The Latest

In the interest of being a good blogger, I wanted to check in and report on how things have been going lately. To sum it up, not too shabby!

Since my last post reporting a little bankroll stimulation, I've ventured back to the $5.50 SNGs and made $13.50 cashing in 4 out of 8. Not a whole lot to report, as I only felt motivated enough to leave comments in 2 of those. I'm cool with the profit.

I've also played in 4 MTTs, turning a hum-drum $2 or so profit. But profit's profit. I feel like I played really quite well in all of them, but I still just can't get things to break my way and send me on a deep run in an MTT. But lemme tell you...I've got the market cornered on limping through the bubble and microcashing. Ain't nobody better. Last night I felt like I played a REALLY strong tournament and felt like it might be the one. I came out firing, making a well disguised nut flush right out of the gate, and keeping with the aggression as best I could. Then, as usual, I got mixed up in a hand I didn't belong and found myself in push or fold mode. After doubling up, I had a legitimately healthy, above average stack again, and vowed not to fall victim to my own pitfalls. I then proceed to pick up QQ and am ready to take down another big pot. I raised 3-4x UTG and got a call from a completely reckless LAG who played the role pretty well, but also benefitted from some obscene lucksackery. But it was the right person to call with my strong holding. Flop comes down extremely raggy with two hearts, and I bet about 85% of the pot, and after a brief hesitation, get min-raised. I wasn't worried about a set here at all and probably should have just jammed right here, but I just called. The turn was an offsuit Jack and like a pansy, I check and give up control...and he checks behind. The river is another low heart, and I thought about checking, but then decided that there was about a 95% chance he'd put me all-in if I did that, so I put 2k into about a 5k pot to bet my queens for value, but also tell the story of a value bet on a flush, and like clockwork I got raised to 5700. I couldn't see any way not to let it go, and did so. He very easily told the story of a flush himself, so I made the decision to keep my 14 big blinds or so and live to see another day. He claims to have had the other two queens, but the way the convo played out, I don't buy it. So once again I'm on a short stack thanks to another pretty poorly played hand. I feel like I should have jammed the flop or the turn for maximum value, but even if he has the QQ, all I end up doing is splitting. And if he has the flush, I'm out unless he finds a fold. Opinions?? After that I doubled up once to skate through the bubble, and then fizzled in 388th out of 3100 or so when my AJ couldn't outlast KJ. BUT, I can't be mad about that one because I had AQ hold up against AK and Q7 (4-flushed it) and AQ hold up against AK to get to where I was. So hell...maybe I just played the whole tourney badly with my money in bad twice. Although, I'll play the AK/AQ/Q7 hand the same every time. Shortstack jammed his Q7, I rejammed my AQ, and just got unlucky to have AK behind me. I would have had the shorty crushed. But I got lucky and more than doubled myself. Perhaps some reward for a strong play?? :-) Anyway, its nice to be cashing in MTTs again, and hopefully someday soon my time will come.

Also played a little cash on Full Tilt on Saturday night while left at home alone with my NASCAR in HD. I won $16.50 playing .05/.10 for a little over 2.5 hours. Mainly just one table as I played a SNG on Stars at first, then mixed in another cash game for the last hour. I was just completely card dead for the first hour and a half or so, getting $20 deep into that first cash game table when I got giddy over an overpair and ran it into a set, but then caught fire about the time I opened the second table, and could finally put my reads to use on the table captain and used him as my personal ATM, eventually cashing out with a $29 stack for $9 profit. At the second table I made a nice, steady $7 profit, and called it good when the wife got home. So my FT balance is back up above my original deposit from last month and I'm not quite so mad at myself for how I played like a moron trying to clear that bonus.

Live poker has also treated me well, as we had our monthly game last Friday, and I posted what either ties or sets a personal record $60 profit. Not bad for $5 tourneys and .25/.50 cash on the side. You'd never guess things would go that way after I busted on the first hand of the first tourney when I flopped broadway holding J10. I was in the cutoff and when it folded to me I raised 3x to 150 chips. SB and BB both called. Flop comes AQK and both blinds check, and I fire 300 at it and SB calls and BB folds. I'm saying to myself "please don't pair the board, please don't pair the board...", and what comes off but a King. The SB bets 500, I min-raise to 1k, and he jams. I put him on AK even before the turn came, and I could read into his jam that he had the goods, so even though I know I'm beat, I decided I'm not gonna find a fold w/broadway in a $5 tourney and call. I considered it $5 to the prize pool for the bad beat story value. As it turns out, it was the best worst call I could make, because once the cash game fired up I won a huge pot on the second best hand I'd ever had unfold for me. The first being when I had three all-ins in front of me and I look down at aces and held up. In this case I had pocket 9s in late position and raised to $2. The big blind, a notorious donator, called. The flop came 8-high, 2 hearts, and I fired $4 into the $4 pot, and got the call. The turn paired 4s on the board and I bet $4 again this time and got min-raised. For the first time I considered the thought of being beat, but I had to call with almost 5:1 and the possibility of him holding a 4 or a full house. The turn was a glorious 9h, filling me up and completing the flush. My opponent bets $5, and I play it up real good and raise my last $6 or so and eventually get the call. He showed a J-high flush. While if any non-heart comes I win the hand, I got the single perfect card in the deck to get doubled up, which is always fun. After that I donated a little back to the group and then cashed out up $20 for 45 mins to an hour of "work". I then went on to come from my last 900 chips to flop two sets in a row and double both times on my way to chopping first place in the second tourney for $30 profit, then hung around in the rebuy tourney and took 4th for $20 and a $10 profit. Nice to have things turn around for me after the first tourney, and fun to sling around real chips with buddies as usual.

So there you have it. Read that to your kids and they'll be asleep in no time. If you don't fall asleep first. Thanks for checking in, and hopefully I'll be back sooner rather than later to report more!