My Tournament Report – Lima Poker Championship

**Chipless Wonder** · 02-24-2008 05:14 PM

I want to start off by saying that this was the best tournament structure I have ever played in. The blinds increased slower than than the W.S.O.P. and the stacks were deeper than the Venetian's deep stack event. Starting with 770 big blinds was just WILD!

The floor people were extremely responsive, and every ruling I heard or was involved in was very quick and fair. The only thing I would recommend they change for next year is to have two decks per table, so we can get in more hands per blind level.

14 players from our local group went: George W. Charlton V., Eli H., Scott C., Dereck K., Matt F., Ben S., Mike E., Travis C., Bill B., Chuck C., Mike A., Chad W. and Don L. I apologize in advance if I forgot anyone, but I am slightly sleep deprived right now.

There were a total of 595 players, and 60 spots (10%) paid. Of our group of fourteen, seven made it to the top one hundred. That's HALF of us! Think about that for a second. 50% of our group made it to the top 16% of this tournament. That clearly tells me that our core group of players has evolved tremendously in the last year. Very impressive in my opinion!

Dereck and I both went out on the bubble. I still had a quarter million chips when it was folded to me in middle position. I was in level 21 when I made a risky play and pushed all in with A-10, but the big blind woke up with A-K and I was gone. Not smart on my part, but I wasn't playing to make the money. I was playing to make the final table. Live and learn - isn't that what they say?

Eli made it to 19th place, and cashed for $750. George and Charlton both made the final table, and after the first player was knocked out they did an eight-way chop for $6,300 each!

So three of our fourteen players made the money, and two made the final table. This is SO impressive to me. Congratulations guys!

For anyone who might be interested, here’s a recap of how the tournament went for me.

Level 1 – 25/50 blinds – 38,500 chips – 595 players

I started with every chip possible – the initial buy-in, the rebuy, the add-on, the survey bonus and the t-shirt bonus. This gave me 770 big blinds during the first level. I had never played this deep before, but I really liked it. Ben and I both started at Table #59, but everyone else there was new to me. I only played two hands in this level. First I played A-Q suited, and lost ~ 1,000 chips to Ben. Then I played J-J aggressively and got Q-Q to fold.

Level 2 – 50/100 blinds – 38,500 chips

Only played one hand – A-J offsuit, and I lost ~ 500 chips with it.

Level 3 – 100/200 blinds – 37,875 chips

I eliminated a wild player when I managed to turn J-6 into two pair in the turn. Then I won a very nice pot against K-K when I flopped a set of fours.

Level 4 – 200/400 blinds – 84,850 chips

Only played one pot and it was a large one. I played pocket sevens very aggressively, and got a couple bigger hands to fold when I convinced them I was stronger than I really was.

Level 5 – 300/600 blinds - 95,875 chips

No hands played during this level.

Level 6 – 400/800 blinds – 94,400 chips

Lost a huge pot when I called an all-in raise with A-K. My opponent had pocket queens and I didn’t hit anything.

Level 7 – 500/1,000/100 blinds/antes – 72,000 chips

Everyone folded to me when I raised to 3,000 from first position with pocket aces. I was afraid to limp, because there were too many unraised pots at this table. Then I won a decent pot with pocket jacks on a queen high flop.

Level 8 – 600/1,200/100 blinds/antes – 77,800 chips

First I lost a pot with Q-J when Ben bluffed me out of it. That made me 0 for 2 against Ben for the day. Clearly, he's got my number.

Another time I raised with Q-J, then folded to a flop bet. Then I won a large pot with pocket tens when a king flopped. I played it like A-K and I must have been believeable.

Level 9 – 800/1,600/200 blinds/antes – 77,800 chips – 445 players

Won a pot raising with Q-J and continuation betting the flop. Then I played 3-4 suited from the big blind with 5:1 pot odds, but folded on the flop.

**Chipless Wonder** · 02-24-2008 05:14 PM

Level 10 – 1,000/2,000/200 blinds/antes - 78,600 chips

Played three hands in this level. First I raised pre-flop with K-J suited and took it down pre-flop. Then I raised and continuation bet with pocket kings and won a little pot.

Next was my biggest hand of the tournament. The chip leader at our table raised an oversized amount (maybe five times the big blind), I called with pocket threes, the player on the button (who didn’t seem to ever believe the chip leader) called too. So this was a nice pot going to the flop. The flop came 9-3-3, giving me quads! I was sure that the chip leader would like this flop and I expected him to do a large check-raise. So when he checked to me I was ready to bet, but then I remembered that the player on the button never believed the chip leader, and I thought these two might get into a betting/raising war if the first bet came from the button. So I checked. Unfortunately, the button checked too. The next card was an ace and I was sure this would induce some betting. The chip leader led right out for about half the pot, and I thought for a long time before calling. The button called too and now we had a nice pot! The river hurt me for sure. It was another 9, which scared both of my opponents. I was pretty sure they both wanted to check at this point, so I made an overbet, trying to make it look like I had nothing. Unfortunately, they both folded.

Level 11 – 1,200/2,400/300 blinds/antes - 112,600 chips

Four limpers were in the pot when I raised with pocket tens. Then I bet the flop, sensed weakness and went all-in on the turn. No one called me, and I took down a very nice pot.

Level 12 – 1,500/3,000/300 blinds/antes – 147,500 chips – 295 players

Only played one hand at this level. I picked the wrong time to open bluff raise with Q-6 offsuit. Someone re-raised me, I told him I had pocket tens and I would have to fold to his kings. He showed kings, and I felt good about the 8,000 chips I had just lost.

Level 13 – 1,800/3,600/400 blinds/antes – 131,400 chips - 240 players

No hands played during this level.

Level 14 – 2,000/4,000/400 blinds/antes - 122,000 chips

Raised one limper with K-Q offsuit, and took down a pot pre-flop. Then I called a minimum raise from the big blind with K-7 offsuit. This hand kept getting better, and I ended with a full house and won a little pot by the river. Then I played 2-6 offsuit from the small blind with 7:1 pot odds to call. I folded two seconds later when the big blind went all-in. Sorry Dereck.

Level 15 – 2,500/5,000/500 blinds/antes - 143,600 chips

I was active in this level, playing five hands. First I raised with K-J offsuit, and took down the blinds and antes. Then I raised with pocket kings and again took the blinds and antes. Not sure why I played 10-5 from the small blind, but at least I folded on the flop. Next I played pocket sixes and ended up losing a 30,000 chip pot to a girl who had flopped top pair. And finally, I limped from the button with A-3 offsuit, called a flop bet on an ace high board, then bet large when the board paired, which got my opponent to lay down A-Q.

Level 16 – 3,000/6,000/600 blinds/antes – 161,800 chips – 155 players

I limped from first position with A-K offsuit. There were two or three other limpers then the big blind (chip leader) raised to 30,000. I instantly re-raised all-in for ~ 130,000 more. He really struggled for a long time, and showed me his pocket eights before folding them. He was a lot stronger than I thought he was. Glad he didn’t call. Then I called with K-Q offsuit from the small blind, but had to fold to a large raise from the big blind. And finally, I limped from the cutoff with A-6 suited, but folded to an all-in flop bet.

Level 17 – 4,000/8,000/800 blinds/antes – 192,700 chips

Checked all the way to the river with A-5 offsuit in the big blind, then bet the river and lost to an opponent who had paired his nine. Poor play Scott.

Limped with K-8 from the small blind, and won a big pot when it became a full house. I overbet the river though and probably gave up a value bet.

Level 18 – 5,000/10,000/1,000 blinds/antes – 206,700 chips

Checked with 10-5 from the big blind, bet when I flopped a ten, and the small blind folded. Raised from the cutoff with 7-8 offsuit and took down the blinds and antes. This next hand absolutely destroyed me. I was in the big blind with ~ 230,000 chips when it was folded around to the button. Then he went all-In for ~ 110,000 chips. I looked down at A-K suited and called. This was the second time I lost an all-in with A-K today and it was for half my chips. Very painful!

Level 19 – 6,000/12,000/1,000 blinds/antes – 122,000 chips

Only played one hand during this level, but it was a nice hand and I think I extracted a good amount of money from it. Early position raised to $40,000, and I re-raised from the button to $70,000 with pocket aces. After teaching some of the players at my table that this was a legal raise, and that I didn’t have to double the 40,000, he called, creating a massive pot. I sensed he was going to push on the flop so I tried to egg him on by acting overly strong. I can’t remember the flop but he checked to me and I pushed all my chips in – again trying to act overconfident. I was hoping he had kings or queens and might just think I was making a button play with A-K. He folded, but I did get 70,000 of his chips and lots of blinds and antes too.

Level 20 – 8,000/16,000/2,000 blinds/antes - 191,000 chips

We’re getting close to the money bubble now. There are tons of short stacks everywhere and I am wanting to tangle with some of them. First I went all-in with A-Q suited and doubled up a short-stack when he called me with A-K. this cost me ~ 33,000 chips. Third time A-K has burnt me today.

Then I went all-in with A-J suited after one limper, and everyone folded. Then I re-raised all-in with K-Q offsuit when another short-stack went all-in. He had Q-3 and I won that one.

Level 21 – 10,000/20,000/2,000 blinds/antes – 69 players - 234,500 chips

There are so many short-stacks now that we’re basically at the bubble. I am going to take some risks to accumulate some more chips. This would be a bad strategy if my goal is to make the money. But that’s not my goal. My goal is to make the final table with enough chips to be competitive. So one minute later it’s folded around to me and I move all-in with A-10 for 234,500 chips. The big blind called me with A-K and I was gone. Just like that. Nice strategy Scott.

**charlton49** · 02-27-2008 11:37 PM

Can't blame yourself on the move in level 21, Scott. You know your A is a big fave against most hands, and you're barely above 10 bets. With about 9 ppl/table, that would have been a scoop of 48k. Just bad luck on your end.

The only hand that I thought you may have squeezed more chips out of was the AA hand in level 19. I think the near-min raise, and then explaining the raise, might have hinted toward your strength.

All-in-all, great playing, Scott!

**Drimson King** · 02-28-2008 12:22 AM

again, congrats on a strong finish. bubbling sucks, but it often takes a lot to get there. obviously it is a good time to be aggressive, and that sometimes means getting bounced, but "in order to live, you must be willing to die," -amir vahedi. anyways...
scott, i really think the commitment you have made to poker is phenomenal. i enjoy visiting this site and reading all the posts. i don't post much because i am not on here at work. i usually visit after i get home (typically after opening the paper mail (bills), and before opening the email (junk). after that its getting a game in before dinner and going about the evening. so that is my excuse for a lack of participation. anyhow, i enjoyed reading this post, and would like to comment on a hand.

Level 16 – 3,000/6,000/600 blinds/antes – 161,800 chips – 155 players

"I limped from first position with A-K offsuit. There were two or three other limpers then the big blind (chip leader) raised to 30,000. I instantly re-raised all-in for ~ 130,000 more. He really struggled for a long time, and showed me his pocket eights before folding them. He was a lot stronger than I thought he was. Glad he didn’t call."

this hand probably happened shortly after i hit the road. it struck me because of a few things. in order of appearance:

"I limped from first position with A-K offsuit."

i like this play in some situations, but i also like to raise here. you probably would have been called by the bb-chip leader. with a call, you now have postition on him if you're heads-up. depending on the flop and play you could possibly take down a bigger pot here without putting all your chips at risk.

"He was a lot stronger than I thought he was. Glad he didn’t call."

the instant all-in was obviously good enough to scare them all off and win the hand, but this was your tournament life here. i may have taken a more conservative approach and called, but then a limper might have used your all-in move and then things would get interesting... if not and the flop is in your favor you are in a great position. if you whiff ... well its hard to say what i would do. this hand is now becoming a work of fiction, and writing the outcome is not something i think i will do.

any other thoughts on this hand?

**D-Nut** · 02-29-2008 11:54 AM

Hey Scott......for some reason.....I can get on this site from work today. I have no idea why it is quirky like that, but I figured I'd take this chance to post my thoughts on your play. Not that my opinions mean a whole heck of a lot, but you asked!

From an overall perspective, it sounds like you played great, as usual. But here are some things that may have helped you, IMHO. I've been doing a lot of reading lately.....well, not in the past week, but shortly prior. And one major change I have implemented in my tourney game recently (and I'll probably suffer for giving this info about my game away), but I've been opening LOTS of pots with small raises when I have a deep stack...and depending on flop texture and various reads I have on opponants, I will attempt to make smallish bets to take down way more small pots than I used to. If you get reraised preflop or you get challenged post flop, you can give it up without fretting because you dont have much invested. This has helped me in two major ways.....1.) You obviously can grow your stack by the small pots in the early levels......2.) and more importantly, people notice when you are raising a lot. When people see this, they will enter more pots with you with bad hands.....which a good player like you can expose even further. So I guess my point is that it doesnt sound like you were playing many hands early on, and with ridiculously deep stacks, I would be in there raising, if for no other reason then to establish yourself as a table captain. I know this is one thing that George does very well, and why he has the image he has and why I tend to pay him off at every tournament I play at his table

Now the first hand that sticks out to me is the hand where you flopped quads. I probably would have played it a little differently......now whether my end result would have been any different, I'm not sure. But I guess my initial thought would be to bet out on the flop. You said that there was a good chance that the chip leader was setting up a large check-raise on a pretty unthreatening board, but wanted the player on the button to bet the hand for you. Now here are the things that are going through my mind......1.) You said that the other two players in the hand were apt to getting into betting wars with each other......but if I were one of those players, would I really want to bet out on that board, knowing that there is a good chance that I could get played back on? Probably not. So, knowing that there are no 3's left in the deck.....you MIGHT be dealing with someone who has a 9 or maybe a vulverable pocket pair.....neither of which can stand a whole lot of resistance. I would expect both of the other players in the hand to play it rather slow on at least the flop. So that is why I would have bet right out. MOST IMPORTANTLY.......I can't remember who mentioned this one time....and it is really obvious information, but makes perfect sense and has always rang true to me. Hoping that someone does have a middle pair in this spot.....you want to bet this hand while your opponant is remotely strong. If your opponant has 7's or 8's or 10's, do you really want another card to fall off so that your opponants hand weakens? No, you want to accomplish two things......bet out on a dry board so that a good player doesnt put you on much.....and like I said, bet out when your opponant may actually think he has a chance of having the best hand. I've always thought that in a lot of cases.....checking a board like that is much more dangerous than actually betting out. And along those same lines....I probably wouldnt have flat called the turn.....I would have raised on that card as well.....if I didnt bet the flop. You are missing bets here, and I know you are trying to get players to "catch up"....but especially against aggressive/skilled players, the only way you are going to get paid off on this hand on the end is if they dont believe you have a 3......and by checking the flop....I'm sure their read was cloudy. Enough about that one.....

The only other glaring thing I have noticed too.....is your end of the tournament shove. I can definately appreciate not playing to cash. However, sometimes, I ask myself.....why am I raising here? In your end of tourney situation.....I would think you are simply trying to take down some blinds. On the bubble, you are not going to get called in a whole lot of spots as people are probably going into their shell to cash, then they will open back up. So raising is a good thing, but I'm not sure that all-in is ideal in that spot. Again....I ask myself why am I raising? I want the blinds. How can I do that? Probably a raise to 60K gets that done. If someone shoves on you....I think you can lay it down with a good conscience. You get the information you need....instead of getting your information after all your chips are in the pot. I'm sure you have already analyzed this and came to the ame conclusion.

It sounded like fold equity was a hard thing to come by late in this game.....with all the short stacks looking to shove and being a slight shortstack yourself after awhile.....but I am always impressed with the way that you managed to claw and scrape your way to the end of tourneys no matter what cards are dealt to you. You have a really successful TAG style, with an added dimension of making some moves here and there to keep us offbalance.

OK......now I'm gonna see how well I can remember my key hands this weekend, so you can critique my play as well. I'll be looking forward to it!

**hitman247x** · 02-29-2008 12:26 PM

Dave (or anyone else)-

You can access websites that are normally blocked by your IT people by going to http://www.proxyfoxy.com/.

This allows access to myspace, youtube, etc...

Good luck.

**SemiEsq** · 03-03-2008 04:33 PM

I agree with your idea to take advantage of the bubble - however - in my experience with larger tourneys, it is not the initial cash bubble you want to exploit but the pay level bubbles that occur after the initial cash bubble. My theory is that with larger tourneys, as the initial bubble approaches, the really low stacks seek only to survive and because the tables are full can often see at least 18 hands before hitting two blind sets. These players are only going to call you with premium hands. I would recommend that you sit back and attack immediately after the bubble has passed or at the next bubble level where money has already been won and the quality of hand that will call a raise goes back down.

Just my two cents.

**KLIMA_OH** · 03-12-2008 08:36 PM

I just wanted to say hey to the guys that finished at the final table at the Lima Poker Championship. I was one of the guys who chopped the money at the end and learned about this site from George and Charlton. I was the guy who also goes to Ohio State. You guys played well. I thought it was an awesome tournament and I look forward to talking to you guys on the site.