Crunch Time
I'm playing in an MTT with more than 900 of my closest friends. Pays at 70. There are 72 people left in the tournament. I have T4800 and I'm in the small blind with A5o. It's folded around to me and the Big Blind, who has T7600 and is already in for T600.
I complete, tossing another T300 into the pot. King Lucky says "Slow down, even if you lose this hand, if you take enough time two people will go out and you will make the money."
The big blind pops it, but only for another T600. I call. "Take more time," King Lucky says.
Flop comes 467, two spades. I check, hoping for a freebie to complete my straight. BB will have none of it, and bets T1200. I look at the pot, figuring I need at least T3600 in the pot to call it. My T1200 would make it T4800, I call.
Turn is an offsuit 3. My joker. I check. I figure if he really has that flush draw, he will pop it again, continuing the semi-bluff. Then I can come over the top and put him to a decision. To my suprise, he checks.
River is the 9 of spades. I bet T1200, he goes all in over the top.
What do I do? There are still two places to the money. Cashing isn't the biggest deal in the world, but it is three times my buy-in amount. If I fold, I will make the money, but I won't make it any farther without a miracle comeback.
More importantly, do I trust my read? I was sure the guy would pop the turn if he had a flush draw, but now he is representing one. Or the guy could have 85 and have slow played the turn. But I seriously doubt he would have doubled the big blind pre-flop with 85. A bluff would have been more than T600.
I trust my read, and he shows an offsuit KQ. "You'll make the money now," says King Lucky.
I ended up in 33rd place after calling off most of my chips with an OESD after 5 people limped on my big blind. Odds were easily there. I missed the straight but hit top pair, losing to a pocket pair of nines. I did get six times my buy in, so I wasn't unhappy with the outcome.
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4 comments:
That's another way to play it...
I wanted a chance to dump out and still make the money if I didn't catch much of a hand.
Good play, but you do realize the other guy was trying to cheat, and trying to rope you into his scheme.
I'm glad you know enough about the tournament rules not to get involved in this scam.
I should have made it clear that I was talking to King Lucky on the phone, that he didn't stand to gain anything by my playing slowly.
Plus he knows that when I play slower I tend to make better decisions, so he might just have been trying to get me to slow down to keep from doing anything stupid.
You probably know enough about me and my lack of patience to know I freaking HATE it when players stall to get into the money.
In fact, had King Lucky been pestering me to slow down later in the game, I might not have impulsively called the OESD.
Good for you! I admire your integrity.
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