Got some catching up to do. A combination of not being all that motivated to write and the site being down for awhile. Lots of things to cover, but this will be about one thing: I won a tournament. But not just any tournament, mind you. A no-limit tournament.
The vast majority of the tournaments I’ve played over the years have been limit tournaments, and I’ve done relatively well. Or at least, I used to. Up to a couple of years ago, I would win or place high enough to really keep me going. (I also won a spread-limit tournament once when I got too frisky heads-up with a Q-5 offsuit against, of all things, pocket aces, and flopped trip 5s.)
My more recent tournament experience has been lass than stellar, and also less frequent since the Oaks changed its Wednesday night tournament–which used to be one of the best in the Bay Area–from limit to no-limit. Plus, Sunday mornings have more often been about sport commitments (especially during softball season) then driving down to Bay 101 for their sole entry in the limit arena (at 9am no less).
I made 2 more trips to Reno after the Thanksgiving trip, one for the 4-day New Year’s weekend, and again for Martin Luther King weekend, thanks to TripRes and it’s offering of 50% off of rooms at the Grand Sierra during January.
Actually, I got a great rate for the “Summit” at Grand Sierra for the first trip. The Summit is basically the top floors, which have been turned into “upscale” condos,. which are then sold, and then are rented just like hotel rooms. Now I’m not big on “upscale;” when I hear “luxury,” I usually just rool my eyes. That said, the bed I slept in there has to be the most comfortable I’ve ever experienced.
The poker room is nice, one of the better ones in Reno. The poker room manager is a really nice guy who runs the room well. And the room has daily tournaments. No-limit, natch, but better than most in Reno.
While the “vig” ain’t great, the stacks are good and the rounds are longer than most little tournaments.
So, because the buy-in for the morning tournament is small, I decided on some days to give it a shot. And most times, I actually did pretty well.
I actually made a couple of final tables, and twice(!) finished on the bubble. But it was on my second visit that I broke through.
Now here’s an interesting fact. The very first no-limit tournament I ever played in was the daily afernoon tournament at the Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas. I wanted to play there once so I could say that I played where the World Series of Poker got its start. At the time, that tournament attracted a good-sized crowd, about 120 the day I played. And I finished about 40th.
I beat 2/3 of the field in my first ever no-limit tournament. That’s not bad.
Ever since, anytime I’d tried to dip my toes into the ni-limit waters, I came out dry as a bone. Never once did I cash.
It must mean that the starts align right to win a tournament. This time, I made the final table with a smaller stack. Not the smallest, but small nonetheless. So I adopted a strategy that I belived would give me the greatest chance to succeed.
When you watch, or read about, or talk poker, a lot of the talk is about odds, and justifiably so. You have to know the numbers, or at least a good approximation, for long-term success. But I observed that some people seem to take this a bit too rigorously, letting that concept overtake the importance of the people in the game. Even commentators talk abou “getting the right odds” to call an all-in bet.
Yet the people have to be important. Not in the Doyle Brunson “I don’t even have to look at my cards to beat you” way, but just in the way of trying to figure out when you might be in a better or worse odds situation.
So I decided to sit on my stack a bit more than some traditionalists might call for and wait for hands better than marginal to make moves. And this time, it worked out.
First, I was able to identify one or two table bullies, who were trying to accumulate chips. By doing that, I was able to make moves back at them, and they either would fold or would take far the worst of it, and this time, I was never drawn out on.
Then, by appearing quiet and tight, and by showing down a couple of decent hands, I was able to run the occasional bluff, which at this table, worked every time, because of that image.
And finally, I did get a little lucky, which you have to at some point.
It was the final hand. I raised with a couple of low cards and was called. The flop didn’t hit, but I bet, trying to appear strong, and was raised all-in. I had some draws and outs, and was getting the right price, as they say, as the all-in wasn’t that much. For some unknown reason, I abandoned by strategy and reasoning and went with the odds, and found myself facing two pair. And of all crazy idiotic donkey things, I magically hit runner-runner to fish a straight out of the deck.
I actually didn’t see it at first, and neither did anyone else until we looked at the board and the cards a second time. They I just felt giddy. Not only had I cashed in a no-limit tournament for the first time ever, I had won on that first cash.
I think what made me more proud was talking to the third-place finisher afterward when he complimented me on my patient short-stack play. I know I still do some “huh?” things at the table, so to get positive recognition like that from someone who knows the game is almost more special that winning.