POTY update

Last night turned out to be a big tournament. We don't have any rebuy tournaments usually, but last night was a rebuy, and people were certainly prepared to rebuy. $20 buys you 2000 in chips. You can rebuy anytime during the first 4 rounds (20 minutes rounds) for $20 for an additional 2000 chips, but only if you bust out. As luck would have it, I was at the "action" table. Several of the players at my table are well known to play LAG (Loose Aggressive). For the first hand, before cards were dealt, UTG (Under The Gun) had gone all-in. The SB (Small Blind) and BB (Big Blind) also went all-in and I don't think they had looked at their cards. I think somehow they all ended up with Aces and A6 won with two pair. So there was a ton of action and a ton of rebuys. I got lucky and did not rebuy even once and had a decent stack size. I tripled up by calling an all-in with AKo and my cards held up. More following...

I believe we had about 25 players and after the last rebuy round ended, there was an optional $20 add-on for an extra 2000 in chips. I had ~11,000 chips, so I did the add-on as many others did as well. The total price pool was ~$2500, which averaged out to ~5 rebuys/addons per person. I know that several people rebought at least 8 or 9 times! Many times one hand right after the next. After the rebuy period ended, we could finally play some real poker. Because of all the rebuys at my table, we had significantly more chips overall than the other two tables. We combined to two tables and I had a average size stack.

The number 2 and number 3 POTY players were still in it and given the prize pool, first place would take >700 points easily giving them 1st place if I didn't place at all. We eventually got down to 12 players, so that's 6 per table. I'm at the cutoff (one behind the button) and someone in MP (Middle Position) raises 3xBB. I see AJo. I had an "awkward" stack size as a normal sized raise would not leave me with enough chips to continue betting after the flop, but an all-in would be a big overbet. I decide to go all-in. If he had a small pair, he would either lay it down (he barely had me covered in chips, so it would hurt him to lose) or it would end up being a coin flip. He could have also raised with an Ace and worse kicker. Since we were short handed, I wasn't concerned about AA, KK, AK, AQ. He took a long time and finally called showing 99. His pocket pair held up and I busted out.

The number 2 player "The Emperor" ended up winning the tournament as part of making a deal. He got 604 points out of it, putting him into 1st place just 71 points ahead of me. 3rd place was still 500 points behind me as he busted out without placing. So I have some more work to do now.

After busting out, I decided to play in the cash game. It was dealer's choice. When it was my button, I decided to play Badugi. I had a pretty bad drawing hand, but people were limping in, so I called. I drew one card and had a Q high Badugi. Being on the button is a huge advantage here. It got checked around and the player to my left puts in a pot sized bet. I could either raise or call. He had drawn 3 cards, so it seemed odd for him to be putting out a raise. I decide to call and see how many cards he would draw. Since the pot was small and it was pot-limit, several people called as well. Several people drew 2 more cards, and the raiser drew 1 card. Since the odds of getting a Badugi drawing one card is 20%, I was pretty sure I was ahead. However, before betting began, everyone knew I had drawn no cards so they all checked to me. I put in a pot sized bet. Because of the previous bets, the pot was now getting pretty big.

Most people folded, but then someone re-pots. He had drawn one card and could have a better Badugi (if he had one, it probably beat me), but it's possible he was bluffing. However, he didn't have many chips left, so I put him all-in. Everyone else has folded. The pot was now ~$200. One draw left. I knew if he didn't draw, he had me beat. So I decided to do something very sneaky. He had to decide first to draw or not. Before he made his choice, I pretended he had taken no cards and announced a 7 high Badugi and pretended to start showing my cards. He quickly complains that he did not say he wasn't taking any cards. The dealer wasn't sure if he had said he wasn't taking any cards. I apologized for acting out of turn and allowed him to take a card. He believed I had a 7 high Badugi and knew he was beat if he didn't draw a card. So he decides to break his made Badugi and draw. He ends up with a 3 card hand, and my Q high Badugi wins it. He actually had a J high Badugi.