FTOPS Main Event Recap

I probably should have written about the $500+35 FTOPS Main Event experience days ago, but I've been busy.. so here goes:

The FTOPS Main Event began with a total of 5,216 players on Sunday. It was a super-stack tournement, which means we all started with a cool 5000 chips at 15/30 blinds. The blind levels lasted 15 minutes each, with breaks every hour as usual. It was a great structure. 15 minute blinds online is a nice amount, and because of that.. we wouldn't reach the antes until after the second break.

So when we started, my strategy was simple: Observe my table for the first couple of levels, play tight and smart poker.. waiting for good spots to get my money in.

My plan worked like a charm for the first four levels. I played good cards in good position, winning all my pots without a showdown. I had steadily grown my stack to 8500 by the first break.

After that, my cards went very very cold. Couldn't even get a suited connector to play.. because the game had become almost passive at my table. Lots of limping.. which I took advantage of with timely steals and re-steals to keep my chips where they were. But I ran into a slight hiccup after the break. I got AK two of out three hands and lost both times, costing me about 3500. I think I played them correctly.. but you tell me:

Hand 1: Blinds 50/100
I'm in the Cutoff. UTG raises to 300, folds around to me.. I call. BTN folds, both blinds call. Pot is 1200.
Four players to the flop of: J 10 4 (two clubs)
- Both blinds check to UTG, who leads out for 600. I raise to 1500 total, both blinds fold, UTG calls (and he called instantly). Turn is a 6, not a club. Pot is 4200.
- UTG leads out for 3000. I only raised on the flop to see if I could get a free turn card, which didn't work. My thinking is, he has a hand... possible a set of Jacks or Tens (if he played the hand REALLY well) but QQ, KK, AA, AJ make sense. He bet the right amount so I mucked my AK.

Hand 2: Blinds 50/100
I'm on the Button. UTG limps, two folds, MP limp, two folds. On the BTN, I raise to 450. SB folds. BB quickly re-raises to 1200. Everyone folds back around to me. I think and decide to call. (I don't want to overplay AK here. There's no reason to. I still had about 6500 when this hand began). Pot is 2750.
We go Heads Up to the flop of: 7 4 2 rainbow.
- BB bets 2500. I curse the sky and fold. Obviously, I put him on a pocket pair.. kind of standard.. but what can I really do here?

(NOTE: In both of these situations, the villian in the hand had me out-chipped. I could have gone bust against them)

So.. at the blinds of 60/120.. the final hand comes for me. I'm down to about 4800 now and on the Button.

Final Hand: Blinds 60/120
Amazingly, everyone folds around to me on the button. Because I have played so tight, I figured a big raise on the Button will look like a steal. I have QQ. So pop it up to 420. SB insta-calls me and the BB folds. Pot is 960.
Flop comes out: 9 7 2 (two diamonds)
- SB instantly bets 960 (the pot). I think about it and realize, he is the kind of player that doesn't think about his actions. All game long, he was seated to my left and was making snap decisions. So I figured, with his insta-call preflop.. I have his range on A7-A10, KQ-K10... possible suited. With this flop, he's got one of two things if he bets the flop like this: A9 or a flush draw.

Looking at the chip situation (I have about 4300 and he has 5000), if I raise the 960 bet in any way, i'm going to be pot committed. Here's where I made a small mistake.

I re-raised to 2000 even. It was dumb, because the moron I was playing against is going to push here with either of the hands I put him on. He did, he insta-pushed. So, now I have to call.

Looking back on it, If I push.. he still insta-calls. That's why it was a "small" mistake.

He tables A 10 of diamonds to my QQ. Turn comes another diamond... and I'm drawing dead. I went out with about 3500 people left.. 768 would cash.


Now.. George and I talked out this hand after the fact and came up with several theories on how I could have played it differently:
- When the villian bets the pot, 960, I could have just called. Going by the way I wanted to play this tournament.. it's the less violatile thing to do. If I think he may have a flush draw, I could just call the flop, and see if the turn comes out with a diamond.
- Here's the problem I see with this -
Whether he has A9 or the hand he actually had (A 10 of diamonds).. He may bet out the turn either way, putting me in a situation where I have no idea what to do.
- However -
- If he has the diamonds and the diamond hits the turn.. he may check and I could bet small to find out what he has or check behind him.
- If I check behind him, he will bet the river.. and if it's a value bet and the river is not an over card or a diamond.. it's really tough to get away from QQ there, seeing as I can't go broke. (And, correct me if I'm wrong, It could be a nitty fold). In this situation, I could be left wth about 2000 chips and I'm entering push/fold mode.
- Now, if I bet small on the turn instead of checking.. and he re-raises, that could be a way to get away from the hand cheaply.. but again.. I'm sitting with maybe 2500 chips and not much is different.
- HOWEVER... what If I bet the turn small and he check-raises all-in? In my experience, bad players do that with A9 in that spot, thinking they can bluff the flush... posing a problem for me if he actually has it (which he did). I think he's a novice player, judging by his instant-decision making and willingness to call me out of position with A 10 when I have raised maybe three times all tournament. Because of this, I may put him on A 9 and call with QQ and STILL be out of the tournament. And on top of all this: The novice will play a made flush and the A9 almost the same.. making this a tough call.

SO, all that said.. and I hope it makes sense when you read it.. my feeling is that the easiest decision for me to give myself is to stick it all-in on the flop with QQ in that spot. I know If I'm up against a flush draw, I'm at best a 64/36 favorite.. and if he has an over to my QQ, it's more of a race than anything. But my feeling on the issue is simple:

- No one can win a 5000+ player tournament without surviving races such as these along the way to the final table. It's very very rare that throughout the tournament I'm going to be able to take down ALL of my pots without a showdown. It's just not going to happen. I'm going to have to gamble... I'm going to have to get lucky.. all I can hope, is that I get my money in with the best hand or an absolutely SICK draw that I have the odds to chase.


Overall.. It was a fun experience. I'm not disappointed with how I played at all.. it just didn't happen for me this time. I placed in the top 72 out of 3500 to get here.. but it's hard to do that twice in a row.... really hard.

There's always next time.