Whether I am playing in a free poker tournament online or sitting at a casino table, the highs and lows of playing are still the same.
My most memorable poker tournament was when I played in a $1k Winner Takes All tourney at a local casino. I felt I was in with a chance, so paid the $50 buy in and secured myself one of the 20 seats. From the start the action was immense.
There was some serious "donking" going on, but everything soon calmed down and the real action began. After our first break we were down to 8 players on the final table. I had a decent chip stack and kept with my game plan of holding tight. I enjoy tournament play over ring poker games as I have the patience for this form of play. Ring games can wipe out a stack rather quickly or, in some cases, double it fast. With poker tournament play you have an advantage without breaking as quickly, if you have the patience for it. The key to this type of play is patience and playing premium hands. You may lose your blinds but in the long run you will still be in good position to make the final table.
After the second break there were just three of us left in the tournament and I was heads up with my opponent. Our stacks were fairly even, his a little more than mine. I was on the big blind with pocket pair 3s. My opponent slightly raised the blind and I called, as it wasn't more than a third of the pot. On the flop came 33A. To say my heart leaped would be putting it mildly. I had flopped quads. My opponent pushed all in quickly and I had him on a boat with pocket Aces. Of course I immediately called, and was thrilled. I pegged him right and he did indeed have pocket Aces.
On the turn came a 9, and my knees started to shake from excitement. This would be my first win at a live Winner Take All poker tournament in a casino. I have been there before when playing in a Free Poker Tournament online, but never in a casino. Now the river comes and against all odds it is an Ace. How often do you see that, quads beating quads, in my years of playing not often at all. I was so dejected yet I had to respect the hand. My only real disappointment came in that I didn't qualify for the bad beat jackpot of $3,500. First it was a tournament, and the bad beat jackpot is only for ring games. Secondly, had it been a ring game, the jackpot only qualifies if you have quad 9s and above.
Looking back on how I played in the tournament I feel that I wouldn't have changed anything. The only way I may have had he pushed all in pre flop I would have folded. But that isn't how it was played.
So what we all need to realize and remember, whether playing Free Poker Games or buy in games, is that in poker games as in life anything is possible. Even the smallest of "outs" can come when you least expect it. I was disappointed in the loss, but shook hands with my opponent and gracefully congratulated his win. You have to respect great poker game hands, regardless of who wins them.
My most memorable poker tournament was when I played in a $1k Winner Takes All tourney at a local casino. I felt I was in with a chance, so paid the $50 buy in and secured myself one of the 20 seats. From the start the action was immense.
There was some serious "donking" going on, but everything soon calmed down and the real action began. After our first break we were down to 8 players on the final table. I had a decent chip stack and kept with my game plan of holding tight. I enjoy tournament play over ring poker games as I have the patience for this form of play. Ring games can wipe out a stack rather quickly or, in some cases, double it fast. With poker tournament play you have an advantage without breaking as quickly, if you have the patience for it. The key to this type of play is patience and playing premium hands. You may lose your blinds but in the long run you will still be in good position to make the final table.
After the second break there were just three of us left in the tournament and I was heads up with my opponent. Our stacks were fairly even, his a little more than mine. I was on the big blind with pocket pair 3s. My opponent slightly raised the blind and I called, as it wasn't more than a third of the pot. On the flop came 33A. To say my heart leaped would be putting it mildly. I had flopped quads. My opponent pushed all in quickly and I had him on a boat with pocket Aces. Of course I immediately called, and was thrilled. I pegged him right and he did indeed have pocket Aces.
On the turn came a 9, and my knees started to shake from excitement. This would be my first win at a live Winner Take All poker tournament in a casino. I have been there before when playing in a Free Poker Tournament online, but never in a casino. Now the river comes and against all odds it is an Ace. How often do you see that, quads beating quads, in my years of playing not often at all. I was so dejected yet I had to respect the hand. My only real disappointment came in that I didn't qualify for the bad beat jackpot of $3,500. First it was a tournament, and the bad beat jackpot is only for ring games. Secondly, had it been a ring game, the jackpot only qualifies if you have quad 9s and above.
Looking back on how I played in the tournament I feel that I wouldn't have changed anything. The only way I may have had he pushed all in pre flop I would have folded. But that isn't how it was played.
So what we all need to realize and remember, whether playing Free Poker Games or buy in games, is that in poker games as in life anything is possible. Even the smallest of "outs" can come when you least expect it. I was disappointed in the loss, but shook hands with my opponent and gracefully congratulated his win. You have to respect great poker game hands, regardless of who wins them.
