It's natural after losing $10,000, I suppose, to think about where you might have gone wrong and what might have been. I've been pretty regret-free in the days since I busted out of the World Series, but I've also had a couple of what-if thoughts.
First, a woulda, or really a wouldn't-a: If that guy hadn't caught that 10 on the river I would've doubled up, to about 64,000 chips, and would have been in great position to make it to the second day of play. I talked to several players over the weekend who made it through the first day and were thrilled to be starting the second day, on Tuesday, with anywhere from $60,000 to $80,000. I'd have been right in that range already at 6:30 p.m., with the possibility of stretching it out (or, of course, losing it all by the dinner break).
So, could I have played the key hand differently to keep myself alive? Yes, surely I could have. I coulda mucked when the guy went all-in, even though I thought (correctly) that my straight was best at that point. I could have reraised all-in on the turn, instead of putting in the attractively smallish raise of $5,000 that led to his all-in bet. Although the pot would have been smaller than it ended up being, I probably would have won it right there.
I try to make myself wish I'd played the hand differently, but I can't. Any thoughts, poker players?
As for the shouldas: There were a couple of hands early in the tournament that I didn't play well and as a result bled off some chips. I called twice with only a mediocre hand out of the big blind, and then ended up putting in another bet when I made second-best pair on the flop. In both cases I eventually realized I was beat and folded before it got too expensive, but those chips might have come in handy later.
That's it, I guess. As I keep saying, I hated losing but I loved playing.
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1 comment:
Man, I've been thinking and thinking about this. I liked your play. To me, mucking when he goes all in is no option at all. You figured to have the best hand there, and you did. Maybe if you'd pushed all in first instead of checking you would have won the pot, and that is the best unmade move I can think of -- other than, in TOTAL hindsight, mucking on the resteal raise. But that I think is the worst of all options, just because it really affects your table profile and makes any steal bet you make vulnerable from then on.
You played good, he caught a 3-outer, and it suuuucks. Bout the size of it.
GREAT blog, you guys!
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