Secrets of the Amateurs

Pretty strange day today. First of all I was epically slowrolled by the floorstaff. I turned up to my expected table, only to find it full. An announcement directed all Seat 10 players into Amazon, so I found someone in there and showed him my slip. "Oh yes, " he said, "You're on the ESPN Final Table". ZOMG ! I looked at his list of players and the name Phil Hellmuth was the first I saw. Super ZOMG ! XOMG ! Then I looked for my name. Just as I realised it wasn't there he said "Oh no, wait a minute".

So I was packed back off to Court 318 where I spent the rest of the day. The first two levels were a complete non-event, I made 3K profit, mostly thanks to TT > JJ against a short-stack. The next hour and a half was a complete mare, I was stationed out of 50K chips, the worst one being AA v AT on a flop of TTx. Worst thing was my opponent, a classic old American nit (right down to the bracelet from 1989), was shaking his head throughout the entire hand. Just like he did when he had quad Aces. Sigh. Luckily I won a couple of key pots, I 3-bet squeezed another old guy and Robert Mizrachi (who was on my immediate right) with AJo, Mizrachi called, flop A high and I had to go with it with only 1.5 x pot left, but he folded. I 3-bet the same old guy with KQo and got to showdown on a KJxxx board, beating AJ.

From then on I ground and ground and ground, raise/c-bet and 3-betting when I could. As the day neared its end I met with less and less resistance. By the last half hour I was calling and outflopping people just to annoy them, and I finished with 118. If only every level was the last of the day. Half the field tightens up and half the rest just crack wide open. Old guy #2 called 25% pre with JTs to flop a straight flush draw against KK and get there on the turn. One of the stations cold 4-bet KQs with no fold equity. And so on.

Mizrachi was the only "face" at my table all day, and he wasn't a problem, which isn't so much as a comment on his play, which was fine, but just the fact that no one short of Ivey is really a problem when you have position on them every hand. Amazingly, I'm pretty sure that no one has come over one of my 3-bets in two days. 18 hours of poker. Amazingly lucky probably, but I'll take it, seeing of course as I had a real hand about 10% of the time. So I will have a little over average with 2000 players left on Friday, which is not exactly poised to win it all, but it's nice to have a shot.