Dude's Rare Victory

I played a multi last night and realized the flaw in my game. I am lights out against the scrubs in the early stages of the game. I get into pots cheaply and when I hit a flop, I either price people out of the pot or I extract a maximum amount of their chips depending on the strength of my hand. Last night I had the good fortune to be at a table with a player I recognize to be very high end. I studied how he played and emulated him. Soon we were both at $7500, far ahead of the crowd. My mistake came when I went heads up against him.

He bet $400 in first position. I held AQ and called, assuming his exorbiantly high bet to suggest a weaker hand, such as Ax or a medium or low pair. We were heads up and the flop came AJ6. He bet $200 and I raised. He called.

He checked the turn and when I bet $600, he raised to $3000. Recap: if he's still in the pot and not on a total bluff, then either he hit trips or two pair. His large preflop bet suggests he has less than AQ. I should have known then and there that he had AJ. I was tired, and stupid, and besides, I just had to know, so I called, played all the way to showdown, and gave him all my money. He had AJ and not only doubled up, but thanked me publically for playing.

I realized immediately what has kept me out of the money lately. I have no trouble playing against the lesser players. I take their chips, hold them for awhile, then ultimately give them all to a better player on a hand that I should not be playing. My parting thought of many tourneys lately has been, "damn, I thought he was bluffing." A few losses have been legit, say dying with JJ against QQ, but far too many have been the result of greedily chasing a pot that was by no rights mine. I get stars in my eyes when I fantasize about doubling up, and in the end I get the early exit.

So anyways, the lesson was hammered home last night. Today, I joined a $11 Grand Prix Qualifier. There were 29 entrants and I finished first. I just decided to amass my chips early, then continue to play like a winner and not the dumb bully. Only once did I contest a guy who I thought was bluffing, but I had a huge chip lead over him, so I could afford the gamble, and besides, he was bluffing and I busted him. I just don't want to be all in with my fingers crossed any more.

So last night I spent $20 for a valuable lesson and today I won a $100 ticket to the Sunday event.