This was a major change for me; I am not used to playing with a bounty on my head. I did not think it would change my play. Boy, was I wrong!
We ended up with 173 people playing. There were 4 bounties, and if you took out a bounty you got $25 cash! Now you might not think that $25 is a lot of money, but when you are playing in a free poker event, some people think $25 is a million dollars.
I needed to be careful not to be taken out too soon. You see, I was not playing to win. I was playing to last longer than the other bounties. Bragging rights are sometimes better than winning. Plus, I am not sure a bounty can ever have a real chance at winning a tournament.
I was very confident on which bounty would fall first, which did not take long to happen. I am sure it was more of “Hey, here are my chips” than any bad play on her part!
I did put my tournament life on the line on the second hand of the game. I looked down and what do I see but pocket aces. I was sitting right of the dealer. Everyone at the table was just calling the blinds. I did not want to have my aces cracked, so when it was time for me to bet I tell the table that I have $25 in my pocket, and if they want it they would need to call my “all in”!
The table looks at me like I am crazy, and some people did not like me doing this. Only one person was loudly verbal about my action. He told me that I was a stupid player, and he should have called me with A, 10. (I wish he would have called.)The rest of the table just handed me the chips in the pot. I then showed my pocket aces and that was the end of the disdain for my “all in”.
I wish I could say that I played great every time I got cards dealt to me, but I folded almost every hand. I was sitting with a very aggressive table, and I wanted to maximize my chip count by only playing quality hands. This worked for me until I got moved to a new table.
The new table had some new faces who wanted my $25. I was willing to give it to them, but they would have to earn it.
Here is the funny thing. It was the second hand at this table and I was the big blind. I look down and I see pocket kings. So I tell them the same thing as the first table, and everyone decided to fold. They asked if they could go ahead and run the cards. I did not care at this point. Ends up that I would have hit a boat on the flop and quads on the river.
Later blinds are high, my chip stack is low, but I hear and see that one of the other bounties just went out. I am very happy about this turn of events as I now have a 50% chance of being the last bounty standing.
I look down and see Kd,9d. These are not great cards, but there are 4 people in the hand. So I think “pot odds.” I decide to go all-in with my hand, and all 4 people called. The flop comes out as Qd, 5c, 6h, the turn is a 10s, and on the river comes a Jh. WOW! Runner, runner for a King-high straight.
We are now down to about 90 players, and I have chips. I play even tighter than before because every time I am in a hand the table decides to raise and re-raise me. Did I not get the memo that taking $25 off me is the new fad?
Then I hear the best news ever! The third bounty just went out. I am now the last bounty standing. This is what I was looking for. So, I decide to start playing less conservatively! However, my chip stack needs to be better and I am not getting cards. The blinds are killing me. I ended up take 23rd in the tournament.
I have played in many tournaments, including one with 411 people where I placed third. This tournament was much harder on me than any other. I think the reason for this was the target on my back.
If you have never been a bounty, you should try it once. I bet you change the way you play!
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