L.A. Poker Classic 2010 — Part II

Day two of the L.A. Poker Classic started out pretty slow for me. I started the day with 35,000 in chips, and another player at my table started with 1,000. He kept going all in, and I tried him twice. Once, when the blinds were 500-1,000, he moved in for 3,600 and I called with pocket fours, only to see his pocket tens. And the other time, I raised to 2,800 and he made it 6,000. I called with A-10 suited and lost to his pocket queens. After that, I left Mr. All In alone and went after some softer players — as well as his blinds, of course.

I hovered around my original 35,000 for a few hours, when this hand developed with David Singer. He was to my immediate left, and I had stolen the blinds every time that it was mucked to me on the button. Once again, it was passed to me on the button, and I had an idea that both blinds were getting tired of me, so I was gonna need some kind of hand this time. I had A-Q, which was more than enough for me, so I made a standard opening raise to 2,200 (the blinds were 400-800 with a 100 ante). David made it 6,200, and I thought for a minute before I looked back at my hand. I knew that I had the A and a black queen. I decided that if it was suited, I was gonna commit myself to the hand with a reraise.

It was, and I made it a total of 17,200, which was slightly more than a third of my chips, and obviously meant that I was in this pot for good. David studied for a minute before going all in. I called, and he showed pocket nines. I got no help until an ace came on the river (where have I heard that one before?), and I doubled up. Singer had started the hand with about 70,000, so he lost about half of his stack.

Did he have to do this? Hell no! This is an example of a case in which I say over and over again, what in the world were they thinking? Did he think I’d make this move with pocket eights or smaller? Well, I wouldn’t have. It was either a bigger pair than his, A-K, or A-Q suited — period. He was even money or about a 4-1 dog, and he had only 6,200 of 70,000 invested.

Shortly after this, Gus Hansen was moved to my table. I love playing with Gus. His wild style keeps everyone off balance and inclined to make mistakes. It means that I can win a lot of chips or maybe go broke, but I like the gamble.

I recently read in some reprint of an interview that Gus said he was running very badly and was going to take a “blow” and rethink his poker game. Now, I figure that can mean a lot of different things, but someone said that it meant “break” or “rest” in Danish. I see that there’s been some change when he gives Mr. All In a walk from the small blind. I mean, I’ve played thousands of hours with Gus and never seen him do anything like that. Hmm.

After a few hands, it seems as though the “blow” has worn off, and he’s back to the old Gussie I know and love. There’s another guy at the table who obviously loves Gus, too, as he has either called or reraised Gus every time that Gus has raised, and that’s a lot!

So, when Gus raises again and this guy calls, it puts me in a quandary when I look down at pocket jacks. I mean, I know that Gus loves to call reraises, and this Gus fan isn’t going anywhere unless I move in, and I have way too many chips for that, so I flat-call. Unfortunately, the flop comes A-K-10, and when Gus and I check, the third guy bets.

I muck, and Gus calls. The turn brings an 8, and again Gus checks and the other guy bets. Gus passes, and the guy shows an 8. What?! Did he bluff and turn a set? Or, did he have A-8 suited? I dunno, but he’s quickly earning his way into my goofball category.

My goofball theory is quickly proven in this next hand. I raise with pocket kings, Mr. Goofball calls me, and the flop comes Q-5-3. He checks, I bet 5,000, and he calls. The turn is a 4, and he again check-calls my bet of 12,000. The river brings a 6, making the board Q-5-3-4-6; he checks to me, and I check back.

He shows me 6-5 offsuit, having rivered two pair. Nice check on the end, sir. What did he think I had? Pocket sevens or deuces? Sigh … Give me good players all day long; I can’t beat these guys who have no idea what they’re doing.

The next-to-last hand of the day, this giant pot develops: Gus raises, gets reraised, and shoves. He has the A Q vs. pocket kings. In true Gus fashion, the flop has three clubs, giving Gus the nuts. In true Todd Brunson fashion, the board quickly pairs, and since the other guy had flopped top set, Gus was out.

I finished the day with 60,000, which was OK to start day three with, but I was hoping to chip up quickly. My table wasn’t bad, but before I could do much, it broke and I was moved to Daniel Negreanu’s table.

Daniel has so much juice that he was able to have the hockey game put up on the tournament clock. When I asked Matt Savage why, he said that it was because it was a special hockey game (the gold-medal game of the Olympics, USA vs. Canada). I asked him if, after the game, he could put Scooby-Doo up on the tournament clock, as it was a special episode, “Scooby Meets the Ghost of Muhammad.”

Getting back to the poker, Daniel was on the all-out offensive, as were two other players at our table. I couldn’t get into a pot, as all of them were three-bet by the time the action got around to me.

Finally, one of the first maniacs raises to 4,000, and Daniel just calls. I’m in the 1,600 big blind with the Pee-wee Herman hand, jack-king off. I call, and the flop comes Q-10-5 with two hearts. I have the K to go along with my open-end straight draw. I check, the raiser bets 9,000, and Daniel calls. Now, I know that Daniel likes to trail with big hands like A-K or even A-A or K-K, as I have been a victim of this before, but there’s also a lot of hands I can beat or that he won’t be able to call a raise with (A-J, for instance). Or, he just may be floating (calling with nothing, hoping to steal on a later street).

I feel that I have to put a raise in here to qualify their hands, but inasmuch as I have only about 49,000 left, I feel there’s only one move for me, which is to move in. The opener passes, and Daniel calls me with pocket kings. I get no help, and I’m out with 150 players left. If they ever start paying 20 percent of the field instead of 10 percent, I’ll be in good shape.

Todd Brunson has been a professional poker player for more than 20 years. While primarily a cash-game player, he still has managed to win 18 major tournaments, for more than $3.5 million. He has won one bracelet and cashed 25 times at the World Series of Poker. You can play with Todd online at DoylesRoom.com or live at his tournament, The Todd Brunson Montana Poker Challenge, in Bigfork, Montana. Check his website, ToddBrunson.com, for details.