4th Place in the Shoot Out, Main Event Begins

The shootout final table didn't quite go as planned, but that's just poker. It started out kind of funny, and although the blind were small, players were open raising all in with 20 big blinds or more. I am not a fan of this strategy for several reasons. First of all when you get called you are almost always behind, and yes sometimes you can accumulate chips the first couple of times and then if you win when called your stack can appreciate markedly, but usually when you are called you have the worst of it and out you go. I wasn't playing a lot of hands and stayed about even, when I raised 3 BB's from the small blind with KQ and was called by the big blind. The flop came QJ4. I bet the pot and was called. The turn brought a 4 and with 60% of my starting chips in the pot I put the rest in and was called rather quickly. He showed A4. Now I was really short with 8 players left. What a terrible call on the flop for 75% of his chips, but that's just the way it goes. I managed to get a few chips back, and doubled with AK against a small pair. Then the table went nuts. Theo Tran got trapped with A4 on a 23J board. He had the gutter ball and the over, while his opponent had AJ. They were the two big stacks at the table and Theo failed to improve, and I moved up the ladder. David Levi, who is very solid, moved all in with about 20 BB's and a big ace and was called by AK and was eliminated.

I felt like that cat in the poster hanging on to the door, but all of a sudden we were 4 handed. Then what happened was an ominous sign, I picked up AA in the big blind and it was folded around to me. A walk with aces, boy I hate that. Then I start getting really short and push from the small blind with a suited A5 and the big blind calls with 66 and I fail to improve. I cashed$10,800 for a $545 investment, but I really wanted a win.

Today begins the Main event here at the LAPC. The estimates are about 650 players, which would be a good turn out. I feel like I am playing well and am focused, so with a little luck, hopefully some good will come of it.

For more information on Roy Winston, you can visit his website: www.oraclepoker.net or send him an email. The contents presented herein on this blog are purely the opinions of Roy Winston, and are not intended to reflect or promote the opinions of any other person, group, or entity. If you like what I write than thanks for reading, and if not well, thanks anyway.