Tonight I played in my first ever *live* multi-table tournament…

… It was a freeroll.

Still reading? Good! I live in Adelaide, Australia and legal live games are nearly impossible outside of the casino and the home game scene and I doubt I’m being invited to the right home game as the best I’ve found so far is a 50c/$1 game that grandma usually cleans up in.

ANYWAY.

Tonight I played in the “National Poker League” (NPL - www.npl.com.au) at my local pub, the Bridgeway hotel in Pooraka. The NPL is one of at least three poker leagues that are running free rolls in pubs around Australia. I haven’t really done my research but as far as I can tell this is a recent phenomena in my home state of South Australia and for the past month or so the NPL has been running games at pubs across my local map. Tonight was a Wednesday and as my luck would have it my local (the afore mentioned Bridgeway Hotel on Bridge Rd in Pooraka - No sponsorship though if they read this I do love free beer) was running the next NPL game starting at 7:30pm. Having nothing else on I decide to do the old pop-in and see what the go was.

Registration was easy, rock up from an hour before the game and sign up (alternatively you can sign up on-line before your first event and save the hassle of filling out a form). It’s free and for your name and contact details you receive an NPL membership card (plastic - good quality - to be used for registration at other NPL events) and two “drink cards” each of which you can get stamped whenever you buy a drink or meal at the bar. Four stamps before the first tournament break and you earn yourself an extra $500 in chips. If you want my advice, come in early and grab a meal… that will net you at least 3 or 4 stamps and the next card can be filled up with a couple of pints. Most others will have the extra $1000 so it’s worth grabbing from the first hand if you want to have the average chip stack.

So enough of the free plug… if anyone is still reading this blog you’re probably wondering how I did? The answer is surprisingly well, I entered expecting a quick game with a steep structure and I was right… $1500 in starting chips before the drink card add-ons and blinds starting at $25/$50 and pretty much doubling every 15 minutes. It’s a fast structure but it’s free. Not what I’d call ideal but for the price you can’t complain.

First hand of the night after seats have been “assigned” on a first come first served basis and the button decided on a high card deal UTG I’m dealt:

First hand, first to act and not knowing what to expect I consider my options. I decide it’s the perfect chance to see what I’m up against and I make the standard play by raising it up 3XBB to $75 and get a couple of callers. The flop comes:

(or something to that effect)

TPTK And I bet pot. A player (Mick) who I’ve made friends with earlier over a pint at the bar calls and we’re heads up after the only other opposition folds.

The turn is a blank and I check. I’m conflicted here however as half of me is expecting my new friend to my left to put me to the test and bet regardless of his hand but at the same time I’m considering that really he could just be a guy in the bar who usually drinks on a Wednesday but now wants to play poker. No reads, first hand, he could have anything. I’m being cautious….

He checks behind me.

This is no tricky play, at this moment I have no doubt I am ahead. Then reality sets in, I just gave the guy a free card. I have got to stop doing that (not talking specifically about this hand or this tournament… it’s been bugging me generally that I’ve recently gotten into the habit of either not putting my opponents on a hand or giving them too much credit for a trap and checking to them to give them a freebie… it’s gotta stop!) On this occasion though I was saved the the turn brought the:

I bet out about half the pot in with the intention of value and took down the first pot of the night with my AQ vs his AJ. Closer than I thought but I was happy to win the first one… I don’t care who you are this always has to put a smile on your face!

From there the first round was all about learning and what I learnt quickly was that my opponents were all generally weak passive. In the whole first round I was the only one to raise pre-flop and that was on the hand I just described! I mean players had aces in the hole twice in that first round and both failed to raise… both lost. Both whinged. Me, I just shut my mouth, ordered another beer from Rachel the cute bartender who I claimed to my table had been serving me lucky pints all night and proceeded to try and blend in with the crowd. This was a freeroll at a pub within walking distance of my house… I’m going to have fun goddamit!

The fun philosophy was certainly working when at the end of the first round I was dealt KK in what ended up being a four way pot on a board of:

With one player all-in, a dry side pot and two other live players I briefly considered trying to start something on the side but decided tournament wise I was already in a good position (at this point I had all of my table well covered in chips) and ended up checking it down. I won, TT vs 55 vs JT after a turn and river that didn’t help anyone I’d claimed my first scalp and the first person to be knocked out from our table.

After sharing a piss in the break with a guy called Phil who claimed that he “knew I had KK in that final hand when I reached for chips but didn’t bet after the two aces fell” I decided two things… one no more urinating next to players at my table and two, given the fact this was a freeroll and that I was now the big stack at the table no more giving off tells that even Phil could pick up.

I played one hand between the first break and the second break. I lost. I had 33 and bet pot on the river against 2 others. The board had been paired since the flop with jacks and I folded instantly after a raise from a late position player who had been passive up until that point. The size of the raise was irrelevant, no doubt in my mind he had the jack… I only wish a three had come on the river :)

After the third break I had dropped back to average stack for the tournament and a few new players had joined my table. Realistically I had one hand left before where my chips might actually be taken seriously. I was the big blind and it had been folded around to the small blind who called. I checked with:

Doyles hand! The flop came:

The SB bet out a little less than the pot. He was a new player at the table and for some reason I decided to be stubborn and refuse to put him on the ace. I raised all-in for $1500 more than his stack (and less than the current pot) and he called. I knew I was in trouble and he turned over:

To leave me drawing as good as dead. He won the pot and I was left with $1500 with the blinds at $500/$1000. Needless to say the very next hand I ended up all-in against the big blind with 89s vs JTo. I won and doubled up. I doubled up once more and was average again (repeat: steep structure) and ended up playing the short stack well enough (with the assistance of some good short stack starting hands) to take down my table and head into the final table as near enough joint chip leader) over around $25000 in chips (apologies for the lack of detail in that little run but a combination of no breaks and much beer rendered my note taking ability near useless). Being the final table things changed from the previous table deals themselves structure to the tournament director dealing… I asked him how many chips were in play at the final table and he answered “about $60000, give or take”. I was chip leader! Though the blinds were $3000/$6000 and about to jump tp $5000/$10000. Can’t complain though ‘cos another guy at the final table had Around $15000 and the rest was shared amongst 7 short stacks. I liked my odds even though it was a gamble.

Things happened fast.

Very fast.

Couldn’t even tell you too many hands, short stacks were all-in on their blinds and being busted out all over the place. Before I knew it we were 3 handed.

Let me set the picture, blinds $5000/$10000… 3 handed. I’m chip leader but there’s only $60000 in play. If we see a show down at this point we’re all-in. Blinds go back and forth and we’re as good as even. Heads up starts after a hand I wasn’t involved in… not much vs not much else… I think middle pair won. Heads up finishes a hand later when in the big blind I check Q7o after my opponent calls, the flop comes:

I push, for what has to be about the pot. My oppenent calls with the diamond flush draw that makes it on the turn. I take second place out of over 50 entries and win a $25 voucher for the pub and a deck of cards for my troubles… Guess what though? It’s not about the prize… this was a freeroll. This was about having fun playing poker! I’ve not smiled so much after a poker game in a long time… great bunch of players, a well run tournament, within walking distance of my house… I’m there next week! I had a great time and was inspired to post to the blog for the first time in a few months.

Tonight was about what I really love about poker, the social aspect. No one cared tonight about bad beats, pot odds or the like. I shook the hand of everyone at my table that got knocked out whether I was in the pot or not and each one of them smiled and shook my hand back. Tonight was about playing for the fun of it, getting new players into the game and it was fun! In my books fun beats money any day of the week… especially Wednesdays. See you there next week!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 12th, 2007 at 2:19 am and is filed under My Poker Game, Poker, Poker Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.