9 SNG $1 + .20 End 1st 74 hands

I started this one to see if I could see anything in PT that told me how many tables a player was playing as suggested in the pop-up for the PT 30.8 beta. I saw nothing, nor in the write-ups on the PT site itself. I managed to win this one in spite of myself.  Part of this was due to my also attending a webnair interview with Daniel L. Smith a Stereoscopic Expert, and it became particularly interesting as this session was heading into its final stages. I'll see about writing up more about this later. In a few hours I have the Sat to the $750K on Sunday and hope to be one of the 100 winners.

Hand 20. I have 930 chips, blinds are 25/50, & I have Kd 9s, six players left. UTG & HJ limp in, CO raises to 2 BB (100), BT & SB fold, I and rest call. Flop 6s Ks 9d. I hit top two pair! I decide to check to see what the others will do, UTG bets 100 into the 425 pot, HJ calls, CO raises to 200, I decide to go all-in w/my last 830, UTG folds, HJ & CO both call. Wow. What do they have? I feel my two pair are the best at the moment, though either of them could have a set. Turn 3d. Hmm, two possible flush draws out there. Both HJ & CO check. River Ah. Good, no flush possible! Only question is, with that Ace on the River do either of them have a better two pair then me? Do they have a set? Both check again. HJ shows Kh Jh. OK. CO shows 7d 8d. I win and now have 3015 chips. Next hand I give a lot of the chips back. :-/

Hand 21. I'm the SB w/Jh 10h. UTG limps in, HJ raises to 100, CO & BT fold, I call, BB folds, and UTG calls. Flop 10s Kh 9h. I pair my 10 and  have a flush draw and gutshot straight draw. I bet 175 into the 350 pot, UTG folds and the HJ raises to 350, I call. Turn 6c. No help to me. I check and HJ bets 300 and due my draws I decide to call (it's 300 into a 1350 pot). River Jc. I now have 2 pair, but if he has a Q he has an easy straight to beat me. I check and he bets 525. I decide to check him out, though I'd probably been better off folding. He shows Ks 6s. Hmm, not a straight, but a better two pair then I had. I'm back to 1740 chips.

Hand 42. Four players left, blinds 50/100, I have 1140 chips. I'm UTG w/Jh 10c and limp in, SB calls & BB checks. Flop Jc 2h 4c. I have top pair. SB & BB check to me and I bet 200 into the 300 pot. SB calls & BB folds. SB is also big stack w/7000+ chips. Turn Ah. Not a card I want to see. SB bets 300 into the 700 pot and I go all-in with my last 840 chips. He could have me beat, but I decide to take the gamble; it was either that or fold. SB calls and shows 8d 8c. A weaker hand than I expected as both my pairing a J or an Ace would beat him. River 4c. I win!!! .and now have 2380 chips, about the same as the other two players beside the big stack.

Hand 60, still four players, I'm down to 1160 chips. Big stack has 7180 and the other two players have 2200 and 2720. Blinds 60/120. I'm SB w/Qh 10h, UTG limps in, I call & BB checks. Flop  Js 4h 8h. I have a flush and gutshot straight draws. I check, BB checks, UTG bets the pot - 360, I call & BB folds. Turn 3c. No help to me. I check and UTG bets 360 into the 1080 pot and I call. Not sure why I didn't go all in at that point as I only have 320 chips left. River 9d. I get LUCKY and hit a straight!! I toss in my last 320 chips and UTG calls. UTG shows Qd 3s, having only a very small pair. I win and now have 2440 chips and back in line with the other two players and big stack is back to 6020 chips.

Hand 65. I have 2260 chips, am on the BT w/Ad 8d. UTG limps in for 120, I call, SB folds & BB (big stack) checks. Flop Jc 6d 8h. I pair my 8 and have middle pair. BB checks, UTG bets 240 into the 420 pot. I decide to raise them to 480, mainly to see what they'll do. BB folds and UTG calls. Turn 10d. I now have a nut flush draw as well. UTG goes all-in. Phooey. That's more than I'd like to bet and they could have a straight already. In spite of that I call and am down to 280 chips. River 7d. I hit my nut flush!!! LUCKY!! UTG bets 460 to get me to put in my last 280 chips and I call. He shows Jd 9s. Both of us hit the River, he a straight and me a nut flush. I win and now have 4700 chips. UTG only 180.

Next hand UTG is gone and we are all in the money. Big stack has 6600 chips, I have 4520, and short stack has 2380.

Hand 68 I'm SB w/Ks 6s, blinds 80/160. UTG folds & limp in, BB checks. Flop Kc 5c 4d. I pair my K. I bet 160 into the 320 pot, BB calls. Turn 6d. I pair my 6 and now have top two pair. I bet 320 into the 640 pot and BB calls again. River Jc. That's a bit of a scary card as now both a straight and a flush are possible. I decide to bet big and bet 720 into the 1280 pot (if BB calls I still have 3160 chips left), BB calls. Uh Oh. BB shows Kd 8h, having just paired the K. I win and have 5880 chips.

Hand 71. Big stack has 6600, I have 6040, and short stack has 860. I'm SB w/Kd Qc. The BT (big stack) opens with a 2BB bet (320), I call, & BB (short stack) raises all-in w/860 chips. BT & I call. Flop 5h 5d 3d. No help to me. I & BT check. Turn Qh, I pair my Q. Both I & BT check again. River Ks. I now have top two pair. I decide to make a modest bet and bet 960 into the 2580 pot, BT calls and shows Kh Jc. BB shows 6c 4h. I win! We are now HU and I'm big stack w/8720 chips to 4780.

Hand 74. I have 8240 chips, SB w/Ks 8h. I bet 2 BB (320) & BB calls. Flop  Kd 5d 10s. I pair my K. BB bets the pot (640), and I raise to 1280, BB calls. Turn  8d. I now have top two pair, but BB could have a diamond flush. BB bets 480 and I decide to go-in. If they have the diamond flush I can hope for another K or 8 for a FH, but I'll still have around 3000 chips to fight back. BB calls and shows 4c 10c. A much weaker hand than I expected. Maybe they were tired of this session? River 9c. I win and come in 1st!!