The World Series of Poker - A Seat to the Main Event

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Not the tourney I played in

Last Saturday, I played in a large live MTT here in town. It was large in size and large in price, which I don't really want to tell you about because it isn't in my bankroll. But...there it is. Top prize was, of course, a seat into the ME. With the number of players, the prize pool was such that the entire final table (9-handed) would chop and each get a ME seat.

The structure was good, lots of chips to start and long levels. The catch that I wasn't aware of until I walked in the door was that it was a rebuy. I like rebuys, but my rule is that I can't rebuy (including the add-on) more than 5 times. And here, the initial buy-in was really outside my BR. So, I had to make a decision.

Looking around the room, I saw (a) lots of money and (b) lots of serious players. One player final tabled the ME the year Moneymaker won. Another has over $3M in online MTT cashes. Another was a guy I'd met in Vegas during the series last year. I remembered him because we'd played together in a Golden Nugget deepstacks event, which he went on to final table and chop for first.

Those were only the guys I knew a little something about. The rest, I think it's safe to assume, also knew their way around a poker table.

Armed with this knowledge, I probably should've just grabbed a drink and railed my friend David for awhile. This, however, did not happen.

Instead, I made a decision to play. I would buy-in, immediately do 1 re-buy, and then do the add on. If I couldn't last til the rebuy period ended, I'd walk away. And so that's what I did (bought in, got the rebuy, made it to rebuy break and added on).

If you've played in a rebuy tourney with people who have more money than God, then you likely know how things went. I played like a stone cold nit and most everyone around me was rebuying like maniacs. In fact, I would not be lying if I said that after the rebuy period ended, 60% of the chips in play in the entire tournament were sitting at my table. Not in front me, unfortunately, but after the add-on, I was sitting comfortably with 60bbs and felt really good, both with how I was playing and with how I felt I measured up with the opponents at my table. Sidenote, I think there were about 75-80 players and only two of us were women. (sad face)

Things settled down, somewhat, after the rebuy period ended, but not much. I didn't have too many entanglements of note and after a few orbits, I was in good shape with about 50 bbs.

I was surprised at the amount of limping and splashing around still occurring, but I just tried to bide my time. Two seats to my left, one man (apparently the Shah of Iran) had re-bought 11 times, not including the add-on. In other words, he spent three quarters of a Main Event buyin just playing this tournament. I will admit that he did get unlucky on two of his all-ins; however, he was mainly playing the loose aggro style that is common during the rebuy period in many of the $11 online ribeyes.

I fared well with AKs, Qs, and a few trash hands. I don't really think I'm a nit, but this day, I was pretty darn tight. Finally, sitting on ~45bbs, I'm sitting in CO. Blinds are 500/1000, still no antes. UTG former cL, who's decimated his stack in the previous hand by taking on the only other cL at the table, is obviously steaming. He limps in, his nemesis (now true cL of the entire tournament sitting immediately on his left) calls behind...and so it goes, limp, limp, I limp with Ts, BU folds, and Shah of Iran raises.

When it gets back to me, there is 11,500 in the pot and I'm getting about 2-1 to call. As soon as it folds back to me I say "all-in" and move my stack toward the dealer. Based on his play during the previous few hours, I felt that his raise from SB was likely a squeeze with two overs, but I didn't think he had even a pair, much less Js or better. Plus I was really trying to apply pressure - if he called and lost, he was out of the tournament.

He grimaced, but thought for less than 30 seconds and called with AJo - the mortal nuts, you know. At this point, I'm a 57% favorite. (do you guys think 57-42 is a coinflip? What constitutes a coinflip? Maybe this was a classic, I don't know).

At any rate, I had a momentary sense of calm as I saw a T in the window as the dealer fanned out the cards, but it was soon dashed when the K and Q came along for the ride.

Dude was ecstatic and not shy about sharing his opinion about the "coinflip."

Crippled, I was out a short time later and had a lot of time to think about my play that day and that hand in particular. I was sure sorry not to have taken down that pot, but I really think I'd play it the same way against that opponent in those circumstances, in a heartbeat. I'd also welcome your thoughts about the hand/play, as well. You've got to win those to run deep, and I was playing for a seat. So...that's poker.

There were a lot of great things to come out of that day for me. I got to see some old poker buddies I hadn't seen in awhile. That in turn opened up some doors to some games in town I was previously unaware of. It also gave me a boost of confidence. I felt good about my play and I believe I held my own against some really good (and some not so good) players. I outlasted my friend David and my friend who'd won the GN event last year. I did not, however, trade any hands with the former ME final table-r. He was running good that day, 4 people all in during rebuy period: As, Ks, Qs, 7c5c. His As held.

Last, but not least, I met a fella who's interested in helping me with some of that deliberate practice I've been going on and on about here in the blog. We're meeting next week and I'm beyond excited.

So, all total, I put a dent in my bankroll. Maybe I'm kidding myself about my play that day and about some of the rewards I felt I got in return for playing this particular tournament, but I don't really feel bad about the dent. I feel excited and positive and as though I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

I'm so excited about the Vegas trip in June. Yes, I want to win. But what I want to do more than a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. is play great poker. Because sooner or later, I'm going to win.

I'll keep you posted about the training. Have a great weekend and keep doing your best.

[Edit - not real sure why I sound like such an ass in this post, when describing my poker play. Overcompensation, I guess....]

Practice Makes Perfect, So Practice What You Love

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"Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task — playing a C-minor scale 100 times, for instance, or hitting tennis serves until your shoulder pops out of its socket. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome."

I am fascinated by the idea that with enough desire and hard work, a person can become an expert in almost anything. I've written before about the 10,000 Hour Rule and studies like it (and was on my way to reaching that milestone in my poker adventure before the PoPo shut me down). Today I got a new (but old, it's from 2006) article on the subject (via @Lefsetz) that I wanted to post on the blog for those of you also interested in the subject. 

Bob is first and foremost a music lover. He's also a passionate writer about the music industry and usually has great advice for artists looking to break onto the scene. His advice nearly always boils down to this: desire to be good. Not rich. Not famous. Not on the cover of magazines or on a Disney sitcom. Instead, he espouses doing anything and everything it takes to be good.  And to be a good musician, you have to practice and gig and write and tour and cut your teeth over and over and over. 

So how do you do that with poker? Yes, you have to play. Pre-Black Friday, I think I would've hit 10,000 hours of playing tournament poker in March 2012. But as the quote at the top of this post indicates, there's a difference in simply repeating a task (i.e., lighting up a bunch of tables online and just playing) and deliberately practicing the task.

Now that I can't light up 8-tables and just play and try to pretend I'm deliberately practicing, are there some things I can be doing that would serve as deliberate practice? And more importantly, can I be disciplined enough to deliberately practice even with no money score to be had?

If not, I don't think I was ever really on my way to hitting the 10,000 mark because, again, repetition is not deliberate practice. 

So, I'm going to put some more thought into the above referenced quote and its application to my game.  I'm a big believer in deliberate practice and planning your work and working your plan. Once I get that plan formulated, I'll post it here and we'll see how it goes. 

In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you think constitutes deliberate practice toward the improvement of your poker game.  Are there any specific things you're doing to keep your game on track?

Til next time, keep keeping on, amigos!

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