I always enjoy reading the reports from some of the other writers in which they report on hands played during the course of a tournament. I also have written several columns of that nature, and based on the number of e-mail comments I've received, readers seem to enjoy the "Play a Tournament With Me" concept. Therefore, please play along with me in a $540 buy-in
Ladies Poker Association women's-only tournament held at Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The facts of the hands I played will be in regular print, and my thoughts will appear in italics.
Each of the 63 women started the event with $3,500 in chips at $25-$25 blinds.
5-5 (late position): I open-raised to $100 and everyone folded.
A-10 suited (late position): I called $100 preflop and was heads up. (
Wish I had a better hand, but at least I have position.) The flop came J-10-9 and the original raiser bet $200. I called. (
She didn't look too confident.) She checked on the turn, I bet $400, and she folded.
I also limped in with J-10 and 4-4 on the button in multiway pots during round one, and missed both flops and folded.
We lost one player during the first round and the blinds increased to $25-$50. I had $3,350 in chips.
K-Q (middle position): I raised to $150 and got two callers. I bet $350 on the J-10-4 flop, and my two opponents folded. (
I'm happy to win this one without having to make a hand.)
J-8 suited (late position): I limped in after two limpers and folded to a bet on the K-9-4 flop.
10-9 suited (late position): I open-raised to $150 and both blinds called.
The flop came K-7-4. The small blind bet $450, the big blind called, and I folded.
A-J offsuit (middle position): Someone limped in, I raised to $200, the limper reraised to $850, and I folded. (
Beware of the early limper.)
7-6 (big blind): Three limpers and I saw the 10-10-5 flop. We checked, and another 10 came on the turn. Everyone checked again. The river card was a 7, I bet $100, and got paid off in one spot.
J-9 offsuit (cutoff): I open-raised to $150 and got no callers.
A-K (button): I raised to $300 after three people limped in, and everyone folded.
K-10 (big blind): It was raised and reraised before it got to me; I folded. (
Easy laydown.)
8-7 suited (middle position): I open-raised to $200 and folded to an $800 reraise. (I
'm starting to get impatient … time to refocus! This is a good structure, so no need to "splash" around too much.)
The blinds increased to $50-$100, and I had $3,600 in chips.
8-8 (cutoff): One player limped in, I raised to $400, and everyone folded.
Q-J (middle position): I open-raised to $300 and folded to a huge reraise. (
I hate to raise and then fold, but this wasn't the hand to stand a big reraise.)
Q-10 (late position): I limped in after two others had limped. The flop was A-5-4 and I folded to a pot-sized bet.
K-K (big blind): The small blind limped in, I raised to $250, and she folded. (
I considered slow-playing, but decided against it. Damn, this was my best hand so far, and I won only $100 with it.)
A-5 suited (button): I raised to $300 and the big blind called. The flop was A-6-3. My opponent bet $200, I raised to $600, and she folded. (
She bet hesitantly, and I read it as a bluff.)
The blinds increased to $75-$150 and I had $4,050 in chips. The field was down to about 50 players, so I was slightly below average in chips.
A-Q suited (small blind): The button open-raised to $300, I reraised to $850, and she folded. (
I thought she was making a button steal! Most of the women are going after pots and betting properly.)
K-9 suited (cutoff): I limped in after two others had limped. The flop was K-J-10. The first player bet $400, the next player raised to $1,500, and I folded. The original bettor called all in for $1,400. (
I couldn't call a bet and a raise with top pair, weak kicker, although I would have won the pot, since the original bettor had A-10 and the raiser had Q-J.)
6-5 (big blind): Everyone folded to me. (
Wow … first walk of the day!)
9-7 suited (late position): Three players limped in, as did I and the blinds. I missed the flop and folded. (
I like playing suited connectors cheaply in multiway pots with position.)
9-5 offsuit (big blind): One player limped in and the small blind folded. The flop came 8-7-2. I bet $250 and my opponent folded. (
As Mike Sexton says, "First to bet often wins.")
10-8 suited (middle position): I open-raised to $450 and the button called. The flop was 4-3-2, and I made a continuation-bet of $600 and got called. (
I hate being out of position, but my opponent doesn't look happy with her hand.) A 9 came on the turn, I bet $1,000, and she folded. (
Phew, what would I have done if she had called?)
A-8 offsuit (big blind): The button raised to $600 and looked weak, so I reraised to $1,800, and she folded.
A-3 suited (cutoff): I decided to gamble by calling a raise to $350 after two others had called. The flop came 10-9-8 and I folded to a pot-sized bet.
Q-2 suited (small blind): I called $75 more after everyone else had folded, and bet $250 on the A-7-5 flop. The big blind raised to $900 and I folded.
A-10 offsuit (cutoff): I open-raised to $450 and everyone folded.
The blinds increased to $100-$200 with a $25 ante. I had about $6,000 in chips with 36 women remaining.
8-4 (big blind): The small blind limped in and I checked. The flop was 9-3-2, she checked, I bet $300, and she folded. (
This pot looked like it would be easy to steal.)
3-2 suited (small blind): I called $100 more to see the flop after one person had limped in. I bet $500 on the 8-5-4 flop. The big blind folded and the limper called. When a queen came on the turn, I checked and folded to a $1,500 bet.
(
Maybe I should have fired again, but she looked like she had a big hand. I didn't think my draw was worth calling $1,500.)
8-6 suited (middle position): I limped in after another limper. The small blind called and the big blind checked her option. The flop was Q-Q-5 and everyone checked. When a 6 came on the turn, I bet $400 after everyone checked and got one caller. A deuce came on the river and we both checked. My two pair was good. (
I debated betting the river, but didn't think a worse hand would call me.)
J-10 (button): I called, and folded to the Q-4-3 flop.
K-J suited (middle position): I open-raised to $750; both blinds called. The flop was A-9-8 and I folded to a pot-sized bet.
A-7 offsuit (button): I open-raised to $750 and the small blind moved all in for $4,100; I folded.
A-Q suited (middle position): I open-raised to $750 and the button was the only caller. The flop was 9-9-4. I bet $1,400 and she folded.
The blinds increased to $200-$400 with a $50 ante and 31 players remaining, and I had an average stack of about $7,000. (
Time to get more aggressive to give myself a chance to accumulate chips … the blinds and antes are worth going after!)
I will finish this tournament report in the next issue.
Now, let's play poker!
Linda Johnson is a co-owner of Card Player Cruises. You can contact her at [email protected] and visit her website at cardplayercruises.com.
