After attempting - again - the $10 Sit-n-Go's at Empire, and failing - again - I decided on a change of venue. I hadn't planned on paying Pacific a visit until Sunday's tourney, however - Pacific had been good for my poker self esteem, as it were, and I needed a boost.
I started at the micro tables with $3.00 with the intent to earn a Sit-n-Go entry fee. The plan of boosting my poker esteem didn't go so well - I bounced up and down, swinging wildly against a table filled mostly with naive players who were hitting their longshots. Hmmm. I needed to re-think. I eventually added some juice to the bankroll and moved up to the 1/2. Things went much better there.
After winning a few hands and increasing my stake I then entered a $5 + .50 one tabler. The beauty of the Pacific tourneys is that you will often see quite a drop-off of players in the first round. Three players bit the dust within the first seven hands of this one, and I was out in fifth place on hand 23 when my Q-T went down to a Q-J.
I wasn't discouraged, though. I turned right around and entered another one. This one lasted quite a bit longer, even though we were down to five by the sixth hand. Ten hands later we went to four when I knocked out a guy with pocket fives and I hit my set on the flop. I had considered slow playing them, but decided to bet them up front when the guy next to me bet the minimum of t50. I raised it up another t150 and was called by the guy to my left, who I figured had paired his king, the board being 3-K-5 rainbow. I expected the guy to my right to fold, but he called - confusing me as to what he had. I'd put him on a draw, and if I was right, that was a bad call on his part.
The pot was now t800. The turn was a Ten. Right-side guy bet t200 and, without hesitation, I pushed all-in. The left-side guy wisely folded and right-guy called, putting him all-in, as well. "What the heck does he have?" I said out loud. The river was a Two and I thought "If this joker chased a gut-shot strait with a friggin A-4, I'm going to break something." I'll never know what he had. His cards were mucked (another annoying thing about Pacific) and we were now down to four. There are several hands he might have had. He was in the big blind and checked after we all limped into the pot. On the flop, the SB checked and he bet the minimum then called the raise. He either had paired his King, had two pair or he had a set of threes and attempted to slow-play them. I think he paired his king on the flop and hit two pair on the turn. If that were the case, his check pre-flop holding a K-T at a shorthanded table seems rather weak, in my opinion.
We remained at four for the next 39 hands, slugging away while the next guy out blinded away. Now down to three, and in the money, I thought the pace would pick up and get more aggressive. Not here at Pacific - which is an appropriate name for this site: Pacific = passive. There was a whole lot of limping going on. I was able to grab some pots with cards I would not have played, had there been more pre-flop action. As it were, I limped along when they let me, and I raised pre-flop when I had strength. I even stole a few pots with absolutely nothing when it was checked to me.
Eight hands later, I took out the next guy with A-Q and two other ladies for the trio on the board. Heads up was a grind. My opponent was weak, rarely raised so, when he did raise, I knew he was on a big hand. He let me see too many flops and, as a result, I stole several pots. He was easy to read - on the flop if he checked, I bet big - regardless of what I had. Occasionally he called and I slowed down. But I hammered away for 31 hands taking 19 of the pots, including the last one. I had a little better than a 6 to 1 chip lead in the big blind. I'm dealt 7-4 and he called the big blind. The flop was sweet - 7-4-9. I checked and he did just what I was hoping he would - he pushed all-in, and I called. The turn and the river were J-A and the win was mine. Again, I have no idea what he had (I figured he'd paired the nine) - I only know what I had - the winning hand with 2 pair and $19.50 more in the bankroll.
Fueled by this win, I went for a third and joined a $2 + .50 2 tabler. I got my hat handed to me on the 4th hand when my pair of JJ - king kicker were picked off by a J-7 that hit a 7 high strait on the river. I'd bet big and was called by a J-T and a J-7. I had them dominated only to sink at the river. Oh, well, that's pokah at Pacific!
Improvements I need to make in my tournament play include upping the aggression factor in a passive game. I tend to play "follow-the-leader" and, sometimes, am only saved by sheer luck. I need to continue working on reads and logically thinking out my decisions, while staying in touch with my "gut." I'm much better at my reads, but I have a long way to go before I can trust them. It's particularly difficult at the low buy-ins. When someone bets the minimum into a pot, more than likely it's not a trap and they are on a draw or hit second or third pair - that's a good opportunity to attempt a steal if heads up. Instead I tend to respond weakly, fearing a trap, and that has cost me some pots when the draw hits on the river, or they actually only have high card. Of course that requires having a good read that your opponent will fold to a big bet in those situations.
