Scotty Speaks Out! (Part 15)
It was time to start playing for real cash after getting $20 on my PokerStars account. I decided to play the satellites for this years’ World Series of Poker. The WSOP is the biggest event on the poker calendar and to play it is a once in a lifetime thing for most poker serious players. With the buy-in at $10,000 I’m not going to be paying for it directly 🙂 So, I thought that playing some of the PokerStars WSOP satellites would be the best way to give it a try, as you always hear of people getting seats for low buy-ins or even freerolls.
I decided to enter a $2+$0 satellite and about 200 or so people entered while I waited for it to start… As I got my seat at my table, some people we re-buying some extra chips, but I decided not to do so at the start and see how the cards would fall. People at my table were “Dvautl”, “Hem70601” and others! A full table of 9 people I think.
My first hand was A-7 and there were 3 players calling the 20 BB. The flop came down, K-J-T and it was checked around. The turn brought a J and it got checked around again. I feared someone could be slow playing three of a kind Jacks, so I checked my hand as well. The river was a T and it got checked around once again. I won the hand with two pair and my Ace high. It’s great to win the 1st pot, even though it was just a small one! So from my starting 1000 chips I went up to 1040.
The second hand brought A-8 and I just called the Big Blind, together with 3 other limpers. The flop brought K-9-7, all rainbow and I checked since it was all checked to me. The turn brought a J and someone made a pot sized bet. Everyone folded and so did I.
The third hand was another Ace, this time it was A-6. I was thinking: I might get lucky getting an Ace hand for the 3rd time in a row, so I limped into the pot together with 4 more people. The flop brought A-7-5 and I decided to make a pot sized bet. Everybody but one player folded and the turn brought a 6, giving me two pair. So I made another pot bet and it got called. The river brought a 3 and with no flush or straight draws I made a final pot sized bet. My opponent called and showed A-6… a split pot! Everyone’s happy splitting the blinds and bets.
Blinds now went up to 15-30 as I got dealt Q-7. I called the BB and the flop came down as J-7-6. I paired my 7 and someone called. “Nneff” betted 30, I called and so does one other person. The turn brought a 3 and again “Nneff” made a bet of 30 chips. I called and so did the other person. The river brought a K and it got checked around. “Nneff” got his King on the river, helping him pick up the pot.
A small flat spot of cards came were I was getting nothing really worth playing, so I folded and waited on the good cards. I got J-8 and called the BB of 30. There were 5 others in the pot and the flop brought down A-7-5. Someone betted just over the pot making me and everyone else fold.
The blinds went up again, with the rounds now being only five minutes. You really have to make good and strong moves not getting blinded out…
I was sitting on the Big Blind and I got dealt 5-2 off suit. If I could check I would have, but someone moved all-in for 820, so I folded there just like everyone else. He just took my blinds.
Again I hit a small period of rubbish cards, so I folded and watched other peoples’ betting ways and noticed a few things. People were making pot sized bets when they hit the flop and just betting the blinds if they had some kind of straight draw or flush draw! Watching other people bet is also great… After a while I got Q-9 and it’s my Small Blind, thinking: “I’m going to see a flop if nobody raises”, but someone pushed his chips in for 790 and got one caller. That made me fold and the other person made a Full House Sevens over Aces. NH and GG was said and one more person was eliminated from my table. The seat got filled up with yet another person who maybe was hoping to get to the WSOP in Las Vegas.
I decided that, as the blinds were going up fast, I would re-buy for $2 to get another 1000 chips. With the blinds now at 50-100 I had to make it and not very much after I got dealt pocket 5’s. Someone pushed all-in for 300. I called on the button and everyone else folded, so being heads up he showed pocket 2’s. I showed my 5’s, having the edge and they held up. Another person gone from my table! A few hands down the line I got A-K and someone pushed all his chips in, about 250. I called and everybody else folded. My A-K held up again as I hit the K on the turn…
Folding again and picking my moments I finally got dealt pocket T’s. Since it was my BB, someone tried to steal it by pushing in all his 700 chips. Everyone else folded around to me and I decided to call him with pot odds and maybe being in front already. He showed A-7 of hearts. The flop brought J-T-4, the turn a Jack and I don’t remember the river since I already made my full house, eliminating another person from the table. The blinds now went up to 100-200 and I got pocket 8’s. Someone raised to 400 and I decided to call. The flop brought 7-2-2 and it was checked to me, thinking he would raise on 7 or a 2. I made a pot sized bet for about 800 and he folded. I thought he might had A-K or something like J-T.
The 5-minute break started and I saw people buying 1500 add-ons for $2. I decided not to do so, as I felt I had enough chips already, plus I also made a re-buy before. I had 3584 in chips and with the blinds at 100-200 I was OK for a bit.
But as the poker tournament continued, the blinds were up to 150-300, now including an ante of 25 chips. I was thinking to myself that I could better have added-on, but hey… you learn from your mistakes 🙂
Folding my cards, as I had nothing to play with, I noticed that the antes were hurting my stack. I had to keep folding, even my BB’s and SB’s, because the small stakes kept going all-in and I had nothing to call them down with.
When I got dealt K-9 of hearts, I decided to push the remains of my chip stack in the middle, hoping to pick up the blinds, but 2 people called my bet: A-K and A-Q. An Ace hits the flop and with no hearts on board, no gut shot straight draw, I got eliminated in 91st place. I realized I should have added-on, but like I already said… you have to learn from your mistakes, especially if you want to make it to the World Series of Poker!
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