#1: No Limit Hold 'em (3,000 chips, 10 minute blinds)
My league got off to a cataclysmic start when I was crippled by my own Mom in the second hand of the tournament! I was dealt K♠ K♣ and 3-bet her early position min-raise of 60 to 180. She and Jeff called. I have experience playing against Jeff and he can be tough to knock out of the pot! The flop came Q-high and rainbow. After Mom bet 120ish and Jeff called, I knew I had to make a big raise to protect my hand. I raised to 700ish and Mom shocked me by re-raising all-in! I have never seen her make a move like that and I knew I should fold, but I couldn't get it out of my head that she might play A-Q this way, so I called. She showed Q♥ Q♦ for top set and I was down to my last 30 chips just that quickly. Bacon knocked me out the following hand and I had quite the inauspicious start to the league.
After losing a few big pots against Scott, Bacon turned things around, knocked Scott out in 5th place, and built a big stack late in the tournament. He defeated Dan heads-up when a 9-6-6 flop hit Bacon's 10-6 much harder than Dan's K-9 to take it down. The tournament went much shorter than I had anticipated. I thought we would struggle to complete it in three hours (my target), but it was over in less than two and a half.
1st - Bacon ($12)
2nd- Dan ($7.50)
3rd - Matt ($4.50)
4th - Jesse ($3)
#2: Omaha Hi/Low 8-or better (3,000 chips, 10 minute levels)
I was worried that a split pot game would take a long time to complete, but this tournament ended up having a great pace to it. I was up and down early, but then I managed to scoop a few nice pots to take the chiplead going into the final table. Most players in the league were playing far too loose and I was able to get a nice lead by just playing tight, since my hands and draws were much stronger than those of the other players in general. I was open folding hands like Q♠ Q♦ 8♣ 5♣, which is absolute trash in Omaha-8, but the other players consistently were showing up with worse. Then Jeff and I got into a big pot with 6 players remaining. I held A♥ A♦ K♥ 2♠ and 3-bet over his raise preflop. The flop came A♣ K♦ 9♣, giving me a set of aces and he check-called my bet. The turn was an offsuit 8 and Jeff check-called again. The river was an offsuit 7 and Jeff led out. I had a bad feeling when I called and sure enough he showed J♣ T♠ 3♠ 2♥ for the rivered nut high and low. It was a frustrating hand where I had him crushed every step of the way, but he got there in the end to take away the chiplead. I missed a couple of draws after that and fizzled out in 5th place. Jeff played really well and ended up taking it down.
1st - Jeff ($12)
2nd - Chris ($7.50)
3rd - Dad ($4.50)
4th - A.J. ($3)
#3: No Limit Hold 'em 6-Handed (3,000 chips, 15 minute levels)
I picked up a bunch of second best hands in this tournament and went out pretty early in 12th place. David dominated the middle stages of the tournament and won a couple of big pots from Matt to take a large chiplead. However, once the heads-up match commenced Loretta took over and won the tournament.
1st - Loretta ($12)
2nd - David ($7.50)
3rd - Scott ($4.50)
4th - Chris ($3)
Points through 3 tournaments
1st - Loretta - 27 pts
1st - Chris - 27 pts
3rd - 3 tied with 25
14th (tie) - Me - 8 pts
#4: Eight Game Mix (3,000 chips, 10 minute levels)
I expected the 8-Game to be a long tournament since the stakes only go up every two levels, but I was not expecting it to go five and a half hours! My early league rivalry with Jeff continued as I won some of my more significant pots early when he continued to chase hands against me. Bacon took the chiplead early, while I sat in the middle of the pack. With seven remaining, I sat at the table of three against Chris and Jesse, two very good aggressive players who had me outchipped (though I was 4th or 5th at the time). That is not a great spot to be in! But I survived to the final table when Bacon's 7-6 got all-in against Dad's A-A after a flop of 10-6-6 in Limit Hold 'em. I managed to pick up some chips and got three handed with Bacon and Jesse, where Bacon hit a cold run to bust in Limit Hold 'em in 3rd place and leave Jesse and I almost even in chips. I got hit by the deck heads-up for awhile and built a 34K to 8K chiplead, when everything suddenly went south. Jesse took the lead and won it in Stud when my (K♥ Q♠) J♦ caught the T♣ on 4th street and then bricked off to lose to his split queens on 3rd street that never improved either. Still, my first meaningful points and finally a cash!
1st - Jesse ($12)
2nd - Me ($7.50)
3rd - Bacon ($4.50)
4th - Matt ($3)
Points through 4 tournaments
1st - Bacon - 38
2nd - Jesse - 35
2nd - Matt - 35
2nd - Chris - 35
6th (tie) - Me - 25
#5: No Limit 2-7 Single Draw Lowball (3,000 chips, 10 minute levels)
I spent a fair amount of time practicing for this tournament on PokerStars, but I still went into it with only vague ideas for strategies. The one thing I had picked up though was position, position, position! Early in the tournament Joel and Bacon were raising and 3-betting most pots, and Joel was drawing two or three cards and outdrawing Bacon almost every time. After knocking Bacon out, Joel lost his internet connection for the rest of the tournament and his 9K stack blinded out in 6th. Jeff took control of our table, but as the middle stages wore on, I began to outplay him and took the tournament chiplead. I then raised him all-in with an 8-6 and he called and drew one while I stood pat. He mucked and we went to the final table. Out of the 45K chips in play, I had 21K of them to start the seven handed final table! I was getting plenty of good hands and drawing hot, but I also genuinely felt that I had a skill advantage as well in this uncommon game. When we went four handed I had 30K. It was like Secretariat at the Belmont, just continuing to pull further and further ahead. I went to heads-up against Matt with a 40K to 4K chiplead. We got it all-in before the draw on the first hand of heads-up. I had T-T-4-3-2 and tossed away a T. I caught a 5 for a T-5-4-3-2 and Matt paired one of his cards, showing T-8-8-6-3. With that I had my first win and finally moved into the thick of the points chase!
1st - Me ($12)
2nd - Matt ($7.50)
3rd - Jesse ($4.50)
4th - A.J. ($3)
Points through 5 tournaments
1st - Matt - 52
2nd - Me - 50
3rd - Jesse - 48
4th - Bacon - 38
#6: No Limit Hold 'em (3,000 chips, 15 minute levels)
My recent run of good form was put to an end early in this one. Daisy owned me throughout my time at the table. Early on I raised to 120 w/ J♥ J♣ after Daisy limped in and she called. The flop came Q♦ 9♣ 4♠ and Daisy checked. I bet 150 and she called. The turn was the 8♥ and she checked again. I bet 250 and she called. The river was the A♠ and she checked a third time. I checked behind and Daisy showed J♦ T♦ for the nut straight to win the pot. Later I got beaten in small pots while holding T-T and 9-9, the latter of which I folded to Mom's K-K after a dry flop. After getting beat down to 1,800 chips or so, I raised w/ A♣ T♣, only for Daisy to 3-bet me. I called and luckily missed the flop b/c she bet and showed me A♥ A♦ after I folded. A few hands later I 3-bet all-in w/ A♠ Q♣ and Daisy snap called with K♠ K♥. Good game me.
Jesse held the chiplead three handed, but Mom started coming over the top on him in almost every pot they played, forcing Jesse to fold. She took the chiplead and eliminated Jesse a while later. Her 3-to-1 chiplead almost disappeared when A.J. got all-in preflop with A♠ K♦ against her A♣ 10♣, but Mom rivered a flush to win the tournament.
1st - Mom ($12)
2nd - A.J. ($7.50)
3rd - Jesse ($4.50)
4th - Daisy ($3)
Points through 6 tournaments
1st - Jesse - 61
2nd - Matt - 54
3rd - Me - 50
4th - Mom - 47
#7: Pot Limit Omaha (5,000 chips, 10 minute levels)
I got off to a good start in PLO, grabbing the early chiplead, but my tournament could easily have come crashing down in one large pot. I was in the BB w/ K♦ J♣ T♣ 5♠ and saw the flop for free four handed at the 60/120 level. The flop came Q♠ 9♥ 8♦, giving me a straight with a redraw to a better straight. I bet 410 and I was called by Marc and Bacon. The turn was the 6♠ and I bet 1,710, which was the size of the pot. Marc called and the river was the 4♠. I checked and Marc moved all-in for just over 3,000 chips. I put him on the flush and sure enough, after I folded he showed A♠ J♠ T♥ 7♦ for the nut flush. I lost my chiplead, but if Marc had raised pot on the turn (as he should have), I would have been crippled. Later I eliminated Marc when my A-A-K-4 held up against his K-K-6-5, all-in preflop. For the most part I stayed out of the way and managed to win most of the pots that I played. Jesse had about a 2-1 chiplead when we went heads-up, but I hit the deck hard to take the lead away. I raised w/ A♦ Q♣ 7♣ 3♦, caught a T♦ 6♦ 2♦ flop, and check-called all the way down until leading pot on the river. Jesse folded, saying that he had a baby flush and he smelled a rat. Later, I called his raise w/ K♥ T♠ 7♦ 4♠ and the flop came Q♥ 6♦ 3♣. Jesse bet and I called with a gutshot. He had been so aggressive and I had been so tight that I thought he might be betting any flop. The turn was the 2♦ and we both checked. The river was the Q♠ and I bet 2/3 of the pot with a total airball. Jesse thought and folded, and I showed my bluff. I felt that he was respecting my bets too much and I needed to mix him up a bit. A few hands later, I had a 2-1 chiplead and 3-bet over Jesse's raise w/ A♥ A♦ K♥ 8♠. Jesse called and the flop came A♣ Q♥ 4♣. I bet pot and Jesse called. The turn was the 7♠ and I bet pot which was enough to put Jesse all-in. He called and showed A♠ K♦ Q♦ 6♥, which was drawing dead! I took another tournament down and narrowed Jesse's points lead considerably.
1st - Me ($12)
2nd - Jesse ($7.50)
3rd - A.J. ($4.50)
4th - Matt ($3)
Points through 7 tournaments
1st - Jesse - 78 pts
2nd - Me - 75 pts
3rd - Matt - 64 pts
4th - A.J. - 59 pts
#8: No Limit Hold 'em Turbo (3,000 chips, 5 minute levels)
Matt did his Jamie Gold impression in this tournament as he totally ran over the field. With only 5 minute blinds, this was always going to be a short tournament, but Matt took it down in under 90 minutes. He got started early when he got all-in preflop against Dad in one of the first hands. His K-K was in bad shape against Dad's A-A, but a K hit the flop to knock Dad out. The blinds began catching up to my stack around the 45 minute mark, and I needed to make a move. I shoved 10-10 from the BB over two limpers to win one pot and the next hand, Matt raised from the button. I shoved 9-9 and he called w/ A-J. The board ran 7-4-2-Q-A and the ace on the river knocked me out in 10th place and vaulted Matt over 10,000 chips. He kept beating on the table and took a large chiplead into four handed play. He then got all-in on the turn with 5-4 against Bacon's 8-8 on a board of A-2-3-8 and dodged the board pairing for another knockout. Matt held a 2-1 chiplead over Jeff heads-up when they got all-in on a T-3-2 board. Jeff held 5-5 and Matt held K-2. A deuce on the river ended the tournament.
1st - Matt ($12)
2nd - Jeff ($7.50)
3rd - A.J. ($4.50)
4th - Bacon ($3)
Points through 8 tournaments
1st - Matt - 87 pts
2nd - Jesse - 82 pts
3rd - Me - 76 pts
4th - A.J. - 72 pts
#9: H.O.R.S.E. (3,000 chips, 10 minute levels)
Matt took a big early lead again in the HORSE tournament, and went to the final table as the chipleader. But he ended up losing a significant amount of his stack against Rhonda in Seven Card Stud. Rhonda had a pair of aces showing on 7th street and 3-bet over Matt's raise. Matt had three clubs on board and called. He actually had made three kings, while Rhonda had aces full of fives to win the huge pot and take the chiplead. I ended up taking the chiplead three handed against A.J. and Rhonda, and had Rhonda on the ropes in Omaha-8. I held A♠ A♥ 2♣ 7♠ against Rhonda's A♣ Q♦ 8♥ 6♥ with her all-in on a board of 9♥ 6♣ 4♥ 9♠. The T♥ on the river, not only made her a winning flush, it was a high card that kept me from at least splitting the pot. Instead of knocking Rhonda out in 3rd, we all were close again in chips. I went on a dry run after that and busted against Rhonda in Razz. A.J. then took the tournament down to move into the points lead.
1st - A.J. ($12)
2nd - Rhonda ($7.50)
3rd - Me ($4.50)
4th - Loretta ($3)
Points through 9 tournaments
1st - A.J. - 94 pts
2nd - Me - 89 pts
2nd - Matt - 89 pts
4th - Jesse - 82 pts
5th - Bacon - 59 pts
#10: No Limit Hold 'em (5,000 chips, 20 minute levels)
The standings were even closer in the top 4 than they looked because only each player's top seven points scores counted for points. A.J. and Matt both needed to finish fifth or higher to score points above their current totals, while Jesse and I scored points with any finish 10th or higher. We agreed before the tournament to pay 4th $10, so the payouts were now $40, $25, $15, $10.
The tournament itself was a bit anti-climatic, though there were some interesting moments. Needing to secure some points, my main goal was just to outlast people, but the very first hand I picked up Q♦ Q♣ and raised to 140 over two limpers. I got three callers and the flop came Q♥ J♥ 7♠. I was in a tough spot because of the very real possibility of going out on the first hand, but I bet 320 and everyone folded. Whew! Jeff doubled through David when they got all-in on a K-T-9 flop. Jeff held K-9 and David had Q-J for the straight. But the river was a 9 to fill Jeff up. David, however got a suckout of his own when he shoved his last 1,700 chips w/ Q-9, only to be called by Matt's A-K. David turned a 9 to double. Matt got no breaks and was the first player eliminated in 15th. Now all I needed was a 10th place or higher to ensure a top 3. Jesse went out shortly after, making a hero call of Scott's all-in on a Q-5-2-3-T board. Jesse held Q-J, Scott held A-4 for a wheel. So now 10th was even more of a priority since it would guarantee at least a 2nd place finish. A.J. then went out in 11th, which not only gave me an all important point, it also guaranteed that a 6th place finish would be enough to give me the league title. Since two other players were sitting out, I really had to sit on my hands. I called A.J. and offered a $35-$30 split between 1st and 2nd, so I wasn't so paralyzed and he took the deal. I really didn't get much to play though (I folded A-Q once after a limper, but that was about it), so it didn't really matter. When Marc and Loretta blinded out in 8th and 9th place, I only needed to outlast one more. Finally Rhonda busted in 7th and I was guaranteed the league title! I shoved A-K a few hands later and Daisy called w/ Q-8. The board ran Q-8-4-K-K and a brutal flop was rescued by a gorgeous turn and river to put me back in the tournament. I ended up making it all the way into the top three before getting all-in with Bacon on a A-T-8 flop. I had A-5 and Bacon had T-8. The turn and river bricked off and I was out. I busted around the four hour mark, but Bacon and Chris played heads-up for over two hours to decide the winner. After exchanging large chipleads back and forth, Chris finally emerged the winner of the deep stack.
1st - Chris ($10.50)
2nd - Bacon ($9)
3rd - Me ($4.50)
4th - Jeff ($3)
Final Points and Payouts
1st - Me ($35) - 102
2nd - A.J. ($30) - 94
3rd - Matt ($15) - 89
4th - Jesse ($10) - 82
