A Sit 'n Go Lesson

I enjoy posting about good plays and good reads. This is not one of those stories.

Seth from the PCS suggested we try some sit 'n go action. Our first attempt went poorly, with Seth finishing tenth to my ninth place finish. Somebody drew out on my kings. These things will happen.

Attempt #2 was better for bragging rights... I busted Seth early when my kings held up against his flush and gutshot straight draws.

In the same SnG, TopStack busted Stack #2 when we were four-handed. Nice way to get into the money. The guy I had outchipped by 1K was even happier I bet. Happy Guy busted out next, leaving me against TopStack. His 12.5K against my 2.5K. With the blinds at 75/150, I wasn't nervous.. yet.

He started off with a big button raise. I folded my 97-suited. Patience, grasshoppa. At this point, I had new roommate Jefferson watching over my shoulder.

A few hands later, I decided to get cute with pocket 8's on the button. I limped in, and we saw a pretty flop: A-Q-8, rainbow. He bet the pot, I called. Turn was a ten. I didn't love it, but I'm married to this hand. I checkraised him all-in, and he showed Q7 offsuit.

That hand gave me some breathing room. And breathing room means I can bet and raise heads-up with more frequency and audacity. I started by winning a few small pots, then a large one. His lead had almost evaporated, his 9K to my 6K. He pushed all-in preflop on the next hand, and I mentioned to Jefferson that my opponent hated how things were going. The safety blanket of his huge chip advantage was gone.

Plenty of poker to play, and we might be at this a while. I felt that I could outplay him, grind him down over time, if I was smart, patience, and aggressive in the right spots.

And then, my mistake. He raised from the button, and I called with K3 offsuit. Not a great hand, but better than average heads-up. The flop was K-6-4, all hearts. My three was black. I tossed out a feeler bet, 900 into the 1200 pot. He pushed all-in. Well now, decision time. I didn't believe he flopped a baby flush. Red jacks, perhaps. Ace of hearts, no pair, maybe. Is my king good?

With a neophyte onlooker, my cursor hovered. Fold. Call. Fold. Call. Time to make a decision.

I called. Horrible, horrible move. I've just spent 30 minutes climbing from 2.5k to almost even. Had I folded, I would've had 4.5K. I knew I could play with this guy heads-up.

He showed K9, no heart. I hit a 3 on the river, but it was negated by the board pairing 6's on the turn. His kicker played.