Tunica Trip Report & Lessons Learned

Overall this was a great trip. I had a lot of fun and made a little money. More importantly, my confidence once again grew and I learned some good lessons. Overall I was up $216 for the trip and made most of my money in satellites. Out of 6 satellites:

3 first (1 was a chop and one paid 2 places even)
1 protection (got 4th, but Doug and I had a protection deal so I got my buy-in back)
2 busts (one where my nut straight was rivered)

Gee...think tournaments are my thing?

Anyway, I flew into Memphis at 11:30am. Sit down at my first single table satellite around 12:45. First hand is AA (mmmmm...this is going to be a good trip).

So I chopped this table for $500. Ended up playing more cash games than I expected, but I felt like I needed to exorcise some demons. I played a lot of 1/2 NL and ended up down on cash games overall at - $189. Good play, good decisions, just lost a couple of big pots that hurt me. I definitely feel much more comfortable in cash games now. I just need to stay disciplined when playing out of position against those damn straddles. For some reason my ego kicks in when people play straddles.

Played awesome in a $500 event with 750 people and ended up in a big pot where I decided to lay down a flush draw after committing 1/3 of my stack (misplayed hand - http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8782544&an=0&page=1#Post8782544). I wasn't super short after that, but then went card/situation dead and busted around 170 (top 72 paid).

Got a little bummed, burned some steam playing black jack and came up with a vigor into a satellite. Took it down for $1,100. Went over to Doug's table and played his stack while he helped me sell my satellite chips and won a $350 pot with a set of Jacks. He was nice enough to flip me $100.

I can't wait to go again! Maybe New Orleans??? Probably unlikely. Leaving Jenni for 5 days with 3 kids isn't easy on her. She is AWESOME for supporting my goals, but I know how much energy the kids can zap from you. I might just need to wait for the main event. Hopefully I can figure out a good schedule for going and maybe make it a family trip.

Lessons Learned

1. Don't be afraid to get your money into a +EV gambling situation when the odds are right and the situation warrants it. More specifically, don't be afraid to put your "tournament life on the line" in live tournaments if it is the right thing to do.

2. Don't try to outplay someone (i.e. long ball moves) until you've been at the table long enough to have strong reads.

3. Navaro's tells book really works (please don't tell anyone though)

4. Friendly table talk helps you keep control over the pace of the table

5. Sometimes you do have to go with a "feeling" if you are running well. It doesn't mean a donkey play, but if it is a close decision, sometimes you just gotta go with it.

6. Smiling and wit at the table tends to help me stay confident and mentally sharp

7. Not expending a lot of effort to observe others actually helps me take in more information. Overconcentrating can erode your ability to focus over a long session.

8. The table is a gold mine of information if you know how to extract it. People are much more likely to give up information if they like you. I gained a ton of valueable experience on this trip in asking the right questions in the right way and by simple observation.

9. Overt and dynamic friendliness is contageous. You can get even the tightest of rocks to open up.

10. I got better at adjusting to the blind structure better on this trip. Sometimes you have to be more agressive early to accumulate chips with fast structures. This also means open up raising and stealing requirements when your M is starting to dip, even if the blinds are relatively low (i.e. you have 1K at 25/50 level).

11. ALWAYS be aware of the blind structure for a tournament. Don't get caught not realizing that the blinds are doubling next.

12. Be aware of your M and play accordingly in live tournaments. Even if you are one of the table chip leaders, one mistake or marginal situation can have a significant long-term affect if you don't have room to recover.