Close But No Cigar On PartyPoker

In my last column I detailed my worst spell of results for several years inspired by some sickening beats. I also detailed some well-researched tips on how to get over this kind of run of form. With the recipe for a cure in hand, you would think that I was soon savouring a buffet of recovery delights, right? Er, actually no…I've been unable to find the self-discipline to follow the necessary regime, so I tore up the recipe book and pigged out on unhealthy substitutes. Instead of playing less I played more, instead of focusing on playing my ‘A’ game I found myself multi-tabling and playing my ‘C’ game at best.

Depleted bankroll

Fortunately, a week later, with bankroll depleted but bank balance still intact, I had the commonsense to re-read my tips and act on them. I took a week off poker and focused on other things. Not only did this give me a chance to regain my perspective - it also freshened my approach and inspired me to return with my ‘A’ game when my targeted comeback tournament arrived – the monthly PartyPoker Million.

The last time I played this event (Feb 2006), I managed to battle my way through a 1,820 field down to the last 20 before having my A-K crushed by J-10. This time around it was a much smaller field of 1,254 meaning that Party had failed to meet the guarantee and were making up $247,600 in prize money. With significantly less people standing in the way of me and the $210,000 first prize, with a fresh approach and with specific tournament experience in hand, I started the tournament in bullish mood.

As in February, things could hardly have started better and within two hours I was chip leader of the entire tournament. Perhaps even better than that was the table I managed to stay at for the next few hours. My opponents were generally either too loose to hold onto their chips or too tight to protect them. I found myself able to progressively build my stack without ever having to risk pre-flop races or unnecessary post-flop battles.

Post-flop raises

During the middle section of the tournament, I folded some pretty big hands (like A-J after a Jack-high rainbow flop) safe in the knowledge that I could keep progressing via uncontested pre-flop and post-flop raises. As the field narrowed and the blinds increased though, I started to move up a gear taking greater risks and using my big-stack to push my opponents around. This strategy was largely successful and by the time we were down to 50 I had a much larger than average stack – around 350,000 versus an average of 125,000.

However, over the next hour I took a couple of marginal bad beats against smaller stacks. With 25 runners left my stack had been depleted to 230,000 and I was now touching the average mark but I was still on the same table and I was full of confidence that I could continue pushing my opponents around as I had for the last few hours.

Big mistake. On my big blind, a middle position player and tricky opponent made it 45,000 to go with blinds at 7,500-15,000. Everyone folded to me. He had 110,000 back. I figured he may been getting desperate and given that I had him out-chipped and that he had passed to my re-raises before, I had a serious rush of blood to the head and figured that A-6 was somehow a ‘pushable’ hand in that spot. So, I moved all-in and he called like lightening flipping over Pocket Rockets. No miracles and my stack was now decimated. A few hands later I was obliged to push all-in holding Q-7. I was called by K-10 and two Kings flopped spelling the end for me. I was out in 22nd position while my nemesis with the Aces went on to finish second and cashed for $117,000.

Ghastly play

Six hours of my ‘A’ game devastated in an instant by one ghastly play and for the second month in a row I felt like I was left holding a bronze medal. I had 99% of the field defeated and another solid cash profit ($6,000 prize), but the Gold I so craved was just out of reach and the solid Silver and a big money final table finish lost too by taking a risk when a steady performance was called for.

In the big tournament environment, you must know how to switch gears. Sometimes that means switching up a gear as I successfully managed in the middle-stages of this tournament, but sometimes that also means switching down a gear. In this area I failed. I was so over-confident as a result of my strong plays that I felt almost immortal and I didn’t adjust my play as needed after my stack had dwindled to the average mark. This was in marked contrast to my victory in the big Sunday night game on PokerStars (give link) when triumph was built on the simplicity of my tight-aggressive, low-risk play from the last 50 onwards.

But as always, even in defeat, I experienced a lot and learned a valuable lesson for the future. Furthermore, the cash and confidence gained from the tournament have since inspired a renaissance in my form.

Things got worse before they got better, but I am happy to report than I am back on the right track and 'running good'. Long may it stay that way.

May the flop be with you…

David aka "thekid08"

24 March 2006

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