Commerce Day II...Struggling at Stud

I think I got some of the things mixed up in my results post. Not the numbers (like they aren't already dismal), but the days I played certain things. Like I think that on Thursday I played both the NLHE multi-table sat and the Stud. At any rate, the results were the same, lol.

I also think that Thursday Glenn won another sat, not Friday. Not that this matters one bit as far as results go, just that it confuses me when I'm sitting to write out the story.

Anyway, I played the $500 Stud tourney. I didn't even make it to the first break (two hours in). I was the second to bust out at my table, the first being Gioi Luong, whom I've spoken about last year at the WPPA. I like Gioi a lot, as does everyone who meets him and gets to know him. Why he is mixed up with Men is beyond me.

So Gioi and I were side-by-side. Charlie Shoten was across the table in the seven seat.

I basically played three big hands, lost them all, and that was that. I played way too tight, and when I did play a hand, I was outdrawn on the river, or I was behind all the way (in one hand).

--I had 222, a player in the eight seat had two pair and filled on the river.

--I had a three straight flush which turned into a four-flush on fourth, a straight on fifth, never flushed up, and a player with jacks made a flush with my same four diamonds on the river. Why he still drew to diamonds, although he could see two on my board, and another couple of diamonds dead on other boards is beyond me, but he did start with jacks, so I guess it was tough for him to give up the hand, head's up, although I check-raised him on fifth when I made my straight.

--My last hand I had two pair, but a very loose, passive player hit a hidden full on the river.

--I was forced to give up all of my pat hands before the river.

--I was only successful at one steal attempt on third.

--The players were very, very loose for a $500 event.

The player in the one seat couldn't really speak English. He was Asian, but Gioi said he had no idea what kind of Asian. Gioi was sitting in the two seat and very turned off by the one seat, who never stopped talking. We had a horrible time understanding anything he said. Later I learned he busted almost every player at our table himself. He played maybe 80% of the hands or more, and drew to any drawing hand, no matter how dead. He was super deceptive because for the most part he was very passive and we couldn't put him on a hand easily. He busted Gioi, Charlie and myself, yet still didn't make the money.
----------------------------------
Although I took some beats, the fact of the matter is, I didn't play enough hands, and I didn't play them hard enough, not betting my draws for value in order to chip up. We didn't have enough chips, nor was the structure any good (40 minute levels, 1000 starting chips, 30/60-50/100-100/200-200/400). I didn't adjust to the fast play, and so I got outplayed and manipulated. I got bet off of hands I should have played (one time I threw away queens on fifth due to my read and the most logical hands of my opponents, when I had the best hand all along), and I called down hands when I was beat.

Overall, this is a losing strategy. It doesn't matter that I usually start out with the best hand, I'm not getting bad beats, I'm getting outplayed.

Felicia :)