FTOPS #9 - how I lost my chips

I finally won a satellite into FTOPS #9 and thought I would play according to my pre-game plan. Be nice and tight early on, only play premium hands. Wait for the blinds to increase and make a few steals. Then look for big pots to get involved in to really get above average and try to stay there. Once I had the chips protect them and do not let them leak away. Get into the money and then get super-aggressive to try to make it to the top spots.

It was a good plan. A great plan. I think I am like many poker players who understand the fundamentals and have a great game plan. I just do not follow it. I consistently make mistakes that I know are bad plays but I still do them. Even when they are completely opposite to the game plan my brain goes blank and I throw my chips away.

So here was my execution of my plan:

1. I get KQd in the BB. It checks round and I check (keeping the pot small because I don't really even want to play this hand - its not in my "premium" starting hand list for this early stage of the tournament). The flop is 4d, 6d, 4c. I check and then call a small bet - I figure I have 2 overcards and the flush draw. I have options to raise and try to steal the pot here but I still think I dont really want to make a big pot at this stage or give my chips away so I keep it calm. The turn is blank (check check) and the river is the Qc - now I have top 2 pair and no bets. FUCK the plan - go for it - I put in a raise. He calls and shows the trip 4s to take a chunk of my chips.

2. Wait a bunch of hands playing super tight and then I get 3-3 in late position. No bets so I raise from 30 to 120 to try to take the pot there. A couple of callers and the flop is A-K-7 so I put in a two third pot continuation bet to try to steal the pot - if they do not have an ace or king maybe they will fold now. Unfortunately they both call so I check-fold on 4th street losing another chunk of chips.

3. Wait a bunch more hands and I get 4-4 in the SB and call the BB. I miss the flop so I fold the cards and lose a few more chips.

4. My stack is down from 3000 starting stack for just over 2000 so I wait a bunch more hands and get A-Jc in late position. There is a small raise in front of me (2xb) so I re-raise and get a caller. The flop is 6d 2c 8c so I bet the pot and he re-raises to put me all in if I call. I have a flush draw and 2 overcards and am thinking its 2.2-1 for me to get one of my cards, I only have 1700 chips left and am way below average and this is my opportunity to get back in the game. So I call, miss the flop and he turns over K-K and my tournament is over. I am iin 5137th place out of 5637 people - what a loser!!

This last play is so dumb I feel I could shoot myself. I was thinking all the wrong things. I should have thought that my tournament life is on the line and I do not need to risk it right now - its way too early. I should have thought what range of hands he could have based on his betting patterns but I didn't even think about him. I should have thought how A-J suited is NOT even on my starting hand range this early in the tournament so why am I playing it. I could have looked at the pot-odds and realised I was getting about 2-1 on the money I was betting but I was 2.2-1 to get a card so it was a bad idea to call. I did not think any of this. If I knew he had kings and my jack was not an over card my odds were even less with only 12 outs - way too few to call.

Of course if I had hit the flush I would have thought I was great but in truth I would have been lucky when making a bad play.

In fact every one of my 4 hands above were short of my starting range and completely outside of my game plan I had setup. I should have folded all 4 hands. But I had a brain freeze and this is the part of my game I need to work on. Its one thing to not know the fundamentals but a lot of losing tournament players know them and just do not follow them at a critical moment. This is the difference between a good player who wins tournaments and the rest of us - the good players do not make stupid mistakes.

I'm off to do some meditation before someone hands me a gun. So stupid - I gotta learn from these mistakes - gotta gotta gotta learn!!