Final Table

Well the final table didn't go as I'd hoped, I finished 4^th after a marathon session. We were at 4 players for what seemed like ever. The chips kept getting passed around and the blinds and antes kept going up. Towards the end I actually became chip leader when I doubled up through Cody when I picked up AA to his JJ and the flop came all little. I then lost A 8 to J 8 all in pre-flop, with my final hand being A 9 Vs. 10 10. I felt like I played reasonably well, but obviously disappointed. Id did feel good to make a final table here at the LAPC. Cheri and Kevin who run the event really do a great job as did the dealers, although they could have giving me better hands.

My next event will be the 7 card stud tomorrow. Maybe I'm just saving my best performance for the main event. I'm trying to decide whether or not to play the EPT finals in Monte Carlo. The issue is, that it conflicts with Bellagio's WPT championship preliminary events. Also the amount of the time I am spending on the road away from home is beginning to get old. So spending April in Vegas would be some much needed time off.

I was asked by a lot of people, both by email and in person, over the last couple of days about how to improve one's chances of going deep in a tournament. One of the more important things which I see lacking in many tournament players is the discipline not to get inpatient and waste chips in bad situations. What I mean by that is be patient, and wait for the right hand in the right position. So often, someone plays well all day, and then gets inpatient and winds up playing a marginal hand, out of position and then over commits during post flop play. I am convinced that a tight aggressive style, with the ability to attack the antes and blinds when they are weak is a winning style. That's not to say that there aren't other successful styles, but I think tight is the new loose. In summary, play smart, keep focused, watch your opponents carefully, especially when you are NOT in the hand and every time you are committing, a lot of chips ask yourself "is this the best situation for me to be putting my chips in." Avoid the marginal situations and be patient.

http://www.cardplayer.com/players/results/Roy-Winston/36778

The Oracle