Damn, but poker is a fun game.
Today I participated in a 300 person charity no-limit Hold 'Em tournament. Players got $1,000 in chips for a $25 buy-in, with a free $1,000 re-buy during the first 5 rounds (if you didn't use it by then, you just got an extra $1,000 in chips). I lasted a little under 3 hours, and the event is still going on now. I had a blast. Two hands stand out.
In one, a pre-flop raise knocks all but 2 opponents out. With KJ, I call. Flop comes 4-4-5. Mike bets $200 (the minimum at that point). I call, other player folds. The turn is a 4. Mike checks. At this point I feel like Mike's got K-trash or an even smaller pair, and I have him beat. I bet $500, he calls. River is an 8. I go all in. He calls, but is $200 short so I take $200 back. He turns over K-8 and wins, having rivered a higher pair. When I bet the $500, I thought it was strong enough that he'd fold. My mistake was not going all-in then, rather than waiting to do so on the river. Had I gone all-in, he'd have folded.
So that put me at $200 and immediately the small blind takes me to $100. The tournament organizers announce a bounty of a tin of mints for anyone who knocks a player out. If that poker table was a Tex Avery cartoon, I'd have suddenly turned into a giant tin of mints with a single poker chip. I looked around the table and declared that I would not become a mint for their amusement. I proceeded to fold every hand (all garbage), as 1, 2, 3, 4 other players got knocked out. The mints ran out, and the moral victory was mine. Only now mugs and t-shirts were offered as bounties.
Finally the blind catches up with me (and my cheering section of friends who've already been knocked out) and I have to go all in. I decide not to look at my cards. The flop is 4-x-x, with 2 clubs. A raise, a fold, and I'm heads up against Jeff. He turns over 2 fours. My friends groan. I sigh heavily and roll my cards: A-6 of clubs. My section cheers-- I have hope! The turn is no help. The river... an ace, no help. My tournament ends, but with suitable drama to have me leaving the table satisfied.
The format was terrific, the people at my table were good players and extremely pleasant to play with, there was no smoke, and it was a heck of a lot of fun. If there were another tournament tomorrow, I'd be there in a heartbeat. Which has me wondering if there are any real tournaments with similar structures in the area...
Posted by Peter at October 24, 2003 07:06 PMIf you haven't seen the movie ROUNDERS recently, go back and see it again. You'll be amazed.
I saw it a while ago and enjoyed it, but that was before I became educated in Texas Hold 'em. I saw it again last night and was royally impressed with the whole thing. I wound up freezing and rewinding several times so I could savor the moment and really think through all the poker hands in the show.
There are few films that go in-depth about a specific topic and are also quality, well-acted movies.
Posted by: Russell on October 25, 2003 10:56 AMI too live in the Seattle area and would be interested to hear of anything you happen to find. Where was this event?
Posted by: jimmy on October 25, 2003 12:33 PMI don't really understand why you think it was a mistake to not go all-in after the turn on your KJo hand? Your opponent had 3 outs to win the hand and quite a few to tie (17?). However, you win on every other card (24?). I am not clear how much was in the pot but you want him to stay in as long as you bet enough. I would think $500 would be enough for this to be true but possibly, given all the split cards, not, since you don't mention the pot size. Just because you are outdrawn on the river doesn't mean you made a mistake in not getting him out after the Turn. He may have made the mistake in calling but then got lucky.
Posted by: Aaron on October 28, 2003 12:08 PM