PS Cash 6 player .05/.10 104 Hands Down $0.76 $3.99 Blinds ate $2.75 Rake $1.40

I went broke around hand 35. I had AKo and the table showed 5 8 K 6 6. One other player was calling my bets and raised/bet me all-in at the end. He had 9 7, having picked up a straight on the Turn. :-/ This particular player seemed to hit straights a lot!! I only recall having one and that was the low side of QJT98 and was beat by a player having the K.

Was feeling a bit depressed after that loss, but managed to win most of it back and even did have all of it part of the time.

Was hard to try Harrington's open bets/raises as there were one or more players who would open 1st, but I did keep his range in mind when I made my opening plays.

Poker Stars has lower max $$$ you can bring in. 5/10 max is $5 where on Full TIlt it is $10.

PS Tour 10,000 Freeroll End 4445 18 hands The Lamborghini Freeroll

Payout 1-18 Entry The Lamborghini Freeroll $100,000 Weekly Final

So-so play. A good number of players at this table were making big opening bets and or raises so it was difficult to find a place to take a stand. Best hands I had were pocket 8's that went no-where and pocket 9's that did the same and left me w/400 chips. A couple of hands after that it was over.

Tour 8143 $1 End 1994 98 hands Daily Dollar

Mixed play. One period early in the session I remembered a poor player's location but had forgot that player had been knocked out, so I made and called bets based on my thinking the other player was there, and darn if they didn't have the goods! That happened two times, then I went to check my notes and found I had none, and the light bulb came on & I realized this player wasn't that poor player. :-/

Last hand, 98, I probably stretched too far, maybe. I'm UTG w/Kc Qh and 6190 chips; blinds are 150/300/ante 25. I decide to limp in w/300 to see what happens  and we end up w/five others in there with me, making for a nice 2025 pot. Flop Qd 7s 8s. I have top pair with my Q and feel I might be able to do something here. BB, big stack (40,655), open raises 2025 which is a bit scary, he might have AQ or, what I didn't think of, a set, but decide to go for it and raise him going all-in w/5890. MP2 re-raises me by going all-in w/16,215 chips, BB folds. Just the two of us and MP2 shows pocket 8's (8c 8h), having hit a set on the Flop. :-/ I need some help. Turn 9c. River 9s. I'm done.

In retrospect I should have folded to the 1st post-flop bet, as even though I had top pair, I didn't have top kicker and if someone is willing to bet that much, they probably have the goods. Of course the big stack may have been trying to pick up more chips by betting that big to get the rest of us to fold, but I didn't have enough information on him to decide if that was part of his play.

PS Tour 10,000 Freeroll End 4216 20 hands The Lamborghine Freeroll

Payout top 18 get a ticket to the $100,000 Weekly Final Freeroll

The fact that I made it only to  20 hands my head wasn't rally in the session so I played poorly. That's all she wrote.

PS Tour 3788 20 FPP End 438 Won $0.44 Turbo $1,000 Prize Pool

Payout: 1st - $157,  9th - $8,  496-540  $0.42

I don't remember a lot about this one except I made it to the $$$. As you can see from the payout you really have to get up in the final table to make any real money. However it cost me only a few FPP points, so it was worth it to try and build up a bit of a chip stack.

Although the blinds were 5 minutes, that 5 minutes seemed to go by awfully quickly and it was important to regularly build your chip stack to keep up.

2 HU $5 + .25 End 2nd 67 Hands

  One of those sessions where I didn't seem to gain any ground and many times when I went to the River he had the better hand one way or the other. I probably should have played a bit more aggressively and that might have helped. I don't think there is much else to say.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 1st 147 Hands

This was a pretty exciting session to play from about the bubble on. We hit the bubble at hand 72. Big stack had 5497, I was 2nd high w/4390, 3rd was 1778, and short stack 1435. We had two players that were playing a lot of sessions; one 6 sessions and the other 16 sessions. The 16 session player started going all-in a lot during this time and no one was calling him so there was no way to tell what he actually had. Since he was doing it so often it is doubtful that he had super cards all those times.

On hand 80 I was the SB w/5370 chips and Ac 5s. The 16 session player was on the BTN. UTG folded, BTN went all-in w/1435 chips and I decided to call since I had an Ace. Not a very good kicker but I thought I'd give it a try and at least see what this player was going all-in with. BB folds. BTN shows Kh Jc. He didn't have Ace so I had one overcard. Unfortunately for me the board played out to him: 5d Jd 9c 8c 2c, pairing his J.

Hand 92. I'm SB w/Kd 10s. 3rd in stack size, BB is 4th in stack size. Action folds to me and I open raise 3 BB (600) and BB raises with an all-in to 1478. I was hoping they would fold. I decide to call. They show Ad 3d, one overcard. This time the board plays out for me. Flop 10c 10h 2s, giving me trip 10's. Turn 2c. River Jd. I win and we are now three. I'm middle stack w/4413, short stack has 3045, and big stack 6042.

I'm left with the two players who were playing multi sessions. I did eventually check to see how many they were still playing and the 16 session player was down to 4, and the 6 session player down to 2. There was a lot of bouncing around in stack size and I wasn't sure how we were going to end up.

Hand 128 I have pocket A's (Ah As) as BB. Blinds are 150/300. BTN (big stack w/4842) open raises 3 BB (900), SB folds and I re-raise to 1800 and BTN calls. Flop Kh 4h Ad. I check and BTN bets 1200 into the 3750 pot I raise all-in w/my last 2943 chips and BTN folds. I was now chip leader w/7893 chips, BTN short stack w/1842.

It would be nice to think I held onto those chips but in hand 131 I decided to keep calling bets going for a gutshot wheel straight draw and pairing my 4 on the Turn. I lost to AJ and went back to 4659 chips.

Hand 137 I was BB w/pocket 4's (4d 4c), blinds 200/400 and 4059 chips. Big stack, BTN, had 6318 and short stack 2523. BTN open raised 3 BB (1200), SB folded and I called. Flop 3c 8s 2h. Could be worse, it only has one over card to my 4's BUT BTN's open raise could mean much better cards in their hand. I make a min bet of 400 into the 2600 pot and the BTN raises to 1600. I decide to call. Worse case I'll go out 3rd. Turn 9s. Another overcard to my 4's.  I check and BTN bets 2000 into the 5800 pot and would put me in all-in w/my last 1659 chips. I think about it, and decide, oh hell, let's do it. As I said before the worse that will happen is I end up 3rd. BTN shows As 2c, having only paired their 2 on the flop. I'M AHEAD!! That I did not expect!! One card to go, I might win this hand!! River 6d. I DO WIN!!!! I'm now chip leader w/9118 chips.

Hand 141 was not well played on my part and I give back a bunch of chips. I'm SB w/Qs 8d and open raise 2 BB (800), The BB who only has 859 chips left re-raises me by going all-in, I call. Well maybe not quite as badly played as I thought, as I my open raise was hoping to get him to fold. When he re-raised me I could have folded but it was only another 400+ chips to put into the 2059 pot giving me decent pot odds. Unfortunately for me he shows Ad Qd. The board played out 2c Qc 7d 5c 2s. He wins and I'm back to 7859 chips ... still chip leader.

Hand 144 the other two go heads up, the BB w/1918 chips and the BTN with 3723. BB has Ah Th & the BTN has pocket 6's (6s 6d). and they hold up. We are now HU. I have 7250 chips and the other player 6241. Three hands later it was over.

Hand 147 I'm SB w/Ah Jh. I open raise 2 BB (800) and the BB re-raises me going all-in w/their last 6241 chips. I think about it a bit wondering what they might have and recall an earlier time they only had  KJ on an all-in move and since I have an Ace high with a decent kicker plus they are suited, I call. They show Ad 8s. I have the overcard. The board played out Jd 5c Kc 2c 5s. It's over and I'm 1st!!

6 SNG $2 + .25 End 2nd 81 Hands

Decent play for the most part. Two of the six players were playing 4 or more sessions. We ended up being the last three. Hand 62 was my biggest mistake.

Hand 62. Three players left. I have Qh Jc as SB, 4840 chips to 2365 & 1705 chips. BTN open raises 3 1/2 BB (210, what he often does), I call  BB folds. Flop Qc 10s 3s. I pair my Q. I bet the pot of 480 and the BTN raises me to 1530. I re-raise all-in and he calls w/his last 625 chips. I didn't take long enough to consider what he might have and that he is playing 6 sessions, so he probably wouldn't call unless he had something good. He shows Kh Qs. Better kicker than me. Turn 4d. River Ah. I'm knocked back to 2505 chips.

Hand 71. I'm SB w/Ah Kd. BTN folds & I open raise 2 1/2 BB (200), BB re-raises me going all-in w/his last 1475 chips, I call. He shows Ad 10d, I have the better kicker. Flop 7s Qc 4d. Turn 3h. River 2c. We are now heads up. I have 4520 chips and the other player 4460 chips.

Hand 81, last hand. I have pocket K's (Kc Kd) as BB. SB open raises 3 BB (240) and I call. Flop Jh 3d Qh. I check and BTN bets the pot of 480 and I raise to 960. The BTN re-raises going all-in w/their last 4180 chips and I call. They show As Qc, one overcard. I'm feeling pretty good about it. Turn Ah. Crap. River 9h. It's over. :-/

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 7th 24 Hands

Off to a good start then I let myself fall into a series of poorly played hands, mainly going for the open ended straight and needing to call bets to stay in the hands.The open ended straights did not hit. Last hand the cards just fell the other way. I had JJ and went all in w/my last 740 chips. Was called by QJo. The board fell 5 6 K 4 Q. The River got me in the end, but poor play on my part got me earlier!

Rush 6 player .05/.10 100 Hands Up $13.11 Blinds ate $2.20 Rake $3.73

A good 100 hands and I came up on the plus side. It was much harder to keep Harrington's opening hands in mind than it was with the Cash game. I made one big mistake in hand 9 by not paying close enough attention to the board, though there was a possible FH out there to beat me that I did see, what did beat me I didn't.

Hand 8. I'm UTG with pocket Q's (Qh Qc). Maybe I can make some $$$ with this one. I open raise to 3 BB ($0.30), rest fold to BTN who calls, SB & BB fold. Flop 8c 3h 8h. I don't like seeing another pair, but at least my Q's beat it. I bet the pot of $0.75 & BTN calls. Turn 3d. Grrr. No help and even worse for possible FH out there as well as sets. I check and BTN bets $1.10 and I decide to reluctantly call. River 4h. Well, my reaction is, "no worse than before." I miss a possible flush is now there. So many ways to beat my pocket Q's!! I check, BTN bets $1.80 and I call. They show Ah 6h & win the $7.52 pot. Not much consolation, but, in spite of the cards, I had them until the River. I re-loaded to get back to $10.

Hand 17 I make a nice hit. I'm SB w/Ad Kd. UTG folds, MP open raises to $0.20, CO, BTN, & I call, BB folds. Flop 6d Ah 9d. My Ace is paired and I have a nice kicker and I also have a nut flush draw. I decide to check, MP bets the pot of $0.90, CO, BTN, & I call. Turn 7h. Possible straight or draw, no improvement to my hand. I check since MP has been good at betting, MP bets the pot of $4.50, CO folds, BTN goes all-in w/their last $3.14, and though I don't like putting that much in, I call too. River  Jd. I breathe a sigh of relieve!! I now have the nut flush and no can beat me! I bet my last $4.55 and MP calls. MP shows Ac Jh two pair; BTN shows As 6h, also two pair. I win!! That was close as they both had me beat until the River. I win the $24.03 pot and am on the plus side now.

Hand 28 I gave some back when my pocket K's were beat by trip 7's. Grrrr. Back to $20.60 but still on the plus side.

Hand 42 was good to me, both as to my cards, and my opponents having decent hands as well. I'm CO w/pocket 6's. MP open raises 2 BB ($0.20), I call, BTN folds, SB calls & BB folds. Flop 7h 6s Ks. I hit my set!! SB folds, MP bets $0.30 and I raise to $1.60; SB re-raises all-in w/their last $2.64, MP & I call. Turn 2d. MP checks and I bet the pot of $8.62, MP calls. River 10s. MP checks & I decide to do the same since the board now shows a possible flush.  MP shows Kc 10s, two pair; SB shows Ac Kd, their K was paired. I win and collect a pot of $24.14. I now have $32.02.

After that a bit of back and forth and I ended up with $27.12. Was nice to win at Rush for a change!!!

Cash 6 player .05/.10 100 Hands Up $3.99 Blinds ate $2.80 Rake $1.39

Not too much to write about this. Harrington Online book says it's better to learn with 6 players tables so I bit the bullet and did that for 100 hands. I basically used his guidelines for tight play based on position and the range of hands to open with. I mainly had two hands that paid well.

Hand 8 I had Ad 8d and the flop was 3h 8c 8s giving me trip 8's. I checked and let the other player bet and called. On the turn I checked again  and then doubled the other players bet. He called. On the River I bet a little over 1/2 the pot and the other player folded. I picked up the $6.51 pot and was up $3.13.

Hand 74 was the other nice one. I'm UTG w/pocket 6's and open raise 2 1/2 BB ($0.25), rest fold to the BB who calls. Flop 5d 5s 2c. Well at least there were no over cards. SB checks and I bet the pot ($0.55) and SB calls. Turn 6d. I hit my set and have a FH since the board has paired 5's. SB checks and I bet the pot again ($1.65) and the SB calls. River Js. SB checks and I bet the pot ($4.95) which will put the SB all-in w/their last $2.78. I expect them to fold but they call. They show 4s 5s, having trip 5's which looks pretty good on the board and I'm sure why they called my last bet. I win the $9.81 pot and have $15.80.

I had to give some back in other hands when  bets I made were raised by a significant amount and/or my blind steal didn't work for the same reason.

Anyway it was nice to be on the plus side. Next I'll give it a try with a 6 person Rush table, that has been even more my nemesis than 9 person where I do poorly enough as is.

Tour 99 $1 + .10 End 1-30 Won Step 1 Ticket 20 Hands Step 0 (Super Turbo)

Payout 1-30 Step 1 Ticket   300 chips, 3 min blinds

Got lucky on the 1st hand when as BB w/Ad 9d I called an all-in open raise from the CO. He had As Ks. Things looked bleak and likely it was going to a quick session. Flop Ac 2c 8c. Neither suit hit so no flushes possible and we both paired our Ace. Turn 4d. One more chance. River 9h. Phew. I win and have 600 chips so can relax a bit in this 300 chip, 3 minute blinds session.

Hand 2 was also a good one. I had Kh Qd s the SB. HJ open limped in w/30, I called & BB checked. Flop 9d Ks Kc. Wow, I have trip K's. Can I get anymore chips out of this? I decide to slow play & check, BB checks and HJ min bets 30. I just call & BB folds. Turn Jh. Again I check and HJ min bets 30, I call. River 9c. I have a FH!! This time I decide to bet the pot of 210 which is also all the chips the HJ has left. He calls showing 9h 6c. He hit a FH too but 9's full of K's. Lucky again and I win.and have 975 chips. I can breathe even easier now, but it's likely I'll still need more chips before it is over.

Hand 7 I have pocket 10's as UTG +1, I open raise 3 BB (120). MP1 raises all-in w/375 chips, HJ w/5 chips calls, as does the BB who is now all-in too, I call.. MP1 shows Qc Jc, HJ shows 6h 5s, and the BB shows As Ks. Flop Qd 5h 9h. Turn Jh. River 2h. MP2 is the big winner w/2 pair, and HJ picks up 25 w/a flush. I'm back down to 600.

I manage to hang on for the rest until we are down to the 30 winners.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 4th 111 hands

Ok play in general. Three of us were fairly close in stack size and switch around a bit. Blinds were 200/400. I was BB w/pocket 8's (8s 8d). BTN limped in w/400, SB folded and I went all-in.BTN had Kd 9d. The board played out 6d 5h Ks As Qs. It was over for me.

Hand 92 I tried to take out the short stack w/K9. I was SB, they BB. They had pocket 4's (4d 4s). Board played out:  5c Qs 5d Js 3h. They won. I still has 2265 chips w/120/240 blinds, so I ws still in the sessions.

2 HU $5 + .50 End 2nd 51 Hands

Mixed play. Only one big mistake near end. I had AQo and had open raised 2 BB and was re-raised to 3 BB by the BB. Board played out 5d 8s 7d 5s 7h. I assumed that it was likely he only had an Ace high like me, called his bets along the way, and expected to chop the pot. Instead he had pocket K's and I was suddenly down to 235 chips.

Earlier I probably needed to play more aggressively. There were times I him under 1000 and times he had me under 1000. Until that bad play on my part neither of us was able to make that big inroad on the other.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 8th 23 Hands

Time to stop playing for the day. I didn't play terrible but cards didn't go my way. Hand 7 I had pocket 10's (10h 10c), HJ position. UTG open raises 3 BB (90). Action folds to me and I call, rest fold. Flop 5d 4h 3h. Except for a straight possibility not a bad flop for me. UTG bets 150 into the 225 pot and I call. Turn Jh. Not a good card for me. J's beat me and it shows a possible heart flush. UTG checks this time and I bet 240 into the 525 pot. They call. River 8s. No damage there. UTG checks & I check. Do they beat me with a straight? With a flush? No of course not. They show pocket 3's, having hit a set on the flop. :-/ I'm cut to 975 chips.

To add salt to the wound, hand 23 I have Ad Qs in CO position w/680 chips. HJ open raises 235 chips and I decide to raise all-in, rest fold, HJ calls showing pocket 10's (10c 10d). I have two over cards. Can I beat his 10's? Five cards to do it. The board plays out 4h 9s 6c 2s 6d. Of course I can't, his pocket 10's are good. I'm gone!

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 3rd 92 Hands

Mixed play but I made the money. Last hand I had AA and slow played and lost to Q9. 9 had hit on the flop and Q on the River.

Tour 99 $1 + .10 End 62 12 Hands Step 0 (Super Turbo)

Payout 1-30 Step 1 ticket, Blinds 3 min, 300 chips

Not much happened. Took a chance w/KQo early on and lost to AJs and only had 30 chips left. Got lucky next few hands and was back to 470 chips. Lost w/AKs to A8o and was down to 230. Took a chance w/QTs and was up against ATs, they carried the day and I was gone.

Rush 9 player .05/.10 500 Hands Down $31.41 Blinds ate $7.35 Rake $6.90

Well, after taking away $62.50 earlier today, I gave back $31.41 in Rush tonight. As so often happens with me, I win little and lose big. 1st big lost was hand 15 w/pocket A's (Ah Ad), I was SB. UTG+1 open raises to .20, rest fold to BTN who calls, I re-raise to .50, BB & UTG+1 fold, BTN calls. Flop 7d Qh 5h. So far so good.  I bet .60 into the $1.22 pot and the BTN raises me to $1.20.  Feeling they might just have a pair of Q's, I raise to $3.95 and they call. Turn 2d. I decide to go all-in w/my last $5.67 at this point and the BTN calls showing pocket 5's (5c 5s), hitting a set on the flop. River is 3d and I need to reload. :-/

That seemed to be the way much of the night went. I have good cards and tend to bet into better hands and lose. Or when I seem to have hit something like say, a straight with QJ high, the other player who was betting against me also had the QJ and we chop, and with the rake, I'm down another .17 cents instead of a nice winner increasing my $$$. I end up in not the best frame of mind. Obviously my mind doesn't get into the right set for good poker play when I'm playing Rush Cash sessions.

I lost $10.12 w/AA that showed up once, $6.15 w/QQ that showed up once, and $11.87 w/TT that showed up 6 times. Now on the TT's I overplayed them, so though disappointing, I should have got off the losing hands sooner.

Rush Tour 5951 Freeroll Won Entry End 329 monied 420 Hands $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll

Payout 1st $4,000, 9th - $250, 181-360 - $62.50, 361-540 - $50

Overall reasonable play and I managed to make it to the money and one more level up before I busted out. Last hand I had A8o, UTG, w/2120 chips. Blinds 300/600/ante 75. Decided to go all-in and hope for the best. If all folded I pick up 1575 chips. I had one caller who had pocket K's. The board played out: 3 J K A 10. Close but no cigar as they say. It was a long way to the next level (180), so I needed to pick some spot(s) and chip up if I was ever going to make it.

Not much else to say. No stupid plays to knock me out early nor when we got near the bubble. It was very hard folding AQ to a bet pre-flop as we neared the bubble but I bit my tongue and did it.

2 HU $2 + .15 End 1st 8 Hands

Not many hands. The other player started out very aggressive & when I challenged with a raise to his bet he make and even larger raise, so by hand 5 with 1160 chips left I decided it was best to shut it down, min play my chips, and hope for some cards where I could use his aggressiveness against him. Hand 7 was my 1st chance.

Hand 7. I'm SB w/Ac Qh. I limp in w/20 and BB raises me to 60, I call. OK, now will I get some cards to back me up? Flop 7c 2h Qd. Good, my Q is paired and I have top pair. BB bets the pot of 120 and I call. Turn Ks. I don't like that, he might have a K. BB again bets the pot of 360 and I decide to take a chance and raise him to 720, leaving me only 190 chips, he only calls. Hmmm, maybe he really doesn't have a K. Turn 4c. BB makes a min of 120 and I decide to just call, leaving me w/70 chips. BB shows Ah 5s, just high card of an Ace!! I win and have 2110 chips. Though a bit scary my plan is working so far.

Hand 8. I'm BB w/Ac 10s. SB open raises 3 BB (60) and I call. Flop 3d 10h As. Nice. I have top pair. Sticking to plan, I check and SB bets the pot of 120 and I just call. Turn 2h. Not a bad card BUT it shows a possible wheel straight or draw. I check again and SB bets the pot of 300 leaving them w/350 chips. I decide to raise this time to 720 which would put them all-in. They call. Hmmm. They show Kh Js having a gutshot straight draw. River 4h. It's over and I win. Just that quickly!

One thing I noticed about his play while writing this up that I didn't notice during the actual hands is that he usually bet the pot. I knew he was betting aggressively and more than I was willing to put in, in those early hands but I didn't notice the bets relation to the pot size.

9 SNG $5 + .50 End 4th 64 Hands

Poker is a funny game. Twice I got knocked down by a diamond flush and once I cracked pocket A's w/9To. For the most part I played ok.

Hand 51 I didn't really pay close enough attention to what the board had before I went all-in on the River. I had Qs Jd. Flop 10h 6d 9d giving me an open-ended straight draw. Turn 6h. River 8d. I hit and bet 1140 all-in. BB calls and shows Kd Qd. If I'd taken the time to think through what the board had, I likely wouldn't have been so hasty to go all-in. I'm down to 470 chips.

Hand 53 is where I got lucky. I had 9h 10s and 470 chips. UTG folds and I open raise all-in w/my 470. Rest fold to the BB who calls and shows pocket A's (Ac As). Looks like I'm dead meat! Flop 2h Jc 9s. That's some help to me. Turn 9d. Wow, I now have trip 9's!! River Js. I win and have 1020 chips.

Hand 61I'm SB w/Kd 3d. We are on the bubble and I'm short stack. Other three players have 3x to 4x my stack. UTG limps in w/160, I call & BB checks. Flop 6d 5s 7d. I have a flush draw and gutshot straight draw. BB checks, UTG bets 160 into the 400 pot and I call. Turn 8c. The board now shows an open-ended straight draw. I can probably only win with a flush. I check and UTG bets 640 into the 800 pot. and I decide to call. River 6s. I miss my flush and straight only holding a K high. UTG bets 160 and I fold. I have 140 chips left.

Hand 62, my K3s holds and I have 380 chips. Hand 63 my Q8o holds and I'm up to 860 chips. Alas hand 64 I have 69o vs J6s (diamonds). The flop has a 9 but is all diamonds and I'm done.