First "live" events! Last night I played in my first live tournament. A bar has fromed a poker league that plays 10 player SnGs where you earn points toward prizes. Each player has to play 12 events, but can play more and have their top 12 finishes count. I'm not 100% sure yet on how the prizes are going to work, but at the end of they season a 2005 WSOP seat will be up for graps. I live not to far from fellow ITHer and Blogger Vatrlrman, so I asked him if he wanted to meet me after work and we would go check out the local poker scene. I had been very excited about getting to play live, and wanted to see if I could. We get there about 15 mins before it is about to start, and see it is a bunch of regulars that know each other pretty well. I had talked to BD the night before on IRC and he had given me some pointers and a link to a Caro video that helped.

First event - The first event starts right at 8:00pm everyone is given a stack of 3500 chips (5 - $500 & 10 - $100) with blinds starting out at $100/$200 on 30 min. levels. I was cold deck the whole event. One hand I should have taken down was my pocket 8s I limp in for $200 to get raised another $300. I call the beat to see a flop of 10s 2s 7s . The hand is check around on the flop. The 3c comes on the turn. I should have took a shot at the pot with 5 people in the hand, but for some reason checked. The river brought a 5d two players got in a battle and I folded my hand. One was playing Ac4c and river a str8, and the other had two pair. The player with 2 pair was very hard to play with (more will come on him later), but it was very interesting to see all the styles of play at the table. Most of the play was very passive, and sometime you could see a pained look on the players face as they made a call with overcards or chasing str8s. For this event I basiclly folded my way into the top 3 only to look over and see Vatrlrman had done the same. I'm down to 2200 UTG with K10os and push all in. Big stack calls with 68os and gets an 8 on the flop to knock me out. I'm not very impressed with play, but really didn't get the cards in this one to do much. So VA gets HU with the chip leader with about T$2000 vs. T$28600. Well they are heads up for about 20 to 25 mins. and VA has the guy going allin with not much left to pull off a very nice come back win. The guy ended up telling VA that he just wanted a top 3 finish for the points, but this was just to cover up the fact he got waxed HU.

Event 2 - After a short break we play another SnG. After doing some thinking I know I have to get out to a chip lead early and start putting some pressure on the guy/gals early. Well it happened, but not how I really wanted it to go down. On the first hand I get Ac7c in ep. I limp for $200 and get raised $500 from the player in event 1. He was drinking pretty good in event one, but must have went str8 to the bar after he busted out because his eyes are almost shut together. I call his raise along with 2 other players to see a flop of 6d 8h 9c. Ok I've now got a OESD and a back door flush. I bet $600 in to the pot and get everyone out but the beerman, who looks at his cards shakes his head then calls. Turn is the 9h ...ok I want this pot right now! I think for a second and feel a $1000 bet will not move him off this pot, so I push "all in". He sit a second and thinks then I see him reach for his chips...the bottom falls out of my stomach and in a drunken slur he says "Call". The dealer says flip them and I keep thinking no way he has a 9. Sure enough he doesn't have a 9, he has Q6os and called me with bottom pair. Well I've got 11 outs to save me...bam 5d on the river! Woot I give a fist pump (only time I broke from my poker face). Now I'm up to $6500+ in chips. 3 hands later I limp in the BB with AA (I know in this post I've said I limped a lot, but that was not how I played most of the night). 5 players see the flop of 2d Js Ah. The small blind bets out $400...I raise it $900 (thought I grabbed 4 $100 chips but only 3...D'oh ) Player in LP calls my $1300 and the SB calls also. Turn is a blank and I bet out $2000, LP calls and I'm hopeing she has AJ. River is a 4, I look down at my chips and go all in again, she calls with A4 and had rivered 2 pair. I didn't have her covered, but left her with $400. Now I'm well over $10K. From here on I'm able to cruise most of the way. Till we are down to 5 and I take an $4500 hit when my TT loses to AKs (to the lady I had left with $400). That hit takes me down to 2nd in chip count, but I keep stealing blind and picking up pots that no one wants to get me back close to first. Then hand of the night takes place for me. Down to 3 players I get J8os on the button. I raise to $3000 with blinds of $800/1500. SB calls and BB (small stack) folds. I got just what I wanted HU with the chip leader. Here is what I now love about NL poker live. I don't remeber the flop turn or river on this hand. I know all the cards where below 10 and no flush or str8s out there. On her call I put her on overcards. So on the flop I bet out again with $2000. She calls. I beat $4000 on the turn, and from the way she looked I knew she didn't have a piece of the flop nor did I, but she called. River comes a blank so I push all in....All I can think is Mike on he's WSOP casting call! Not sure how long it was, but felt like forever. When her hand grabs her cards and mucks them to the dealer. She just folded away 3/4 of her stack to me. I wanted to show my bluff so bad, but I muck and start stacking chips. A few hands later I'm able to finish her off with TT this time and the very next hand get the small stack to go all in preflop as I look down at KK. It was a nice rush to win, and I think I'm going to try and play some more events in this league. The bar owners had a great set up (even had dealers), and I enjoyed the night of poker. I'd don't think I really gave off any tells last night, and did notice that I was the only one waited to look at my cards till it was my turn to act, and the aggression for the most part paid off.
  ¶ 1:30 PM