Liz Lieu's LAPC Main Event!

Several weeks have passed since the Asian Poker Tour Main Event in Manila, and after taking a short break from poker, I was refreshed and eager to get back on the felt.

The LAPC at the Commerce Casino is a special event for me because it's where I started my high-stakes poker career. It attracts not only many players from around the world but many top professionals.

And with the new structure that tournament director Matt Savage put in place, the tournament saw a lot of action that no doubt satisfied everyone.

Day 1, for me, was a heavy grind. I caught a couple of cold decks and I couldn't really do much with the hands that were dealt to me.

At one point, I was down to 7,000 in chips when I picked up pocket aces and went all-in preflop against A-Ko to double up, then picked up a few small pots to bring up my chip count to 22,000.

I ended Day 1 with 40,000 in chips, a little above average in the chip count.

Day 2 was still a grind, but a little less stressful. Although I hadn't got much sleep, I was able to double up fairly early on.

With the blinds at 400/800, I was under the gun with pocket tens and immediately raised to 2,400. Three players behind me quickly folded and the action was to the BB in Seat 8.

Liz at the LAPC.

He took about a minute before raising it to 12,000. The huge raise put me in the tank for about two minutes before I decided to move all-in and got an instant call. I flipped over my pocket tens and he happily turned over AA!!

The flop came 5♥ 4♥ 3♦. Turn J♣ and the river snapped a T♥, to the horror of seat 8, who must have been disgusted with the river.

As I was quietly collecting the chips of the double-up, Greg Mueller, who was sitting at my table, chimed in with, "You knew it was coming, didn't you?"

I smiled in silence and counted my blessings. Every now and then you do need a bit of lady luck on your side to win these tournaments.

By the end of Day 2, I was sitting with a good 120,000 in chips.

Liz getting no love from the ladies.

Day 3, alas, I got eliminated with a pair of ladies. I was in middle position when I looked down and saw two red queens.

The blinds were 1000/2,000 with a 300 ante. The player under the gun in seat 9 makes a raise to 7,000, I reraised making it 25,000 and all the players behind mucked to the player in seat 9, who immediately moved all-in. I decided to call with my remaining 60,000.

He flipped over A-K, and this was beginning to become eerily familiar to Day 2's pocket tens double-up. The flop came 9♣ 4♦ T♠, but an ace snapped right on the turn with a no-help 4♣ on the river. And out I go!

In Manila, I lost against pocket queens. In Los Angeles, I lost with them. This is the nature of poker, and as I walked out of Commerce Casino, I felt back in my element.

Though I was disappointed with the results, I was pleased with my level of play and will be looking forward to playing both the 25k WPT Championship and the European Poker Tour event in Monte Carlo next month.

Cheers!

Liz Lieu - Poker Diva

www.LizLieu.net

www.iPokerCal.com

Drop by Liz's home site, ChiliPoker, and take advantage of PokerListings.com's exclusive sign-up bonus.

More Liz Lieu Blog Entries:

• What a Difference a Year Makes!
• Liz Lieu's Advice for the New Year
• Liz Lieu's WPT Five Diamond Main Event Part 2
  
• Liz Lieu's WPT Five Diamond Main Event Part 1