Natural Moves

From time to time we send it through,

A simple message you can view,

The lift of an eye

The amazing gentle sigh,

Fingers through the hair

Followed by the poker stare

Shifting in the seat

With a sad look of defeat

The unnatural cough continued

With the wipe of the mouth

Long face down on chips

Reveling scared to make that slip

Play some hands blind

To open your mind

To learn the tells we show

For if you can your poker will grow

POPPING BUBBLE

This comes up a lot in conversations.

Would you play this hand on or around the money bubble?

If so how would you play it?

Last month during the Melbourne Champs with 30 players left to the money.

What happened and should I have played it differently.

After 2 days of play and very low stack with 30 players left to the money bubble in dealer position, I look down at KK. My first instinct is oh know this is decision time. I scan the table and don’t really see any poker players looking strong with their hands. I run through my head do I risk my tournament on KK? Do I simply fold and try and last till the bubble pops. Do I push all-in when it’s my go. Or simply put in a raise.


Now dealer position is prime and sitting with KK, I need to use this hand to chip up. Each player folds around to me. I raise with small blind folding. Big blind re-raises. What are the chances of him having AA? Without too much thought I push all-in putting the pressure back on him. Does he want to risk his tournament? Time seemed to stand still with silence so thick a knife would surely slice through. Playing with his poker chips and realising it will leave him very short stack if his hand does not pay off.

I am feeling confident he will fold, for if he had AA he would have called instantly. With his actions I now put him on AK, Q, J or mid pockets. I am nervous now as other players have noticed the all-in action about to take place. At this point after hours and hours of play so close to bubble who would risk their stack and the chance to be knocked out. Well he did calling and turning over 99.

As soon as I saw the mid pair I knew I was done. That my poker tournament life was about to be smoked and as the flop fell with a 9, I now was fighting for my tournament life. Even turning the gut shot was still very little chance for me. As the river fell I leant over shook his hand and thanked the players on the table and the dealer. As I walked away feeling nothing, blank, silent.

Once over the emotion of being out we all seem to start playing the hand again over and over in our heads. Should I have played it like this or that or even folded.

For me this is what I decided I should have done being so close to the popping bubble. First of all not get caught up with KK as any hand can and will be beat by the river.

This is how if given the chance again I would have played the KK hand in dealer position. I would have raised small blind folded, big blind re-raised. Here I would and should just call. The flop rag, a, 9. Big blind would have checked hoping I hit my A if holding one. I would have put out a bet just to feel out this big blind player. Now he would of called giving me the idea he has hit, therefore I would not have committed any more chips and would have stayed in the game behind dealer although very low stack but giving me a chance to hold while bubble popping. Or he would have gone over the top putting me in a position of having to put him on the A or a set and me therefore folding leaving me in the game.

I had waited so long for a good poker hand. Seeing KK got my adrenaline going and seeing it as a winning hand, a chance to chip right up and smooth through the bubble. No hand is a winner till river has flowed.

How would you have played this or would you have played it like I did?

QUEEN-BEE

Always packing the sting for learning!