Playing My First Ever Tournament
Watching poker on television is intoxicating. You can see all of the player’s cards; the commentators go over every hand like it is second nature and tell you exactly what the player is going to do given the situation based on the betting patterns, and their starting hands. Sooner rather than later the new player will want to sample the poker tournament for themselves and be eager to pull off the elaborate bluffs, the courageous calls that the poker commentators shriek in delight over. Of course the first tournament a player participates in is likely not to have commentators or indeed be on television, but it is the first step on the way to one day facing off against your idols on the green felt.
My first poker tournament was played in the local casino and having had a little success online I was eager to play against real life players and sample whether this was something I might be able to do for a living. I arrived at the casino and bought into the event one hour early. As this was a regional weekly tournament that was only played by regulars, I was first to enter by some distance. I watched as the staff put out the poker chips, and prepared for the game. There was 40 players entered and the blinds structure was quite slow so I was confident if I follow a tight strategy I could do quite well. Once the tables were drawn, I sat down and started to shuffle around with my chips.. I could not decide how I liked to arrange them; would I do it in a pyramid like 2001 World Series of Poker winner Juan-Carlos Mortensen or in a straight line like top pro John Juanda? I came to my senses as the first hand was dealt and settled into my game, trying not to look like a fishy new player.
I folded my first few hands, and watched the players tentatively engage each other in some small pots, trying to work out who the better players were in the hands. There were a few good players on my table and from some of the war stories from the players suggested they played on a regular basis with each other each week. I listened closely to the table banter as this gave me clues on which the regular players were and the respect with which they gave certain players gave me clues to their potential poker skills. I watched everything, as you should do.
I was suddenly dealt pocket Queens, I was under the gun and raised to three times the big blind. I was called by the big blind that checked back to me after the flop. I made a half pot bet and he folded after a couple of seconds though. Happy days. I made some limps and saw a few flops, and started to win a few pots. I was so confident I even started talking to the players! From a 5000 starting stack I had around 8000 and I was definitely respected by the other players, as I made sure my bet sizing was always correct to the pot size.
Unfortunately this story does not come with a photo showing me taking the money and collecting the cup. Far from it in fact. I collected pocket 9’s in middle position (I had folded these pre flop the hand before after facing a raise and re-raise) and raised to three times the big blind again totalling £450. I was called by two players, one of whom I decided was someone who just threw chips into the pot and was too aggressive. The flop was a rainbow 7,5,3 I made a £1,000 continuation bet hoping to get rid of any pesky drawing hands, which got rid of the first villain but my aggressive friend instantly raised me to £2,000. I pushed all-in with my remaining £7500 or so believing he did not have me beat and would have re-raised me pre-flop with any overpair. I was wrong. He showed me Aces and I did not catch my gutshot draw that I gained after the turn. Although I was disappointed to bust out early in the tournament I was pleased I had trusted my read but definitely wanted to take my time a little more in future. The moral of this story is – if you are min raised it is always strong, and that players play really strong hands slowly to trap you, even if they are aggressive.
By: Malcolm Clarke
