Doc Sands
San Remo/Monte Carlo Recap
This might end up being two posts bc a lot of interesting stuff happened on this trip. When I last wrote I had busted the San Remo main event just after reaching the money. The few weeks since then have been a bit of a blur but I will do my best to recall all the important details and hands.
After busting the main I snap registered the 2k San Remo side event. These Euro side events are incredible value - some of the rich fish you find in these tourneys you cant even find in a $50 tourney online. However, in addition to the substantial number of poor players, you also find a handful of very good regs you usually wont see in the lower buy-in online tourneys. After getting rivered in a multi-way pot for 1/3 of my starting stack I got it in behind and got there to double early. Opened KQo in cu and got flatted by active player on button. c bet JT4 flop and then shoved over the top of his raise. I like this spot bc I have outs no matter what he holds and have great equity against any J or T (both of which I think he folds most of the time). He had AA so I was a lot further behind than normal but we got there with the 9 on the turn. Once I doubled I was really able to control my table for the rest of day 1. I finished day 1 in 13th of 85 or so remaining players.
Started day 2 with 140k but punted a quick 40 of it off right off the bat. Opened QTo first hand of tourney with SB not yet in seat and 4b shoved over the top of bb 3b. The guy who 3b me was like 50 years old and I am 100% certain my shove was a mistake. He tank called with AQ and held. Learned a good lesson tho, the live guys dont 3b fold as often as a lot of us online guys do.
So after establishing a crazy table image with that first hand I was able to take a lot of pots down pre bc people didnt want to 3b me. I had worked my way back to the 140k range w/o many showdowns when the AQ came back to bite me as she always seems to do. Old guy on button made it 5k at 1/2k, sb flats, I squeeze to 19.5k, button folds and the small blind snap shoves 55k more. We beat him in the pot and he tables the A9o. Flops a 9 and turns another. This was such a big crucial pot, it was really frustrating to lose esp after losing the AQ to the A3 aip in the main in a huge spot. Had I won I really feel I would have been able to use those chips to decimate my table. But, thats the game, we didnt win and as a result we were down to 30 blinds and obv didnt have as much latitude to make moves.
Played tight/solid down to the money bubble. Made a nice 3b from sb with 89s to button open that really made me look committed in a spot I should have the goods. Then on the stone bubble I opened QT from button got flatted by big stack in bb. Checked behind every street on 6742 board. Then he led 1/2 pot on the river king. I felt he was blocking with flopped pair so I raised full pot (about half my remaining stack) and he mucked.
Right after the bubble burst gross polish guy opened with exactly 20bb from CO and i jammed 33bb total from SB with A9o. He called pretty quickly with KQcc and slammed the table like a Euro fool when he binked the turn. Was left with 13bb and was happy to shove AQ in CO over hijack open. He has the AK, we flop 4 to flush but brick out...gg. All in all I was very happy with my play throughout San Remo. I was able to pick up small pots and build my stack consistently with out making many big mistakes.
My flight to JFK is about to leave so I will have to fill you in on the Monte Carlo details next time. Let me just say that MC is totally absurd, doest seem like its part of the real world. After spending a week there, a brand new Bentley seems like the equivalent and a 2002 Honda Civic in America. People have so much money they don't know what to do with it. Fortunately, a lot of them decided the 10k euro main event was a good spot for some of it
On to the Next One...
Well we are out of the San Remo main event. Finished 140th or so for 7.5k Euro. Pleased with my play throughout. We had the cards on their backs preflop 4 times throughout the tourney and went and went 1 for 4. 55 < AQ for 70k on day 2 with a bunch of dead money in the pot. Then an absurd and tilting hand about which i tweeted and Pnews reported. Euro fish ships 18bb from button I look at AQ in bb and snap "call" and flip my cards up. Dealer (who doest speak english) apparently thinks I said fold and starts pushing the pot to Euro shover. Shover, who sees me AQ and is obv dominated, hops on the dealer bandwagon and starts saying he too heard me say fold. I call floor and initial ruling is that my hand is dead. I tell the first floor guy his ruling is worthless, and ask him to get tourney director. T. Kempner(SP) comes over and after about 10 min of sorting out details decides my hand is a call. Euro shover predictably flips up A3o...and flops a 3 for an 80k pot. fo;ajs;flajfpoaejifpweo.
Then we managed to get the AA to hold v the 88 preflop on the money bubble. Shortly after bubble bust active player opens utg the hand after BB lost massive pot. Table dymanics really odd bc SB left with 1.5bb so i assume utg going after pot light. I reshove 17bb with AJ and he nit rolls me with AK. GG.
Given how soft these fields are I snap ran down and stood in line for 1.5hrs to reg the 2k Euro (3k US). We started with 20k. After 6 levels I have 125k. Day 2 starts in 1.5hrs. This 2k field is honestly equivalent to a 50 dollar freezout online. Bout to do work.
DS
Great Start to EPT San Remo
Ended day 1a with 130k after starting with 30. Had a great initial table draw and was able to play the role of table captain for most of the day. Had very few big starting hands but I made a set with pocket fives twice and busted opponent in massive pot both times.
First big hand I led into preflop raiser on A23 rainbow board for 2.8k, he flatted, I turned set with,55, obv put 4 card strait on board. Bet 7.6k on turn and 1.2x pot on river to put him all in...he called off with top pair. Few orbits later I flop set in multi way pot with 55 on 562 board. Flat every street and this Euro goes nuts and shoves 1.8x pot on river with 8 high. Was a massive, 200bb pot and a really sick flat on flop and turn given board but I was pretty sure he was on air.
Got moved with 1.5 hrs left in day. Last level didn't go as well as I would have liked but still very happy with the way I played overall. Exploring the city today and hitting up the spa for a massage + steam
For live updates throughout the rest of the tourney, you can follow me on twitter @Doc_Sands
DS
Headed to Europe
Off to San Remo and then Monte Carlo for what promises to be in amazing couple of weeks! Aside from the 17 hours of travel time necessary to get from the west coast to the south of France I am really looking forward to all parts of this trip.
First we go to San Remo where I will play Day 1a (and hopefully a lot of days thereafter) of what I expect will be the softest non-main event big buy-in tourney I have ever played. Depending on how deep I go, I may or may not elect to travel to some different spots in France before heading to Monaco. I like having the time in between un-scheduled because if affords me the opportunity to see how I am feeling after the first event, and then plan the following week so that I am sure to be rested and ready to go for Monte Carlo.
I am feeling good about my game as I cross the pond (yes I am blogging from the airplane) after chopping the UB 500 Sunday for 33.5k. I have somewhat mixed emotions about the chop since I had previously never chopped a tourney. I have to admit that I recorded that Masters and after a dramatic Saturday, couldn't wait to see what Tiger, Phil, and others were going to do on Sunday. I started HU with a slight chip lead and initially declined Scott Sitron's offer to chop. After battling for 20 or so minutes I had built a 5/4 CL before 4 betting air from button the hand before break and folding to Scotts 5bet shove. This left Scott with a CL of about 550k to my 520k
During the break I decided that I would be open to chopping but there was no way I was gonna get credit for 2nd!!! Fortunately, I was able to trap Scott on the first hand back and got him to double barrel 7 high into my two pair giving me a CL of about 100k. Scott seemed nice and was playing well so I took my 33.5k and enjoyed the closest thing do a partial day-off I can remember of a Sunday
Check back for blog updates throughout San Remo and Monte Carlo. You can also follow me on twitter for live updates @Doc_Sands.
Two More Final Tables
And the heater continues...yesterday I won the ftp 100r for 26k and also got 2nd in the UBOC 500 PLHE event for 16k. The latter was kinda disappointing because I had a big chip lead both three handed and heads up. Got my money in well ahead for the win against a three high flush draw, but my opponent got there for 80% of the chips in play to pretty much seal my fate.
Huge days today and tomorrow before some much needed time off to rest up and re-energize.
DS
Unreal Heater
After going 0fer except for a small 200r final table on the Sunday we pledged profits to Haiti, I was hungry to get back to my winning ways. With the UBOC and 2x guarantee week on FTP just around the corner, I knew I would have plenty of opportunities to win some larger than normal prize pools. My results over the past week surpassed my already lofty expectations.
I got things kicked off last Saturday by winning the first tourney I played the 50c (1rebuy + 1add on) on FTP for 11k. I then proceeded to final table the Stars 300 100k guaranteed later that day, finishing 3rd for another 17k. Despite a pretty poor start on Sunday, I finished the day by booking my second 100r T win in the last month. Obviously these Turbo tourneys are incredibly high variance. In addition to playing well, I am also running hot to have won two in such a short span of time.
Yesterday I continued my hot streak taking down the 150 buy in 120k guaranteed on FTP. That tourney had almost 1000 runners and paid just under 33k to first. I was especially pleased with this win because I emerged victorious despite losing two massive chip lead pots at the final table. First I ran AK into AA and KK, doubling both players up in the process. Then I lost with TT aip vs the 88 of the player I had just doubled up with the AA. It is typically very hard to overcome one major beat or cooler at a FT and I can never remember winning a tourney after doubling up three players at the final table.
Taking at least part of today off before putting in full days Saturday and Sunday. Looking forward to a relaxing next week involving some house shopping and golf.
Until then, good luck to all!
DS
Raised 30k for Haiti Relief Despite Brutal Sunday
Despite not cashing a single tourney until final tabled the 215r, I felt great about my Sunday overall. An amazingly large number of players joined me in pledging a percentage of their profits to the crisis in Haiti. All in all we had just under 15k in qualifying profits. All moneys were sent through either FTP or Stars, both of which matched donations at a rate of 100%.
Thanks to all of you who participated in this fund raising effort! It was great to see the poker community come together to make a positive impact on the word.
Now...time to get back to winning majors
DS
Join me and give something back
This sunday I am going to donate 10% of my profits for the day to victims of the crisis in Haiti. I feel very fortunate to be in the position I am in and am more than happy to give something back.
If you would like to join me in making this pledge please click on the link below for details.
http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/7/join-me-in-donating-a-percentage-of-sunday-1-17-profits-to-the-crisis-in-hati-5099642
DS
Back from PCA...#1 Wordwide
Sorry for not doing a day 2 PCA update. Got up to 170k before a sequence of bad things occurred, some of which I could control, some of which I couldn't.
Jake Tool (who I just saw now blogs here) got stone coolered and then got there holding KJ vs QJ on a JJQxK board. Obv nothing either player could do but I knew when jake got chips with position he would be trouble. I was right. I 4 bet him twice and both times he 5b shoved me. After dropping to 130k as a result of his good, aggressive play I open A5 and get flatted by a guy with 32 bb on button. Flop comes A85 and we get it all in on the turn with him holding 88. Not lot I can do there. A few orbits later I open, Ty R (who finished 2nd) flats and same kid squeezes button. I 4b shove about 45bb with AKdd but cant get there vs his JJ. GG me.
Only played 1 other event, the 1500. Got 3x starting stack and then lost 3 massive flips in 4 orbits (one to Nelly...they gave him two perrrr) and busted before the second playoff game of the day. Weather sucked the whole time we were in Atlantis and overall the trip was just not as fun as usual as a result.
On the bright side, I woke up this morning to discover I had taken over the #1 rank of Pocketfives. This is something I have worked toward for a long time and it feel damn good to finally get to the top!!!
PCA Day 1 Update
Was a very slow day that ended with a very fast uptick.
Here is literally my first hand of the day. It is such a gross situation that have posted the hand on both 2+2 and P5s to get input from other players on my line. Please feel free to leave comments or message me with thoughts...
Blinds 50/100. 30k starting stacks.
Yellowsub opens utg1 275 and gets two callers. I flat KJhh from CO, Kevin Schaffel flats button.
1400 in pot flop J75hh. Checks to me I bet 675, Schaffel calls, Yellowsub check-raises to 2200. I call. Schaffel calls.
Turn 6c. Yellowsub (who read as weak) leads 5600, I call and Schaffel shoves all in.
I think turn is pretty standard fold but does anyone either disagree with me there, or think the had should be played differently? Its really tough to put Schaffel on anything but 89 and I have no idea what Yellowsub had/was doing.
Shortly after this hand I lost another sizable pot with TT when a guy called two streets with a FD and rivered an over. I was down to 15k before I knew what happened.
Played incredibly nitty for the majority of the day, waiting for premium hands and often losing when I picked them up. Was hanging between 10-20bbs for 3 of the last four levels of the day before I went on a sick heater.
Within an hour I went from 8k to 88k. Here are a few of the hands.
Reshoved KK for 21bbs into EP open. Get called by TT. Guy flops T but I go runner runner strait to stay alive.
Very next orbit, same guy re shoves 20bb over my late pos open. I call off what amounts to a little less than half my stack with 99 and find myself dominated by JJ. He again flops a set but this time I go runner runner flush to bust him. Felt bad bc he is a friend but I suppose thats just part of the game.
Very next hand, before I can even finish stacking my chips, I get dealt 67ss. I now have 50k at 300/600 with massive 75 ante. I open to 1450 and get 3b to 3700 by a guy with 40k total. I flat literally telling myself in my head that I have to play the hand as a heat-check hahaha. Guess I hadn't cooled off yet because the flop came 689 with one spade. I check, guy who 3b me makes it 4k, I raise to 10.7 he flats. Turn blank 2. I check, he checks. River T. I do mental backflips and lead 12.5k. HE SHOVES 28.5k total. Obv I call. He snap mucks his hand face down so I am almost certain I was ahead from flop on.
Have today off while day 1b plays. Bout to grab bfast with my girlfriend and then hit the gym. Unfortunately weather not great so cant do too much outside. Fortunately, I plan on final tabling this tourney so the weather wont effect me much
More updates to come...
DS
