Thursday Night Gutshot Report

I began this write-up on Friday afternoon, but all of a sudden I had better places to be than in the office! Here's the rest of what I'd started.

I'd decided to head to the Gutshot for second time last week, since Mrs Pink had another work event in central London so I figured that we could meet up after I busted (confidence, huh!) or once she'd finished. Their Thursday night tourney was a £50+5 freezout. It's at the top of my bankroll means for tournaments, but in the half hour immediately after work I'd made £30 online so I figured I could stretch to it. For £55 everyone gets 2500 in chips. The blinds start at 25-50 with 20 minute levels, so it's not a great structure, but as good as you'll get for any low-buy-in live tournament. There were seventy-odd runners and the top nine paid from £75 up to £1300.

I noticed a few good players on my starting table including Barry, the co-founder/owner of The Gutshot Collective, but there were a couple of weak players to make up for it.

My memory is somewhat hazy. I had a fair number of good starting hands most of which won me medium-small pots. Generally I made good descions and the odd well timed bluff. In one hand with 150-300 blinds. I limped in early position with KhQd. One caller came in behind and the big blind checked. The big blind check the flop of 9,T,4 (all diamonds) and I fired out 600. The limper behind me made it 2400. I thought briefly and jammed for about 8000 in total. He folded.

I then got moved to a table at which sat the infamous Adi (sp?). If you've ever been to the Gutshot Forum (not somewhere I hang out btw) you will apparently find flame after flame about this guy. He's nice enough, but he can’t shut the fuck up. He DOES NOT STOP TALKING, and he's got a damn loud voice. Not all of what he says is wrong - in fact he's reasonably successful at tournaments - so as well as irritating the shit out of people, he's also educating the fishies. Damn clown.

I came over the top of him a couple of times preflop and bluffed him out of the flop another couple of times, which wound him up no end. Ha! Our table broke just in time to prevent me reaching across the table and smacking him, but his voice could still be heard from the other side of the room.

I made one bigish laydown, which I spent a good portion of my somewhat sleepless night thinking about. Constructive criticism is very welcome. I hadn't been at my new table long, but in the six or seven hands I'd seen, the villain hadn't played yet. With blinds of 500-1000 he opened raised in the cutoff to 3000. I looked down at KcQc and decided just to flat call. I had about 25K at this point, which covered him by about 7,000. The flop came K,J,4 (two spades). I checked he bet 3000. I thought for ages and folded. I'd didn't have much of a read on him but I just felt that I was behind. You could argue - and you'd probably be right - that if I'm going to fold when I hit the flop then I should never have called preflop. I re-written my analysis of this hand three or four times and in the end I've come to the conclusion that my best play on the flop was probably to bet into him. That then allows for the possibility that he'll jam with a weaker hand. The trouble with check-raising him is that he's only likely to commit all his chips with a hand that's beating me (or splitting).

Anyway, I decided to fold and leave myself with enough chips (just) to make moves later, albeit it preflop only moves. I maintained my stack with blind steals and the busting of a couple of short stacks. I'd been in the top two or three chip positions for a while but as more people busted my stack became less impressive. Once we were down to two tables and towards the bubble a couple of players were continually at war with each other so it was difficult to enter any pots. One finally busted the other and I went to the final table with a stack only just above average.

The final table was an impressive line-up of regularly successful tournament players. At least two of them had played in the WSOP main event and there were only a couple of players that I didn’t recognise. I didn’t feel intimidated though. I relished the opportunity to play them. The blinds were still at 1000-2000, but the average stack was only 21K so there wasn’t a lot of room to manoeuvre. Once someone entered the pot stealing was out of the question and most opening bets were all-ins.

I don’t think I’ve ever been quite as card dead as that at a final table. I passed up one opportunity to steal when it was folded to me on the button. I passed a ten high and it would prove to be costly. I had to fold every hand for the next four orbits. During which time the blinds went up twice to 2000-4000. I didn’t see a single Ace or pair and when I got a face card it came with a baby and a raise in front of me. Even when I became desperate, I had to fold. Down to 12,000, I had to post a third of my stack on the big blind. I picked up Q2. With my tiny stack I’d have been happy to defend my blind against one opposition, but after an all-in and a call I had to let it go. The very next hand I posted 2,000 in the small blind. Again there was a raise and a call. I looked down to see a two and a four. Goddamn! With only 6,000 left (one and a half big blinds) I’d lost any folding equity and was gonna have to rely on luck. The first four hands were unplayable due to others in the pot in front of me then finally everyone of me folded and I got an opportunity to go heads up with the big blind. I found 9Ts which was the biggest monster I’d seen on the final table and I was happy to get my last 2 chips in the pot with it. The button re-raised, everyone else folded and I was happy to see that my cards were live when he turned over AQ. I hit a nine on the flop, but an Ace on the river sealed my fate.

I ended up getting 7th place and pocketing £150. Overall I was happy with just making the final table. I know that big score is coming eventually.