Two Tickets to Paradise

Thanks to Joanada, Absinthe, biggestron, TX April and others for the council and railbirding. Congrats to Nerd for another solid finish and he even had chat on while we were briefly at the same table. Extra special thanks to Veneno, who I would not let get off the phone until I busted. She took me from 30th to 3rd with her Magical Mystery Dust.

(Linkage and more info after I sleep)

And forget what I said about how you all should be playing this tourney. I want to keep it for me.

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The Paradise nightly $10 re-buy is a sordid affair, full of spectacular beats statistically improbable circumstances and play that makes you wonder if the participants got their full compliment of chromosomes at birth.

I fit right in.

When I first stumbled across this tourney, and it was a totally happy accident, it was just to play a tourney with the small remaining money I had deposited at Paradise for the WPBT satellite. I ended up finishing 11th in that first go-round and I've moneyed in it more than half the time ever since. Yet, last night was a) only the second time I'd played it in months, since I depleted my online holdings for mortgage payments and b) my first final table in the event.

I re-bought 6 times, twice my preferred number. I was ahead on 5 of them, at least 70-30. And that's why I love this tourney, because, facing a push and a re-raise, folks will call with 44. Or KTo. I mulled giving up the ghost at the final level of the re-buy, but I told myself that I'd gotten all the rotten luck out of the way. So I did a double re-buy, added on and took the minimum of 5500 chips to the second hour. I was also in for $80, meaning I'd need to finish top 50 (out of 892) to make a profit.

I had a very good second hour, chipping up to 18K or so without ever having to dodge bullets, holding dominant hands every time. Boy do these people love Ace-anything. In fact, one of the key components of last night was me calling raises with KQ, knowing I was not a big dog. You've got people making 6x pre-flop raises with A4o. I won two of those 60-40 matchups (turns out you get paid off, too, since they'll even call with an unimproved ace), the second of which propelled me to the chip lead with 40 left (yeah, I left out like two hours there. Suffice to say I was kicking people's asses).

Once we hit the final table, I was third in chips and we had a very polarized crowd. Four stacks in comfortable range and 6 with Ms below 6. And those 6 would not fucking die. Every time they got their chips in for the first half hour, no matter if they were ahead or behind, they doubled up. By hitting gutshots on the river. By hitting runner-runner flush with an underpair. Just incredible. I figured I'd just lay low until we got down to 6 or so, but it seemed like it was never gonna happen. Eventually, someone went out. Then I picked off the guy in 9th place. With a more equitable distribution of stacks, play tightened and I stole where I could (a necessity as each orbit was costing six figures). With 5 left, I had __ in the BB.

The SB, who I had covered only by 200K (not much at this stage) open-pushed. My question to you is, what's the worst hand you call with here? Before I tell you the answer, let me tell you I called and put him to the rail, where he called me a donkey retard.

I had KQo. He had 43o. I'd call with worse than KQ in that exact situation. You?

Soon it was 3 and we were all over a million in chips. One guy got cripped down to 250K only to win a race (a win that cost me $1200) with TT v. AQ to get back in it. The largest stack was pressuring me and I couldn't defend my blinds with T6o. Any push and he has odds to call (and had been all game long). I eventually pushed with Q8 from the SB, got called by A6 and my 40 lost to the 60 this time as he made a boat by the turn.

All in all, it was satisfying to play well again. I owe a few people (yet another) thanks for pointing my head back in the right poker direction. You know who you are.

I probably won't play it tonight (sleep deprivation), but I'll be back soon. Oh yes.