I pretty much had break-even play this weekend. I lost a little at $2/$4 Friday night. I actually had a nice profit, but then got AA beaten twice right before I quit, which took me down to a loss. I played live at Casino San Pablo on Sunday, lost a little at $3/$6, and then played the tournament there, but didn't place in the money (I'll talk more about that in a minute). On Monday, I lost three $5 tournaments. I was feeling pretty bummed... winning tournaments requires luck & skill. When you win, you know you've got a healthy helping of both. When you lose, you keep questioning yourself over which element is missing. Right before I gave up for the night, I tried one more tournament... a $20 sit & go. I finally won that one (crushed it actually), which covered all my losses from the rest of the weekend.
If you noticed that my bankroll grew, it's just because I started adding my small cash bankroll to my full bankroll. I need to start counting them all together since I plan to do more live cash games. But I really only broke even this weekend.
It's pretty funny that when I win, my ego grows and I have visions of going pro. But when I lose, I start wondering what the hell I'm doing. Heh, I heard Doyle Brunson say that sometimes he prefers losing, so he can get a good night's sleep. Going to bed with a depressing loss knocks you right out. But when you win, your adrenaline is up and it's nearly impossible to fall asleep.
So anyway, that tournament at Casino San Pablo... If there are any other poker players reading this, could you offer some advice about the play that knocked me out? I really can't figure out if I made the right move or not. The tourney started out with 50 people, which were replaced by alternates in the first few rounds as players got knocked out. I made it down to about 20-something players and was doing pretty good. I had a decent stack at that point and I'm pretty sure it was the largest stack at the table. But then a guy got moved over to our table who had slightly more than me.
He made a huge raise from under the gun and it was folded around to me. I looked down to see 99 and called for time. That bet was just too large, I didn't think the guy wanted to be called. What kind of hands would he be willing to risk so much, but not actually want a call? I thought maybe a lower pocket pair (which I dominate) or Ace-something (which I have a slight edge over). The bet was too large to just call... too many scare cards would force me to fold after the flop. I had to either fold, or push all-in. If I pushed, and he really didn't have anything, he'd have to fold and give me that huge pot. If he called, I more than likely still had the best hand as long as he didn't have a large pocket pair (I thought that chance was slim).
Then I had to decide if I was willing to risk my entire stack with just a slight edge. If he called my all-in and won, I'd be out of the tournament. If I folded, I still might be able to make it to the final table with some conservative play. But if he called my all-in and I won, I'd have a huge stack and would more than likely have plenty to battle at the final table.
I eventually pushed all-in, which was about 4 times his original raise. He thought about it for a while, while the dealer counted out my stack. He finally called and showed AJ. Not terrible. I wish he would have folded, but I still had about a 55% advantage. He ended up catching a J on the flop and that was that. I was busted out and had to leave.
Did I make the right move? What should I have done?
1.) Folded, because he had more money than me and I shouldn't risk my entire tournament on a small edge. Just wait for a better spot.
2.) Folded, because he could have had a much stronger hand than I put him on. Again, wait for a better spot.
3.) Just called, giving me a chance to fold when the J came on the flop.
4.) Raised all-in, taking a chance to give myself a commanding lead over the current table, with a nice stack to take to the final table.
Any advice is appreciated.