The Hero, the Villain and the Sheriff

 

I witnessed an interesting hand play out tonight in a 2-5 No Limit game at the Red Rock Casino. I’ll change the names of the players involved, hitherto be named:  The Hero, The Villain and The Sheriff.

Our “Hero” opens the pot from EP with a raise to 30. The Villain in MP, makes it 90 to go and the Sheriff in LP, comes along for the ride. This re-opens the betting for our Hero, who promptly 4 bets it to 285, which sends the villain into “the tank.” After 2 solid minutes of heavy thought and asking how much each player has behind, he moves all-in for 1k. The sheriff, with a shrug of the shoulders, reluctantly puts in his remaining 600 into the middle, which sends the action now over to our Hero once again.  Who, by the way, is sitting on pocket Kings! Put your self in this situation now and in 30 seconds, decide what to do. Go!

The reason I gave you 30 seconds was because that is what our Hero had before he quietly mucked his hand. Knowledge and experience of playing with the villain surely helped him in this spot, but still it is a tough spot and that surely will put to test ones discipline. Remember, you’re staring at a pot that has over 2k in it and you have two kings!

A nice lay down was made by our Hero, as the villain, after being called by the sheriff, reveals AA. The sheriff, in true form, flips over A6 of spades. The board ran out A-6-7-3-3 and our villain shot the sheriff, but not our Hero. Who, by the way, quietly got up a couple of minutes later and took a walk, before returning to play with a clear presence of mind.

There are a couple of valuable lessons to learn from this hand and I hope you’ll take them with you when you play.

Kenna James

Professional Player and Coach

www.kennajames.com 

Aussie Millions 1k - 6 handed Event #3

 

Poker players today have a tendency to push small edges, in order to realize maximum value, when their opponents don’t defend.  To those that do defend, the game can then develop into a chess like battle between two gladiators looking for a chink in the armor to land a deadly blow. 

Such was the case on table 21 today in the 1k 6 handed event, here at the Aussie Millions.  The action was fast and furious and it was tough not to get caught up in the cross-fire.  Blinds were 75-150 (10k in chips to start) and in one of my first key hands I was dealt pocket 44’s. I made a min. raise to 300 in 1^st position and got two callers.  Out of position now, I decided to lead for 550 into a pot of 1050, on a flop of 3/5/9 two hearts and got one lone caller.  The turn was a black 2 and with this card decided to continue my story of strength and made an 800 bet, with what I thought was a reasonable chance of having the best hand.  My opponent insta-called.  The river was a King of diamonds, which now I thought was a perfect card for me.  If my opponent was on a flush draw I had the best hand and just in case he was being stubborn with a hand like A-5 suited or 9-8.  I wanted to make a good value-looking bet on the river and finish off a well played hand. So I cut off 1200 and fired at the pot.  My opponent thought for 2 mins. before calling and turning over 4-5 off-suit, to win the pot with a pair of 5’s. Ugh! 

My assessment on this particular hand is that my play was fine, but I lacked judgement on my opponent who was obviously a calling station.  It didn't appear he could fold a napkin, let alone a pair.  As such, I violated the principle - "Never bluff the Sheriff."  The player went broke 2 hands later after slow playing top 2 pair and having his opponent turn trips. Unfortunately, not before he transferred about 3k of my chips to that players stack.  That player then put me in a tough spot when he raised my bb from his sb to 400. I re-raised making it 1100 to go with A9.  He moved in and after some strong consideration, made the fold, opting to look for a better spot.  He shows me one card, an eight, smiles and drags the pot. 

So it was tough going, but I managed to start to turn it around when a player UG made it 400, the next player who had shown a move also, made it 1200 and I moved in for 3500 and got called, again I have A9.  He made the call with KQ, my hand held and I was back to having about 8k of my initial 10k starting stack.  After some back and forth in chip movement, I re-raised (1200) an ep raiser who had a stack of about 4k with AK.  We got it all-in Pre with him holding 99’s.  I lost that race and was once again fighting for survival.  My last hand w blinds 100-200, I raised-called the sb 2400 from the button w KJ suited and found myself all in as a 3-2 dog against AQ.  The flop fell A-K-J but the board ran out 4 to a suit, giving my opponent a flush and flushing me right to the rail.

I was dealt a lot of medium strength hands today, which in a 6 handed match usually are pretty good, but today they were dogs.  Hands like small pairs, suited Broadway type hands like KJs/ QT, – etc. and Ace-Medium type hands A8/A9/AT, etc. The deck was hot, players were active and with a fast structure to start and action type flops, it was going to take immaculate timing and a little bit of luck. Unfortunately for me, she was out to lunch.

Next Up:  Tomorrow's 1k Rebuy Event.

Good Flops and Happy Days,

KJ

www.acesuccessfulpokerlife.com

Event #1 - Day 2 and Beyond

So I started a little bit below average on day 2 of Event #1 here at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Australia.  The 1k NL Hold-em event had been whittled down from the 956 starters to 132.  81 players got paid, which is always the first order of business. 

I played very steady in the first 3 hours, not exposing myself without a hand, until the money bubble finally broke and we were down to 81.  Actually just slightly improving my position, chip wise, to sitting on just over 100k.  I was determined to stick to my patient course of action, hoping I would catch a good run of cards and flops, that would propel me into a good position on the final table.  The hands were very few and far between, however, and with the blinds at 5k-10k, my 100k stack was amongst the lowest of the 32 players remaining.  I was dealt AK and raised to 40k.  A player with about 500k in chips made it 100k to go and I decided to take a stand with only 6 big blinds left obviously.  I was up against JJ's, didn't improve my hand and calmly made my way to the payout and collect 5k for my two day effort.  It was a nice start to this major event, one of my favorites in the world.

I entered the following day in Event #2, which was a 1k Shoot-Out Event, where only 1 player from each table moves on.  You must win your table.  I ended up splitting a crucial pot where I had QQ's and was up against Ace-Duece - all-in Pre, and the board ran out 5 to a flush.  I followed that up by losing another all-in battle that went like this.  A "young gun," with an 80% VIP from back position, raised to 650.  I re-raised to 1750 with 3k behind.  He shoved, I called based again on hand frequency and player type.  He had KQ and I had A9.  Again, off to the races with me holding a 60-40% advantage.  My opponent made a pair of Kings and I made squat and was quickly out of Event #2.

In last nights 1k Super Satellite for a 10k seat into the main event, there were 125 runners, so they were paying 12 spots.  This time I got it in with AQ of clubs vs. A8, for in essence the seat.  My opponent made a pair of 8's and I was out in 14th place, 2 before the money.  This is not an easy business and I was obviously angry and disappointed in this result, having been so close.  I think of the comment from the movie Rounders - "Does he look like a man beaten by Jacks!"  Here I am, allowing myself to be beat by 88's.  Disgusting.  I can't allow myself to be defeated by someone making a pair, no matter how big of a favorite I am pre-flop.  Otherwise, I might as well play the lottery.

I'll take today off, take in some of the tennis at the Australian Open (one of the perks of being here) rest up and prepare myself to compete in the 1k 6 handed event tomorrow.  Stay tuned for updates here and on www.pokernews.com for all the poker news happening "down under."  You can also catch my radio show, "The Kenna James Hour," each Monday (7-8 pm Est.) on www.ontiltradio.com to hear me recap the action live.  Till then, play your cards right and I'll see you in the winners circle.

Enjoy the Journey,

Kenna

DAY 1 - EVENT 1 - 1K NL HOLD-EM

Day 1 of Event 1 is in the books.   After 3 flights, nearly 500 players, 130 will be returning tomorrow for day 2.  Starting with 10k in chips, it was a fair, but aggressive blind structure.  One noticeable level missing was the 500-1,000 - we went from 100/400-800 to 100/600-1200.  The levels were 40 mins. long - starting 25-50 and after 12 levels, ending with 400/1200-2400.

It was a real grind the first couple of levels and I was down to about 7k before winning a key hand with ATs.  With 3 limpers, I was tempted to make a raise from the bb with my Ace-Ten of hearts, but elected to just check and play to make a hand. The flop fell K-Q-8 and it got checked around.  The turn brought a Jack, I led and got raised.  With two possible flush draws on board, I made a large 3-bet.  My opponent showed QJ for two-pair and mucked!  Nice laydown for him, nice pot for me.  I hovered around 20k for a couple of levels before deciding to make a play in back position with the T-7 of clubs.  With one limper, I limped only to find myself the lone position caller to a big blind raise, who had a high hand frequency and looked to be trying to pick up the pot.  The flop fell A-8-6 with two clubs and we both checked.  The turn brought the 8 of clubs and I flatted his 1500 bet.  The river was an off-suit 5 and my opponent led for 1700.  I made it 4500 to go and he quickly called, turning over a higher flush with the KQ of clubs.  Back down to 15k. 

I wasn't sure how this was going to go until this hand.  UG+1 limps for 400 and Avi (tight player) - a mid-position player made it 1600 to go.  I look down at QQ's and make it 5500 to go.  The original limper now moves all-in for 17k and has me covered!  After thinking a few minutes, I decide to lay it down and he shows me KK's!  Losing flush under flush, and now QQ's to Kings, it didn't look like the tournament was going my way, but I still had 16k in front of me..  Feeling encouraged by my play, I started to open up and picked up a few free pots

There's an UG limper and I flat with AQ.  The short stack behind me shoves for 8k with AJ and I call.  My hand holds up and he's sent to the rail.  I then go on a serious run that puts my stack on nearly 100k before my table breaks.  After that it became a big adjustment and struggle.  Losing with AK in a key spot, my stack shrunk to just over 30k.  I stuck with it and managed to end up the night winning a couple of pots and ending with nearly 70k in chips for the day.  Just above avg. heading into day 2.  130 left, 81 get paid and 1st is about 200k. 

After the tourney, I went for a walk along the river to stretch and get some fresh air.  Melbourne is really a beautiful city.  There is a long walkway that stretches for miles along the river.  Shops, restaurants and artists proudly display their talents for dollars.  Drawing, singing, dancing, etc. they create a wonderful ambiance under the night sky.

Getting to bed early and looking forward to competing for the title tomorrow.  Updates can be found at www.pokernews.com.

Kenna

Aussie Millions 2012

I arrived yesterday in Melbourne, Australia to compete in the 2012 Aussie Millions.  It's been 3 years since I've been here and am amazed how fast time has passed.  I'm excited to rejoin the action here as I've experienced much success in this particular tournament.  Finishing 3rd in 2003,  9th in 2005 and a deep run and cashing 44th in 2008.

Off the felt, it's summer here and the weather is perfect.  The atmosphere is electric as the poker community shares the hotel with the top tennis stars, here to play the Australian Open running concurrently with our tournament.  I literally bumped into Rafael Nadel in the lobby yesterday while checking in, which was pretty cool.  I'll take in a day of tennis on one of my few days off while I'm here.

Today is a day of work.  I woke up at 5 am after a good nights sleep and worked out the specifics of my approach and strategy for today's game.  It's 7 am here now and am off to the gym.  I'll have a one hour work out, a swim and then a healthy breakfast.  I have a private Skype lesson to give at 10 and then will have a brief rest before heading down to event #1 - a 1k NL event.  I'll do my best to post my results here over the next couple of weeks for my friends who are interested.  Just hit the subscribe button on the page if you want receive my updates.

Tip of the Day:  Act Decisively.

Good luck in whatever game you're playing today.  Hope to see you in the winners circle sometime soon!

Kenna