When Expectations Fail

Two weeks ago I planned a much needed poker trip to Mount Pleasant, a two-hour drive from my home. After a busy month I was looking forward to some alone time with some poker thrown in. I signed up for the end of the month tournament. It was $175.00 for 5000 in starting chips with thirty-minute rounds. The blinds did double instead of increasing slowly but I am used to this structure. 180 players entered.

I arrived a day early so that I could play some limit poker. I haven’t played live limit poker in ages. It didn’t go well at all. Hands such as K2 off suit etc called my raises. I would flop two pair and lose to rivered flushes and straights. You know how it goes. Sometimes you can’t buy a hand. After losing my buy-in I decided to take a break. I played another session in the evening and lost that one pretty much the same way as the first. I could not get any of my good hands to hold up. I was starting to get frustrated and impatient. I didn’t want to go on tilt before the tournament so I called it a night.

The next day started out much better. I was pleased to see a few women in the tournament, especially as it was on a Friday morning. I had a slow start in the chip building. I was moved a few times and nothing exciting to report for the first four levels. After the second break I was beginning to get short stacked when I got KK in the small blind and my all-in was called by QQ. My hand held up and I doubled my chip stack. I was moved after that hand again. Nothing much to report at the new table, I didn’t get many playable cards. After the next level I was moved again. I was really short stacked by this time I only had ten times the big blind. I got lucky though and had a table that was very tight. I had four players behind me who were tighter than me. If all of the players before me would fold I would raise four times the big blind to get the tight players to fold. They did and I stole the blinds three hands in a row.

I won a couple of hands out right and increased my stack to 21,000 with levels at 2000/4000. They paid out 20 places and at this time we got down to twenty-two players. An older gentleman in early position made a standard raise. Everyone folded to me in middle position. I have AK clubs. I have the raiser covered and all of the tight players behind me covered as well. I decide to go all in and the raiser calls me. He has 33 and his hand holds up. I am out in 22nd place. At the time I felt that I played the hand well. After talking to my husband and women on the forum, I think I could have played it better. The gentleman who called my all-in had stated when he first sat down that he knocked out two people by calling an all-in with pocket twos. I wasn’t worried about a call but I was pretty sure it would be a race. If I had just re raised him another 4000 he may have folded before the flop. He would still have 9000 in chips if he folded the hand and almost another round to pick up better cards. He may still have called but by just re raising him 4000 I would represent a stronger hand and be inviting him to call me.

I was not going to fold into the money. I feel that my game has improved enough to always play to win a tournament not just to get some of my investment back. I came home disappointed but still happy with my play. Sometimes our expectations don’t always come true but I think we should still keep them high.
Lisa "Shion" Torres