http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/results/7513It was the $300 + $30 buy-in limit Omaha Hi/Lo tournament during the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge III at the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And heading into the dinner break, I couldn't catch a break.
With the blinds at $300/$500, I was dealt As-Qs-Jc-8h in the cutoff seat. Everybody folded to me, I raised and only the big blind called. The flop came Ts-9d-4s, giving me a 17-card wrap with the nut flush draw and a backdoor low draw. The big blind check-and-called the whole way until the river, when he bet his last $400; the turn was the Ac, giving me a pair, and the river was Kc. My opponent had the Qc-Js-5d-5s, drawing dead to a five or a split. Naturally, we split.
Several hands later, the same player -- still on a short stack -- raised from up front, and everybody folded to small blind, who called. I had the Ac-3d-4s-7h in the big blind and called as well. The flop came Qs-6s-2c, giving me the nut low draw and a straight draw. The small blind checked, I bet, and the other guy raised. The small blind folded and I called. The turn was the awesome 5h, giving me the nut low and the nut straight with a straight re-draw; I bet, and my nemesis raised all-in. Somehow he had the Ad-3s-4s-6c for the same straight and low, and he also has a baby flush draw; the flush hit the river and I ended up getting quartered.
That's just the way things were going. And heading into the dinner break, I have a measly $2200 in chips left, and the blinds are about to go up to $500/$1000. This means I have about enough left for one hand, and an hour to think about it. As of now, there are about 43 players left, and the tournament pays 18 spots.
Seven hours into this thing, and I may have nothing to show for it but a dinner comp.
The Recap
I had dinner at the buffet with Hugh and Ralph (name changed to protect the guilty). Both Hugh and Ralph play in our regular $10/$20 game in St. Louis, and both are still left in the tournament, though I have yet to come across either of them yet. Clonie Gowen, on the other hand, is out, as is my buddy Sid, whom I had virtually knocked out myself. And at one point, I had walked into a table featuring Kirby, a pro from St. Louis who plays all of the big pot-limit Omaha games; Billy the Kid, a tough local player who I had played the $10/$20 and $20/$40 Omaha games with over the previous three days; and Berry Johnston, who has five WSOP bracelets, including one Main Event title from I think 1986. I would outlast all of them.
Other than that, the competition was pretty weak. I would need some luck, though.
All In (x3)
I came back from dinner to find that my $200 had been raced off. So now I only have $2000 left with the blinds at $500/$1000. It's kind of a pathetic feeling, really, sitting there with four chips. However, the one thing I do have going for me is that I am in the cutoff seat, and so I have at least a few hands before I have to commit.
I wait all the way until the UTG position. I look down and the first two cards are the 7c and 2s -- not very promising. But the third card is the perfect As, and now I know I am going to play this hand -- the only question being whether I want to raise or limp in and try to create a multi-way pot. The fourth card is the Ad, answering the question; now I definitely want to try to play this hand heads up.
I raise all-in for $2000, and everybody folds around to the small blind, who is short-stacked himself. He re-raises all-in for $2600 total. The big blind, Jeremy -- a financial analyst for the Cherokee Casino -- calls the re-raise, and we all turn our cards over. The small blind shows Tc-9s-8c-7d, which is a good hand for PLO Hi, but damn near the worst possible hand in Omaha Hi/Lo. Jeremy has a more legitimate hand, showing Ac-2c-Kd-7h.
The dealer deals out the flop: Kc-Td-7s, which isn't very good, as Jeremy has two pair. The turn is the Jd, and now I am in really bad shape as there is no low draw for me to hit. But the river is the miracle case Ace, giving me a set and tripling me up.
I now have a chance. I would survive a couple more all-ins, eventually getting up to about $15k in chips, when I really started to rush.
Rush
With the blinds now at $1000/$1500, I am dealt Ac-2d-3s-Jc UTG. I think about raising, but decide to limp and hope to draw in some callers. Everybody folds -- even the small blind, who is two-thirds of the way in.
"I would have raised if knew that was going to happen," I say, half-jokingly.
Jeremy, who is in the big blind, likewise half-jokingly says he would have called, though I believe him. He checks.
The flop comes As-Jd-4s -- a near-perfect flop -- giving me top two pair and the nut low draw. Jeremy checks, and I bet. Surpisingly, Jeremy now raises. I, of course, re-raise, and Jeremy caps it at four bets without a thought. This is good, because I can't be in bad shape.
The turn is the 6c, and Jeremy now slows down and checks. I bet, and he calls. The river is a blank, he checks, I bet, and he calls. I show him my two pair and nut low, and scoop the pot when he shows the bare A-4, having flopped the weak top-and-bottom pair. I picked up $14,500 on that hand.
Two hands later with the blinds still at $1000/$1500, I am dealt As-9h-8d-7h in the small blind. Everybody folds to Jeremy on the button, who just calls. I don't really like this hand, but I can't really fold for one-third of a bet, and I call. Chiori, an Asian woman who is surprisingly solid, checks.
The flop comes Ad-9s-5d, giving me top two pair, a straight draw, and a bad low draw. This is actually a pretty scary flop, and the one I was afraid of, because now I have to defend my hand, which is extremely fragile at this point. I bet, and both Chiori and Jeremy call.
The turn is a miracle: the Ac, giving me the nut full house. At least now I can't be beaten by a flush. I bet, Chiori thinks a folds, but Jeremy calls again, apparently on the low draw. The river is the miracle 9d, which of course means there is no low, while also putting out a possible flush. I consider checking to give Jeremy a chance to bluff at it, but I decide I am better off making a bet and hoping he might call me with a flush or maybe an Ace. I bet, but he folds.
Several hands later, we are down to 36, and down to the final four tables. At this point, I have about $35,000 in chips, going from near death three times to having a shot.
Ralph (Name Changed to Protect the Guilty)
Along with everyone else, I am moved to a new table, this time with Ralph, who is a poker dealer at the President Casino in St. Louis. Funny story about Ralph: A few nights earlier, Sid and I were playing the $1/$2/$5 PLO game, when Ralph came over and says he is up $1200. Ralph, a 40-year-old married man, says he heard about a strip club in Tulsa, and wants to take a break and go check it out. That doesn't sound like such a bad idea; I figure I'll bring a cigar and hang out for an hour or whatever.
20 minutes later, by the time I am ready to go, Ralph has already given back $300. Anyway, we head out to the club. However, instead of spending an hour there, what ended up happening is what I guess you'd expect to happen when you bring a married man to strip club; he spent about 2 hours in the private area getting dances.
And when we got back to the casino, Ralph went on monkey tilt. I find Sid in the PLO game and sit down, and am a little surprised when Ralph joins us. Now I never really thought Ralph was any good to begin with, but he is playing the worst poker I have ever seen. On one hand, the board read J-9-8-5-8 with three hearts, and one player is all-in; Ralph has nothing but Q-Q, the third player bets $150 into a $10 side pot, and Ralph calls because he "wanted to see the hand," the issue being that the only thing he can beat is a bluff. Funny thing is the other player was bluffing, but with A-A, which of course beats him -- plus, he would have seen the hand anyway, since the third player was already all-in for the main pot. Ralph ended up losing $1,100 in that session.
Anyway, here we are a couple of days later, and Ralph is still on tilt, having bubbled out of the NL 6-max tourney. He is about to bubble out of this one, too.
The blinds are now $1,000/$2,000, and I am dealt 9s-4c-3s-2d in the big blind. Ralph had just blown most of his stack playing horribly on a couple of hands, and he now opens the pot with a raise to $4,000 from the cutoff seat. Ralph has only $4,000 left. It gets folded to me and I call. The flop comes 9h-7d-3s, giving me two pair and a low draw, which is pretty good heads up. I bet, Ralph gives an angry look, and then he folds.
Ralph would bust out in 20th place, just out-of-the-money.
Worst to First
By the time Ralph had busted out, we were already playing seven-handed, which plays greatly to my advantage. In general, Omaha Hi/Lo players tend to be passive by default. Right now, the players still left are playing fairly tightly as well. And while I play well in a loose game, I also happen to play extremely well heads-up with position against the blinds, assuming average opposition.
It doesn't hurt to get cards, either.
After the 19th player got knocked out, we were down to the final two tables, and all of us left were officially in the money. And joining my table is Hugh from the game in St. Louis.
Hugh is a criminology professor originally from England, and an all-around nice guy. He's not necessarily a bad player, but he does have one fatal flaw: every time I raise before the flop and he is in the big blind, he has to call me. The problem in Omaha Hi/Lo is that if you call out of the blinds with physically weak hands, you are basically screwing yourself in advance.
I am dealt Ac-2d-4c-Qd in middle position, and open with a raise. It gets folded to Hugh in the big blind, who of course calls. The flop comes Kd-7c-4d, giving me the nut low draw with a pair and the second-nut flush draw. Hugh checks, I bet. The turn is the 9d, giving the flush. Hugh checks, I bet, and he calls. the river is the 5h, giving me the nut low. Hugh checks, I bet, and he calls, showing Jd-9h-3d-2c for a flush and a low; tough break. I scoop the pot.
Several hands later, I am dealt Ac-5c-6s-Jd in the cutoff seat, and everybody folds to me. While this is an awful hand in a full game, this hand is about par for a steal raise. I do so, and only Chiori -- the Asian lady -- calls out of the small blind.
The flop comes Jh-Td-3c, giving me top pair and a backdoor low draw. Chiori checks, and I bet. Chiori goes into the think tank, and then finally raises. My guess is that she's got a set, but I decide to take a card off with my backdoor draws. I'd like a small club to hit the turn.
The 7s hits the turn, giving me a no-bust low draw with a gutshot straight draw, which isn't bad. Chiori bets and I call.
The river is the 4c, giving me the nut straight with an A-5 low. Chiori checks. I bet and scoop the pot, as Chiori has Ah-Qd-Th-Tc for a set of tens.
A few hands later, I am dealt 6c-5d-3c-2d UTG. Ordinarily I'd fold, but opt to limp. Everybody folds around to the small blind, Jim, who would eventually go on to win the tournament. Jim raises, and the big blind folds. I call.
The flop comes Ad-Td-9h, giving me a flush draw and a backdoor low draw. The interesting thing is that most hands a player will raise with contain a suited Ace; this means that when the board shows a two-flush using the Ace, it is less likely that the raiser will have a bigger flush draw than you. Jim bets, and I call.
The turn is the 4c, giving me an inside-wheel wrap and 20-card nut low draw with the flush draw. Jim bets; I ponder raising, but instead just call.
The river is the 6d, giving me the nut low with a flush. Jim checks, I bet, he calls and I scoop the pot, as he just has A-4 for two pair.
At this point I have over $100,000 in chips, having gone from all-in three times to chip leader or pretty darn near it in less than two hours. Still, with the blinds already at $2,000/$4,000, I am still relatively short-stacked by cash game standards, and only a couple of big hands away from being out of the tournament myself.
The Final Table
Fast forward to the final table, which began ten-handed. I entered the final table with $93,500 in chips, which at this point puts me about third. The blinds are up to $3,000/$5,000.
To tell you the truth, I have to like my chances here -- once Berry Johnston went out about three tables ago, I had to figure I am the best player left. I've played with most of the players at one point, and the few guys I haven't played with I haven't seen in the cash games over the previous few days. However, we are all pretty short-stacked, and there is a lot of luck involved.
My luck ran out.
It basically took three hands to get to ruin.
I had Js-Jc-4d-3d in the big blind. Dennis raised from UTG, and it was folded to me. I called. The flop came Qd-9s-8c. I bet, hoping to take Dennis off AA or A2, or otherwise set him up to bluff him out on the turn. The turn is the 2d, which is a great card, as it busts A-2 while giving me a weak flush draw and a low draw. I bet, and surprisingly Dennis calls again. The river is the 2c. Now the only way I figure to win the hand is to bet again and represent the straight. I do, but Dennis calls holding A-A-J-6 with no diamonds, having called me down with nothing but AA. He says there was too much money in the pot, but personally I would have folded on the flop with his hand.
Sometime later, with the blinds at $3,000/$6,000, I had Ad-2c-Qc-9h in the cutoff seat. Three players limped, I limped, and six of us saw the flop, which came Qs-6c-3s, giving me top pair and the nut low draw. Everybody checked to me, I bet $6,000, and Dennis raised all-in to $11,000. An old guy and a kid call; I re-raise to $17,000; the old guy called, and the kid called all-in. The turn was the Jd; old guy checks, I bet; the river is the 6s, and it goes check-check. The old guy shows As-2s-4h-8d for the nut flush, which scooped the pot and knocked out two players, leaving us with eight.
The next round, I am dealt Ah-Ac-Qc-4h on the button, an excellent hand for a short-handed pot. On cue, everybody folds to me, I raise, and both blinds call. The flop comes 9s-3h-3c. Both players check, I bet, and only the big blind calls, presumably with trips. The turn is the 9c, giving me the nut flush draw. The big blind now bets out; the interesting thing about Omaha is that when the board is double-paired, it is less likely that you are up against a full house. I figure I probably have eight outs (two Aces, and any club that doesn't fill my opponent up). I decide to call. The river was a rag, we both checked, and my opponent presented the K-Q-J-3, which is another trash hand in Omaha Hi/Lo.
By the time it gets to my big blind, two more players have been knocked out on the same hand. Now I have $11,000 left, and the blinds are still $3,000/$6,000. I am dealt Ah-4c-4d-9d in the big blind. Only an early player limps; the small blind limps, I decide to just check and see the flop, which comes Kh-Jh-2c. The small blind bets and I fold.
The Case Ace
The next hand, I am dealt Kh-Qd-9d-8c in the $3,000 small blind. It gets folded to the button, who raises. I call for my last $2,000, and the big blind calls. The flop comes K-9-8, giving me three pair. Both opponents check. The turn is another 8, giving me a full house. The big blind now bets and the button folds, showing A-2-7-9.
I present my K-8. The big blind says he needs an Ace.
"Aces?" I ask. He nods and shows A-A-7-4
For some reason, I wasn't all that surprised when the case Ace hit the river to knock me out in sixth place, which ended up paying $1,952 (the payouts listed online are wrong) for a net win of $1,620 before tips.
I would have liked to have won it, but I can't really complain, having been all-in three times, and hitting a case Ace myself just to stay alive. And that was before the monster rush.
Overall, I have to say I had a pretty good experience. Interestingly, it only took one final table at a measly $300 buy-in tournament, but I've cracked the top 2,000 in Card Player's Player of the Year standings, which is pretty cool since I don't usually play tournaments. For the four-night trip, I ended up winning about $3k, including $600 in PLO and $800 in the limit Omaha Hi/Lo cash games, and I am on a pretty good roll right now. Over the past two months, I have won about $12k playing basically twice a week while working on the book.
