Two Accepted Disappointments
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
First, let's get last night's recap out of the way. I bubbled the Hoy, which has changed to a shorthanded shoot-out format. I was super happy it stayed shorthanded since shorthanded tournaments suit my aggressive style. I finished my first table in record time, beating all other tables, including a marathon match at one table that took well over an hour longer than it took me to dispatch my four competitors. I should note that I was seated at the only 5-person table, making my feat a little less impressive; even so, I still finished more than 30 minutes before the next player to win his table. That, and my table was STACKED with the likes of Surflexus and TwoBlackAces (much respect to both players).
After waiting for the hour plus, we finally kicked off the 4-person final table, with three spots paying. I started aggressively, playing for first place the whole way. I quickly dipped to about 2k of my starting 1k stack due to over aggressiveness and my opponents' ability to play back at me. At my lowest, I was down to 1200, but Bayne doubled me up when I needed it. Eventually, Bayne and I settled into around 1800-2200 chips apiece, hovering in that range for quite a while before I finally got all-in against Bayne preflop, my JJ to his AT. The turn was a Ten, the river was an Ace, and I go home. I'll admit, I was a bit steamy after, but I just took my lumps and moved on. I tried to figure out where my error was. If anything, it was being in a position where I was outchipped. In other words, I could have been more cautious early. That is the only logical way I could have changed the outcome. HOWEVER, I reject it wholeheartedly, since I played with a strategy in mind, namely to exploit the bubble and play for first, and while it did not work out, failure to cash/win a tournament does not mean failure to play well. After all, if I wasn't as loose aggressive early on, I doubt Bayne would've called my re-raise push with AT preflop and if that hand broke my way (which it will at least 67% of the time, even assuming his AT was suited and that I didn't hold a card in his suit), Bayne would've been on fumes and I would have been more than healthy, securing a money spot and momentum to hopefully win the game.
With a thought process like that, it's pretty easy to get over the disappointment of bubbling.
Aside from that, I played a few token SNG, won a few $26 tokens, and lost them all, trying to convert them in the Hoy and a 45-person SNG. Whatever.
One quick hand review from the final table of the Hoy. This is why I feel comfortable with gambling a bit. If you have confidence in your reads, you can make plays that many people will miss. Here is an example where I saved myself some dough where other people may've lost even more.
I was already down to 1810 with blinds of 30/60. We were four-handed and I was UTG with A7c when I decided to limp. The button folded and the two blinds, VinNay (2675) and lucyfred (4710, blog?), called.
The flop was a useless K43 with two hearts. It checked around. The turn was an Ace of Spades, giving me top pair, but creating a Spade flush draw. It checked to me, at which point, I bet 120. I was confident I was ahead based on the action, but I was so aggressive that I was hoping I would get a loose call from someone anyway. VinNay called.
The river was a Queen of Spades, filling any possible flushes. VinNay checked and I was tempted to bet. He may've called my turn bet with any number of cards, including a weak King (which would explain his reluctance to bet the flop OOP but call a LAG's bet on the Ace turn) or even a 4 or 3 based on the amount of action I was giving. However, everything to me smelled like a flush.
So, I followed my read, avoided any sort of value bet, and just checked. He showed J5s, for runner-runner flush.
Admittedly, this isn't the most amazing river-check ever, but my initial impulse was to bet out. Then I realized that a re-raise was highly likely and that VinNay's last check meant he either had a monster or crappola. Crappola won't call here, so I had no reason to bet out.
This is nothing revolutionary, but I did feel a sense of pride, oddly, when he showed his flush. I had a feeling it was there, and I was glad I, in my LAGgy state, didn't try to push the action on the river.
I thought I'd take some time to discuss the shakeup that's happening due to Google's decision to downgrade blogs such as HoP because of Google's new Terms & Conditions. I won't go into the details of the change, but I did want to address one of the concerns I see discussed somewhat on the intertubes.
The change in Google's processing of page rake and treatment of blogs is a tad disappointing, largely because if you search for "High on Poker" on Google or even "High On Poker" and "Jordan" together, you can't find this corner of the intertubes. That sucks, since I often tell people who are curious about this site that they can just Google the name. But aside from that, I'm just accepting.
The biggest concern is that the change will affect bloggers' ability to sell ads. Well, it may or may not be true (no need for you all to explain why it probably is true in the comments), but the money is easy come, easy go. I wrote before the first banner ad was up and I will write when the last one is down. It's disappointing that this era may be ending, but that is life. No complaining, kicking or screaming will change it. In life, you have three choices. If something can be fixed you can fix it. If something cannot be fixed you can accept it. And if you refuse to do either of those two things, you can expend a lot of energy and emotion rallying against something that won't change regardless. I go with acceptance (although I'm keeping an eye out for opporutnities to fix the situation).
Is it lemons? Yes. But it's also life. Now go make some lemonade.
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 10:39 AM,
8 Comments:
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At 11:23 AM,
Unknown said...
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hey high, i am going to atlantic city wed - fri and riverrun said you are the person to talk to find the best tournies to play there. Any place that has better tournies then the rest? Any help is appericated. If you wouldnt mind talking you can talk back at me on AIM stagerkdr246
Thanks in advance -
At 11:27 AM,
Jordan said...
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KDR, I am your guy, but unfortunately, I cannot access any IM programs at the office. Shoot me an email at HighOnPokr (no E) AT Yahoo and I'll be happy to respond with a ton of info. Let me know where you are staying, what buy-ins you want to pay, and any other questions like restaurants/things to do.
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At 11:45 AM,
Joaquin "The Rooster" Ochoa said...
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Vinnay is a bluffer...you have to bet out there. Also, I would have bet stronger when that Ace hit.
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At 11:55 AM,
Jordan said...
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Joaq, I couldn't disagree more. First off, VinNay never bet out, so the bluffing isn't so much of a factor, other than the fact that, assuming you are right, bluffers are more likely to slowplay big hands, as VinNay did on the river. Second, I wanted to keep players in the pot when my Ace hit because I knew I was ahead, hence my 120 bet into the 180 pot. Sometimes, I advocate taking down the pot uncontested, if possible, but here, I wanted to build the pot using my established LAGgy image.
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At 1:19 PM,
Pokerwolf said...
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Check your StatCounter stats to see how often the terms "High on Poker" or "Jordan" are used to find your blog.
I'm a bit annoyed that the name of my Blog and my name aren't high on the list of searches anymore, but most people find my blog by different search terms, so Google's dumbassery probably won't affect my traffic stats much. -
At 5:23 PM,
Patch said...
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I found you on Google by using quotes around "high on poker". Admittedly, you were on page 3 of the search results, but you were there. Adding "jordan" moved you to the bottom of the first page.
You need to write a big rant about something obscure like the wireless internet in your hotel room, and then write a few more times about all the people who come to your blog by Googling "guest-tek sucks". It worked for me. -
At 5:37 PM,
Bayne_S said...
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A few more chips I have to fold ATs.
3:1 I am priced in against anything but AA. -
At 4:50 AM,
Renee said...
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Good line - If something cannot be fixed you can accept it... so true. Great post!
