$1 MTT hands and Strategies part 1

$1 Tournament Analysis Part 1.

Hi. I'm writing this partially out of boredom, and partially to go over hands and strategies that led me to my 6th tournament win thus far. In my other 5 wins( 1 NLHE, 1 PL Omaha 8/b, 3 Razz) I have a few notes on
players. I used such notes in hashing out my Razz MTT playbook with my win over Katokat, but this is the first tournament I have almost a full history of hands played. Because this tournament took over four hours to play, I simply can't write about every hand all at once so I'm gonna break it up into 4 parts. This part was my strategy playing in the first hour. A few notes before I get into the meat and potatoes of my play, as well as the key plays of some of my opponents. First off some people shun the notion that a $1 tournament has any value. First off while there is a fair portion of dead money in the tournament, there are also many fine players in these fields. This tournament had 379 players. You can't possibly say that every player in the field is garbage at NLHE. Secondly, the prize money for 1st was $95. Calculate that for a second. 4 hours of play. That's a rate of $23.75 an hour. Considering that's better than 4 times minimum wage, it's not bad. Also getting a 9500% return on your investment can happen here. You will never find that in any stock, bond, or other business venture. While more like a lottery than 100% sound investment, a player using a good strategy can hold several tickets and turn winning into a reality as I did. With that said. I'm going to go right into the beginning. 379 players all started with 1500 in tournament chips. This is the only hand I don't have a history on. The 2nd hand of the game I got very lucky. I held J-2 in the big blind and saw a free flop.
The board came 2-2-4. Someone went all in on A-4, another a flush draw, and I called with my trip deuces. The turn and river were both 6's and I made a full house to knock out two players. This gave me an early lead of around 4,400. I switched between 3 tables for a while before settling on a table that I would stay at for nearly two hours. The hand histories I'm gonna post begin there and will go between that point in time till the end of level 5 and the first break. Enjoy.


The seating and chip counts when I first played at my new table. 11 minutes in and already I'm well ahead of schedule.

Full Tilt Poker Game #609061930: $1 Tournament (3888267), Table 11 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:11:25 ET - 2006/05/02
Seat 1: luckyfirefly (665)
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets (1,650)
Seat 3: Bender2006 (4,155)
Seat 4: deneiro973 (1,650)
Seat 5: drewkinga (3,745)
Seat 6: Theophilus5 (1,455)
Seat 7: AAloveME (3,060)
Seat 8: ytownst (1,380)
Seat 9: matisse (1,455)






During much of this stage I played reasonably tight. No need to really get involved. Here's the first action hand.




Full Tilt Poker Game #609067287: $1 Tournament (3888267), Table 11 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:14:03 ET - 2006/05/02
Seat 1: luckyfirefly (625)
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets (1,850)
Seat 3: Bender2006 (4,075)
Seat 4: deneiro973 (1,690)
Seat 5: drewkinga (3,745)
Seat 6: Theophilus5 (1,455)
Seat 7: AAloveME (3,020)
Seat 8: ytownst (1,300)
Seat 9: matisse (1,455)
Bender2006 posts the small blind of 20
deneiro973 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Bender2006 [Jc 6s](Unplayable hand)
drewkinga raises to 180(This is a large raise given the stakes. Over 4x BB under the Gun either says one of two things. He either has a hand like QQ, JJ or TT and doesn't want action from many players, or he's a lunatic and is overplaying a hand like 7-6 suited)
Theophilus5 folds
AAloveME folds
ytownst folds
matisse folds
luckyfirefly calls 180
AAPocketRockets calls 180
Bender2006 folds
deneiro973 folds
*** FLOP *** [3s Ad Tc]
drewkinga bets 400(Makes a continuation bet)
luckyfirefly raises to 445, and is all in
AAPocketRockets raises to 800
drewkinga folds(Realizes he is beaten and mucks. a hand like QQ or JJ makes sense)
AAPocketRockets shows [Qd Ac]
luckyfirefly shows [8h 8d]
Uncalled bet of 355 returned to AAPocketRockets
*** TURN *** [3s Ad Tc] [2d]
*** RIVER *** [3s Ad Tc 2d] [9c]
AAPocketRockets shows a pair of Aces
luckyfirefly shows a pair of Eights
AAPocketRockets wins the pot (1,890) with a pair of Aces
Bender2006: gg
luckyfirefly stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,890 | Rake 0
Board: [3s Ad Tc 2d 9c]
Seat 1: luckyfirefly showed [8h 8d] and lost with a pair of Eights
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets (button) showed [Qd Ac] and won (1,890) with a pair of Aces
Seat 3: Bender2006 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: deneiro973 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: drewkinga folded on the Flop
Seat 6: Theophilus5 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: AAloveME didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: ytownst didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: matisse didn't bet (folded)

I don't like the play with 8-8 out of firefly. He is short-stacked. The best play out of him with 8-8 is probably to just go all-in before the flop or fold. If he thinks that drew is a maniac than 8-8 is a better than average hand and it applies maximum pressure. The other alternative would be to fold. This early in the tournament it's not a bad loss. Playing 20/40 he has a solid 10 rounds in him. He can wait for a better spot than 8-8. Facing 2 players who have called a large raise for the level, one of them surely has them beaten. Aces are the most likely holding a player can have and with 2 players and the action, it's almost certain that one of them has an ace, likely a large one. AA played the hand well getting a value bet in. All in screams of aces and is only going to get called if someone is holding a set maybe 2 pair. Suppose drew did have a hand like J-J he was correct in laying the hand down. A bet of about 100-250 would give drew the same information if someone had an ace. You aren't looking to risk your entire tournament early in the game on a coinflip. You just want to progressivly build your stack through solid play. As a side note drew disclosed he had K-K and made a very good laydown in that spot. I wouldn't have bet out quite so much when a smaller bet would have given him the same information, but a smart instinctive play on his part.




About 8 minutes later. I still haven't played many hands. I won a couple small pots, but no real action. ytownst won a lot of money with flush vs flush busting deniero.


Full Tilt Poker Game #609078939: $1 Tournament (3888267), Table 11 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:19:51 ET - 2006/05/02
Seat 1: irishronn (1,545)
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets (1,875)
Seat 3: Bender2006 (4,115)
Seat 5: drewkinga (1,785)
Seat 6: Theophilus5 (1,395)
Seat 7: AAloveME (2,860)
Seat 8: ytownst (5,730)
Seat 9: matisse (1,455)
AAloveME posts the small blind of 20
ytownst posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Bender2006 [3c Ac]
matisse folds
irishronn folds
AAPocketRockets calls 40
Bender2006 calls 40( I like playing cheap flops with suited aces. If there is any big raise you have to put it down, but getting in cheaply with this kind of hand can lead to a big score. If not you're only out a small amount. in this case not even 1% of my stack)
Theophilus5: oh wow 5 6 off-suit....(this guy is on tilt. I imagine before long he's going to make a large raise with a marginal hand)
drewkinga calls 40
Theophilus5 folds
beselkabob sits down
beselkabob adds 1,085
AAloveME folds
ytownst checks
*** FLOP *** [Kh 9h 2h]
ytownst checks
AAPocketRockets checks
Bender2006 checks
drewkinga bets 100
ytownst folds
AAPocketRockets calls 100
Bender2006 folds(This hand has completely missed me. Would have been nice if I had the A-3 of hearts, but since I don't it's a fold)
irishronn: dont tell your hand til hand is over please
*** TURN *** [Kh 9h 2h] [As]
AAPocketRockets checks
drewkinga bets 250(Drew clearly has the betting lead in this hand. He's betting into a obviously dangerous board. Most times this is either a pure bluff or the nuts)
AAPocketRockets calls 250(I don't like this call and will explain later)
*** RIVER *** [Kh 9h 2h As] [Td](This is an action card)
AAPocketRockets bets 880
drewkinga raises to 1,395, and is all in
AAPocketRockets calls 515
*** SHOW DOWN ***
drewkinga shows [Js Qc] (a straight, Ace high)
AAPocketRockets mucks
drewkinga wins the pot (3,670) with a straight, Ace high
The blinds are now 25/50
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,670 | Rake 0
Board: [Kh 9h 2h As Td]
Seat 1: irishronn didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets mucked [Ts Tc] - three of a kind, Tens
Seat 3: Bender2006 folded on the Flop
Seat 5: drewkinga showed [Js Qc] and won (3,670) with a straight, Ace high
Seat 6: Theophilus5 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: AAloveME (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: ytownst (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 9: matisse didn't bet (folded)

This hand ended up crippling AA. AA made a few avoidable mistakes in this hand. First off he should have raised. A nice bet of like 120-175 sounds about right. You don't want to be playing pocket Tens against four players. As I said before I like playing hands like A-3 suited for cheap. Suppose the board came clubs. The more players you allow into the pot, the more ways you can lose. A raise of about 120 loses me and likely ytownst as well. Drew may have still called but forcing a fold and just taking a few chips is so much better than just about going broke. The second mistake AA made was flat calling the flop. I would have put in a raise to about 250 to see where my tens stood. Does drew have a king here or a heart draw. If drew were to come over the top it's an easy fold. If drew calls he likely has just a heart draw. It's also possible that he has a 9 or 2 in the hole and will lay it down. Flat calling gives you no information on the hand and puts you into a murkier spot than you could be. You want to put the other guy to a tough decision. The third mistake was calling 250 on the turn. There are many hands drew would have called with that now beat T-T. You pretty much are at the mercy of the deck. You have no clue what he's got. The likely holding is a pair of aces with the Ace of Hearts. This is a killer draw. The river just horrible luck for AA. As the cards came out it would be tough to release T-T if you feel Drew didn't have the flush. Drew bluffed with Q-J(No Hearts), hit his gutshot, and crippled AA. Drew did get extremly lucky in this hand, but AA could have either taken a small profit or lost a lot less. You need to gain more information and thin the fields. Freaky hand, but avoidable.




A little later in the game. Haven't had many playable hands until about now. I'm up 300 or so but really haven't seen many hands until now.

Full Tilt Poker Game #609105047: $1 Tournament (3888267), Table 11 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:32:40 ET - 2006/05/02
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets (200)
Seat 3: Bender2006 (4,490)
Seat 4: beselkabob (2,400)
Seat 5: drewkinga (2,645)
Seat 6: Theophilus5 (1,990)
Seat 7: AAloveME (3,195)
Seat 8: ytownst (5,570)
Seat 9: matisse (1,355)
ytownst posts the small blind of 30
matisse posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Bender2006 [Kc Kd]
AAPocketRockets raises to 200, and is all in
Bender2006 raises to 750 (I've got an absolute huge hand. I definitly want to raise. If not I'm gonna get a lot of callers trying to knock out the short stack)
beselkabob folds
Theophilus5: didn't quite calculate the odds though
drewkinga folds
Theophilus5 folds
AAloveME folds
RMoC sits down
RMoC adds 2,675
ytownst folds
matisse folds
Bender2006 shows [Kc Kd]
AAPocketRockets shows [Ad Ah](He turned the one hand that could beat me)
Uncalled bet of 550 returned to Bender2006
*** FLOP *** [9s 9d 5c]
*** TURN *** [9s 9d 5c] [2d]
*** RIVER *** [9s 9d 5c 2d] [5d]
Bender2006 shows two pair, Kings and Nines
Bender2006: oy
AAPocketRockets shows two pair, Aces and Nines
AAPocketRockets wins the pot (490) with two pair, Aces and Nines
Bender2006: nh
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 490 | Rake 0
Board: [9s 9d 5c 2d 5d]
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets showed [Ad Ah] and won (490) with two pair, Aces and Nines
Seat 3: Bender2006 showed [Kc Kd] and lost with two pair, Kings and Nines
Seat 4: beselkabob didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: drewkinga didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Theophilus5 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: AAloveME (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: ytownst (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: matisse (big blind) folded before the Flop

In about 35 minutes of play this was the first group 1 hand I saw. Keep in mind I have been playing very tight. The only real move I've made to this point was going in on Trip deuces and I only saw the hand because I was Big Blind. The chances that Kings will run up against Aces are very slim. I have to isolate the pot. The raise is right around the amount to get the hand to heads up. Although I lost, there really wasn't any control. Two Kings is a giant hand, but you must raise with it. Suppose ytownst had a hand like A-9 or so and called. I call, he calls getting 2:1. He flops trip nines, I bet, he raises, I call and I'm out of it. Knock out the junk cards that way when the come on the board, you can be pretty sure they missed and your two kings are good.




Still playing tight. Here's a nice change of pace

Full Tilt Poker Game #609119629: $1 Tournament (3888267), Table 11 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:39:42 ET - 2006/05/02
Seat 1: RMoC (6,455)
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets (400)
Seat 3: Bender2006 (4,200)
Seat 4: Crazy Jimmy 24 (2,248)
Seat 5: drewkinga (2,585)
Seat 6: Theophilus5 (1,930)
Seat 7: AAloveME (3,135)
Seat 8: ytownst (4,550)
Seat 9: matisse (1,265)
Theophilus5 posts the small blind of 30
AAloveME posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #5
ytownst: nh
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Bender2006 [4s 2s]
ytownst folds
RMoC: ty
Bender2006: hopefully I do well, but if not no big loss
matisse folds
RMoC folds
AAPocketRockets folds
Bender2006 raises to 200(It's late position and I've played rocky. Suited gapper is only huge huge dog to a pocket pair)
Crazy Jimmy 24 folds
drewkinga folds
Theophilus5: sorry you are right B..... we should be serious;-) hehehe
Theophilus5 folds
AAloveME folds
Uncalled bet of 140 returned to Bender2006
Bender2006 mucks
Bender2006 wins the pot (150)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 150 | Rake 0
Seat 1: RMoC didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: AAPocketRockets didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: Bender2006 collected (150), mucked
Seat 4: Crazy Jimmy 24 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: drewkinga (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Theophilus5 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: AAloveME (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: ytownst didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: matisse didn't bet (folded)

Okay no real action, but if it's late postion you can steal every now and again. Don't overdo it, but pick up some dead money if you can. Tight play will help set up an image for these bluffs later on. When you do have a legit hand or just to keep players viewing you as tight, show some good cards to maintain that tight image. You need respect.

Full Tilt Poker Game #609148429: $1 Tournament (3888267), Table 11 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:53:27 ET - 2006/05/02
Seat 1: RMoC (5,810)
Seat 2: Casey Finn (7,660)
Seat 3: Bender2006 (4,320)
Seat 4: Crazy Jimmy 24 (2,128), is sitting out
Seat 5: drewkinga (5,895)
Seat 6: rwestover (2,960), is sitting out
Seat 7: AAloveME (2,565)
Seat 8: ytownst (4,580)
Seat 9: matisse (1,750)
Casey Finn posts the small blind of 50
Bender2006 posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Bender2006 [Qc As]
Crazy Jimmy 24 folds
drewkinga folds
rwestover folds
AAloveME folds
ytownst folds
matisse folds
RMoC folds
Casey Finn calls 50
Bender2006 raises to 350
Casey Finn has 15 seconds left to act
Casey Finn folds
Uncalled bet of 250 returned to Bender2006
Bender2006 shows [Qc As] (Ace Queen high)
Bender2006 wins the pot (200)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 200 | Rake 0
Seat 1: RMoC (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: Casey Finn (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Bender2006 (big blind) collected (200)
Seat 4: Crazy Jimmy 24 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: drewkinga didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: rwestover didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: AAloveME didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: ytownst didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: matisse didn't bet (folded)

Here I show an A-Q which is probably one of the 5 best hands I've seen preflop. Keep them thinking you are tight. It sets up the ability to play aggressive poker later on.

Almost the end of the first hour. This is an interesting hand


Full Tilt Poker Game #609164350: $1 Tournament (3888267), Table 11 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:00:54 ET - 2006/05/02
Seat 1: RMoC (5,660)
Seat 2: Casey Finn (7,160)
Seat 3: Bender2006 (4,170)
Seat 4: Crazy Jimmy 24 (2,028)
Seat 5: drewkinga (6,545)
Seat 6: rwestover (2,810), is sitting out
Seat 7: AAloveME (3,215)
Seat 8: ytownst (3,930)
Seat 9: matisse (2,150)
Casey Finn posts the small blind of 50
Bender2006 posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Bender2006 [2d Qh]
Crazy Jimmy 24 folds
drewkinga calls 100
rwestover folds
AAloveME calls 100
rwestover has returned
ytownst folds
matisse folds
RMoC calls 100
Casey Finn calls 50
Bender2006 checks(I get to play my junky Q-2 for free)
*** FLOP *** [2s 3d Kh]
Casey Finn checks
Bender2006 checks
drewkinga checks
AAloveME bets 350
RMoC folds
Casey Finn folds
Bender2006 folds(There's no way my pair of 2's are any good)
drewkinga calls 350(The way this hand played out he likely doesn't have 2 pair. A-5 probably doesn't call 350 on that flop.)
*** TURN *** [2s 3d Kh] [4s]
drewkinga checks
AAloveME bets 1,200
drewkinga raises to 4,800(The 4 is unlikely to have helped drew's hand, this is a sneaky raise)
AAloveME calls 1,565, and is all in
drewkinga shows [3c 3s]
AAloveME shows [7c Kc]
Uncalled bet of 2,035 returned to drewkinga
*** RIVER *** [2s 3d Kh 4s] [9s]
drewkinga shows three of a kind, Threes
AAloveME shows a pair of Kings
Bender2006: oy
drewkinga wins the pot (6,730) with three of a kind, Threes
AAloveME stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,730 | Rake 0
Board: [2s 3d Kh 4s 9s]
Seat 1: RMoC (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Casey Finn (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: Bender2006 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: Crazy Jimmy 24 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: drewkinga showed [3c 3s] and won (6,730) with three of a kind, Threes
Seat 6: rwestover didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: AAloveME showed [7c Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 8: ytownst didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: matisse didn't bet (folded)

Drew played 3-3 the way I would have. The main goal is to play a cheap flop and then try and nail a set. It's hard to put someone on 3-3 here. A-5 doesn't make sense to call on the flop, and drew wouldn't go hardcore on just a pair of 4's. AA just went broke and was helpless. Drew can slowplay in this spot as there is no flush draw, and a straight draw but unlikely someone has the 4-5. Big pair makes sense to bet 350 then 1200. Drew elected to wait until AA hung himself before sticking in the raise. Waiting until a player feels pot committed is the best way to collect all that money. Both players correctly played their hands, AA just got unlucky to run into a set.


This is the last hand before the first hour. So lets evaluate where we stand in the tournament.

Seat 1: RMoC (5,560)
Seat 2: Casey Finn (7,060)
Seat 3: Bender2006 (4,070)
Seat 4: Crazy Jimmy 24 (2,028)
Seat 5: drewkinga (10,060)
Seat 6: rwestover (2,810)
Seat 8: ytownst (3,930)
Seat 9: matisse (2,150)

Our toughest competiton so far seems to be drewkinga. He plays an aggressive game, bluffs well, and also has had some fortunate breaks. Casey Finn is relativly new to the table but has a good chip stack. ytownst has been playing solid poker. We stand at 4070. Haven't saw that many great hands but also stayed away from a lot of trouble spots. No one is desprate so you won't see a ton of all ins. When we return for hour 2 we won't be trying to gamble unnessarily. Playing solid poker has gotten us a reasonable stack, above the average of the field which stands at about 150 players left. The big key so far is playing big pots with big hands. No point in bluffing yet, just hanging back and letting people go to war with each other. The next section of hands will focus on getting from here to In the money of 36 players. I'm also going to count the number of knockouts in the tournament. So far we've busted 2 players. Not that it's an overly important stat, but it does kind of make you feel good in a sick way. Cheers