Rebuy Tourney Report

29 players entered. 3 places paid out. I started the tourney in seat 8 of table 2. First thing that I noticed was how high the blinds vs starting stacks were. You pretty much had to stay semi-active and accumulate chips pretty regularly. We never made it 2 cycles before a level went up. No super waiting game for me it seems. The levels that really hurt were 4 and 7. As you can see there were big jumps on those 2 levels. If I had known, I would have played differently in this tournament. Next time I will be ready for those big jumps in the blinds. I totally crippled myself late in the tourney for the simple fact that I wasn’t versed in the blind structure. I am happy with my overall play. Using a little hindsight bias I made a few mistakes simple that I can see now. At least I see what I need to work on and some areas where I can improve. I made the Final Table. I went out in 8th.

The guy in seat 9 was a regular and had actually won 3 times recently. You win a gold watch if you get first. He had one on. There were also a few more old dudes sporting those watches. He told me that all the winners get a seat in a special tourney. I think he said at that point the winners from that tourney play for a trip to a WSOP game. (I don’t know which one.) He said that the reason he was still playing was because every seat that he won was one seat that he took away from someone else for the tourney. The guy talked to me and gave me tips to get the most out of the structure. Like at the beginning of level 3 when the blinds went to 100/200 they took away the 25 chips. I had 3 and got a 100 chip for 75. (I have seen this done before at home games but never thought much about it before. Once he told me it seemed so simple that I actually felt a little simple.) He only had 1 chip and turned it into a 100. I said that the exchange worked out pretty good for him. He said that was why he had made that odd bet earlier in the round. I had remembered it. I told him that I had wondered why he had bet 175 PF and that I watched the hand close for any sign or tale. So I really liked the guy for teaching me at the table.

I planed that the first time the blinds came around I was going to rebuy and double my stack. But as fate would have it, when I was in the BB for the 1st time I had pocket 3’s. 2 limpers and the SB tried to complete. I made it 150 to go. 2 called. Scattered board. 1st to act, I threw in a 500 chip, scooped the pot, and mucked.

Blinds went up quick and so did my mentor’s stack. He was running the table. He was obviously full of crap on most bets, but they were winning pots. He was getting lucky though. I think it was due the rebuy structure that he was calling some of his luck hands. If he whiffed he could always rebuy and go for the big stack at the table with his agro style.

Key hand – my buddy Chris raises to 400 or 500 PF with Cowboys. Mentor adds 3 or 4 hundred for a call with 86s. Flop comes something like J62 rainbow. Chris bets 500 and he calls. X-small on the turn and Chris bets 500 again and again he calls. River 6 and mentor bets out 1000 or so. Chris calls and loses most of his stack. I explain to Chris on the ride home that he didn’t protect his hand with his small bets.

I win another hand early into level 2 with AK. I raise PF and get 2 limping-callers. I win the pot due to a ½ pot CB. I’m stacking up nicely.

I watch my mentor and an old dude with a watch duke it out. M raises PF and OD calls. Flop comes paired and a K, OD checks and M CB’s. OD calls. Turn comes a Q and OD checks again. M asks how much he has left and puts him all in. OD calls and turns over J8, which doesn’t pair anything. I’m wondering how he called both streets with absolutely nothing. M turns over JT and they both laugh and split the pot when their J’s play the board.

Then I try to play the player against mister mentor and take an ass-whippin’. I’m in SB and call after a couple early limpers with KT. Mentor raises it up to 600. Folds to me and I call the other 400. Flop comes K6x. I check knowing he was going to bet no matter what. He bets 600. It looks like a CB for sure to me. I said that I raise to 1500 fully expecting a nice fold. But no, he asks how much I have left. I had about 1200 left and put it in the middle. He shows a set of 6’s. I cash in my allin rebuy ticket.

Right before the end of the 3rd I have ducks. There are like 5 limpers including me. I’m 2nd to act and because there are 3 overs on the board I check. Everyone else checks. Turn X and we all check again. River brings my set. I make it 1000 to go and get 2 callers and the win.

I get the dealer rebuy and the add-on so at break I have 10500. The 4th and 5th levels are pretty tame and I hold my own, yet don’t gain. Mentor drops in level 4 I think. He bets with all the way to the river and was called down the whole way by a lady that was a true calling-station. Her stack was up and down all night long depending on if she hit or not. She was in most hands didn’t fold often. Anyway, she gets a runner-runner 4-flush for the win. He pushes with less than the blinds and heads for home on the next hand. Later teach, thanks for the tips.

We consolidate to the FT and I still haven’t moved all night. At the start of the 6th I have 9000 in chips. The blinds went up to 2000/5000 from 1000/2000 just a minute before. There are 8 left. I should definitely of found a spot in the previous level when my stack actually held some sway and made a few moves. But I didn’t even think about until they said that the blinds were now 2000/5000. I look down at JT and push with less than 2 BB’s. I get 3 callers and 1 hits a straight and I go to the rail in 8th.

Here’s a couple of mistakes that I made that I can see other than holding a relatively low chip stack compared to the blinds most of the time. Oh yea, having less than 2 BB’s. In the SB in level 2 or 3 I have Q8s and call. 2 Q’s hit the flop and I check as do the other 2 guys in the hand to the river and then I bet out. They didn’t hit their hands so they dropped and I won a smallish pot. I should have definitely bet the turn. Also it would seem unlikely that I had a Q if I had bet out the flop. No one probably would have called any bet, but I still didn’t like the check-check. Of course this is in retrospect. Another hand that hurt was when I had AQs in LP. 2 limpers and then a player from MP raises 4xBB. Folds to me and I think about it and fold due to the other 2 players to act. Both call and it is a Q-high flop. Checky-check-CB-foldy-fold. I don’t know really if it was bad or not but it hurt anyway. I probably made the right decision, but with the blind structure being so tight I’m not positive. I really need to chip-up when I get a hand.

I learned a lot and had fun. I will likely play again, but I totally hate the structure of this tourney. I would much rather buyin for a set amount and the best man wins. I also think if I’m to do better I need to loosen up early and try to chip-up or rebuy trying.

Side note: Chris actually got 2nd place. I am very happy for him, but I have mixed feelings about it. (Him dogging me about placing higher might have a little to do with it.) No truly to be honest about it, he was likely the guy out of the 29 entrants with the least amount of skill/experience. He just started playing our home games and still doesn’t know all the rules of what bets what. Actually once in the tourney the dealer had to explain to him why he lost a hand. Just the other day when we played I had to explain that his KQ didn’t beat the other guy’s A6. He said that his 2 cards were higher than the 6. Same game I had to explain that his 4-flush with his 4 was beaten by the other guy’s 8. He said that it should be a split pot because they both had flushes. Anyway, my point is that he got 2nd place and almost to down the watch. He had awesome cards all night long. He actually hit quads after going allin vs 2 players PF and knocked them both out. But even with great hands I still wouldn’t have thought someone that inexperienced could have a chance to win a 29-man tourney. When it got down to 4 left he was the big stack. Him and the other big stack whittled down the other 2 and took them out. When it got HU him and a Lady at had played well, just checked back and forth to showdown, occasionally beating only when they had something. No aggression at all. Hands started going here way and she took over the chip lead. They both finally had a hand at the same time and butted heads and Chris lost after going in with the worst hand. He did well and netted over $300 after his rebuys. We talked poker the whole hr home. I told him about aggression HU and after she showed that she was passive, that he should have really started bullying her.