The Caesar’s Daily Tourney Recap

So as my mobile post said, I took 6th place in Thursday’s Caesar’s daily tourney for a cash of $505. The top 10 spots were paid and the prize pool was about $8000. We started with 70, but they filled seats with alternates as people busted out early, so the total number of players was 79.

I played this with Don and Carmen because Don had said it had one of the best structures for the money. After playing this one and the Binions tourney, I wholeheartedly agree. The two were night and day really, and this structure benefited me better.

To register, you play $80 with $65 going to the prize pool and $15 going to the house. For that entry fee, you get T1500 to start and you are allowed one rebuy for an additional $50, which is also added to the prized pool. You can do the rebuy/add-on any time you want before the first break. After that, you forfeit it. All 79 that played did the rebuy, so in reality, the tourney costs you $130. The thing with the rebuy though, is that you get an additional T3000 for the rebuy. Basically, you need to do it and most people buy it as soon as they sit down.

I was the first of the 3 of us to arrive and register, since I was staying right across the street. Carmen was next to arrive and we chatted about the structure a little bit. She mentioned that a lot of people did their rebuy right away, but she wasn’t sure it was a great idea. She said they were both eliminated before the break the other time they played because their superior hands got sucked out on. Although the benefit of the big stack, and the potential for a big double up is there, she wasn’t sure it was worth it. I was glad she mentioned that because it would play heavily into me making deep in this tourney.

The table I started at was very solid. Only 1 or 2 donkeys at the table really. For the most part, it was a tight and aggressive crowd but that was tough to see at the beginning. To better put it in perspective, 3 of us from this table would make it to the final table, and 5 of us made it to the final 2 tables. The guy to my immediate left to start was the eventual winner or the whole thing. Like I said, it was a strong table, which was probably pretty helpful.

I picked up a couple small pots early when I had position and noone was moving for the pot. After about a half hour, still in the first level though, I had my first donkey hand of the day. I was on the button with J10h and there was a raise ahead of me with 2 callers. I decided to see the flop and called.

The flop came rainbow 9 10 J. The action checked to me so I put out a pot sized bet. The only caller I got was the original raiser. He called after thinking for a bit so I put him on the draw, maybe with big slick. The turn was a 3 and he checked to me again. I put another pot sized bet out and again, after thinking he called. At this point, I am pot committed but I am hoping to pair the board or at least get another rag on the river.

I got my wish when the river was a 2. He checked again so I pushed and he called with his flopped straight. Doh! What a donkey I was man. The guy played it perfect really although I probably would have been afraid to play it that way. In any event, I was reaching into my pocket for my rebuy money and got my fresh stack of T3000.

I can’t figure out why I was so confident in that hand all the way until the cards flipped to be honest. I have to admit that after going over it for the next few minutes, I never put him on the flopped straight. He was in early position and didn’t think he would have raised with KQo, but I should have realized it was possible. I also never put him on a possible set. With the 2 cards I had, it was unlikely, but possible still. Anyway, I scolded myself for being a donkey and needed to focus.

Luckily, a few hands after my rebuy, I woke up with cowboys on the button. There was a standard raise in MP so I reraise about double his raise and he flat called. The flop came all low cards and I bet out about half the pot after he checked it to me. He thought for a minute and called. The turn was another low card with no real draws to speak of so I bet out again after his check. It was a little more than half the pot and he called again. The river was the same, a blank and I bet again and he called. My KK was good vs. his JJ (not ok) and I was up to T4500, the same as my starting stack would have been if I had done the rebuy to start. Phew.

The next hand that I played was in the SB and I had Q9d and completed with about 4 limpers ahead of me. The BB checked it and 6 of us saw the flop of Ad 7d 4d for a flopped flush. I checked and after everyone else did, the turn came a blank. I bet out about a third of the pot and the BB called along with 2 other callers. The river was another blank so I bet enough to get the BB all in. He had not done his rebuy so he was the short stack. My bet brought me to about T3000 again, but I was licking my chops until he called and as the other guy folded, the BB announced to the table, “I have the nuts boys”. Yeah, my flopped Q high flush was drawing dead from the start. His KJd doubled him up and put me behind again.

I couldn’t feel to bad about how I played this one. I think I just have to chock this one up to bad luck since it was the only had that could possibly have me beat, and it was a very unlikely holding for the BB.

I was able to chip up with a few small pots here and there over the next hour or so. I was probably around T4000 again when I got the cowboys again. I was in late position and there were a couple limpers so I bumped it about 4xBB and got one caller. The flop was all low cards and the only caller then bet out about half the pot. Again, I was against a short stack that hadn’t done his rebuy yet…luckily. I pushed and he called immediately and turned over his pocket Aces. He limped, and then flat called my pre-flop raise. I was down to about T2500. Again, pretty unlucky hand for me.

I went card dead for a while unfortunately and the blinds got to be about 150/300 with a 50 ante. With my stack down to about T1400, I pushed with A10o hoping to steal another orbit. The guy to my immediate left, the same guy with the KJd, woke up with AKo and called. It didn’t look good for me until I spiked my 3 outer 10 and doubled through. I again picked up a couple small pots and after about 4 hours of being on the same table, I was finally moved to another table with about T4000, but still alive.

At this point in the tourney, there was a lot more push and fold going on. I sat at the new table for about 15 minutes when I was dealt pocked 10s in late position. I bumped it up to 3xBB and was called by a smaller stack. The flop came 9 high and the guy pushed on me. I thought for a minute, not wanting to be over confident in my overpair, but with the money in the pot and his short stack, I figured it was a move. I called and he had A9, having flopped TPTK. My 10s held up and I was up to about T8000. About 2 hands later, a small stack pushed and I called with AJs. He had an M of about 1 so I figured he couldn’t have much. He ended up with QJo and my hand held up. At this point, we were about 4 hours in and down to 3 tables. Over half the field was gone, and my T12000 was about an average stack.

From there on, there wasn’t much too memorable. It was all stealing in position, folding to pressure and watching others go out. We got down to about 12 players and the top 10 were in the money. I woke up bullets in the cutoff and min-raised the 1k/2k blinds to 4k. The BB was a shorter stack than me and I was hoping for a push. The dude that I had lost the flush to, and had sucked out to survive against earlier was 3 spots to my left and decided to bring attention to the min-raise. He started talking about whether it meant I was weak or had pocket aces. I laughed at him and told him to call and find out, hoping he would do the opposite and go over the top. He ended up folding but the BB just called the raise. The flop came Q high and the BB checked it to me. I pushed and he thought and thought. He then made the good read and folded but that got me back to a little above average. Unfortunately, that was to be my last good hand of the tourney.

We got down to the top ten and redrew seats for the final table. I got the button. The blinds were now at 1k/2k with 400 antes and I had an average stack but there were about 3 big stacks and 3 smaller stacks. On the first hand, the button, who was a stack about my size pushed and was busted by a slightly bigger stack. Down to 9, it didn’t take long to get rid of another of the small stacks. I was card dead and couldn’t catch a thing.

I was drifting to the short stack side as the blinds got up to 2k/4k with 500 antes. We saw 2 more go down during that blind level, but again, I took a couple small pots when I pushed with some ok hands in late position and got no callers. We were down to 6, but I was the short stack slightly. The blinds were at 3k/6k with 1k antes and my stack was only about 35k.

At that point someone mentioned a chop. It was a guy who was barely ahead of me and there was a little interest but they were trying to figure out the details. They wanted to do something like take cash off the top for first only and chop the rest by stacks. I knew I wasn’t going to benefit much from it so I just kept quiet. One of the locals, who had a big stack so he wanted to play one more hand and see what happened since they weren’t really getting anywhere on the details. He then raised the blinds 5xBB and the guy who had mentioned the chop in the first place went over the top and pushed on him. They were both locals and the raiser was just plain pissed. He had to called since the reraise was only about 12k more and started asking him why he would do that while they were talking chop. He turned over pocket 4s and the pusher turned over AQh.

The flop brought a Q and I was left the lone short stack, with the raiser pissed off and the pusher pretty happy. Basically, we called time at that point to discuss the chop. The gist of it was, they wanted to take out 1400 off the top of the prize pool (about $6700 left I think) and then chop the rest by stack size. Since I was the smallest stack, I would end up getting less than if I just stuck it out. The big stack (yup, the dude with the flush against me, etc…) said he would take an extra $200 out of the top and put half to each of the shortest stacks.

That would have made my share $530. The 6th place amount, before any chop, was $505. I said it made no sense for me to do that. One of the dealers who was standing there shook his head in agreement with me (without the locals seeing of course). They tried to argue that I would guarantee more money, plus have a freeroll to get the $1400 extra. I thought this was a ridiculous argument since my stack was about 1/6th of the top stack at that point.

I went with my gut and said sorry guys, but I don’t see the benefit. Let’s play. The next couple hands came and went and the top stack asked me what it would take as I was in the BB. I was down to about T20k after my BB so maybe I should have asked for an extra hundred or something then, but I said I would see how the hand went. Of course I had dog crap again and 2 hands later, I pushed with my A3o and was called by AJd. I didn’t improve and they were rid of me in 6th.

Everyone was real cool, and I am sure happy I was out at that point, but were very complimentary about my play. I think they knew it didn’t make sense for me to take the deal, but were glad they could get it done now that I was gone.

Anyway, I collected my $505, tipped out the dealers and I was off, after about 6 and a half hours of poker. It was a long day, but I had a great time and was happy with the way I played for almost the entire day.

The blind levels of 40 minutes and the good-sized stack let everyone play a patient game and didn’t become a push fest until much later in the day. All in all, it seemed like the best structure out there, as Don and Carmen had said.

Ok, I think that is it for this one. Let me know what you think about some of those hands, and whether you think I should have taken the deal. 5th place was scheduled to get about $595 I think if that helps your decision.

Sorry for the long recap, thanks for sticking with it.