For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Premier League, it’s a 12 person tournament with a $100,000 and a unique format. Each player will play 4 times at an 8 handed table. Points are awarded for every place you finish. The top four point getters make the final table. 5th through 8th playoff in heads up matches to make the final table, with 5th playing 8th, and 6th playing 7th. The two winners make up the final table. Finish 9th through 12th… and you are done.
Before we even got started I ran into Roland de Wolfe who is always up for a bit of gambling action and we decided to do a draft for the tournament. He won the toss and got to choose if he went first or second. It was a snake draft so 1st pick meant you’d also end up with pick #12 as well. He smartly gave me first pick. Here is how the draft went:
1. Evgeny Timoshenko (DN)
2. J.C Tran (RD)
3. Daniel Negreanu (RD)
4. Tony G. (DN)
5. Luke Schwartz (DN)
6. Roland de Wolfe (RD)
7. Vanessa Rousso (RD)
8. Phil Laak (DN)
9. Ian Fraser (DN)
10. David Benyamine (RD)
11. Phil Hellmuth (RD)
12. Online Qualifer (DN)
I went with a bit more obscure looking pics and Roland fancied that he had a big edge, so after drafting he laid me 5-4 on an additional bet and I accepted. I think Tony G. is really good at these formats and liked that pick, but I got laughed at when I took him and Luke Schwartz. I thought Phil Laak was a bit of a steal at #8, because again, this format suits him well and he’s done well in these types of events before.
I took Timoshenko first overall and I’m happy with that pick. He won’t make any big mathematical blunders and I think my team is better suited for this event, because I think they have a better grasp of the maths overall.
After Heat #1, thanks to a Phil Laak win (go horsey!) I have a nice lead with 30 points to Roland’s 21.
Roland picked me for his team, and while I tried my best, a cooler took me out first! I finished heat #1 with 0 points. There is just no way I could get away from my bust out hand and would do the same thing again if I had the chance:
Fraser raised to 11,000 and I called with 5h 6h, Laak called from the cut off and three of us took the flop. The flop was 10c 6c 5s. Fraser checked, I bet 25,000 and Laak made it 69,000. Laak looked very comfortable, and even told me he was super comfortable so it didn’t feel like a random bluff at all. I put him on one of the following hands, in no particular order:
A 10 with a good kicker
A striaght/flush draw combo
A hand like Ac 5c for a pair and a flush draw
I’m OK against all of those hands, and I ruled out 10-5 or 10-6, because I am absolutely certain he’s never call with that hand pre-flop. So my the only hands to fear are:
55
66
10-10
He "could have 10′s, but he may have re-raised pre-flop with that hand. It didn’t feel like he had 10′s to me pre-flop based on the way he called before the flop. I can’t say why obviously.
So that leaves me with only 55 or 66 that have me crushed. Since I have both a 5 and a 6 in my hand, it’s just absurd to give him credit for having a set there. I went all in for about 220,000 and got the bad news when he snap called with 66. Oh well. I felt like I had to re-raise in case he had a 10. My hand is very vulnerable against top pair, but I think Laak may have folded a hand like K-10 to my re-raise.
Luckily for me there are three heats left and I have a chance to rebound. Obviously not the start I was looking for, so my primary focus now shifts a little bit. Instead of worrying about cracking the top 4, I have to readjust my goals and look to crack the top 8. A top 3 finish in my next heat would be a big deal.
I have a day off on Saturday as I’m not scheduled to play in heat #2, and then I go at it again on Sunday in heat #3. I’ve been following the hands online as the coverage has been pretty good with most of the hands being covered. Not only that, the coverage is including hole card information which is only fair since some the players also do commentary and can see the hole cards every hand.
I plan of vegging mostly until my next match. Eat well, watch some TV, play a little online at PokerStars, and workout most likely. Lots of good TV to catch up on and my Tivo is kind of jammed. I’ve got Heroes, 24, Lost, Survivor, Nip/Tuck, Real World, 60 Minutes, 20/20, HBO Real Sports, Saturday Night Live, and of course, American Idol all on the agenda. On that note, I’m going to go check on Jack Bauer…
P.S. My Bankroll Challenge Update:
Starting Bankroll $10 at $0.01-$0.02
Hands Played 786 Money Won $15.26
Starting Bankroll $25.26 at $0.02-$0.05
Hands Played 252 Money Won $25.42
Starting Bankroll $50.86 at $0.05-$0.10
Hands Played 1267 Money Won $75.90
Starting Bankroll $126.58 at $0.10-$0.25
Hands Played 2226 Money Won $61.20
Current Bankroll: $177.78
