3rd out of 78 in the Mookie last night

I had planned on playing some poker last night, with the intention of mainly playing cash games with one or two MTTs thrown in. I was for sure going to play the Full Tilt nightly 26k guarenteed, and maybe one more. That plan went out the window when I joined 4 MTTs. I played in the above MTT, plus a $15+1 over at Stars, a 180 person $20 at Stars, and also the Mookie, which is the wednesday night poker blogger $10+1 MTT.

I busted out of the two Stars MTTs about halfway through in both, but cashed in the two Full Tilt tournies. Nothing too exciting in the 26k, where I just made it past the bubble and profited a whopping $10 or so. But I did pretty well in the Mookie, placing 3rd place. My highest finish in an MTT prior to this was a 4th place quite a while ago in a 180 person MTT.

I think I played the mook pretty well. I made a few mistake, along with some questionable plays. I sucked out once, and got sucked out on a few times also. Too bad that it was at the final table where those suckouts to me happened. Oh well.

I like to go through the hand history of the MTTs that I go deep in, so I'll recap the MTT here for you

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Nothing happened for the first 40 hands or so. I stole the blinds once with T9s in the first round. Then I sat out from hands 16-26 to help bring the groceries in the house when my wife got home.

Hand 39, 30/60 blinds: I was getting low, with a stack around 1350. Papi raises it 3x from EP, and I push with AKo from MP. He folds.
Hand 50, 30/60: I get 88 in the blinds. lucko raises, and I call. Flop is QJ3 with two clubs. I check/fold. I still stuggle with mid pairs in MTTs.
Hand 61, 40/80: I'm down to 1215 and find 33 on the button. Lucko raises it 3x, and I push. I figured this was a good time to make a re-steal attempt, kind of like what is in this post back in September. I figure that I can get most low-mid pocket pairs, and some AJ type hands to fold. He called with 22! Yay, I'm ahead, and I win the 80/20. Up to 2500.
Hand 62, 40/80: I steal the blinds in the Cut Off position with A3s.

Hand 68, 40/80: Again, lucko raises it up 3x BB on my BB. This time I have AKo, and I decide to just call, intending to bet the flop. Flop is J66 rainbow. I lead out for 4/5 size of the pot and lucko pushes. Its 1200 for me to call in a pot that has 2500 in it. I don't put him on a 6, and I don't think he has AA-KK. And lucko had been playing quite a few pots the last few orbits, so I figured he had a pretty big range here. I was getting 2.1:1 on my money, so I called. He flipped up K7s and I won the pot. This was a very questionable call on my part, but if I go to pokerstove, and punch in a range of QQ-77, AK, AQ, and all the high hands with a Jack in it (AJ-J9), my equity is still 31%. I don't know what is more crazy. My call getting 2:1 on my money, or his push with K7s?

Hand 71, 40/80: Steal with AJ
Hand 80, 50/100: QQ in MP. I have twice as much as the next person on this table (ringo), who raises it up from EP. I decide to flat call, mainly to see if any of the short stacks behind me will push. Every folds, and the flop is 996. Ringo throws out a cont bet, and I re-raise enough to put him all in. Its 1500 for him to call in a pot with 3000 in it, but he folds.

Nothing too much the next few orbits. I steal a few blinds with 88 and 89. Try and steal blinds with 77 UTG. SB calls and flop is AA6. Check/Check. Turn is a Queen, and I fold to his bet. I steal with KJ, KQ, K5, 55 during the next few orbits. Checked to me in the BB with QT at the 100/200 level. Flop is A85 and I take it down with a bet.

I'm still in the top 5 or so (6000 chips) and get KQ on the button and raise it up. SB calls, and the flop is 235 all clubs. I have the Qc. It goes check/check. Turn is a K, and SB check/folds to my bet.

100/200 blinds. Ringo (3155 in cips) raises 3x BB. I push with Jacks, and he folds. Two hands later, I get KK UTG. I had been pretty active, and the table was getting more aggressive, so I just check, hoping someone will raise. Ha! Folded to BB who checks. Flop is A43 with two clubs (Yuck!). Zeem bets just over half pot, and I raise it up. Thankfully he folded.

Now we are in the antes (120/240 a25). I'm the chip leader at the table with almost 8000 in chips. Zeem (3800 in chips) raises it to 1000. I push with AKo, and he folds.

Next hand I try and steal with A8o. Troublecat (2nd in chips at this table) re-raises. I quickly fold. Steal with K9 a few hands later, and win a small pot when it is checked to me in the BB, and we check it down. Steal with 85s from the SB. Up to 9600 in chips.

150/300 a25: Cmitch (6100 in chips) raises 2.5x BB in EP. I re-raise 3.5 times that amount with AKo. He re-raises all-in and I call. He flips over KK. Woops. Ace on flop though, and I now have a huge stack and the chip lead.

150/300 a25: I fold AJo to Astin's 4x BB raise. A few hands later, I eliminate BuddyDank who is a super short stack with 22 vs 86s. An orbit later, I call a 2.5x BB raise from Blinders in the SB with 99. Flop is AQ3 rainbow. I lead out 2/3 pot and he folds.

200/400 a50: I see a free flop with Q6o against Astin in the SB. Flop is 986 with two clubs. He bets half pot and I call. Turn is the Qc giving me two pair, with three clubs out there. He checks, I bet, and he folds.

200/400 a50: I try and steal with 86s. Blinders call in the BB. Flop is 877. He checks, and I bet just over pot, which would put him all-in, and he folds.

Down to two tables, and I've got a massive stack now (19500). The next highest stack at the table is Nightranger, who has 8100. He raises 3.5x BB (1450) from EP, and I flat call behind him with Aces. Flop is 732 with two spades. He bets half pot, and I re-raise him all-in. I probably should have just called here, but I figured any higher pocket pair, and mayeb even AK-AQ would call, especially with half his stack in there already. He folded though.

250/500 a50: I steal with Q2, and try and steal with A5 and fold to Troublecat's re-raise all in. An orbit later, I find Aces on the button and raise it up. Trouble cal pushes all-in (He has 9000 to my 20000 in chips), and I obviously call. He has Jacks. We both flop sets, and I win a massive pot.

300/600 a75: Steal some blinds with T5, and AJ. Try and steal with QT, and get called. Flop is Ten high, and I take it down on the flop. Steal with A5. Try ans steal with 82o, and fold to MiamiDon's all-in. Raise with 44, and call Nightranger's all-in with A7s. I lose this one. First all-in pot I've lost.

300/600 a75: Astin raises PF, and I push with AJ. He folds. A few hands later, I try and steal with T6 and Astin calls. Flop is T98. He checks, I bet, and he folds. A few hands later I eliminate Astin when I call his raise in the BB with 77 and he has JT.

We're at the final table! I have 38,400 in chips. The next closest people have 16000, 13000, 12000 respectively.

I steal with 86s, and 87o. Then came a hand were I think I played it bad. I have 88 on the button, and Miami Don raises it up to 4x BB, which is just over a third of his stack. I hate these mid pocket pairs. I should either raise or fold, and instead I just call. Ugggg. Flop is 972. That seems like a decent flop for me and my eights. MiamiDon pushes all-in, which is about 2/3 pot. Not sure what I shoulda done here, but I folded. Yuck. That brought me down out of the chip lead for the first time at the Final Table. There are 6 left, and MiamiDon, Maudie, and I all have around 30000. The other three are under 9000.

Short stack Mookie raises my BB, and I call with JTs getting 2:1 on my money. too bad he has KJ, and I double Mookie up. A few hands later, I get the blinds with JJ. Then a couple more hands, I am in SB with A9s and it is folded to me. oossuuu754 is in the BB with a short stack of 6100 in chips (I have 35000, and blinds are 600/1200 a150). I push, and he calls with A2, but I lose the 70/30.

Down to four people now. I'm third in chips (chip counts: 42k, 33k, 31k, 9k). Maudie (33k) limps UTG. This seemed strange to me, and I was really worried about her haveing a huge hand here. I have AQ of hearts on the button, and decide to raise almost 5x BB, to see what she does. If she re-raises, I can easily get away from this. Instead though, she just calls. Flop is Q97, all clubs. Yuck! I have TPTK on a monotone flop against someone who Limp/called pre-flop with 4 people left and blinds massive. She checks, and I decide to check behind. Probably a mistake? Anyways, the turn is the 4th club. Double Yuck! This time she throws out a small, less than hlaf pot bet, which seems like it is begging for a call, so I decide to fold.

Still four people left, and now I am the short stack (41k, 39k, 19k, 17k). Maudie raises it 4x BB, and I push with KQ. She takes a while, and finally calls with 66. I hit a Queen on the flop, and double up! Back into the chip lead!

I win a few small pots here and there. With blinds at 1000/2000 a250, MiamiDon raises it up to 7200. I push with AQo, and he folds. Now I have twice as much as the next person.

And then the hand that sealed my fate. I find 88 on the button and raise it up to just under 3x BB. MiamiDon calls in the BB. Flop is 986 with two spades. I flopped a set at the final table! Sweet! Don checks, I bet, and he re-raises all-in, and I quickly call. He has 76o for a pair and an OESD. Ten on Turn, and the river doesn't pair, so I get sent back down to 4th in chips. Yuck! I was 73% to win that one.

With three left, and MiamiDon holding a huge chip stack, I go out in 3rd. I won a A7 vs KQ hand, but finally lose Q9 to KJ.

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I got Aces a few times, Kings zero times, and Queens once. I was only 3-2 on all-in hands where I was ahead, I won 4 out of 5 of my coinflips, and sucked out once in the hands I was a 30/70 dog. Not too shaby.

The mookie is a pretty fun tournament. I don't play in these blogger tournies much though. Almost everyone is really nice and most are really good poker players. There are some though that come across a little harsh though. Not sure if they are just trying to be funny or what. It's hard to distinguish sarcasm in chat I guess.

I look forward to playing in the Mook more in the future. Thanks for reading!

Cheers!