hubris

Last night, OmniX and I went to play in a live poker tournament. The buy-in was 25 chips and first place takes home 320, second 250, etc. There were about 32 players (8 players x 4 tables). The hosts really know how to throw a tournament. It starts off with mouth-watering barbeque pork kabobs, some bourbon chicken, sandwiches, buffalo wings, some noodles, chips and dip, and chocolate cupcakes.

I couldn’t have asked to be at a better table to start things off. Most of the players seated at my table were players I’ve played against before and I’ve memorized how they played certain hands, position, etc. Half of the table have shown a propensity to call in the past. I was doing ok in the beginning until I got involved on this one hand with AJ of diamonds. Blinds were 50-100. I was on the button and the guy to my right bet 400 preflop. I called. The flop comes out Ac8h9c. He bets 600 and I raise to 1500. He immediately re-raises me all-in. I think for maybe 2 minutes. I reviewed how the hand was played and knew he didn’t have two pair. It was unlikely he was on a draw (although it’s possible he thought I was on a draw). He could have a set of Aces, but seeing how he played the previous 15 hands or so, I knew he was a conservative player and that he wouldn’t have played a set that way. Based on his demeanor and by the way he reacted to my question, “You have AK?” (the way his eyes moved revealed that he was surprised that I could put him on that hand + slight shrug), I knew he had either AK or AQ, with remote possibility that he was holding a set. He definitely wanted me to call his all-in (which ruled out KK, QQ). Calling would mean risking my tournament life since it was for the rest of my chips (1,175).
So after a couple minutes of deliberation, I decided that I’m here to gamble (worst case scenario, I lost 25 chips), knowing that I was behind in the hand (3 to 1 underdog) and was hoping for a suckout. If I won that pot, I’d be the chip leader and the players at my table were going to pay me off for the next hour or so. And if I lost, I at least can show people that i can make an accurate read and that I’m willing to gamble (in future tournaments, perhaps they’ll remember this..).

I called and he showed AKo. Turn card A, River 4. Finished 31st out of 32. Hubris.