A Couple Similar Main Event Hands

Most of my decisions in the Main Event were pretty straightforward. I wound up playing two pretty similar hands against world-class players that I thought might be interesting to juxtapose.

I was at a nightmare table on day one with a plethora of excellent players. A couple hours into the day it got tougher when a young, shaggy-haired kid decked out in DraftKings gear got moved to the table. Right away I thought the kid was Randal Flowers, winner of two WPTs, a kid I'd played a little with back in the day live and online. But I checked Randal's twitter and it said he was going to play day 1c of the Main, not the 1a that we were playing. This kid was opening a lot of hands, firing a lot of continuation bets, and losing most of them. It seemed like a situation ripe for frustration, but the kid just kept on relentlessly playing his game.

I hadn't really played any pots against him until he raised in middle position, got one caller, and I tossed in the minimum raise from the big blind with A9o. Many players will just fold A9o there not wanting to get involved with a mediocre hand out of position but I think that's too tight with antes against players with wide ranges. The flop came 775 rainbow, nothing that interested me, and I checked intending to fold. DraftKings kid threw out a dull continuation bet and the other player folded. I decided the kid would bet this flop with whatever he raised with, and since he was raising a wide range folding my hand to a small bet would be inappropriate.

I called and a queen came off. I checked again. The kid bet again, not a huge bet but not a small one either. It was a little unusual for him to bet twice in a hand, as he'd been giving up on most of the hands he'd played after meeting flop resistance. If I'd known the kid was Flowers, I'd be less inclined to give him credit in this spot. The thing about this hand is most professional tournament players are going to check the flop or the turn - especially in the Main Event - if they have a hand to keep the pot under control and avoid going broke against a 7. Few players are going to go for three streets of value on this board unless they actually have a 7. In my eyes, betting twice polarizes his hand to a 7+ or a bluff. The queen is an obvious bluff card since it's unlikely to help my hand and could help that of a preflop raiser, but most players are just going to check if they actually have the queen.

Some friends suggested I should checkraise all-in (the kid had about a pot bet left in his stack after betting) on the turn to represent a 7, which would have been a strong play. But I don't think it's necessary in this spot where the kid usually has a 7 or nothing. A9 was strong enough to call against a double-barreler in this hand, and I regretted the fold I made. I especially regretted it the next day when my friend SamENole went to a DraftKings party with Flowers, who revealed he had actually played day 1a and had 98s in that hand.

On day 2 I played a hand against David Vamplew, another young, active, tough player. Vamplew raised in early position and I called two spots behind him with pocket tens. Everyone else folded and we saw a JJ2 flop. Vamplew fired a continuation bet and I called. The turn was the 6c, the second club. Vamplew fired again, somewhat bigger. I thought for a while and reluctantly folded.

Vamplew's hand is just as polar as that of Flowers, but my hand appears stronger in this hand since I called from early position rather than just defending the BB against a middle-position raise. If Vamplew is bluffing, he's doing it against a hand that probably has some more weight. I thought Vamplew had a jack, 66 or nothing, which leaves a lot more nothing combos than actual hands. But I thought Vamplew was far less likely to bluff there than Flowers had in a similar but significantly different situation. I would love to know what Vamplew had, but don't really regret folding.

CPC Main Event Part Two: The Craziest Hand I've Ever Seen

CPC 8 Main Event final table, December 2013. Eight players left. The payout structure is pretty regular. 8th pays $8,060 and 1st pays $61k. There is a clear dichotomy between the haves and the have nots - four stacks are desperately short and four are quite comfortable. Now here's the twist - one of the big stacks has been mysteriously absent for over an hour. He dominated early proceedings at the final table, seized the chip lead, then suddenly vanished. Questions regarding his whereabouts are answered gruffly by the floormen, who simply answer "He's fine." That bizarre backdrop, a circumstance I have never seen at any major final table, was the canvas for the wildest hand I have seen in the fifteen years I've been playing poker. I may not recall the precise amounts of the blinds and bets, but I will never forget the action:

20k-40k blinds with a 5k ante. An older gentlemen who was playing fairly tight, straightforward poker raised to 130k in early position. He was one of the big stacks, sitting on around two million chips, which probably put him third behind the missing fellow and a thirtyish pro or semipro named Frank. Everyone folded to Frank in the big blind and he elected to call the raise. The flop came Js9c8s. Frank checked and the older gentleman bet 200k. Frank called. The turn was an ace, a non-spade, and that's where things really got interesting.

The older gentlemen thought for about ten seconds, then announced a check, then turned his hand faceup in the middle of the table. Everyone at the table saw his hand - pocket queens. They lay faceup on the table for five to ten seconds before he realized his mistake and snatched them up. It was obvious to everyone at the table what had happened, and didn't take long for the dealer to place the river card on the felt.

It was the most intriguing card in the deck: the queen of spades.

There was a gasp from the table and/or the rail. Just a few seconds passed, and then Frank announced all-in for something like 2 million into the pot of 720k. I remember thinking Frank's timing was perfect. He sold that he was processing the bizarre scenario, a process which culminated in the solution of moving all-in, without overdoing it. In this moment I "knew" that Frank wasn't bluffing - I think most of the table did - but felt strongly that the older gentleman was going to call the bet.

The older fellow thought for perhaps a minute before announcing a call. Frank turned up king-ten of diamonds for a straight and reassembled his now chipleading stack. To the older man's credit, he handled the embarrassing situation with grace. He was clearly disappointed, but didn't express any feelings of anger or violation. Frank went on to bust me in sixth place and "win" the tournament after a chop was made four-handed.

CPC Main Event Part One: The Rush

The last time I played poker, late in December, I was fortunate enough to reach the final table of a Colorado Poker Championship main event. Ultimately I will remember this tournament for two things: the incredible two-hour rush I went on day two which vaulted me from the bottom of the chip counts to the top, and a spectacular, unforgettable hand that took place at the final table between two other players. First I will describe that incredible rush.

Early on day two of the tournament, I found myself with just 8800 chips at 1200-2400 blinds. I was lucky to pick up pocket aces and double up with a little money on the side, then more than doubled with kings against my buddy Bryan Devonshire’s ace-king suited. I moved to a new table and immediately doubled up again with queens against ace-king in a spot where I considered just calling his 3-bet thinking he had the AK, but instead shoved and found a queen-high flop.

I won another pot or two, then raised KQs in early position. A local regular on my left called, with everyone else at the table folding. The flop came Qs9cXd and I slowly made a continuation bet of ~8k. My opponent quickly raised to ~22k with ~50k behind. I called, then checked the 8c turn. The local reg quickly went all-in and I quickly called. He had QcJc and my hand held.

Just a few hands later a 6BB stack shoved all-in from middle position and I looked down at pocket kings. I just called, and then the big stack on the button, Dan Schmitt called as well. The flop came JJ4 with two clubs and I bet into a dry side pot. Dan called. The turn was a low offsuit card and I made another bet. Dan called again. The river was an ace and I quickly checked. Dan made a decent-sized bet and I went into the tank. I thought he could have AQ of clubs or AT of clubs, but all other hands were pretty unlikely. I didn’t think he would call preflop with QJs and probably not KJs, which left only AJ and JJ as plausible hands with jacks in them. A slowplay of pocket fours was possible but I wouldn’t call preflop with fours in his spot and was hoping he wouldn’t either. Before the ace hit, I had been planning to bet the river, putting him on a pocket pair throughout the hand. Dan looked like he was capable of bluffing here, so I called. He turned over pocket sevens.

Not too much later I picked up pocket queens in middle position and brought it in for a raise. The guy to my left was in his twenties, wearing a one-drop hoodie, and sitting on a huge stack of chips – though mine was now larger. We had just been discussing the side pot hand with Dan and it was obvious One Drop knew what he was doing. I figured he was some sort of legitimate high-stakes pro, a rarity up in Black Hawk, and was going to avoid entanglements with him if possible. He called and everyone else folded. The flop came Q74 with two spades and a club. Knowing the best way to win a big pot was to continuation bet, I did and he called. The turn was the 6c and I made a bigger bet. One Drop now raised me to like 72k. He had about 380k behind. I sat thinking for about a minute.

My first thought was that he had a big hand and wasn’t bluffing. My second thought was that I wanted the money in now. If he had a draw I wanted him out, and if he didn't, I wanted the money in before something scary hit the river. My third thought was that he could be making a move and I should give him a chance to bluff some more off, but that thought was muted when I realized he didn't have too many chips for a shove to be absurdly large.

I decided the best way to get all the chips was just to move all-in. Although I thought this kid was a real player, I couldn't see him folding a big made hand with so many draws out. He immediately looked distressed, but then said something magical: that he wasn’t slow-rolling. When he said that I knew he had two pair or a set and was going to call. To his credit, he mulled it over for another minute before putting in the chips and flipping up pocket fours. The river wasn’t the last four and I found myself with 880k in chips, 100x what I was sitting on just two hours earlier.

After that various players, railbirds and floormen came sidling by the table to look at the stack. I tried to act like I'd earned 'em, but almost all the chips had come with me holding queens, kings, or aces. It was another reminder of why it's so important to play your best short-stack poker and keep your head above water as long as possible. The rush could be right around the corner.

High Loller

On Saturday I played poker for the first time since September. I decided to play the $500 "High Roller" (High Loller, as my friend Ben Greenberg nicknamed it) tournament at the latest Colorado Poker Championship in Black Hawk. The structure was excellent, though that didn't stop me from playing an all-in pot twenty minutes in with QhTh against 88 on a 984 two hearted flop. I lost and re-entered.

I played some of the tightest poker I've ever played in Black Hawk at my second starting table. I wasn't dealt much and there were actually a couple excellent players there, which is a pretty rare circumstance for Black Hawk. I won one pot with a limped AQ and another with a limp/reraised AA when everyone folded preflop.

At 200-400 a misclick hand came up, which is a common occurrence for Black Hawk. One of the really good players raised to like 1050 in early position and a wild but experienced (for Black Hawk) older guy put in 1600 chips meaning to call. He was forced to raise. I had pocket tens on the button and made it 4050. I knew if I flat-called the misclick raise the first guy would probably reraise when it got to him and I'd be in a tough spot. It was tempting to go for that and then back-shove, hoping to win 9k without a showdown, but I had close to 100 big blinds and didn't see enough reason to risk them all in a marginal situation. With my tight image I knew the first guy would fly away unless he had a monster. He folded but the older guy quickly called (not a surprise). The flop came AA6 with two hearts. He checked, I bet 3500 and he made it 11k. I thought I probably had the best hand and called. The turn came a 9 and he shoved all-in having me slightly covered. I folded.

Shortly after I lost another 10k with JJ against AK and was down to half the starting stack. At 400-800 blinds the older guy (who was playing most hands) raised in late position and I shoved 19k with 88. For some reason the small blind, who'd been playing tight, decided this was a good spot to call off half his stack with 77 and I doubled up.

Sometime later the good player raised early and somebody called. I put in a squeeze with AA in late position and both called. The good player strangely led a hefty 10k on a low flop then folded after I shoved 21k more. Shortly after, the table broke.

I got involved in a big hand at my new table right away. I raised 66 in late position with only the big blind (who had a big stack and appeared to be a loose recreational player) calling. The flop came 964 all diamonds and he checkraised my 3300 bet to 11k. I called and the turn was an offsuit ten. He now bet 20k and I shoved for 56k total. He folded.

I don't recall much happening over the next couple hours other than the blinds steadily rising. I was moved to another table and watched about twelve hands before min-raising a KJo in middle position. The older guy to my left who hadn't played a hand since I sat down shoved for 9.5 BB. Everyone folded and I ended up calling after a minute in the tank. I shall have to ask my professional friends about this call. In any case, it was a hand that showed my rust as I think this would have been a 10-second decision for me back in the day. The older guy had AA and the board ran out K97J7.

This reduced me to just 20 BB but I was able to get some back shortly after by raising an AJ, getting called in two spots, then check-shoving an A high flop with my opponent quickly folding. I may have won a small pot or two before raising KK in early position with only the big blind (who was young, loose, and big-stacked) calling. The flop came 876 and he check-called my bet. The turn was a 7 and he led about half the pot. I slowly called, then called another decent-sized bet on a Q river. He had Q9 and I took down my biggest pot of the day.

Sometime later a good player raised in late position and I three-bet like 2.7x his raise from the big blind with pocket queens. He called and the flop came 854. I made a smallish bet and he called. The turn was an ace and we both checked. I figured he had pocket nines or something. The river was a queen and I decided to make a small bet leaving him apparent fold equity. He obliged and set me all-in. I obviously called immediately and found I had been very fortunate, as he held pocket eights.

I was able to chip up pretty steadily after that as we were approaching the bubble and I now had an above-average stack. Unfortunately a good young player with a lot of chips got moved to my left so I couldn't pillage to my full heart's desire. I reached the money (13 players left) with an average stack of 400k and blinds at 8-16k.

With twelve players left I was moved to the other table and soon picked up an attractive AQcc on the button. I made it 33k with both the small blind and big blind calling. This wasn't the scenario I'd envisioned, as the stacks were relatively shallow and both blinds were young players (not typical Black Hawk fish who like flat-calling bets with 20BB stacks). The big blind was my friend Bryan Devonshire, a longtime pro with over $2m in live winnings who now lives in the Wet Mountains. Devo and I had just swapped 5% before I was moved to his table. The flop came Q98 with two hearts and I bet 50k after both checked. The small blind folded and Devo made it like 127k, sitting on about 400k.

I thought he would just move all-in with a draw. I also thought he wouldn't have an in-between hand like Q5 or K9, as his small checkraise would leave me fold equity to shove with a draw of my own. That basically left big hands and bluffs, though I was a little worried he might be inducing with a KQ or QJ.

I felt like the few hands he'd be calling with preflop would be cards in the exact region of the flop. I'd have expected him to 3-bet with most aces and all pairs and fold most other hands. That didn't leave much left. While I did think it was possible he could be bluffing with K6s or maybe a 76 or T7s straight draw, two pair or a straight seemed more likely so I folded.

It was going to be a long night of wondering but Devo was gracious enough to send out a tweet that he had been "owned by @gnightmoon." When I read that I felt a surge of confidence, as I easily could have been busted on that hand but instead I made the final table of ten, albeit as the shortest stack. I ordered a Fat Tire at last call (1:40 AM - we started at noon) and talked with Devo and the 88 guy about Little Bear Peak.

There were a couple quick casualties and I found myself 8/8. I managed to pump my stack up a bit with some scary but correct shoves and reshoves before winning a huge race with AKs against 88 blind on blind. Just a couple hands later I won another huge race, this time with QQ against the same guy's AKs. Not only did these pots give me a shocking chiplead, but they also eliminated one of the best players I've ever encountered in Black Hawk.

I lost a decent chunk with A5s against a short stacked BB's AJs, then doubled through the big stack's KK with AT all-in preflop as it came A99A5 to regain the chiplead. I then busted Devo with KQ against 33 and went into 4-handed play with a strong chiplead.

The button (the guy who had doubled me up pre-money with the set of eights under my set of queens), who had been playing well, raised to 100k one hand. I made it 270k in the small blind with 7d6d. He called with around a million behind. The flop came KQ5 which I hated, feeling like the hands he'd likely be calling with would be KJ/QJ/JT sort of hands. I decided to just shut it down and check-folded to a small bet. He showed 8h6h. Although it would have sucked to drop another 250k on the hand, I think I should have given it a shot.

A couple hands after that I lost a 3.2m race with TT against the second biggest stack's AQ, then shoved Q9 for 11 bigs on the button and lost to the small blind's 55, who had ten bigs. I was all-in the next hand with K9o and lost to the big blind's aces to finish 4th. Although I am still one of the biggest losers in the history of Colorado tournament poker, it was a blast to run deep in what had been a real house of horrors for me. As bad as some of them play, I think I've overrated my ability to outplay the locals with crap hands in crap positions. Playing a more solid game was instrumental to my success in this one.