SCP Fall League Championship Freeroll

So last night my league held it's final tourney of the season, for a winner take all prize and the "Grand Champion" title. We play cheapy 3 hour tournaments, with usually less than 10 players... informal, but fun.

Ok so I'm coming into this second in points, which means that the point leader starts with T1000, and myself with T755, and the rest of the league behind me. Not good, but not bad either considering I really got unlucky and played pretty bad for most of the season. Still, I'm liking my chances, considering that probably only 8 or less people are going to show up to play: 6 did. I can beat 6 people.

The early going I played well, sticking hard to my strategy of not losing chips rather than trying to win them. One big key to me feeling at home in tournaments lately is the old adage: raise or fold. As someone who's been seeing a lot of low-stakes cash game action lately, where my style is to rarely have the lead in a hand, it's taken me a while to realize I need to change gears in a tournament format. Pressure = win. So I raise a lot pre-flop with hands that I normally talk myself into devaluing: A9, KJ, etc. You get reraised, you evaluate the situation and probably fold. You get called, you play the hand out however you deem best after the flop.

I scoop a bunch of chips with AJs: I raise 3x preflop, get one caller. Flop AAx. He checks, I check. Turn: x. He bets, I raise to gain information. Does he have a boat? Does he have me outkicked with the case ace? Do I have him outkicked? He calls. River: x. He checks, and with all the info I have, I push. He folds, showing an Ace.

We get down to 4 handed, with 3 of us about even and one short stack, who really isn't desperately short yet. A long time passes here with no big hands for anyone, meaning blind stealing becomes critical as the blinds are creeping way up. I either break even on blinds, or manage to gain slightly.

Then probably the hand of the night:

I hold KJo in the BB, with 2 calls in front. I check and see an AKJ rainbow flop. The small blind to my right (short stack) moves all in. I think for a bit, considering that he probably wouldn't move all in here with the straight, although a higher two pair is possible. Then again, this guy loves to raise pre flop, so if he had AK or AJ, I'd say there would be about a 90% chance or higher he would have raised, especially with so much to gain from the limp in front, and my BB behind. He doesn't have the straight, he doesn't have a better two pair, and it's very unlikely as well that he's got a set here. I have a clear call, and do so, hoping that the action behind me will be a call or fold only and we can check it down if a call. He calls.

Turn is a blank, and I'm first to act. The all-in player is acting very worried, with not the least hint of confidence in his hand. I'm almost positive I have him beat at this point, and with a monster main pot, and a dry side pot, I decide to move all in to protect my hand. The guy behind me has got to be on the broadway draw. I have him covered, and he calls. The all in player flips A5, and the other flips (I believe) KQ or AQ, either way, one pair and the draw. Now it turns out there's a ton of cards I need to dodge on the river, 4 tens, 3 fives, 2 queens, 1 or 2 aces, and the other 3 matching cards to whatever the turn was which would pair the board. River is a J, and I knock out two players, having a better than 2 to 1 chip lead on, of all people, my wife.

I'll leave out the commentary about playing heads-up poker with the human you know better than any other, but I like my position. We spar it out for a while, trading chips and rarely seeing a flop, let alone a turn, river, or showdown. My strategy here is to keep the chip lead, and try and outplay her on or after the flop where I think my reads will have the best effect. I absolutely don't want to end up all-in preflop and see who gets lucky.

I end up taking a stab though when I have almost a 3 to 1 lead on her and she pushes from the SB. I hold 33, and debate it for a while, 90% certain that she doesn't have a pair from her actions. She wants me to fold. I call knowing full well that I'm only a slight favorite to win the hand, and her JTo hits a Jack on the flop. Damn.

I end up making a great laydown on a flop with Q6 when I read strength feigned as weakness. The flop was Q53 or somesuch and she made a weak bet after I noticed one of those split second looks on her face... just a stare at the flop for a little too long. I min raise for information, and I get it when she moves all in. I fold showing top pair and telling her I know she has something good, and she shows the two pair, and I'm feeling really good now, but unhappy with her now having the about 3 to 1 lead. I'm playing good poker and making good reads.

Unfortunately, the blinds are up and I'm in critical need of a double up, and I have to abandon all hope of outplaying her on the flop. My chips are moving in preflop or not at all. I steal a couple of blinds with heads-up monsters like AK and QQ, then lose them back when she raises against garbage like 42 and 63.

The final hand I hold A2, push, get confidently called by AQ, and I'm done.

The exact situation I didn't want to be in happened, and I'm disappointed. I haven't felt this disappointed after a tournament, since I hit 3rd place in a live three-tabler walking away with barely my buy-in back and watching 1st place walk away 2 hands later with over $500, due to a stupid prize structure and ridiculously short levels.

Still, I don't think I can really play much better than I played, but feeling like you played very well and made good reads and decisions and lost, has a bittersweet effect: you can walk away knowing you succeeded in playing your best poker, but it makes the loss a lot more dissapointing than simply playing poorly and losing.