Check Mate
Yes… I’ve decided to write a column about poker. Lately I’ve become a tad philosophical and I figured I should take a break from that for at least a month to focus on what brought me to this magazine in the first place. Without further ado…
Aussie Millions Main Event
I came in confident and ready to go, despite a dreadful performance at the Full Tilt golf tournament (it was my first time playing a golf course, but I strive for greatness... 109 in 13 holes… makes me almost as bad as John Juanda). In general, though, the beauty of Australia and friendliness of its people had me in an optimistic mood for the Main Event.
Like most professional players, I feel most comfortable with a large starting stack, so I was pleased with the 20,000 in chips everyone was given. Also, my first table was filled mostly with faces I didn’t recognize, which I enjoy because it forces me to work my mind more in the opening stages and learn how each player handles himself.
Things started out well when I called a raise with 2-2 on one of the first few hands of the tournament and flopped a set. As is my style, I played the set very aggressively and was able to increase my stack by 50% on that hand. Not long after, however, I was down to under 10k when I played Q-Q much slower than I should have and lost to Peter Feldman’s straight on the river.
At this point, I started to think about how far I’d come just to play in this event and how disappointing it would be to bust this early in the tournament. Of course this is the last thing that should’ve been on my mind; I really should have been focusing on playing my A-game. Besides, even if I busted, there would always be the golf course, right? Maybe with practice I would be able to break 150 in a couple tries. Right!
Back to the tournament. All of a sudden I was back into my “old” groove. Barring a few scary situations, the rest of Day 1 went very smoothly, and I found myself with an aboveaverage 120k in chips at the end of the night.
Then, of course, came Day 2. The first piece of information I learned as I found my new table was that I would be playing with fellow Full Tilter Gus Hansen. The second piece was that after the first level our table would be moved upstairs to the Aussie Millions televised feature table. I had mixed emotions.
I was excited to play with Gus for the first time; I had always admired his play, mainly his ability to be aggressive while constantly mixing up his game. Also, this would be my first time playing on television, besides the Pro-Am Invitational I played in November. But that was different. Shana Hiatt would not be playing at this table, to my chagrin. (I’m a fan.)
On the other hand, I knew Gus’s presence at my table would work against my plan of coasting through Day 2 and into the money. Plus, the idea of playing on television made me think about whether I would alter my game in any way. Why? Because of nerves, or maybe it might make me try to impress the viewers at home by attempting to outplay my opponents, particularly Gus. Again, my emotions were mixed.
Things started out as I had expected. Unnecessarily, I tried to outplay Gus when I should have been trying to protect my sizable chip stack. Basically, I called his raise with the monster 4-5 off-suit and tried to bluff him off his A-A. Sometimes I just don’t like chips, I guess.
By the time the first level was over and our table was ready to be moved to the televised area, I had managed to lose about 40k in PRO-SPECTIVE chips. Nonetheless, I still had the second most at the table; second to Gus, of course.
The featured table could have gone better. What made me happy was that I wasn’t nervous, and I really thought I was playing at the top of my game... perhaps a little too aggressive, but I felt like I didn’t really make many mistakes. I pulled off a couple of bluffs with ten-high, king-high, and maintained aggressive play in order to make up for the fact that I didn’t hit one pair the entire run at the featured table. Well, maybe I was forcing the action too much. Emotions? Mixed.
Now that I think about it, I did hit one pair. After losing a 50k race with A-K suited to J-J, I found myself down to about 40k in chips. Then came my moment of truth: With blinds at 600-1,200, the UTG player raised in the range of 4,500. Gus, who now had at least 150k, called behind him along with two other players in late position. I was in the big blind and looked down at A-J off-suit. At this point, I felt that my best move was to push all in, in order to pick up the dead money in the pot and possibly to double up even if I were called. In retrospect, I should’ve considered my options a little more closely:
Fold: Folding is certainly an option here. A player has raised from under the gun, and he has not shown himself to be a very loose or unruly player. Gus has called from a rather early position and, despite his big chip stack and loose image, this indicates he could have a strong hand. I have A-J offsuit, which is a good hand, but will most likely be behind if I am called and will often be dominated. Perhaps I should’ve folded this trouble hand and kept my cool long enough to slowly build back some chips.
Call: Because A-J is a trouble hand, but still strong, calling is a viable option. I may choose to continue in the hand if I flop an ace or a jack, depending on my opponents, and obviously I will commit all my chips if I flop something very big like two pair, trips, or a straight. Again, A-J is a trouble hand and should be played cautiously, especially out of position.
Raise: I decided to raise to take a tough decision off my shoulders and put it in the hands of the other players. If everyone folded I would pick up a healthy pot uncontested, and that was my hope. What I hadn’t thought about was that I would almost certainly be called; if not by the original raiser, then by Gus because of his sizable stack and the odds that the pot was giving him due to the other callers in the hand.
The original raiser folded and Gus quickly called. I knew I had misplayed the hand. Hansen’s A-Q was a sad sight, since I was enjoying my time in Australia and didn’t want this hand to ruin my trip. I felt it was time to get lucky.
Flop: x-x-x (no help).
Turn: The jack. I flinched and couldn’t help but grin. Was I about to “Out-Gus” Gus? (Yes, I may be the first person to use Gus as a verb.) But wait a minute… this was Gus. Enough said. My grin faded slightly.
River: The queen. Expected. I was disappointed and upset at myself, but poker is about learning from mistakes, and we all know that one mistake can put a damper on an entire trip. Really, I should get better at golf so I have something to look forward to when that queen hits.
Next Column: The LA Poker Classic and my nervous breakdown. Stay tuned.
