Sunday, March 09, 2008

Double-stack turbo?? Yes, Virginia, they exist

In looking for a way to add to my roll on FullTilt without jeopardizing too much of what little I have left there, I found some 90-player $3 + 0.30 SNGs that I hadn't paid attention to before. These odd little NLHE tourneys are like Frankenstein monsters, with all the extra features added on:

*3,000 chip starting stacks
*Turbo blinds
*Knockout bounties

At first I didn't realize the double-stack and turbo nature of these things. When I registered for my first one, I saw the large stack and thought, "Hell, this is going to take longer than I planned to play." After a while, I noticed that the blinds were going up awfully fast, and figured out that it was a turbo. Normally I don't like turbos, as I prefer to have some time to get a feel for my table and such. But, I realized, a deep stack tourney that was also a turbo might not take as long as I feared. That was a good thing, since my poker playing time is limited.

I was right. Things moved along fast. People were making really baffling plays, like calling off all their chips with middle or bottom pair or crap like K6. It was almost like they thought *they* would get the 50 cent bounty if they got knocked out, instead of the person who busted them. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't in a position to benefit from the donkery I witnessed. I got lousy hands and had to fold and watch the fireworks around me.

I played in two of these games over the last few days, and didn't cash in either one. I might well try them again, because they don't seem to take much longer than a regular two or five-table SNG, and the prize pool is bigger because of the higher number of entrants. If I can make a decent score in one or more of these, I ought to be able to play in some of the BBT3 events. I might take a stab at a Mookie or Riverchasers anyway, since a cash in one of those would set me up for some future play too. But I have to be careful about my bankroll on FT, or I'll be stuck doing the freerolls just to try win enough to get back into the $1.25 SNGs.

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