I played a few token tournaments tonight, to test out different tournament strategies. Some of the concepts I was trying to emphasize were starting standards and playing position. I played in 5 FTP token tournaments, and won 3 $26 tournament tokens. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. The first two were pretty easy. The last one had some pretty good players.
I have to give major props to Chrisfrost04. He was a good player, and tested me the whole way. I had him outchipped by almost 3:1 in heads up play. He limped on the button, and I woke up with 99. In a full ring game, this is a marginal hand. However, in a heads up game, almost any pair can be considered a great starting hand. The blinds were 300-600 and he only had about 2900. So, I raised enough to put him all in, and he quickly called with JJ. The flop came out all rags, 7 high. The turn brought a 9, and a brick on the river. If it wasn't for a lucky break on my part, we would probably still be playing. He was a great competitor and from his table presence and etiquette, I gained a lot of respect for his play.
That brings me to my rant for the evening. One thing I could not stand playing in these tournaments, was the sheer amount of complaining, bitching, and just outright rude behavior. Every poker player has taken and delivered a bad beat. There were a couple of times tonight, when I was short stacked, that I was trying to just steal the blinds and got called by a better hand and sucked out. That is a part of the game. But when a player loses their mind and starts complaining and calling the other players donkeys and idiots, that's when it becomes laughable. It's laughable because they usually are not as big a favorite as they thought. In fact, there was one hand in particular where the complainer was about a 2:1 dog, on the flop, even though the other player didn't even have a pair yet. But even when they are a big favorite, those are the situations every player wants to be in. Would you rather put all your money on the line on a coin flip proposition, or as a 80% favorite to win? I know that's a tough one, but you would be retarded if you said you would rather put your money on the line with only a 50% chance to win. Remember, all you can do is put your money in with the best of it. In the long run, if you keep making the right decisions, you should be a winning player.
I'll leave you with that for the night. If there is anything I can help you out with, drop me a line.
*UPDATE*
I played two more token tournaments, and won another token. Going into four handed, I was sitting in third place. The chip leader had over 8000 and was playing solid, but was chasing draws when he wasn't getting the right price. When I got to heads up play with him, he had me out chipped about 2:1. I caught a couple of hands and ended up doubling through. After the successes for the day, I am feeling quite encouraged by my results so far.
I have to give major props to Chrisfrost04. He was a good player, and tested me the whole way. I had him outchipped by almost 3:1 in heads up play. He limped on the button, and I woke up with 99. In a full ring game, this is a marginal hand. However, in a heads up game, almost any pair can be considered a great starting hand. The blinds were 300-600 and he only had about 2900. So, I raised enough to put him all in, and he quickly called with JJ. The flop came out all rags, 7 high. The turn brought a 9, and a brick on the river. If it wasn't for a lucky break on my part, we would probably still be playing. He was a great competitor and from his table presence and etiquette, I gained a lot of respect for his play.
That brings me to my rant for the evening. One thing I could not stand playing in these tournaments, was the sheer amount of complaining, bitching, and just outright rude behavior. Every poker player has taken and delivered a bad beat. There were a couple of times tonight, when I was short stacked, that I was trying to just steal the blinds and got called by a better hand and sucked out. That is a part of the game. But when a player loses their mind and starts complaining and calling the other players donkeys and idiots, that's when it becomes laughable. It's laughable because they usually are not as big a favorite as they thought. In fact, there was one hand in particular where the complainer was about a 2:1 dog, on the flop, even though the other player didn't even have a pair yet. But even when they are a big favorite, those are the situations every player wants to be in. Would you rather put all your money on the line on a coin flip proposition, or as a 80% favorite to win? I know that's a tough one, but you would be retarded if you said you would rather put your money on the line with only a 50% chance to win. Remember, all you can do is put your money in with the best of it. In the long run, if you keep making the right decisions, you should be a winning player.
I'll leave you with that for the night. If there is anything I can help you out with, drop me a line.
*UPDATE*
I played two more token tournaments, and won another token. Going into four handed, I was sitting in third place. The chip leader had over 8000 and was playing solid, but was chasing draws when he wasn't getting the right price. When I got to heads up play with him, he had me out chipped about 2:1. I caught a couple of hands and ended up doubling through. After the successes for the day, I am feeling quite encouraged by my results so far.
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