NATE MEYVIS

Monday

I played all three of the Action Hour tournaments. For those who don’t know, these are tournaments where the blinds go up very quickly for the first hour or so, during which rebuys are permitted. After that, the blinds go back down and the tournament ends up playing very deep as a result of all the chips on the table. Combine that with the long structure on a SCOOP-H event, and this made for frankly an absurd tournament. I played for hours and busted nowhere near the money, though I did manage a shallow cash in the $50. I’m not too thrilled with my bustout from the $500:

Poker Stars $500+$30 No Limit Hold’em Tournament – t75/t150 Blinds + t20 – 6 players – http://www.handconverter.com/hands/2501934

CO: t11046 M = 32.02
BTN: t14568 M = 42.23
SB: t19535 M = 56.62
Hero (BB): t13608 M = 39.44
UTG: t26519 M = 76.87
MP: t23706 M = 68.71

Pre Flop: (t345) Hero is BB with 7s 9s
4 folds, SB calls t75, Hero raises to t450, SB calls t300

Flop: (t1020) 9h 8s 8h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t510, SB raises to t1388, Hero calls t878

Turn: (t3796) 4c (2 players)
SB bets t2688, Hero raises to t11750 all in, SB calls t9062

River: (t27296) Qh (2 players – 1 is all in)

Tuesday

After 48 hours of clouds and rain, the sun finally appeared over Montreal. I took the opportunity to ride to the Marché Jean-Talon, which is just about my favorite thing to do in Montreal.

In the afternoon I played the M and H heads up events without cashing. I think I was pretty fortunate in my High matchups, in that I twice drew tournament players who didn’t seem to have a lot of heads up experience. The second match ended with me five-bet jamming AQo into his KK, which could probably be called “standard” although I really try to avoid big pre-flop pots against opponents like this who are so easily outplayed after the flop. You only only take that so far, though, and while I wouldn’t have 4-bet AQ to get it in, that doesn’t mean that I’m wrong to 3-bet it or to shove it over a 4-bet.

I also managed a shallow cash in the Super Tuesday $1000 SCOOP. As reported here, I made Day 2 with only about 20BBs. They all went in when I got AJs in the BB against a min-raise and a call, so it was a spot I felt quite good about it although the raiser had AQ and busted me.

Wednesday

I played and whiffed all three Super Knockout tournaments. I think in some spots I made a little too much allowance for the large bounties (seeing a lot of flops early) and in others not enough:

Poker Stars $1025+$1025+$50 No Limit Hold’em Tournament – t30/t60 Blinds – 9 players – http://www.handconverter.com/hands/2501938

Hero (SB): t7127 118.78 BBs
BB: t5156 85.93 BBs
UTG: t4964 82.73 BBs
UTG+1: t9403 156.72 BBs
UTG+2: t3672 61.20 BBs
MP1: t7236 120.60 BBs
MP2: t3712 61.87 BBs
CO: t1932 32.20 BBs
BTN: t9301 155.02 BBs

Pre Flop: (t90) Hero is SB with Qh Qd
3 folds, MP1 raises to t150, MP2 calls t150, 2 folds, Hero raises to t750, 1 fold, MP1 raises to t1525, 1 fold, Hero calls t775

Flop: (t3260) 8h Th 4c (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets t1285, Hero folds

This was a complicated hand. I expected my squeeze to look very strong, and the original raiser was quite good, but the caller was really weak so I figured I could just blatantly build the pot with him. I took it for strength that the first player was willing to raise the weaker one out of the pot, but in retrospect because he covers me he really has a lot of incentive to get it in preflop with AK and maybe even worse than that, so I probably should have gone with this, post-flop if not pre. Trying to setmine to the 4-bet was likely the worst option.

Thursday

I love the Ante Up format, and I played all three tournaments. The fields were disappointingly small, and I took bad beats early in the L and M events, but i ended up making quite a deep run in the H. I was really happy with the adjustments I made to the format, and I think that my recent live cash game experience helped because I was much more familiar with hand reading in deep, multiway pots than was anyone else and was able to make some nice plays as a result. Unfortunately I ended up taking it too far and running a suicidal bluff into a full house, ultimately finishing 19th.

The tournaments didn’t start until 5PM, though, so I got to spend the day with Luisinho, whom some of you may recognize from the blog comments. Vegetarian chili, the best coffee in Montreal, and some of the best natas (Portuguese egg tart) in the world were a great start to the day.

Friday

I played the $10 and $100 Big Ante events. I was on the fence about playing the $1000, but it drew a small and tough-looking field and I wasn’t at my sharpest after staying up until 5AM playing the Ante Up the night before, so I passed. Nothing remarkable happened in the other two.

Saturday

I played all three six-max shootouts and made the semifinals of both the H and the M. If I’d used the same tactic as on Friday and monitored the H field closely, I probably wouldn’t have played, but unlike on Friday I was really feeling sharp and pretty roundly outplayed my first table. The second table just wasn’t winnable from my seat. I got set under set for half of my stack and then lost a flip to bust the other half.

The $200 event was much more interesting, but I’ll likely cover it in a series for Tournament Poker Edge, so I won’t get into too many details here.

Sunday

Sundays are such brutal days. The fields are just so huge that even running well for hours on end isn’t enough to guarantee success. I finished in the top 2% of the L Warmup event for less than $200 and near-bubbled the M and H Sunday Million tournaments. The big news was final tabling the Sunday $100 rebuy, ultimately finishing 4th for about $30,000. Really I just ran absurdly hot. I won’t deny that I made some good plays along the way, but in retrospect my play at the final table was embarrassing. I guess if nothing else it’s a good wake-up call that I’ve grown rusty in this regard, which when you’re playing tournaments you simply can’t afford to do.

It reminds me of a point I always scold my MTT students about, which is not being confident with heads up play. When you enter a tournament, you simply can’t afford not to play well at the final table or heads up. Even though they don’t come often, so much of your equity depends on making the most of these situations.

Oh some guy named Shawn Deeb also still in the hunt.

I’m curious how you all would handle this river. The table generally had been pretty aggressive pre-flop, and believe it or not I’d been pretty well behaved. Villain was the most aggressive 3-better, with a 3B% of about 10.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 320 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds 10 Ante (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t8552)
Hero (UTG) (t8895)
MP (t5126)
Button (t3522)
SB (t3905)

Hero’s M: 44.48

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, Q
Hero bets t255, 1 fold, Button raises to t600, 2 folds, Hero calls t345

Flop: (t1400) Q, 9, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t588, Hero calls t588

Turn: (t2576) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: (t2576) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets t1111, Button raises to t2324 (All-In)

1213 for me to call, so I’m getting about 5-to -1.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2500+$100 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) (t4975)
Button (t5025)

Hero’s M: 66.33

Preflop: Hero is SB with 3, K
Button bets t100, Hero calls t50

Flop: (t200) 6, 2, J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t125, Hero calls t125

Turn: (t450) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: (t450) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets t250, Button calls t250

Total pot: t950

Results:
Button had J, 4 (two pair, Jacks and sixes).
Hero had 3, K (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: Button won t950

This might not seem like “running hot”, but the outcome of run-of-the-mill spots like this often determine the winner of a heads up tournament between two good players. The variance is through the room. This is just a standard spot where his range ought to be ridiculously wide, I turn my hand into a bluff on the river to knock out Ax and better Kx, and he has top pair.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2500+$100 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t3175)
SB (t6825)

Hero’s M: 42.33

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, 9
Hero bets t150, SB calls t100

Flop: (t300) Q, 10, 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t300) 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t125, SB raises to t450, Hero calls t325

River: (t1200) 7 (2 players)
SB bets t950, Hero folds

Total pot: t1200

Results:
SB didn’t show
Outcome: SB won t1200

Obviously didn’t get to see his hand here, so I may just have been outplayed, but based on his timing and just generally how he plays, I’m pretty sure he had it.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2500+$100 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) (t4525)
Button (t5475)

Hero’s M: 60.33

Preflop: Hero is SB with J, Q
Button bets t100, Hero calls t50

Flop: (t200) Q, A, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t125, Hero calls t125

Turn: (t450) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t325, Hero calls t325

River: (t1100) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t750, Hero calls t750

Total pot: t2600

Results:
Button had 8, Q (flush, Ace high).
Hero mucked J, Q (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Button won t2600

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2500+$100 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t2925)
SB (t7075)

Hero’s M: 39.00

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, K
Hero bets t100, SB calls t50

Flop: (t200) 2, Q, 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t200) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t125, SB raises to t440, Hero raises to t1010, SB raises to t6975 (All-In), Hero calls t1815 (All-In)

River: (t5850) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t5850

Results:
Hero had A, K (one pair, Aces).
SB had 5, 5 (three of a kind, fives).
Outcome: SB won t5850

Honestly, this last one might have been a little tilty, though it’s obviously a shit spot. I was trying to get him to 4-bet shove a draw on the turn, which I doubt he does.

In the $250, I draw a Round 1 Bye, which is pretty crazy considering that I’m pretty sure only one person out of the 1500+ field got one. In Round 2, I drew the curiously named Roothlus2. A quick google revealed that his last name is Levy, leading me to conclude that he is likely the brother of Adam “Roothlus” Levy. I say brother and not multi-account because he was way weaker than the real Roothlus, and I polished him off pretty handily.

My Round 3 opponent wasn’t super-tough either, but he was better at making small bluffs than randoms usually are and I didn’t adapt well. I never really caught the cards I wanted to play back at him, and eventually we got pretty shallow with him having a substantial chiplead. I open jammed KJs for about 12BB, he called with A5, and the flop came K52, giving me some hope of doubling back up to even, but the turn 5 drove the nail into the coffin.

The 2+2 MTT community is mostly salivating over this, though some are a little concerned that the smaller events will actually discourage people from trying satellite into the bigger events. I don’t think they’re wrong, but I still expect the big events to be plenty soft thanks to tourney donks playing with relatively deep stacks for fairly big money.

The only issue for me is how to get enough money on Stars by April to enable me to play the ones I want without busting the bankroll. I may suck it up and make a wire transfer, which I’ve so far refused to do on principle since Stars makes the depositor pay the wire fees. It’s really preposterous- I pay enough rake in 10 minutes to cover the fees, and it’s clearly in their interest for me to have money on their site.

Anyway, the schedule:

Event 1 – 2 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – NL Hold’em with Rebuys [6-max]

Really looking forward to this one, will probably play the medium and the large.

• 01-L: $5.50 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 01-M: $55 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 01-H: $530 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 2 – 2 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – PL Omaha Hi/Lo

I like PLO8 and will probably play the medium, maybe the large depending on what the field looks like. I’d probably even be willing to play the large if I thought I was slightly -EV.

• 02-L: $11 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 02-M: $109 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 02-H: $1,050 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 3 – 3 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – PL 5-Card Draw

I might play the small or medium for fun, but definitely won’t be playing the large.

• 03-L: $11 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 03-M: $109 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 03-H: $1,050 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 4 – 3 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em [2X Chance, turbo]

It’s hard to turn down the great value that all of these NLHE tourneys represent, but I really hate turbos. In these, the tourney donks might actually have the edge on me.

• 04-L: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 04-M: $162 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 04-H: $1,575 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 5 – 4 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – NL Hold’em Shootout [10-max]

The large will probably be worth playing.

• 05-L: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 05-M: $162 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 05-H: $1,575 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 6 – 4 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – PL Omaha [1R1A, 6-max]

I might play the medium, but lately I’ve no interest in PLO.

• 06-L: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 06-M: $215 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 06-H: $2,100 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 7 – 5 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – H.O.R.S.E.

Recently I’ve concluded that I may not be as good at HORSE as I thought, and/or everyone else is getting better. If I play, it will probably just be the low.

• 07-L: $109 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 07-M: $1,050 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 07-H: $10,300 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 8 – 5 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em [2-day]

Juicy! The medium will be fine, but it’s probably not a good idea to burn so much time on a $300 tournament. I really want to play the large though.

• 08-L: $33 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 08-M: $320 buy-in, $1,500,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 08-H: $3,150 buy-in, $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 9 – 6 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – FL Triple Draw 2-7

If I play, it would only be the low for fun. Whenever I play this game, I always end up screwing up and getting excited about an Ace or a straight.

• 09-L: $22 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 09-M: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 09-H: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 10 – 6 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em [Heads-Up Match Play]

Nice opportunity for heads up, will probably play medium and large.

• 10-L: $16.50 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 10-M: $162 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 10-H: $1,575 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 11 – 7 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – Mixed Hold’em [6-max]

Meh. I really hate and suck at FLHE. I’ll probably sit this one out.

• 11-L: $33 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 11-M: $320 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 11-H: $3,150 buy-in, $800,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 12 – 7 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo

I like this game, but I’m probably not good enought for the large. I’ll likely play the medium though.

• 12-L: $22 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 12-M: $215 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 12-H: $2,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 13 – 8 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – FL Razz

Same as above, only Razz is more frustrating. Maybe the medium, not the large.

• 13-L: $22 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 13-M: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 13-H: $2,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 14 – 8 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em [6-max]

Tight! Medium and large are both high priorities, and I might even play the low.

• 14-L: $55 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 14-M: $530 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 14-H: $5,200 buy-in, $1,250,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 15 – 9 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – 8-Game

I’m probably too bad at too many of these games to warrant playing even the medium.

• 15-L: $44 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 15-M: $425 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 15-H: $4,175 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 16 – 9 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – 7-Card Stud

I don’t really like and suck at 7-stud, so I won’t be playing these.

• 16-L: $33 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 16-M: $320 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 16-H: $3,150 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 17 – 10 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – NL Hold’em [1R1A]

I’ll play the medium, and I’d like to play the high, but it’ll stretch the bankroll. We’ll see.

Event 18 – 10 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – PL Omaha

Meh, probably skip all of these.

• 18-L: $55 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 18-M: $530 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 18-H: $5,200 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 19 – 11 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – FL Omaha Hi/Lo

I’m not much on this game, will probably skip it.

• 19-L: $55 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 19-M: $530 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 19-H: $5,200 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 20 – 11 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – FL Hold’em [6-max]

Definitely not playing these.

• 20-L: $55 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 20-M: $530 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 20-H: $5,200 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 21 – 12 April 2009 @ 14:30 ET – NL Hold’em [Heads-Up Match Play]

I’ll play the medium and maybe the low but definitely not the high.

• 21-L: $270 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 21-M: $2,600 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 21-H: $25,500 buy-in, $800,000 guaranteed prize pool

Event 22 – 12 April 2009 @ 16:30 ET – NL Hold’em Main Event [2-day]

I’ll play the medium for sure. I’d really like to play the high, but I don’t know if it’s going to be practical.

• 22-L: $109 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 22-M: $1,050 buy-in, $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool
• 22-H: $10,300 buy-in, $5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool

An example of what I mean but loose and passive but not necessarily bad (since I am just a random in his eyes):

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 40/80 Blinds, 7 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter

CO: 2,340
BTN: 2,625
Lindgren: 7,415
BB: 6,030
Hero (UTG): 2,025
UTG+1: 1,505
MP: 2,060

Pre-Flop: (120) Q Q dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to 225, 4 folds, Lindgren calls 185, BB calls 145

Flop: (675) A 4 8 (3 Players)
Lindgren checks, BB bets 320, Hero calls 320, Lindgren calls 320

Turn: (1,635) 2 (3 Players)
Lindgren checks, BB checks, Hero checks

River: (1,635) 2 (3 Players)
Lindgren checks, BB checks, Hero checks

Results: 1,635 Pot
Lindgren showed A J (two pair, Aces and Twos) and WON 1,635 (+1,090 NET)
BB showed 6 8 (two pair, Eights and Twos) and LOST (-545 NET)
Hero showed Q Q (two pair, Queens and Twos) and LOST (-545 NET)

By the way, BB was a terrible LAGtard and QQ is way ahead of his range when he leads flop. I was definitely not expecting Lindgren to show up with an Ace behind me.