On Monday morning… very early morning, I placed 10th in a Full Tilt Poker No Limit Hold’em Freeroll Tournament and won $2. It only took 5 hours to win $2. That’s $0.40/hr. But I must say, it was worth it.

First of all, any early tournament strategy I entertained before was irrelavant considering the fact that I dozed off several times during the first 2 hours of play. I don’t know how many hands I played, but I do remember getting lucky on a few. Then I perked up. I think it was after I won some larger pots, which made me think this could be it. I ended up winning some really big pots after that and jumped my standing to 3rd out of approximately 200 players. I had just over $100,000 in chips. Once I was in this position, I figured I must really suck if I couldn’t place in the money.

I played conservatively at this point, but still lost a relatively large pot to bring my chip total down to approximately $80,000. Once we thinned out to about 50 players, things really slowed to a crawl. Everyone was just trying to get into the final 27.

There was one guy who sat next to me all the way to the very end who survived simply by waiting out his timer and folding almost every hand. He went all in on a very few hands, which replenished his stack enough to stay alive. People at our table caught on and also ran out their timers for each hand in order to slow our table’s games. Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone who got pissed or annoyed at this strategy. In fact, the chip leaders joined in to help out the short stacks at our table. In the end, everyone actually placed in the money. One guy placed 27th with approximately $1,500 in chips left and one spot away from the big blind. All because everyone at our table helped by slowing game play. The guy who sat next to me who started the whole thing ended up lasting longer than me, which means he made more than $2 and placed within the top 9. Amazing.

The only regret I have is my last hand, not because of the calls I made but because I was being greedy. I was thinking about how I could get in position to compete for first place, while I should have been thinking about how much more than $2 I could win so as to create a bigger starting buffer for myself. The size of my stack indicated that I was most likely not going to be able to compete for 1st place. I should have waited patiently so I could squeeze a few dollars more from the tournament by finishing in the top 9. Instead, I went all in on an A7 against an A8 and finished in 10th place. Oh well.

Here is the last hand I played.

Full Tilt Poker Game #8572449044: $100 Freeroll (65195985), Table 172 – 10000/20000 Ante 2500 – No Limit Hold’em – 4:48:31 ET – 2008/10/20
tattoo764 has returned
Seat 1: CyberSleuth (609,850)
Seat 4: tattoo764 (52,216), is sitting out
Seat 5: girish133 (142,926)
Seat 6: djSiCkDoG (44,488)
Seat 8: Monsters4 (374,338)
CyberSleuth antes 2,500
tattoo764 antes 2,500
girish133 antes 2,500
djSiCkDoG antes 2,500
Monsters4 antes 2,500
tattoo764 posts the small blind of 10,000
girish133 posts the big blind of 20,000
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [7s Ah]
djSiCkDoG has 15 seconds left to act
djSiCkDoG has requested TIME
djSiCkDoG is sitting out
djSiCkDoG has timed out
djSiCkDoG folds
Monsters4 folds
djSiCkDoG has returned
CyberSleuth raises to 40,000
tattoo764 has 15 seconds left to act
tattoo764 folds
girish133 calls 20,000
*** FLOP *** [3s 9h 3d]
girish133 bets 100,426, and is all in
CyberSleuth calls 100,426
girish133 shows [7s Ah]
CyberSleuth shows [8d As]
*** TURN *** [3s 9h 3d] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [3s 9h 3d 8c] [7d]
girish133 shows two pair, Sevens and Threes
CyberSleuth shows two pair, Eights and Threes
CyberSleuth wins the pot (303,352) with two pair, Eights and Threes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 303,352 | Rake 0
Board: [3s 9h 3d 8c 7d]
Seat 1: CyberSleuth showed [8d As] and won (303,352) with two pair, Eights and Threes
Seat 4: tattoo764 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: girish133 (big blind) showed [7s Ah] and lost with two pair, Sevens and Threes
Seat 6: djSiCkDoG folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Monsters4 folded before the Flop

It’s always fun when you flop or turn a big hand and your opponent has no idea what he’s getting himself into. It’s like recreational crab fishing, at least what I’ve heard of it, where you have bait at the end of a small, light string and you have to carefully pull the crab in without the crab letting go with his claws. You have to make sure the crab is fully committed until he gets to shore and is in your bucket.

It’s fun… except when you are the crab.

That’s basically what happened last night in my daily Full Tilt Poker no limit hold’em freeroll tournament. I was on a great roll and was 107/324 with $14,295 and then 29/297 with $27,545. Things were looking goood, until…

(Really, I should have been more cautious on the turn considering what he called me on after the flop and I definitely should have folded after he re-raised my bet on the turn)

Full Tilt Poker Game #8382691602: $100 Freeroll (63670061), Table 42 – 150/300 Ante 25 – No Limit Hold’em – 1:31:40 ET – 2008/10/07
Seat 1: nutsssbr (8,515)
Seat 2: 59Hecker (16,433), is sitting out
Seat 3: MartinMoore (4,672)
Seat 4: Rivvaa (11,702)
Seat 5: candyken (72,170)
Seat 6: ThePaperClip (34,868)
Seat 7: Toghet (210), is sitting out
Seat 8: girish133 (30,495)
Seat 9: zdennka (11,438)
nutsssbr antes 25
59Hecker antes 25
MartinMoore antes 25
Rivvaa antes 25
candyken antes 25
ThePaperClip antes 25
Toghet antes 25
girish133 antes 25
zdennka antes 25
Rivvaa posts the small blind of 150
candyken posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [Jc Jd]
ThePaperClip folds
Toghet folds
girish133 raises to 1,275
zdennka folds
nutsssbr folds
59Hecker folds
MartinMoore folds
Rivvaa folds
candyken calls 975
*** FLOP *** [3d 4h 5h]
candyken checks
girish133 bets 2,925
candyken calls 2,925
*** TURN *** [3d 4h 5h] [7d]
candyken checks
girish133 bets 8,775
candyken raises to 17,550
girish133 calls 8,775
*** RIVER *** [3d 4h 5h 7d] [Jh]
candyken bets 50,395, and is all in
girish133 calls 8,720, and is all in
Uncalled bet of 41,675 returned to candyken
*** SHOW DOWN ***
candyken shows [5c 6s] a straight, Seven high
girish133 mucks
candyken wins the pot (61,315) with a straight, Seven high
girish133 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 61,315 | Rake 0
Board: [3d 4h 5h 7d Jh]
Seat 1: nutsssbr folded before the Flop
Seat 2: 59Hecker folded before the Flop
Seat 3: MartinMoore (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Rivvaa (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: candyken (big blind) showed [5c 6s] and won (61,315) with a straight, Seven high
Seat 6: ThePaperClip folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Toghet folded before the Flop
Seat 8: girish133 mucked [Jc Jd] – three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 9: zdennka folded before the Flop

So I played two tournaments this weekend and felt like either one could have been the one. I’ve made an adjustment to my earlier stated strategy in that I decided not to take many risks in the early stages of the tournament. They just don’t pay off.

I still play a lot of hands in the early game while the blinds are small and I’m still learning how to capitalize on big hands. When my hand seems overwhelmingly stronger than an opponent’s hand, it is very difficult to get as much from them as I can.

On Friday, I ended up in 56th place. On Sunday, I ended up in 205th place.

Here’s a brief recap of Friday’s tournament. Basically, I had an average to low stack throughout and fought tooth and nail until the end. It was quite fun trying to stay alive. Normally I hate being in that position, but I think it was a good learning experience on being patient even when backed into a corner.

198/387 $7,235
209/355 $6,440
205/313 $6,715
179/266 $8,040
178/223 $6,790
137/212 $10,740
136/180 $10,660
135/165 $9,010
115/143 $10,210
65/139 $24,120 (won this with AJ top pair vs QJ all in)
73/108 $18,495
60/95 $24,995
62/77 $14,295
54/69 $17,095
56/59 $5,845 (blinds were very large so I went all in on KQ)
56

On Sunday, I got ahead in chips but lost on what I thought were reasonable hands. Perhaps if someone wants to comment on them to let me know how you think I should have played them differently.

145/461 $11,025
77/346 $17,230
145/219 $10,134 (lost several thousand after betting the pot after the river with KK55 and lost to 10-A straight)
(Then lost the remainder of my stack AAQQ to a flush draw on the river)
205

Here’s the two big losing hands from Sunday.

Full Tilt Poker Game #8368935845: $100 Freeroll (63559025), Table 9 – 200/400 Ante 50 – No Limit Hold’em – 1:39:09 ET – 2008/10/06
Seat 1: gleidsonds (59,852)
Seat 2: splash it (59,033)
Seat 3: Brian50 (24,851)
Seat 4: girish133 (15,140)
Seat 5: mvpmike1973 (4,520)
Seat 6: radishes (26,356)
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (5,128)
Seat 8: foxynana (13,000)
Seat 9: trum1172 (8,897)
gleidsonds antes 50
splash it antes 50
Brian50 antes 50
girish133 antes 50
mvpmike1973 antes 50
radishes antes 50
kjfootball5 antes 50
foxynana antes 50
trum1172 antes 50
Brian50 posts the small blind of 200
girish133 posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [5h Kc]
mvpmike1973 folds
radishes folds
kjfootball5 calls 400
foxynana calls 400
trum1172 has 15 seconds left to act
trum1172 folds
gleidsonds calls 400
splash it calls 400
Brian50 folds
girish133 checks
*** FLOP *** [Jh 5c 3s]
girish133 checks
kjfootball5 checks
foxynana checks
gleidsonds checks
splash it checks
*** TURN *** [Jh 5c 3s] [Th]
girish133 has 15 seconds left to act
girish133 bets 400
kjfootball5 calls 400
foxynana calls 400
gleidsonds calls 400
splash it calls 400
*** RIVER *** [Jh 5c 3s Th] [Kd]
girish133 has 15 seconds left to act
girish133 bets 4,650
kjfootball5 calls 4,278, and is all in
foxynana folds
gleidsonds calls 4,650
splash it folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
girish133 shows [5h Kc] two pair, Kings and Fives
gleidsonds mucks
girish133 wins the side pot (744) with two pair, Kings and Fives
kjfootball5 shows [Qd Ah] a straight, Ace high
kjfootball5 wins the main pot (17,484) with a straight, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 18,228 Main pot 17,484. Side pot 744. | Rake 0
Board: [Jh 5c 3s Th Kd]
Seat 1: gleidsonds mucked [9d Kh] – a pair of Kings
Seat 2: splash it (button) folded on the River
Seat 3: Brian50 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: girish133 (big blind) showed [5h Kc] and won (744) with two pair, Kings and Fives
Seat 5: mvpmike1973 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: radishes folded before the Flop
Seat 7: kjfootball5 showed [Qd Ah] and won (17,484) with
Seat 8: foxynana folded on the River
Seat 9: trum1172 folded before the Flop

Full Tilt Poker Game #8368991278: $100 Freeroll (63559025), Table 9 – 200/400 Ante 50 – No Limit Hold’em – 1:45:25 ET – 2008/10/06
Seat 1: gleidsonds (52,552)
Seat 2: splash it (60,783)
Seat 3: Brian50 (14,804)
Seat 4: girish133 (10,584)
Seat 5: ufo-research (9,716)
Seat 6: radishes (24,906)
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (16,684)
Seat 8: JimJen (40,736)
Seat 9: trum1172 (24,564)
gleidsonds antes 50
splash it antes 50
Brian50 antes 50
girish133 antes 50
ufo-research antes 50
radishes antes 50
kjfootball5 antes 50
trum1172 antes 50
trum1172 posts the small blind of 200
gleidsonds posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [Qh As]
splash it folds
Brian50 has 15 seconds left to act
Brian50 calls 400
girish133 calls 400
ufo-research folds
radishes raises to 1,600
kjfootball5 folds
trum1172 folds
gleidsonds folds
Brian50 calls 1,200
girish133 calls 1,200
*** FLOP *** [Qc 7c Ac]
Brian50 has 15 seconds left to act
Brian50 bets 2,800
girish133 raises to 8,934, and is all in
radishes folds
Brian50 calls 6,134
girish133 shows [Qh As]
Brian50 shows [Tc Ad]
*** TURN *** [Qc 7c Ac] [8s]
*** RIVER *** [Qc 7c Ac 8s] [2c]
girish133 shows two pair, Aces and Queens
Brian50 shows a flush, Ace high
Brian50 wins the pot (23,668) with a flush, Ace high
girish133 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 23,668 | Rake 0
Board: [Qc 7c Ac 8s 2c]
Seat 1: gleidsonds (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: splash it folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Brian50 showed [Tc Ad] and won (23,668) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 4: girish133 showed [Qh As] and lost with two pair, Aces and Queens
Seat 5: ufo-research folded before the Flop
Seat 6: radishes folded on the Flop
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: JimJen is sitting out
Seat 9: trum1172 (small blind) folded before the Flop

At least playing large freeroll tournaments will give me some practice in the event I ever do enter a real tournament. But what a place to start, competing against 2699 other players for 1 of the top 27 spots, just for a few bucks.

How am I supposed to approach this?

Here’s my basic strategy:

1. In the beginning take some risks, but don’t be wreckless. The reason is that you need to build your stack up to be able compete in the later hands as everyone else is growing their stack. There is a very fine line between risky and wreckless and I’m still trying to find it. Fortunately, there is no money involved so I can experiment. Playing cautious may get me further in the tournament on average, but I will be up against a wall (of chips) later on.
2. Once I have respectable stack, continue to see a lot of flops but play cautiously. Don’t commit your entire stack unless absolutely certain and play pot odds. It’s at this point I begin to become restless and a bit impatient. It is very hard to hold back when I’ve been playing for an hour or two and the end isn’t in sight.
3. I’ll talk about the end game when I get there…

Here’s an example of a freeroll tournament I just played in.

• Got some good hands and good beats to bring me to 27th of about 1100 with approximately $12,000.
• Continued to slowly grow my stack, but apparently at a slower pace than the rest of the players: 42nd of 788 with $13,965; then 77th of 535 with $15,005.
• Made a couple bad calls, but also got some bad beats on the river, bringing me to: 155th of 438 with $9,885; and then 180th of 293 with $7,765.
• Raised pre-flop with Ace Jack Offsuit. Flopped 2 pair. Went all in. Lost it to 3 Kings on the river. Finished in 255th.

This is going to be tough.

It’s been 5 days since we started this experiment and I’ve been trying to get off the ground. I imagine this will be the hardest part and will take the longest time. Basically, I have to place in the top 27 of a 2700 freeroll tournament or win consecutive sit & gos to get some money to work with. That is no easy task.

I will have to play often so that getting over the initial hump will not take several months. Honestly, I feel like I’m trying to start a bike going uphill in 10th gear. I’ll get a little movement in a tournament but will easily topple over because I have no momentum. It’s a long road ahead of me just looking to make a buck.

Here are the payouts for the 2700 player tournaments:

1st: $15
2nd: $12
3rd: $9
4th: $7
5th: $6
6th: $5
7th: $4
8th & 9th: $3
10th – 27th: $2