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First tournament lesson
Played the 20 + 2 multi-table at Party Poker yesterday. 1140 entries. I was doing everything right in the first hour or so...got AK twice, QQ, KK, all in the first hour. I called one all-in of a short stack and knocked them out (I try to avoid this but it was the right thing to do in this case). Every time I went to a showdown, I won.
In one key hand I went head to head with the biggest stack at the table. I had AKo, flop came Kxx, so I had top pair with ace kicker. I bet big, he called, I bet even bigger on the turn when there seemed to be no flush or straight threat. He stayed even on the river, which was another king- I made a pot-sized bet and he called that. I can't remember for sure, but I think he had K or KJ.
So, on to the hand I went out on, against the same guy. I have AK again. Same type flop, Kxx. By this time my stack is almost as big as his, around 3500 to his 4500. I make a 2/3 pot sized bet, then the turn is a 6, I figure there's still no threat. I make a pot-sized bet, and he doubles it. This is when I should have said, hmmmm, maybe that 6 helped him (it gave him two pair, Ks and 6s), but instead I was thinking 'This guy's a dumbass and he's falling for the same trap again'. I went all-in and he took me out.
So I watched this guy's progress for the rest of the tournament as I hung out in a low-limit ring game. He got well into the money, probably finishing in the top 5%. I almost wonder if he wasn't cultivating a dumbass table image to set me up for the big fall.
Anyway, that's the story of my first multi-table tournament. I felt like an idiot because I was in good shape with an above-average stack, playing well, and then made that stupid call. I guess in the long run I just have to remember that I know what to do, I just have to avoid being my own worst enemy. Back at it next weekend.
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