APT Manila Tournament Report

The last time I played in a APT series was May 2019, almost 3 years ago. So when the schedule came out and COVID travel rules relaxed, I jumped at the opportunity to play. 

I played in the main event (3 bullets), PLO (2 bullets), NLH (2 bullets), Championships (1 bullet), Monster Stack (2 bullets) and I cashed in none of them. 😢 I have to be honest with myself, I played poorly in some events and spots but I played good in others. I also lacked the stamina I used to have. When I was grinding full time, I played 8-12 hours of poker a day and can jump into any session fresh and clear headed. Nowadays I play 8 hours every two weeks, so my mental strength isn't what it used to be. 

My "one-time" gorilla didn't work LOL

Some key hands could have meant a much different result if they went my way. Main event bullet 2 pre flop I 4b all in vs Mike Takayama my button vs his sb A7<K7. He thought I opened the button light and I thought he 3b the sb light, got it in good but King on the flop. 

PLO event I 4b all in preflop with AA98 got a tilt call by KJT3 flop JTx. NLH I made two 3b both times with A5 both times running into AK with ace high wet flops. 

Mid series I took a pause and told myself I didn't play the way I want to. I wasn't good enough. I prepared well before the Championships and went in playing really solid poker. I made day 2 with a very good stack but fizzled out. I had all preflop jamming hands when I had 50+bb. AK, AQ, AJ, 99, 88 at least 15 times but I could only open and only to be out flopped every time. When my stack dropped to less than 17bb I did not have a hand I could play with for the longest time. By the time I had 12bb left I had to jam with 66. One French guy tanked for a while and mucked. Chip leader called with QJ. The Frenchman announced that he had the same hand. But alas, flop was JJx. 

2 levels away from making Day 3

The final event I played was the monster stack. First bullet I squeezed with AJs to 30bb only to be overcalled by KTo. Flop was T high, I jam he called. Second bullet I managed to create a good stack 20 players in the money, when it was 28 left I 4b jammed with AK to be called by Japanese lady with A5. I did not win the hand. It would have given me a very good stack going into 7 players from ITM, instead I was now 20bb deep. She ended up finishing 5th by the way. Final hand was again 66 and called by KQ and Q on the flop and I busted 24th. 

Side note: I made a few new friends and it was fun seeing old ones. Some of them took home trophies, others going deep and cashing. Congrats guys and gals! Happy for you all. 

Of course I am disappointed and frustrated but I am proud of how I played in the end. I made some sick bluffs during this series too. One I was most proud of was I 3b commit myself OOP on the flop against a LAG with ten high no equity. I will write a post mortem on my cash games for this trip and there's more to be happy about from those. Tournament poker is tough. You can play perfectly for 3 days and one cooler you go home with nothing. But I have to be open and honest with myself, but also with those who follow my blog. Wish I had better news to report but that's okay. It is part of my journey and I will take it in stride.