Aric Lee of ESPNDecatur does a great job running the free poker challenges, and this latest version appears to be no different. During week one, I was focused on playing smarter poker this time around, by picking better spots and not being as loose with my starting hands, considering the smaller starting stacks. Early on I looked down at   , and raised from the button. I get two (2) callers, and the flop comes    . After it is checked back to me, I bet, and then get raised all-in. Check raised from the big blind. I lay it down, though my gut told me to call. He shows me   , damn gut is right all too often, right Chad? Later on I gain some chips back with   and being all-in. However, after getting moved to another table, I went card dead. Card dead on a short stack + increasing blinds = not good. I look down at   , and push all-in from steal position for 4x the big blind, and get two (2) callers, so much for a steal. The flop comes  , both players check, the turn  , and one (1) player shoves all-in for a side-pot and gets called. Cards are flipped, I'm in the lead over   and  , but I have to fade 12 outs (          ) to survive. No such luck as the hits on the river. Week 1, didn't qualify for the Week 8 finals, where one person will win a trip for two (2) to Las Vegas.
Week 2 started out in a hurry, not because Aric got things started on time, but because I got on the second hand of the night. After making a full house on the river, I moved all-in. The gettleman who knocked me out in week one with a rivered flush took his time to decide, but he finally folded. I don't typically show many times, but I showed the full house and everyone was shocked to see that great of a hand. Why? Apparently I have a loose crazy image to these players. Roughly eight (8) hands later I looked down at rockets , again. This time the flop hits  , I bet $1,600 and get three (3) callers. After the turn hits a , I shove all-in, as I have everyone covered in chips. As I look to my left and see that one of the ladies in the hand is counting her chips out, I'm now putting her on K-Q, realizing that she flopped top two (2) pair. She calls all-in for $3,000. Everyone else out of the hand, I pull back the extra and leave $3,000 to match her bet. She turns over  and I'm left hoping for eight (8) outs (   ). Like week 1, no such luck as the  hits on the river. Roughly about eight (8) more hands from then, I looked down at  and limped, after I saw the flop of , and the other player in the hand bet $800. I thought about it for a moments and I thought that he either has an over pair and is playing meek, or he has two over cards and is just c-betting. If the latter is correct, then I'm in the lead. Since, I know there is a second chance tournament that I can still play in, I decide to go all-in for $1,100 more. He calls and I'm up against . I did not catch my two (2) outs and was sent to the rail and the second chance tournament.
Starting the second chance tournament I'm the third shortest stack with $2,800 in chips. The leader before cards are dealt in the second chance tournament is at $8,000. The starting stacks are staggered to prevent players from pushing all-in early and ruinning the game for others, who are actually trying. The second chance tourney started with 16 players. Early on in the game, I was able to win a few hands and add to my stack. From the small blind, I look down at and decide to limp, but the big blind, who started with a shorter stack than me, shoved all-in for $2,800 more. Everyone folded to me and I decided to pick a better spot later. The gentleman in the big blind showed  . The next time I was in the small blind, I looked down at , and raised to $1,200 on the $200-$400 blinds. The big blind again shoved all-in. This time it was costing me $3,400 on top of my $1,200 raise. If I call and lose, I'm left with $2,200 in chips. Being that it is a six (6) handed game, I feel that my hand is a monster pre-flop, so I make the call. I soon see that I'm up against . What is with the Aces this night? As the flop is coming out the is in the window. Ouch! The flop was  . I say, "Come on runner runner!" The turn brings the  , and the river brings the  . WOW! At that point we went to one (1) table and I was sitting on $12,200 in chips. When we got down to three (3) players, I looked down at  . After the pot was limped around, the flop hits . I checked and one of the other players moved all-in, and I snap called. After winning that hand the other player was left with a mere $500 in chips. I got on the next hand to take him out. I then went on the win the second chance tournament. Week 2, qualified for the Week 8 finals, where one person will win a trip for two (2) to Las Vegas. If you haven't made it out to play, it is cheap fun!! |
