Again at the Normandie, 4/11

I think this Saturday Normandie tournament will be my new poker fix. With the $10 discount and a $2500 Guarantee, it offers plenty of play, the people are nice and they have a pretty tasty lunch you can have beforehand. Things went a lot better this week, though I did not cash. Re-entries are allowed through the first three levels, which happen to be 30 minute levels at 25/50, 50/100 and 100/200. then things start to go up quickly and levels shorten to 20 minutes. A lot of these people know each other and play this tournament every week. In fact, one elderly fellow at my table called it 'his home game.' While I was friendly and chatted with everyone, it was obvious that they know each other's tendencies well, and didn't know mine. Throughout the first three levels my 3bets were rarely challenged, so I opened my pre-flop range considerably to take advantage of this. The thing I noticed the most, especially as the levels went up, is that with a couple of exceptions, people had NO concept of how much money was in the pot, and people were giving others incredible odds to call.I caught two baby flushes this way, and over the course of the game, I felted three players, one with a baby flush and two others with AA twice(I know, run good helps). 109 entries were going to pay 10, and I went out in 21st. The average stack was 20BB as the blind levels started to get crazy, and while I did my best short stack ninja work that kept me treading water, at 300/1000/2000 I had dipped to 18K and called a shove from a larger stack with AQ. I was ahead of his KQ, but a King came on the flop and though I had a straight draw and the A over as outs on the turn, I didnt get there. Typically, if I get that kind of action ahead of me, I would pick a better spot, but I had seen him win at showdown with much less than AQ, so I dont really fault my play - I was ahead, after all. I think this field is very beatable, and I'm getting to play live for a cheap price, which my wallet likes! I'll be back.

Coin flip

Made it back to the live tables after a couple of month's absence, with one of the local poker groups here floating a $10 discount on a $40 tournament at Normandie Casino, which I had yet to go to, so I figured I would check it out.

Kind of a dreary place...bad lighting, low ceilings, but the staff was nice enough. I make my buyin and sit down to play. 6000 chips, 25 min levels

Lots of limping.  I took advantage of that by raising late with not much, maybe 10's being the best hand I saw all day.  We are roughly an hour in when this happens.

Im utg with starting stack, 100/200.  I look down at QhKh and raise it to 500.  Folds until the button who conpletes.  I tangled with this guy ince before, splitting a pot with Ax and neither of us beating the board. He had been routinely linping.

Board comes Ah Jc 3h.  With 1300 in the pot And liking this draw, I make it 1000. Villain pauses a bit, and matter of factly, says, I'm going all in. 

He's got me covered, and im fairly cerain he has an ace...but i have a nut flush draw and a straight draw. With all the hearts and 10's, i come to thr cinclusion its a coin flip (in reality im a 53/47 dog, after looking later). 

This is always tough, staking a tournament on a coin flip this early.. But, if i hit, Im in great shape with well over 12k.  I call, and its all black for the turn and river, and Im out.

I dont fault the play, and in a cash game it would be a no-brainer call.  Still, i could have gotten away from that and still been ok. But in theory, the move is, essentially, a $40 bet.  Thats it.  In a 1k wsop event? It would be a 1k bet, and with that perspective I went home thinking a lot about how buy-in anount might be affecting my play adversely...assuming i felt my call with kq was just.  To say that in another scenario I would fold to that shove is an interesting reflection on where my game is...and isnt.