Llew's FARGO Epic Part 3
by Llew213
On 23 Oct 1998 13:47:16 GMT, in rec.gambling.poker llew213@aol.com
(Llew213) wrote:
Llew's FARGO Epic, the Unabridged Version. Part 3
******APC (Actual Poker Content)
THE NL HOLDEM TOURNAMEMT
With Robb already on his way to Mass. to visit one of the museums that his
organization owns, I was free to concentrate on the NL hold'em tournament.
Again, I did not take notes, and I had had no sleep, so this is as
accurate as I can remember. If some of you have corrections, please feel
free. I know most people will not play, especially in a tournament, with
no sleep. But I (weirdo that I am) find that I often play *better* then.
I *know* that I am tired, so I make myself pay attention more and take my
time before acting. So, in some ways, being sleep- deprived actually
*improves* my play (told you I'm weird). In fact, my very first ever
tournament win was last December at the Orleans, when I won a daily hold'em
tournament on a Sunday (noon - 4:00 PDT) after being up since 6:30 A.M.
EST Saturday! I guess if I ever make it to the Big Show, I'd better not
sleep for the three days of play. :-)
Another factor may be my bio-rhythms. I am *definitely* a night person.
I function better if I have stayed up all night than if I arise early in
the morning. At BARGE this year, I made the mistake of actually sleeping
a few hours the night before the tournament. So, of course, I was foggy
and crabby (my natural morning persona) and I did not play well at all.
Anyway, back to the FARGO tournament. I missed the first orbit as I was
cashing in my chips from the 5-10 game. Was seated at table 9. Nothing
really happened for me here, just kept mucking bad cards. Table broke,
moved to another table. Same story. Moved again. (Both times I moved
into the blinds - rats!) Just kept telling myself, "Be patient. Wait for
the cards. Be patient. The cards will come eventually. And if they
don't, well, that's just how it goes sometimes."
Then came a key play where my relative inexperience in tournaments hurt
me. Blinds were 50- 100 and I had (I think) A-J suited. I called a small
raise (sorry, do not know this player's name and my eyes were too bleary
to read his name tag across the table) and we were heads-up. We both
checked the flop (no paint or A). The turn paired the board. He bet 100.
I decided to make a move. I planned to raise to 500 (I really felt that
he was not very strong - or had missed altogether - and I thought that I
could bluff him out of the hand ). So picked up my purple chip and tossed
it toward the pot, thinking that, because I had 100 chips in my stack,
that would be a raise. Of course, I had forgotten the "single-chip rule".
I actually said "raise", but not until after the chip hit the table. The
other player called a string-raise, which, of course, the dealer enforced.
And they were both absolutely correct. That kind of shook me up and we
both checked the river. He showed AK and won the hand with high card, no
pair. And he acknowledged that he would have laid down his hand on the
turn to my big raise. Oh, well.....
Shortly after that hand, I was moved to another table. I was discouraged
and
a bit annoyed with myself for my big mistake with the raise. In past
tournaments, this would have been enough to make me really disgusted. I
would have taken a risk with a marginal hand in an effort to recover chips
for my now-short stack. But *this* time (and I am really proud of myself
for this), I kept my cool. I kept repeating to myself, "a chip and a
chair, a chip and a chair. Susie Isaacs did it, Susie did it*. It can
happen". (*I had read in CP about Susie Isaacs being down to literally
one chip in a stud tournament at a WSOP and had come back to win.) After
a few hands it was time for a break.
I kept trying to keep my spirits up with my "mantras". Just be patient,
just be patient........
After the break, it started. First hand, UTG (Bill Turner?) looks at his
cards and says, "Well, I guess I have to get my blinds back sometime", and
goes all in. Now this part is unbelievable, but I swear it is true. I
thought to myself, "Wouldn't this be a nice time to look down and see
pocket A's?". I peaked and.....DING! There they were! It was folded to
me, I pushed all my chips in, and won the hand. Doubled through and hurt
Bill.
I got KK in the BB. All fold to Bruce Kramer, who raised all-in. I
called and won, which bust Bruce out. Sorry, Bruce. I also won Bruce's
bounty, a very big cigar. I don't smoke, so it is now on my "trophy
shelf" in my office, along with my plaques from the Orleans tournaments I
won in December and my third-place plaque from the ATLARGE stud tournament
last Spring.
When I told the people with whom I work that I play poker, they gave me
that "you do *what*?" look. They think that I am a degenerate nut case (no
comments from the peanut gallery, please). . They just don't get it. But
as they see my small but growing collection of "awards", they are
beginning to think that maybe I am not *totally* nuts. Not totally sane,
but not totally nuts either. :-)
Well, now I have some chips and the cards keep hitting me. I get QQ on
the button and make a standard steal raise (3x the BB). Paul McMullin, on
the BB, calls all-in. Whoops. Now I have to think a bit. (BTW, that is
another thing I finally got right this time. In the past, I often reacted
too quickly rather than taking time to think. This usually cost me big
and I have been trying very hard to correct this bad habit. In this
tournament, I took my time *every* time I was faced with an important
decision. About time!! ;-). Anyway, I hope I can continue to do this.)
So now I *STOP AND THINK*! Could he have KK or AA? Is he just
defending his blind? If he has AA or KK, I could be in trouble. But he
probably thinks this is just an attempt to steal his blind. Besides, if I can't
call with QQ, what can I call with. If I lose, it would hurt me, but I
won't bust out. So I call.
Paul turns over JJ. He groans a little when I show my QQ. But then he
flops a J! No Q comes and Paul wins the hand. Oh, well. Back to the
drawing board.
I was proud of myself that I did the right thing. I thought it out
carefully and made the right call. I still had more chips than I came to
the table with.
Got AA again and won a nice pot. Can't remember any other hands at this
table, but by the time I moved, I had rebuilt my stack quite a bit. I was
in good shape.
Next table, I see several good players, including the guy against whom I
made my big "single- chip" error, Steve Smith (who is very short stacked)
and - ruh, roh - Ray DiDonato (aka RayDon). Ray's reputation as a tough
and successful tournament player is well known and, IMO, well deserved. I
played against him in a tournament before in AC. He has a unique style and
can totally dominate a table. He is very tough and I must admit that I
was a bit intimidated.
On one key hand, Steve Smith (UTG, I think), pushed all-in. Ray called
him. Heads-up, neither showed his hand. (Actually, this happened a lot,
even at the final table. No one would show his cards, even when heads-up
with one all-in, until after the river card. Isn't this unusual?)
After the river, Steve turns up 22. Poor Steve, he doesn't have a chance.
Then Ray turns up 2 big cards (AJ?). Everyone searches the board for an A
or a J. None! Steve doubles through! WTG, Steve! Now Ray is the one
who is short-stacked.
During play at this table, I had been hearing something about Ray losing
(or winning) a big hand to (or with) 4-2. Never did get the story
straight. This relates to the next hand I will describe.
Ray goes all-in. I am on the button with a big stack (might have been the
biggest at the table). So Ray cannot really hurt me. I look down to see
64o.
Now, here I have to stop and thank Mike Paulle. I have been reading his
tournament reports and have learned how unfair the card gods can be to
small stacks. I was constantly amazed at the hands with which big stacks
called and busted out big hands. Many times it was with pure trash, like
the 6-4 I was looking at in this hand. Thanks, Mike. Those reports
played a key role in this hand.
So I call. Ray says, "Just please don't tell me you have 4-2." I said,
"Well, I have a 4." He says, "Show me your highest card," and shows me a
Q. I said, "Show me both. I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours."
;-) Meanwhile, a 6 came on the flop. No paint showing anywhere. The
river brings the miracle 4. Ray turns over QQ. I say, "ohhhh, you are
gonna hate this". I show my 2 pair. Ray throws up his hands, then comes
over and high-fives me. "Nice hand, Llew." "And well played?" I ask.
I have to say that this was one of the highlights of the tournament for
me. *I* busted out Ray DiDonato!!! Me!! Thanks for a great memory, Ray
:-). You are one of the best!
Final table. Charlie Craft, Scott Byron, Eric Holtman, Jeff Jessell, Bill
Whitney, Alan Richter, Paul McMullin, Matt Treasure, Peter Alson, and me!
As soon as we sit down, Alan Richter - who obviously has the shortest
stack - says, "Anybody interested in a deal?" I don't think anybody
actually laughed, but there were several 'what are you, nuts?' looks
around the table. As it turned out, Alan finished fifth, stretching that
small stack about as far as it could go. WTG, Alan!
I don't remember a lot of details here. I do remember that the
competition was tough. I was glad that I started the table with a big
stack (I may have been the chip leader going in). Charlie, Scott, Eric,
Jeff and Bill busted out. Alan, whose stack was getting smaller, was
lobbying for a $250 save for himself (5th prize was $248). Paul
generously offered $249 :-). Alan exited shortly afterward (and, yes, he
did get his $250 :-).
We made a save, but I can't remember if it was 3-way or 4-way. (Gotta
take some notes next year.) Paul was out next. Matt, short-stacked,
really hung in there for awhile. He played *very* well. He certainly
deserves the BAAP, especially since he got to the final table in *both*
tournaments. WTG, Matt!!!
Peter and I were now heads-up. We made another save, then played for the
remaining money and, most importantly, the TOC eligibility. I gotta tell
you, I was sssooooo psyched! I just could not believe I had gotten this
far.
I had about a 3-1 chip lead. I hear Bill Alan yell, "I got 9-5 on Llew.
Any takers?" (He told me later he did not get any. Wow. )
I have been practicing a lot with a tournament program that I have on my
computer at home. The overall program is just fair, but one thing I
learned from it (and from an earlier program I had) was how to play
heads-up at the end, especially with a chip lead. In a word,
*aggressive*. Several people commented later about how aggressively I
played, but it is almost second nature to me at this stage. This is
totally due to my computer training, as I had only gotten this far in
tournaments twice before. Obviously, the 3-1 lead was a huge advantage.
So I kept hammering at Peter, raising his blind every chance I got (which
was a *lot*; did I mention that the cards were running nicely for me that
day ;-).
I did not raise *every* time, I mean, I at least had to have *something*.
Once when I folded on his blind, he turned over AK and expressed
disappointment that I would not play along that time. :-)
I had reduced Peter's stack to about half. Then I raised his blind and he
pushed all-in. I stopped and thought carefully about this. (I am sooooo
glad that I made myself do this all day.) I forget what I had, but I
decided it was not enough to go up against his raise, so I laid it down.
A few hands later, an interesting thing happened. I raised Peter's blind
(again). He pushed all- in. This time I decided I had enough to call him
(and no, I don't remember what it was....sorry). I called and Peter looked
down toward his cards again, which were lying face down on the table.
Then a look of horror came over his face when he suddenly realized that he
had 3 cards!! He looked up and we just stared at each other, not knowing
what to do. Someone said, "That's a dead hand. She wins."
Wait a minute!! This wasn't Peter's fault. It was a dealer error. When
he looked at his cards the first time, he only saw two; he did not even
realize he had been dealt an extra card. I said, "No way. I don't want
to win like this. Take back your chips and re-deal the hand." I would
hate to see anybody lose due to a stupid fluke like that. (Someone asked
me what I would have done if it were the Big Show and the WSOP title
was at stake. *If* I *ever* - somehow, someday, some way - get to that
place, I *hope* that I would do the same. But I am only human, after all ;-).
I continued to pound away at Peter's stack. Then he pushed all-in again
and I had to back off again. A few hands later, this scenario was
repeated. The next time it happened, I held 6h5h. I decided that I had
to take a stand to stop him from going all-in so much, thinking that I
would just back down every time. I expected to lose the hand, but I
wanted him to know that he was taking a risk of being called if he
re-raised me too much.
Again, we did not turn over our cards until the end of the hand. I hope I
recall this next part correctly. Turns out that Peter had 77 against my
6h5h. He was clearly way ahead. Flop was 345 rainbow. The 6 came on the
turn, giving Peter the straight (I sure am glad I could not see his
cards). Then the river brought....would you believe....the miracle
5!!!!!!!! I hit a boat!!!!
I was so excited I literally jumped up and threw my cards face-up on the
table! Peter, not knowing what I was so excited about, turned over his 7's.
Someone said, "He has a straight." Then someone else said, "But she hit a
full house!!"
Peter looked stunned, as I would have had I been in his seat. Then he
stood up and offered his hand. I took it , then gave him a big hug! What
a bad beat for him. And what an absolutely amazing catch for me! Peter,
let me say that you gave me a real good fight against very bad odds. I
hope that you did not think that my throwing down my cards was an "in your
face" kind of gesture. I was just *ssoooooo* excited I couldn't help it!
End of APC (Actual Poker Content)
Well, after a round of hugs, I heard Mike Ward (I think), the tournament
director, tell Bill Alan that they wanted to get my picture with the all
of the chips in front of me. Cool! I came down off the ceiling long
enough to "pose" for 2 polaroids. Then Mike took out another camera and
said they wanted a good picture for.....are you ready....Card Player
Magazine!! ME!!!! In CP!!!! Well, shoot me now, I am ready to die! The
picture is supposed to be in CP early in November. It should be easy to
spot. Just look for the biggest, dumbest grin of all time! I am going to
frame a copy of the page and put it on my "trophy shelf" at work.
I also will be getting a really nice jacket embroidered with my name and
FARGO '98 NL Hold'em tournament on it. I will be so proud to wear it! I
still treasure my BARGE jacket which I got for 5th place in 1997. And all
of the final table players got a nice FARGO '98 hat. Thanks, Bill, for
choosing such nice prizes. And, best of all.....and this just blows me
away.....**I** am eligible for the TOC in July!! Unbelievable!!
I gotta tell you that it felt soooo good to hear, "Congratulations,
Llew!", "Nice job, Llew", "WTG, Llew", etc. all weekend, especially from
players whom I admire so much! What a kick! Thanks to everyone for your
good wishes. I love you guys!
I need to thank all of you for your posts to rgp. They have been the main
source of my poker education so far, along with Card Player. I literally
could not have done this without all of you!
Speaking of guys, well, I just have to say that this was.....ONE FOR THE
GIRLS!!!! Only 2 of us started the tournament and one of us made it to
the top. GIRL POWER!!! Hehehehehe.
The following are a bunch of mushy, gushy thank-you's. If stuff like this
makes you sick, skip to part 4.
I especially need to that a few individuals (geez, this is starting to
sound like an Oscar speech). A few years ago, when I was just starting to
play poker, I posted a note on rgp saying that I was coming to Vegas for a
week and would anyone be willing to sit with me and clarify a few points
that were confusing me. In return I offered to take that person out for a
not-too-expensive dinner or lunch :-). Tom Sims not only met with me (and
Harry Baldwin, who was in town at the time), he treated us both to
breakfast at Binion's coffee shop. I have had a special place in my heart
for Tom ever since. Tom is a great guy and I am proud that he calls me
his friend.
Once in the middle of a really bad run (as in, about 3-4 months), I found
myself playing next to Art Santella in a 3-6 hold'em game at the Taj. The
fish were killing me and I was hurting bad! I had pocket A's six times in
an hour-and-a-half, and they only held up *once*. Once I had flopped a
set, bet it fast and hard, and got runner-runner flushed. Anyway, during
a deck change, I said to Art, "Please, Art, be brutally honest with me.
Am I playing badly?
Cause I think I am playing well and if I am not, I don't know what the
hell I am doing and I gotta quit poker altogether". Art reassured me that
I was, indeed, playing well and that my luck was just horrendous that
night. Thanks, Art. I really would have quit had you not taken the time
to reassure me .
When I was at BARGE in '97, I was thrilled that I had made the final
table, but I was *sure* that it was a fluke, beginner's luck. After all,
I had only played one real tournament before, two days earlier at the
Orleans. My 5th place finish was just too good to be true.
That's when Nolan Dalla and Lou Krieger started to work on me. They kept
telling me that I was a good player and that I had what it takes to be a
winner. They believed it long before I did. Nolan and Lou are on my
buddies list on AOL (insert aol jokes here), so we chat online regularly.
I can't tell you how important they have been in building my confidence.
Thanks, guys!
And, of course, I have to thank Bill Alan. Ever since I gave him a ride
from the airport at BARGE this year, he has "adopted" me as his new best
friend :-). I think he was sweating me more than I was sweating myself.
And everyone knows how hard he works to make FARGO happen. Bill,
without you I would not have experienced the thrill of my life! (God, please
don't anybody quote that last sentence out of context! :-) Thanks, Bill! ;-)
Other RGPers have been so supportive. Peter Secor, Tom Goodwin (who
"bought" me at the Symposium at BARGE....sorry I was one tournament too
late, Tom), and so many others. If I have left your name off this list,
please accept my apology.
Lastly, I have to recognize my poker "heroes", my role models. Barbara
Enright, Linda Johnson, Susie Isaacs, Marsha Waggoner, etc. All of the
women making waves in this "man's game". Keep up the good work, ladies!
Now that I have put you all to sleep, I will end this part of my TR. BUT,
there is more to come. Whaddaya mean, there can't *possibly* be more! I
haven't even gotten to Sunday yet! <big g!>
Published with the permission of the author.
Reproduction without the author's permission prohibited.
Try a Free Evaluation Copy of LinkScan
LinkScan is a website quality assurance tool that checks links and
produces two types of SiteMaps using multi-threaded simultaneous
processing that provides reports on HTML pages readable from any
browser on any platform. It is capable of checking as many as
40,000 links per hour. Download is only 240 KB. Get a free evaluation copy.
Home
Email: webmaster@gocee.com (Ken's Poker Page)
©1998 Kenneth R. Churilla