High Hopes in the Lap of Luxury

Malta to Italy back to Malta.

And now I'm on my laptop in the lap of luxury, Monte Carlo, preparing for the EPT Grand Final and hoping to improve on my cash in San Remo last week.

I even won four out of four times with pocket aces, my new signature hand! I am so lucky!

I flew into Milano on the 30th and rode 2.5 hours to San Remo near the French border. I was scheduled to play on Day 1a on April 1, and I relaxed in my hotel room rather than either play poker or see the scenery of San Remo.

I wanted to be in the best mind-set possible from the very first hand.

When I sat down at the felt for the tournament, with blinds starting at $25/$50, I quickly noticed that this was a very aggressive table. Players were raising to $600 pre-flop almost every hand in Level 1, so I knew I could collect some chips if I stayed patient.

I didn't do much until Level 4. The blinds were $100/$200 and I was down to $6,500. A player in middle position raised to $500 and I called on the button with A 7.

The flop came A-10-3, and I bet $900 after he checked. He called and I felt that he was weak. Another ace came on the turn and again he called my $2,200 bet. A queen came on the river and I moved all-in after he checked.

4-for-4 with aces, for a nice change.

He said, "Oh, man," called, and then mucked after I showed my trip aces.

I was moved to another table where a crazy hand happened. A player UTG made it $800, and another in the cut-off made it $1,600. I looked at pocket queens and called, as did the initial raiser.

The flop came K K 2 and we all checked. 8 came on the turn. I led out with $1,500 and the UTG player folded. The CO min-raised to $3,000 and I thought for a few minutes, then called. I just didn't put him on a king, although I knew this was a key early hand for me.

J came on the river and I checked again. He then checked behind and I showed my queens, knowing I was good. At that point he showed his cards to the player next to him and tried to muck his hand.

The tournament director was watching, though, and told him, "There is a show one, show all policy here," then grabbed the cards and turned them over. He had J 9, and I had a great pot!

I stayed patient as we moved to Level 7 with the blinds at $200/$400 and a $50 ante. I made it $1,200 in middle position with 7 7 and the big blind called. The flop was beautiful for me: Q 7 5.

The BB checked and I made it $1,500, which he called. 8 came on the turn and he check-called my $2,500 bet. 4 came on the river and he led out for $2,500. Obviously a six could beat me, and I thought for a bit before calling.

Brutal: he turned over Q 6 for the runner-runner straight.

It was a big hand that could have been uglier for me. I ended the day with $27,800 chips, a bit below average but still very healthy.

Pascal Perrault: Generous enough to double Lieu up with his A-J.

I spent my day off relaxing again and made it back to the casino ready for a long day on Day 2. I immediately doubled up within the first hour when I picked up A Q against Pascal Perrault from France. He acted after me and we both checked a flop that was beautiful for me, 7 8 9.

A came on the turn and I bet out (I can't remember the chip amounts, maybe because I got a little excited afterward!). He moved all-in and I insta-called. He turned over A J and the blank on the river doubled me up.

A few hands later, I raised with A-J and was called by a short stack from the big blind. He moved all-in for $15,000 into a pot of $8,500 or so after a J-9-7 rainbow flop, and I quickly called. He didn't get lucky with his J-T and I was near the chip lead as I moved over $100k.

A brutal hand came in the next level. The blinds were $800/$1,600 with a $200 ante and I made it $5k with 4 4. Both the blinds called and the flop came 9-8-6. We all checked and my money card came on the turn when the dealer laid down 4.

The blinds checked and I bet $9,500. Suddenly, one of the blinds moved all-in for $49,200, and I insta-called again with my set. He turned over J-To, and I just had to dodge a queen or a seven.

It never feels good, let me assure you, when you see a queen on the river to make your opponent's straight. It was a monster pot that went his way.

I made it to the dinner break down to $25k or so when another really strange hand occurred. I had K Q on a king-high flop and bet out $9k after the big blind checked. The big blind moved chips into the middle for a check-raise, and I pushed all of my chips in, assuming that I'd called.

The dealer assumed my opponent had me covered and asked to see our cards. I showed mine, but then someone at the table reminded the dealer that he should count the chips to make sure he had me covered.

Huge step forward in San Remo has Lieu excited about her chances for EPT Grand Final.

I actually had him covered by $5.5k, so then the ruling came that he either had to put in his last $5.5k or he could fold. He decided to fold, and I was fine with basically doubling up.

My last hand was a bit uneventful, one of those reads where you are sort of pot-committed. I was down to $37k and had raised on the button with A 8. The BB moved all-in, and I knew I could be beat, but I called anyway.

He had queens and the flop at least gave a great chance when two clubs came. The turn and the river bricked, though, and I was out in 53rd place with €8,000 (a little over $12,600).

It was actually my first EPT cash, but more importantly I feel like I played great and didn't make any mistakes. That is a huge step forward after my Warsaw tourney, and it has me very excited to sit here in Monte Carlo.

I've played thousands and thousands of hands, but sometimes I still take a right turn when I should have made a left in a tournament. It's when I make a poor decision or simply act without thinking that frustrates me, much more than the beat on the river ever will.

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments here on PokerListings, as well as on www.lizlieu.net. I'll be playing on www.Chilipoker.com while I'm here as well, so you can always look for me at a table there.

Cheers!

-- Liz Lieu
Pro Poker Player - Poker Diva

More Blogs from Liz Lieu:

• One of the Biggest Mistakes I've Ever Made
• Five Simple Rules to Play My Best
• The Cream Rises to the Top
• A Big Leak Nobody Can Avoid