Playing Live

I played live for the first time at the Gala Casino at Teesside Park on Friday 4th November 2005.
I had been planning to go for a while, however, with no local poker-playing mates it was to be a solo expedition and I had been putting it off for a while.
The casino holds a £10 no limit re-buy tournament every Friday, registration starting at 7pm and the tourney at 8pm. I arrived early to give me time to find out what's what and found time before registratiion to read all the rules posted on a notice board in the card room. It was a good move as I learned important things like, the 50 chips are removed from the tables after an hour, and the re-buy period ends after 115 minutes.
When we started the players were a mixed bunch, some casino regulars who knew the ropes, a lot of young male internet players, some better than others, and a core of seasoned poker players.
I felt quite at home after 9 months of practice on the internet and a clear understanding of the local rules.
The first hand dealt me 88 on the BB and UTG went all in, it was folded round to me and I had a decision to make. I could either fold like a girl or push 'em in, I chose the latter.
He showed ATo and I flipped over the eights, an Ace on the flop and I was beat, "Re-buy please."
I thought that this may turn out to be an expensive lesson, but things soon settled down and that was my only re-buy of the night. I played tight straight forward poker with not too many tricks or bluffs, and made it to the break at the end of the re-buy period as leader of my table with 10,000 chips.
The player to my immediate right was obviously the worst for drink and making some crazy plays, but somehow he kept hitting, including calling an all in with 74s and hitting his flush to beat pocket aces. I made a mental note to take him on if the opportunity arose, and it did early on after the break. I had AT on the BB , three limpers round to me including the drunk guy on the SB. I raised, 2 folded and my target called. This was the position I wanted, now I needed to flop an ace. The flop came A72 rainbow he checked and I sensed my opportunity. I had estimated his chip stack at about 3500 so I decided that three bets of 1200 would take all his chips unless QQ or KK hit the board and I had to bail out.
I bet 1200 he called, turn 5, he checked , I bet 1200, he called, river was a 9, he checked I bet 1200 to put him all in, he called and showed AJ, A disaster, outkicked for nearly half my chips. I never really recovered from that and eventually went out with AQs against KK in about 40th place out of 90 plus.


My second attempt went a little better a week later, by coincidence I drew the same seat on the same table as the week before. I never had a hand until dealt AKo on my BB. There were 6 or 7 limpers so I raised all in, only to get 3 callers, none of which had a pair. The board was all low cards and I won the hand with Ace high to quadruple up and get right into the game.
I never lost a hand that I played to showdown before the re-buy period ended and at this point I was handily placed with about 18,000 chips. A talkative internet player called Ty was the chip leader on my table at the break with a hefty stack of about 30,000.
After the break I had a run of good cards and made the best use of them. Dealt AA UTG I elected to limp and hope for a raise, it duly came from a highstack and I hesitated before going all in, he quickly called and showed AKo, my aces held up and I was handily placed.
An aggressive player with a large chip stack was moved onto my table and began stealing blinds with large raises. In mid-position I had 66 and with the aggressive player and the talkative Ty limping in I announced a raise. as I went to my stack to count out the chips to raise, Ty said, "It had better be a big raise to push us both out". I pushed out a small stack of green 1000 chips, "5000," I said, as the table folded round to the aggressive big stack, Ty did me no favours by saying, "Thats big enough," letting the aggresive guy know he was folding. "Not for me," he announced, pushing his chips in, "I'm all in."
The show of bravado and aggressive raise suggested to me that his hand was weak and he didn't want a caller. "I call," I said, and a flicker of fear in his eyes confirmed my read. He turned over A4s and I revealed the sixes. They held up and I had a nice stack of about 50,000.
The increasing blinds ate away at my chips while I waited patiently for a starting hand, and a big guy with a big pile of green 1000 chips arrived at the table. By now we were down to the last two tables and I actually began to think about making the final table and getting in the money.
With 7 players left on our table and the blinds at 1500/3000 I looked down at AKo. Two folded ahead of me and I raised to 8000. The big guy called, the blinds folded and we saw a flop of 9TJ rainbow. For some reason I knew I was still ahead, I sensed his hand was weak and his call had come from the security of the chip lead. I pushed 'em all in, but he called immediately and I worried I had misread him. When he flipped over As8s I was delighted, anything but a seven I thought, however the poker gods conspired against me, he hit runner, runner spades for a back door flush and I was out in unlucky 13th.
As I left I felt quite happy that I had got my chips in with the best of it, as I had all night, and if I continue to play like that a final table finish is only a matter of time.
There is always next week.......