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At TwoRags.com, we're committed to providing accurate information to the
poker community. If you see entries or information that you believe to be in
error, please email us.
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APPT Final Trip Report part 2, One Good Nit Deserves Another
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By Bond18
on 12/09/2025
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read Bond18's complete blog
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With yesterday being the PLO event that I have no business playing I was hoping to head down to the beach, get a tan, become really drunk, and tell people I barely know “I never liked you anyway.” I meet up StevoL and Garage13 at their hotel as they finish up some online tournaments. Stevo winds up going quite deep in the nightly $150 on Stars, so we don’t make it down to the beach until 6pm. I didn’t have a swim suit (and managed to forget my towel) so I just went for it in my shorts. At some point on the beach I realized I hadn’t been in the ocean in nearly three years, and managed to forget how salty it is. At least the water wasn’t too cold. We found a Korean BBQ place for dinner (Boo yah!) and I got to sleep at a decent hour in preparation for the $1100 semi shootout event.
How exactly does a semi shootout event work? Here’s the idea; the tournament starts off as normal with tables being broken as players go out. However, with 50 players left, we redraw to five tables where the final two players remaining at the table advance to the final table. The final table then plays out as normal. It’s a pretty interesting idea, and since it results in more short handed event and a bubble you can exert more pressure on, I’m a pretty big fan of the idea.
I wake up feeling rested and ready to play. I head down to the poker room and end up chatting to well known New Zealand pro Lee Nelson who after some conversation asks me if I’d like to write a review for his new book. Considering he brought in a couple of very mathematically talented guys to co-write the book I’m definitely hoping it’s better than the vast majority of poker literature out there. It turns out Lee and I are at the same starting table, as well as Joe Hachem. Play gets underway with 25/50 blinds and 40 minute levels, holding a 6000 start bank.
The first level is pretty uneventful. I told myself I wasn’t going to do anything spewy or stupid today, so I set my mind to not getting out of hand against the awful live players. I raise up 44, AQ, and KQ, and each time get a caller or two, get a great c bet board (which misses me) and each time get raised or called then bet into on a later street.
For the entire 50/100 level I just fold pre flop except one small spot out of the BB where I lead out against a weak player and get instantly raised. The same holds true for the 100/200 level, and with a now 20 BB stack my decisions are very straight forward and I do absolutely zero interesting. I’m closely watching the play of Lee Nelson as it’s my first time playing with him in two years. I’m pleased to say Lee is very probably the best live tournament player (or that is, player who has entirely built his resume on live eplay) I’ve ever seen. His raise and bet sizing is perfect, he understands post flop play, he isolates limpers with position, he semi bluffs, and he doesn’t call loose out of the blinds as is a common leak of many live pros. On top of that, he has a sense of what live players are capable of, giving him a serious edge. After the break we start up the 100/200 level with a 25 ante, and I’ve got about ~4000 of my start 6000 in the BB. It fold to Lee who raises the button again and I fold. The next hand it folds to the mega weak HJ who is constantly limp/folding to Lee Nelson and Lee again isolates him (for the third time in about an hour). The button folds and with 8hTh in the BB I shove in for 3700. The BB and limper quickly folds, but Lee makes a quick call with AcQc and I’m way behind.
Flop: 4s 7s 4h
Turn: Jh
River: Ts
Yep, I suck out good. My stack climbs to about 8000 and I whip out the pen I’m writing my notes with and write “Don’t Spew!” on my hand in hopes of keeping me from doing anything stupid. As online players, the pace of live can be really difficult to cope with. I then play a very weird hand against Joe Hachem (which I’m not going to write about at the moment since I put it in HSMTT and don’t want to skew discussion.)
A few hands later I’m sitting in the BB and peer down at AA. Very sexy.
My stack: ~10,000
EP: ~6000
Lee Nelson: ~10,000
Joe Hachem: 50
Blinds 100/200 with 25 ante.
Preflop: Folds to EP a young and spewy aggressive player who makes it 825, it folds to Hachem in LP who throws in his last 50, and Lee calls on the button. The SB folds, and after a few seconds of thought I make it 2500. The EP player calls pretty quickly and Lee thinks it over before folding.
Flop: 9c 8s 3c
I look over at EP and he seems to have about 3500ish left. I lead out for 4000 and he goes “alright, you got me” then throws his chips in and tables JJ. I turn up the aces and Joe shows 9s4s.
Turn: 2s
River: 2d
My stack climbs to somewhere around 17,000 and things are going very smooth.
I stay pretty tight and straight forward for a while, and Lee continues to open quite a few pots on my right, and I find little to flat call or come over the top with. In one brief hand a weakish but not total nit open limps in LP and I check 63o in the BB. The flop comes AQ8 rainbow and I check raise his 600 bet to 1600 (since this guy was mostly opening his A’s in LP) and he quickly folds. The blinds soon go up to 200/400 with a 50 ante. I fold for a bit then open 77 UTG for 1100. It folds to the BB who moves in for his last 3050 total, and I call and out flip his KJo, pushing my stack over 20,000. I get moved tables and find myself on the direct left on a friend, the right of a very spewy aggressive young Asian guy, and opposite Isabelle Mercier. Both the Asian guy and Isabelle also have quite large stacks. On the left of the Asian guy are two extremely tight weak players, one from my previous table who was so tight he open limped JJ with antes and I’m pretty sure only opened QQ+ and AK. Otherwise, he was limping.
My first hand of action is against Isabelle:
My stack: ~21,000
Her stack: ~27000
Blinds 200/400 with 50 ante. I hold 66 in the SB.
Preflop: Folds to Isabelle on the HJ, she raises to 1200, folds to me, I call in the SB, BB folds.
Flop: Q J 9 two hearts (I have none)
I check, she quickly checks back.
Turn: 8s
I fire 1600 and she folds.
I stay tight for a while then open my first **** hand of the day, Q7o on the CO, verse the extremely weak tight blinds. Unfortunately the young Asian kid flat calls me and massively raises my flop C-bet on a AK7 flop. The next it folds to me again and I open A2ss and this time the young guy quickly 3 bets me 4X.
A few hands later I’m in MP1 with JJ and open to 1100 again. It folds to Isabelle in the BB who calls. The flop comes down AT4 rainbow and she quickly check raises my 1300 C-bet to 5000. I’m forced to fold and my image feels pretty ruined. I end up sitting quite tight as my stack bleeds off to antes and blinds, with the players on my right shoving and the mega aggro Asian kid with 50,000 raising the table on my left. I do nothing until the 300/600 75 level, where I lead out an 833 flop from the BB aftere the super straight forward mega nit has limped in EP like he always does. He looks over, asks how much I have then excitedly announces “All in!” and shoves his stack in the middle. You win sir. A fold another round of **** cards, then open KJo in MP for 1600. A guy of about 65 who hasn’t played a hand yet puts his hands all over his head, lets out a long sigh, then moves his stack in the middle for 6600. It folds back to me and I quickly muck, give that man a ****ing Oscar for that stirring and compelling performance.
By the time we reach the final 50 players and take a break, my stack has bled down to ~12,000. We get arranged at a new table and I’m seated on the direct left of Kenny Ng, an absolutely spewtastic player who got second in the Poker News cup who has a massive stack from, as he puts it “doing his thing” (AKA 3 outing.) I fold for the first few hands of the table, and in the BB with 11,200 I post a 600 BB and look down at QTo. It folds to the button who is an average kind of aggressive player with a stack somewhere in the ~12,000 area. He opens to 1900. Kenny Ng thinks it over for the SB and flat calls. Kenny loves to three bet, so shoving here is practically a value shove verse his range. I quickly announce all in. The button thinks it over fairly briefly then decides to call, and Kenny quickly calls. The button flips up KQo and I’m feeling pretty ****ed.
Flop: A K A
Turn: 3
River: 9
That ends my day and I go check on Bondgirl who is killing it with 35,000. It would appear I’m a better teacher than player. I made a go at playing a pretty straight forward style today, and I feel like pulling in the reigns a bit live might be good for me as I’m trying to find a balance between absurdly aggressive (which people end up reacting too despite their instinctually being a nit) and not passing up spots by playing too tight. Hopefully I evolve my game to a level where I find the balance.
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