Amy Trodd - Round One

Hello again,

So thought I’d write an update to keep you in the loop.

Last night I went down to the Vic (casino on Edgware Road, London) to play in the £300 freezeout*, a GUKPT side event, it’s a two day event and around there were approx 140 entrants. We all started with 7k and levels 45 minutes.

Sat down on my table and didn’t recognise anyone to begin with. It only took me five minutes to realise I was on the craziest table I’d ever played in. Blinds started off at 25 – 50 and players were making pre-flop raises of 1000 – 20 big blinds and then re-raises up to three/four times more! There was no chance using position to make raises and try and win some pots, you simply needed a hand cos I was going to be called whatever with any two cards.

Within the first Level we lost two players on our table which was no surprise. The first two levels flew by and I was sitting with around starting stacks. I didn’t play many hands – I had Pkt 8’s on the Small Blind and Pkt 10’s on the Big blind and had to fold them on both occasions due to multiple pre flop raises from the players acting before me.

During Level three (100 – 200) I had AQ on the BB, and had one limper on the button. I re-raised to 800 and he called. Flop came K 7 10. I bet out around 1200 and he flat calls again. Turn comes 5 and I check, he also checks. Then River came something irrelevant and I checked again. He then bet out 1k. I thought about it for a while and opted to call, since there was over 4k…I thought it worth calling to see his hand. Anyway, he had a set* of Fives and I instantly muck. The guy sitting in seat three, probably the smarmiest git I’ve ever seen, raising every hand in any position and then showing pants cards, said – ‘yes, looked like a hero call’. Felt like clambering over the table and slapping his bald head but I managed to contain myself.

Still Level Three (blinds 100 – 200) and had KhQd on the Big Blind and there were four limpers*...I raised it up to 1k and got one caller. Flop comes Q J 6 (two spades). I bet out around 1,600 and he min raises to 3,200. Just flat calling would leave me around 3k behind so it was either all my chips or fold. I opted for the all in, this guy had been raising and re-raising all night with mediocre hands, so I just had to hope he didn’t have A Q. He called and flipped over 9 10 spades – so I’m ahead but he has massive outs, in fact I think he’s actually a favourite but not good at working out all the probabilities, so yes he has an up and down straight draw and was flushing. Thankfully the 6 of clubs and Ace of clubs meant my K Q was good and I doubled up – hoorah!

Anyway, everyone on the table (except Marco V who joined later) managed to really wind me up so when the table broke I was over the moon.

I was moved to a table with Jeff Kimber to my right and Priyan De Mel, who just won the Blackpool GUKPT Main Event and a few others I recognised. My stack was around 9k which was around average for Levels 4 and then went down to 5k for Level Five. I was chatting to Jeff a lot on my left which was distracting me so it was a good job I was moved to another table soon after.

Anyway, really got to hurry as need to be back at the Vic in an hour (yes, I’ve made day two – Yay!!!) so in a nutshell – I moved tables and over levels 6 to 9 I managed to spin up from 5k to 36k, but having gone up to over 50k at one point.

I moved in with my A 5 with my short stack* and got called by A Q. The board then delivered four spades and me with the Ace of Spades meant I had the nuts*. I had actually got up after the river and started wishing everyone luck before realising I had in fact won the hand.

I then doubled up shortly later with my Ace Jack against Pkt Fours. The jack on the flop sent that guy home. So I was up to a more comfortable 20k mark. Around level 8 when the blinds were (400 – 800) I was UTG+1 and looked down to find Aces. UTG who had my covered with a pretty masshoooive stack raised before me to around 3k. I then re-raised to around 7k – everyone else folded as expected and UTG and the French dude flat called. The flop came K 7 2. He checked, I bet out something like 10k and he moved all in. I didn’t have much left anyway and of course made the call. My Aces stood up and I was around 50k. He then started muttering to himself saying how unlucky he got, blah, blah….but am I not right in saying King Jack UTG isn’t a good idea to begin with??

Managed to pick up some other nice hands – on three consecutive blinds I had AK twice and Queens once and had people raising in to me every time. They soon scampered with a re-raise from me. I think I saw the flop on one of the occasions and still managed to take it down.

Anyway, need to run down to the Vic now – have 36k, blinds 600 – 1200. Average stack around 41k. Down to 20 and 14 get paid. Nearly £15k for first which will do quite nicely!! Other players still in Karl Mahrenholz and Priyan De Mel – don’t know any others!!

Round Two

Not really much to say, I’m very disappointed to say I was out in 19th L. I feel even more disappointed about the fact that I played my last hand so badly.

When seated at the table, I hadn’t played with many of the other people before so didn’t know a lot about how they played. I pretty much folded every hand for the first half of Level 10 (blinds now 800 – 1,600 Ante 100) I won one pot which brought me back up to what I had originally started of with. I raised a couple of times in late position with KJ and some other mediocre hand and everyone passed round to me.

The only hand I actually played was the one I went out on. Guy in seat five, who had been ultra aggressive, raised UTG + 1 to about 4200 – he has about 60/70k. I’m on the button with Kh 10h and flat call, Priyan on the Big Blind also calls. The Flop comes 3 K Q. Pryian and Seat 5 boy check, so do i. Turn comes something rag – Priyan checks again, Seat Five boy bets out 8k….so what do I….bloomin announce ‘all in’….Priyan folds and Seat Five boy doesn’t have to think about it and calls. He has KQ and Im drawing dead. I’m so stupid….of course he was slow playing a monster hand, if he hadn’t hit he would of bet after the flop, like he had being doing every other hand he was in. Maybe I shouldn’t have been in the pot in the first place – I’m a sucker for suited hearts – they look so cute….

Pretty gutted overall, didn’t get much sleep and didn’t play well and blew my chance at winning some decent money and finally getting the camera of my dreams (50D with a wide angled sigma lens). Still waiting….

Amy

For those who unfamiliar with all the Poker Terminology I’ve put together a mini glossary:

Freezeout - The most common form of tournament. There are no rebuys; play continues until one player has all the chips.
Set Three of a kind - Is made when a pocket pair connects with one card on the flop to make three of a kind. This differs from trips when one of a players hole cards in Texas hold 'em connects with two cards on the board to make three of a kind.
Limpers - Players that flat call the big blind amount.
Short stack - less then average amount of chips at the table.
Nuts - The best hand.
UTG Under the gun - The playing position to the direct left of the blinds in Texas hold 'em or Omaha hold 'em. The player who is under the gun must act first on the first round of betting.

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