June 10th started out brutal. 590 players entered the tournament. My table played 3 and 4 handed for first 1.5 levels. This was at the 50-100 level and 75-150 level. I was running over the table and built from 15k to 18.5k. Then the following hand came up. A weird, what appeared to be, tight player limped utg. But, we are playing 4 handed. He had played hardly any hands. I pick up JJ on the button. I raise to 325(it was 50-100). He is only caller. Flop is 8 2 3. He checks I bet 550and he check raises to 1550. I probably shouldve folded right there. However, the posibility of my opponent holding 99 1010, 77 and my aggro image all factored into my callining his raise in position. Turn was 3. He checked and I checked. River was a 4. He bet 3k. What the f was I doing? His check on the turn tells me he has 88 full 22 full, or kwad 33s. There is 0% chance I have the best hand on the river. Nonetheless, I called the 3k river bet and saw his 88, for eights full. I was like, nh sir. I was shocked by his limp utg with 88 in a four handed game. Interesting. Luckily, this was the only big pot I lost on day 1. After this hand, I was down to 11k. Although I did not lose any more big pots, it was a reallly reallly reallly long time before I won a big pot.
After the 88 full to my jj hand, I went completely card dead. In the next 4 hours, I raised perhaps 3 or 4x and got 0 action on my few hands that I raised with. At one point I was down to 7400 with the blinds 150-300. I picked up 9 t diam in the sb. It folded to me (first time ever, by the way..my table was weird aggro). I raised to 850 pf and the bb called. Now, the bb and I had some history, however his game was very obvious. He ALWAYS defended and he ALWAYS bet everytime it checked to him. it was excellent. So the flop is T 3 5. I c bet 1400 he calls. Turn is rag. I check. He bets 1600, I check ship all in and he insta mucks. That brought me back over 10k. I was happy about that hand because I think I extracted max value based upon my read and my opponent's spewiness.
About an hour later, blinds at 200 400, I get ground down to 7800 again, and this aggro woman on my right raises to 1100. I saw her play her hands post flop very well, however her preflop raising range was extremely HUGE . She was playing preflop as if she was in a weak-tight cash game that she could run over. She was in middle pos. I was next to act and look down at ak sooted. I reraise to 6150. It folds to her and she insta calls. She is not even looking at my stack or any other dynamics of the hand. The reason I reraised with chips behind is because I thought it looked stronger. And, even though she won't fold, if she completely wiffs, with 1700 behind, she may even fold some hands (based on her weirdness) on the flop. The flop came down K 2 3 rainbow. She checks. I ship my little itty bitty stack and shes like I guess I call and turns over 56 dd. I mean wtf is going on? It was a very strange hand. Luckily I won the pot and was back over 15k, for the first time since level 1.
A little later on, right before the dinner break, I am at 17, 500 and the blinds are 400- 800. I am satisfied with how I am playing. I may be playing a little close to the cuff, however I have a comfortable stack and my goal is to get to the dinner break and re-energize before I decide on revising my strategy. Our friend with 88 from earlier raises in middle position to 2200. The guy on his left with a big stack calls. The button calls (aggro, weird woman).
On a side note, after the 88 hand, our friend has played hands crazy. He bluffed me off 99 by check raising w 34 os on a kj3 board and showing. I obviously couldnt call his check raise, however 99 is one of the only hands I am comfortable betting the flop and folding to a check raise. The truth is, I probably made a mistake c-betting that flop, however I had been playing so tight that I thought my image lent itself to representing a big hand by betting. Sometimes I forget image means very little to some opponents. In any case, I no longer categorize 88 guy as super tight. He is now in loose-aggro- makes-bad bluffs -slow plays to death guy. And I know that he remembers me folding to his check raise and my jj v. his 88, so I feel like, in some ways, he is gunning for me a bit- trying to beat the "girl" at the table. It was definitely part of my vibe from him.
Back to the current hand-I am in bb facing his raise w two callers. I look down and see two black kings. My initial thought was to reraise for value but I decided to shove after two things occurred to me. 1. Mr. 88 has 40k and I know will call my ship pretty light (bc he thinks I am squeezing) and might also isolate light, and 2. if I reraise small, I expect to get too many callers. I ship it all in, and as expected, mr. 88 insta reships. Both opponents behind fold. He tables AJ os and is shocked that I have KK, but makes a comment that "its such an obvious squeeze, that I have to reshove ur all in there." I responded "yes i understand how it seems like a squeeze." And in my head, I was like, thank you sir for shipping.
Board ran out low and I am over 35k after this hand. Incidentally, thanks to his re-ship, he got the other big stack to fold 44 (that would've flopped a set), who may have folded anyway, but his iso play gave me great protection.
The rest of the night, I coasted. I made a few big lay downs, but other than that, I ended day 1 with 149k, which was about 20 bbs. 31 players made it to day 2. I will post day 2 hands either tonight, or tomorrow.
Please give me your thoughts, opinions, etc.
xxoo
Good money and peace,
Garnet.
