Well, blogging is new for me, and as I'm not the most computer litterate person in the world, it might be fun. I was updating my trip on the irish poker forum, irishpokerboards.com, so I'm gonna try and lift the reports from there and reprint them here. Wish me luck!!!
Originally poster 30/1/2010
Well, I said I'd report back, and so I'm doing.
Good news first, made day 2, but only just about. But i guess you cant win it if your out, so hopefully can start fast today.
Flew out on thursday to las Palmas, where as expected, the weather is nice even if a little windy. Hotel and casino are lovely. These EMOP's seem to be running underneath the radar in Ireland (theres only 4 irish here in total, and 3 of us are here together). The field is capped at 300 runners with 2 day 1's, A and B. (The casino cant hold any more runners than that). Of the 150 that played day 1, 54 players remained, and of the 150 that played day 1b, 53 remain.
The structure is pretty good to be fair, although due to silly dealer hour restrictions here in the Canaries, there are 2 blind levels missing from the last EMOP I played in Ljubljana. The TD explained to me that the tournament can not run for more more than 8 hours a day due to the local laws on dealer hours so we started at 5pm, and finished about 1am. He reckoned he had to drop the 2 levels and shorten from 1 hr blinds to 55mins as well as shorten the breaks to finish the tourney in 3 days. 20,000 starting stack.
Played 9 levels, 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 150/300, 200/400 (25), 300/600 (50), 400/800 (50), 500/1000 (100), 600/1200 (100). The 1st 4 levels were 45mins, and all others were 55mins.
Started slowly enough, being at a particularly aggressive table. (Three quarters of the field are online qualifiers, mostly scandanavians, the rest are locals who dont have much idea about whats going on.) I won the first 2 pots i was involved in, which is always a nice feeling, 1 gratifying one when i called down an annoyingly aggressive scandy on the river with just a pair of 7's and i was good. He seemed to take issue with this and he definately set out his stall to play hands with me after that, which I was happy enough with cause i was fairly confident that if I got the goods, he would pay me off.
2nd blind level and i'm sitting on about 23k. I raise QQ utg, (300), tight player flats otb, the scandie repops in the sb to 1650, I repop it to 5,150, button obviously folds, scandie makes it 14,500. I hate it, but i fold. (he did tell me outside later that he had AA, but sure what else would he say).
Not much happening for a few levels after that, but now I had a pretty good handle on my table and i was able to pick mt spots pretty well, not making much ground, but maintaining my starting stack pretty comfortably while awaiting my oppertunity to make some chips.
Guy to my left who had been playing pretty well, lost most of his stack with a very badly played AA, and he was now in push or fold mode. Folded to me(playing 20k) in the sb and I look down at 88, blinds 300-600 (50). I make it 1700 to go, he shoves for 5,100. I insta call, he has A-7, ace on the flop of course and I'm down to 15k. Get down as low as 13,300 when i get my double up. The scandie raises to 2600 and i see KK otb. Now Ive 13,300. I think about my options. The bb has about 15k. Im thinking of just shoving, but I havent had many hands and figure I gotta gamble and try and get some chips. I'm pretty sure he'll c/bet any flop, and I'll give the BB a chance to squeeze as he is a decent player, and he would have been aware of the battles me and the scandie have been in all day and might just like a squeeze there. BB folds and we're off. before the flop is out, scandie asks me how much i have. I tell him 10,500, that its not much and I probably wont be able to fold. Flop is 10-6-4 rainbow, and he bets 10,500. Snappage, he has A-6 and doesnt improve and I've 28k. I chip up to a high of 37k over the next half hour until I get moved table.
Played the last 2 blind levels of the night on this table, and nothig went right. Anything i tried got snapped off, my only successes being reshoves over aggressive players. Was hoping to find a spot in the last 20 mins to gamble them up with, but nothing doing. Going back today with exactly 22,000, with blinds at 800-1600 and either a 100 or 200 ante. So the M is around 7 and I wont be hanging around. I guess I'll either have 50k at the end of the 1st level today, or i'll be back here finishing this report!!!
I must say though, these EMOP's are extremey enjoyable tournaments. the emphasis seems to be on player friendly, with all players being booked into the same hotel and the socialising with each other is great. The hotel standard is very high. Although I must say, the dealing standard is the worst i,ve seen in any casino. Just simple things like no dealer seems to be able to concentrate and they never know whos turn it is to act. They are also clueless as to rules, but nobody's mahing an issue of it. The TD team are scandanavian and are a class act.
Thats it for now. Back at 5pm to play, so talk later.
Connie
Originally posted 31/1/2010
EMOP TR part 2.
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Well I'd love to be on here giving ye all the great news, but it doesnt pan out that way. Still, no real bad beats to report (tg), but an interesting days play to say the least.
Went back to a redraw of seats with 22,000, ave about 50k, blinds 800-1600 with 100 ante. Obviously, got drawn in seat 3 with the button on seat 1, so straight into the bb. The bb and sb passes through me effortlessly, with raises from ep. I was happy enough with my seat draw, because I had a 100k man to my immediate right, and the 4 to my immediate left all had 30-40k, so they couldnt call me light whenever i decided to move (or so i thought). So folded to c/o next hand, table cl raises and i shove shite otb, and he passes. Round 1 to me.
2 hand later, utg open shoves for 17.5k, folded to me. I have approx 26k. I see Ah-Qh. I decide i'll take the race and shove in too (if he has AK, then cee-la-vie). All fold, he has 88, I hit the flush on the turn and I've 45k. 20 mins later, utg raises to 4.5k (he's playing 25k, his 3rd raise in 1 lap), folded to me in the c/o,i reraise him to 15k with AKo, he asks me if I'm Italian,(must be the good looks and fashion sense I guess), I answer "si signor". He says, "I call so" and tables 99. I spin over AK, tell him not only am I not Italian, but I'm Irish and have the luck of the Irish as well!!! Flop Q-4-Q, Ace on the turn, harmless river and I'm on 70k at the end of todays 1st blind level. My target was 50k, so everythings going well, isnt it?
2nd blind level (1,000-2,000) is not a good one for me. Theres lots of 3 betting going on around the table, and indeed 4 betting. I get done for smallish money 2 hands in a row. I raise to 5,200 otb with Kd-Jd, sb (39k) repops me to 14,800. He's a young scandie (isnt eeveryone here!) and my gut tells me he's making a play on me. But I can let this go and Ive still 70kish with the average 67k, or i can 4 bet him. I decide to let it go, but because i have a pretty decent image so far, I show him the KJdd, and he shows me 9s-6s.
The very next hand, folded to me on the button, I raise 10h-8h (as you do), bb shoves for 33k, I fold slowly, he shows me AKs. Back down to 60k, I get 2 sets of blinds but probably unlucky in both. I get KK and QQ, but both utg, and my open raises got through uncontested which was very unusual really (not just my raises, most raises were being repopped).
So, we're 3 minutes from the end of the level when i raise Ac-Qc in the HJ. Button,(80k) not long at the table but has called 3 seperate raises in position in the 40 mins he's been there, flats me, while the bb, another extremely aggressive scandie wants to know how much i have behind. I tell him about another 60k approx. he counts out 15,500(out of a stack of 130k) and dwells for ages. I have at this stage decided that if this guy reraises me here, I'm 4-betting all-in. He eventually just flat calls. Flop come 7x-8c-Qx. Scandie leads out of the bb for 13k. I'm pretty sure I'm good here so i just tank it in. The button snaps me and the bb folds his 3rd pair. Button has 88 and thats all she wrote. Maybe I played the hand less than optimally, but I reckon I win that pot there most times unless the bb has flopped gin. Extremely dissappointed to be knocked out to be honest. I got off to a flier today as I had hoped I would, its just a pity i got no action on the couple of big hands i picked up. The way the table was playing, I could have easily built a big stack but them raises went through uncontested.
Still, it was extremely enjoyable. The biggest raise i saw out here was 3x bb, but nearly always 2.5bb. I was a bit surprised by the amount of 3 and 4 betting going on, maybe it was due to the amount of internet qualifiers (or indeed, the amount of scandies). The couple of things i learned more than anything else are:
1--When you do pick up your big hands, DONT get them utg. Most players still respect that raise.
2--When you have the goods, let on you're Italian. Your guaranteed action!
Now, off to chill out for a few days. Will play the 1 day side event tomorrow, then a bit of sun and home mid-week.
Talk soon
Connie
Originally posted on 2/2/2010
TR EMOP side event €200.--doing it the scandie way!!!
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Well, after 2 days of playing the well structured ME, it was down to the casino again on sunday at 6pm for the 1 day €200 f/o. 7,000 chips, 20 min clock, 120 runners and a guaranteed crapshoop to arrive upon us. The only thing different today is that I have no intention of being "scandied", or at least, thats the plan anyway.
1st table
Nice draw. 5 scandies and 4 spannish. All the scandies were capable, all the spannish were useless (bar 1 maybe who'd score maybe a 4/10). 1st test came in the 1st level, I raise 150 in c/o with 4d-5d. scandie repops from the button (surprise-surprise) to 425, i call. Flop is 6-3-8 rainbow. I lead for 650, he makes it 1575, i shove for 8k total. He folds. I put up with these guys 3 and 4 betting me in the ME, and my mind is made up that I'm going to turn the tables on them today, or at least i'm gonna get them in 1st and put the decisions on them.
Anytime the spanish are in a pot, the scandies are following them in cause
they realise theyre chips to be had. With the blinds at 100-200, I'm in the bb with 88. The 4 spaniards and 2 scandies limp in, I make it 1950 to go. Spanniard in mp, (3rd player to limp) decides he's going all-in for 7k. Everyone folds and I call. hed has A-6 and I now have 17k, double the average. 1 lap later, spanniard min raises to 400, 4 callers, i ship for 17k otb with As-Ks. he snaps me with A-10 and I've 27k, 3 times the average.
Table 2.
I get moved table, and sit beside a germasn lad who i know is a good player as i have played some of these EMOP's with him before. But he only has about 10k, and he's on my right. I dont know any of the other players at the table, with only 2 of them having stacks, a youngish scandie 4 to my right with about 30k and an oldidh (65ish) spanniard 2 to my right. i decide to bed in here for a while to pick up a few reads. I get a couple of raises snapped off but i also snap off a few lp raises myself and increase my stack quite gradually. The old spannish man is being quiet enough, he raised twice in the hour or so Im here, and the german snapped him off both times. The german lad told me your man got his stack pretty mirraculously, so thats all the info I had to go on.
Then with blinds at 700-1500, i find AA in MP for the 1st time in 3 days. I make it 3800 to go. Folded to the scandie in the bb who asks me how much i was playing. i understood what he said, but let on I didnt, and spread out my raise and said "3 thousand, 800". He says"NO,No, how much do you have behind"? I tell him i have about 33k more, and then he declares he's all-in for 40k. My chips hit the felt before his, no miracles and i'm near 70k. Drop a bit from there when I took on a short stack when i has AJ, but lost the race with his 44. So Im at about 46k when Im in the sb. Folded around to spannish guy who ships from the c/o for 44k with blinds at 700-1500!!! I look down at JJ, I call, he has K-6o and I have 90k. Unreal.
Not long later we're down to 3 tables, average stack is now about 30k, and i have 90kish.
Table 3. (WANKER-A$$HOLE-KNOB_END, what dont they understand)?
I got my 1st ever time penalty from a poker table here today. i'll go through the scenario, and you can make your mind up for yereselves, but it was 1 of them you gotta be there to understand it moments. Now I never lose my cool with anybody, and especially at a poker table, so this was very unusual for me.
So Im sent back to my original table that i had started on and theres still about 4 players of the original starting crew there. 1 snug spanniard in seat 1, and 3 remaining scandies. I lose some chips here when I raise Ac-10c from the c/o to 7,800 (blinds 1.5k -3kante 300), and scandie otb shoves for 28k. I figure my range is good here against this character, i call but he has JJ and I'm down to 60k. Next lap, in the very same position, (c/o) I pick up the rockets for the 2nd time this weekend. I make the same raise, 7,800. this time, scandie flats me behind with ?? otb, then the sb tanks and ships all-in for approx 30k. This is working perfectly, but how do we play out the scenario? So i ask the dealer for an exact count of the sb's stack. The dealer takes about 30sec to count it up, and says its 24k more to call. Before i get a chance to say anything, immediately the spannish guy in seat 1 (not involved in the hand at all) says "clock".
"what did you say?" says I
"I call for clock" says he.
"I have only had 30 seconds yet, why call clock" says I, diplomatically.
"I no understand " says he.
"Thats pretty fcuking obvious" says I.
The scandies complain that the clock is a rediculous call on me, and i ask for the td. The spanniard in 1 just cant shut up.
"He have to make decision" says he, trying hard to impress anyone he knows whos standing near the table.
"Your a fcukking wanker" says I, "with a head like a knob-end".
The td arrives and tells me im now on the clock. Scandies complain but its on deaf ears.
I say its fine, I'm going all-in myself whilst "raging".
Now the scandie is in the tank, and after about 5 mins, he reluctantly folds.
I spin over my AA and say good fold buddy. He looks relieved. SB had 77 and no miracles, so im back up to over 90k.
Now I ask the spanniard why he called the clock because it made absolutely no sense to me (although the scenario that was playing out was actually ideal for me at the time, but it didnt make it right. He was mumbling some shyte and i told him he wasnt involved in the hand, there was no time elapsed and it was none of his fcuking buisness.
"I no understand" says he again.
"Well understand this," says I, "your a fcucking a$$hole". And just in case he didnt understand, I turned around, bent over, pointed at my a$$hole, then pointed at him and asked him did he understand now?"
The td put his arm on my shoulder and told me to take
I says theres no need, I'm going all-in as well a 10 min break from the table. I left to go for a smoke with a round of applause from the scandies and fits of laughter all round.
I dont know what came over me really, it was like a red mist. He was just such a complete %^%&^*, and although I do regret losing my cool, if I was to lose it, he was the only person i ever shared a table with that succeeded in making me lose it.
When I eventually got back on the table, he shoved for 19.5k and I called him out of the sb with 2h-3h, and when i paired the 3, i sent him packing. I did sing him a bar of a song as he made his exit from the room just to show there was no hard feeling.
Part 2.
Final Table
We eventually reached the FT, with moneys for last 10. It started at 400 for 10th, up to 4k for 2nd and 6,800 for the winner. There was only 1 player at the table that i felt was a very good player, although in fairness, all the rest bar 1 seemed to be decent players, the weak 1 being the only remaining spannish guy. Blinds started on the ft at 4,000-8000 with a 1000 ante, so 22k in the middle. With the av stack being 80k, the m was under 4, so that'll tell you the kinda crapshoot it had become. I have about 90k on ft.
We lose 2 players early, and the one player I didnt want to get the chips took both out and made him cl easily enough. he was on my immediate left now, but as there was no play in it, i just decided that i would only use my chips with 1 move only. I managed to shove 3 hands in a row (havent a clue with what holdings to be honest) and got through uncontested to pick up over 60k.
Got my lucky break on the next lap. blinds 10-20k, 3000 ante. Folded to me otb, I shove J-9o(for 150k). Scandie folds, lady(60k) in BB snaps with AK. J on flop, 9 on river and i'm over 200k. Play on for another while and another scandie shoves otb(90k), i'm in bb with AQ, and call, he flops an open ender but bricks out and Im up to 300k. 3 players left now and i manage to take out the shortest lad when his JQ couldnt beat mt KQ.
Heads-up.
Get a toilet break and meet up with the finnish guy thats heads up with me. I have approx 400k, and he had about 350k. I had a quick word with matt (Lplate) just before and he said if there was going to be a deal, we should leave out a few quid for the dealers before doing the chop. I told matt that normally i have no problem with doing a chop, but i felt coming out here i was due a result, and i wasn't going to mention a deal at all. If he did, well then i would have considered it i suppose, but i had learned from a scandie i had befriended out here that this young lad was 1 of the highest rakers on the entraction network, so i dont think the money made much difference to him at all. He actually did say to me on the way back to the table that there was very little difference in the prizemoney, and i knew from the way he was talking that he had no interest in any deal. I wasnt going to mention it because 1)-I wanted to win this for my own confidence sake and 2) I felt it would look weak from me to talk about a deal, and that was 1 thing they didnt see from me at any time today, and I wasnt starting now.
The heads up started funnily enough. he was being aggressive at the start, but we were both winning the pots in position and there wasnt much change. i actually felt i played the heads-up very well and felt in control all the time. he had a big bunch cheering him on (well actually, he said they were all chanting for him to lose. I had my own cheering section as Lplate gathered up any irish and UK people present and made quite a racket.
2 interesting hands from the HU that gave me control:
He raises button, I call with 5d-3d.
Flop 8-4-3'
I check, he checks.
Turn is 4, he bets 40k, i call.
River blanks, he bets 60k, I call, he has Q-9.
He limps button (he has done that last 2 times and i'm not sure if he's trapping).
He has 300k, I have 430 approx.
I have 4c-5c.
Flop is Ks-Qs-5x
Check check.
6 on the turn, check, he bets 50k. I cant see anytime he would check that flop if he had the k or the Q, so unless he got lucky on the turn, then I'm ahead. I call.
the river comes another K. I check. he bets 85k I still think im good, but I dont wanna call and be shown the 6. So I deliberate for a while, and eventually put in enough chips to put him all-in. he folds, and the momentum is mine.
The last hand is a lucky 1. he has only 140k left and Im on 600k. Blinds 15k-30k with 4k ante. He shoves the button, I see Ks-2s in the bb, I think thats ahead of his range so i call." Ive no isea what I have", says he as he flipped over K-8o. Spade on the flop, again on the turn and AGAIN on the river say all the chips coming my way to the sounds of ole ole ole from the irish/uk fan club LOL.
Must say i really enjoyed the experience. Im flattered by the well wishes coming from everywhere. Hope I didnt bore ye.
PS: Found an all night cafe/bar by the docks. full of police on duty, so poker player and police on the all-nighter. Great craic, long night, sore heads, but oh so worth it!!!!
Roll on the EMOP Estoril in Portugal in March. We'll head there with a bit of confidence!!
Connie
Well, that was a bit long i know, but hopefully, you found it worth reading.
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