Five Diamond Classic
Monday, December 15, 2008 - Roothlus
I’ve been in Las Vegas for the past week playing the Five Diamond Classic preliminary events before the big show starts tomorrow, the $15k WPT. I was able to cash my first tournament (the $3k) but have since bricked out the three $5ks. The fields are way better than in October when Festa Lago was going on. I think with the combination of it being in October, it being right after the economy went into serious recession, and it going on during other events, the fields were so bad. The three $5ks this time got 141, 170, and 240 respectively which is a stark contrast from the bleak fields of Festa. I think all 3 $5ks combined barely had more than the last Five Diamond $5k. This is healthy for poker. I’m thinking the main event will get upwards of 450.
The $3k event was my best shot to make some real cheese but I found myself extremely carddead very late in the tournament. This is where you ask how card dead was I. I was so card dead that I needed a defibrillator to revive the deck. Heyyyooo. I know I know, bad joke. But who cares, it’s my blog. Anyways, I got in all in with AQo on the bb with 28k at 2k 4k against Amit Makitja’s Kjo. He hit a K, then a Jack, then a K and I was out. That’s a full house for all you poker n00bs out there. Still not bad to cash my first tournament.
The first $5k wasn’t too much fun. I maybe should not have played the $5k because it was right after the $3k and I had stayed up until 4AM the night before grinding that tourney into 17th place. I was playing fine but I soon found out that I was easily tiltable that day. David Pham was on my left, not a problem. Right off the bat he tried to 3-bet me when I raised to assert his dominance as the best tournament player on the planet. Well, he’s pretty close to, if not the best so I guess he has a right to try to show the person on his right who’s boss. But I wasn’t having it so I 4-bet him with A9o. He deliberated and called. Flop came KK4r. I bet 1800, he folded claiming he had Jacks. At the table I was acknowledging his statement but in my head I was like “yea right bud, I’d give you Q10s at best”. I doubled up early on when I hit trips on a 774dd board against J8dd and held. I was chilling at 30k at 50/100. Played some pots here and there while David Pham busted to Elky and they moved in Chad “Lilholdem954” Batista to my table. Bust one sicko, bring in another. Needless to say it was not an easy table. Anyways, after David busted they moved in this guy who was playing every pot and reraising a ton. He was really frustrating because I had no idea who he was and couldn’t tell if he was really good or really bad or a bad player doing good things. Eventually I 4-bet him with 77 to his 3-bet and he called with Jacks. Even sicker, I turned my 7 and he rivered the Jack. So that stung a bit. Shorty thereafter, I was raising 56dd with 14k at 100/200 UTG to 600 and he reraised me in UTG+1 to 2k. I called because I was a tiltbox that day and the flop came 847. LOLOL Really??? The flop went check check and the turn came a King where we got it in and he had AK. Fast forward 2 hours later I found myself with 35k at 300 600 and I flat a tight guy’s raise with AQo. This guy to my left squeezes and I call. He has AK and I double him up. The very next hand I get AQo again and he 3 bets me and I shove. He calls with 55. I brick out and I just went from 35k to out in 2 hands. Well, that was fun.
The 2nd 5k I got 40th in. I got up to 40k and was straight crusing when I got into a 50k flip at 200 400 and lost it on the river. Booooo. Grinded back by battling hard but the blinds started escalating and I found myself at 24k at 800/1600. Button raised to 5k and I shipped with Qjss and he had AKo. Flop even came 367ss and I bricked out. Booooo once again.
Thursday was the 3rd 5k and I played pretty well in this one as well although I was playing kind of bad early on but calmed myself down and after the first break I was fine. I built up to about 20k then won a flip against a AQo with JJ and found myself at 40k. Then I called with top pair against a bare flush draw and held to get up to a very nice stack of 60k at 300 600. That was my highest point and it was pretty much all downhill from there. I gave Elky 10k on a flip, then raise/folded a few times and found myself at 36k going into 600/1200. At 600/1200 I shoved KJdd into AKo after being carddead and having to raise/fold a few more times. It gets frustrating when you have to raise/fold knowing this specific person either has the hand or is not capable of shoving or reraising me light. Oh well, that’s how things go. Needless to say, I’m happy with my performance. Obviously I could’ve used a little more luck late in these tourneys but that’s the way it goes.
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