27 SNG $5 + .50 End 3rd Won $21.60

Overall I'm pleased with my play. Both 1st & 2nd had 1 1/2 to 2x my chip count. I could probably have waited for a better last hand but blinds were 300/600 and I had about 7 rounds left at best.

Hand 120. As BB I had Kd 7d, 3 of us left. BT folded and SB bet 3 BB (1800) I called. Flop Jh Qs 10d giving me and up and down straight draw and runner, runner 2nd nut high flush draw. SB went all in and I called. If all went well I'd double up, and if not so well maybe we'd chop a straight. SB had Ah 10h. Turn Kh giving SB a straight and a flush draw on the river. Only an Ace could save me. River Jd. Over and Out, but at least I was in 3rd place out of the 5 places paid.

Early on I was worried about busting out early as by hand 23 I was down to 955 chips. but with pocket K's on hand 27 I was back in the running. I was in MP2 position, EP2 limped w/60 and I raised 4 BB to 240 deciding to come out strong. EP2 called. Flop 10d 3h 8d. EP2 bet the pot. of 570 and I only had 805 chips left so it was fold or shove, I shoved. They could have had a set, maybe they were on a flush draw or a straight draw. I didn't feel they had pocket A's. They call and it turns out they only had 8c 9h pairing the 8 on the board. Turn 10c and River As. Fortunately they didn't have an Ace. My stack was now 2180!! :-)

Hand 40 was another nice win. Blinds 50/100. I was BB w/Kd 10d. MP1 bet 2 bb (200), CO called, BT & SB folded and I called. Flop Kc Jd 5d giving me top pair and a 2nd nut flush draw. I bet 300 into the 650 pot and MP1 & CO folded and I pulled in the pot.

 Hand 55. I had pocket 8's for the 3rd time this session and had not been able to do anything with them. Blinds were now 80/160 and I was the BB, only 7 of us at the table.  The short stack SB with 630 chips went all-in and I decided to call hoping they didn't have a better pair. They showed 9c 5c, one overcard. Flop 2c 3s 6d. Turn  Qc giving the SB a flush draw on the River. River 10d and I win the 1260 pot.

Hand 57 I give some of the chips back. On the BT w/As Qh, 6 players, all fold to me and.I bet 3 BB (480), SB folds and BB calls. flop 7s 10d 8h. BB bets about 1/2 the pot (560 into 1040), and though I would like to call all I have is A Q high and at best I'd probably just pair one of those. BB could have a straight or a set or even a big pair since they did call me pre-flop, so I tuck my head under my chin and fold to wait a better time to storm the gates.

Turns out that time shows up next hand, hand 58. .As CO I have Ah Qh, BT is sitting out so w have 5 players.  UTG +1 limps w/160, I raise to 560 (3 1/2 BB), SB & BB fold, UTG+1 calls. Flop Ad 5h Jc.UTG+1 checks and I bet about 1/2 the pot (650 into 1360)  and UTG+1 folds..Nice to get those chips plus a little bit more back so quickly. Things stay pretty much the same until we are down to the final table.

I came to the final table with 3740 chips. Top chip count was 14, 510 and least 1055. There were 5 below me, but there wasn't a lot of difference between us that a good win couldn't change things. Blinds were 120/140.

Hand 92 was my first decent gain. Blinds now 150/300, I was BB and had pocket Q's, 7 players left. UTG with 2990 chips limped w/300 chips. The rest folded to me and I went all-in. UTG called. They had pocket 8's. Now all I needed was for them to not suck out. Flop was a nice 10h Jc Qh, making my Q's a set BUT a 9 would give UTG a gutshot straight. Turn an Ah. Now a K would make for a chopped pot. Not what I was hoping for. River Ad giving me a full house and I bring in the pot of 6130.

Hand 94 I thought I might be able to double up again. I was on the BT w/pocket K's, 6 of us left, 5 get paid. On the bubble!! . High stack UTG bets 3 BB (900) . It folds to me and I call, SB & BB fold. Flop Qs Qc Js. Grrrrr, well my K's are better BUT if UTG has a Q they are in trouble. UTG bets 1950 into the 2250 pot. Now if I call I'll still have a decent chip stack of 4500 or so if I lose but I would really like to be higher than 5th and definitely not find myself busting out on the bubble some hands later, so I fold.

Hand 101. We are now 5.I have Kc 10s in the CO position. Blinds 200/400. Short Stack has 3555 and large stack has 13980. UTG folds and I decide to bet 2 BB (800). BT & UTG call. Flop Jh 9c 6d. We all check. Turn Kd pairing my K's. UTG checks and I bet 1200 into the 2600 pot; BT & UTG fold. I now have 8580 chips, in 2nd place but two other players have just over 7000 & 7500, so my lead is small.

That's about it. Overall I'm pleased with my play and my final table play felt better than it often does. As blinds get big and each hand can make for large shifts in chips I have trouble getting a good feel for what is happening and what I should be doing. Now if I can keep this up that would be nice!