Poker: Annual Satellite 2007 : Heat 1

I held the first Heat of the "Annual Satellite Invitation Cup" yesterday evening.

Martin turned up with his friend Dave instead of Sally, but they bought beer with them so was no problem :-)

My game plan was to play extra tight in the first hour, try to keep the pots small and see how things progressed. On the first hand I got dealt poker Q's and Darren acting ahead of me raised a small amount. Following my strategy I didn't re-raise and one other called (Lynn I think). The flop came K-x-x and Darren led out with a small bet. Not liking the King I decided to fold, and Darren took the pot uncontested, showing A-J. I was a little shocked Darren led out with a bet with nothing, but maybe that was the shape of things to come.

As it turned out the whole game was very tight and conservative, with little in the way of raising and mainly small raises. The early chips went to the two girls, both picking up some good pots. I gained a few chips here and there, bobbling along just above starting chips levels.

By the first break, Dave and Martin were the lower stacks, but still about half starting levels... Darren was the chip lead, with Viki and myself around starting chip levels

In the next session I found myself with KQ suited and up against Darren who had called my pre-flop raise. I missed the flop but it was high, giving me draws. Darren checked and I bet the pot. After thinking for a while he noted he thought he was ahead but folded, showing pocket 4's (he was right :-) ) A little later, I had pocket 8's and raised preflop and only Darren called. The flop was all lower than 8's so was happy enough to put in a reasonable bet, but Darren called. The turn came J and Darren went all-in. I had about 2200 chips left and it was 2000 to call. After thinking for a while decided I was probably ahead but not certain enough to call so folded and showed my hand..... I think he got me back for earlier as he just smiled... :-)

Incredibly it took until round 7 to lose a player. Martin went all in with a flop of A-Q-x with 6-5 suited. Lynn showed A-T which easily held up to take out Martin. At this stage, Lynn and Darren both had over 6000 chips, Viki was probably around 5000, I had around 2000 and Dave around 1000

Luckily for me the game was still playing tight, as I was on big blind with QT and saw a cheap flop. Wasn't happy to see A-T-x but everyone checked, and was more than happy to see a K fall to give me the nut straight (no flush) Unfortunately everyone checked again so had to bet the river, putting in a pot sized bet (1000) Lynn called me but my straight was good enough. This gave me some breathing space but still had to get more chips. Lynn and I were soon at it again, this time both showing A-T and split the pot (winning half the blinds each)

I then got into a pot with Viki and Dave when I was holding QQ. I was Big Blind again, Viki called, Dave went all-in (for not much more) and I went all-in. Viki decided to call and showed A-? Dave had 99. Luckily no A or 9 came and I took two out at once and got myself a good pile of chips.

Soon after, I was holding 5-3 and hit another straight on the river (after checking all the way down) and again Lynn paid me off when I bet.... so this put me well in contention with Darren, but then Darren took out Lynn leaving us heads up.

Darren had around 16000 to my 8000 and the blinds were just up to 2000/1000 so knew I had to be selective but aggresive to take the win.

The first couple of hands were a bit cagey, Darren folded without completing the small blind, I folded to a raise, Darren folded to a raise.... then Darren called my pre-flop raise and came out betting, so I folded.... then I got dealt 6-2 on the button and decided to take the blind... unfortunately Darren called and the flop came J-8-8. Darren bet 2000 so I looked at my hand as if I needed to make a decision before folding and lucky I did, because I actually had 8-2 !! (had misread my hand before) I did debate for a few minutes as I had 3500 chips left so folding was a possibility if I decided that Darren had an 8 as well (he would have a better kicker) the only other hand holding I was thinking about was A-J I decided to go all-in (which was always going to happen really...) and Darren called. Luckily he had A-J and another 8 came on the turn leaving me firm favorite to take the win. Darren's last 2200 chips went in the next hand which I called with QJ suited against A-5. The Q on the flop was enough and I took the victory

It was a great game and really enjoyed it (winning probably helped enhance my experiance) Everyone had played well and all seemed to enjoy also. I can now look forward to the final table in May and enjoy watching (or hearing about) the remaining heats..... I really feel confident it is my year this year (don't I say that every year) :-)