Tour 10,000 Freeroll end 1995 hands 81

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this write-up. I was going to play a 9 SNG and saw this freeroll tournament registering so decided to join. Top 250 get entry to a Sunday $1000 freeroll where $100 for first and they pay the top 90. As of this morning they had 16,485 entrants; max 30,000. If I had won entry that might be a problem as Sunday is the SUPER BOWL!! Blinds were 10 min long.

What I wanted to do was experiment a little bit. In the very early rounds I'd try going all-in with AA, KK, QQ, or JJ. I got a chance on the 1st hand w/JJ vs A9s and A8s and tripled up. I got knocked back a bit in hand 11 w/Ac Qh vs 59s, a 9 & A was in the flop but a 5 hit the river. Hand 16 brought those chips back, this time, also, w/Ac Qd. I went against pocket 10's. The flop had an Ace and that help up. I was back up to 6435 in chips. Hand 28 I had Jh 8h as BB. UTG bet 2 BB (100), HJ called and I called. Flop Jd Kc 8d, I had middle and bottom pair. I limped, UTG raised to 475, HJ reraised to 900 and I decided to push all-in. UTG folded and HJ called and showed Kh 10d. Turn & River held up for me and I now had 10,965 chips.

At this point I decide to experiment with a variety of cards limping in to see if I can hit any good stuff on the flop cheap and folding if not. I bounce around a bit, then comes hand 59. As BB I have Qc 6s, 3 players limp and I check. Flop is 6h 6d Js. I hit trip 6's. I & others call min bet and Turn is 3s. I decide to take some action. SB min bets 80 and I raise to 320,  BT reraises to 560, SB folds and I reraise to 1160. BT reraises all-in w/ 4412 and I call. They show As 6c. Trip 6's too but with a bigger kicker.

Signs were I should back off. Someone else with trip 6's and a bigger kicker was possible, though I felt pretty good about my Q kicker. The possibility was a FH and maybe even a straight. End result I'm down to 5583 chips.

Hand 63 was another blow to my chip stack. I had 8d 10h in HJ position. 3 players limped to me & I did too, BB checked. Flop  9s Js Jh. I have an open ended straight draw. FH possibilities are out there. UTG limp bets 80, UTG+1 calls as do I.  Turn 2h. UTG bets 680, UTG +1 calls, and I call. Not sure why I called there. Yes I might get a straight on the River but that's a pretty big chuck of chips they put out there. The problem, in part was , I didn't consider the deuce seriously!

River is a 7s. I hit my straight BUT there is now a flush possibility out there as well. :-/ UTG + 1 goes all-in w/2619 chips, UTG +1 folds and I call. :-/  UTG shows pocket 2's. He hit the FH on the turn and I'm down to 2044 chips. Both the betting on the Turn & the River were telling me to fold, but I chose not to in spite of that, hoping my lesser cards would somehow win. At least this is a freeroll, BUT i still need to play GOOD poker!!

Hand 77 was a nice hand for me. I had Ad Jd as BB w/1754 chips. HJ limps in w/120, BT calls and SB raises to 600. Well I don't have a lot of chips right now, and though AJ isn't the best I decide to go all-in. It was either that or fold. HJ calls, BT folds, and SB calls. Flop Qh As 9h. I pair my Ace. SB bets 1080 and HJ folds. Has me wondering and doubting my paired Ace is going to win this. SB shows pocket K's. Turn 2c, River Jh. I win and now have 5382 chips. Phew. That was nice as I thought he might have AK or AQ that would beat me.

Hand 81 was my downfall. I fell into it just like a hot knife slicing through butter.. I had Qd Jd in HJ position, blinds 60/120. UTG bets 120, I call, .SB folds  and BB checks. Flop Jc Qh 5d, giving me top two pair. Kind of flop I was hoping for. BB checks, UTG bets 120 and I raise to 240, BB folds and UTG checks. Turn 8s. UTG bets 120, I again raise to 240 and UTG decided to reraise to 1620. Uh Oh. What is going here?. It did catch my attention and I say to myself "they couldn't have a 9 10 could they?" as that seemed to be the most likely thing that could beat me after the 8 fell on the turn, and INSTEAD of JUST CALLING i decide to go all-in. They instant call and indeed they do have a 9 10. :-/ Only hope for me is to hit a FH on the River. River 2h.  Tournament is over for me!

Still giving in to those losing patterns/leaks in my play. I'm not giving the other player credit for a winning hand, and worse, I try to raise them out of it, which isn't going to work if they have the winning hand!!

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