two hands i fold with a 4BB stack which is odd but had to be done, then on the SB i get 85 and all action folds to the dealer button who goes all in, i call figuring i am live and the BB will fold and both were true. I was up against A9 and hit a 8 high flop which holds to double up. Next hand on the dealer button i get J9 and decide when all action folds to me to push with my 10BB stack, hoping for folds from weak hands. The BB calls though and he has A9, i am truly fucked. But a KQJ flop helps, the turn was a Q which makes a King Ace or Ten as an out but they miss and now i am sort of back in contention.

Next hand funnliy enough i was not involved in but it involved two relatively big stacks going all in pre flop, one donkey 10Khearts play and another with AA. Flop Ah Qh 10c turn 6c river Jh by which the AA guy shouts yes thinking his Full house is good against the flopped straight, most of the table agrees then everyone thinks wait a second that other guy has a Royal Flush hasn't he? lol

Table change happens and we are down to the last 18, i have a 11.5 BB stack with 70000 with blinds at 3000/6000. I look down and see QK suited from mid position with all folded to me i raise to 12000 as a steal more than anything really and the next guy to act pushes all in for his last 17000, folds around to me and i call. He has AA with one heart.

Flop A 7 9 two hearts. Pretty much has the biggest stranglehold possible with two more hearts giving him the nuts.

Turn J hearts so i am drawing to 3 outs now 10hearts no good

River 10 clubs

THANK YOU! lol

Soon after this i make a steal and it goes through. Then two hands later i get QQ i raise it up to a suspicious 11000 and get two callers, flop Q 4 8 rainbow. The SB and BB both check and i check as well. Turn A. SB shoves all in for 60000 more i have him just covered and call he turns over AK and is out.

Final table.

6 people left when the first big hand comes in i get J10 hearts and limp from early position, announcing "i want to see how you guys react to a limper" the dealer button then announces raise soon after and it folds around to me. He has a lot of chips but under my count and has put 1/4 of his stack in, i dwell and call. Flop 3 10 K, i check and he pushes all in for the rest of his chips leaving me with 40000 if i call and lose with blinds at 4000/8000. I think pre flop he is relatively weak because i thought he was picking up on my speechplay, but even if he isn't my 10 holds up against a lot of deserate looking all ins. AQ AJ, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55. Plus i have a read he's weak and make the hero call. He shows 77 and i win the pot by the river. not much else happens really. I make some good steals and re steals post flop and play well but i see that with 4 remaining everyone is holding a fairly even amount of chips.

i was on 194000, second was 192000, third 180000 and fourth on 120000. Blinds were at 10000/20000 by this stage so i settle on a slightly unfairly weighted deal in terms of how much the small stack got in £4200, 3rd got £5300, second £5500 and i got the same. It was 5am in the morning i felt my game slipping through tiredness and had no balls to continue with such short stacks. I took the money and ran. If the blinds were lower though i would have undoubtedly stayed because i felt i was much better than 2 of the other players and on equal level with the 3rd. But i am happy with the result and know that i got lucky many a time to win this money. But i am not complaining!

Note to self though in never playing another tourney with a structure like this unless i have to because it was crapshoot city for the most part.

Peace.