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Sam Trickett
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26 Jun 2010
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Nottingham’s Sam Trickett is a regular face on the UK circuit. Not only did he win the 2008 Luton GUKPT for £109,050, but he also finished fourth in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Freezeout at WSOP 2008 for $245,927.
Player: Sam Trickett
Event: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Freezeout
Date: June 26, 2008
Runners = 805
Position = 4th
Prize = $245,927
Today’s event is Event 32: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Freezeout
Trickett on…
… Why He Played This Event:
This was the third event I’d played. I played two $1,500 tournaments prior to that, and was six off the money in one. I only played the $5,000 event because I’d won $85,000 in the $1,000 Monday comp on Full Tilt, I wouldn’t have played it otherwise. I kind of just looked at the event and thought, ‘That looks good, I’ll give that a go now I have a ‘roll.’ I was used to playing six-handed online, but always cash. Six-max is a lot better, and I think you need a set of balls to play it well. I just find it has a lot more feel to it, and a good player has a better edge. There’s a lot of guessing almost.
… The Standard of Play:
I don’t think it’s very good value to be honest. In fact, it’s probably one of the toughest events at the World Series. All the top names were playing, and there were a load of online whizzes too, most of whom you’d recognise from their online aliases. Overall, it was just very tough to play. Players were frequently three-bettting when I prefer to play flops rather than inflate the pot out of position and be forced to make difficult decisions. You didn’t have much a choice in this event though as the opposition is so aggressive and always putting you to the test.
To combat this, I had no choice but to four-bet, and I think I four-bet around 10 times, not with rags, but with relatively strong hands like nines, which you probably wouldn’t be four-betting with in full-ring. Ranges were so much wider, so I had to make sure I took control of pots rather than let people bash me around. Luckily, I ran really good and was never really in trouble. I wouldn’t say I was lucky, but I managed to avoid those big confrontations and never really got it all in. I was massive all the way, which made things a whole lot easier.
There are a few fishes in this event, but not many. I noticed that most of the field were young, and that the older players had decided to skip it. The weaker players weren’t always able to adapt to six-handed, and played too tight. Sometimes you could tell that they knew you were at it, and wanted to fight back, but couldn’t quite bring themselves to do so. This was probably the biggest error I saw people make. They sort of half fight back, by calling bets, but then check-folding the flop. They were basically calling to hit and try and catch you out, but obviously most of the time they’re going to miss and you’ll take it down uncontested. If they did call, you could often get three streets of value with decent hands as they’d just check-call you down if they had something. That’s how I started to build chips, by playing these hands in position.
… Differences to Full-Ring:
This was so much different to a 10-handed event, players were raising almost every hand, and I don’t think I ever recall seeing a limp. The under-the-gun raise also receives way less respect in a short-handed game. It was really tricky to play, and at times quite stressful because I had so many difficult decisions to make. A lot of it came down to decision making. You had so many options available to you and your opponents’ ranges were so wide, that tricky decisions frequently cropped up, so much so that it was so hard to pick the right one sometimes. I’ve made it through to Day Twos at GUKPTs and been unable to get to sleep, but before the final table of this one, I’d played 16-hours, and had so many stressful decisions to make that I was absolutely knackered and got to sleep straight away.
There was this hand where I had A-9 on the button with four or five tables left. I knew I should raise, but was also aware that the blinds had the perfect sized stack for shipping it in. I’d also seen the big blind make a similar move earlier with A-2, so I’d have to make the call against him if he pushed again. Anyhow, I raised it up to 21,000 with blinds of 4,000 and 8,000, and the small blind [Richard Lyndaker], who I hadn’t seen ship before, pushed all in for 178,000. I changed my mind at this point and tanked before eventually folding. He showed 9-7 suited, but I should have gone with my instinct. It shows that you get played back at a lot more in these six-handed events though, and that it’s important to not allow yourself to be slapped around. You should have seen Tony Phillips in the recent GUKPT event he won. They let him bully them and he just smashed the table up. I was the same when I had a deep stack in Luton - I think I raised 15 hands in a row without anyone playing back at me. You just can’t let yourself get run over, and that situation can crop up a lot more in short-handed events.
… His Plan of Action:
There were a lot of big egos in this event, and people were often three-betting and always continuation betting. I just played tight if the table was loose as I knew they’d barrel off. I’d often be playing hands like suited connectors and small pairs in order to hit a hand and get paid. I could almost play it like a cash game, because the stacks were so deep. I really didn’t feel like it was much of a problem for me going from playing six-handed cash to then trying my hand at a tournament.
… His Good Start:
I was pretty mad because I’d arrived 30 minutes late without realising that the comp had already started. On the very first hand I played, the small blind raised it up and I gave him the benefit of the doubt and folded. The second hand I was involved in, he did it again, but this time I three-bet from the big blind with Q-7 and he flat called. The flop came K-Q-4. I led out and he snap-raised. I didn’t think he was strong so I called. The four on the turn wasn’t a bad card, and I ended up check-calling another bet. The blank river went check check and he just mucked when I showed my queen. I’d gained 3,000 chips straight away, but I’d ruined my image. They probably thought I was a right nutter now.
… The Blinds:
The blinds play differently in these events and tend to defend more. Personally, I like to play small pots from the blinds, so if someone raises in the small, I might just call with a hand like A-J rather than three-bet, and then be happy to play the flop in position. Players tend to get real stubborn though, and defend with weak hands.
… The Bubbles:
The money bubble took ages, around two hours I think. I raised pretty much every hand during this stage because people were so desperate to make the money - I think I added 200,000 to my stack when the average was 300,000. I was lucky though because I had the softest table I’d had for the whole tournament. Richard Ashby was probably the only good player on it and I was just praying it wouldn’t break.
The final table bubble was long too, about 90 minutes, because everyone, including myself, really wanted to get onto the final table - it would be an achievement. My one regret though is that I wasn’t more aggressive during this period. I locked up. I was card dead, but I still could have played more aggressive and taken advantage of the way we were all playing. It was weird, people were getting walks and no one was stepping out of line because they were scared about being the final table bubble. In the end, it took an aces versus kings pot to knock someone out.
... A Key Hand:
There was this hand on the final table where I wasn’t really happy with how I played. I raised it up with eights, and this guy three-bet. I wanted to four-bet, but in the end I decided to just flat call. The flop was something like 2-J-5 and he bet, so I called. The turn came an ace, and he bet again. I knew this was an excellent bluffing card for him, so I made the call. The river was a blank. It went check, check and he showed A-2, so I’d done two bets. This put me down to 1.1 million. I still had around average, but it was definitely a real setback.
… ElkY and Pab:
ElkY was doing well during the latter stages and, like me, had a big stack. We weren’t on the same table so didn’t really clash, but Richard Lyndaker bashed him up and took a load of his chips. I also played Pab [Paul Foltyn] for a bit. I’d never met or played him before Vegas, but was introduced to him via Julian Thew. He was a top guy, real friendly.
I played one interesting hand against Pab with a few tables left. He raised to 2,500 and I defended the big blind with T-9 suited. The flop came T-3-3 with one spade and I check-called his continuation bet. The turn was a raggy spade and we both checked. I hit a nine on the river, which didn’t make a difference if he had an overpair, but I bet anyway. He told me he thought he should raise before calling with A-T. That was an important hand as I could have lost a lot more if he’d played his hand slightly differently. It would just be about trying to figure out if he had the overpair or not, but the A-T is pretty close to an overpair in the end. That pot could have got real big though if I’d bet the turn or something.
… Alex Jacob:
Alex Jacob was a nightmare. He was so sick and I had real trouble with him. He had position on me too. Every time I’d raise preflop, he would just call, and then call my continuation bet too, so I ended up in difficult situations against him out of position. I then tried to check-raise instead, but he moved all in and I had to fold. Maybe he was racking it and getting loads of hands, I don’t know.
I took him out in the end with two tables left. We’d already played 14 hours and I was really tired, and Jacob was seriously putting me off my game and making things difficult. We were both big stacks at the time when I raised it up with pocket tens from the button. He three-bet in the small blind and I called. On the 7-2-3 flop, I decided that I wasn’t going anywhere and couldn’t give him credit for a hand every time. I’d seen him do some crazy shit previously too, like getting a load of chips in with threes preflop and knocking out a guy with A-Q. Anyhow, I bet and he moved all in. I hated this because there weren’t many hands I could beat, but I’d already put a lot of chips into the pot. I think I joked with him before I called that I could only beat nines, and that’s what he showed. I binked a ten on the river to make doubly sure though.
… Other Tricky Players:
On the final, Tom Lutz was a sick player and perhaps the most aggressive I came up against - I just tried to stay out of his way. To be honest, I also wanted to ladder, so part of me didn’t want to risk my whole stack. Having said that, there was one hand against Edward Ochana where I raised it up with Q-J suited and he defended from the big blind. The flop came 9-2-3 rainbow. I bet, he check-raised and I called, which looked mega strong because I only had about one pot bet left behind me. I could have just pushed the flop, but I thought this would look even stronger. On the turn, he just checked and I pushed all in and he insta-mucked. I showed my queen high and there were a few cheers from the stands. The next hand though, he knocked me out. I raised it up with K-K, he called in the small blind with 6-6 and spiked a set on a 10 high, two hearts flop. He led, I raised, and he reraised all in. I tank-called, but I don’t think I’m ever getting away.
… Davidi Kitai:
Davidi Kitai was also a good player. I’d played with him a few days earlier at the Bellagio. I’d made this ridiculous hero call with pocket deuces, and the next hand he returned the favour by bashing me up with a weak hand, so I knew he could play. I played really tight during the first couple of orbits, then decided to make a raise with 5-2 of diamonds. He pushed all in from the blind, and although I was getting good odds on a call, I folded, which completely ruined my image.
… Eventual Winner Joe Commisso:
Commisso was the best player on the final. He was class. He never seemed to show a hand, and took down nearly all his pots prior to a showdown If he did show, he always had the goods. He just seemed to make the right moves at the right time.
… The Bracelet:
The bracelet was important to me and a goal of mine, but I think if I had the choice I’d still take the money. It’s sick to get that close though and miss out. After my fourth place finish, I quit my job as a gas engineer and started playing full-time. It gave me a ‘roll to play with and meant I could tale a real stab at the circuit. I wouldn’t say that it led to me winning Luton, because I really thought I could take down one of those events regardless. The standard at the GUKPT was a lot easier than it is now; it’s got a lot tougher recently.
… Vegas Plans:
I’ve been in Vegas pretty much since the start of the Series and have been playing lots of the smaller $1,500 type events. I don’t know if I’ll play the $5,000 again, there really isn’t that much value in it. Maybe I’ll give it a crack because I did well in it last year.
SOURCE: Blackbeltpoker.com
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