Reflecting on my weekend of poker I can’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment and disappointment simultaneously. On one hand I feel disappointed by not making the final table of nine, finishing higher in the money, and maybe playing a little nitty on Sunday (that’s too tight for my non-poker readers). But on the other hand I feel encouraged because I outlasted 90% of the field in this tournament and was able to put myself in a position to have my biggest cash so far. That being said I guess I will lean towards being encouraged and having a sense of accomplishment for my play this weekend. Playing for about 12 hours on Saturday was harder than I thought it would be. I was definitely tired both physically and mentally by the end of the night. Yet I was still able to make solid decisions through the whole night. On Sunday, coming back for day 2, I was a little tired and less comfortable than I was on Saturday which I believe was a combination of nervousness, tiredness, and maybe a few other feelings.
While playing on Saturday I didn’t have expectations of making it to the money or winning. I was focused on playing the best poker I could play and making the best decisions in each hand taking into account all the circumstances involved. I didn’t even pay attention to the “players remaining” number until it broke 100 (started with 257 in day 1B). Once it did, I remember thinking to myself, “wow I’ve made it far and outlasted all but one other guy I play with”. I knew that I needed to be in the top 26 to advance to day 2, but my stack size was somewhere around average and I knew I would have to pick up more chips. I continued solid play and avoided bad spots and was able to pick up big hands in good spots to get an above average stack size. Although, I did ride the roller coaster up and down a few times in route to being 15th in chips heading into day 2. SWEET!!! This includes being all-in on the bubble twice. That was not a good feeling but I know that I made the optimal play in those situations taking into account my stack size, position, opponents not wanting to give away chips before day 2, etc.
On Sunday I couldn’t help but have those thoughts of winning the tournament and making the final table, yet also being surprised that I was able to make the top 51 out of 505 in combination with being as high up on the leader board as I was. I was really hoping that I could pick up some big hands early and be able to coast to the final table, but that wasn’t the case. During the entire time I played, which was about 2 hours, I picked up two pocket pairs JJ and QQ, and an Ace two or three times but with WEAK kickers and only suited once. So I didn’t have many spots to chip up and it was difficult picking up when/when not too steal due to the small stacks pushing a good amount of the hands I was in. In hindsight I believe I played too tight and wasn’t focused enough on observing other players to pick up the best steal opportunities and stop the bleeding of my chips. For whatever reason, I feel as if I wanted the tournament to be handed to me and I wasn’t going to have to work for it or earn it. There were many spots where I could have made bets, raises, calls or even folds that were more optimal plays than what I did and this could have bought me more time to chip up when I did pick up a big hand. But, I wasn’t focused enough in these spots and I was unable to get lucky when I needed too on the hand that I was put out on.
I know now that I am better prepared for tournaments that I will play in the future and I have a better understanding of what to expect from myself as far as how I may feel physically and mentally during certain times during play. This was a great learning experience which has motivated me to continue to improve my game and my observation skills at the poker table. I started playing poker as a teenager with my family then a little during college. After college I played in homes games once every few months up until 5 months ago when I decided to really focus on improving my game and playing more often. Since May I have cashed in slightly over 30% of tournaments that I have played in with a good majority of those tournaments being MTT (multi-table tournaments). Some were home games with only two or three tables. My game has improved dramatically over the past 6 months and I am looking forward to improving my game even more over the next 6 months just in time for the 2012 WSOP!
Fred
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