Busto

Level 9 was not a kind one. The 200 ante being 1/6 the size of the big blind meant my stack would dwindle faster, and added extra incentive to be a little more aggressive preflop. Early in the level there was a hand where it folded all the way to the cutoff, who put in a raise to 2.8k. I looked down at 33 on the button and decided this would be a good candidate to three bet as a bluff. It’s a bit too weak to profitably call the cutoff’s raise, and he should have a lot of hands he’ll raise/fold from late position. Also my stack size of 33k made it such that he wouldn’t be able to four bet bluff me without committing himself, and thus decreased the likelihood of that happening. So I reraised to 8k and action folded back around to him. After a short tank, he moved all in and I was forced to fold. Even though we would often be flipping (meaning he has two big cards like AK), that isn’t really a spot where I want to commit my stack. It’s just unfortunate that he was at the top of his range and had a value hand to four bet jam. This brought me down to 25k or 21bbs, a perfectly workable stack still. The problem was that I didn’t encounter any good spots after that point. I was completely card dead. The big antes and blinds continued to eat away at my stack. Twice I defended my big blind vs a single raiser getting great odds (with A7o and 98o), but flopped no equity whatsoever and had to check/fold. Once I raised QJo in middle position off a stack of 16 big blinds, hoping to steal the blinds or play a small pot, but I got three bet and was forced to fold. My opponent showed AJ suited, so I was in bad shape. QJ is a perfectly good raise/fold candidate, though. Eventually, with just 12k remaining, I picked up 87 suited in middle position. It folded to me and I jammed my remaining 10 big blinds. It might seem crazy shoving 8 high, but the hand is a very profitable jam from that position on that stack size given my ability to make everyone fold and my high equity when called on average. Unfortunately, the small blind woke up with TT, and I was in awful shape. The AJ2 flop gave me no immediate outs, I’d need to hit running cards. The 6 turn sealed the deal and I was eliminated from this year’s main event.

But not all is lost. I had a good time, talked to some interesting people, and may have even learned a little bit during my almost two days of play here. I hope to return one day and play again, as I’m sure I’m profitable in this field. My opponents were making lots of small mistakes today, I just didn’t have the chips to mix it up and take advantage. I ran into many strong hands over the two days and never really got much going; sometimes it just isn’t your tournament. That’s just the nature of the beast. Thanks everyone for investing and I’m sorry I couldn’t make you any profit this time around.