Right after my largest-ever tournament win in the
Master Classics main event, where I cashed $110,000 for my fifth-place finish, it was time for me to head to Singapore - more than anything just to enjoy a little holiday.
But when I found out that I could still enter the $5,000 Betfair
Asian Poker Tour main event, I thought: "What the heck. I am always abroad for stories, reports, and interviews - so why not just
play a tournament, for once." Especially because I had noticed that the field was not particularly strong for an event of this size, and also because one could claim that I was "in good form," I decided to pony up the 5 grand. And even though I didn't think the field as a whole was strong, it did include top players like Gus Hansen, John Phan, and Liz Lieu.
Unlucky draw
I got an unlucky draw. While many tables had lots of soft spots, I was seated two to the right of Harry Demetriou, and also at my table was Singapore-born Willie Tann. Plus, two or three other players I did not recognize seemed to play a very strong and aggressive game, as well. But inasmuch as the blinds were just $25-$50 (with a starting stack of $10,000), and especially because our table was to be one of the first broken, I knew there was no real need for me to get involved this early in the event with any suboptimal hands.
So, what did I do? Well, just that! I got involved with a suboptimal hand. On just the second hand of play, everyone folded to me on the button. Holding the J
10
, I decided to make it $125 to go. The small blind called, and then the big blind, Harry Demetriou, reraised to $450 total. I went into the tank right away. Was Harry making a play at me? Obviously, he had heard about my overaggressive play at the
Master Classics. So, could he be thinking something along the lines of: "Hey, it's time to send this Rolf a message right from the start that I just cannot be messed with." While seriously contemplating a reraise just to show that I also couldn't be run over, I decided to just call. The small blind called, as well, and obviously I didn't like this at all. Despite my seemingly good position, I was in danger now of getting sandwiched, as the small blind would invariably go for the check-raise if he happened to flop something good - thereby putting me in the middle.
The flop came 7-7-2 with two diamonds, the small blind checked, and Harry bet $475. I again thought about trying to raise him off his hand. But, being on the button and with this board, I decided that this move would be a bit too "obvious." So, after some deliberation, I decided to fold, and when the small blind also folded, Harry showed his hand: aces. Phew! I knew I had dodged a bullet. I had been so close to making a move on only the second hand of the tournament, putting my entire stack in jeopardy against a monster hand. But, fortunately for me, I ultimately had chosen to chicken out.
Outplaying Willie Tann in a small pot
Then I got involved in a pot with the strong Willie Tann. With the blinds still at $25-$50, he had made it $150 to go from early position. Seated two seats to his left and playing a $9,400 stack, I decided to just flat-call the $150 with my pocket kings. Two other players called, so we took the flop fourhanded. When the flop came Q-4-2 with two diamonds (that I didn't have), I again chose to just flat-call Willie's $475 bet. When the turn brought a jack and Willie checked, I decided to check it back, as I didn't want to expose myself to a possible check-raise when - also because of the deceptive way I had played my kings - I wouldn't know exactly where I stood. Perhaps more importantly, checking now would make river play very easy. So, when a second deuce came on the river to give me kings up and Willie checked once more, it was just a matter of selling my hand. I chose to value-bet $1,025, knowing that the way the betting had gone, this for all the world would look like a total bluff. After some deliberation, Willie called with what I presume to be an unimproved ace high, probably A-K. I gave myself a pat on the back for having played the hand quite well - striking a proper balance between minimizing risk and trying to make some money.
Some stupid plays at a new table
When my table was broken up, I again found myself at a very strong table. In fact, this table didn't seem to have any soft spots at all. Inasmuch as this was a strong and tight-aggressive table, I decided to try to build an ultrasolid, even somewhat weak-tight, image, hoping that I could use this to my advantage later. But knowing that in general my strength doesn't lie in playing a table of good players, especially when the money is fairly deep, I didn't think I would have much of an edge here. So, I decided to just lay low, knowing that with the blinds still low and the tables 10-handed, the overly tight strategy of folding all marginal hands would not be punished that severely.
Then, after about 30 minutes of folding, I found A-A under the gun. Having been so tight, I decided to just limp, hoping that one of the aggressive players would try to muscle me out, and I could then reraise. But just as I limped, no fewer than two players joked: "Aces?" As it turned out, this became the first multiway, unraised pot at this table. After my check-raise attempt on a flop of K-4-3 failed, I faced a half-pot bet after a 6 came on the turn, from the big blind, who bet into the field. I opted for the weak-tight play of folding my aces - knowing that I probably had misplayed my hand on all streets.
And then I played yet another hand in the same bad, weak-tight manner. Again just flat-calling a raise with a big pair, with failed check-raise attempts on both the flop and turn, I finally snapped off a small bluff bet on the river from Harry Demetriou. But despite the fact that I had won the pot with my unimproved queens, the entire table could see that I had not done
anything right in this hand: I hadn't protected it, I had given my opponents free cards, and so on.
That was the bad thing. The good thing was that I still had $10,900 in chips, and I could possibly profit from this weak-tight image later. If indeed I succeeded, … well, you can read all about that in my next column.
Rolf has been a professional cash-game player since 1998. He is the author of the successful Secrets of Professional Pot-Limit Omaha, and the co-author of Hold'em on the Come. He is the creator and presenter of the hold'em four-DVD set, Rolf Slotboom's Winning Plays. He is the first-ever Dutch champion, and maintains his own site at www.rolfslotboom.com.
