The warming-up was already good last time during the $2 tourney, but the real match round, the $5 tournament was a big succes: I finished in fourth place, cashing $42.75. With this cash out, I can at least run break even in my series of sixteen tournaments on Poker Stars. My excellent result was mainly due to my super tight aggressive play.

I was happy to double up already very early in the tournament, after just a few hands:

I think I play this hand by the book. I flop top two and it’s immediately clear to me that my opponent also has a good hand, top pair, two pair or the nut flush draw and I extract the maximum value. Then I was carddead for a while and I observed a lot of retarded moves at the table (call an all-in preflop with Q8 off, pay somebody till the river with toppair on a board full of draws,…). Then it was my moment to receive my portion of donkament chips:

This guy doesn’t give me credit for a hand, during a period I hardly played a hand. I don’t get it anyway why people can call an all-in with KQ: what can you beat, really? Then I was carddead for a very long period and I was able to steal a few pots because of my tight image. However I was a few places below the bubble all the time. But then I received another donkament and was able to reach the money and even the final table. I didn’t receive a lot of quality hands, but there was a lot of action on the table, with people quickly disappearing. With six people left I won an important pot, knocking out an opponent:

I was a little scared when he picked up a flush draw on the turn, but everything turned out as it should be. Another one went home and then (when i was third in chips) I reraised someone all-in with KdQd but the other guy happened to have Aces which I couldn’t beat. Anyway, this cash out gave me confidence again.

There were only four tourneys to go and I’m not running that good in my series of ‘deepstack’ tournaments. So from that point of view, I was happy to at least cash in tourney 15 ($2+.2), but my prize had to be much bigger, if it wasn’t for the joking PokerStars dealer. I finished 12th, winning $4.41 .

After all, I played a véry solid tournament. I won my first big pot with A8 suited, which I played reasonably good I think:

I really like these kinda hands so I decide to let my opponents pay some limper’s tax. They do and I hit the flop very well with the nut flushdraw and a gutshot straightdraw. But I don’t bet the flop because you can easily be reraised on such mediocre boards against some original limpers. My free card gives me the nuts and when laguna 856 reraises the 60 bet, I suspect him of also holding a flush and decide to keep slowplaying my hand. Board pairs, but I’m not really scared of this and place a value bet, not too big because he might suspect me of slowplaying JJ: excellent result. Then I missed some flops completely with premiums like TT and AK before the next important hand was played:

I flop a set in a limper’s pot and I bet because at least one player must have picked something up on this board. My only caller leads out on the river (which happens to be a great blocking bet) and I only call here for two reasons. First one is that my opponent can easily have TQ in this hand and I don’t want to make a very big pot against the other big stack of the table. Secundo, if he was as weak as he happened to be, he wouldn’t have called a bigger bet anyway.

In the period that followed I even became chipleader, but I lost a big pot with JJ which brought me at fifth place during the period towards the bubble. It took a VERY long time before the bubbleboy was eliminated and I’d become a shortstack. However, if everything would have gone normal, I would have doubled up in this hand:

Instead, I got eliminated…

That about says it all: played another $2+.2 tournament a few hours ago and finished in 21st place after some interesting (to say the least) situations.

I’m beginning to learn some specific skills that are required in such tournaments and one important lesson is to try to play a lot of hands when the blinds are still low. So did I, for example:

I even get the button here with my 63 suited. Flop is a welcome surprise and I bet this flop: I’m in last position so people will think easily that I’m trying to steal this one. It obviously works against this guy and he even tries to bluff me off my hand. Notice there’s no value in raising the river here: a bluff won’t call me here, only a hand that beats me. Then I took a small pot with AK before I received a gift in this hand:

For some reason this guy thinks he must shove here against a raise with his KQ off and helped me building up a decent stack. But then I was carddead for a really long period before I lost a big pot with KQ myself: I raised it up preflop and a shortstack shoved with TT. I lost the flip and became a shortstack myself. I doubled up again with QQ against JJ but when the blinds increased, I was becoming short again towards the bubble. That’s when I was eliminated:

I think my only mistake is being made preflop: I should just shove all-in there instead of raising it three times the big blind. Anyway, I shove with a flushdraw and a gutshot but instead my opponent gets runner runner quads…

After the ‘big’ deepstack game I returned to the 90 players sng with a $2+.2 buy-in. I did pretty good, but wasn’t able to reach the money, finishing in 18th place.

However, I’m not thát disappointed because I enjoyed playing this tournament. The key hands I selected for you exactly show the interesting aspects of playing deep stack. With the first hand I took down a nice pot in an early phase:

I limp and even call a raise because the blinds are still low and I know exactly what I’m looking for with such a hand. I get a free card which gives me a very good draw. When my opponent makes a very weak bet I raise of course, maybe I can already take the pot right here. Of course when he reraises, my read completely changes: he slowplayed a big hand (hitting my straight might not be good enough anymore). On the river I know my flush is good and make a value bet. A few hands later:

A typical deepstack play: two people want to limp cheaply in late position so I raise. On the flop it’s not difficult to win the pot: whether you hit your hand or the flop comes high cards which you can represent. Then followed a period with a lot of eliminations and I was constantly just below the bubble. I eliminated a guy who went all-in with 33 holding AK myself but then I was eliminated myself with a little bad beat:

This is were deepstack poker backfires: the button is really deepstack and decides to see a flop with Q9 suited. He also knows where he’s looking for and finds it on the flop…

Well, the most important thing is that I finally reached the money again, in a $2+.2 tournament. I even sat down on the final table. For like five seconds. However, I made the magnificent $5,4 in ninth place.

I started the tournament with a long period of being carddead. Luckily, this isn’t lethal (at all) in the beginning of a (deepstack) tournament. I took a small pot with AJ, but THEN began my good run. First, I was sponsored by a delicious donkament:

Now as I wrote earlier , getting minraised on the flop is always suspicious and could be a sign of somebody having flopped a set. But this time I just felt my opponent didn’t and it wasn’t likely he would have flopped two pair on this board so I just shoved. One minute later:

Now I think I play this hand perfectly by the book. My small raise gets reraised with a small amount and most of the times this is a move made by AK: just create an heads-up situation (in position). That’s why I shove immediately with my kings: he will probably call here but he won’t if he doesn’t catch anything on the flop. So I deserve that great pot .

In the period towards the bubble I took some important pots with QQ (raised it preflop, represented a big hand on a AKx flop) and I finally reached the money again. We were down to ten players when I got the QQ again:

Of course I get called by a reasonably good ace in this phase. But while our showdown was proceeding, the table filled up with four other players: I had just reached the final table…

Just like in my third tourney I finished 35th again in my sixth one, another sit ‘n go with 90 players with a $2+.2 buy-in. However, I can mention you some classic (deepstack) tournament situations.

For a start, I lose about a quarter of my stack relatively early in the tournament, during the first blind level. I think I play the hand rather correctly (if you disagree, let me know ), but lose the hand because I came short of one kicker notch, to use Vanessa Rousso’s words^^:

Just a little bad luck I guess. After I’ve been moved to another table, I win a pot by a play which I can only make in a deepstack game:

I really like those suited Aces and maybe I could have taken the pot by betting the flop, who knows. Anyway I take a cheap river card on the turn and my opponent (who has a lot of chips) bets weak again. On the river I realize I can perfectly represent AK in this spot and take the pot by raising. After this hand I was unlucky a couple of times when I flopped two pair two times against a flush and I became shortstacked. Then I got pocket cowboys and a classic showdown followed:

Kings versus Aces, what I’m gonna do? More luck hopefully next time, when I’ll play a $5 one again.

Another small deception in my third tournament ($2+.2). However, I had more fun playing this one than the previous one, where I was just carddead. This time I finished 35th.

I took a nice pot in the beginning with mediocre suited connectors:

This hand is just about representing everything: by minraising the flop I can represent a very strong hand like a queen as well as a flushdraw. Of course if you choose this tactic you better follow trough with it and it succeeded.

Subsequently I woke up with pocket sevens:

It’s important to know that the original raiser preflop just lost a big pot with a bad beat and I kinda expected him to steam so that’s why I just limp. So I wanted to be heads-up and I put in a big reraise, but the other player (who was playing fairly loose passive) calls anyway. We check towards the river and I know there’s no value in betting there.

What happens after this was really cruel: I went from deepstack to elimination in a rather short period. First I faced a bad beat with QQ against KT and then the following cold deck followed:

Now I should have figured he flopped a set after the minraise on the flop, it’s a standard move from most online players. So I guess my preflop raise was not bigh enough to get the deuces out of the way…After that it was pretty much over.