Otis had quite a ride on Ultimate Bet last night. He played in a $30 tourney that had 176 entrants. First prize was more than $1000.
Sometimes you get the cards, and sometimes you don't. Sometimes it's back-and-forth, hand-to-hand. It's the kind of night Otis had.
From the moutain top to the valley and back again. The only thing I'll give away is that cowboys played an awfully big role!
Here are all the hands I was able to record. Unless it got to a showdown, I don't know what Otis had. Enjoy!
Hand #15
It's early, Otis has 980 chips in the big blind of 20 and no one raises in front of him, so he checks. Four players are in the hand.
The flop comes 6c, Kd, 7h. Otis opens with 80 and "pkschump" calls.
The turn is the 8s, putting a straight draw on the board. Otis bets 55, "pkschump" raises to 180, Otis calls.
The river is the 4h, four parts of a straight. Otis bets 75, "pkschump" raises to 150, Otis calls.
"pkschump" shows pocket rockets, Otis' Kh, Ts doesn't cut it.
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Hand #16
Next hand, and our hero is already down to 550. He's in the small blind of 10 and after two callers in front of him, he raises to 100. Is he tilting already? His early nemesis, "pkschump" calls.
The flop brings 3h, 3s, Ks. Otis limps with 20 and "pkschump" calls.
The turn is the Th. Otis limps again with 20 and "pkschump" raises. Otis goes all-in for 430 and gets called. Is it over already?
Showdown time and this time, Otis has American Airlines, "pkschump" has Ad, Kd. Only a K knocks out Otis.
The river is a harmless Qh, and Otis is back up to 1140.
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I lost a hand in here, but Otis bet big again, only to lose when yet another AA showed up.
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Hand #22
Otis is down to 660 in an early position. He raises to 70 and gets two callers.
The flop is 6c, Jc, 2d. Otis bets 80 and both call.
The turn is the 7d. Otis goes all-in for 510. Is this it? He gets a caller.
In this showdown, it's Otis' Ad, Kd vs. "Kralj's" Qc, Tc. Two flush draws, Otis has the advantage.
The river is the diamond Otis wanted and he's back up to 1490.
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Hand #23
Very next hand, Otis raises from an early position to 70. He gets one caller.
The flop is 6d, 5s, Qh. Otis bets 170 and gets no callers. If he didn't have the Q, he at least bet like he did.
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Hand #25
Two hands later, Otis is at 1590 and in the big blind of 20. It's raised to 110 in front of him, and he calls, along with one other.
The flop is Ts, Jh, 2d. A big stack, "Dire Wolf", bets 330. Otis calls, as does another big stack, "get2u."
The turn is the Ks. "Dire Wolf" bets 100, Otis goes all-in for 1150, "get2u" goes all-in for 1530, "Dire Wolf" calls! Is this it?!?
Showdown time, and "get2u" shows Kh, Tc, he's got two pair. "Dire Wolf" has pocket rockets (they're cheap tonight), but he's behind in the hand. Our hero has Kc, Jh, the best two-pair.
The river is a harmless 5d, and Otis is up to 4770 and in 1st place overall. Just like that, the roller coaster is at the top.
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Hand #61
Otis has finally taken a break, after seeing the most action he's seen since his bachelor party. He's in early position when he raises the big blind of 40 to 80. He gets two callers.
The flop is 5c, Ts, 6h. Otis bets 280 and "cycle100cc" calls.
The turn is the 5s. Otis bets 840 and the little stack can't take the heat.
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Hand #63
Otis is at 6970 now, well up on the field. He's in the big blind of 40 and just checks to three callers.
The flop is 6d, 2s, 7c. Otis bets 40 and "cycle100cc" calls.
The turn is the 2c. Otis bets 40 and "cycle100cc" raises to 400. Otis was apparently trapping because he raises the guy all-in and gets called.
In the showdown, "cycle100cc" has As, Jc, but Otis has a boat, thanks to the 7d, 2h. Yep, he's got a boat with 7-2 offsuit, the worst starting hand in poker.
"cycle100cc" gets no help with the Kh on the river, and Otis is now up to 8725.
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Hand #64
Small blind time now, and Otis raises to 80, getting two callers.
The flop is 8h, 6s, 4h. Otis limps with 40 and both call.
The turn is the 6c. Otis limps with 40 and both call.
The river is the 2h. Otis hammers with 480 and both fold. That's what big stacks do. He's up to 9045.
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Hand #71
Big blind time, and Otis checks to three callers.
The flop is 5s, 8c, 3c. "drsteve", the second biggest stack at the table, bets 240, and Otis calls.
The turn is the 2d. Otis bets 60 and gets called.
The river is the Jc, and both check. Otis was apparently trapping because he turns over the nut flush, Ac, Tc. "drsteve" mucks his pair of T's.
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Hand #72
Next hand, and Otis is in the small blind. It's raised to 120 in front of him and he calls, along with one other player.
The flop is Tc, Qd, 9c. Otis bets 360 and both opponents quickly fold.
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Hand #77
Otis has about a 3-to-1 chip lead over the 2nd stack at the table. He raises to 120 and gets re-raised to 180 and then again to 750. Otis calls, and the first re-raiser folds.
The flop is 8h, 4c, 4h. Otis checks and "mkg59" goes all-in for 1050. Otis calls.
It's American Airlines again, but "mkg59" has it. Otis shows a pair of 7's.
The turn is the 3c and the river is the Jh. Otis is down to 7095, but still in first overall.
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It's break #1. They've played for an hour and Otis is at 7815 after taking some blinds. He's got about a 500 chip lead over 2nd place.
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Hand #95
Big blind is up to 100, and Otis raises it to 200. He gets two callers.
The flop is 5s, 3c, 4h. Otis bets 100 and gets one caller.
The turn is the 5h. Otis bets 350 and gets called.
The river is the 9h, which puts a flush draw on the board. Both players check.
"valuator" shows Ad, Kc, but Otis has Ac, 9c, and that nine pushes him to 8665.
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Hand #125
Otis is in early position and raises to 400. "pkschump" goes all-in for 1430, and Otis calls.
"pkschump" has Ks, Jd. Not bad, but Otis shows Ah, Qs.
The flop is 4s, Td, Kh. Uh oh, not good news for our hero.
The turn is the 3h. No help. He needs any A or any J.
The river bring what's needed, with the Jc. Otis wins 3160 and is up to 10195, 2nd place overall.
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Hand #142
Otis bets 400 from an early position and a tiny stack goes all-in for 105.
Otis has Ac, Ts while "scorpion007" has just As, 7d.
It's Ks, Jd, Kd, 6d, Tc, and Otis takes the pot.
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Hand #146
Otis is in the small blind of 100. He raises to 400 and gets one caller.
The flop is Ah, 4d, Qd. Otis bets 200 and "Wyldemaverick" raises to 400. It's a familiar theme as Otis re-raises, and "Wyldemaverick" goes all-in for 2890. Otis calls.
In this showdown, "Wyldemaverick" shows As, Ts and Otis shows Ac, Kh.
This time it's Ah, 4d, Qd, 6s, 7s, and Otis wins 6780 to go to 12890 for 2nd overall.
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Hand #150
Otis raises the big blind of 300 to 600 and gets one caller. "sacopoo" is a small stack at just 1680.
The flop is 5c, 2h, 5s. Both players check.
The turn is the 2c. Otis bets 300 and sees a quick fold. He's up to 13640, 3rd overall.
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Hand #152
UTG, Otis calls the big blind of 300 and six players are in this pot.
The flop is Kc, 6s, Ac. Otis bets 1800, and everyone folds. He's up to 15140.
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Hand #159
Otis raises the big blind to 600 and gets one caller.
The flop is 9d, 7d, 8c, flush and straight draws. Otis bets 300 and "CharlesFloyd" goes all-in for 1750. Otis calls.
This showdown has Otis with 9h, 8h (two pair), but "CharlesFloyd" has 7h, 7s (flopped a set).
The turn is the Ad, and the river is the Ts. Otis is down to 11890.
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Hand #174
Otis calls the big blind, and "trnmtdirector" raises to 1800. Otis calls.
The flop is Tc, 7h, 6s. Otis bets 400 and gets called.
The turn is the 9c. Otis bets 400 and gets called.
The river is the Ad. Otis bets 400 and gets called.
Otis' deuces lose to an A-Q (pair of aces).
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Hand #178
UTG, Otis raises to 800. "dave_a_roo" goes all-in for 970 and Otis calls.
"dave_a_roo" has 6's, but Otis has cowboys.
The cards come 4s, 9s, 9h, Qc, 5c and Otis wins 2340 to get back to 9310.
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It's the 2nd break, and Otis is down to 8510. He only made 700 chips in that hour after making more than 6000 in the first hour.
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Hand #194
The big blind is up to 600, and UTG, Otis raises to 1200. No one calls, a cheap 1500 chip win.
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Hand #195
In the big blind of 600, Otis checks to the call from the small blind.
The flop is 3h, 5c, 6d. "jm823" bets 600, Otis raises to 1200 and "jm823" folds. It's another 2400 chips.
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Hand #197
On the button, (a place Otis has rarely played from), Otis calls the UTG who goes all-in for 2900.
"CharlesFloyd", who flopped the set on Otis earlier, shows 8d, 8s, but Otis has the powerful Kc, Ks.
The flop is 5d, Jd, 4h. No damage to our hero.
The turn is the Td. No damage to our hero, but that third diamond could be a concern.
When the Qd comes down the river, it's the worst beat for Otis thus far. He's down to 7410.
If you're wondering, Otis was an 81% favorite pre-flop. Post-flop, that shot up to 90%. After the turn, Otis was a whopping 95% favorite. Luck was against him here.
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Hand #198
Otis calls an early raise to 1200. Two players are in the pot.
The flop is 7c, Kc, 6d. "jm823" bets 600, Otis calls.
The turn is the 2s. "jm823" bets 600, Otis folds. One of the first late fold from Otis in the tourney. He's down to 5610.
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I'm missing Hand #199, but it wasn't kind to Otis because he lost, dropping him to 2310.
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Hand #200
From the big blind of 800, he checks to two callers.
The flop is 2s, 4c, 3h. "spmcg295", the really big stack, bets 800 and Otis goes all-in for 1510 and gets called.
"spmcg295" shows 2h, Th. Otis has 5s, 2c. That's a pair of deuces for each, but Otis is out-kicked. Otis does have an open-ended straight draw.
The turn is the 3s. That actually helps Otis because now if the turn is anything higher than a T, they'll split.
The river is indeed a Qs, and the pot is chopped. Otis is at 2710.
In this hand, after the flop, Otis was favored 38%, with a 10% chance of a tie. After the turn, Otis' chance of winning dropped to 25% while the chance of a tie went up to 34%. A little luck for our hero.
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Hand #209
The blinds are killing Otis now. He's on the button with just 1110 and goes all-in against "spmcg295".
This time, American Airlines landed in Otis' lap, while "spmcg295" has just deuces.
The cards come 4h, Kd, Ac, 8s, Js, and Otis' three Aces win him 3420.
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Hand #213
Otis is in middle position with 3420. He raises the big blind to 1600 and gets one caller.
The flop is 2c, 9d, Kd. "MileHighTex" bets 1500 and Otis goes all-in for 1820 and gets called. Is this finally it?
"MileHighTex" shows Qs, Td while Otis has the stronger 5d, Ad.
The turn is the 9h and the river is the Kh. Otis is up to 7240.
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Hand #235
Otis is back on the button, but the blinds have him down to 4240. It's raised in front of him, twice, but Otis still goes all-in. It ends up being just him and "MileHighTex" again.
"MileHighTex" shows Kh, Ad, and Otis has Ks, Js. The odds aren't good. This could be it for our hero.
The flop is 4h, 8s, 9d. The turn is the 2s. That gives Otis a flush draw.
The river, however, is the 2h, and Otis busts out.
In this hand, Otis was favored only 30% of the time. After the flop that dropped to just 20%. But when you're short stacked late in a tourney, you take your chances where you can.
Otis finishes in 14th place and wins $58. Not bad, but he was a bad beat away from doing much better!