Why Can't I Bust This Guy?

I was really looking forward to Friday. Season 4 of the PCS was concluding with the Championship tourney. In seven "regular season" tourneys, my three money finishes were 2nd, 1st and 1st in fields of 13-27 players. Twenty players qualified for the Championship, and I was seeded #2, meaning I started with the second-most chips in this freezeout.

(A brief explanation of the PCS can be found in the second paragraph here.)

With twenty qualifiers, we had two tables, and I was sitting down to a chip lead. John, the tourney director and #1 seed, was at the other table. I really thought the draw favored his table. The players at my table were known for making aggressive mistakes. The players at John's mixed in a lot more foolishness. So, how am I gonna play with a bunch of loose, aggressive, unafraid players salivating at the thought of doubling up through me?

Well, my first step was make a beer-fueled proclamation on the PCS messageboard. I was a sheep trying to shout the wolves away.

My gameplan was to play pots if it looked like multi-way action and I had a good drawing hand, while the blinds were still low. One of my hopes was that I could catch a big hand (perhaps preflop in my big blind), reraise somebody all-in, and have them think I'm simply trying to push them around. The PCS'ers have seen me make plays when I have a big stack of chips. The seed of doubt would be there.

Friday didn't work out anything like that. My first pot, I raised from my button, took the blinds and a few limper bets, and showed my 76-offsuit. I had folded for the first rotation. I folded plenty more. I got really tired of looking at K4-offsuit and J2-suited.

I wanted to play pots, sling some chips around. But I didn't really need to. For all of the pre-tourney talk, the loose players weren't aggressively insane like I feared they might be. The cards and the players weren't cooperating, so I modified the gameplan. Play my normal game. Tight preflop, mixing in a steal or three. Moderately aggressive post-flop, giving consideration to my opponent's folding/stealing tendencies.

I limped 98-offsuit under the gun, the cutoff limped, the small blind folded, and the big blind checked. I gave a brief scowl, like I was hoping for a raise. Ace-high flop with two clubs, I bet at it, and they folded with a quickness.

I decided to open the betting with a raise in middle position with KQ-suited. Directly on my left, Muto declared he was doing his patented "feeler reraise", doubling my bet. It was folded around to me. I've seen him do his feeler reraise a few times, once with aces. I called.

Flop was nice: Q-7-7. I knew he'd bet if I checked to him, so I thought a checkraise might either scare him, or give me some information if he does have me beat right now. I did checkraise, but he called after just a little bit of thought. I didn't get as much information as I thought I would. Oops. I think it's time to proceed carefully.

The turn was a rag and we both checked. The river was another low uncoordinated card, and I checked, thinking I had the best hand but not wanting to risk betting into him and being wrong. He bet about half the pot and showed pocket 6's after my call. My hand is good. I appreciated his comment, "I knew I couldn't win it without betting on the river." I still have no idea how he called my checkraise. I may never checkraise-bluff Muto, ever.

The hand I won right before we broke for the final table was a clear indicator that things have changed since Season 3's Championship. In Season 3's finale, Tim took pot after pot away from the overly tight players at our table. Our chip leader was being way too tight, and I was playing scared after the flop. Back to the present.... I raised up with KoJack. I know it's a danger-hand, but the Little Poker Voice in my head told me to. I think being five-handed influenced my decision.

Tim was the only caller, out of his big blind. We ended up checking it down to a very scary board for me: Q-8-4, 7, 6. Unlike months past, I checked like I was interested in the hand. Tim didn't try to bluff me off of my hand with his K9-suited. My KJ high was enough to take it. Sure, sure, I got insanely lucky to win this hand, but my image as a post-flop pushover has changed at least a little.

Before the hand with Muto, I was treading water. I took my starting $96 and had bumped it to $130+ when we consolidated to the final table. I think John was the leader with about $200 at that point.

My cards at the starting table had been pretty cold. I was dealt pocket 2's, 3's, and 8's. The best ace I saw had an offsuit ten kicker. The final table would be different. I like to think of it as a reward for not throwing away chips trying to bully and steal with my early chiplead.

After folding plenty of ugly cards, I tossed out a raise in late position, holding 88. Dallion pushed from his big blind, and he had me covered. Something about his demeanor told me he wasn't that strong, but that he expected me to fold. I disappointed him, then crippled him when the board showed his AQ-offsuit no love. Dallion wasn't the only one that was a little surprised I called with a middle pair.

Dallion out in 9th, Tim followed suit, then John left in 7th. The hand that was the beginning of the end for him was very odd. He raised UTG, and Jesus reraised him the minimum from his small blind. It would turn out to be an interesting defense. The flop was K-T-x. Jesus bet, John called. The turn and river were rags. Jesus bet, John called the turn, and they checked the river. Jesus showed down K8 offsuit, John tabled AT-suited. At that moment, I wanted Kool-Aid Man to bust through the wall and shout "Oh yeah!!" That hand was surreal, and I was secretly pleased that a fundamentally sound, strong player had lost a big chunk of chips to a player who... erm... isn't nearly as much of a threat to win it all.

Down to six, and it was an odd group. I'm sitting on a little more than $100 with the big blind at $8. Derek, Jesus, Chris, Justin and Moss are around the table, starting with Derek on my left. It seemed odd to everybody that Tim, John, and Dallion were all out of the money. They are the old guard - experienced, confident, and talented - and started with plenty of chips.

Derek and Jesus have one money finish between them. Justin is still a little green, even if he is John's brother. Chris and Moss know what to do late.

Then, another head-scratcher. I found A4-clubs in late position and raised the $8 big blind to $20 total. Derek called on the button, then Chris pushed all-in, later telling me I had made like I was going to fold, then raised, so he knew I was weak. Even though the $20 was a sizable chunk of my stack, and the table expected me to call, I folded. Inexplicably, Derek called. With 32-suited. Huh? Chris showed QT-diamonds, then flopped a set of queens. The only reason I can possibly come up with for Derek's call is that he wanted to use Chris's "favorite hand" against him.

Derek was out in 6th shortly thereafter. Top 4 got paid. It was $30 to buy-in to this freezeout, and 4th paid more than $180, so chipleader Jesus proposed we carve $20 out of spots one through four to pay 5th $80. Being the low guy, I agreed instantly, and the other followed suit.

With Q9-spades in my small blind, I called an unraised pot, and we saw the flop. Nice: Q-6-4, with two spades. I checkraised Jesus, who showed me his queen while he was thinking about calling my all-in. I showed him my spade-nine. It convinced him that I was on a flush draw, and he called. With his Q9. Hellooooo freeroll with two cards to come! No spade for me, though.

Jesus lost several hands in rapid succession, and busted out in 5th. Most of the chips went to Chris, giving him the commanding chip lead. I had nothing even worth a steal, and the blinds were getting on my damn nerves. The hand after Jesus busted out, I found QJ-diamonds in my small blind and pushing into Chris's big blind. I had a brain lock. I knew Chris was going to call with any two cards. He's got a huge lead, and he's loose. He has no fear about gambling late in tourneys, or protecting his chip lead.

He had Big Slick. Easy call for him. I hit a queen on the flop. Hello, lucky double up. Cue the Bee Gee's, cuz I'm stayin' aliiiiiiiiiiiiive.

I won a few small pots, on steals or with cards. (I don't recall. Unlike tourney #9, I didn't take notes.)

I had $200 or so in my stack when I got dealt the aces. Oh. Fuck. Yeah.

First to act, I raised Moss's big blind to $25. He made it $50. Oh my. I pushed, a little too eager. He attempted to show me his cards, while asking me if I wanted a call. I wouldn't respond or look at him or his cards.

He called, so I finally took a look at his AQ-spades. Q-T-x on the flop. King on the turn. Jack on the river. Are you kidding me? Two outs for the win and four for the split. Moss would've been down to panic mode if a blank hits the river.

On the very next hand, Chris raised my big blind. I see two black queens. Worth a push, and he can't possibly figure I have two strong hands back to back, right? Right. He called me with AQ and doubled me up. $400+ in my stack.

Jesus: "Wow. Mike's gonna win this."
Me: "Woah, hold on there. I have a nice lead, but there's plenty of poker to play."

Chris busted out next, then short-stacked Justin pushed into my big blind with his black twos. I was so stunned to see my black kings, it took me a few seconds to call him.

Heads-up play, for the title. And I've got the chip lead. It's ON.

Moss: "I'm short-stacked. I've gotta gamble."
Me: "You gamble. I'm gonna play poker."

What I know about Moss is that he's fairly tight, capable of making a stone cold bluff reraising preflop, and he can play strong hands deceptively. No clue about his heads-up style.

We started with the blinds at $15/$30. A little bit of back and forth. I was definitely more aggressive when I had the button, though I did fold a couple of six-high's on the button.

On the button. Pocket 8's. Made a standard raise. And Moss pushed all-in. I called and started to wonder how sweet it would be to be the Champ when I saw his dominated bluff, 86-offsuit. Flopped K-9-7. Turn, 7. River... ten.

Ok, so what if he's got the chip lead now. Plenty of poker to play. This is not the time to go on tilt.

Blinds up to $20/$40, then $25/$50, then $30/$60. Somewhere in there, I got the chip lead back. At $40/$80 things were getting tight. Moss was winning hands, nicely showing me his AQ's and such. He had the lead back.

I raised $100 extra on the button with K6-offsuit. Decent hand heads-up, with position, and the big blind is huge and I want to steal it. Moss pushed.

I instantly started hating my hand. I had a hunch this wasn't a bluff. But I looked at my stack - if I folded, I'd have $240, with $80 slated for the next hand's big blind. Ok, so even if he is ahead, maybe he doesn't have me killed, and I can outflop him. I don't want to play 83-offsuit for less chips, next hand.

He had KJ-offsuit. The board didn't help me. Hello second place.

I was disappointed to get so close and not win, but Moss played a great game. In for $30 and out for $343 is a nice consolation.

This isn't a movie, and it's not a fairytale. The cards have been really nice to me at opportune times in the last several months. I wonder if the mistakes I'm not making are allowing me to stick around longer and have the great cards hit me. The gaping holes in my poker game (post-flop weakness, predictability, heads-up play) are now just small leaks, comparatively. I credit the poker blogging community (plenty of you, even ones who don't write "strategy" posts) for giving me plenty to think about. And I also have to give a little bit of credit to John, who was critical of my flaws back in February.

This crazy poker thing has been a lot of fun so far. Here's to Season 5!!