by It’s been a weird week to navigate, with two late-night poker tournaments interspersed with lessons. It’s also been beautiful outside. Springtime in Timișoara is hard to beat.
On Monday I had a short prelude to what would await me: four lessons plus a single draw tournament where I took a nice big fat stack to the final table but was unable to capitalise as I finished fourth for a modest profit of $13. Then Tuesday came. My birthday. The SCOOP single draw (with a buy-in of just $5.50, it drew a whopping 3295 entries) started at 7:05. The last of my day’s lessons was due to finish at 7:30, but I managed to move it forward 15 minutes. You can enter late, even ridiculously so if you want, but being a bounty tournament you give up so much value by doing that. I wanted to get started ASAP. I was soon dealt the nuts and knocked out an ultra-short stack, but I mostly hung around my initial stack or just above until I eventually made some headway. I got moved to a table with someone running red hot to my left (he would go on to finish fourth), and that was a bit awkward. I also went card dead for ages and had to stay patient. I watched my opponents like a hawk as I folded hand after hand. A big moment came when a loose player fired out a large bet after the draw and I had no choice but to call with my 97, knowing that I’d be on the wrong side a fair amount. That time though he had a 98 and I chipped up to 80,000 when I’d have been down to 21k had I lost the pot. Other big moments were to follow. I was building a healthy stack but couldn’t pick up the bounties, but then I called an all-in out of position with a nut draw to try to change that. I cursed as I paired my deuce, but my opponent paired his three as he drew to only a ten. In another hand I got a pat number five – a true colossus – and eliminated someone who had a pat 87. When we got down to three 7-man tables with chip stacks now in the millions, my birthday was ancient history. It was the second-longest – 7½ hours – and perhaps the most absorbing tournament I’d ever played in. The end, for me, came at quarter to three. My queen didn’t come close to cutting it and I was out in 18th place for a profit of $80.
There was more to come. Wednesday night was badugi time. My student was happy to move my early morning lesson from Thursday to Friday, and if she hadn’t done that I wouldn’t have played. You just can’t teach if you’re going to be utterly buggered for your lesson. Teaching is one of those jobs that actually matters. The $11 tournament, which got 1305 entries, started at 9:15 in the evening. Badugi on PokerStars is normally played eight-handed. Eight is great: people play too loose in the early positions, and if you’re disciplined those players are a source of value. This tournament, for some reason, only featured six-handed tables, which I figured would reduce any edge I might have. The levels, only ten minutes, were pretty damn fast considering we only started with 35 big bets. I haemorrhaged a third of my opening stack in the first ten minutes and half-expected a quick exit, but I recovered. I was on a tricky table with experienced players, so I played tight in the hope that I could get moved somewhere slightly more opportune, and luckily that’s what happened. From that point I ran well, no question. I won many pots at showdown that I expected to lose. Unusually, I was never in real danger of elimination for the next five hours, and for a brief moment I soared into second place. Just like the night before, the major prizes beckoned. In the end, things all went pear-shaped rather quickly. With 23 players left, I was suddenly pretty short, and there were no pay jumps until 17th, so I had to make something happen. At 2:45, just like the night before, I was next out for a $49 profit after doing battle for 5½ hours.
Knackering stuff, and a case of what might have been. A spade instead of a club here or there and who knows. I played well though in both tournaments, taking my opportunities when they presented themselves, and that’s all I can really hope for. Together with the triple draw the previous week (not my best game, but I acquitted myself OK), I made $164 over the three SCOOP tourneys I entered, and my bankroll is now $647. If I’m really going to build on that I should master another game, or at least try to. I enjoy Omaha hi-lo and that’s my obvious choice, but it’s just so complex.
On Thursday, when I had a break in the afternoon, it was great to just wander in the park and not worry about anything. Next time I’ll post some pictures of Timișoara in spring.
