Things have been going quite well for me in January. Not including a $100 reload, my overall poker bankroll has grown above $100 in pure poker winnings. I’m feeling very confident.
I am currently on an SNG roll. I’ve been doing quite well at that definitely cashing more than losing.
I want to talk about yesterday’s SNG. It was probably the longest SNG I’ve played in for quite a while. It saw me at one point being the chip leader on the bubble and then drop to a very low stack on the bubble as well. Here’s the story:
Hand 2: It was a $5 SNG. My plan was to play tight. Second hand, I’m dealt AQo on the button. I’m not a big fan of AQ so I decide to limp in with this hand and see a flop cheap.
THE FLOP: Ks-Td-Js
OMG, I just flopped the nut straight and I’m in position.
Seat 5 comes in for a minimum bet of 30. Seat 8 makes it a standard raise of 90 and I flat call and so does seat 5. Seat 5 comes in for a minimum raise of 60. I feel like I can do a little trapping here, my only concern is the flush draw, but only mildly concerned. What I like is that I have two players who are battling and I’m just in for the ride.
THE TURN: 7c
Great card because it helps no one and makes the flush draw more difficult to call.
Seat 5 bet 2/3 the pot to 360. Seat 5 folds (probably the flush draw). I make a minimum raise to 720, just to say that I’m playing this hand. Seat 5 calls.
THE RIVER: Ac
This card is a little frustrating because if he has a Queen we split the pot and a lot of hard work come for nothing.
Seat 5 immediately put me all in for my remaining 555. I call of course, because I have the nuts. Seat 5 shows JTo. He flopped two pair and overvalued his hand.
He was very embarrassed. I made a few comments to help him get over the trauma but I didn’t care. He was left with 90 and out shortly after.
THE BUBBLE
By the 37th hand we reach the bubble. This games goes on for another 92 hands before it ends. This is how frustrating things got. Here’s the chip stacks:
Humble Guy (me): 4060
tripJJJ: 2675 – Passive player, easy to push around.
bh4500: 3525 – Passive player, easy to push around.
big ed k: 3140 – Often overplays hands, very aggressive (try not to give him your chips)
I have the chip lead, but not by much. Everyone is playing relatively tight. My strategy is to use my chip lead to whittle down my opponents. I will come in with standard raises whenever I can and fold to an all-in if caught.
This pretty much worked for the next 52 hands. Over the 52 hand span, I won 19 hands, lost 2 hands, lost 2 hands because I gave up the small blind.
At hand 89 here are the chip stacks:
Humble Guy (me): 5950 (+1890)
tripJJJ: 2620 (-55)
bh4500: 1815 (-1710)
big ed k: 2665 (-475)
The blinds are now at 150/300, meaning everyone but me is short stacked and I’m going to have to call some all-ins. My strategy is to call an all-in when I think I have the best hand going in.
Hand 90: ATo (big blind)
This is a great hand to shove in. tripJJJ is under the gun and makes a standard raise. I’m going to reraise all in naturally.
tripJJJ calls with J9d. I have the best hand.
FLOP: 9h-6d-2s
Not a good flop. tripJJJ now has a flush draw and top pair.
TURN & RIVER: Qh & 8s
That was a big hit, but no worries, I’m still in it. I’m down to 3180 chips. Still playable.
Hand 91: As-Ad (small blind)
Great hand for an all in. Bh4500 goes all in for 2265. I call. He shows 8d-8h. I’m a 5:1 favorite to win.
FLOP: 4s-2c-8c
No freakin’ way. And the trip hold up. I’m now down to 1065 will only 3.5 big blinds.
Now, I’m looking for opportunities to steal blinds and double up. The players to my left are very passive and I know I can push them around. I’m expecting big ed K to call me, so I want to have a strong hand with him.
Hand 92: 9h-8h (dealer)
I fold this hand pre flop because don’t want to go all in with a mediocre draw hand. Ironically, I would have flopped the nut straight.
Hand 95: KTd (small blind)
Big ed k goes all in and I’m calling. He shows pocket queens.
BOARD: Ks-8s-Ad-4d-Kc
It was right for both of us to come all-in this hand. My hand holds up and I double up. Big ed k is out and we’re in the money. I’m still not out of the water yet, but I have chips to play with.
The funny thing is that big ed k takes the next 10 minutes to grumble about my call. He’s calls me a donkey and can’t believe I play the way I do. He doesn’t understand basic short stack play. I really love putting guys on tilt.
The SNG continues. I wind up busting tripJJJ. Just as that happens, I hear a crash in another room of my house. And my wife and I investigate. So basically I’ve abandoned my keyboard and start getting blinded off. Bh4500 does something stupid and realizes that I’m not at my keyboard, so he goes all in at every hand. He’s putting himself in danger, because when I return I could have had pocket Aces and busted him.
That didn’t happen and I wound up winning.
I hope this was insightful and entertaining for you.
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