And now, it was time to unleash the BBS on a lot of unsuspecting people at the ACF5k tournament. 88 players entered the tournament and most of those people I would be playing, it would have been the first time they would see me play, so I was reveling in that prospect.
After registering, I found myself at table 1, which was the last table to be collapsed, so if I played my cards right (ok, pun intended) I wouldn't budge from that seat, which was Table 1 Seat 4. When the order from the TD to "shuffle up and deal" I was in the zone, I had my N91 playing Coldplay's
A Rush of Blood to the Head, which seems to be a good soundtrack to my poker playing (always profitable, it seems), my chi was centered (whatever that means). In a span of ten minutes, I won 5 hands by raising pre-flop three successive times and then outplaying the players post-flop. All of those wins, my hole cards were never shown. How awesome is that. Early chip lead and then the roller coaster ride which was my tournament day started. I had a lot of fun, mind you, but trying to get a BBS to write about was still paramount in my mind.
Nothing going until, I look down at 52s and I raised it 3xBB which was 1,200 at that time. I get a raise to 4,200 and I know I was in big trouble, I'm thinking big pair, but I called. The flop comes T-7-6 with two clubs giving me a flush draw, and if you have been reading this blog for a while, you know I haven't gotten anything in the region of a straight (well, the night before the tournament) let alone a flush. I was giddy about the prospects. I bet out 800 and I get a raise from Seat 7 to 2,300. I was like, yup, feed him some rope, feed him some rope. So I call. Another T comes on the turn, and he checks. I didn't want to force the issue so I check as well and the river gave another 7. I sigh, cause I didn't get my flush but when seat 7 turns over pocket Aces, I was livid. That would have been one for the blog, certified hall of fame BBS but as it turned out,
BBS denied
Analysis - With the hole cards revealed now, I was a 81/19 underdog pre-flop. Nothing new for me, after the flop I was 61/39. Imagine that, I was 39% chance to win from that point, that is a big swing, more than doubling my 19% pre-flop. With the T coming on the turn, I was back to my 81/19 hole before the flop. Man, what could have been . . .
I was still happy about my potential pocket rocket killer, but I had to nurse my stack again. In a few minutes, I was near the chip lead again and this situation came up. UTG raised it to 3,000 when the blinds were 500/1000 and I had my friend Lil Joey in seat 3 calling it. I look down at pocket tens on the BB and decide that I wanted to win the pot right then. I re-raise to 6,000 and I didn't know that seat 5 would have been all-in with that re-raise so he called all-in. My friend Joey agonizes for awhile and me as well, because I didn't want anyone else in the pot with me and seat 5, but the darndest thing happened. He called, saying "Ok, let's gamble." My gut was doing back flips when I heard that, I knew he was up to something.
We had a side pot already and when the flop came Q-Q-4 with two spades, I was pissed. Someone might have a Queen and would have out-flopped my pocket tens. But even one Queen would have done the job anyways, right? Both of us checked, which I didn't know how Joey would react to a short stack going all-in and us checking it down, which is the right tournament move for us, but I wouldn't even think about telling him that at that time, so I was just hoping he knew that. The third spade hit the board and appropriately, it was the 3. So I was dancing on thin ice, I had to dodge a Q or two spades to win this hand. With the river coming out a case 7, I knew I was beat. When I showed Joey my pocket Tens, I was kinda assured . . . optimistic maybe? But he turned over 87 of spades, and I was like WTF? You dealt a BBS to ME . . . Bastard. . . Had to just make light of the moment so that I wouldn't do a Hellmuth tirade.
Anyways, the other guy flipped over AQ which gave him trips on the flop but it was moot because he was out of the tournament.
BBS Served TO ME
Analysis - I was ahead pre-flop 43% chance to win with the AQ at a close second at 36% and the 87 of spades at 21%, decent percentages pre-flop for everyone. But I was ahead. . . Post flop though, I got moved to the dog house, YUCK. I only had 8% chance to win at that point (the two other Tens in the deck), Joey had 22% chance to win with his flush draw (F-ing Bastard), and the AQ was way ahead, 70% at that point. When the Turn hit I only had 5% chance to win, still wasn't drawing dead, but Joey was ahead 72% and AQ still had outs at 23%.
Joey had the big stack now at the table, and I am perturbed to say the least. A few hands later, a Caucasian guy comes into the table to replace the person that just got busted out. I look down at 74o and I raise my usual 3xBB. The white guy folds and Joey decides to call. The flop comes K-Q-8 and I decide to check and Joey does the same. Another K comes off the Turn and we check it again. A 2 comes on the river and I did not hit anything at all and I check, but Joey checked to and he says, GET THIS, "Six high." I was like, "Really? I got Seven high." We laugh and I'm stacking my chips and the white guy slams the table, it seems that he had a King and I raised him out of the pot.
Story Continued
Analysis - I really don't want to analyze this but I have to just to see the math side of this. Pre-flop I was 61/39 ahead and was 62/38 ahead post flop. After the turn I was only 59/41 ahead, yikes, but closed the deal on that case 2. How funny was that hand, but it did set me up for something later.
I had the white guy on the verge of tilting but he was moved before I could do anything. Oh well, but it seems like a foreshadowing moment, right? Fast forward to the dinner break, where I was one of the chip leaders after clawing my way back from short stack just ten minutes prior to the break, at about 76k, and fast forward again to the final two tables where I begin to distribute my chips again to the rest of the players in my pursuit of the BBS.
With the blinds at 5,000/10,000, I was at the cutoff and I decide to take a stand with my last 27k on 42s. YES, I did. SB called me and he turns over A9, I turn over my 42 and the small crowd that was building around us, started to laugh. When the flop came T-5-4, they started to cheer me on. The board finished J-7 and I just doubled up with 42!!
BBS Served
Analysis – I was 61/39 underdog pre-flop, but when was I not? But when that 4 hit the flop I was 76/24 ahead, and 84/16 after the turn. Oh yeah!!
That is the highlight of my tournament so far, I didn’t have to go all-in at that time because I was at the cutoff but I liked the cards and I went all-in. Two players busts out and wouldn't you know it, the white guy came to the table again, this time holding a beer and a big stack. I get on his case already before he sits down about him having a beer and none of the players at this table having any, because he was white . . . Blah blah.
I look down at JTo and I raise it 3xBB and everyone folds except the white guy. The flop comes J-J-9 and I check, the white guy puts me all-in and I beat him into the pot turning my trips as he turns over KQ. He's shouting for a Ten and I shout for a Ten as well cause that would have given me the Nuts, and he sees it and decides to abandon the shouting for the Ten bit. Two blanks come off and I doubled up again and his chip stack is severly crippled.
BBS Effect ServedAnalysis - How funny is that, I set up a guy and I get my man at the end. Pre flop I was behind 65/35 but I didn't know that. After the flop I was 99/1 and he was in a world of hurt, at the turn he was drawing dead already.
The next hand he was busted out and he walked away, I think until now, in disbelief. I make it to the final table and the roller coaster had another rise for me as I was at about 150k in chips and was battling the chip leader. I wanted to stop but I couldn't because it wasn't keeping with my BBS style. Inevitably, a really bad dealer did me in. I guess there was a shift change, but man, that dealer stank. I think he didn't even know how to deal poker, I think he knew how to run the Paigow table so he figured that was ok already.
I placed 7th and I had a lot of fun. It was the deepest I have gotten in any tournament and I did it the BBS way. Yeha . . .
Game Summary - 22,000
Running Total - 39,560