ZipRake.com - Complete Hand History - $24+2 Tier Two SNG (1T/18)

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Complete Hand History - $24+2 Tier Two SNG (1T/18)
I played this game earlier today, not that you need to worry about the date, just know that the discussion that follows is based on information that is still fresh in my head. This was my first top finish in one of the Tier Two SNG's, after blanking on my first three yesterday thanks to all sorts of crappy luck... and a little crappy play... I'll admit it. It was a much needed breakthrough though, and supplied me with the $75 Token I need for a Tier Three tournament.

Just a little extra background on these types of tournaments: the top 5 players receive the aforementioned $75 Tokens, while 6th place still gets a nice parting gift in the form of $57 cash. Strategy is very interesting in these types of games, and the $8+.80 Tier One tournament of the same structure that I advanced in last night, as well as the first 3 of these Tier Two's that I failed miserably in, gave me a rough idea of what to expect. Early and middle stages are mostly standard, though you do see a few loose-aggressive types looking for that quick double-up. Once you get down to the final table, and particularly the final 7 players, you should really notice how tight-passive everyone gets. Unlike in a standard tournament, it is often the big stacks that tighten up the most, electing to just wait things out and let time and impatience takes its toll on the rest of the players. Whereas these are typically the players you want to avoid in other tournaments, you may find that they make soft targets for picking up blinds, not wanting to take chances on their comfortable position.

The hands below are fairly straight forward for the most part, though I think the most worth-while and interesting aspect here is the 7-handed bubble play. There were 116 hands played in this entire game, and 52 of them were 7-handed, the vast majority of them without even seeing a flop. They spanned 6 different levels, with blinds increasing from 50/100 to 150/300, and with most stack sizes staying relatively even. To say that play was tight would be a vast understatement. If someone came in for a raise, you could be darn sure that they had a premium hand, and if someone came over the top it was most likely either Aces or Kings. It was slow and painstaking, and took more patience and discipline than most standard tournaments I play in.

Alright so let's get started right off the bat with Hand #1, which I'm not involved in, but is still interesting. I was just about to take notes on the guy to my left for limping in early position and calling a sizeable raise, and just like that he was gone. Side note: the guy to my right that doubles up early went on to play very conservatively, keeping the same stack size for the majority of the game, only to be that unfortunate bubble-buster in 7th place later on. Moving on to Hand #5, which at this stage I really would have liked to see a cheap flop with, especially with all those other limpers in there. I had a feeling I could've been ahead and getting decent odds to call after the SB's big raise and UTG's limp-call, but why risk it at this point? It's very likely I'm behind to a larger pair, and with two players in before me I could very well be up against 3-4 overcards, if not an overpair. I really have no clue what the UTG player was thinking, considering that he could've been dead to a Jack. Then again, the SB had to be surprised to win that one.

I do want to take a second to talk about what could've happened if I played this hand more aggressively. Say I decide to raise preflop and shake off or isolate some of those limpers. I'm not totally in love with my hand though, and know I'm going to need a little help against multiple callers. So let's say I raise to 180 or so to force some of them out. What's going to happen now is one of two things: the SB will elect to just call, meaning that the UTG donk will also likely call, as will maybe one or two of the other early position limpers that are now getting decent odds for a big multi-way pot. If any overcards come, I'm pretty much done with the hand, and even with low cards I have to tread lightly with so many callers. Of course I could hit my set and rake in a giant pot as well, but most of the time this is not going to happen. Now let's think about the other likely option: I raise to 180 and the SB comes over the top, possibly just going all-in to see the entire board and negate his being out of position for post-flop play. Basically anything above a small min-raise here is going to force me out instantly, as this is too early a spot to chance it on what could be a coinflip at best. As played, I realized this was not an ideal situation that was developing, and I minimized my risk and got away very cheaply. Sure seeing that flop killed me but you still gotta pat yourself on the back for making the right move and just wait for a better spot.

Bumping right along to Hand #14, a quick little pick-me-up, though it could've been dangerous. Really just going for a blind steal here or hoping to get a caller or two and actually hit something hard. My preflop raising range isn't always this wide, but given my lack of aggression so far in the tournament I decided it was worth a shot. On the flop I'm not seeing any piece of this that hit my opponent, and I still have a few potential outs if I do get called down. Check out the two hands that follow though, Hand #15 (whaaaaat???) and Hand #16 - some major shaking going down. And finally, my last action for a while, Hand #17. Yeah I would've liked to get more out of this, and maybe flat calling the reraise would've been a better move to get more chips in the pot on later streets, but the last thing I want to do is give a free card to a low to middle pocket pair and have them hit their two-outer on me. I want him to put his chips in there, but I'm going to be the one asking for them. Another thing about these 18-player Tier SNG's - the action is mostly tight-passive in the later stages, but it really heats up when someone has an actual hand. We're talking bets over the size of the pot galore. Yeah it's fun soft-playing solid hands and squeezing more chips out of your opponents, but if you don't want to bust out when they hit that magic river card then you gotta play your big hands fast.

So after two little blinds steals with KJs and AQo I pick up a real beauty on Hand #40. I make my standard raise and get in a good spot against the short-stack right behind me, who was probably hoping for either a fold or a coinflip. Not a terrible move on his part, just ran into a monster. This gives me a very healthy stack relative to the blinds, and puts me in 5th place overall as we go to the final 9 players. Right off the bat I make note of the player three to my left on Hand #41, who pushes his entire stack of 2,045 in willy nilly with blinds of only 30/60. Usually this is a sign of a hand like AK or QQ, played by a tight-aggressive player that wouldn't mind a call but doesn't want to be second-guessing him or herself on post-flop play. He would make this play several more times during the course of the game, never getting a call if I remember correctly.

In Hand #43 a call wouldn't be too bad, but it'd still be fairly bad, and particularly in this type of game, against a monster stack and in poor position. Let it go, and find a better spot. Same with Hand #45 except without the poor position. I would've come in for a raise to steal some blinds if it was folded to me, but I'm not calling in this situation where I'm not sure if pairing either my Ace or 10 would do any good, and I'm certainly not coming over the top. On Hand #48 I typically bet this flop, but my mind was in chip-conservation mode by this time and I was just hoping to see a cheap showdown, particularly after the King on the turn. Luckily things worked out, and I could make note of UTG's interesting limp-call with A8o.

Hand #51 - we're down to 8! Hand #58 - we're down to 7! One more to go! And you thought it would be easy? Bubble play actually lasts for the next 52 hands, so get ready for the most tight-passive ride of a lifetime. On Hand #60 I got that guy to my left that doubled up with his pocket Kings on the first hand of the tournament and has been playing very conservatively since, just trying to wait things out and not trying to jump in any big pots. I take advantage of this for the first of a few times with a decent Ace. Fast forward a bit to Hand #66, another one I'm not involved in but that I really just have to say "wow" to. MP's call on the flop was bad enough, but calling that hefty chunk of change on the turn is just awful. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we didn't see the knockout we were hoping for, though we know who it should've been.

Alright, time for a hand I'm actually in again, Hand #67. I'm treading lightly again here, just hoping to either hit something or get out. I hit a solid draw on the flop, but am in crappy position and the last thing I want is a call or raise when I haven't made my hand yet. Luckily I get to see a free turn, and am offered a cheap river, which I gladly take and actually hit for once. I give my opponent a chance to bluff at it but unfortunately he didn't bite. Still a nice little takedown though. Ditto on Hand #69... NOW I'm open raising with these. Hand #73 is an interesting one. I decide to get a little gutsy here and go for a steal, the thinking being that I can't see any of these nits limping in with a 2 in their hand, and even if they have a King, which there's a decent chance that they do, they will most likely not be willing to pay the price to see me turn over my pretend trip-2's. Mission accomplished... keeping that stack healthy one little pot at a time.

Next hand, Hand #74, it finally almost happened... but now the short-stack is back in the game. About a round or two later, on Hand #84, I get a little risky and decide to try to take advantage of the tight play. Turns out it was a bad spot, and definitely can't call that raise here. Hand #89 I'm not in love with my hand, but willing to take advantage of good position and a tight-passive opponent and throw in a decent raise. Can't ask for much more on the flop. Still not a lock though, so I play it as fast as I can and take the pot as it is.

Big transfer of chips on Hand #94, but still 7 players remaining and it doesn't result in anyone being terribly short-stacked. Now we get to Hand #100, which was the first hand after the break. I'm not trying to do anything fancy here, just get my chips in with a solid hand, kind of hoping for just the blinds (which at 150/300 are fairly significant), but not too distraught over a call. Things go well there and I manage to follow it up with another little take down on Hand #101. Finally... Hand #110... the deed is done. One little slip from the SB (same guy that doubled up on the first hand and has been playing tight as can be the entire game), though not a terrible push, a somewhat questionable call from the BB, who would've been crippled had that Ace not hit the river... and we're finally down to 6. Now we're all getting something, just the top 5 that get a $75 Token.

Hand #112 is the second to last noteworthy play I make here. Since the blinds are colossal compared to the stack sizes, I really don't want to put that much of my stack in play, and indeed folding here would be a fine option. I may really want those blinds though, but I don't want to just push all-in and run into AA or any other premium pair easy call, being the unfortunate 6th place loser. Thus a min-raise allows for the possibility of ultra-tight players here surrendering their blinds to a raise that could very well be one of those sneaky "I have a monster and want some action" types of raises. In this case it works, but in the case that you get reraised you can still get away a bit more cheaply than if you raised more or just shoved all-in.

Finally on to the last hand of the tournament, Hand #116. We have a short-stack all-in in front of us, a medium stack calls, and we're in the small blinds with a mediocre holding. Still in this type of situation this is a must call for everyone, especially the blinds. I don't care if you have 27o and you know that the short-stack has Aces, everyone has to just put a small amount of their stack in to increase the chances that we're going to bust this guy and we can all walk away with our Tokens damnit! No further betting needed, just call and check it all the way down, and hope that we just don't quadruple him up and have to go through another 52 hands for 6-handed play. Luckily things worked out here and, and I managed to come out feeling more like a survivor rather than a winner. Now hopefully you can expect a $69+6 Tier Three SNG walkthrough to be posted here in the near future.

Best of luck at the tables. ~ B.