2 6 SNG's $5 + .50 End st (129 hands) 1 and End 2nd (94 hands)

1st session a lot of up and down play. Two players went out quickly then the 4 of us hung around before things finally happened. I was behind at start of HU's but managed to win it in the end.

2nd session less up and down for me. At HU's I was short stack. I got a bit tired toward the end and though I got close, I made some poor choices last few hands.

All in all a good day. I was up $20.85. Now if I could do that every day.

2 HU $2 + .15 End 1st 58 hands

I wasn't sure how this was going to end as I was behind most of the time. The other player was pretty aggressive a lot of time and I often felt I didn't have good enough cards to make it worth challenging him. To some degree that approach helped me overall. The few times I would double his raise he'd fold. For the longest time it felt like anything that went to the River he'd have the better cards and did. We had a couple of chopped pots.

The end came quick in two hands. I'd worked my way back up from a low of 540 chips many hands earlier to 1045 chips, so I had a bit of breathing room again. Blinds were 25/50, I was SB. I decided just to limp with 6c 7s and the BB checked. Flop: 8d 9c Ks. I had an opened ended straight draw. BB checked and I bet 1/2 the 100 pot and BB raised me to 150. I was hoping he'd just check, but I called to see if the Turn might help me. Turn 8s, pairing the board and no help to me. BB bet 150 into the 400 pot and for reasons I'm not sure of, I decided to call and see what shows up on the River. River: 10d. Well isn't that interesting. I hit my open-ended straight, but I'm on the bottom side of it. BB decides to go All-In for 1605 and I toss in my last 695 chips.

I don't know if he has anything, but I knew I had a straight, and I didn't feel I was necessarily beat by his bet. BB shows 6s Jh ..... NOTHING! I really didn't expect him to have that bad of hand since he bet or raised on the Flop and the Turn. Our situations are now reversed!

The next hand turned out to be the last one. I had pocket K's as BB and decided to just check the SB's limp and hope the flop will show something to get him to bet and let me collect more of his chips. Flop 7d Kh 7s. Oh WOW, I have a FH, that's good, but with a K and paired board there's a good chance he'll just fold no matter what I do. I bet half the pot of 100 and too my surprise he goes All-In with his last 860 chips.I instant call. I have to admit I didn't spend any time thinking about what he might have, with my having such a good hand. I did think he might have 7's full of K's, which I had beat, but I didn't consider that he might have quad 7's. Even if that thought did cross my mind I doubt it would have stopped my call. BB shows Kd 5c. I was lucky that he hit top pair on the board and was willing to risk it all. I win!!

What's been happening

Not much. Haven't played a lot lately. Had some stomach distress and was feeling tired, so I might play a HU's and then decide to quit until I felt more alert.

Was in the Poker Stars $25,000 Million Dollar Challenge from the final show in this last segment. The TV show had the 4 earlier winning players compete against each other. The winner there won $100,000 and the chance to play Daniel for $1M. The young single mom won of the 4, but Daniel reigned in the final.

In the online session, for the rest of us, we had 41,832 players and I did OK. I ended up 2809 which is the highest I think I've ranked. Of course you need to make it to the top 9 to win anything. You start with 3000 chips and new ante's every 5 minutes. Those ante's get high pretty quick so by the 1st break at an hour you'd better have some chips or you'll be outta there quickly. I'd managed to build up a decent stack but took a couple of hits just before the break and never recovered, but it was fun and I was able to avoid making stupid plays most of the time.

HU $5 + .25 End 1st 207 Hands

I was sure, several times, I was going to lose this one, but the other player wasn't able to put the crush on me and I hit those times when I desperately needed to. I feel I likely played too passively as well. Following is a graph of my chip count by hand:

As you can see for much of the match I was on the negative side.

Overall I've been on the plus side building up my bankroll overall. I need to look over my November stats by types of sessions played and see how they break down. I've been starting my day usually with $2 HU's to get my feet wet. The past two days I decided I may be playing well enough to start with $5 HU's. I've won both of those but my play has been a bit iffy, particularly today.

Rush wise I had a couple of bad sessions recently. In a .02/.05 I was down $4.14 over 150 hands, so decided to try a .05/.10 and see if I could get it back. Bad idea. Well in 126 hands I went down another $9.81. I found the .05/.10 a lot harder to get a decent feel for what I should be playing and not playing. Would like to play that level more but I'm going to have to go easy on it at this point in time.

Here are the graphs of those two sessions:

.02/.05

.05.10



Prior to those two sessions I'd been doing OK with Rush, and even after them, I'm still on the plus dollar side for this month.

General comments

Well, as usually happens when I say I'll "catch up later" I've not caught up and too much time has gone by for me to try, so I'll just make a couple of general comments. I'm also rethinking how I want to post here. I like the every session, but that does get time consuming and cuts down on play time. On the other hand it is helpful to review my play while it is still pretty fresh in my mind. Maybe I'll combine a few sessions.

October 2010

I played 17 Rush Sessions all but one that was  a 6 player .02/.05, the other a 9 player .02/.05. That made up 3052 hands. For the month I was up $22.71. I had one big losing sessions of $17.06 in 150 hands and one big winning session of $14.51 for 100 hands. Main reason for the big losing session is going all-in or calling all-in with less than the nuts and hoping the other player doesn't have a hand that can beat my very good, but not the best, hand. Overall, though I was pleased with my play for the month. Rush & Cash games I have a hard time with and all too often I come out on the negative side. Hopefully this months stats will be repeated and even better in the future. Here is the graph for the month:

On the Tournament side of things I played 47 sessions; a mixture of HU's $1, $2 & $5, 6 Max at  $5, 9 player $2 & $5, a few Step, and a few larger tournaments; 2421 hands. I was $49.63 on the positive side for my efforts. My biggest Tournament win was $47.38 in a 90 man KO where I came in 2nd.

No big bucks, but all on the positive overall. Let's see it continue for the rest of this year and into the next.

Rush 6 player .02/.05 150 Hands Up $1.71 Blinds ate $1.63 Rake $2.41

On the plus side at least. I was up about $4.50 at 133 hands then gave back some and again a couple of hands later too that sent me on the negative side for a bit. Around hand 141 I had a little boost.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 6th 62 Hands

  Wasn't able to make much traction and found myself becoming very short stacked. Made it back to 1700 or so then a couple of hands later had AKo as SB (blinds 60/120). The BU open-raised 2 BB, which is something he has done a lot and I re-raised him to 4 BB. He then re-raised me to 7 BB and I decided to go all-in as a call would leave me with only 400 or chips. He called. Bad timing as he had pocket A's this time. They held up and I was gone.

 Today has not done well on the win side of things; play has been mixed.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 2nd 90 Hands

Mixed play. Last hand higher straight beat my lower straight. I also had a flush draw that didn't hit.

Hand 14 was another one of those that I should have folded. I had  10s 5s and flop was 2s 7s 6s. I bet cautiously. Turn 8d. I bet 1/2 pot and was raised 3 1/2 BB's. I called. River 8s. Not what I wanted to see with a 10 high flush and SB only needing an A, K, Q or J of spades to beat me. I checked and he bet a little over a third of the pot, so I decided to call. He showed pocket J's one a spade. That cut me back to 940 chips.

We battled around and I was near break even at one point but then over time I lost small ones and by hand 66 found myself down to 350 chips and all-in pushes. Hand 80 I had pocket 9's and got him to call w/ KJo and I held. I was now up to 1190 chips and breathing a bit easier with the 30/60 blinds.

That took us to the last hand I talked about above. I was BB w/9s 5c. He limped in w/60 and I checked. The Flop 8s 6s As. I have a flush and gutshot straight draw. I bet 1/2 the pot and the SB calls. Turn 7h. I hit my gutshot and bet 1/2 the pot and the SB raises me to 540 (4 1/2 times my bet). Thinking he may have hit the straight as well, but if he was only on a flush draw I wanted him outta there, I re-raised him all-in. He called. Darn. He shows 10c 9d, having hit the gutshot straight on the high side. I have one hope of a spade on the River. River is a Jd and I'm outta there.

2 HU $2 + .15 End 2nd 21 Hands

  This was simply one bad call on my part. I had 9To. The flop came JT8 giving me an open-ended straight draw. I bet half the pot and was called. Turn Qd, giving me the straight. BB checked and I again bet 1/2 the pot. River Ah. Not the card I wanted to see. This time the BB bet the pot. If he has a K I'm beat and with that kind of bet it's likely he does. Can't say I've seen any signs of him bluffing, but I decide to call anyway "just in case" and indeed he did have that K .... KQ and I was down to 305 chips. A few hands later it was over.

Other signs he might have something was I open-raised 2 BB and he re-raised me to 3 BB pre-flop, but since he checked the flop and the Turn, I thought I might get away with it.

36 Tour S.O. 6/tbl $.75 + .15 End 10th Hands ? Sat $200K DD

1st - Entry, 2nd - $3.25,  3rd - $1.75

Didn't make it through the 1st 6 table.

Rush 6 player .02/.05 200 Hands Up $0.75 Blinds ate $2.59 Rake $1.95

Well, at least I ended up on the plus side!

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 2nd 111 Hands

Not a lot to say on this one. One player was very loose and he ended up being on the bubble with the three of us. At the bubble loose player had 655 chips, I had 1250, and big stack had 7095. It got a bit iffy if I was going to be able to hang on but I did. At start of HU I had 780 chips to the big stacks 8220 and blinds of 50/100. I managed to make some gains and by last hand I had 2560 chips. I had AJo and flop was 4 T J. I bet 1/2 pot and was called Turn 8c, I bet the post and was raised by big stack all-in for my last 640. I thought about the possibility of his having a straight w/Q9 in his hand, but decided to chance it and indeed that was what he had.  Not sure if I'd been more aggressive on the Flop if it would have made any difference as he had an open ended straight draw. Overall I was satisfied with my play.

Here is that last hand:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, 5.5 Tournament, 80/160 Blinds (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com



saw flop | saw showdown

BB (t6440)
SB (t2560)

SB's M: 10.67

Preflop:
SB bets t320, BB calls t160

Flop: (t640) 4, 10, J (2 players)
BB checks, SB bets t320, BB calls t320

Turn: (t1280) 8 (2 players)
BB checks, SB bets t1280, BB raises to t2560, SB calls t640 (All-In)

River: (t5120) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t5120
Main pot: t5120 between BB and SB, won by BB

Results:
SB had J, A (three of a kind, Jacks).
BB had Q, 9 (straight, Queen high).
Outcome: BB won t5120

2 HU $2 + .15 End 1st 36 Hands

Been awhile since I've post much here. I'll do some catching and cleaning up those "holding" post in the near future.

This turned out to be a pretty easy HU session. I had decent cards early on, my opponent was willing to fold a lot, I folded to just about all of his raises except the last one when he had only 255 chips left and I had pocket 6's. He went all-in with ATo and my 6's held. When I had cards to play I would double his bet. I considered my play methodical. 2 BB, 2 1/2 BB, & 3 BB pre-flop open raises and usually 1/2 the pot after the flop. Nice start to my poker for today.

TOUR 90 $3 + .30 KO End 2nd 7 KO's @ $0.50

I'm not going to write much about it tonight. I was very lucky several times catching something on the River when I thought I was gone. Once we got down to the last three the blinds were high and chips shifted among us a lot. I find play at this point harder to decide what is best for me.

Rush 6 player .02/.05 200 Hands Up $12.71 Blinds ate $2.59 Rake $4.68 Started 11:46 PM 9/29/10

Nice session for the 2nd half. Lost it all once 1st half to a possible flush showing on the board.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 3rd 66 Hands

Mixed play. No horrible plays except maybe the last one. I had 56o as BTN and decided to try a blind steal by raising 2 BB's (240). SB folded, BB called. Flop 4c 8c 3h. I have an open ended straight draw. BB checks and I check. Turn 2d. I hit the high straight. BB bets 240 and I decide to just call. River Jc. Rats, possible flush out there. BB goes all-in for 1380 and I decide to call with my last 1090, hoping he only has a lower straight draw and not a flush. Unfortunately he has 56s and wins. As it turns out, if he didn't get the flush on the River we'd have just split the pot. I should have folded on his big bet.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 1st 82 Hands @Marks 9/15/10

Don't recall the details, was nice to have a 1st!

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 4th 49 Hands @Marks 9/15/10

Mostly not concentrating enough on my playing. Let other distractions get in the way.

Rush 6 player .05/.10 101Hands Up $2.02 Blinds ate $?? Rake $?? At Mark's 9/15/10

Ran 100 hands for Mark to look up and analyse with me.

Rush 6 player .05/.10 255 Hands Down $5.42 Blinds ate $6.35 Rake $3.89

Mixed play. Main downs were hoping the other player didn't really have the winning hand and they did. One big up later in the session was where they didn't have the winning hand after-all. I was sure I'd lost that one.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 4th 64 Hands

Mixed play. Was lucky a few times. Last hand took a chance w/K2o after I O-R 3 BB and was re-raised all-in by big stack 16 table player. He had been going all-in a lot recently, so I thought I might have a chance against him. He had KJo, definitely not a great hand but better than mine. His held.

2 HU $56 + .25 End 2nd & 6 HU $5 + .50 End 3rd 9/14/10

Both sessions were played at Mark B's house. Neither were played very well overall. My mind was just not really into concentrating on the poker I was playing. 'nough said.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 1st 99 Hands 9/14/10

What I wrote in an email about the sessions:

He ask if I was from Tucson while we were playing. I said yes and ask why. He didn’t say. At the end after I won I typed gg and he came back with the following:

Dealer: skibaker123 shows a pair of Threes

Dealer: Solar_Ted shows a pair of Fours

Dealer: Solar_Ted wins the pot (960) with a pair of Fours

Dealer: skibaker123 finishes in 2nd place

Dealer: Solar_Ted finishes in 1st place and wins: $10

Solar_Ted (Observer): gg

skibaker123 (Observer): u just bore me to death old man

skibaker123 (Observer): well played

skibaker123 (Observer): smart tactic

Solar_Ted (Observer): :-)

My assumption is he must know me from Mark B’s sessions, but I’m not familiar with that screen name at Full Tilt. Do any of you know who he is?

This is a $5 HU session.

He’s also correct in how I played. I was pretty passive and waiting to find some spots where I might be able to jump in and pick up chips. When he was SB he usually raised 3 BB and I usually folded. When he raised my bets I often would fold rather than chase or assume I had the better hand. When I was SB I most often limped, sometimes open-raised w/2 BB and rarely/3 BB. Most of the time he was in the chip lead. So I had pretty much had the image I wanted in this session and was hoping I could make it pay off in the end.

Hand 82 I had my perfect storm. As SB I had Ad 9d and I open raised 2 BB, he called. Flop 2d 5d Qd. Woo-hoo  I have the nut flush!! He checked and I checked, holding my breath hoping I can get some action down the road. He bets 100 into the 200 pot and I call. River 10s. Still looking good. He bets 300 into the 400 pot and I pause a bit debating much can I bet that he might still call me. I settle on just doubling his bet and raise him to 600 & he calls and shows Qc 2c. He’d flopped two pair and I feel, due to my passive play (boring as he said) I got him to put in chips he otherwise wouldn’t have. He’s down to 750 in chips (blinds 25/50). Now can I finish him off?

Hand 86 I get him down to 300 chips by playing that hand more aggressively. He double’s up  in hand 88 when his 43o hits a 3 on the flop to my K5o that hits nothing. Hand 94 I had pocket 6’s as the button and open-raised him all-in and he called. He had pocket J’s.   Rats. They held and he’s back up to 1000.  Next hand w/aggressive play I get him back to 540.

By hand 99 I’d really like to get this over if I can. I have A4o as BB. He open raises all-in and I call. He has K3s. I have two over cards. From here on out I get lucky. He hits a 3 on the Flop and I hit a 4 on the River. Game over & the comments above followed.

Tour 62 $2 + .25 End 8th Won $2.62 180 Hands Sat to MiniFTOPS #26

Payout: 1-6 Entry ($20+ $2), 7th - $4.88, 8th - $2.62  6 player tables

Generally played decently. Hurt myself on hand 161 when I tried to take on the short stack that was close to me in chips. Five players, I was CO w/pocket 4's and open raised 2 BB, rest folded to BB who re-raised me all-in w/4831 chips. I decided to call. They had KJo, two over cards. The board played out K Q 2 K 6 and I was down to 1089 chips. It looked like I was going to go out 9th. To my surprise I suddenly found myself on another table and in 8th position. Another player had gone out on the bubble! That meant I at least would get my entry fee back + a big 12 cents!!

My new table had 3 players with stacks of 18,965, 18,164, and 13,545 to my 1788 chips!! I decided if I was to have any chance at all, I had to play only decent cards, at least at the start, as I felt if I went all-in, it would be likely one of those three would be willing to call me just to knock me out. I picked up a few chips, had a hand with pocket K's as BB and  as you would know it, no-one made a bet. .

Hand 180, last hand, I was BB w/2488 chips (blinds 150/300/ante 25) with Jc Qd. BTN & SB limped in w/300 and I decided to just call. Flop 7s 6s Qs. I didn't like all those spades but I did have Q high pair. SB checked and I decided to bet all-in. If he has two spades, so be it. BTN folds, SB calls,  and shows 9s 6d. I have some hope to double up.Turn Ks. Hopes dashed!! River 2d. I'm outta there.

Rush 6 player .05/.10 251 Hands Down $8.95 Blinds ate $5.70 Rake $2.83

After getting off to a decent start I was up $6.42 by hand 31then it was mostly a slow downward trend until I stopped at hand 251. Partly I started playing too many hands and making some poor calling choices. Not much else to say.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 5th 48 Hands

Mixed play. Up to hand 24 I was doing OK. Five players. I had 10c Qh as the CO. UTG folded, I open raised 2 BB (100), BTN folded, SB called and BB folded. Flop Qc Qs 8c. I have trip Q's. SB checks and I make a min bet of 50 into the 250 pot and SB calls. Turn 3c. I don't like that, as it shows possible flush, I have a flush draw as well. SB checks and I min bet 50 again into the 350 pot and SB raises me to 200. Darn. I don't like it, but I call. River Kd. SB bets 200 into the 750 pot, and again I don't like it, as I feel I'm beat by a flush, but I call. They show, no flush, but also trip Q's with an Ace kicker and I lose. I'm down to 1275 chips. Still enough to do well.

Hand 48. My chips have dwindled to 550 w/blinds of 40/80. I'm on the BTN w/5h 6d. Action folds to me and I decide to open-raise all-in, SB calls & BB folds. SB shows Ah Kh. Well, I at least have two good cards. Flop Kc 5c 10c. I pair my 5 but SB pairs their K. Turn 7h. River Qs. I'm done.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 2nd 94 hands

Mixed play. Early on I made a bad play choice and was knocked down to 1050 chips. Hand 12 I was back in it with 2030 chips after hitting a straight on the Turn and being called by a player w/an Ace high pair.

Hand 44 I got lucky again. Five players left, blinds 40/80. I had pocket J's (Jc Jd) UTG/HJ and open-raised 3 BB (240), CO folded, BTN re-raised me all-in w/2135, SB & BB folded. I thought about it a bit. This was a player playing 4 sessions, so making that kind of raise he had to have something. I decided to call anyway, which put me all-in. They show pocket A's (As Ah). Uh Oh. I'm in big trouble!! Looks like I'm going out early. Flop Js 8d 9s. Ooooh, I hit a set. Will it hold up? Turn 3s. River Qd. indeed it did and I now have 2660 chips.

Hand 45. I'm BB w/8c 9c. CO open-raises all-in (player I beat last hand), BTN & SB fold. I decide to call hoping I have two good cards. He shows Ah 10s. Good; overcards, but I still have two good ones. Flop 7h 6h 10h. I hit a straight; one of those I always groan to when I lose to it, BUT it  also gives the CO a nut high heart flush draw. Turn Qd. River 5s. My straight holds!! That makes me feel good!! I'll need to remember this later when I take a bad beat on the River. :-)

By hand 47 we are on the bubble. Top stack has 4070, I'm 2nd w/3525, and the short stack has 1405. Blinds are 40/80. We aren't having much luck at knocking the short stack out until hand 82 where I have pocket K's to their pocket 9's. My K's hold up.

We start HU I'm big stack w/5695 to short stack w/3305 and blinds of 60/120. I take a hit in hand 91. I hit two pair on the flop 8's & 4's. BB pairs their 8. Turn 5d. I'm still good. River 5h. Rats. He now has 8's & 5's with a K kicker that beats me and I'm down to 1310 chips.

Hand 84. I'm BB w/Ah 5h. SB open-raises 4 BB (120) and I decide to re-raise them all-in w/my last 1370 chips. They call and show pocket 3's. I have two overcards. They hit a set on the Turn and I pair my Ace on the River. They win 1st, I have 2nd.

18 SNG Step 2 Ticket End 7th Won Step 1 ticket 112 Hands

Payout:  1-5  Step 3 Ticket, 6 - Step 2 Ticket, 7-8 Step 1 Ticket

Generally OK play but a bit weak at the end. I thought I had a good chance for a Step 2 ticket but going from 2nd to 5th or 6th was easy even when you weren't in the pot. My big downfall was trying to steal the blinds w/ A4s and getting called by the BB. Flop was 6 6 8. BB checked and I checked. Turn 2c. BB bet 1000 into the 3250 pot and I felt I had to fold. That left me w/1665 chips w/blinds of 250/500. A few hands later I went out w/K8o vs KJ9. I hit the 8 bit they hit the J on the flop. No help on the Turn or River.

2 HU $2 + .15 End 2nd 49 Hands 9/9/10

Not well played by me. Mainly hung in too  long for hands I should have folded and caused my chip stack to dwindle. Last hand where it looked like I might have a winner on the River gave the other player a straight and I was gone! A7o vs QJo  Board: 10 K 5 3 A. I rarely think about those two inside cards hitting. Then again, my chip count was low enough to go all-in pre-flop. Doubt that would have made him fold. Not much else to say about it.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 2nd 21 Hands

Similar to last HU but I don't feel as bad about it. I'm BB w/ pocket 10's (10h 10s). SB open raises 3 BB (60) and I decide t just call. Flop 9s As 6c. One over card. I check and so does the SB. Turn Ks. Rats. Now two over cards plus flush draw. I bet 60 into the 120 pot and SB calls. River Qs. Double rats!! I have the flush to 10 high, only the Js would beat me. I bet 120 into the 240 pot and SB raises me all-in w/1210. I think about it and seriously consider that he has the Js but decide to call "in case he has only a smaller spade" for the flush. Unfortunately he does have the Js and I'm down to 340 chips. I hang on for a few more hands with a push or fold mentality. Last hand I have pocket 2's. BB open raises 3 BB (60) and I decide to shove with my pocket pair. SB calls and shows Ah Kh, two over cards. Flop has an Ace, River a K and that's it for me.

Losing start for me tonight, but like I said on this session, I took the gamble knowing there was a good chance I'd lose the pot and a small change I'd win, which is better than merely wishing my cards to hold up.

2 HU $2 + .15 End 2nd 11 Hands

Basically I decided to go in where angels fear to tread. I had Qc 2s as SB and I open raised 2 1/2 BB, BB called. Flop 9s Qh Qs. Nice, I have trip Q's. BB checks and I min raise 20 into the 100 pot. BB raises me to 80 and I re-raise to 160. BB re-raises to 240 and I decide, enough of this pushing me around and re-raise all-in!! That'll teach you!!  Now I DO THINK about his also having a Q with a better kicker, I even consider that he might have Q9 for a FH but I don't let that stop me from jumping into the fire head first!! BB calls showing Kd Qd, basically what I expected he likely had. Well I could still win with a 9 or a 2. Turn Kc. Well that kills that thought. I'm drawing dead on the River. River 10h and that's all she wrote.

Poor play on my part. Not giving enough credit to his having the hand that would beat me when he bet back raising me. No good excuses for that. Is there ever????

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 1st 139 Hands

Generally I played OK, but I was a bit too passive in the HU's I feel. Anyway it was nice to have win after my other losses earlier today.

Rush 6 player .05/.10 203 Hands Down $10 Blinds ate $5.00 Rake $1.94

Got off to a nice start and was up around $7 at 55 hands. After that I had a small downswing with a bit of up around hand 109, Then a steady slide down to 0 then a quick drop to -$10. :-/ Hand 202 was the big crusher.

Hand 202. I have Ah 10h as BB w/$9.56. HJ w/$12.96 open raises 3 1/2 BB ($0.35), SB w/$30.28 calls, and I call. Flop Qh 4c Jh. I have a nut flush draw, even possible royal flush. SB & I check, HJ bets $0.80 into the $0.98 pot, SB folds and I call. Turn 10c. I pair my 10. I check & HJ bets $2 into the $2.48 pot. I feel I have to call for the flush draw. River 10s. This makes things difficult. I now have trip 10's, which is nice, but if HJ has AK they have a straight. I check and HJ bets $5 into the $6.21 pot. Darn, I hate to fold and don't, I call. BB shows pocket Q's (Qc Qs). I'd not thought about possible sets that could beat my trip 10's and if I had that might have induced me to fold as that would be two things they could easily have that would beat me. I'm down to $1.51.

Hand 203. I'm on the BTN w/Ah 8h. HJ limps in for $0.10, I raise all-in w my $1.51, SB re-raises all-in w/their $3.11, BB & HJ fold. Flop 6h 9h Ad. I hit my Ace but they hit their set. :-/ Turn 6c. I don't notice they now have a FH. River 3h. I have a nut flush and for a moment I think I've won, but the chips go to the SB. Oh, they have a FH. Bummer. Time for a break!

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 6th 45 Hands

OK play until last hand. I had pocket 10's (10c 10d) on the BTN, blinds 50/100, 1510 chips. UTG & HJ fold, CO limps in for 100, I raise to 400, SB & BB fold, CO re-raises me to 800. At this point I'm thinking he may be just seeing what my bet was and trying to knock me off it. I re-raise all-in and he calls. I wanted him to fold and wondered further what he might have, AA-JJ?, two big cards?. Well he shows pocket A's (As Ac). I did not give him credit for having that kind of a hand. Board holds up for him and I'm outta there!

2 HU $2 + .15 End 2nd 35 hands

I feel I generally played this one OK. Last hand though was questionable. I'm SB w/7d 6h. I open raise 2 BB (80) and BB calls me. Flop 3s 8c 9s. I have an open-ended straight draw. BB checks & I check. Turn 10d. I have my open ended straight but on the low side of it. BB checks again and I bet the pot of 160. BB raises me to 360. I think about it a bit and decide that he may be on a draw so I re-raise him all-in; BB calls showing 7c Jd. That combo did not enter my mind. I thought he probably didn't have JQ or he'd have raised me more. Anyway that was it for me. :-/

He was a hard player to figure out as he did a lot of 4 BB or 5 BB betting that I had to fold to, so I couldn't get much of a feel of what kind of cards he had when he bet big, thus my taking a chance with the last hand. Because of my needing to fold his big bets he was ahead of me most of this session. Hand 34 I just about got even with him for the 1st since hand 1.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 5th 31 hands

Poor 1st hand play. Then hand 25 cost me a lot of chips. I had pocket J's. UTG & HJ limped in and I decided to also, short stack BTN of 700 raised to 699, SB & BB folded, UTG called, HJ folded and I called. Flop As Qc 5c. Two overcards to my J's. UTG bet all-in w/1696, I folded figuring my pocket J's weren't very good at that point, and BTN called. BTN showed pocket Q's, UTG pocket A's. Turn Ad. River 4ds. That left me with only 476 chips

Last hand, 31, I had pocket 5's & 601 chips as CO. UTG folded and I open-raised all-in, BTN folded, SB called and BB folded. SB showed As Qc. They hit their Q on the flop, nothing for me on the Turn or River. That was it!!

Rush 6 player .05/.10 400 Hands Up $6.19 Blinds ate $9.95 Rake $4.03

Poker can be a very frustrating game. In those 400 hands I had pocket pairs 17 times, I hit a set once on the River, and once on hand 353. The 353 hand is what can make poker so frustrating.

Hand 353. In HJ position I have pocket 8's (8d 8s) and $10.47. UTG folds, I limp in w/2 BB (.10), CO w/$24.86 raises me to $0.45, BTN and SB fold, BB w/$12.25 calls & I call. This is the 1st part of my frustration. I really didn't want to put in another $0.35 to see if I might hit my set, but I did.

 Flop 5d 8c 4h. Yeah, I finally hit a set and at the moment any other set that might have hit is smaller than mine. BB checks and I bet $1.40 into the $1.31 pot. CO calls & BB raises to $2.80. My 1st feeling is great, I'm getting some action and feel whatever BB has I can beat, so I decide to go for it and re-raise all-in under the idea, if I've got it, get the money in there. I really didn't take the time to think much about what either of the other two players might have. CO folds, one player down, one to go. BB, a bit to my surprise, calls and shows 6c 7s. THEY HIT A STRAIGHT on the flop. The frustration, after all those pocket pairs that didn't hit a set, the one that I have that finally does and where it looks like I might finally pick up a few bucks, another player hits a straight that beats me!!! After all those hands I'll be back down to 0 and down $15.20 for this session. :-/

BUT THIS IS POKER!! Turn Qs. One to go. River 4d. The poker gods smile down on me!! I River a FH and I win a nice $21.32 pot and am finally ahead for the day!! PHEW and WOW!!

The hand converted for a better visual:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com



saw flop | saw showdown

Hero (MP) ($10.47)
CO ($24.86)
Button ($15.97)
SB ($10.06)
BB ($12.35)
UTG ($5.92)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 8, 8
1 fold, Hero calls $0.10, CO bets $0.45, 2 folds, BB calls $0.35, Hero calls $0.35

Flop: ($1.40) 5, 8, 4 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.40, CO calls $1.40, BB raises to $2.80, Hero raises to $10.02 (All-In), 1 fold, BB calls $7.22

Turn: ($22.84) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($22.84) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $22.84 | Rake: $1.52
Main pot: $22.84 between Hero and BB, won by Hero

Results:
BB had 6, 7 (straight, eight high).
Hero had 8, 8 (full house, eights over fours).
Outcome: Hero won $21.32

I was thinking of playing up to 500 hands, but now decide that getting to 400 will be fine. I'm lucky to be ahead and I'd like to end this session that way.

Hmmm, Interesting. The hand posted from Flop, Turn River hand converter now plays out. I also see that Poker Tracker has an option where you can see the hand with cards, but I couldn't copy that over into this blog. It pasted fine into an Outlook email.

The graphic details of the session:

Rush 6 player .05/.10 1000 Hands Up $1.67 Blinds ate $39.05 Rake $20.62

Well, at least I came out ahead in the end. :-) I was only going to play a couple hundred or so hands but got behind and wanted to win my $$$ lost back. Original plan was to see if I could win back my $11 lost on two SNG's and I came close to that after 300 hands before I went into a slide. My high point around 900 hands was $28, but I'd put in $21, so the net at that time was only $7 and then I gave a bit of it back.

One thing I always worry about when I'm play and get ahead is that I'm going to blow it and lose all my hard earned $$$. In general, that didn't happen this session. I didn't have any really big wins as about the only all-in's I could get into were with players w/$5 or less. All too often it seemed that when I had my really good cards (AA, KK), I couldn't even get called on a 2 BB open raise. I did get beat a few times when I had a weak to moderate kicker. I did better at folding when I had big bets/raises to what were decent hands for me but the board showed I could be beaten.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 6th 49 Hands

Generally OK play up to last hand. I had pocket Q's as BB, UTG open raised 3 BB, I decided to re-raise him all-in. Now, I knew he wasn't in very many hands and likely had good cards, even KK or AA, but took my chances that maybe he only had two high cards such as AK or maybe JJ. Would have been best if I only called. Flop was Jd Qc Kd, both helped and hurt me. Turn & River were 5h 5s and that's all she wrote. I needed to back off and didn't.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 4th 39 Hands

Except for one hand I felt I played well, including folding to big raises to my bets when the board looked like I could be beaten.

Hand 12. I'm CO w/AQo. I open raised 2 1/2 BB (100) and BB re-raises me to 240, I call. Flop Js 7c Jc. Misses me. BB checks and I bet 280 into the 500 pot and BB raises me all-in w/1770. I fold. BB shows pocket K's. Good fold.

Hand 39. I feel I played the way I should. I'm BB w/8s 2h, 955 chips, blinds 40/80. The other 3 players limp in and I call. Flop 8c 3h 7d. I have top pair. SB bets the pot of 320 and I decided to raises them all-in, they call. They show 10h 5c, one overcard. I expected them to have at least an 8 with a better kicker, or a decent bigger pair. They had neither. Turn 10s. Rats, not good for me. River 6s. I'm outta there. As I said I felt I played the hand OK and would have expected SB to fold with the cards they had on my post flop bet. Later they were to make even worse plays. Not sure what was going on as their stats were pretty decent up that point.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 1st 165 Hands

Generally OK play. Again, likely I was a bit too passive, particularly in HU BUT the other player was very loose and had been the whole sessions, so I felt I needed to be careful what cards I played and how I bet as I could expect him to call most of the time. We got to HU at hand 62 about even in chips, I had 700 more. We took turns alternating 1st & 2nd, getting our chips down into the upper 1000 or so, then manage to flip again. He tended to slow play some big hands and I got caught by that when I had good hands but not the nuts.

2 HU $2 + .15 End 1st 57 Hands

Haven't played any HU's recently, well not much poker either, but had gotten away, a bit, from starting my day's play with a HU. Wasn't sure how I'd be playing so decided to start with a $2 HU instead of $5. Outside of maybe being a little passive I felt my play was OK. My opponent was pretty passive as well, even when they were becoming very short stacked. Last hand I was lucky on the River. I had Q3o vs Q4o. I let him bet and I called on the Flop of Q 2 T. On the Turn he min bet again and this time I raised him to 3 BB and he re-raised me to 5 BB, I called. That left him with 15 chips. River was 3 and I bet him his last 15 and fortunately I won the hand.

Rush 6 player .05/.10 601 Hands Up $0.10 Blinds ate $14.45 Rake $8.51

Well I didn't make much money for my time, BUT I did get back what I'd lost. Hand 1 I went down my entire $10. I had Kh Qc. The flop was Qd 2c 7c. I have top pair with a decent kicker. Turn 3c. That makes for a possible flush. I decided to bet into it and the BTN went all-in. I opted to call with my last $3.95 though that did not seem to be a good decision and indeed it wasn't when he showed Kc 8c, having hit his flush on the Turn.  For Hand 2 I put in another $10. To keep myself with near $10 to play with I later put in $6.05 & $3.50. I may look up the hands that put me in that position later.

My play improved and I managed to fight my way back to even and was up a dollar or two, but at 601 hands I'd fallen back a bit but was still $0.10 ahead. I certainly won't get rich this way, but I won't go broke either. :-)  I was really tired at the end and lucky I didn't do something foolish to lose my gains.

Here is the graph of my play by hands.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 4th 36 Hands

Not played as well as previous session. Had an early set back w/pocket A's vs short stack K9o. They hit a 9 on the flop and a K on the River. :-/

Last two hands did me in. Hand 35 I was just trying a steal of the blinds w/92o and was called by the BB. Flop was QKT. We both checked. Turn 7c. BB bet 80 into the 520 pot. I folded. That left me w/925 chips, just over 10 BB's.

Hand 36, UTG I had pocket 6's an decided to go all-in with them. If I was lucky I pick up the blinds. Alas the BTN raises me all-in w/2120 and the SB re-raises all-in as well w/3115 chips. Not looking good for my 6's. BTN shows pocket Q's and SB AQo. The board plays out: 10 2 9 5 7 and I'm done. I could have waited, but since I had the chance to act 1st I felt it was worth a try. Unfortunately the other two had decent hands.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 5th 20 Hands

For the most part I played well, and felt I played the last hand the best I could and was Rivered in the end.

Hand 20, 5 players left, blinds 25/50 I'm CO w/Ad Qh and 1165 chips. UTG limps in, HJ folds and I raise to 4 BB (200). SB & BB fold, UTG calls. Flop 8h 4s Qd. UTG checks and I bet 250 into the 475 pot, UTG calls. I'm wondering what do they have? Turn 3d. Not a bad card for me, but does set up a possible flush draw. UTG checks again. Since I have top pair and top kicker, and they have only checked and called my bets, I feel they don't have me beat at this point. I debate their having a set, but feel they would have bet that. They could be on a flush draw and I decide to bet all-in w/my last 715 hoping they will fold but feeling OK if I'm called. They call. I couldn't get them off their hand. They show 8d 7d. Middle pair from the flop and on a weak diamond flush draw. I'm a big favorite 70/30. River 8s. So much for that. They don't get the flush but do get trip 8's and I'm gone.

I played very tight and only hand I felt I played that I shouldn't have was A2s from the SB. Two players limped in, I call, BB checks. Flop J A T, not my suit, so I now have top pair with a very weak kicker. I decide to  bet 100 into the 200 pot, two callers and a raise to 300 by the BTN. I fold at that point. It only cost me 125 chips, but they were 125 chips I didn't need to lose.

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 1st 159 Hands

Slow and steady worked out well this session. 1st person out was hand 15 w/ATo vs KK. ATo decided to go all-in after the T 8 5 flop. They surprised me letting themselves get knocked out so early. Hand 18, one more went out. I was 3rd high stack w/1570 chips and low stack had 1015. High stack had 3585 & 2nd high 2830. Hand 34 the short stack was down to 710 chips w/pocket 8's. UTG and open raised 3 BB (180), SB re-raised to 870 and UTG called. SB showed pocket 7's. SB hit their set on the flop and it held.

We were now on the bubble. I was short stack w/1500, 2nd high had 2780, and the big stack had 4720. I was hoping those two would go at it and not pay much attention to me. It didn't quite work out that way. :-) By hand 52 I managed to squeeze into the 2nd high stack and managed to increase my chips and hold that spot to hand 85 then the short stack w/pocket J's went out to the big stack who had Q3o but paired his Q on the flop. I'm in the money!! Big stack has 6565 chips to my 2435 chips.

Here is where I think some of that Thursday play with Lance and Mike watching/advising me helped. I folded a lot of hands I'd have tried to make plays with. Until the last hand, I generally choose not to gamble by calling when he went all-in. My low point was around 1595 chips.Hand 112 I moved up to 3735 chips. Hand 136 I finally took the chip lead and held it as we came to the last hand.

Hand 159. Blinds are 120/240. I have 4675 chips to the BB's 3965 chips. I have Kc Qd and open raise 2 1/2 BB (600), BB re-raises me going all-in w/4205 chips. I think about it a bit. He has done this all-in every so often and I've always folded so I don't have a good idea of what he might have. I suspect he likely has Ace something, maybe a pocket pair. He likes to play a lot of pots and from other hands I've been in with him he doesn't always have the best cards, so if he had Ace rag it wouldn't surprise me. In the end I decide to call, in part to see what he actually has, and knowing even if I lose here, I'll still have a few chips to fight back with and worse case scenario, I come in 2nd. He  shows 10h Qc. It's K vs 10. Worse cards than I expected. It's possible that he was trying to pick up an "easy" 600 chips from me under the assumption, from my past behavior, that I'd fold to an all-in bet. The board holds up for me w/4 9 7 9 8. Neither of us hitting anything and my K being the best card. I make 1st!!

6 SNG $5 + .50 End 1st 118 Hands at Mark B's 8/26/10

Played this at Mark B's and with some help from Lance and Mike I managed a win!!

Tour 2787 $1 End 1364 35 Hands

Payout  1st - $510.02,  9th - $39.02, 366-405 - $1.39

Nothing much happened and my chips were going down. I decided to take a chance with pocket 8's. on the BTN. UTG+1 limped in for 60, MP2, HJ, & I  called, SB folded, BB, short-stack raised all-in for 535, which I pretty much expected him to do. UTG+1, MP2, HJ & I called. Though I didn't like calling, I felt I had pot odds to do so, approx 4 to 1. Flop 5h 4s 4h. Here's were it gets tricky as the board paired.  UTG+1 bet all-in for 1405 into the 2705 pot, MP2 called, HJ folded, I decided to call with my last 545. BB had Kh Jh, UTG+1 had Qh 3h, & MP2 had 10d 9d. At this point I still had the best hand. Turn 9h. Well that kills me pretty much though I could still get a FH and beat the heart flush. River 3c. That's it and I'm outta there.

I could have folded at the start and still be there but I'm OK with taking the gamble and try to improve my chip count.

2 HU $2 + .15 End 1st 81 Hands

I didn't think I was going to win this one as I was down to a 680 stack by hand 6. I had 3c 5h as BB. SB limped in for 20 and I called. Flop Ad 5c 3s. I have bottom 2 pair. I decide to slow play and check. SB bets 20 into the 40 pot and I call. Turn 4d. That I didn't like. I had a wheel straight draw, but SB might already have one. I check again and SB bets 60 into the 80 pot. River 2d. Well that gives me my wheel straight as well as the SB one; if that holds we'll chop, but there is also a possible diamond flush out there. I check and SB bets 520 into the 200 pot. I think about it and wonder if he's trying to push me off the chop? Anyway I decide to call. SB shows Ah 6d. He has the wheel straight up to the 6, I only have it up to the 5. No flush, but I still lose.

Hand 12 I get some of those chips back. I'm BB w/Kh Qh. SB open raises and I decide to call w/my last 520 chips. They show 7d 4d. I have two, suited overcards. The board plays out: 10s Ad 5s 9s 2c. I win and double up to 1080 chips. I'm feeling a bit better.

Hand 48. I've been going up and down between roughly 500 to 1000 chips. I'm the BB w/pocket 8's (8c 8h). SB limps in w/50 and I raise to 100, they call. Flop 6d 7h Qh. Only one overcard. I bet 100 into the 200 pot and SB calls. Turn 5h. That gives me an open-ended straight draw but SB could already have the straight. I decide to see if I can push them off this hand and bet all-in, 425, into the 400 pot. Since SB has 2175 chips they decide to call showing 4d 7s. They paired their 7 and also have an open-ended straight draw but only to an 8 high. River 9s. I hit my open-ended straight on the high side and win, doubling up to 1250 chips.

Hand 54 I get closer to even. I'm BB w/10c Ks. SB open raises 2 BB (100) and I call. Flop 6c 8c 5c. I have a 10 high flush draw. I bet 50 into the 200 pot and the SB calls. Turn 7h. The board shows it's likely someone has a straight, I have a gutshot straight draw. I make another min bet of 50 into the 300 pot and SB calls. River 3c. I have the flush, 10 high. Again I min bet 50 into the 400 pot. SB raises me to 200 and I decide to just call since my flush could easily be beat. SB shows Kd 9c. A flush also, but nicely not as high as mine. I have 1475 chips and am breathing a bit easier.

Hand 61. I'm back down to 1050chips. I'm SB w/As 9d. I open raise 2 BB (100) and BB re-raises me to 150, I call. Flop 2s Jd 9h. I pair my 9. BB bets 150 into the 300 pot and raise him to 300 to see what he'll do. He could have a J. BB calls. Turn 4c. BB bets 150 into the 900 pot and I decide to raise him all-in w/my last 600 chips. Either I've got the best hand (paired 9's w/Ace kicker) or he has me beat. BB calls showing 10c 9s. Wow, only a paired 9 too, but a worse kicker! River 5d. For the 1st time in this session I have a substantial lead with 2100 chips to their 900. Far from won, but I'm in a much better position.

By hand 76 I'm back down to 1470 chips. Hand 77 I'm back up to 1950 and shortly after comes hand 81.

Hand 81. I'm SB w/8s 10c. I open-raise 2 BB (160) and BB calls. Flop 2c 8h 3d. I pair my 8 and have top pair. BB checks and I bet 160 into the 320 pot, BB calls. Turn 3h. That pairs the board; I rather that hadn't happened. BB bets 240 into the 640 pot and I think about it for a bit. Could he have trip 3's? I decide that's not likely and call. River 10h. Well that gives me 2 pair but there could be a heart flush out there. BB decided to bet all-in w/670 chips. Again I think a bit about it, but decide he probably doesn't have the flush either. I could be wrong on both my assumptions, but he has liked to bet aggressively in the past, even when he hasn't had the best cares, BUT sometimes he did. Also, I've played passive a lot and often folded to his big raises so he might be figuring I'll do that again. Once I noticed I was playing pretty passive I decided I needed to continue playing that way most of the time and hopefully have the opportunity to trap him with his aggressive betting. I call. BB shows 9d Qs. NOTHING!!  I win.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 9th 4 Hands

Simple put, poorly played after the 1st hand, ok in the 4th hand. 2nd hand I had AJo, flop was 8c Ac 8s. I bet 1/2 the pot and was called. Turn 4c. Beside the board pairing the 8's, it has 3 clubs. My paired Ace doesn't look that good. The other player bet 400 into the 450 pot after I checked and I raised them to 800. They called. River Kc. There's now 4 clubs on the board. We both check. They show 9d 8d. I was hoping they didn't have the 8. I didn't think they had the club flush. I'm down to 580 in chips.

Hand 3. I have 10c As, UTG. I limp in for 30 and UTG+1 raises to 135. I call. Flop Kc 9c Kd. No real help to me. We all check. Turn 8h. I check, UTG+1 min bets 30 into the 450 pot, MP1 & I call. River 9h. I check, UTG+1 bets 90 into the 540 pot, MP1 folds, and I call to see what he has. He shows Ks 9h having hit a FH on the Flop. I'm down to 325 chips.

Hand 4 I'm the BB w/9h 7c. Three limper's (30) come to me and I check. Flop Jh 9d 4c. I have middle pair. SB checks and I go all-in w/my last 295 chips. MP2 calls, BTN & SB fold. MP2 shows Kh Js pairing their J. Not looking good for me. Turn Qd. River 4h. It's over.

Basically very poor play in hands 2 & 3, with no good explanation for my doing that, since I do know better. I'm OK with the last hand as I had very few chips and if my pairing on the Flop could get me a win it was OK going all-in.

2 HU $2 + .15 End 1st 16 Hands

Overall this one went well and I played well. When he thought he had a good hand he's bet up. My big win was with Qd 5d as BB. SB open raised 2 BB (40) and I called. Flop 10d Kd 2d. I have a K high diamond flush. I min bet 20, SB raises me to 70 and I re-raise them to 140. SB then re-raises me to 210 and I decide enough of this and re-raise all-in. I've been debating if he might have two diamonds as well and the Ace but decide to take the risk. Plus, if he did have the Ace but not another diamond, I was hoping to cut off his going for the draw. He calls and I hold my breath waiting to see his cards. He shows 8d Kh. I'm in decent shape. Now to see if the cards will hold for me since I couldn't talk him out of continuing. Turn Jd. I'm golden!!! River Js. He has 220 chips left. Now to see if I can close it out.

Next hand I have 6d Ac as SB and open raise 2 BB (60), BB re-raises all-in and shows Kh 3h. Board plays out: Qc 9c 7d 3c 8d. He pairs his 3 and doubles up to 440.

Hand 16. I'm BB w/Ac Kh. SB has 530 chips and limps in for 30 and I raise him to 75, basically hoping this is one of those time he'll re-raise me all-in. Instead he only re-raises me to 120 and to keep the game going and not to seem too anxious, I re-raise him to 225. This time he finally re-raises me all-in and I call. He shows Ah 8h. I'm in pretty good shape. He needs hearts or 8's to beat me. Flop 5s Qs 4c. He adds runner, runner to a straight outs. Turn 10h. Back to needing an 8 to beat me. River 2h and I win.

2 HU $5 + .25 End 2nd 45 Hands

Not bad play in general, but not good enough to win. He bluffed me once that he showed me. Hand 31 I had pocket 9's. Flop 3h Ks Kd. I made a min bet into the 180 pot,he raised me to 210, and I re-raised him to 390. He had folded a couple of times when I re-raised him like that. This time he decided to re-raise me going all-in w/his last 1080 chips.  I decided to fold and he showed me his 6c 5s. I would have liked to called him but I wasn't ready to risk almost all my chips in that situation and his pattern had been to fold rather than raise, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. That cut me back to 1140 chips.

I never recovered from that and seemed to go into a mostly downward spiral. Hand 44 I had 89o and as SB limped in, BB raised me to 4 BB (160) and I called. Flop 2 A J. No help. He checked and I checked. Turn 10. That gave me an open-ended straight draw. BB bet 240 and I decided to call on the straight draw. River 3. I have nothing but 9 high. BB bets the pot of 800 and I fold. I'm down to 720 chips.

Hand 45. Last hand. I'm BB, SB open-raises 3 BB (120) and I decide to re-raise all-in for my 720 w/Ad 3d. He calls showing Ac Jc. I'm not in a good situation. The board plays out to ALMOST help me showing a straight 5 through 8 BUT it has 3 clubs giving the SB a nut high flush. Any 5 but the 5c on the River and we'd have chopped. That was it for me.

Tour 29 $2 + .20 End 12th 64 Hands Sat to $200K Double Deuce

Payout  1-2 - Entry, 3rd - $7,  4th - $4.20,  5 - $2.80

OK play till near the end, though I was near the bottom most of the time. I had K6o. Flop was 2 J K. The other player in was playing 6 sessions and made only a min opening bet, so I was taking him to have maybe an Ace/rag, small pair, etc. He only called my 1/2 pot raises on the Flop & Turn. Turn Qd. River 8c. I made a small bet of 250 into the 1600 pot and he raised me all-in. I called. Turns out he had KJs and had hit two pair on the Flop. That cut me back to 310 chips w/blinds of 50/100. Next hand w/AJo I managed to double up.Then two hands after that w/Q9o I tried again. I was against pocket 7's, so I had two overcards. Flop 9 A 7. I pair my 9 but he hits a set. Turn 10. River A. That was it.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 9th 26 Hands

Had a good start then made a bad call in hand 11. I had AKo and the board showed K 4 5 9 8. My only worry was the three clubs and the other player bet the 660 pot on the River and I called. They had hit their set of 5's on the Flop.

From there on out until the last hand I had a bit of up and down. I was SB w/Ah Qd and 875 in chips; blinds 30/60. MP2 open raised 2 BB (120) and BTN re-raised all-in with their 1260. I thought about it a bit and decided to go w/my AK and called. Rest folded. BTN showed pocket 7's (7d 7h). The board played out K 4 K 3 8 and I was gone.

Probably feeling a bit too tired to really be playing tonight so I'm folded it up.

2 HU $5 + .50 end 2nd 115 Hands

Mixed play with poor call on my part on last hand. I was hoping to slow play pocket K's and open-raised w/2 BB (200). Flop Ac 8h 6d. Rats, not the flop I wanted to see. BB bets 200 into the 400 pot and I raise to 400, figuring he'll fold if he doesn't have an Ace. Instead he re-raises me with an all-in. Against my better judgement I call. Indeed he shows and Ace w/As 4d. Turn 2c. River 5d. I'm done.

Outside of that hand's play I feel I'm playing these sessions too passively overall and need to work on being more aggressive.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 8th 21 Hands

Mixed play. Hand 8 I decided to take on a short stack who all-in raised me after the flop. I had 59o. Flop 9 J 3. They showed 10 Q. They hit their Q on the River and I was down to 935 chips.

Hand 21 I decided to try an all-in (900 chips) steal toward three multiple table players and a reg player BB. One of the multi-table players called me (they also had 900 chips), rest folded. The CO showed 10c 10d. Bad timing on my steal try. I only have the K as a good card. Flop 2s 10s 8c. They hit their set. Turn 5c. River Ac and I was  gone. Probably time for me to quite for the night!!

Tour 90 $3 + .30 KO End 55rd 39Hands No KO's

Payout 1st - $72, 9th - $5.62, KO = $0.50 3000 chips, 5 min blinds

This was another frustrating session where my pocket A's got cracked by 8Ts.

Hand 23. I'm the BTN w/pocket A's (Ad Ac) and 2110 chips. UTG limps in w/80, UTG+1 raises to 360, MP folds, HJ calls, and CO folds. This looks like a good chance to pick up some chips, so I re-raise all-in. SB & BB fold, UTG calls putting them all-in (might I win a KO?), UTG+1 folds, HJ calls. UTG+1 had 8h 10h and HJ had Jd Ah. Better cards for me than I expected and I'm feeling pretty good that I might finally get a semi-decent chip stack for the tournament. Flop 10d 10s 5h. Nooooooo. The worse cards flop trip 10's. This is a very loose player who is getting lucky again when they play poor cards and it looks like I'm going to be their victim this time. :-/  Turn 4h. River Js. No help for me. I have 450 chips left.

I do manage to get a bit lucky and build my chips back to 1000 over a few hands. Hand 39 I decide to take a chance with 9h 10c from the BTN, the loose player, UTG+1, has limped in, rest fold to me, and with only 750 chips I raise all-in, SB & BB fold, UTG+1 calls. They show pocket 8's (8s 8h). Can my two overcards beat them? Their two undercards cracked my A's, why not!! Turn 7h Kh 3h. Hope. I have a flush draw and my 9h would beat their 8h if it comes to that. More hope. Turn Js. That adds a gutshot straight for me. All those outs, all those chances to win! River 2d. That's it. I'm gone. No manna for the good guy tonight!

Rush Tour 135 $4. + .40 End 50 58 Hands

Payout 1st - $153.90, 9th - $12/15, 13-15 - $6.75

Poorly played overall. Stretching to make cards work and, of course, losing.

Tour 90 $3 + .30 KO End 63rd 31 Hands

Payout 1st - $72, 9th - $5.62, KO = $0.50      3000 chips, 5 min blinds

I tried a more hands played approach and though I didn't really get more chips it felt better. Hand 3 I got a boost winning w/K8o vs Q5s with an all club flop that no-one hit. That gave me 300 extra chips. Nothing panned out after that and with hand 23 I crashed and burned.

Hand 23. I'm SB w/Ac Kc and down to 2695 chips. UTG+1 open raises 3 1/2 BB (210), HJ calls, rest fold to me and I decide to go all-in. My hope is they fold, but I'm comfortable with AKs if I have to continue. You really need some early chip building or you find yourself getting blinded out much quicker than you expected. I could have limped in and see what the flop held for me, but my preference was to get them to fold and pick up the 480 chips. BB folds and UTG+1 calls, HJ folds. UTG+1 shows pocket 7's (7h 7c). I have two overcards. It's almost a KO if I win as they would only have 130 chips left. Flop 4s 5s 3c. I have a gutshot straight draw and runner, runner nut high flush draw. Turn 9s. River 9d. I hit nothing, they win and I'm gone.

Tour 90 $3 + .30 KO End 21st won $0.25 1/2 of a KO 72 Hands

Payout 1st - $72, 9th - $5.62,  KO = $0.50          3000 chips, 5 min blinds
It seems to me that it is hard to make any progress in this kind of a tourney. I had a VP of 4 for almost 1/2 of the session and was able to play very few hands. I don't know if it's just the run of cards I'm getting or the way the players bet and raise. Certainly, handwise, I had few decent hands to try and make a challenge with, and when it came to stealing, often one of the early players opened the betting so there weren't many steal opportunities. Most of the session I was within 5 of the end and hanging on because other players were dropping out rather than my being able to increase my chip stack.

I had one lucky hand when I needed it. I had pocket 4's and went all-in and was called by a player with pocket A's. I hit a set on the flop and more than doubled up. I noted that it was interesting that I wasn't as up feeling about that hand, as down feeling I'd have felt if it was my A's being cracked. Last hand reinforced this for me. I had pocket J's and went all-in to be called by a player with 5c 10c. I had both his cards covered and was feeling pretty good about that. Flop 7h 2d Kc. Good so far. Turn 8c. River Jc. I hit my set but they hit their flush and I'm gone. They needed three cards in a row to win and got them. My J's were cracked with worse cards. Grrrrr. The down feels much more intense than if I had won.

Rush Tour 135 $4. + .40 End 70 36 Hands

Payout 1st - $153.90,  9th - $12/15,   13-15 - $6.75

Not well played. A couple of poor call choice sent me spiralling downward. One surprise win with pocket J's when an all-in turned out to be bluffing and had nothing.

4 HU $2 + .20 SO End 3rd 24 hands

Wasn't able to make any traction this round. Last hand I was hoping he didn't have an Ace on the Kd 8c As flop that also hit my Kh Qc, but he did. Turn 8, River 6, and I was outta there.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 2nd 50 hands

Generally OK play. One call where it would have been better if I'd folded but I wanted to see if he actually had the card that would beat me and he did. Last hand I had 9d 3d. Flop 3c 8c 9c. Scary but he didn't bet it hard so it was possible my 2 pair was good. He did go all-in on the Turn of 6h but I didn't feel that meant he had the club flush. He has generally played good hands hard from the start rather than slow playing them, so I called. He showed Qc 7s. I was correct up to this point, but he did have an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw; a lot of outs compared to my 6. River 5h & he hits the straight and I'm done.

Tour 480 $1 End 69th 62 Hands $26 Ticket Frenzy

Payout 1-18 Ticket, 19 - $6,  20 - $3.60  21 - $2.40

I was sort of half heartedly in this one and was distracted for a bit playing around with HUD configuration. The plus side of that is the number of hands is now a bright red and readable. I don't know what I did that made that happen as that was what I was trying to fix (it was a faint color that I couldn't read even when I made the table full screen). I thought I had screwed things up, was working from the default configuration and OK or apply/OK small changes, and decided to say "replace current w/default" and suddenly the number of hands showed up with a bright red color. In spite of my distracted play I had some good hands.

Hand 40 I was down to 1095 chips w/pocket Q's (Qd Qh) in CO position and blinds of 120/240/ante 25. I needed some good results here or I'd soon be blinded out. UTG limped in w/240, HJ called, I raised all-in; BTN, SB & BB folded, UTG w/5892 called, as did the HJ w/2390 chips. Not sure where my Q's stand with both of them calling. Flop Ks Jd 10c. One overcard and I also have an open ended straight draw. UTG bets all-in and HJ calls them. Hmm, I could be in big trouble here! UTG shows As Kh, having paired their K and now ahead of my paired Q's. HJ shows Ah 6s. Turn Kc. That gives the UTG trip K's. It's looking bleak for me. River 9s. Joy to my eyes!! My open ended straight hits and I take 3870 of the pot, UTG takes the side-pot. I'm back in the session.

Hand 48. I'm BTN w/10d Qc, 2955 chips, blinds 200/400/ante 50. Again I could use more chips. Action folds to me and I open raise 3 BB (1200), SB folds & BB calls. Flop 9d Kd 7s. I have a gutshot straight draw. BB bets all-in w/1695 and I decide to call. BB shows 10c Jc. I'm in better shape than I expected. Turn 5h. River Js. BB pairs their J but I hit my gutshot straight and now have 6450 chips.

Hand 59 as BB they all fold to me. Hand 61 I'm in the BTN w/7c Qh, 3975 chips; blinds 400/800/ante 100. A nice pot of 2000 to pick up. Action folds to me and I open raise all-in and they fold. I'm up to 5975 chips. Hand 62 I have As 7s in HJ position. Again action folds to me & I decide to try another steal and open raise all-in. CO & BTN fold, SB calls and BB folds. They show pocket A's (Ad Ac). Bad timing for my all-in. Board does nothing for me, BB wins, and I'm outta there.

Tour 36 $0.75 + .15 SO 6 player End 2nd 120 Hands Sat to $200K DD

Payout 1st - Entry, 2nd - $3.25, 3rd - $1.75   6 Player Shootout  1500 chips   3 min blinds.

Basically your are playing two six person SNG's. The six winners from the 1st 6 tables make a final table of 6. Overall I did OK and was lucky quite a few times. I had a very high VP and I'm not sure if that is good or bad in this situation. Blinds are only 3 min so you have to accumulate chips fairly quickly to survive. This is the best I've done in one of these shootout type sessions.

Tour 92 $0.50 + ,.05 End 34th 39 Hands Satellite to the BLT

Payout  1-20  Entry, 21st   $2

I can't complain too much about this one. Early on in hand 10 I took a big gamble and lost. I had Ac Jd on the BTN. Action folded to the HJ who open raised 3 BB (180), CO folded, I called, SB folds & BB calls. Flop Jh 4h Ks. I pick up middle pair with a good kicker.  BB checks and HJ bets the pot of 570. I think about it a bit and wonder if the HJ might have a K, but decide to challenge them and raise all-in w/my 1240 chips hoping I might entice a fold. BB folds and HJ calls showing pocket A's (As Ah). Oppps!! I have some outs but it looks grim. Turn 6h. River 7s. I'm down to 140 chips. It looks like I'll soon be out of here.

The poker gods were nice to me and by hand 25 I was up to 2270 chips and back in the session. Not too much happened after that until the last hand. I was BB w/Qd 9d. w/1870 chips and blinds of 120/240. I could use more chips. The big stack at this table with 10,275 chips on the BTN open raises 3 BB (720). He's fairly new to our table and I only have a couple of hands on him. I decide he might be trying a blind steal and I figure the only way I might get him off of that is to re-raise him by going all-in and I do.  He calls and shows As Qh. Darn. Well I have one good card. It may have been a steal, but he also had pretty decent cards to try it with. Flop 7d 10c 9h. I pair my 9 and have some hope that maybe I'll win this hand after all!! Turn Ac. Hopes dashed. It looks like I still have two outs to win. River 10s. They don't show and I'm done.

As I said I can't complain too much about this one. Both times I took a gamble and lost. I had the worst hands and that's the way they stayed.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 2nd 22 Hands

OK play at start to poor play at end. He was a very aggressive player. To some degree I was able to use that against them.

Hand 1 I was BB w/3c 4c. SB open raised 3 BB (60) and I called. Flop 10c 5d 4d. I min bet 20 and he raised me to 60, I called. Turn 4h. I now have trip 4's. I check and BB bets 120 into the 240 pot, I raise to 240 and BB folds. I have a small lead w/my 1740 chips.

Hand 3 I'm BB w/6h 9h. BB open raises 3 BB (60) and I call. Flop 9s 7s 4s. I check and BB bets 100 into the 120 pot and I raise to 200. BB folds. I have 1840 chips.

Hand 5 I'm BB w/pocket 5's (5c 5d). SB open raises 3 BB (60) and I call. Flop 3h 4c 3c. I check and SB bets 80 into the 120 pot and I raise to 190 and SB re-raises me to 300 and I call. Turn 10s. I bet 340 into the 720 pot and the SB folds. I now have 2220 chips to their 780 and feeling pretty good about how this session is going so far.

Hand 7. My 1st set back. I'm SB w/Qs 7h. I open raise 2 1/2 BB(50), BB calls. Flop 7c Ad Qh. I hit two pair, middle & bottom. BB bets all-in w/840. I think a bit and assume he likely has an Ace, I'm doubting he has AQ. I call hoping this ends it with a with a win for me. BB shows 7d Kc, having only paired his 7. I'm feeling pretty good about this. Turn 2c. One card to go. River Kd. BB pairs his K as well and now has the better two pair. I lose. I'm back to 1220.

Hand 8 I'm BB w/Kd 10d. SB open raises 2 BB (40) and I re-raise to 80, they call. Flop 4c Qh Qc. No help to me but I decide to bet the pot in case they didn't hit the flop either. BB raises me to 340 and I have to fold. I'm down to 980 chips.

Hand 9. Another somewhat strange hand and I make a comeback. I'm SB w/Kd 8h and just limp in. This is part of a pattern I'm trying out. Basically I'll limp, bet 2 BB, bet 2 1/2 BB, and then 3 BB. Next time I restart the cycle. I'm hoping they notice. BB raises me to 100 and I decide to call. Flop 5s Ks Kh. I hit trip K's. BB bets 120 into the 200 pot and I call. Turn 8d. Nice. I now have a FH and feel much better about my 8 kicker in case the BB also has a K. BB bets 100 into the 440 pot and I raise him to 200, hoping I didn't scare him away and he'll call. Well he does better than that and re-raises me with an all-in. I, of course call. BB shows Kc 3s. He indeed did also have a K, though his kicker was weaker than mine. Turn 9s and I'm back up to 1960 chips to their 1040. I'm feeling confident again. Up to this point I feel I had been playing well.

Hand 18 I let myself make a bad choice. I'm SB w/Jd 10s and open raise 3 BB (60). BB re-raises me to 180 and I decide to re-raise them to 360 in case they are just trying to push me off the hand. BB then re-raises me all-in. Um, this was my clue to fold. It's unlikely he doesn't have some kind of cards that can beat me, BUT I call anyway. BB shows Ac Qs, two overcards. The only consolation I have is that I have two good cards. Flop 2d 4h 5h. Turn 4s. River Kd. I'm back to 960 chips.

Hand 22 I think I was still on a bit of tilt from how I played hand 18 as I played this hand just as poorly. I'm SB w/2s 5c and open raise 2 BB (60), BB calls. Flop 9d 2d 4h. I hit bottom pair. BB checks and I bet the pot of 120 and BB raises me to 240 and I call. Turn 3s. I have an open ended straight draw now.BB bets 270 into the 600 pot and I call leaving me w/90 chips. River 8h. I miss the straight. BB goes all-in, and in spite of feeling that my pair of deuces was beat, I called. BB showed 5s 9s having paired their 9 on the flop. It was over for me.

Tour Rush 135 $4 + .40 End 18th 123 Hands

Payout 1st - $153.90, 9th - $12.15, 13-15 - $6.75   Start 2000 chips, 3 min blinds

Generally OK play. Last hand I'm on BTN, blinds are 200/400/ante 50, and have AKo, called a 3 BB open raise from UTG (1200), flop came A 8 A, UTG checked. I bet 2000 into the 3350 pot and UTG raised me to 4000. My thought was he's probably got an Ace too, so at worse we'd likely chop the pot, so I re-raise all-in and he calls. He shows pocket 8's. At 1st, what that means, misses me. I see him as have hit a set with his 8's and feel pretty good about my trip A's w/K kicker. What I don't see is that his set gives him a FH and I'm in big trouble. Turn Jd. River 4c and I'm outta there 3 short of the money.

Overall I don't feel too bad about my play. At that point if I'd folded, the blinds would eaten me up rapidly since they come every 3 min, but it would have better if I'd thought of his possibly having the FH before I made that call. I was a bit too hasty in what I thought he might have.

18 SNG $5 + .50 End 4th 125 Hands

Pays 1-4

Mixed play but I managed to make the final 4. Last hand was disappointing. I was on the BTN w/Ad Qs, 3325 chips (short stack), blinds 250/500. UTG (w/4695 chips) open raises 1000 and I re-raise all-in w/my 3325 chips. SB & BB fold, UTG calls showing Ah 7s. So Q's vs 7's. Flop Ac Kd 3c. So far so good. Turn 7d. :-/ His 7 gets paired. River 6d and I'm gone in 4th place. Too bad the cards didn't fall my way on that one.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 5th

Another one of those sessions where I play well for a long time then call when I know I shouldn't!! Next to last hand I had pocket 9's (9c 9d), six players, blinds 40/80, I have 2590 chips as BB, 3rd in stack size. UTG+1 open raises 3 1/2 BB (280). Rest fold to short stack w/950 who re-raises all-in. I think about it and decide I'll call as I expect he would go with an Ax and not necessarily a great hand, UTG+1 calls as well. I was hoping they would fold. Flop 3s 4c 7h. Nothing obviously dangerous to my 9's. I decide to just check as does UTG+1. Turn 8c. Again, nothing obviously dangerous to my 9's. I wonder if there could be a 56 out there but doubt it. Again I check as does UTG+1. River 6c. Rats. That is dangerous in two ways with possible straights and flushes. Not the kind of card I wanted to see. :-/ I check and UTG+1 goes all-in with their last 668 chips. I debated folding knowing there were a lot of ways I could be beat, but decide to call "just in case" they were bluffing. As so often is the case, they weren't. They had Ac  5c giving them a straight as well as nut high club flush. Short stack had Ah 10h. I'm down to 1052 chips.

I don't know if I could have got them to fold earlier if I'd gone all in on the flop, or even pre-flop, though pre-flop they did call a 920 raise. Hmm, looking at it, they did have 3.4 to 1 pot odds on that call. If I went all-in at that point they'd still have 2.9 to 1 pot odds so they still might have made the call, but would have been risking all their chips to do so.

Next hand it looks like I can get back into this session as SB I have pocket J's (Jc Jh). CO limps in for 100 and raise to 3 1/2 BB (350) (I might just as well have gone all-in as I only have 702 chips left), BB calls & CO folds. Flop 9h 5s 3s. All undercards to me and I bet all-in, BB calls showing As Kd, two overcards. Earlier I was in the same situation w/AK vs JJ and won with an Ace on the River. Turn 6s. I now have to worry about a spade flush as well as the overcards. River Ac. No spade but the winning card. Same result as my earlier hand except I'm on the losing side of this one. "What goes around comes around?" :-)

I don't feel too bad about my pocket J's being cracked, that's poker. The crucial hand was the previous one where I called on the River when I should have folded. Someday I hope to learn that lesson. Actually in some ways I have, as I am much more likely to fold these days than in my more recent past, I'm just not making those folds as often as I should.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 1st 28 hands

Overall a decently played session by me. No spectacular plays and I didn't let myself fall into any traps.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 8th 46 Hands

Play was OK until hand 43 when as CO with QJo I open-raised 3 BB in steal attempt and was re-raised by BTN to their 750 all-in and I decided to call. They had KQo. They held and I was down to 795 chips.

Hand 46 I got sucked out on. I'm UTG+1 w/pocket J's and open raise all-in for my 795 chips. Action folds to the BTN who goes all-in w/their 1005 chips, SB & BB fold. I was glad to get some action but a bit worried when I noted their VP = 2 after 45 hands and they were playing 3 sessions; I was afraid they had pocket A's, K's, or Q's. Turns out they had pocket 6's. That made me feel better. Flop 9 5 K. So far so good. Turn 7d. Well that does give them a gutshot straight draw. River 8d. & they get it and I'm gone!!!

Grrrr. However, the real problem was my play in hand 46 that put me in a poor chip position.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 1st 32 Hands

Overall this session went well. Initially he had a small lead on me. Hand 10 as SB my Q9o hit a straight on the Turn and beat his K5s, that basically reversed our positions. We reversed again in hand 11. By hand 22 we'd reversed again. Hand 32 as SB w/1895 chips and pocket Q's (Qs Qc) I opened raised 2 1/2 BB (75) and BB re-raised me all-in w/their last 1060 chips. I thought a bit, they could have AA or KK, but decided to go for it and called. They showed pocket 7's (7d 7c). My Q's held and that was it.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 6th 21 Hands

Not well played. Had one good hand w/pocket 7's that I picked up a few chips on. Then I either stayed around too long w/ good cards (AQo) that hit nothing on the flop or as in the last hand decided to go for an open-ended straight when it was likely the other player had a flush from the 3 card diamond flop. I opted not to believe him and paid the price. In short, my head wasn't really into this session.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 2nd 61 Hands

Generally OK play till toward the end when I decided to challenge some of his bets and he either had the goods or doubled my bet so I felt I needed to fold. Most of the time I played more cautiously and we both went up & down in chip counts. I needed to be more patient at that time.

Tour 90 KO $3 + .30 End 55 29 Hands

Payout out.  1st - $72,  9th - $5.62   each KO - $0.50

Mixed to poor play. 1st poor play, I had pocket 9's and flop was K 3 2. I bet 200 into the 400 pot and short stack went all-in w/930. I opted to call but thought it likely he had a K. He did, K9 and I lost that one.

Last hand was a little more difficult to determine. I was BB w/Kd Jd. Three players limped in and I called. Flop 9s 9c Qc. Everyone checks. Turn Qs. Interesting, could my K win or chop it for me? I see now I also mis-read what I needed for a straight. Somehow my mind thought if an Ace came I'd have it. Wrong. Everyone checks again. River Ad. I now feel I have a straight and bet based on that. I bet 250 into the 400 pot, the HJ raises me all-in for his 2710 and after thinking about it awhile and wondering if my "straight" might win I call. No noise was made on the turn to suggest anyone of us had a Q or 9, so I was hoping that was really the case and call. HJ shows Qd 10h having hit the FH on the Turn and not bet it. I'm done. As it turns out, even if I had had my straight, I'd still have lost. Small consolation.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 2nd 124 Hands

Generally OK play. Not so good on the HU at the end. Seemed if we went to the River, he would have one of my cards and a higher kicker all too often. Could I have stopped him from going to the River? That's harder to say. He liked to play a lot of hands and it was difficult to get him to fold pre-flop. Anyway, it was nice to be at least 2nd.

Cash 6 player $.05/.10 Up $3.15 126 Hands Blinds ate $3.90 Rake $0.95

Not much to say about this one. I was mainly fooling around experimenting with foreground/background colors for a new PT stat configuration I was testing, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to the players. Harrington was helpful in one way in that it caught my attention to check a players c-bet percentage on a player who I may have called and after the flop always seemed to make a fair c-bet & indeed I was correct ...he did that 100% of the time for the few hands we'd done (less than 100). So one time I decided to raise his c-bet and nicely he folded!

It was nice to be on the plus side even though I wasn't paying a lot of attention. It was hard to get much action at this table and all of us who started with about $10 stayed with-in a couple dollars of that. Only one play did we have a really big pot. One player had hit top two pair on the flop and called the other player who bet all-in for $7.13 on the Turn. Not sure why that player went all-in as they only had top pair from the flop w/an Ace kicker. It's not like the other player was slow playing. The turn also suggested a possible flush. In any event they got lucky on the River when an Ace fell and they now had top two pair.

2 HU $1 + .10 End 2nd 29 Hands

I was playing this to look at a PT HUD config I'm trying to work out. 1st I've tried to make my own. This was a dud test as I'd created a configuration for a cash session. That aside, I was doing OK until hand 13 when it looked like I'd do fine, though the Rver put it in doubt along with the other players all in raise to my 1/2 pot bet. I had QJo and between the Flop & the River I had top two pair. The River, though turned up a 3rd spade and indeed the BB had K7 of spades and I was down to 300 chips. I wasn't able to recover from that. I do feel I bet OK and doubt if I went all-in on him that that would have deterred him calling on the Turn.

45 SNG $5 + .50 End 2nd 176 hands

Payout 6 spots. 1st - $85.50,  6th - $11.25

My 1st goal was to make it to the final 9, then the final 6, and from there as high as I could go. I actually got off to a good start in hand 14 when my pocket K's went up against Ah Qh and pocket Q's. My K's held and I had 3750 chips.

Hand 32 I was SB w/7s Js and 4895 chips. MP & HJ limped in w/100, I called and BB checked. Flop Jc 2s Qh. I pair my J but there is a Q there. I bet 150 into the 400 pot to get some idea of where I stood, BB folds, MP & HJ call. That didn't tell me much except they didn't get scared away. Turn 7d. That pairs my 7 and I now have two pair. I feel better about my hand. I bet 450 into the 850 pot, MP folds and HJ raises me going all-in for 2870. Hmmm, what might they have? Certainly no flush or straight. I doubt they have QJ since they just called my small post-flop bet. Could they have a set? I decide to call as I'll still be alive with 1825 chips left (enough to still be able to play well with). They show Ac Qc having paired their Q and have a great kicker. That's still a pretty big bet considering I bet and c-bet. I suppose they were hoping to take me out of the hand with it. One card to go. River 3s. I win and pick up the 6590 pot to have 8415 chips. I can relax a bit and have more options to check out cheap speculative hands if I want.

I pretty much stayed right around that number till on hand 89 we were down to the final 9. I had 7815 chips which put me 4th of the 9 left. By hand 103 we hit the bubble. I had 7365 chips and was 5th out of the 7 left. The two smaller stacks had 3570 and 4505.

From this point on it wasn't certain if I'd make it to the top 6 or not. The player to my right and big stack w/19,320 chips would often bet 3x, 4x or more of the BB before it got to me and left me usually folding as I didn't feel I had the cards to compete with him and didn't feel he was really bluffing, though some earlier plays did show he'd get in the fight without the best cards. The bottom 3 of us tended to bounce around moving up and down between 5th & 7th.

Hand 132  the 3rd high stack w/13,855 chips was knocked out by big stack w/19120 chips. Blinds 400/800. HJ (big stack) open raised 2800, I folded, and the BTN (3rd high stack) re-raised him to 4800. SB & BB fold and HJ re-raises all-in and BTN calls. HJ shows 10c 10h. BTN As Qs. HJ hits a set for his 10's on the flop which pretty much seals the BTN's fate and they hit nothing on the Turn & River. We are now six and I have 4565 chips 5th out of the 6 of us.

Again it's uncertain where I'll end up as the bottom 3 of us are pretty close in chips (3356, 3840, & 4035), 2nd & 3rd have 7515 & 10,970, while big stack has 36,575 & can do pretty much what he wants. He seems to like to play and continues with his early betting pre-flop.

Hand 117 I get lucky and don't even realize it. I thought I was going out as 6th. I'm SB w/Kd Jd. UTG limps in w/800, rest fold to me and I decide to raise all-in w/my last 3765 chips, hoping UTG will fold but OK if he calls. BB folds and UTG calls and shows pocket 4's (4c 5h). Flop 7s 5d 9d. I have a flush draw but not sure I saw it at the time. Turn 3d. I hit my flush BUT I don't realize it, still thinking the pocket 4's are the best. River 8h. I'm thinking pocket 4's are the best BUT the chips are coming my way. Why? I look at what the chat window says & see I have a flush!! Wow, how nice!!! I now have 8330 chips and am in 3rd place.

Hand 140 Action folds to the CO (4th in stack size) who open raises 2 1/2 BB (2000), BTN & SB fold, BB (2nd in stack size w/10,170 chips)  calls. Flop 10h 7h Jd. BB bets 1600 into the 4400 pot, CO raises all-in w/their last 2540 chips and BB calls showing Ac 8d; one over card and a gutshot straight draw. Turn 6s. River Ah. CO's K's are cracked and we're down to 4. The two shortest stacks are really hurting at this point having only 2550 & 2835 chips.

Hand 145 the shortest stack gets a boost when their pocket 7's hold up against KTo. Hand 154, the short stack & BB w/blinds of 500/1000 only has 35 chips left after posting the BB. They are raised all-in, called and its 56o vs the big stacks AKs. Big stack hits an Ace on the flop and holds the rest of the way. We are now 4. I'm 3rd in stack size w/9080, short stack has 3250. 2nd has 16,810 chips and big stack has 38360.

Hand 156 it's short stack w/A5o up against big stack's AQs, board hits no-one and AQ wins. I'm 3rd w/10,080 chips, 2nd has 15,310, and big stack 42,110. Hand 158 2nd stack w/A8o takes on big stack w/pocket 3's. Flop hits 2nd stack's Ace but the River hits big stack with a 3 to give them a set. I'm now 2nd stack with about 1200 more then short stack. Next hand, 159, short stack w/A5o is up against big stack's pocket 10's. The pocket 10's old and now we are two.

Not much happened after this. I had some ups and downs until the last hand I mentioned at the start where I lost and it was over. Overall I fell I played OK. It's hard to say if I would have been more aggressive earlier after I picked up my 8000+ chips and been in better position at the final table. The big stack did a lot of betting/raising before the play got me so I didn't get a lot of steal opportunities. I was patient though, took the best advantage of the cards I had when I could, had some successful steals when I was able, and looked at player stats when deciding some of my calls. We had two players who VPIP was 4-5% after 75 hands and rarely pre-flopped raised, so even though they were getting short stacked, when they jumped all-in I felt it best to stay away from them unless I had a superior hand.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 9th 33 Hands

This was a frustrating session. I didn't make any grossly poor plays, lost chips and was down to 660 on the last hand. I had an extremely loose player to my immediate left who was lucky a fair amount of time.

On the last hand, 33, I was HJ w/660 in chips. Action folded to me and I went all-in. I was thinking the loose player to my left didn't call pre-flop raises, but for the 33 hands I have on him  he actually called them 78% of the time (14/18), so I was in error in that. The two players after him had VPIP of 10 & 25 and the BB was playing 17 sessions. My thought was if I got by the loose player there was a good chance the rest would fold to my all-in open raise. Indeed the two middle players did fold but the BB called. That was not a good sign. I had 2h 6c. CO/loose player had 2c 5c (much worse cards than I expected), the BB had Ah Kh (two very good cards as expected). The BB had gone all-in w/1940 chips and the CO/loose player called him as well.

Can I get lucky here? Flop 10d 5d 7s. The worse cards get a hit. Turn 4h. I have a draw on an open ended straight. River As. I'm gone, CO/loose player is gone.

Other hands: 3rd -As SB I had ATo vs A9o vs 46s. A9o won, I lost 90 chips. Hand 8 in MP1 I have AQo. After a flop of 5h 3h 7h I fold to 420 raise to limp bets. I'm down another 100.

Hand 22 I'm CO w/AQs. UTG+1 open raises 2 BB (120), rest fold to me. I've seen this player open with some crappy cards so I re-raise them to 4 BB (240). Loose player on the BTN calls, rest fold to UTG+1 who also calls. Flop 8c 5s 6d. No help to me. UTG+1 checks, I check, and BTN bets 60 into the 810 pot. we both call. Turn 2d. We all check. River 7h. Board shows open-ended draw possibilities. UTG+1 open bets all-in for 920, I fold, and BTN/loose player calls. They both have the high end of the straight. I'm down to 870 chips. That's about it for other hands.