Gala Edinburgh Day 1a trip report (long)

[DonkBox]

Cliff notes at bottom for those who can't/haven't got time to read it all.

How to prepare for a £500 poker tournament 101: Get drunk the night before, leave bag - incl dictaphone, notebook and hotel address in pub at 3a.m. Pack drunk for 5a.m taxi pick up, fall asleep on 6.45a,m flight and wake up with hangover.

10,000 starting stack, 1hr clock, blinds starting at 25-50, no need to get busy early, yet somehow I find myself with less than 2000 at the 100-200 level. Awesome. also get drawn at same table as a fella called neil from odd down in bath, who i play against on monday nights and won a seat at gala bristol.

Second ortbit, I’ve won a couple of small pots and have about 11k. Utg+1 makes it 225 to go, folds to me on the button I flat with sevens. Flop A-7-2, zing! He checks I bet 300 into the 525 pot, he thinks and calls. Turn is a Q he checks, I bet 700 into the 1125 pot, again he just calls and I think he comes the river value bet, before the blank river arrives. Sure enough he fires 1000 into the 1825 pot and I make a crying call to be shown the obv set of aces. Marvellous.

Nothing else interesting happens for a while, its just a case of me calling with low pockets pairs and missing or seeing flops with reasonable hands and missing. Then at the 50-100 level I play kings like a complete twat. Three limpers to me in the BB (incl small blind) so pot is 400 so I make it 500 total and despite playing v.tight all three come along. Flop 8-5-5. Sb checks, I bet 1000 pass, then the second limper flashes an eight as he folds, forgetting that another player is in the pot. The SB makes it 2000 to go despite seeing this and then I go into spaz mode. The pot is now about 4000 and it costs me 1000 to call, if I do so I have just under 5000 left, so I really should pass or move in here, but I take the option of flat calling. Turn is the ace of clubs which gives me nut flush draw, and sb checks and I check behind. River is a non face card, non club and sb bets 2000. I gurn, think then gurn some more and just can’t put him on a hand that includes a five (although A-5 and 5s are in retrospect entirely possible) I call and he shows 5-2. And I’m left with a bowl of rice.
Oh well I think I’m in Edinburgh until Monday I may as well grind it out this is not the internetz, I can’t just jump into another tournament. So anyway I obv raise the first two hands back from the break (blinds now 100-200) and get no action. Then I proceed to fold, fold, fold for about three orbits in a row, I’ve got Dan Carter’s words ringing in my ears about how patient he was in Dortmund and how there’s no need to make moves. I even pass once when it’s folded to me in the small blind and another time on the button when I’ve got c.2000 chips.
Still with about 10mins left of the level I find a spot to stick it in. Folds to a player in MP who limps for 200, folds round to me on the button and I have A-9ss and in it goes. Folds back to orig limper and he calls with deuces. The dealer doesn’t make me wait though as the ace is the door card, and I’m up to about 4k, although blinds will go up soon to 200-400. But before they do I play another big pot. I’m in the BB and an old guy to my immed left (utg) makes it 600 at 100-200. Folds to me and I peak down at A-Qdd. Now although this guy was old, he was not a rock, in fact he was just a bad aggressive player, I’d seen him raise questionable holdings such as K-10 UTG+1 and his range was a lot wider than premiums here. Anyway I try to work out if he can fold to a shove, there’s 900 in there, I’ve got about 4k so if I ship he’s going to have to call 3400 into a 4900 pot, so about 1.5:1. Anyway with my holding, his range and the odds he’s getting it’s a shove to me and he tanks for a while and folds pocket sixes face up.

Next big hand happens at 200-400. It folds to me on the hi-jack and I’ve got K-10ss and a stack of about 6500. I really can’t decide what is best here, folding, raising to 1000 and limping are all possibilities, but I really can’t call a raise or a shove and I don’t want to fold and as the table is fairly passive I just limp. Small blind completes, big blind raps the table. Flop 9-J-Q rainbow, bink! Checks to me and I check it back after some thought. Turn is a 10 which I hate, small blind checks, bb bets 1k, I flat, SB folds. River is a Q, BB fires 1k again and again I just flat as there is no point in raising here as I don’t think a worse hand calls. The BB shows 7-8 for a lower straight and I scoop a nice pot. By the end of the level and the dinner break I’m just over 13k with blinds being 200/400/25 when we get back.

Next big hand I play is at the 200/400/25 level. Utg+1 makes it 1200 and gets two callers and I’m in the big blind with 5-5 and flat for value. Flop is kh-5s-3s and it’s clear I have to lead here so I fire in 3k, leaving myself about 9k behind. I get one caller (one of the limpers not the orig raiser), turn is 10h and I ship it in for 9000, he thinks and eventually makes the call with a-10ss, the dealer turns the river, it’s a black card, but a club so now I’m in business with about 30k, 70bbs ish and a nice stack.

Next orbit I look down and As-Kc utg and make my standard raise to 1125, folds to the button who has been reasonably quiet but active in LP, he has about 25k, he raises to 4k total and it folds back to me and I have a decision. It’s a bit of a gross spot IMO. I’m too deep here to stack off with A-K and a 4bet to 12k OOP seems spewy to me and is basically same as going all-in IMO, yet folding seems so weak so I flat intending to check fold if I miss and be fine with it as I’ve got a stack of 27k ish if I do. Anyway flop comes Q-7-5 all spades. I check - free card would be nice - but although I know I’ve got two black cards I don’t know at this point if one, or both are spades. He bets 7k, I take a peak and there’s the beautiful ace of spades and I announce all-in and he folds swiftly (two red jacks of perhaps same hand?). Now I’ve got about 45k and am flying.
I then get moved tables…

I take my seat and a good player, Stu Rutter is to my immediate left, marvellous. Luckily (for me) he’s out before I’ve un racked my chips, running k-k into k-q on a q-x-q flop (pushing not calling I should add).
Nothing much or note happens, I chip up to about 52k ish without going to showdown, although there’s some strange stuff going on at the table, such as players overbetting the pot (like 2-3x the pot) on flops and opening to 5x+ pre-flop. Rory Mafews with chips has also been moved to my table.

Next big pot I play I get lucky one limper to be at (400-800/75) and I raise jacks to 4k total in EP, a player thinks for ages and goes all-in for c.15k total, getting about 2:1 it’s a trivial call to me, all-in has queens but I four flush to add another 15k to my stack.

I then fold for a while and lose about 8k to mafews when at 600/1200/100 I open to 3200 (my standard open) form utg+1 with A-Qss. The button who has flatted a lot in late pos flats and this brings Mafews in from the bb. Flop comes Q-x-x all clubs. And it checks round. I think about firing but don’t. Turns a red rag and it checks to me so I fire 4k into the 10k pot and it folds to rory who makes it 14k and I fold it face up, he shows 2-3cc.

I must’ve dribbled down to about 35k at the 600/1200/100 level when it folds to me on the button and I open for 3200 with 9-8hh. Sb flats, BB folds. Flop is 7-6-Q-ddh. SB checks I bet 4000 and he raises to 10k total. Ok, guess I better peel one. Turn is the 5c, and he fires out 15k, I move in for about 5k more and he calls showing pocket 4s. River doesn’t matter and I double.

I think I get to about 80k at my high point, before obviously donking some of them off in the following hand. A player fairly new to the table makes it 5000 to go at 600/1200/100 and in the big blind I look down at pocket 3s. Chipped up and feeling bullish and having not re-popped pre once all day I make it 20k total, which was a mistake as he and I were deep enough to make calling for set value fine. He ships and I’ve got to give it a dwell before folding and he shows jacks.

For the last 90 mins I play very few pots, just nibbling here and there. Last pot of the day I play is about 10 mins from the end, mick mcCool has been moved to my immed left (has 35k ish). Folds to me on the button and I make it 4k with K-Jdd, he flats, bb folds. Flop A-7-x ck, ck, turn 7, ck ck, river a rag, and he bets 5k(ish) I think for a while and call, he has j-10.

Ended the day on 63,700, which was 5th in chips, average is 45k, 90ish players played day1b today (Saturday) incl Nick Loader who had 53k I think. Blinds will be 800/1600/100 when we go back so I;ve got 40 big blinds and plenty of time, didn’t see aces at all day one so bring them on. Updates on Hendon mob and a world of poker.

One time live poker.

Cliff notes:

Donked my way down to 2000
Played very tight - passed a few spots where i'd have shoved online
Got up to 75k at high point
Donked some off (obv)
Won some back and ended day on 64k
Blinds 800/1600/100 when we return tomorrow.

[alexross1977]

best of luck 2mor nick - nice wee report.

[Dice Man]

Yeah good report, well worth reading. Good luck.

[ivanace]

great read & well played, good luck

[DonkBox]

busted 13th for £1200 in a standard spot when at 4000/8000/800 playing 6 handed i shoved K-Q utg and ran into A-Q. I played well today made only one or two errrors all day, both of which are kinda marignal. Just had an horrendous table draw from 27 out - huge stacks/aggressive to my left and short stacks to my right. That combined with being fairly card dead meant it was very hard to pick up chips in unconventinal ways.

Will write a fuller day two report tomorrow, am very tired right now so bath and room service beckons before an early flight home tomorrow. thx for support guys, believe me when i say these tournaments are very soft for a £500 buy-in, satellite finals are $80 i believe, well worth a crack.

[rodbuck]

Nice 1 Nick, just read it all on hendon mob.

Would have been good to see you up on the final table.

WP.

[waltypies]

You play poker as well as you post pics!! UL

[alexross1977]

guy i play with in dundee won it. (the title - they chopped the cash)

[Raiser]

guy i play with in dundee.

How old (read as: young) is he?

[alexross1977]

I think he's about 22. Seems like a nice chap so am happy for him. better than a total CNUT taking the money. he likes roulette, I wonder how long that 20k will last