Live Tourneys

Played in a couple live tourneys last night... it had been awhile since I had ventured away from my computer to play poker... I had gotten to miss the feel of the felt, the sound of the chips, and the cards in my hands... I didn't go expecting to win, or even do well.. just to stay long enuff to get my fix of live action....

One thing that I noticed, almost immediately it seemed.. was how easy it was to read the other players... perhaps not read them, but associate them with the various different types of players....

At the first tourney.. every one of the other 6 players were loose/stupid/lucky.... I'm not sure if that is an actual named type of player, if not, well, then I'll coin it.... time after time, they would call bottom pair to the river... raise with Ax preflop, fold when they can check, call with a straight with 4 to a flush on the board... during all this, most of this, I was never in a hand... opting to fold my meager hands and just watch... knowing I would survive long enuff so that when the blinds got to be a factor, I could easily make my way to the final table...... this is where the '/lucky' comes in...

I won a couple pots early, with the only couple good hands I had... so, I was one of the chip leaders.... in the SB, BB is shortstack, and she goes all in, everyone folds, I look at AK suited... call with half my stack.... she flips 84o and gets two 8's on the flop..... so be it... few hands latre, I get AKs again, dude before me raises the BB to 400, I make it 1000 to play, and he goes all in... I fold this time... he had JJ...... who knows... now i am the short stack, get K9s, first to act, I go all in, get called by this lady who was getting remarkably lucky, hitting few outters on the river to take huge pots..... calling me was only a third of her stack... she flips AA... to kick me while I am down, flop is AAK..... go figure..

So, I went to another location, and did the same thing... just sorta folded and watched......this time, only 1 player really knew what and how to play... poor fellow, he got his Q's cracked by a dude chasing a straight, then got KK beat by same guy chasing an 8 for a set... was horrible.... and the chaser comments, 'you can't mess with me, I'm a pro'.. yeah.. well, ok......... then a lil latre, an argument of sorts ensued when a guy wouldn't show his cards after winning a pot... he said that no one paid to see his cards.. in actuality, the chaser had paid, and checked on the river, to which the winner also checked.. chased dumped his cards after winner showed him his, and only showed him... we asked, what did you have, and he didn't want to show.. it really was not a big deal, until he told me, 'shut up, I'm beating you'.. Hmm, ok, well, you have more chips than I do, but, I haven't been playing... but, now I am.... So, I just raised every single time he was in the pot, and when everyone folded and he called, I would just go all in.... soon, I had all his chips, plus the chasers... and he was just watching...... I never did shut up... They also thought I was strange due to the following hand....

player 1 has 10 10
player 2 has A 6

p1 raises pf from 200 to 500.
p2 calls

flop is J J J

p1 bets 500
p2 calls

turn is J J J (10)

p1 bets 500
p2 calls

river is J J J 10 (A)

p1 checks
p2 is all in with about 480


p1 goes to tank, then he folds. shows his cards.. gets berated for folding with so much committed to the pot....never fold when your pot committed.. you dummmy... oh my god, i would have won that pot... all kinds of mean things..... I, when the din hushed, simply said, Good Lay Down.. saved yourself 500 chips... then they got on to me about how wrong I was.... I countered with.. his mistake was not when he folded, his mistake was not going all in on the turn. to which the winner, P2, stated, I would not have called in all in on the flop, but I would have seriously thought about calling on the turn...

I went out in third place, at my table... ( top two went to final ), with 10 8 offsuit... heh, lot and battling back and forth between the 3 of us.. blinds at 800 and 1600, and we had about the same in chips pretty much.... I went all in on the button......SB folded.... about 7200 in the pot, 3500 more for BB to call... he tanks for a very long time, and finally calls... shit.... flipped A3s...... I never improved... said he had to call due to pot odds... this confused me, cuz, I bet all in to take away pot odds, I thought...... he was getting 2 to 1, right.. is that not, not good pot odds.... ? Don't you want to call 3500 into a 21k pot...? Isn't that bettre pot odds? Pay 1 to get 7, bettre than pay 1 to get 2, right???? Anyway, he was the other 'good' player... and while we were playing, he was telling me how his gf made him a nice poker table top, and i said, heck, have a cash game, invite me too... he said no no no... the idea is to invite those that aren't any good.... i stopped.... asked him, did you just compliment me? He said yes, that i was the only one he was worried about at the table the whole time.... cool... my first live play compliment.. I'm moving up in the world... :)