2nd to Last DSOP!!

DSOP Event # 8

The second to last DSOP was a £15 double chance tournament with 4k plus 4k starting chips, we had 9 runners and the game was nicely hosted by Dave Lu in his garage with the Warwick poker table! We looked like real gamblers! Playing poker in a garage at 1.30pm!

I started off really well picking up KKs twice and playing them very slow. I just flat call a raise, which I have been doing a lot earlier in LIVE tournaments with players I know very well. I feel confident enough to play flops with big pairs a lot better in LIVE tournaments when I know the players, I have a fairly tight image early on in tournament so re raising = easy fold for most players which I do not want. However in online tournament I tend to re raise as they always call anyway, especially when there is like 1000+ runners. I would not advise flat calling with AA and KKs early on unless you really know the players well. Played KKs when someone opened, I called and the BB called, Flop is 3 low cards and the initial raiser checks, I bet and BB calls and the initial raiser folds, the turn is an Ace, which should be a scare card but not against this BB who loves to out play people and the fact he flat called in the BB it is unlikely he had an Ace and called the flop unless he had A9 for top pair top kicker. I then slow down but I am calling bets. He fires the turn I call and we check the river he mucks as I show KKs. I then flat call with KKs later on and the flop is Ace high, it was a 3 way pot and I quickly muck when the Ace hits and there was a bet, later he showed his AT. So this does not always work!!

Last hand of the rebuy period, I open with AK and get called, the Will re raises who is a ROCK, it gets back to me and I immediately move all in! Caller (who thinks he is a baler, JD) folds (who flops a straight flush) (SHAME!!) Will goes into the tank, and at this point I think he has AK, which is why I moved in, trying to win the pot or get him off JJ here. He thinks and I am a tight player and in the last hand of the double chance he might not want to gamble here, he eventually calls with QQs. We are off to the races!!! No A or K and Will doubles up!!! I am left with basically no chips and take my top up!

I then picked up AAs and JD opened up, Flash then moved in and I called! This was especially sweet because DSOP also assigns points for every tournament to crown the Tinoyta Player of the Year. I won it in 2005, Flash won it in 2006 and 2007 was the last one and the decider. With two tournaments left Flash was 1st by a long way and I was 2nd, with 25 people on the leader board it is nice to be 2nd but I want 1st!! My AAs held up against Flashes 99s and he was out leaving him with 60 points, with 1st place getting 270 points I needed a win, to have a chance to catch up with him as he was 500 points ahead of me before this tournament.

Few players get knocked out and I stayed pretty clear of it all, just playing my hands as I did not see too many opportunities to exploit with air. The tournament got 3 handed pretty quickly with Dave and Will left in with me. The chips were evenly with Dave and Will with me in 3rd, I then call Wills raise with KT and the flop is K K T, he bets out and I shove! I have the nuts why am I shoving! Hmmmmmm well if I flat call I think it shouts out I have a K, by shoving it may look like I am drawing or have the T and trying to protect it and I am sure he has enough chips to make a hero call with a Draw or with JJs or AT, he calls and has K7, which is a pretty sick flop and a cooler for him. I double up and then get aggressive, started moving in a bit on Will as he has the shorter stack. I then call his raise with KQ, flop is K high and I check to him, I then give a little talk saying I am playing crazy, he bets out and I instant shove! He folds and seems a bit annoyed, the next hand I raise on the button with A7, Dave folds and Will moves in. Hmmmmmmmmm He is a rock!! However I feel he is on semi tilt, I do not have the odds to call if he has a higher Ace so odds was not a factor, I need to find out whether I had the best hand or not, I thought he was tilting after the last hand, so I called, he flips KJ and my A7 holds!!

So now I am Heads up with Dave Lu with about a 2:1 chip leader, I played the big stack and position very well and Dave could not do much. He then opens and I put him in with 22s he calls with KcQc and I win the race and take down DSOP and 270 points!!!!

Will post about the end of year final DSOP of all time in the next few days! hopefully before i leave for vegas!!