For posterity, my story of the worst-played tourney ever

[TylerK]

Reposted from elsewhere. I am dumb dumb dumb. Thought I'd make it public so I never play like this again.



I played absolutely horrendously tonight. I mean just AWFUL. Couldn't catch a thing in the rebuy period and started the 2nd hour down $150 and with the minimum. (With my comebacks from the minimum lately, I'm starting to think that going all-in preflop with anything but an awesome hand just isn't worth it.)

I don't know where all my checking and calling came from tonight, I definitely was NOT playing normally and I am not sure why.

Regardless, I kept catching super lucky. Completed a couple of OESD which brought me up to about 14k.

Made a call that made sense. I had AJs in the BB and it was folded to the SB who punched it in (and had been doing so fairly strangely and often). I thought and went "ok, if I'm the SB and I have a hand better than AJs, am I just going to slam all my chips in the pot? of course not!" and I called. SB flips QQ. I catch my ace and 2 of my suit on the flop, but he catches his queen. I get 2 middle fingers (including the awesome no help river jack, which makes me a slightly less inferior 2 pair) and am back down to 5k chips.

Then I win a race with JJ vs KQ, and end up back at about 10k.

Back to about 7.5k, I am dealt KJs on the button. 4 limpers including UTG and UTG+1, and I think "ok, good chance to pick up some chips" and punch it.

UTG calls. Shit.

UTG+1 goes all-in. Shit.

UTG folds, UTG+1 flips AA.

I catch 2 jacks on the flop and triple up.

1 limper, I have AK in MP. Raise, limper calls. Flop KQT. Limper bets, I raise, limper raises, I call. Turn J, limper checks, I...check!?! River is a king, limper shows tens full!! I am down to 12k.

AA, no action.

17k, 52o in the SB. 2 limpers, 4600 in the pot, 600 to call. Not a bad call with any 2 at this point. Flop 5 and 2 overs, I check, 1200 bet, 2 callers, 1200 to me to call with well over 8k in the pot. I call. Turn is a 2 but puts 3 hearts on the board. I check, there's a bet of 8400 [editor's note: implied odds in action!]. I think, think, think, raise all-in based on my read that this player would make this play with any 2. He flips AQ, no help, MHIG. Up to 40k now, get berated by AQ guy.

Next hand, AKo. 3600 to me on the button, I flat call, SB calls. Flop A23, SB goes all-in, I call, SB flips 44. MHIG, up to about 73k.

KK, no action.

I have T8s in the BB and call a minraise. Flop QQT, I bet, flat call. Turn ace, I check, opp bets 6000, I call. River check check, MHIG somehow. Up to about 90k.

Bet, get raised, fold. Bet, get raised, fold. Rinse, repeat, down to 50k.

KK UTG+1. I...limp? Fold around, SB completes, BB checks. Flop 3 diamonds. BB bets 6000, I...call? Turn pairs the board, there are now two 4's on the board. BB bets 12000, I...call? River 8, pairs the board again, BB goes all-in, I...CALL AGAIN? BB flips K4 and I hit the rail.

I NEVER limp KK. NEVER. From any position, regardless of the aggression level of the table, I JUST. DON'T. DO. IT. So WHY did I do it here? Why didn't I raise the flop? What the...man, I got every lucky break in the world and I blew it just by playing stupid, stupid, stupid.

[LeFou]

I NEVER limp KK. NEVER. From any position, regardless of the aggression level of the table, I JUST. DON'T. DO. IT. So WHY did I do it here? Why didn't I raise the flop? What the...man, I got every lucky break in the world and I blew it just by playing stupid, stupid, stupid.

Hehe.. I know that feeling: "Who's controlling my hand?!!? WTF?!?!?"
Happened to me a few times in my tourney. Thankfully, it was Stud HiLo so I still got ITM because well my 2yo could get ITM in those things.

[dalecooper]

That's some funny stuff. I have occasional bursts of being much too passive, too... not sure why.

Food for thought on that last hand, the kings. I don't mind limping this under two circumstances:

1. I am the button or in one of the blinds, and everyone else has folded. In other words the worst that can happen is that you are against two other players for a small pot. I'll take this chance to make money rather than raising here and hoping the other player or two calls. I'll limp the same way with AA or AK, but that's it. Any lower pair or other solid hand that is more vulnerable, I will definitely raise to try to win the pot up front.

IMO hands like AA, KK and AK are strong enough (or in the case of AK easy enough to play post-flop) that limping in that kind of situation isn't bad.

2. Limping where you did, early position, if the table is aggressive and you can count on a raise from someone. You have to be CERTAIN of this raise though. You have to be at a table where the pot is raised pre-flop on almost every hand. Because if six people limp in and no one raises... you're screwed.

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On the subject of your mysterious call-downs... bad. REAL bad. Raise the flop hard. REAL hard. And hope he doesn't have that flush, or something else he feels strongly about. You made a mistake pre-flop; don't compound it by being a calling station with what is probably the best hand. (Of course, you already know this... but I like dispensing advice.)