£6k champion

Thursday night prevented me with a rare opportunity, a chance to play a few games of poker.

I played the $20k, going out in 30th, and also the WSOP qualifier. I managed to bubble on the qualifying but earn $190 paying for the previous two tournaments.

I also decided to play the £6k and ended up winning the tournament and taking home the £1680 1st prize. A very nice return indeed!

I had played very solidly throughout and the final table looked like this

ClintonO (37k)
Dr.Fun (16k)
dlowen (42k)
Therat (40k)
seatopen (90k)
dtrain17 (21k)
catmandu (23k)
Ju$t_Me (27k)
Tere22041 (65k)
kevoheart (32k)

With blinds at 1200/2400, a few of the short stacks were all in at every opportunity.

dtrain17 was first to go, noving with 4c,5c but Tere22041 was sitting in the button waiting with QQ.

With the short stacks moving all in, or Tere doing the same, making a move was becoming very difficult, I raised whereever I could.

I had fallen back to 28k when I was dealt 9s,9d in the big blind.
Catmandu limped for 2.4k and Ju$tMe moved all in with 31k. It was decision time, the table was so aggressive that any limp was usually punished with an all in raise. I decided that Ju$tMe was capable of moving with any two and also an ace or a 2k,Qc,8s,6s came the board and I was up to 62k and 3rd place.

A few hands later Therat is in trouble with 8k and Tere calls I turn over KK in the button and raise it up. Therat has 5c,Ac and he goes out in 9th.
Incredibly the very next hand I get KK again on the cut off, I raise with KK and Dr.Fun moves all in with AT and 21k. The Kings hold up again, we have 7 left and I am in pole position with 110k.
Catmandu goes out next hand to Seatopen T9 on a 6,5,T board against AK. K on turn.
Then for the third hand in a row we lose someone, Ju$t_Me has only 2.5k and loses to Kevo.

5 left now
ClintonO 109k
Dlowen 37k
Seatopen 112k
Tere22041 89k
kevoheart 47k

dlowen then doubles up against Tere when his KJ beats JJ, money went in on a 9k9 board.
After a bit of jockeying for position, I incredibly get KK for the first time on the final table.
This time against Kev who is all in preflop with AJ. Kings hold up again, although they had to dogde a heart on the river.

At this stage in the game, what did I know. Tere had been moving the most, bluffing frequently pre flop, but weak after the flop.
dlowen was calling after hitting any part of the flop. I got him to call a bet on the turn and the river when he was holding Q5, on a 7,5,8,A,K board!
Seatopen was solid, but capable of blowing up.

I just needed to stay focused to win.
Dlowen then calls a 6k bet with A4 on a 2,J,8,8 board and then 12k more after a 4 hits the river and pays a substantial amount of chip to Tere. I can't see this guy lasting.
dlowen moves back up again calling a raise with K2 and hitting two kings. Seatopen is starting to throw his chips away and has lost half his stack.

I call a raise from Tere with AcJc and then dlowen moves all in. It was 52k more to call and I decided to let in go and keep my stack in place and as it is on the evidence so far the weakest player I let it go.

We eventually lose Seatopen when he moves all in with 76 on a 4,7,A,K board. Tere has A2 and calls.

We are down to 3.
ClintonO 125k
dlowen 112k
Tere22041 157k.

I make a move on dlowen with 89, I raise pre flop. Board is 2c,Ks,Qc. I raised again and he calls, he has hit the board. The turn is a third club, I check with the intention of calling a bet indicating the flush. He checks. The river is another K. I believe he would have reraised me if he had a King. I have been aggressive pre flop and on the flop and decide that he must put me on a King or a flush. I bet 3/4 pot and get called with JQ. Sigh.

I am down to 68k. I get 20k back when Tere tries a bluff. I have a bluffer and a calling station, focus. I become more aggressive, but they sense it and come over the top of me on a couple of occasions.

Things have gone very wrong, dlowen starts playing very well and the chips are as follows.
ClintonO 41k
dlowen 270k
Tere22041 83k.

I decide to play against Tere no matter what I have, as I know I can take it away on the turn if he checks the flop. I call a raise with 92 and do exactly that with a Q,K,4,8 board!

I work my way up to 101k at the expense of Tere who is down to 33k. Tere then calls an all in with KT against dlowens 6s5s. Dlowen hits the straight.

We are heads up 92k verus 302k. blinds 4k/8k
Its time to get aggressive. I raise hand one with TJ and take the pot.
I have exactly the same hand in hand two and when he raises I decide I need to be aggressive to get back into it and move all in. He instantly calls with AK.
The flop gives me options when 9,2,7 comes down. Any 8, Ten or Jack now. Turn brings the Jack, River brings the 8, to make it even better.

I am slightly in front now. Hand 3 I let go to a big bet on the river and I have a hunch that he is now tilting and to play even more aggressive.
Next hand I have A9 and once again he puts a sizeable raise in. No messing I decide to take the pot there and then by moving in. He instantly calls with KK. I read that one wrong.
The flop comes T,2,4. The turn brings the glory card an Ace, and the river confirms the comeback with a 9.
I have got very lucky indeed.

Hand five of the heads up, he only has 7.4k and is automatically all in.
---- HOLE CARDS -----dealt to ClintonO [5h 3s]
ClintonO: calls 4000
Returned uncalled bets 1,608 to ClintonO
----- FLOP ----- [5c 4d 3c]
----- TURN ----- [5c 4d 3c][3h]
----- RIVER ----- [5c 4d 3c 3h][6d]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
dlowen: shows [Qd 2c] (A Straight, Six high)
ClintonO: shows [5h 3s] (A Full House, Threes full of Fives)
ClintonO collected 14784 from Main pot.

Finished off in style!

It was a very interesting game of poker and mostly I found my instincts correct throughout. My heads up opponent surprised me as his game changed dramtically for the better late on, as I had put him as one of the weakest opponents. In the end he was very unlucky to lose.

It was nice to back and playing again and now with the Golden Cup Series 2 here, I intend to play a lot more this week. However I am still a little rusty and don't mind some more good fortune like I received in the final few hands here.

ClintonO