I'm going to try to pick up starstealer's old "tournament report" tradition, so please pick this apart.

Ok, last night they didn't have the late night $10 on Stars, so, against my better judgment, I was feeling alright and decided to play the $10 rebuy early this morning. I figured it was actually a $30, since I plan on rebuying at the start and then adding on. Well, it turned into a $70 with no money...

First of all, the table was insane early and I got almost no cards. I had forgotten how crazy these things are early but do see some nice advantages to rebuys: You are playing with a very deep stack relative to the blinds. Essentially, you can fold everything and have just short of T5,000 at the break, when the blinds are 75/150. That's actually a medium stack. Of course, the other stacks are also deeper, but I still don't think that's such a bad thing here.

So, here's the story of my disaster. I do add on to have T3,000 upfront, as planned. Lots of absolutely insane raises early so that it's hard to play anything, and I got absolutely nothing even vaguely playable for quite a while.

Best hand at 10/20 was QTo in BB, but no flop help. 15/30, I play JTo in MP for nothing, KTs in MP for a limp and take down a small pot.

25/50 is where it begins to really suck, as I got some good hands that I played like an idiot. Also tried a few "set it or forget it pairs," so I'm at T3,235 when this all begins (obviously no sets).

1) QQ in EP. This turned into a very difficult hand, and I played it absolutely horribly, I think. Basically, I flop top set on a suited board and am sitting there clueless as to what to do (here's really where I notice that I'm rusty--on these difficult situations). UTG limps, and I raise to T200 from UTG+1, getting no less than 4 callers, including UTG and a few very big stacks. Flop comes QT9, all hearts. Oh, shit! My (bad) plan here is to just check-call unless a scare card hits while obviously also hoping for a paired board. This is actually a fairly good example of how an over-aggressive field can get you (or me, anyway) into too much passivity. As the course of the hand shows, I think there are arguments either way for check-folding and for betting out. Question on the betting out option is, however, whether to fold to a raise at an over-aggressive table. Even if someone has the made flush, I have some good outs here. But I really think betting out full pot here is the way to go. I think you have to test for the Ah, which may still be in the deck, and I don't think anyone but a lunatic can play along here without holding at least Ah. The way I played it, I never found out either way.

So, here's what happens: I check-call to the river, which is yet another heart, and with no paired board, I lay it down on the river after losing 2/3 of my stack. (LP bets half the pot on flop and turn--even there, I should have just checkraised the turn all-in, as this really makes me think Ah but no made flush). So, I reload.

2) AK on the button: Going into this hand, there are several crazy big or biggish stacks and I have T2835 after the reload, as the course of this hand should show. (of course, typically, the huge stack went out even before I did, but not without costing me a lot of money). 3 limpers to me, and I raise to T400, larger than my usual style, which would have been T150, but in order to thin the field here (cf. the QQ fiasco), I felt like I needed to raise as hard as I consider even doable on AK. I did want to be able to bet my TPTK with a small field, and I knew I'd be all-in if I hit. I was prepared to do this.

Well, it all happened differently, and I'm rather embarassed about my play here. The 2 bluffiest and most LAG-ish players at the table call (including huge stack), all others fold. So, 3-way flop. Flop is 865 rainbow, and it's checked to me with the pot at 1,325 (my stack is 2,435 after the flop raise). So, like an idiot, I bet (more than half my stack). Now, first caller calls (?), and huge stack, who's been doing this on absolutely nothing, moves in, having both of us covered. These guys do not have a set, but maybe the straight draw, maybe a little pair. It now costs me 1,000 to call into a pot of T7,200, and I figure I have 6 outs. So, I make the call (borderline, true) on the draw, which could be tainted by a straight draw. But it's very conceivable, too, that I'm actually ahead (unlikely, though, I think).

Well, this was all pretty much correct. First check-caller (who also calls the all-in) turns over 44 for gutshot with underpair (at least he was ok calling the flop raise imo) and huge stack turns over 76o (with which he called a raise to 8xBB!) for open straight with little pair. I hit my K on the turn, but huge stack makes his straight on the river. So, it's rebuy time.

My opinion: check the flop and take the free card. Then do bet the K aggressively. (in this case, losing my stack on the turn is ok, I think).

Basically, on these 2 hands, I realized that I had failed to bet when I should have (on the first), then ended up betting when I shouldn't have (on the 2nd).

Ok, then it goes back and forth a bit at 50/100 and 75/150 with steals (for a net loss, by the way, not bad, but I do have to fold to a re-raise), but pretty much sitting tight with just a few K-highs for LP steals. Things do calm down quite a bit after the rebuy option is over, as to be expected.

3) AQo in early MP. I'm down to T4,500 and limp here after EP folds (I'm UTG+2). 2 LP callers, including a huge stack (T20,000) new to the table but who has been highly aggressive (guy who re-raised me on a steal, unjustifiably, I'm pretty sure). Flop is Q98 rainbow. Not bad, but JT is reason for some serious doubts. Pot is T900 and I bet nonetheless. Huge stack minimum re-raises to T1,800. I think about this for a moment and decide he has KQ. I think he flat calls with the made straight on a rainbow board, and I think a big stack raises more strongly with 2 pair on this board. Turn is a blank but does make for 2 spades, of which I have the ace, so I'm really not worried much about the flush. Big stack bets 800 (into this huge pot) and I call, actually rather relieved, as his hand is looking rather weak to me. 3rd spade hits on the river, and I check-call to all-in. Ballsy, I know, but I was quite right here, as he has only QT, which I think he bet frivolously, actually. So, I double up and am looking ok, although this was also very ticklish with just TPTK here.

So, anyhow, finally a hand that went well, and I'm at T9,500, not great with blinds at 100/200, but a little room to maneuver. My plan: Play nice and tight, no frills, pretty tight and selective blind steals but not excessively so.

Well, I lost a bit on TT in LP, on which I called a moderate raise. EP limp re-raised, then big stack initial raiser moved in, so I just folded, which was a good thing. The initial raiser had AA and the limp re-raiser had JJ. Had a few other hands go awry, so I'm back down to T6,125 when I look down on another QQ.

4) QQ bustout. I actually think I played this hand pretty well. I don't see any way around losing my stack here against the same player I had in the AQ hand. He still has me covered, though, after some straightforward hands. Blinds are now at 100/200 with antes, and I'm starting to feel pretty good about my game again after being rather frustrated with those early AK and QQ disasters. Ok, so I have QQ UTG and raise it to T600. MP re-raises the minimum to T1,000, all others fold. Now, this is the same player against whom I had the AQ, and my hand hasn't slowed him down a lot in terms of aggression. He's actually grown a good deal again. I figure him for a strong hand but nothing radical. He could have 77 or 88, possibly even AQ (less likely with my queens). So my read, anyway. AK is definitely an option, too, and I'm planning on laying down to overcards (I figure I can still survive a bit on T5,500 but would be pot-committed if I bet).

Flop comes very nice for me (I think): J52 with 2 clubs. Well, I have absolutely no doubt that he'll bet here, as he did. So, I plan to checkraise all-in. Indeed, pot is T2,500, he bets T2,000, and I move in with my T5,500. Well, he turns over KK this time, and I lose.

Will be interested to hear what you guys think, but I just don't see having enough stack depth to lay down QQ here as overpair against a LAG re-raiser. And against this player, I indeed like the checkraise, as he was definitely betting, and that would give me some much-needed scratch with a win.

I think my big boneheaded plays in this one were the AK and the QQ early on.

Just a side note, specifically to FmF: You MIGHT ask why not play some trash early to get a little lead here. And maybe you're playing completely different tables than I am. This one, as rebuy, was particular crazy, as I think you can see from these hands.

Sure, I would have played AXs for a limp in LP (but didnt' get it), probably also 76s multi-way. Actually, if I'm going to play AXs, I really should play 76s all the more so, as the latter really is more profitable.

But, seriously, at a table like that can you really imagine trying to bluff on complete trash?

And, honestly, the increased stack depth due to rebuy would be the only reason I'd be tempted to try AXs or 76s. One MIGHT get a free or cheap card on a good flop. But I think real bluffs at tables like that are just out of the question in early tourney or without a big stack later.

Here's what I don't get about these tournaments. Since bluffs NEVER work (you WILL get your all-in bluff called by mid-pair-no-kicker), WHY are people bluffing SO MUCH.

Then again, maybe people keep calling all-ins with mid-pair-no-kicker BECAUSE people bluff so much...


An example of me being stupid:
I pick up ATs on the button. Practically the whole table limps to me. I decide to try to steal it (yeah right) and pop it up to 150 or so (blinds at 20, this is at the very beginning), surprisingly I only get one caller (BB).

Flop comes KQx, two of my suit. BB leads out with a bet, I figure I have 9 nut-flush outs, 3 more for the nut-straight and probably a live overcard so 15 outs total. I go all-in on a semibluff and get called by.... Q2! As much as I think he's a complete idiot for playing Q2 against a big raise (or at all) out of position and calling the all-in... I'm at least as big a muppet for trying to bluff the unbluffables (albeit as a favorite to win the hand).

Yeah, it's complete chaos really.

I played a SNG last night with a guy who was pretty far up on the Stars TLB ranking--enough to impress the hell out of me (I believe it was 3rd for this month and 140 for the year).

Interesting was that he played essentially completely tight, no-frills poker, really with only one exception: He'd occasionally bluff with nothing from big stack for a small pot. But extremely conservative in his steals.

I really think my own biggest problem in these big ones is playing big or large-ish medium stacks. I get too over-confident and then end up being short-stacked again.

Medium stack is just a place to play very tight ABC imo, and big stack is only a small difference. Oh, one other thing about this guy, he had a VERY acute awareness of who would actually hurt him. I get into this stuff with a stack of T10,000 and a decent hand, then think I can make a somewhat incorrect call against a T5,000 stack (like thinking my TP is good when I should know better).

Another leak for me is raising too much inappropriately or following up raises too aggressively. I think getting back to the basics of ring play is actually a pretty good medium stack strategy--with few, but indeed very few frills both in short and big stacks.

As to your hand, I'd say no raise there but call the flop on the flush draw. Really, by midway people like your Q2 player are gone from the tourney.

Basically, what happens is this: Either you get a good hand (by cautious ABC standards) and play it right and win (then LAY THE F*CK BACK!!!), or you get shortstacked somewhere around the 50/100 point. And with a stack of around 1,200 at the blinds at that point, I think you have to start planning your double up point, because you're under enormous pressure once the blinds hit 75/150 if you haven't doubled up yet. You basically have 1 limp left in you at 50/100 but it needs to be an extremely solid hand.

I guess on your hand my only real critique would be the initial raise. On the flop you were good to go, but for the nut flush draw, anyway, you actually WANT a big field. After the flop, I like your thinking--you really are the favorite, although the A is a little dodgy for counting as out, even though it was in actuality. In THEORY, of course (which doesn't apply at all at these tables and often gets me completely confused), the bettor is supposed to have a little set, maybe KQ at the worst if it's a loose but remotely sane raise-caller.

When I spent a week last year in AC playing the Trop rebuy tournaments every day, there was one guy there who had a ridiculous win rate.

My mate got chatting to him and others, and apparently he'd won the most official poker tournaments in the world that year.

Anyway, his strategy seemed to be to get his stack in as quickly as possible in with any top pair or better during the rebuy period (including big overbets). He made loads of money from idiots calling with draws or second pairs. If someone had a decent hand, oh well - reload.

He didn't seem to have exceptional player reading skills, just a finely honed strategy and the balls and bankroll to go through with it. (I had none of these, and won nothing!)