Up and Down

It's been a funny up and down journey the last couple of days. Over the past few days, I've played in about 30 sit and go's. Out of all of these tournaments, the lowest I have finished was 7th twice and 5th twice. Other than that, I have cashed in about 60% of these tournaments and finished fourth in the rest.

Finishing fourth is the worst feeling in the world. But I would rather play aggressively and know that I either put it in with the best of it; or made the other player make a tough call. That is all you can do when you get close to the money. You want to continue to play position and your opponents. However, you also have to play the balancing act of not making the big mistakes. I will usually come in for a standard raise. If I get a lot of resistance, or I don't get help on the flop, there is really no need to bluff off all of your chips.

Last night was one of the worst nights of poker I have ever played. I played very well, and was playing very deceptively. Just to illustrate how bad it was; I lost with Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and Ace-King. Everytime we were four handed and I caught the other player making a big mistake. The first time, I was in the small blind and the player in the big blind was a LAG. I looked down and saw AA, and nobody entering the pot. I knew if I raised, all I would win was the blind, so I decided to give up some of the pre-flop expected value and take my chances that he wouldn't flop much. So I limped in. I had about 2400 with the blinds at 50/100, and he had about 3200. I couldn't have asked for anything more, he went all-in. I got what I wanted, I had him trapped for most of his chips. On a side note, I find it funny that so many players are willing to risk most of their chips and lose their minds. Not only will they risk their tournament on marginal situations, but will also play overly aggressive before the flop. They tend to risk a lot more of their chips then they should. The reasonable play would have been to make a standard raise, and if you get any resistance and don't have a good draw, dump the hand. But maybe I play way too tight....lol. So I call of course, and he shows 93 off suit. Exactly what I wanted. Long story short, he flops a 9 and rivers a 3. Gotta love the luck factor of the game. So, that was pretty much the way my night went.

It is like I have always said. You can only get the money in with the best of it. It's one thing, when you are playing deep stack poker, and you have some opportunities for making moves and playing the player. However, when the blinds get to a specific level and they are a large percentage of your stack; all you can do is get it in with the best of it. Of course, you will have to get lucky from time to time. Especially if someone makes a hero call. When I do get it in, and someone does get lucky, I don't get mad or upset. There's no need to call the other players donkeys or fish. Remember, I want these types of situations. All the money on the line and they are drawing really thin. That is the main reason why I finish high in a lot of tournaments. Sometimes it seems like your opponent is always getting there and drawing out. It can get frustrating, but try to keep your cool and just breath. Don't let the situation put you on tilt and multiply the effects and continue to make bad plays.

I personally love it when I lose a big pot to a lucky draw, then on the very next hand pick up a strong hand. When I raise, a lot of players will think I'm on tilt and just making a play to try and recoup my losses. Just to let you know, I don't really go on tilt. Well, not exactly, everybody goes on tilt. But I don't play with emotion and try to get even with any player at the table. I always try to play in the current situation.