Managed to make it all of about 2.5 hours of play in this one. In the first level a got a number of big pocket pairs and didn’t see a flop with any of them. I’m sort of conflicted because people seem to fold to my 3 bets with Aces but if I just flat then I inevitably get 5 way action. There may actually be some merit to a ridiculously small min 3 bet. You accomplish your goal of getting value and getting the pot headsup but I think it gives away your hand, gives the villain odds to suckout on you and overall is just a fishy line. I dunno.
I didn’t play too many interesting hands so I’ll just give you three. Blinds are 50/100, I make it 250 to go from middle position with black kings. Older guy who’s been the most chatty at the table and is mostly just passing time as he’s waiting for his day 2 of the $10k stud to start up again flats me on the button, big blind who is some old guy who has probably never played an event in his life fumbles with his chips for a bit and minraises to 500. Probably the most donk play I’ve seen so far this summer. I can’t let the button set mine vs me so I just make it 1550 to go and they both fold.
Blinds at 75/150 folds around to me in the cutoff and I open to 400 with 8s9s. The big blind is the chatty guy from above who flats. Flop is Jh7d5s so I have a double gutter and a backdoor flushdraw. Effective stacks are 3100, he checks and I bet 500. He calls. I think there is some merit to checking back here to make sure I see a river for one bet, but that’s probably results oriented thinking. Turn is the As so I have an open ended straight flushdraw and he donk overbet shoves his remaining 2600 into the 1875 pot. I don’t have odds to make my hand and I pretty unhappily fold.
A couple hands later the big stack at the table opens utg to 400, MP calls, CO calls and I look down at KQo in the big blind. My stack is 4200 and the pot is already 1425. I think KQo plays pretty terribly 4 way so I hate calling here. I talked this hand over with some of my roommates and I believe just folding and waiting for a better spot is best but I decided to squeeze to 1600. Utg who I may have folded to if he shoved folded and MP who has me covered insta shoves, CO folds. Back to me with 2600 remaining and 5675 in the pot, the only hand I was really worried about was AQ so I put the rest in and he shows 77. Flop is AJ3 giving me some hope but turn and river are blanks and I’m out. Playing the $1k donkfest today, wish me luck.