9 SNG $5 + .50 End 3rd 78 hands

This session had it's ups & downs and at least I came in the money this time!!

Hand 3. Small win. MP2 w/Kh Qd, action folds to me and I bet 2 BB (60); all fold to BB who calls. Flop Jc Jh Qh. Well, I've paired my Q but the board has paired J's. BB checks, I bet 75 into the 135 pot, BB calls. Not sure what that means, except he's not given up yet. Turn 8s. BB checks & so do I. River 9h. Not a good card for me. Board shows possible straight, heart flush, and even FH. BB checks and I decide to do the same. There's just too much that can beat my Q's. BB shows 5d Ks. I win and have 1650 chips.

Hand 7. I give most of them back. I'm BB w/Ks 8h. UTG+1 limps in w/30, MP1 folds, MP2 calls, HJ, CO, BTN, & SB fold, I check. Flop 7c 9c Kh. I pair my K that has a modest kicker. I bet the pot (105), UTG+1 folds, MP2 calls. Turn 6h. I decide to check this time and MP2 bets 210 into the 315 pot. I have an open ended straight draw, but since it is still early in this session I decide to fold. Since I didn't get to see their cards I don't know if I'd bet 1st if I could have got them to fold.

Hand 29. Seven players left, blinds 30/60. I'm UTG w/pocket 9's (9h 9s). I open w/2 BB bet (120), all fold to the CO who raises all-in w/925 chips, rest fold to me. I think about it for awhile knowing there are a lot of pocket pairs that beat me and one more time I'll be out of this session if I lose, but decide to go for it and call. CO shows Ah Qd, two over cards. Per Poker Stove it's 55/45 my favor. Now I hold my breath. Flop 9c 3c 7s. Oooh nice, I hit my set!! I can't be beat because QQ or AA on the Turn & River give me a FH. Turn Kd. River Ad. I have 2310 chips.

Hand 40. Things were going well until this hand, which had a very promising start. Six players left, blinds 50/100. I'm HJ w/pocket Q's (Qc Qd), 2470 chips. UTG folds, I bet 3 BB (300), CO folds, BTN & SB call, BB folds. Flop 9c 3d Kh. I do not like seeing that K!! SB checks & I decide to do the same, as does the BTN. Turn 2s. Well that doesn't make things any worse for me. SB checks, and since everyone checked before I decide to bet 500 into the 1000 pot, BTN folds, SB calls. I rather they'd folded. River 4s. I don't think I noticed it at the time, but the board does show a straight possibility. SB checks and I decide to do the same, which turned out to be a good thing as SB shows 5h 6c. They hit the straight on the River. :-/ I'm down to 1670 chips.

I'm not sure what might have made a difference that hand. My half pot bet of 500 on the turn didn't stop the SB from drawing for the gutshot straight. Might a 2/3rds bet made a difference? Probably not since I checked the flop and the odds of the 2s helping me on the turn was unlikely. A bet on the flop might have got the other two to fold since they didn't have a king.

 Hand 41. This looked I might have a chance to redeem myself from the last hand. I'm UTG w/Ac Qh. I decide to open again witn a 3 BB bet (300), action folds to the BTN who raises me to 500, SB & BB fold, and I call. Flop 6d 10s Jd. No hit but I have a gutshot straight draw. I check & BTN checks. Turn Qd. I pair my Q, but flush and straight draws are showing. I check again & so does the BTN. Are they on a draw or are they playing coy? River 9d. No improvement for me and a diamond flush is even more likely as well as a straight. I check one more time, but this time the BTN bets all-in w/4515 chips. I'd sure like to check them out but it would cost me all my chips, so I fold and am down to 1170 chips. Grrrr, two hands in a row that showed such great promise but instead I'm 1300 chips lighter.

Hand 48. Five players left, blinds 60/120. I'm down to 820 chips before posting the 120 BB. I'm BB w/Qc 10h. HJ folds, CO limps in w/120, BTN & SB fold, I check. Flop 6c 8d 2s. No help to me. I check & CO checks. Turn Qd. My Q pairs and I have top pair. I decide to just check it to see what the CO does and he just checks. River 6d. That pairs the board and shows a possible diamond flush. I check again and CO bets the 300 pot, I call. I could have raised him but felt there were so many ways I could be beat that I'd reserve my last 400 chips. CO shows pocket 5's (5h 5d). My Q's are good, I win and now have 1300 chips.

I would like to say it was my skill that got me those last 300 chips but I can't. By being as passive as I was the CO must have thought his pocket 5's were good. I don't think he was trying to represent a straight or flush. Thus if I had bet my Q's he may have only checked on the River as he'd done on the Flop and the Turn.

Hand 57. This was a WOW hand and I see I mis-played Loki, I was not the smallest stack at this point. I'm UTG w/1060 chips, Ks Jd. I open all-in, the CO folds, the BTN with 8045 chips calls, SB & BB fold. CO shows Ah 6d, one overcard. Flop 7d 9d jc. I pair my J. So far so good. Turn Kd. I now have two pair. Things look even better! River 10d. Oh no, the CO has a diamond flush, my two pair are no good. :-/ But wait, the chips are coming MY WAY. OH, I have a Jd, I have a diamond flush TOO and a higher one than the CO!!!!! I now have 2300 chips.

Hand 78. Three players left. I'm SB w/pocket 9's (9c 9d), 1340 chips. BB is big stack w/10,130 chps, and the BTN has 1730 chips. BTN opens all-in and I decide to call hoping she doesn't have a bigger pair than mine, BB folds. BTN shows Ad 5d, one overcard. Flop 2h 5h 6c. They paired their 5 but I have the higher pair. Turn 7d. I have a gutshot straight draw. One card to go. River Ac. That's all she needs and I go out in 3rd place.