For all you Hold'em players and even
newbie Hold'em folks like myself.
I just had the ride of my life, and wanted to share w/ you all.
Kudos to all out there who write about the game,
analyze it, study it, and keep at it.
It is definitely a game that takes patience and effort to
learn well...
Local Indian casino poker rooms have jumped on the bandwagon, too.
In fact the promos are great for me - Bring a friend, log 3 hrs play
and you get a FREE entry to a $12 fee tournament.
These twice weekly events draw between 200-250 every week.
Everyone gets $1500 in funny chips. Blinds at $50/25 and double
every 15 minutes - which goes by VERY FAST.
If you don't win a pot by the 4th doubling (to $800/$400),
you'll practically be "all-in" just to cover the blind antes.
Anyhow, I stumbled at first, then survived an hour the 2nd time.
3rd times the charm! I lasted well into the 3rd hour of play,
outlasting over 200 players.
I ended up with $90K in funny chips (about 1/3 of total chips in
play) and felt like one of those big guys at the FINAL TABLE (even
though this was a low-stakes tourney).
To any who play the game - that feeling is one you'll never forget,
no matter how low the stakes. If it was real, I think I'd have to
recheck my heart and blood pressure!! From $1500 to $90K takes a bit
of luck and careful betting along the way.....
Heartbreaking losses: Happened to others as I watched.
Pocket Aces BEAT by pocket pair 7s. WHY? Bec. of that flop, the
most 3 important cards that detemine many outcomes.
FLop of 7-7-x did the AA in. Only out was to get A and A on turn and
river, neither of which appeared.
Other AK and AQ suited got beat by underpairs, as no As/Ks/Qs ever
flopped or appeared on these savvy players hands.
Heart-stopping all-ins for me:
K-6 offsuit vs. K-5. I outdrew, no Ks on board, and either a pair of
6s or small ST won the pot.
K-3 offsuit again. I had to play this hand on a blind.
Flop didn't help me, but 3-3 on turn and river for trip 3s won the
pot!
Twice I could've been knocked out of the tournament, and twice I
instead doubled and tripled up my chip stack! Guess that's the fun
of Hold'em NO LIMIT action!
Finally, great positioning (random draw at final table) allowed me to
wait out as 3 others knocked themselves out - vaulting me up from 9th
to 6th place minimum.)
My final play: K-7 offsuit in final table play (when blinds were up
to $32K/$16K ---- I can't grasp the reality of betting that much),
I had only $28K. I had the blind next hand anyways, so I choose to
play this hand out. I would be out in 6th or 5th place here, or make
a big jump up. Fortunate flop of 6-5-4-3-2 gave me the high end
straight! and pushed me to the $90-$100K chip mark, enough for 2nd
place! A wise guy had A-low 'Bicycle' straight, but this wasn't hi-
lo stud game!
Actual Payout: $225. Not bad for 'free' e.v.
Actually, I've only paid once here and once in Laughlin.
Looks like my investments have paid off. Now I know why the big
tournament players enjoy this game. $90K would've been a great
payout for a real player on $1500 invested.
Next goal: To win FIRST PLACE (which would've required heads up
play). They stop at final 4 players in this tournament format.
(After all - we lowrolling tournament players are taking up valuable
dealer/mgr/poker table time away from live action).
Martin.