Day 1C Recap: AC-TI-ON

We played poker almost 16 hours yesterday. We started at noon and weren't done bagging and tagging our chips until 3:45am. Grueling day.

It's been a curious tournament for me so far. My stack has fluctuated wildly, up and down, up and down. Up to 35K, down to 15K, up to 70K, down to 45K, until I finally finished the day at 72,500, 154th for Day 1C according to Card Player.

So I folded KK preflop. Third hand. I was taking my first sip from my first cup of coffee and settling in for a long day of poker. Blinds 50/100, stacks 20K. UTG folds, UTG+1, a young guy with a shaved head in PokerStars gear and black wraparound sunglasses, makes it 425. Folded to me in the small blind. I squeeze my cards. Black Kings. I take back my blind and throw out three purple chips, announcing, "1500." The other blind folds.

UTG+1 stares me down. He hems and haws. He riffles his chips and thinks. A minute passes. "1500, huh?" he says. More riffling. Finally he says, "6000."

Uh oh. I get a sick feeling. I routinely play 200 blinds deep on Absolute, and I hate hate HATE sticking it all in with Kings preflop. You only get action from one hand. I think. 6K to go, and we only have 20K chips. Not enough to play for a set. Too few chips to consider folding the flop if I call here. He raised in early position. I reraised out of the blinds. He has to put me on a monster. And he reraises, after making a show of it.

Isn't there some rule about folding Kings preflop? I don't care. I muck.

After a few orbits, I start to get a feel for the table. I got a relatively tough table draw. A lot of aggressive players who like to move chips. Two of them are from Spain, and they talk to each other in Spanish between hands. Who knows what they are saying. Sketchy.

One of the Spaniards is crazy aggressive, borderline maniacal. He doesn't speak any English. He only knows "I check, I raise!" and "AC-TI-ON! AC-TI-ON!" which he chanted repeatedly midway through level 4. And he moves chips. He will bet if checked to. He will check-raise with draws, air. He doesn't like to fold, but can make laydowns. This guy caught cards and built a huge stack midway through the day. He was two to my right. We played a lot of hands.

One hand I misplayed -- maybe badly -- one of the ones that took me back to 15K chips after the start of level 3:

Blinds 200/400. I have in the neighborhood of 25K chips. Crazy dude covers. He limps first in. I am dealt AQs in late middle position. I make it 1600. Folded back to the limper who calls.

Flop is JJ4 rainbow. He checks. I consider betting, but I don't think he'll fold. It's a scary flop that isn't likely to have hit me. He might checkraise. He likes to make plays. I think he'll bet the turn if I check. I check to induce the turn bluff or to try to check it down, a play I make in cash games sometimes.

Turn comes a 6. He bets as expected, but it's a big bet. 3500. Hm. I stick to the plan and call. I put him on two cards, and I think he'll probably bet the river no matter what.

River is an 8. He leads for 3500 -- again. Ugh. Looks like a blocking bet. I'm getting 4:1. How did I get in this spot? Hm. I call. Maybe it's a mistake.

He flips over 77. I nod and muck, and the other players at the table look confused. It was probably a bad play, maybe my worst hand from Day 1. Having gotten to the river that way, the right thing to do was to SHOVE. I don't think he calls without a Jack.

One more hand from later in the level, one I might have played OK: Same villain. I have about 20K. I look down at 9s9c and make it 1200 from UTG+1. Folded to villain who calls.

Flop 654, two spades. He checks. I bet 2500. He raises to 7000.

A checkraise with these stacks in this spot is generally bad news. I only have Nines, but I'd seen villain checkraise a draw in a similar spot and also check top set three times in earlier hands. He would slowplay a set. As an early position raiser, it's not likely I have a draw. I decide he's probably got a flush draw or maybe a straight draw or some weak gutshot/pair hand. I push. He calls, and flips over 53o. He has a pair and is open ended. We're flipping coins.

Turn is the As. River 8s. My hand is good.

Day 2 is Wednesday. Gogogo!

- Sam