SSPC3
On Saturday Jimmy and I headed over to the SSPC for their 3rd tourney of the season. My goal this week was to 1) not have to take a rebuy and 2) beat my finishing place from two weeks ago. I accomplished both, finishing in 12th place (out of 50). I also won back half my buy-in with 5 bounties (worth $3 each).
I was determined to play better than two weeks ago. From now on each time I play a tournament I want to make a point of remembering at least one mistake I've made, and try my best NOT to make that mistake again. I promised myself no all-in moves unless I felt like it was absolutely the right time to do so (with the nuts, if I was positive I had the best hand, or if it was time to make a move at the pot if I was seriously in need of some chips).
I was seated at a comfortable and friendly starting table and I knew some of the players (including my brother). A dream situation happened very early on in the tournament. The 3rd or 4th hand I raised preflop with pocket As and had one caller (who studied me hard for a minute before calling). The flop came down Q high and my opponent moved all-in quickly. The only thing I was worried about was a set, but I thought his all-in was too fast for that, it was more of a "phew, no Ace" all-in. I called and he showed me pocket Ks. After that huge pot I sat tight for awhile, observing the other players at the table.
Awhile later I looked down to find wired 10s and called a preflop raise from a player to my left, there were two other callers. The flop came down low cards, I think it was checked to me, I bet, and the player to my left moved all-in. 10s were a good hand for the flop, but this guy raised preflop and was now all-in which meant he could 1) have an overpair, 2) be on some kind of draw 3) have overcards or 4) have flopped a set. I put him on overcards. To my surprise the other two players in the hand called before me (including my brother) and I had a tough decision to make. I know the way my brother plays, he was the first to call and I figured he most likely had a small pair or overcards. I had played with the other caller before, had seen her call big bets on draws, but still wasn't sure what she had. I decided that my brother and the other player weren a little hesitant about their calls and figured I had a good chance of knocking out the three of them at once. I called and saw that I was in good shape. The guy to my left had a big A, my brother had a smaller A, and the woman to my right was on a draw. The turn and river helped nobody and I raked in a huge pot and three bounties!
After that hand my momentum was up but I still sat tight. I caught some hands, raked in a few pots, made some big/tough laydowns, and aside from playing one good hand poorly (not getting the most for my flopped top two pair) I was happy with my the way I was playing.
When we got down to 13 people (two tables) the anties and blinds were getting higher and since we only had 6 people at our table things were moving faster and my stacks were getting smaller. I knew I had to get my chip stack back up soon so I wouldn't be antied out of the game, so when I looked down at A8h in the small blind after a run of cold cards I moved all-in. A player who had started to make some questionable calls (he called someone's all-in with K3o catching a 3 to win the pot) decided to call and showed A,10c knocking me out with the 10 kicker.
I don't regret using this hand to make a move, I was hoping to steal the anties and blinds. What I probably should have done was completed the bet and played from the flop. Next tounament I have to strengthen my late-tournament play. I've gotten good at pacing myself during the early and middle stages of a tournament, but now I need to figure out how to work my chips when the blinds and anties are up and I can't just sit and wait for a hand.
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