9 SNG $0.30 + .05 End 1-2 61 hands $1 Main Event Satillite

Payout: 1-2 - Entry, 3rd - $0.50.  Blinds 3 min.

Ended up 1st in chip count. Played fairly well. One player who played very loose ended up 1-2 also, by sucking out a few times, so I had to be very careful playing him.

Hand 10. This shows you how this player seemed to often bet. Seven players left, blinds 30/60. I'm UTG+1 w/pocket A's (Ac Ah) and 1410 chips. UTG (loose player) limps in w/60, I raise to 240, rest fold and UTG calls. Flop 3h 3d 6d. Nice flop for me but I do worry a bit about trip 3's, maybe a set with the 6. UTG bets all-in w/1640 chips. I think a bit about what I said here about possible hands and decide to call, if he hit w/the 3's or 6 so be it. He shows pocket 2's (2c, 2h). Wow, not what I expected to see. Turn Jd. River Jh. I now have 2910 chips and can relax a bit.

Hand 20. This was a hand I wasn't expecting to play hard. Five players left, blinds 60/120. I'm the BTN w/Qd 7d and 3170 chips. Action folds to me and I make a 3 BB open raise (360) mainly to steal the blinds. SB calls & BB folds. Flop 4h Qc 4d. I pair my Q and don't really pay much attention to the board paring 4's. That's dangerous on my part. SB bets the pot (840) and I decide to raise them all in w/an 1860 raise. As I said I wasn't paying much attention to the two 4's, but I was concerned about his also having a Q with a better kicker, such as AQ, so I'm hoping he just folds here. Alas he does not and goes all-in. SB shows As Js. Not what I was expecting; he just has one overcard. Turn 7c. River Jh. My Q's hold and I now have 5015 chips for the chip lead as we hit the Bubble. Up for grabs two $1.10 entry's and 50 cents 3rd place.

Hand 36. Three players left, blinds 120/240. I'm BB w/Qh 3c. BTN folds, SB (same very loose player) limps in w/240 and I check. Flop 3h 5d Qs. For such poor starting cards the flop has hit me nicely with top and bottom pair. SB checks and I bet 240 into the 480 pot. SB raises me to 720. I don't feel he has a set, but feel he has at least a pair, and I doubt he can beat my two pair at this point, so I re-raise him to 1680 and the SB re-raises me all-in w/his last 3710 chips. I call. SB shows Qc 10c, having paired his Q which is what I thought he most likely had. Turn 2c. River 6d. I have 8710 chips, SB has 315. It looks like this session will quickly be over, but it went on for another 25 hands.

Hand 38. The super short stack with 315 chips is BB. I'm BTN w/Kh 5s. I & SB limp in w/240 and BB goes all in w/last 75 chips, we both call. Flop 7c 7d 9s. I & SB check. Turn 2c. I & SB check. River 2h. I & SB check. It's possible my K might make a difference, but the BB super short stack has an Ace and wins tripling up to 945 chips.

Hand 43. I help double up the short stack who now has 1545 chips. I'm SB w/Jc 4h. Blinds 150/300. BTN (short stack) limps in w/300, I call, & BB checks. Flop 3h 2d 8s. No help to me. We all check. Turn Jd. I pair my J and have top pair showing. I & BB check, BTN goes all-in w/1245 chips. Since I know he doesn't always bet with the best cards I decide to call. BTN shows 10s 9d. He has an open-ended straight draw, about a 17% chance of hitting on the River. River Qh. Alas he does and now has 3390 chips. I'm down to 6400.

No special hands after that. Last hand shows one more time how the loose player plays and sucks out on the river. Blinds 250/500. I have Js 3s as SB. BTN (loose player) open raises w/2 BB bet (1000), I fold and short stack BB re-raises all-in w/last 2160 chips. BTN calls. BTN shows 8d 9d. BB shows Kd 10c. Two overcards. Flop Jd 4c As. Turn 5h. River 8c, BTN hitting.