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| Carla "oh my" Goddard |
I played well all night long and only made 1 mistake in the entire night, but it was that "mistake" that guaranteed the win. (More about that hand later) The annoying thing is that I've played dozens of tournaments over the previous 6-8 weeks and probably didn't play any worse than I did the other night but still didn't cash in anyone of them.
Prior to Xmas I'd been about 6 or 7 times to the Gala Casino in Birmingham which since the cardroom re-launched/re-furbished is a really great venue. It has some really good tournaments at the sort of price I like to play when I've not won a satellite! (£25 - £50)
However I am getting the feeling that the Poker Gods do not want me to win there. The general standard of play is very poor there (much worse than the G Cov and the Broadway) so over time I'd expect to be winning tournaments there but it seems I'm going to have to struggle to do so.
I can't believe how I'm running there and am beginning to wonder if the place is just unlucky for me?
I finished 13th on my last but 1 visit there (top 9 paid) and this is the nearest I've got to cashing in a normal comp there.
When I left that night I was full of frustration as the standard of players left on my table as I walked out was dreadful.
To my immediate right I had a good player (young Scandi type) but the other 4 players at the table were so clueless you wonder how they can even manage to stack their chips.
General bet sizing in the casino is always shocking as they regularly open pots for between 5-20 bb's. At 25/50 they often make it 500 when it has been folded to them. At 50/100 then 700 seems the norm. I think partly it's because they are so bad that they really have no idea what to do post flop.
Here are 2 examples.
Example 1 (I was not involved in either of these hands)
10 player table: UTG +1 opens for 11k at 800/1600/200. All fold to BB who calls.
Flop comes K,4,6, rainbow. BB checks, UTG +1 bets 28k. BB shoves all in and it's just an extra 8k for UTG +1 to call.
UTG + 1 says "I know I'm beat but I can't fold now" (yes but whose fault is that?) so he calls and shows J,Q off suit, the BB has Kd,5d for top pair and wins.
An argument between 3 or 4 of the players then ensues as to how each player played it wrong. Each of them trying (and failing) to say how it should have been played. If I'd had a knife in my pocket I'd have slashed my wrists at this point, but as I didn't I had to go to the loo as I couldn't listen to it any-more.
Next time someone is talking complete bollox and won't shut up, I might start singing "finish talking" to the tune of "Frère Jaques". That should work.
Example 2
Getting close to the final table: 6 handed, the good Scandi opens for 8.5k from the CO at 1500/3000 the small blind flat calls. The BB shoves all in for a total of 28k and the Scandi folds.
The small blind calls (again) and shows 3,4 off suit. The flop comes 2,5,6.
Me and the Scandi just look at one another and shake our heads. The small blind tells everyone proudly that 3,4 is his favourite hand...at this point I'm crying inside.
My exit was more annoying because I had an outrageous bit of luck earlier when I get all my chips in pre-flop with QQ versus KK and AJ. The door card is a Q and I treble up. I thought great this is the night where I finally cash here.
Why do the poker Gods do this? They give you false hope, if I'd just lost with the Queens I could have gone home 3 hours earlier with the same amount of prize money, none, and been quite happy about it. But oh no, they want to pro-long my agony.
From the QQ hand I start motoring and get to over double the average, but I lose 3 flips v shorts stacks to become a shorty myself. (This was my trouble in the bad run "flipitus")
The funniest hand I had all night was when I had 22k at 1k/2k/200. (10 players) I was in the big blind and 3 players limped onto my big blind. The clock is only 20 mins so it will be 1,5k/3k very soon.
So as the action is getting round to me I make up my mind that I'm shoving anything that looks remotely like a hand. They all play abc, so I feel there is no one with a pocket pair or AJ+ .
When the action gets to me there is now 11k in the pot and I look down and see 5,6 off suit, not exactly what I was hoping for but I'd made my mind up, so I shove all in.
The 1st 2 limper's insta fold but the last one (the button) tanks for quite a while. After a while I start giving him a bit of speech play and he's reminding me that he hasn't won a pot versus me all night. He is convincing himself he will lose and the player to his right who knows him starts ribbing him saying he should hurry up and fold.
Eventually he folds his cards face up. I nearly fell off my chair, he had JJ.
What goes through these peoples minds, forget the fold for a minute, what the hell was he doing limping with pocket Jacks on the button versus 2 limpers?
Even though I get back up a bit, I lose two races at 1.5k/3k and I'm out.
The JJ idiot of course is still in after I'm out, as was the 3,4 man.
The annoying thing about tournament poker is that it always turns into a crap shoot and thinking you can play better than most of your opponents does you no good in the end. You do actually have to have the winning hand now and again.
In the latter stages it doesn't matter that they can't play, as it's the hands that play themselves that decide the winners.
I can't blame the Gala for the structure either, with 72 runners they have to finish it. I got KO'd at 3.30am and there were still 12 left.
I play my last game of the year there on the Friday prior to New Years eve. It's a £25 freezeout with a £2k guarantee, though it made just over £3k.
I see Carla "ohmy" Goddard there and we agree to swap 10% as we often do. Carla is not only a poker fanatic but also a petrol head. She can drive faster than the Stig. If she supported Man United and liked cooking & cleaning I'd have to marry her but fortunately she doesn't.
Carla's on the next table to me and we are sitting virtually back to back. At one point after about an hour and half she turns round to me and say's "don't you ever shut up?"
LOL, she was right I hadn't stopped talking since about 10 mins after the game started. I do get bored sometimes if I'm not involved in the action.
It made me think though and when I went to the G Cov on Sunday 1st Jan I decided to keep it shut and just concentrate on the game. I also tightened up my opening range an awful lot too during the first 4 or 5 levels. Just lately I feel I've been playing far too loose. My friends daughter Lizzie is a massive rock and yet she keeps making final tables at the Gala at a rate of about 1 in 2 attempts.
So I have a slight change to my game and attitude and off we go. This paid dividends for me as I missed every flop anyway in the early levels so I'd saved myself a big chunk of chips by tightening up.
The tourney had a 25k starting stack and I had 2.5k extra for early reg, so even though I just trod water for the first 4 levels I was in no danger.
Slowly as the blinds started to increase and the other players started to tighten up I opened up a bit. Also although I had opted for a more cautious start with just 15 minutes blind levels I would have to get a wriggle on sooner or later. We were playing 1 ten handed round of the table a level which is disgraceful.
So when it got to 300/600 I mentally changed up a gear. I had 2,2 and opened for 1,500 at 300/600 and I got 1caller. When the flop came A,K,9 I made a cbet. He quickly threw 10,10 into the muck face up in disgust. I couldn't help myself and showed the pocket 2's.
That was one new years resolution (no showing bluffs any-more) out the window on day one! It turned out to be a good thing though.
Later on I got KK versus the same player and flopped a boat on a board of K,3,3. I cbet the flop again only this time he shoved all in on me with total air thinking I was "at it".
From then on I had loads of chips and was always way above average. Even more unusual I started winning races versus short stacks and knocking them out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amazingly I did it twice in a row and the second one was quite funny. The structure was total shite and with only 15 minute blinds I opened for 16.5k at 4k/8k with 7h,5h (I was in full attack mode by this point). The sb was a very decent lady player who had just joined the table and she shipped all in for a total of 36k.
With the action back to me there was 45k in the pot and it was 19.5k to call. I've always been a sucker for 2/1 pot odds so I make the call. I really hope she has AJ or similar but in fact much to my surprise she has 2,2 and it's a race.
I river a flush and can't believe how well I'm running, I'm having difficulty not smiling too much at this point.
While I was running good (I know winning a couple of races is hardly a hot streak, but it makes such a change) poor Lee French (who'd just been moved to my table) was having the worst luck imaginable. He sat down with a stack equal to mine (I was table CL at this point) and he played 2 huge pots against the same player and had him in knots both times. On both occasions the guy river'd him for a shocking bad beat.
The first of which he had to suffer a horrible tank call when in all honesty the guy had no choice but to call. It just showed that his opponent didn't really know what he was doing and made it tougher to take.
I felt sorry for Lee as he's a good player but I suppose while it's happening to him the Poker Gods are leaving me alone! Lee exited soon after and it did make my life a lot easier. No one else at the table is ever 3 betting without a monster but Lee and I seem to be continually getting into raising wars just lately.
I lose my one and only flip all night (for quite a lot of chips) and go back down to 206k as the Final table (10) is reached.
There are only 9 paid and the blinds are 12k/24k so it really is a bit daft at this point. Although my new found flip confidence is coursing through my veins I am sensible enough to seriously consider a 10 way chop which is suggested by one of the short stacks. The chip average is 185k, just under 8 bb's.
I don't know the guy who was the CL but he struck me as fairly inexperienced and he was sure that the fact he had nearly 400k meant he was guaranteed to win it.
I admired his optimism I really did, but I tried to explain to him that it could all change in one big hand. He said he didn't need to gamble and could wait for a big hand?! I pointed out that he could have the stone cold nuts with one card to come and it could still all go horribly wrong for him, but he wouldn't listen.
Later events would prove me a genius!
It's not that I'm clever but I've been playing a long time and have seen the most ridiculous things happen over the years.
I once saw a guy who refused a saver (when 2nd in chips) be the player who exited without a prize! "No Limit" is a big factor, it can all change very quickly. Being CL just means you have to lose 2 hands to exit rather than the one hand it takes everybody else.
One of the quotes I remember from an old time pro I used to play against was "No limit, what a great game, you can go from Brick Lane to Park Lane in 3 hands" It can go the other way even quicker!
Anyway although he refuses the 10 way chop, the CL graciously agrees to a £30 saver and we get started.
The clock is re-set back down to 10k/20k to give us "a bit more play". I do love a tournament director with a sense of humour, though in fairness Patrick is someone I have a lot of time for.
He and James both do their jobs very well and the fact that neither one of them has been promoted to the vacant position of Card Room Supervisor is a disgrace.
Once we get going, sadly one of the good guys, Tim Millward-Brookes, exited 10th when he shoved A9 and got unlucky.
9th quickly followed and we lost the player in 8th when I opened for 45k UTG +1 with AA. (Wow winning flips, and now I'm getting dealt monster hands!)
The BB shoves all in with AQ and I KO him.
I then raise and take a couple once with KK and then some with not quite such strong hands.
Initially I didn't like my seat draw for the final as I had Tom French (Lee's brother) to my immediate left and felt this would disadvantage me. However in the end it proved an advantage as I could open a pot before him. He then had to decide whether to 3 bet or fold and with the short stacks around he didn't fancy going to war with me unnecessarily without a really big hand.
Then came the hand where I made my one and only mistake all night. The blinds are 12k/24k and at this point I have approx 350k and I'm in the sb.
The CL (same "no deal" one) limps UTG + 1 with A,10. That was his first big mistake. If he raises I fold As9s from the sb without hesitation at this point. There are only 7 left and some of the stacks are very very short now. I do not need to tangle with him out of position and would have folded to a raise. I rarely play to ladder but there are times when I do pay particular attention to stack sizes and this was one of those times.
Anyway everyone else folds round to me with my suited Ace. I seriously consider making a raise as I figure he isn't that strong due to the limp. I certainly didn't give him credit to be subtle enough to be limping with Aces/Kings etc.
I wimpishly decide to just make up the bb and pay the extra £12k hoping to hit something big on the flop. Mr French checks the bb.
The flop misses me and it goes check, check, check. Checking the flop was the CL's 2nd mistake. He only had A,10 but a bet here wins the pot for sure.
The turn card is interesting and the board is something like Qs,Kd,3c, Js
The turn brought me a lot of outs as it brings a 2nd spade & gives me an inside straight draw. I also have the one over card.
As the flop was checked I figure a stab at it is worth a punt so I bet 45k, into 72k. Tom folds and the CL makes it 145k with his "nuts" straight.
Without too much thought I shove all in for about 300k and he snap calls me, oops.
Anyway with the memory of my 10 way spilt advice still ringing in the Poker Gods ears the river is a rag spade, giving me the nut flush!
The CL (well ex CL) sits there in stunned silence as the dealer counts out my chips and tells him he owes me another 305k from his stack.
The guy is down to dust and has less than 1 bb and is all in next hand from UTG. It's folded to me and I call with Q,9 from the button (no point raising here) and the sb and bb both check.
We are all good enough to know that no one is betting anything other than a monster on this board and it's checked to the river. When I bet the minimum on the river its because I've river'd a straight to KO him.
There is courteous silence as he leaves the table and he takes his exit pretty well in fairness to him.
So my one big mistake of the night was to try and push someone with the nuts off a pot, though fortunately I did with a hand that still had some outs.
When he'd gone the irony of his refusal to deal was not lost on the remaining players at the table and I could feel the love when I hit the spade on the river!
As I'd voted for the 10 way chop I felt it a bit harsh to refuse a new deal now, but Tom was not keen as he and I had most of the chips between us. Also without bragging I'm pretty sure we were the best 2 players left. So I was glad to carry on.
I don't think Tom and I played a single pot versus each other on the entire final table and we got rid of 2 more short stacks to end up at 4 players.
Tom really did want to carry on but the blinds were daft now, 15k/30k and soon to be 20k/40k so I said "let's deal".
We then did a deal whereby Tom and I both had more than 2nd place money at £440 each and the 2 short stacks took £260 each which was less than 3rd.
Tom and I had to donate £15 of our money for the 10th place saver but even so £425 from a £25 entry comp is pretty good going.
If the clock could have been re-set then yes I'd have fancied my chances (I had nearly 1million chips) but if I lost 2 flips in a row I could still have been out in 4th so the deal made sense to me.
Anyway I'm looking forward to my next game and I'm even confident of winning at the Gala very soon as I'm playing like a rock again! Lets hope I go on a bit of a heater.
Happy New Year all.
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