Golden Nugget - Grand Poker Series - event 8 - 8th place

To say that I am exhausted today would be an understatement.  After 12 hours of play, 8 coffees, 1 falafel, 1 fruit cup , a chili dog and 25 bottles of water later I managed to final table my first tournament of the trip and wound up placing 8th

I told myself coming into the trip that I would not grade my performance at the table by being results orientated. My main goal going into yesterday trny was get a feel for the live dynamics, be conscious of my table behavior, and to make educated and well thought out decisions.  Well that lasted right up to the point until the first cards were in the air. As soon as we got going I had only one goal in mind, first place.

The demographic that made up my initial table draw was fairly standard for most Las Vegas poker tournaments.  There were a few grumpy old lads, a few internet poker wizards wearing their sunglasses, hoodie, and beats headphones, there was a man who drank double jack and cokes for 12 hours (he actually made it down to the final 20 and was a sloppy mess by 11pm), a few kids that were obviously playing the tourney just for fun and the notorious loud mouth Canadian.  Can you guess which category I fall into?  hehe 

I was slightly disappointed with the turnout but I think the final count was about 135 runners.  The blind structures were very fair and with 40 minute blind levels and starting stacks of 12k there was a lot of opportunity to splash around in pots early and still have plenty of chips left.  The top 13 got paid and first place was approximately 37X the initial buy in.

After the initial 3 or 4 orbits I pretty much knew that I had a skill advantage over at least 5 of the 9 players at my table.  I decided to focus my attention on opening up my range while in position against these players, and for the most part stay clear of the internet wizards. 

Fast forward 10 hours and there are now 15 players left.  The dynamic of a poker tournament when nearing the money changes completely.  It basically divides the remaining players into two groups:
(a)those who are playing to win and (b)those who are playing to make the money.    What winds up happening is group a picks on group b.  This dynamic has been the norm for so long, that it has turned into one of those I know that you know that I know meta game scenarios and solid players have started exploiting the players who are exploiting the other players. 

Fast forward to the final table.  By this point I had been playing for a little over 11 hours and, I was not only feeling the physical demands, but also the mental strains of a full day of intense concentration.  The only comparison I can make would be describing my mental state as the way you feel after writing back to back exams after spending weeks/months studying for them.

I noticed the demeanor of all of the players changing.  The laughing stopped.  Players started getting agitated and crusty with the dealers.  Mixed drinks were turning into coffees and the chatter was almost non existent.



Here is the hand that took me out of the tournament.

I was in the big blind with A4 off suit.  The action gets folded around to the small blind who makes a standard min raise in an attempt to steal my blind. 

I decide to make the call in stead of re-raising since both her an I were close to the being the chip leaders and there were a few players nursing short stacks in an attempt to climb the money ladder.

The flop comes

A 4 8 rainbow

She is first to act and raises about half pot.  I tank for a minute then re-raise her.  She instantly jams on me.   There is no way I am folding two pair on a flop like this in a blind versus blind situation as I am only losing to pocket 4's, 8's and Aces which was more unlikely since I had one myself.

She turns over AJ and I jump out of my seat.  I have her dominated and can only lose if a J comes on the turn or river.

We all know where this is going.  Good game all, out in 8th place. 

I am heading over to Caesars Palace today and hope to make another deep run!

For updates follow me on twitter @payformygolf

 

I had a few minutes on break to consult with Zoltar on optimum game strategy

 

 

The famous entrance of the Golden Nugget on Fremont

 

 

The Grand Poker hall where Poker After Dark is filmed

 

 

Where is everyone?  I guess most people don't show up an hour early.  haha

 

take care all!  CF