Poker Mountain Freeroll Take 2

After the debacle at Poker Mountain the other night, I was ready to move all my money out and remove the software from by pc. After airing my grievances over at Full Contact Poker, I took some advice from a player there that had a similar thing happen. I sent an email to PM asking for my Summit Points back. They obliged. Not only did they give me the points back, but they gave me more! I was now eligible for a $2500 freeroll, not the $1000. That is some sweet action! Especially since they only had 25 signed up for it earlier in the week.

So I planned to tone down my St. P's drinking to take advantage of this tourney. I wasn't sure they would have these next week so I felt I needed to use those points now. Being a bit lit on Irish Stout, I got home and logged in. There were now 70 people signed up. Still not bad. Top 10 will get paid with the bottom getting $50 and the top getting $750.

I planned to play on the tight side for a while. I watch 2 guys making huge preflop bets. With blinds at just 5/10 (yeah, they start that low), they were raising to 150. No one is calling them down. They may see a flop and fold to a second outrageous bet. I really would like to get a read on what they are playing but it ain't happening. I hope to catch a monster to slap one of these guys around.

I do take down a nice pot with 44 in small blind. I limp to see a flop of 3 3 4 with two other players. It checks around. I put out a big bet on the turn, twice the size of the pot to make it look like I am stealing when an A hits. I get raised. Nice! I re-raise it back to 400 and get called. River is a 10. My nuts have held up (nice phrase there). I push all in and get called. That is an easy double up.

One of the yahoos get busted down when he makes a stupid play by reraising 6 times the bet and calling the all in with 9 9. They lose to K K. How do you make that bet, let alone that call with only 99? All of this was preflop.

I get more chips by playing Q 10 diamonds. See 10 9 4 flop. I raise a min bet and call his re-raise. Turn is A of diamonds. Two diamonds on the board. I now bet 2/3 the pot and get called. On the river, I call his all in bet of just 355. He was playing a pair of 9s. Thanks for your chips. This player was very easy to read and was playing some pitiful cards.

Someone finally calls down on of the yahoos who was making the big preflop raises. This time he makes the 5xs preflop bet and gets called all the way down. He shows A A. Maybe he is playing big cards hard afterall? I need to keep an eye on him. I wonder what his thought process is. Does he think he will get someone to call these obscene bets? No one has. I settle on the premise that his post flop play stinks and he is scared to play actual poker.

I knock another guy out when I raise K J to 4x the bet with 2 limpers. The first limper then pushes. I call to see he has Q J. I was proud of that play. He had done nothing to show any real strength. Mid position limp and then a push is suppose to make me thing he has a high pair?

I start to get a number of small pairs that are not hitting and chip down a bit. I get some back by stealing but would like to hit something big again. My prior luck with the 4s is just that. Luck.

I get some good hands UTG (A Q, A J suited, J J) and raise 3xs the blind each time but never get a caller. I decide to slow down and steal when it is good but play really tight for a while. Of course I then try to bluff my way to victory in the BB with K J and a slew of low cards on the board. He has A A. Nice bluff on my part- NOT.

I gather some chips when I get Cowboys back to back and collect some limpers without seeing a flop. I raised to a pot size bet on each. One limper's stack was a decent size so I am surprised that I didn't get a call on them. Maybe next time I should just give the regular raise. For the most part, my raises have been identical. Usually 3xs the BB or if there are limpers, a pot sized bet.

Things go cold at this point. I guess that can be normal. I try to steal a pot with A high on a Q Q 5 flop but he won't go away when I bet it. I fold on his river bet.

I try a semi steal with K Q hearts on the button. Flop comes A 10 6 with the A & 10 being hearts. The BB bets out and I raise it to 300. He calls. Turn is an A. River a Q. Miss the flush and lose the pot. I kept betting all the way hoping to take it down but he will not fold his A 9. All I really did was manage to give my chips away there.

Blinds come around and I am in the need to push soon. In the big blind I push with K 10, putting my last 800 in the pot calling an EP's raise. 3 see the flop and I hope to triple up. Flop comes 10 8 6 rainbow. Not bad. Turn is a 10. Nice. River doesn't matter and I pull it down and stay alive!

Couple of hands later the Hilton Sisters visit. I re-raise a 300 bet before the flop putting it to 600. Flop comes 9 8 2. He pushes. I know he is aggressive and I call. He shows 6 6 and is done. I am now at 4600 tossing me into the top 5. Funny how in a couple of hands you can go from being close to out to vaulting to the top.

Get A Q off in the BB. UTG limps. Everyone else folds. I raise to 300 and he calls. Flop comes A K 6. I push and he folds. Maybe too aggressive but I wanted to possibly rake in a weak ace on him.

We head to the break and I am in 5th with 4820. Leader is at 7057. Final table pays and there are 26 people left. Should I be really tight? I decide to continue to play aggressively and push the small guys when I can, and be cautious by the big stacks.

I sit out a couple of hands and watch A A get cracked by 7 7. Now there is some knucklehead with about 1200 left who has decided to push all in, preflop, on every other hand. Looks like he may push with any ace.

I try to find out when I get 7 7 and raise it up. I get a different caller. Flop comes J 10 6. I bet out 300 and get raised all in. It seems like too much so I call and see A Q. No help and I take down a nice pot. My reads are paying off. It really has helped to be at the same table all night.

A pair of 4s on the button net me the blinds with a flop of 2 3 6. Min bet does the job. I knew he had no piece of that and no higher pocket pair by the delay in his action. I see a nice flop from the big blind with A 2. A flop of 4 5 7 looks good to me. I hit my straight on the turn when the 3 hits and push it on the smaller stack. But he shows 6 7 which gives me the dummy end of the straight. It knocks me down a bit but not too bad.

It now becomes an all in festival. The small stacks are pushing on anything. I have no cards to play on them but the big stacks are picking them off left and right. I lose some chips on 4 4 when I try to limp and have to call another bet. Fop came 7 7 2- Hammer special. I fold to a raise though I am not sure I had the worst hand.

Try to steal with K J but that doesn't work. I am now at 10th,barely in the money. I need to chip up a bit to make a run. Get 9 9 in the small blind and raise it up to 800. Limper calls. Flop comes 8 high. I push and he folds. That helps with just 14 left. Need to survive 5 more to cash in.

When we are down to 13,I still sit in the 10 spot. Blinds are 100/200 and we are gong hand for hand so I have some time. But with blinds this low, I am thinking it may take a while as the small stacks are in the 1500 range. Or maybe not. Some big stacks battled at the other table and before I expect it, the final table is here. I am going to get paid!

I start in 8th but quickly use my blinds with A 10 suited to chip up with 2 pair. Now the low blinds are good. I can take some time and wait for some good hands. I see the Hiltons once again and raise it to 1200 (200/400 blinds. SB thinks and calls. BB quickly calls. Flop is K 7 4, two hearts. I don't like that K. It checks to me and I push. Again SB thinks but folds as does BB. Whew! It gets interesting because every spot increases the payout by $25 up to 6th. It increases by $50 above that. Though I am in 6th, I can still wait around and hopefully see big stacks battle. Plus, a double up and I am in great position to make a run.

I can feel something like 10s or Js coming my way. Something to make it just a bit difficult. I don't make it any easier when I accidentally call with 3 4 clubs. No help at but I make a bluff at it on the turn when the flush possibility is on the board. River is a rag and it checks to me. I didn't have the balls to bluff the flush on the river and lose to a guy drawing on the straight.

I really couldn't afford to lose those chips. I am now at 1800 and at the bottom. I push in from the small blind with A 6. I am about to be blinded out if I wait and any ace looks good to me. I get called by a big stack with A 3 suited. I look good on the flop but he goes runner runner for the flush. I am done in 7th and get $125. Not bad for never being above 6000 in chips. I don't like the runner runner. Bad way to go out but that is poker. I cashed and that is what matter to me most.