I recently began using my poker account again. I had, at one time, about 8x my original deposit. I then started getting back beats in little SnG tournaments and heads up games, so I too an extended break. I would play a little here and there. Eventually, my stack dwindled down to just over 2x my original buy in.

I have always been a decent tournament player. I really enjoy them. However, I hadn’t been playing these games very often.

I decided to take a chance on some $3+.3 90 player games. Much to my surprise, I won. I took first place, which started me on my current poker binge.

I started playing these, usually about 1-3 a day. Most SnGs take about an hour to win. There are 9-10 players (depending on the site) and the top 3 pay. In a 90 player (10 9 player tables), the top 9 pay. But the payout is pretty progressive. The top player makes 28.8x the buy in. If you win a 9 player tournament, you win 4.5x the buy in. The initial payouts start at a paltry 2x buy in on the 90 player, there is significant advantage to making it deeper into the pay cycle. Second place is slightly less than half the amount paid to first.

Anyway, with this, I have been doing quite well and placing, for a while, in about 40% of the tournaments I played, including 2 firsts.

I have had a couple droughts, including a 13 tournament run without any payout (minus a couple bounties). I was bubble boy on one, and very close to the money a couple others.

After I reach back to 6x my original buy in, I plan on trying the $6 + .6 buy ins to try my luck.

I started playing the Dead Money Poker Tour in 2007. I placed in the money once that year. In fact, I won the tournament. Last year, I made the money once, taking second place. Both times were in the second half of the year.

The new season started in January. I went out relatively early to my preference. I went out somewhere in the middle. I had top pair, lower kicker (A6). There was a flush draw on the board with 5 players. I decided to make a move. I pushed my entire stack all in. I was called by K8. He had bottom pair and a flush draw. He hit another 8 on the turn and my tournament was over.

For the February tournament, I wanted to place a bit higher. Each time I had won money, it required a level of reckless abandon. My first win was by being extremely aggressive and playing lots of hands. My second place finish was similar, but different. I played conservatively until nearing the final table. Then I became aggressive. In fact, on that final table, I delivered about 8 bad beats. I started by cracking Aces and went on from there.

I wanted to play decent poker, yet be aggressive. I played my hands very aggressively, but i didn’t have that many hands to play. And there was one person in particular that I had a hard time beating. If I picked up QQ, he picked up AK. An ace would hit the flop and shut me down. It was very obvious when I bet 10x the BB and he flat calls and leads out on the flop. Later he confirmed his AK.

At the first break, I was a little shy of break even. With the 11,000 starting chips, I had 9,200. This was a good thing, as I had taken a beating earlier. I had picked up AK and raised 5x the big blind. Another player, who can play recklessly, called as did the big blind. I completely missed the flop, but decided to push with a continuation bet. I bet and his reraise gave me enough odds to call. I had AK, calling what I thought might be a bluff. Little did I know, he had triple 7s. Lucky for me, he had AA cracked earlier and I had him covered. I took quite a few chips back with 10s when I tripped up. So, my stack, while not great, had recovered.

Our table, out of 4, knocked out the most people. It was broken up and I moved to another table. I began to accumulate chips when I picked up aces and had Ax (K or Q) call me. He checked the low flop, I bet aggressively again and he folded. Then I picked up AJ of Clubs. I raised and was called by two players. The flop came giving my trip Jacks with a Queen. I continued to bet my way to the river. At the river, Brian folded. He called down his pocket 8s with over cards.

At this point, I was becoming a force to be reckoned with. While not the biggest stack, I was easily one of the top three stacks on my table. Then that table broke down. I moved to a new table to get a lot of nothing. Lots of 62s and 42s. I decided to just fold as long as I could. I finally pick up some hands worth playing. Eventually, I have a decent stack. Second on the table. I decide to take a chance with my Q10c. I call a raise. The flop comes 10-9-9. I go all in. I get called. He flips over JJ. I am in trouble. I need a Q or 10. And the Queen comes on the turn. I knock him out and collect my first necklace.

I have problems with a person to my left. I win one hand from him, but I continue to lose to him. I decide to avoid him for a while. I have decided to be aggressive, sometimes with less than stellar hands. But, I haven’t been playing much, so I can use my table image to push. I pick up A5 suited. I bet 5x big blind. He goes all in on the button. He is the big stack on the table. I am now third. The second stack instantly calls. I quickly fold. John called with his pocket aces and Kevin loses a huge stack with his QQ. He didn’t realize there were others to ace behind him. He was after me. He becomes a low stack after a huge loss.

We finally break down this table and begin the final table play. 39 players, 6 get paid. Upon entering the final table, I am in 6 position by stack size. I call an all in with AK against Aces. I lose. I am hurting. I have to push a few times as the game goes on to keep my stack. My cards have been horrible. So, I need to do something.

My stack fluctuates wildly. As we get to the money, John makes another huge play. Earlier he had AA against QQ. Now, he has picked up KK after two all ins. One has AQ, the other 33. His KK holds up and he knocks out 2, giving us the money makers. I start my run with a few hands. Pocket pairs hold up. The turning point for me comes with AK vs AQ. I knock him out and double up. The blinds and antes are getting large. Even with big stacks, the blinds are coming every three hands. So, I have to be very aggressive. I am on the button and look down to see A10 spades. I needed to make a move, so I push all in. He looks down and says those words I don’t want to hear “I call”. The flop shows up and I completely missed, but so did he. I call out, “10!”. A 10 hits the flop. He is now critically wounded. He later is knocked out in 4th place.

I have been knocked down to small stack and slowly rebuild. I lose AK to AA again. Wounded, but not out. I pick up KK vs 99. I double up. I then knock him out with a crap hand when I and John check down to the river.

I have more chips than John when he asks for a split. Considering the game is now pushing 7 1/2 hours, it’s 11:30 and the host and tournament director were knocked out long ago, I decide to take the offer. John and I look at out stacks and I am now in first place. After a quick discussion, we decide I will take first, he will take second and our winnings will be the same.

At the end, I knocked out 3 players. He did the same. Not bad for a few hours of fun. I had to get lucky twice to win. The rest of the time, I happened to have the stack to recover from my lost hands.

I played at my monthly poker tournament last night. The Dead Money Poker Tour plays roughly 12 times a year. At the end, there’s a tournament of champions. Last year, I was third in points, which gave me free entry into the $100 buy in.

This year, starting in February, I have made many early exits. In some cases, it was a bad read on my part, others due to suckouts.

Last month, I made it just before the final table. When I went out, the final table was seated. I had been card dead and trying to make a play. As usual, I had bad timing and went out.

So, this month, I decided I was going to be quite a bit tighter. With the exception of a couple hands, I was pretty tight for the first 4 hours. I did have a couple drawing hands that I played. And, without exception, my draw missed. In one case, I was drawing to the flush and he made it very expensive to see the river.

While we dwindled to the remaining 13-14 players, I started getting cards. The blinds were getting large and antes were 100 chips. I started getting some pairs and was able to take down some pots. Before this, I had been down to 6000 chips (we start at 11000). As we entered the final table, I had grown to 20K chips.

This tournament also has a bounty structure. For each person you knock out, you get their necklace. When you are eliminated, you turn in your won necklaces and get paid the bounty for each one. When I entered the final table I had a single necklace, mine.

So, at the final table, the last 10 sit. I draw high card, so I choose my position. I then deal out for dealer. I am in late position, which is good as my chip stack could be bigger.

I make a couple stabs at the pot and take them down. I then pick up AJ. I am in middle position. Everyone folds. I bet. The big blind decides to reraise me. Considering his stack is not much more than my bet, I call. He flips over A7. I tell him, “I can beat that.” I do. I have now taken down my first player and collected a necklace.

A couple hands later, I pick up KQ. I bet 6000. I get reraised 6300. The pot has over 20K chips. He flips over AA. I tell him that I will beat him. The king comes out in the first three cards. The queen was card number four. All I need is to avoid pairing the board or an Ace. And with the last card, I collect another bracelet.

I end up busting two more people using the turn or river. In one case, I call an all in with Q6 of clubs. I catch the straight on the river. On the other, I put a player nearly all in on the flop. I have 10 7, in the big blind. I simply check. The flop is 3 6 7. I bet my top pair, he reraises me by saying, “All in”. I quickly call. He turns over 67, for two pair. I catch my 10 on the turn and he is gone.

For some reason, I cannot remember the other player I knocked out.

When we are heads up, I play a little sloppy. The cards aren’t hitting, so I try to make some plays. I end up in a final hand with K8. After pairing my king, I bet. He calls. The board has three hearts, and with the turn, now four. I go all in. He had the queen of hearts, giving him a better flush than my 8. I lose the hand, going out second.

Strange, putting all my money in on the bad end and winning anyway. It rarely happens for me.

My brother in law recently visited.

While he was here, he saw me playing poker. So, I showed him how I played. He later opened up an account and started playing on his own.

During his play, he would ask me to come over and take a look and give him advice. It was actually kinda cool, because it forced me to articulate why I made certain moves, played cards certain ways.

For example, he made a strange play and I called him on it. He held AJ. He limped and caught the nuts. AAJ. He then decided to go all in. Before he could give me an explanation, the opponent called his all in with A2.

He happened to get lucky. His play could have easily resulted in a small 2 big blind win. He could have wasted that hand. I had to take the time to explain to him why he made a mistake even though it paid him off.

When you get a big hand, the goal is to extract as much as you possibly can. He got lucky. Very lucky that a player would call with such a weak holding.

When I started to talk to him about his plays, it made me think of my own. Why do I make a play when I do? Why do I go all in on some hands? Can I articulate the reason why?

In many cases, I can. For example, in a SnG, I might move all in as a smaller stack. My stack is big enough that I can wound another player. This gives him pause to call. It also allows me to steal and make my stack bigger.

Sometimes, I do donk off the chips. For example, in my last SnG, I made a stupid move. I went all in with AJ. The blinds were still relatively small to my stack (50-100). I went all in and was rightfully called by KK. The KK held up and knocked me out.

However, even when I know why I am playing something, it doesn’t preclude someone from telling me how bad my play is. Here’s the hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #8374769603: $5 + $0.50 Sit & Go (63719579), Table 1 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 3: chipset0316 (6,740)
Seat 8: StolenBase (6,760)
chipset0316 posts the small blind of 100
StolenBase posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [7s 9s]
chipset0316 raises to 400
StolenBase raises to 1,000
chipset0316 calls 600
*** FLOP *** [6c 8s 3s]
StolenBase checks
chipset0316 checks
*** TURN *** [6c 8s 3s] [7d]
StolenBase bets 1,500
chipset0316 raises to 5,740, and is all in
StolenBase calls 4,240
chipset0316 shows [7s 9s]
StolenBase shows [Ks Kh]
*** RIVER *** [6c 8s 3s 7d] [7c]
chipset0316 shows three of a kind, Sevens
StolenBase shows two pair, Kings and Sevens
chipset0316 wins the pot (13,480) with three of a kind, Sevens
chipset0316: gg
The blinds are now 120/240
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 13,480 | Rake 0
Board: [6c 8s 3s 7d 7c]
Seat 3: chipset0316 (small blind) showed [7s 9s] and won (13,480) with three of a kind, Sevens
Seat 8: StolenBase (big blind) showed [Ks Kh] and lost with two pair, Kings and Sevens

The hand is heads up. I play a lot of hands heads up.

I called the big blind, putting 400 into the pot. When he raised on the flop, I could have put him on literally any two cards, including overcards. So, I call his 400 into the 800 chip pot.

The flop is actually very good for me. I have flopped a straight draw and a flush draw. This gives me 9 spades, 3 tens, and 3 fives for a total of 15 outs.

He checks the flop. This gives me a free card. I decide to point, as well. Hopefully the spade comes. The turn brings me a 7.

This adds 2 more outs, giving me a total of 17. Add in the ability to win with 2 pair, my 9 gives me three more outs for a total of 20.

He bets. I decide to semi-bluff. I go all in. If I get called, I can still win by catching one of 20 cards in the deck. I like my odds.

I can also win if he decides to fold. He doesn’t and I need to hit to win.

I hit the 7 on the river. This gives me trips and his KK is now dead.

Of course, he was lambasting me about my play. But in the end, after the flop, I had all the outs I needed to call. The turn gave me more. Hence the semi-bluff.

I can articulate some of my moves and why I play them the way I do. However, I need more practice on others.

Imagine a poker tournament where, when all the money enters the pot, the best hand holds up to win. I had one. Read More...

I put my money into the tournament and waited. After a few minutes, someone joined the tournament. Usually, I like to be a little aggressive. I have found some players like to go all in on the first hand so they can get a quick chip lead. Some players like to go all in preflop. So, I am used to it. In some cases, I have won some very quick tournaments because I will get AK or AA or KK first hand and they have something like KQ, JJ, or other decent hands.

I have also found some people like to go all in every hand. It's the strangest thing. I usually wait as they build a small lead on me. Then, when I have a hand like PP or two high cards, I call. And I usually win. So was the case of my first tournament today. I had horrible hands. It was easy to fold. Then I picked up AJc. As expected, he went all in preflop. I called. His Q3 never caught up when I caught a Jack on the flop. Three hands later, my KQ knocked him out.

I am developing a theory on the Heads Up games. I think some people have simply gone on tilt. They look at a Heads Up game with the prospects of doubling up their stakes against a single person. And they want to win so bad, they simply push every hand. Well, against players like that, I believe it is proper to wait for a superior hand and call. In this situation, they could be playing literally any two cards. If that's the case, I want the biggest advantage possible. And, if the odds are in my favor, I will get paid off for my patience.

For example, let's look at the hand that gave me the overwhelming lead in this tournament.

He went all in against me 4 hands in a row.

I had 10 3 OS. 6 2 OS, 10 7 Diamonds, then A J Clubs.

10-3 against a random hand, I am 43% to win. Not good.
6-2 against a random hand, I am 34% to win. Again, not good.
10-7 suited against a random hand, I am 50.6% to win. Ok. It's a coin flip. But, I didn't want to risk it all on one hand.

And now for AJ.

AJ suited is over 65% to win against a random hand and nearly 67% against Q3. So, knowing that I am only a dog to a better Ace or a decent pair, I called. I won.

Well, I had some early success on the heads up tournaments. In fact, I quickly dispatched one player three times. And he won the last one. I had a couple wins and a couple more losses. In all, my heads up tournaments were a loss for the day.

I played a ring game and caught some very nice hands. I put about 15% of my online bankroll into the game and more than doubled up. I had trips a number of times, AK a couple and no bad loses.

So, for the day, I am up about 10%. We will see how the rest of the week goes. My current goal is to get 10 times my current bankroll. I would like to do it by the end of February. We will see how it goes, depending on the amount of work and play time I have.

Amazing.

Three quick games. In my first game of the day, I end up the loser. The user hits two pair on the flop to my ill fated Ace-Ten. I caught the ace on the turn and bet. I got dragged down by the player and he did a good job.

The second game lasted exactly 1 hand. I had 9-5 os. I was on the button. The opponent did the standard 3x BB bet (bet pot on FTP). I called. The flop is 9-5-10. I flopped two pair. I bet and the other person goes all in. I thought about it for a moment. They can't be protecting much, except trips. Against trips, I am about toast. I put them on over cards (AK-A10) or pairs (AA-JJ). Against either of these hands, I am not in a bad position. I called.

Well, it turns out, I was partly right. He turned over QJ. The old open-ended straight draw. Well, with 8 outs, I am a decent favorite. My estimation says he will win about 32% of the time. According to PokerStove, the actual odds are just about 33% (32.828%). This is almost exactly what my odds were preflop (32.491 vs 67.509%). The next two cards are blanks and I hold on to win.

The next heads up tournament was twice as long as this one.

The first hand I pick up is K10. I bet the pot (3x BB) and he folds. Nice, quick, clean and easy.

The next hand is Pocket 10s. I bet the pot, again. He called, again. The flop Ac10c7s hits me fairly well. I like my trips, so I want to draw him into pot. I simply bet 20 chips. He called.

The turn brings the 6 of Spades. I am not fond of this. First, it means that there's a possible straight draw (or even a made straight). Any 89 has me beat. Any hand with an 8 or 9 is only a card from beating me. In addition to this, there are now two possible flush draws. There are two spades and clubs on the board with one more card to come. I bet half the pot and wait. He responds by reraising me the pot. Hmm. I didn't think he had it so I reraised him the pot. Now the pot is huge. He calls.

The last card is layed down, the Ace of Hearts. Well, there's good news and bad news. I have a full house, but his betting could be Ace-10, Ace-7 or A-6. He just made a full house if he is holding it. I decide to put in a suck bet, 20 chips. He had 415 left. And he put them all in. Having a full house, heads up, I could not fold. I simply hoped that he was playing two pair. I called.

Strange play, but I guess it makes sense when you think about it. He had K3c. When I led out on the first hand, he may have wanted to play back at me on his next opportunity. The flop gave him a glimmer of hope. Preflop, I am 68% to win. After the flop. I estimate that he had 9 chances to hit his flush for a roughly 36% chance to win. On the flop, he is actually 25%. This delta in my estimation assumes that I don't improve. Of couse, if an Ace comes on the turn or river, I will win. Then, there's the 7. And if the turn and river hold runner runner for me, I would win. So, he has at least one less out, the 7 of clubs. So, by removing just the 7 of clubs, he has 8 outs, which knocks him to 32%.

When the 6 comes on the turn, it removes the 6 of clubs from being an out, as well. He has to hope the turn is not an Ace, 10, 7 or 6. And he has to hope it is the remaining clubs (Q, J, 9, 8, 4, 2). With 6 outs, I estimated his winning at 12% going into the river card. His actual odds were 15.90%. Still, I was a heavy favorite.

Well, I have been doing pretty well on my poker since DMPT #1. Actually, I have been doing a well since a little before then. But, let me explain.

I have played Full Tilt Poker with mixed success. I have won nearly $1700 in tournaments. I get in the money about 23% of the time. It's not a bad average. But, then I lose money playing other games and I withdraw money. Lately, my winning has been outpacing my loses. I have been withdrawing money, but usually in small increments. When I lose my stakes at FTP, I will invest $50 and play again. This has been going on for about a month. Well, after about a month, I have withdrawn more than I have put in. So, I am ahead. In fact, I usually withdraw after I break a certain amount of money.

There's a phenomenon called "The Cashout Curse". When you cash out, the theory goes, you will receive lots of bad beats to punish you for removing your money. Well, in contrast to that curse, I have been withdrawing small amounts of money for a few weeks without the curse coming to haunt me. Now, don't get me wrong, I do get bad beats but they aren't any worse than I was getting before I started withdrawing money.

With a number of withdrawals from the site, I have decided to keep my money online. I am going to start pushing higher limits to see if I can grow that amount to something larger that I have ever withdrawn.

Here's my goal:

1. I am going to play mainly heads up matches.
They start at $2, then $5, $10, $20, $30, $50, $100, $200 on up. I will be focusing my efforts on the $10+. I will vary the amount based upon my mood, my bankroll and previous wins and losses.

2. I will play the occasional multi-table tournament.
I will play them, depending on my mood and bankroll. I will not play them for more than 10% of my bankroll. I will try to limit them to no more than 5% of my bankroll. The strategy is to win a satellite to get into a bigger tournament.

3. I will play cash games with up to 20% of my bankroll.
Again, if you listen to the Pros, I should limit my games to 10% of my bankroll. 20% is the upper limit, 10% is the goal. Starting out, it may be hard to play 10%, which puts me into the micro limits. At those stakes, the play can be extremely loose and crazy. I would rather play for slightly larger amounts.

I will not be playing many Sit and Go tournaments. They can be very volatile. And my semi-recent experience leads me to avoiding it for the time being.

Here's a breakdown of my recent play:

Starting on Jan 14th, here's information broken out:

21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
52.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	5.25	2	1	$100
10.75 Heads Up Shootout	10.75	4	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
$33 + $1.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	34.5	2	2	--
$33 + $1.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	34.5	2	2	--
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	3.15	2	1	$60
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
$10 + $1 KO Sit & Go	11	90	81	--
3.30 KO Sit & Go	3.3	90	60	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
52.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	52.5	2	1	$100
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
52.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	52.5	2	2	--
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	2	--
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	2	--
10.75 Heads Up Shootout	10.75	4	3	--
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
52.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	52.5	2	1	$100
10.75 Heads Up Shootout	10.75	4	1	$40
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
$26 Token Frenzy	6.5	177	131	--
10.75 Heads Up Shootout	10.75	4	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
5.50 Sit & Go	5.5	9	5	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	2	--
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	2	--
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
5.25 Heads Up Sit & Go	5.25	2	1	$10
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	2	--
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
52.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	52.5	2	2	--
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	1	$60
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	2	--
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	2	--
3.30 KO Sit & Go	3.3	90	42	--
31.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	31.5	2	2	--
21 Heads Up Sit & Go	21	2	1	$40
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	1	$20
$26 Token Frenzy	6.5	160	131	--
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	2	--
10.75 Heads Up Shootout	10.75	4	3	--
10.50 Heads Up Sit & Go	10.5	2	2	--
1.25 Sit & Go (Turbo)	1.25	9	5	--
2.15 Heads Up Sit & Go	2.15	2	2	--
2.15 Heads Up Sit & Go	2.15	2	2	--
2.15 Heads Up Sit & Go	2.15	2	1	$4

As you can see, I am doing better than average. I am better than break even. This also includes amounts I have put into MTT.

I will keep a tally here showing my progress.

I have been playing a lot of heads up poker. I have been mildly successful. I have found that luck plays a factor, but being consistently aggressive is better.

Prior to this game, I was a little on tilt. I had just been busted out of hands when I was a major favorite. This included runner runner flushes, AA losing to a gut shot straight on the river, and two pair losing to a horrible call to get rivered by a flush.

So, I wasn't in the best frame of mind. I put my $50 in and played. As I started, the player, lileck34, was aggressive. Any time I bet, he raised me. Any time I raised, I got reraised.

Eventually, I got a little frustrated.

Here's the hand:

FullTiltPoker Game #4935276818: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 10/20 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:04:59 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (1,430)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (1,570)
chipset0316 posts the small blind of 10
lileck34 posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [Qd Qh]
chipset0316 calls 10
lileck34 checks
*** FLOP *** [5h 8s 2h]
lileck34 checks
chipset0316 bets 200
lileck34 calls 200
*** TURN *** [5h 8s 2h] [9d]
lileck34 checks
chipset0316 bets 1,210
lileck34 calls 1,210, and is all in
chipset0316 shows [Qd Qh]
lileck34 shows [2s 8d]
*** RIVER *** [5h 8s 2h 9d] [Ah]
chipset0316 shows a pair of Queens
lileck34 shows two pair, Eights and Twos
lileck34 wins the pot (2,860) with two pair, Eights and Twos
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,860 | Rake 0
Board: [5h 8s 2h 9d Ah]
Seat 1: lileck34 (big blind) showed [2s 8d] and won (2,860) with two pair, Eights and Twos
Seat 2: chipset0316 (small blind) showed [Qd Qh] and lost with a pair of Queens


I was thinking of slow playing my QQ. On the flop I bet. He called. I overbet the pot and should have been concerned. I was. I was thinking one pair, but I had that feeling it might be two or the heart draw.

On the turn, I wanted to end it. I put him all in. And, of course, he calls with 2 pair and I lose a bundle. In fact, at the end of the hand, I am seriously wounded. Out of 3000 chips, I have a whopping 140 chips.

I was hurt and without a good run of cards, it was going to be hard to last more than a couple hands. The blinds were low, giving me a chance to play a couple hands. Still with blinds of 10/20, my 140 wasn't going to last very long.

The very next hand, I pick up A9 suited. It is a hand worth going all in with. He calls with A4 suited.


FullTiltPoker Game #4935283402: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 10/20 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:05:35 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (2,860)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (140)
lileck34 posts the small blind of 10
chipset0316 posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [9h Ah]
chipset0316: i hate QQ
lileck34 raises to 140
chipset0316: my fault, tho
chipset0316 calls 120, and is all in
lileck34 shows [4s As]
chipset0316 shows [9h Ah]
*** FLOP *** [8d 7h 3s]
lileck34: yes it was
*** TURN *** [8d 7h 3s] [7c]
*** RIVER *** [8d 7h 3s 7c] [7d]
lileck34 shows three of a kind, Sevens
chipset0316 shows three of a kind, Sevens
chipset0316 wins the pot (280) with three of a kind, Sevens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 280 | Rake 0
Board: [8d 7h 3s 7c 7d]
Seat 1: lileck34 (small blind) showed [4s As] and lost with three of a kind, Sevens
Seat 2: chipset0316 (big blind) showed [9h Ah] and won (280) with three of a kind, Sevens


I double up. While nice, it isn't going to go very far.

After this hand, he folds the blinds to me.

Here's the next hand. I see his raise. I decide I need to make a move here. I figure him for a pair or two high cards. I am suited, but it is not that much of a benefit. I go all in, anyway.


FullTiltPoker Game #4935288937: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 10/20 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:06:07 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (2,700)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (300)
lileck34 posts the small blind of 10
chipset0316 posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [5c Tc]
lileck34 raises to 280
chipset0316 raises to 300, and is all in
lileck34 calls 20
chipset0316 shows [5c Tc]
lileck34 shows [Kh Qh]
*** FLOP *** [9d 7c 3s]
*** TURN *** [9d 7c 3s] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [9d 7c 3s Ts] [6h]
chipset0316 shows a pair of Tens
lileck34 shows King Queen high
chipset0316 wins the pot (600) with a pair of Tens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 600 | Rake 0
Board: [9d 7c 3s Ts 6h]
Seat 1: lileck34 (small blind) showed [Kh Qh] and lost with King Queen high
Seat 2: chipset0316 (big blind) showed [5c Tc] and won (600) with a pair of Tens


My 10 catches, and I hold on for another hand. I have now won 600 chips. But, 600 to 2400 is still a challenge.

We trade a couple barbs for 5 hands. Then I pick up a pocket pair. I decide it is time to move all in. I have to be aggressive to win. Not sure I want a call, I push on anyway.


FullTiltPoker Game #4935306972: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:07:46 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (2,350)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (650)
lileck34 posts the small blind of 15
chipset0316 posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [7d 7c]
lileck34 raises to 210
chipset0316 raises to 650, and is all in
lileck34 calls 440
chipset0316 shows [7d 7c]
lileck34 shows [Ad Jc]
*** FLOP *** [6c 5h Th]
*** TURN *** [6c 5h Th] [Td]
*** RIVER *** [6c 5h Th Td] [3c]
chipset0316 shows two pair, Tens and Sevens
lileck34 shows a pair of Tens
chipset0316 wins the pot (1,300) with two pair, Tens and Sevens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,300 | Rake 0
Board: [6c 5h Th Td 3c]
Seat 1: lileck34 (small blind) showed [Ad Jc] and lost with a pair of Tens
Seat 2: chipset0316 (big blind) showed [7d 7c] and won (1,300) with two pair, Tens and Sevens


I have now done the mere improbable. It's not impossible, but it is improbable. I can't believe I am almost neck and neck with him.

We trade barbs for about 10 hands, then this critical hand comes up. I can't believe my stupidity and luck. I flop a low pair. The board pairs and I call a huge overbet on the river and I miss it by one card (or two, if you don't count the board.)


FullTiltPoker Game #4935412535: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:17:20 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (1,480)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (1,520)
lileck34 posts the small blind of 20
chipset0316 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [4s Td]
lileck34 calls 20
chipset0316 checks
*** FLOP *** [4d 5h Js]
chipset0316 checks
lileck34 checks
*** TURN *** [4d 5h Js] [Jc]
chipset0316 checks
lileck34 checks
*** RIVER *** [4d 5h Js Jc] [Th]
chipset0316 bets 80
lileck34 raises to 1,280
chipset0316 calls 1,200
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lileck34 shows [6s Tc] two pair, Jacks and Tens
chipset0316 mucks
lileck34 wins the pot (2,640) with two pair, Jacks and Tens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,640 | Rake 0
Board: [4d 5h Js Jc Th]
Seat 1: lileck34 (small blind) showed [6s Tc] and won (2,640) with two pair, Jacks and Tens
Seat 2: chipset0316 (big blind) mucked [4s Td] - two pair, Jacks and Tens


I am back down to 360 chips. I can't believe it. Just barely outckicked. I figured the overbet was a steal attempt. Not thinking, I called. I was thinking two pair, forgetting the JJ. Another silly mistake.

I have been pushing all in for a few hands. So, I keep doing it.

I pick up some blinds and the following hand appears:


FullTiltPoker Game #4935427189: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:18:40 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (2,620)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (380)
chipset0316 posts the small blind of 20
lileck34 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [9c Jd]
chipset0316 raises to 380, and is all in
lileck34 calls 340
chipset0316 shows [9c Jd]
lileck34 shows [Kh Jc]
*** FLOP *** [6c 4c Qs]
*** TURN *** [6c 4c Qs] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [6c 4c Qs 9d] [2c]
chipset0316 shows a pair of Nines
lileck34 shows King Queen high
chipset0316 wins the pot (760) with a pair of Nines
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 760 | Rake 0
Board: [6c 4c Qs 9d 2c]
Seat 1: lileck34 (big blind) showed [Kh Jc] and lost with King Queen high
Seat 2: chipset0316 (small blind) showed [9c Jd] and won (760) with a pair of Nines


I got lucky again.

I steal some blinds, then this hand appears. In this case, I figure I am behind. But, I have a draw and decide to push. Unlike the first time, I have an open ended straight draw. Much better than trying to catch two pair with QQ. So, I push.


FullTiltPoker Game #4935433327: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:19:14 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (2,180)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (820)
lileck34 posts the small blind of 25
chipset0316 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [Th 9c]
lileck34 calls 25
chipset0316 checks
*** FLOP *** [Qs 7h Jc]
chipset0316 bets 770, and is all in
lileck34 calls 770
chipset0316 shows [Th 9c]
lileck34 shows [7c Qc]
*** TURN *** [Qs 7h Jc] [8s]
*** RIVER *** [Qs 7h Jc 8s] [8c]
chipset0316 shows a straight, Queen high
lileck34 shows two pair, Queens and Eights
chipset0316 wins the pot (1,640) with a straight, Queen high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,640 | Rake 0
Board: [Qs 7h Jc 8s 8c]
Seat 1: lileck34 (small blind) showed [7c Qc] and lost with two pair, Queens and Eights
Seat 2: chipset0316 (big blind) showed [Th 9c] and won (1,640) with a straight, Queen high


I get lucky hitting my card on the turn. The 8 on the river gives him three pair. Of course, three pair is no good and my straight wins. We are now roughly even, with a slight advantage going to me. However, as proven time and time again, I can blow it against this guy.

I catch some more chips a couple hands later when my KJ pairs the King.

The next twelve hands, he goes all in about 9 times. I call one with my KJ and we split:


FullTiltPoker Game #4935466604: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:22:15 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (1,560)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (1,440)
chipset0316 posts the small blind of 25
lileck34 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [Kd Jc]
chipset0316 raises to 100
lileck34 raises to 1,560, and is all in
chipset0316 calls 1,340, and is all in
lileck34 shows [Kc Jh]
chipset0316 shows [Kd Jc]
Uncalled bet of 120 returned to lileck34
*** FLOP *** [6s Ks 4d]
*** TURN *** [6s Ks 4d] [9c]
*** RIVER *** [6s Ks 4d 9c] [Qs]
lileck34 shows a pair of Kings
chipset0316 shows a pair of Kings
lileck34 ties for the pot (1,440) with a pair of Kings
chipset0316 ties for the pot (1,440) with a pair of Kings
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,880 | Rake 0
Board: [6s Ks 4d 9c Qs]
Seat 1: lileck34 (big blind) showed [Kc Jh] and won (1,440) with a pair of Kings
Seat 2: chipset0316 (small blind) showed [Kd Jc] and won (1,440) with a pair of Kings


Whew! I kept my chips.

The next hand, I pick up something better than KJ. In his haste, he goes all in again. Only, I have to call now.


FullTiltPoker Game #4935470214: $50 + $2.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (37467764), Table 1 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:22:35 ET - 2008/01/20
Seat 1: lileck34 (1,560)
Seat 2: chipset0316 (1,440)
lileck34 posts the small blind of 25
chipset0316 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chipset0316 [Kc Kd]
lileck34 raises to 1,560, and is all in
chipset0316 calls 1,390, and is all in
lileck34 shows [Js Ks]
chipset0316 shows [Kc Kd]
Uncalled bet of 120 returned to lileck34
*** FLOP *** [Th 3s 4s]
*** TURN *** [Th 3s 4s] [9h]
*** RIVER *** [Th 3s 4s 9h] [6h]
lileck34 shows King Jack high
chipset0316 shows a pair of Kings
chipset0316 wins the pot (2,880) with a pair of Kings
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,880 | Rake 0
Board: [Th 3s 4s 9h 6h]
Seat 1: lileck34 (small blind) showed [Js Ks] and lost with King Jack high
Seat 2: chipset0316 (big blind) showed [Kc Kd] and won (2,880) with a pair of Kings


For the first time in the tournament, I have a commanding lead. I can't believe I am actually here. Of course, had he not been so overly aggressive he would have seen the flop, missed it, and folded. But, he didn't get the option because he pushed too hard. I called and won.

I knocked him out six hands later. He pushed with 69 and I called with 10 Jack. I caught nothing, but neither did he.

In the end, I held out hope that I might win. I have tried to maintain a positive mind while playing. It was hard after coming off of a couple losses. I shouldn't have played the tournament because I wasn't in the best frame of mind. I got lucky. But, I made the most of the luck I got. I was amazed that I not only came back from the brink once but twice. These weren't just minor deficits but the kind that are really hard to come back from. In the end, I believe that luck opened then door but by being too aggressive he allowed me the opportunity to wound him. And without those opportunities he afforded me, he wasn't able to come back again. Of course, the only reason he was ahead was due to my stupidity.

I played DMPT Event Number 1.

I didn't do well. I wasn't getting any cards and when I was, the flop wasn't helping. After nearly 2 hours, in frustration, I went all in with a measly pair of twos. I ran into aces. Oops.

I won one other hand, a bluff into a ragged flop. That was it.

As people were getting eliminated, we were adding players to a .50/1 NL game. It started as a 4 player game. After a few hands I was up about $10. Then, we added Mike. Mike is very aggressive. He will play any two cards and apply pressure to weaken you. After 20-30 minutes, Mike had a stack of chips. A large part of them were mine. I saw a flop and decided to chase. My AK might have several ways to win. The opening bet was $3. The flop was QJ8. Two spades. The turn, after minor betting, was a 3. The river was the 10 of spades. I thought there might be a flush draw, but I had the straight. I lead out with $10. He raised me $15. I called, due to the amount in the pot. He turned over AK spades. He simply got the better hand.

I started with $60 and was down to $15. One or two hands later, I picked up AJ. There was the standard raise of $3, and a caller, so I went all in. Mike called. He had A5c. The flop came out with 2c3cAs. I had a very nice starting hand and now I am in a near coin flip. I have the top pair but I can lose to any club and any 5 or 4. The turn comes. Jack. I now have two pair. The river is a 6. I double up and then a little more.

I then start to rake in some pots. There were some interesting ones.

Brandon, a nemesis of mine from the tournament, decides he wants to play. He and I have tangled a few times. He is a lot like Mike. Very aggressive. One time, he knocked me out of a tournament on a flush draw. I had the nut flush draw and he caught a lower card on me. In another tournament, I wounded him when I flopped a Q high flush against his trips. I bet into him raising the stakes more and more until the river. Personally, I was thinking he was on the flush draw and I was trying to get him out. Wounded, I called him with an Ace medium kicker, a bit later. I caught a pair, he didn't. He was pissed about losing.

So, Brandon sits down and starts raking in the chips. I slow down a little bit and simply wait. In one hand, I pick up a nice pot betting into my straight and third pair (10J) on a QKJ flop. I end up winning that and raking in a very nice pot. Shortly after that, I hold KK. I am in the big blind. Brandon raises to $5. Mary calls. Mike calls. Jose calls. There's $20 in the pot. I decide I will take this one down. I raise to $35. Brandon folds. Mary folds. Mike folds. Jose is a small stack now, with about $5 left. He calls. I believe he was calling due to pot odds or frustration. The flop is 565. Brandon is pissed. Evidently, his 57 would have hit. Jose, however, has big problems. His hope was to catch two pair. He has J9os. The turn and river don't help and I haul in a nice pot.

Mike took some more chips from me, mainly with him getting Aces three times while we played. It was frustrating. However, I got the best of him on some hands. And I was taking money from the other players. His style costs him a lot of chips when he misses. I wasn't always getting his chips, but as they would slide to someone else, I would take them from the temporary owner.

My favorite hand of the night was against Brandon. I picked up Q10. The usual $3 preflop raise with 4 callers. The flop is Q 7 10. At this point, I am pretty confident I have the best hand. A bet of $3 by Mary gets 3 callers. A 6 shows up. Now, I might be a little more worried. 89 has a good chance to win. But, I can't put anyone on it. It checks around to me, I bet $5. Brandon calls. Everyone else folds. The river brings a 5. Well, I still lose to 89. I win against all draws and any two pair. I feel pretty confident. I bet $10.

Now, against other players, I might reconsider what happens next. Brandon calls out "Raise". He puts $10 into the pot and adds $35 more. Could he have the straight? I am not sure. I don't think so. He wouldn't slow roll like that. He could have two pair. Or, due to the size of the bet, he could simply be trying to buy it. I think about it for a couple moments. I declare, "Call". I flip over Q10. Brandons face falls. He was on a draw. I can only think he was on KJ or J9. Either way, it never made it and I raked in a very nice pot.

After a short while, Mary leaves. Then another woman leaves. So, being three handed against Mike and Brandon, I decide to pack up and go. As I look at my stack, I have $245 in front of me. Not bad for $60 considering I had been to $15 at one point.

Brandon protests and says that he wants to play me heads up for $80. Knowing Brandon, I decline. He then starts to wax on about how I constantly river him. In his descriptions, he he misrepresents what I had when I knocked him out from the tournament a couple months ago. I also know that he believes that I have the goods on him, as he has complained verbally about not catching cards against me. But hearing him complain that I am taking his money off the table brings a big smile on my face.

This weekend I had the opportunity to play some poker. Recently, my Sit n Go tournament play has been less than desired. I usually get sucked out on. It happens when you play quality hands to very aggressive players who happen to get lucky. For example, QQ vs J3. I am ahead after the flop with a pair of Queens. He goes all in and catches runner runner 3s. Oops.

So, I decided to slow down my single table sit and goes. Instead, I started playing bigger sit and goes (90 and 180 players). I decided, after some success there, I would try some larger multi-table tournaments again. In the past, I have placed in the money on several of these. For example, I played a $5 tournament with 500 players. I came in first and took down $500.

So, I started playing bigger games, between the $5 and $24. In the first $24 I played, I made the money, but I didn’t make much. After 4 hours of play, I won an astounding $40.

So, Saturday night, I decided to try another. Only this time, the results were different. It started off by me picking up Aces a couple times. Against multiple callers, they held up.

With about 20K in chips, I was the chip leader for nearly an hour. I then picked up Q10. I hit a 10 on the flop and put the other player on high cards or some sort of draw. Turns out, I was wrong. He hit trips on the flop and I doubled him up.

The very next hand, I have Q10 and I decide to bully the table. This player has just a few more chips than I do when he calls with 99 again. On the turn, he hits trips. On the river, I get the straight.

I battle my way up the ranks. I make incredibly good calls, picking off bluffs and knocking players out. I don’t want to look at my standings, but I know I am in the top 10 for most of the tournament.

As the game gets to the money, I am able to pick off pots easier as the action slows down. Then, right after the bubble, the action become frantic. I simply wait for good hands, having the stack to do it. I watch as the 153 paid players dwindles to 100, then 80, then 50. Then we hit 3 tables. Then 2. And finally the Final Table. I am there, in 3rd place.

And I get bluffed. I am on a straight draw and the big stack is to my left. He makes a move at the pot, basically committing 3/4 of my stack on a draw. I fold. He shows 2 4, a 4 high. Ugh. I make another bad call and I am now a short stack. I quickly return to the 3rd place.

I then pick up QJ. I raise 4x the big blind. I get a caller for all in. I put him on a pocket pair. I call anyway, as the odds are good. He turns over KK. Oops. I am in trouble. I never catch up.

I have 100K chips left. The button raises 3x the big blind. I have AJ, so I go all in. He calls with for another 40k chips. It’s the right call.

He turns over 10 J. He has three outs and catches one on the turn. Without an Ace on the River, I am done. And it never comes. I go out 6th. Five hours of play, and I am gone. Out 6th. I do make a nice cash finish.

In the end, I had to get lucky a couple times to win, but I was aggressive and worked my way through a field of 955 players to take 6th. I am just disappointed I didn’t take the top 3.

Wow. What a rush.

I have played a number of these tournaments. I have now made or 4 final tables. And tonight was magic.

Early on, there were three tables. I and getting good cards and hitting on some nice hands. But, instead of playing overly conservative, as I usually do, I started playing crazy hands. The first point I realized I might be able to get some pots was a K8 of Spades call. A lot of players called and I hit the K-high flush. Brandon, who has won twice and had been bullying the table early, was bashing people left and right. He would raise, re-raise and bluff his way into wins.

Now, it was my turn. I flop the flush and I bet 2000 chips into a pot with about 3000. He calls. I bet 4000 chips and he calls. I bet 8000 chips on the river, he calls. Turns out, he had pocket 5s, making trips on the flop. He chased, chased and chased. And lost a chunk of chips.

I then knocked him out later when he thought his hand was good.

Our table knocked out the majority of the players. We had a lot of chasers on our table. And sometimes they were making hands. I was also playing hands I would never otherwise play, such as 23 offsuit in a raised pot. I would catch and the board would be a rainbow. The player, with say AK, would bet and bet. I would call and re-raise. And knock one or more out.

My favorite hands were big hands. I would have AK vs AQ. Or, when I picked up AA with 11 players. I was on the button. A player two behind me raises to 4000. I look at his stack, look at mine, and tell him I will put him all in. He insta-calls. He had AQ of diamonds. He never caught up and I busted him giving me another final table appearance.

At the final table, I was the big stack. There were two other sizable stacks. I doubled up two small stacks on bad calls, but it was close to pot odds to call.

But, invariably, I would get good hands. Like 6 handed, I catch JJ. I am on the button. The player in front of me would raise to 15,000. I offered to put her all in. I had her covered, but she had enough chips for a good second place. She couldn’t call without risking a moneyless finish. Turns out, she had AJ. We ran the flop for grins and I would have crushed her.

Or the KQos. I was getting a good chance to call, but Daniel had been really quiet for a long time. Suddenly, he goes all in. I am thinking I am in trouble, so I decide to fold just sacrificing my blind. We run the cards and he would have hit a Jack, giving him Trips to my K high. A very good fold indeed.

I knocked out the final two players. I picked up A8, calling my small blind. I catch an 8 on the flop with 10, 8, and 7 on the flop. I bet big, the smaller stack goes all in. I call for just a bit more. Turns out he had 55. I knocked him out after knocking out his wife earlier.

Now, heads up, I have significant lead. I catch Q10 diamonds. I bet 30,000. She goes all in. I look and call. The flop comes up A 10 8. Two diamonds. Her Ace-Five has caught. Then the turn, 5 of diamonds. I hit my flush. If an Ace or 5 comes, I lose. A helpless 8 falls and I win.

It’s nice to have an aggressive, semi-bluff game pay off. I had a blast.

I had the pleasure of joining a table and catching some nice cards. Even better, I had the ultimate pleasure of playing someone whom believed they were better then they were. And to top it off, I was able to put him on tilt.

It started off innocent enough. I had just joined the table. Tilt Boy was immediately to my right. In the first hand, I picked up AQc. I was in middle position and he called the big blind. I raised it to 3 1/2 times the BB. I had two callers. The small blind called, the big blind folded and Tilt Boy called.

The flop couldn’t have been better. 2c 8c Jc. I flopped the nut flush. Simple enough, now just to figure out how to extract the most. Well, these two players made it very easy. The first player makes a pot size bet. Tilt Boy calls. I follow with a call.

The next card come, a spade. There’s no pair on the board, so I feel very confident. The first player goes all in. The second player calls. I only have a small handful of chips left, so I go all in. Tilt Boy calls my remaining bet. He barely has me covered, so it might have well been an all in call for him as well.

The cards are turned over, revealing that I do have the nuts. Both of them are drawing dead. The fist player had KJ-spades. Tilt Boy had a pair of 10s, one was a club.

My position allowed me to deceive the strength of my hand, simply by calling. By having an aggressive player in the lead, Tilt Boy felt more confident than he should have been.

Two hands later, I pick up AK. I bet and have exactly one caller. Tilt Boy. Damn this is nice. The flop comes K 10 3. I feel pretty good and put in a pot sized raise. He calls. He checks on the turn, I put in another raise, putting him all in. He calls. He turns over his A10. The only card that helps him is another 10. It never falls and I have busted him for a second time.

During the next few rounds, he starts explaining how I am lucky and that my play isn’t very good. He tells me I was lucky on my flush. He thinks he raised me, but I raised and he called. After the flop, he was toast, so it didn’t matter. His battle cry, “I had 10s” falls on my ears. I simply reiterate his poor play. This argument goes on for a little while.

In the mean time, any time he has cards worth playing, he simply goes all in. He wins a couple hands for small pots and then runs into me. He is the small blind, I am the big. I pick up AA. He picks up QJ off-suit. I know that being heads up, he really wants to beat me. I decide that this is the moment to do it.

I wait for a couple moments. Then I bet out the specific amount he has on the table. He has 45x the big blind. So, I am trying the make an attempt at his entire stack. In most situations, I might either check or make a 2-3x BB bet. I want to encourage the action. In this case, I know that emotion is his driving factor. Against most other players, he might fold. To me, he will call. And to me, he will lose.

The flop comes up a little scary. He had a straight draw. It never came. And he tried to gloat over his straight draw even after he lost.

Due to him, I picked up another guy’s table stakes. The guy with KJ decided to make a move against me. I limped in on the button. 5 players were in the pot. I snagged two pair with my 78. I bet and had a single caller. He called when I put him all in. His paired Ace quickly allowed me to gobble up his chips.

He continued to profess his complete poker prowess over me, even when I had made 6x my table stakes. And he reloaded 4 times. Funny how that works.

Poker has a way of showing you at your best and your worst. I have recently begun playing online and off. My last couple trips to casinos have been mixed. I will have a good showing and then bad.

Online, the same thing has been happening. Strangely, sometimes it is like there’s someone you just can’t beat. No matter how good your cards are, you can’t win. I recently played a game where my opponent ran runner, runner cards against me. I would flop the nut flush and she would get runner runner full house. Another hand, I flop the full house, she gets runner runner straight flush. What can you do in those situations?

For me, I took the time to take a little break and went to my monthly poker tournament. In the tournament, I was able to last through the first break. I found that I was folding eventual winners and a losing the good hands I did keep. It makes for frustrating play.

When I returned to online play, I decided to play a different style of my game. Usually, I make quick decisions and live and die by the game. My decisions have been make long before the action ever gets to me. I know what I am trying to do, crush my opposition. However, my decisions may have seemed too quick. I was finding that opponents were drawing out on me far too often.

So, I changed. Instead of making quick decisions, I am making my decisions look like they are taking longer. In fact, I am having them all take the same amount of time. I wait until the reminder for me to play comes up, then I click the button.

This does a number of things. One, it slows down the game. The game will take longer, making for less hands for each set of blinds. As the blinds are set on a timer and not on the number of hands, the blinds increase in far fewer hands. This makes my higher card selection criteria more important.

Also, taking more time, I can think about the situation more clearly. But, perhaps more importantly, it makes my opponent think too much. The longer I wait, the more they may doubt themselves. And as I take roughly the same amount of time each action, regardless of being preflop, flop, raise, call or fold, I can take a lot of time for people to think.

I am also disguising my hands by using a new betting pattern. I bet 2x BB early and 3-4x late position. I may vary this, depending on the number of callers.

I have found I have far fewer callers willing to invest the time for playing a hand with me. And while I get trapped occasionally, I am pulling off bluffs and semi-bluffs more often. By simply putting in a probe bet, I am pulling down the pot.

Since testing the approach, I am finding myself in the money more often than before. I have since recouped my losses and I am back in positive territory.

I will continue this in my renewed interest in online poker. Hopefully, my trend continues.

Ever get the feeling that little goes your way? Having terrible runs at poker only creates more mistakes on the felt. And so, it goes. I recently had the opportunity to visit Harrah’s in St. Louis. They run a decent, if not overly service oriented, poker room.

I stopped in on Monday. I sat down to a bunch of local that play each other often. It wasn’t hard to pick out the players. The easiest tell was a guy who threw his cards after being re-raised. It turns out, he hates to have his pocket 2s re-raised preflop. The guy was easy to tilt and left a short time after. But, before then he did get a nice little talking to from the poker room manager about his behavior. Go figure.

So, I sat there for a couple hours. It was a pretty crazy table at times. At other times, it was just completely tight. I had a guy next to me, Ryan, who was an action junkie. I saw him there with a big stack that he had built after catching a slew of cards.

We are playing 1-2 NL. I pick up KK. I am in late action, so after a lot of callers, I raise to $25. Ryan calls. The flop comes all low cards with two hearts. There’s roughly 70 in the pot, so I bet $70. He insta-calls after showing me his AQ hearts. I put all my chips in, about $40 left, before the turn card shows up. He calls. I double up.

He went on to a run of cards that decimated his stack. When you aren’t hitting cards and playing loose, that stack just has wild wings.

I joined the Monday night tournament. Out of 75 players, I placed 8th. During every tournament I have won, I have made a single hand that I shouldn’t have. In this tournament, I found myself outgunned a few times. Most notably was my QQ vs AA. The flop came low, I ended up getting her all in. I figured her for AK, AQ, JJ. Instead, the dreaded Aces were turned over. I never caught up.

I then had a moment, where I was nearly all in. I put the guy on overcards. I didn’t realize they were paired overcards. I had pocket 10s. I bet into him and he raised. I went all in. And he called. I then look over and see his pocket Queens. Damn. As the cards turned over, I looked onward. Then, out of habit, I call out the card I need on the river. And the 10 appeared, giving me a nice full house. I then proceeded to tear up the field and knocked out 10 players.

I did have a favorite hand in the tournament. I was the small blind and picked up KK. It was late in the tournament with 2 tables left. There were 7 players at my table. Everyone fold to me. I raise the minimum. The BB decides I am trying to bully him. He proceeds to move all in. I think about it for about a second. Then call. He flips over K6. He has one live card, three outs. The flop shows him no love. The turn comes up and he is drawing dead. I knock him out. Had I overplayed my hand, I might have had no action. Had I called, he might have just checked. By acting like I am playing position, he makes the wrong judgement.

I ended up placing 8th and making the money. On that final hand, I picked up A9d. I caught a flush draw on the flop and couldn’t get the guy to fold. I went all in and he finally called. He made a pair of queens on the flop. I had 12 outs (9 diamonds and 3 aces) and couldn’t catch up.

The next day, I decided to return. And while I played just about every hand well, I couldn’t get ahead. In the first half hour, I lost $100. I made two pair to have a guy call down his flush draw and catch runner, runner two pair. I pick up trips on the flop with pocket 2s, only to have the turn give my opponent trips.

It didn’t ever improve. I walked out after losing my table stakes. Perhaps next time.

I played at the Dead Money Poker Tour today. 22 Entrants. Top 5 paid. I made was the game’s “Bubble Boy”.

I went into the final table as a short stack. I held my own, slowly winning hands and building up a respectable stack. Don’t get me wrong, I was still a short stack.

I then made a nice play to double up through the chip leader. I picked up trips and he didn’t believe me. And there I was. A force to be reckoned with.

I hadn’t been getting cards. We had just seen a monster hand with 3 players all in. One player mucked his cards at the end. One showed down his QJos. And the other hit with his AK. It played out something like this.

The blinds were up there. 500/1000. The first player to act goes all in. QJ calls. Todd debates it a long time, then calls. The flop comes out with a KQ and some other card. QJ goes all in. Todd calls.

He knocks out two opponents and has almost tripled up.

My stack had just been run up. I wasn’t getting any cards and picked up 88. The man to my left, after I raise, goes all in. I didn’t quite realize how many chips he held. So, I called. He had been playing (and going all in with) any A. Little did I know, he had two Aces. Needless to say, my pocket 8s never found a friend. I lost.

I then went on picking up pots by going all in at opportune times.

Then, finally, it happened. I pick up A9d. The flop shows two low diamonds and another black card. I have nearly 20K chips. I decide I am going to push. I am betting into the big stack, but we keep tangling and I get the best of him. He is chasing a flush, Q high. I have the Ace. I hope for another diamond at this point.

The turn comes, no help to either of us. Then the river. At this point, I am a significant favorite. And a Q drops. I am out. On the bubble.

It seems to happen a lot to me, and I am not sure why. I get under-kicked a lot. I will have AK to someone’s A10. I get the money in the pot and no king comes, but a 10 drops. Or KK vs K7 and the 7 makes a straight.

Perhaps my play is a little off. Not sure. However, I believe my performance today, minus a couple missteps was actually pretty good. I was really close to making the money and didn’t. But, it should give me close to 22-6 = 16 points. Plus. with my final table appearance, another 5. So, 21 points, if my understanding of the formula is correct. This means I should easily make the top 10.

This weekend I had the opportunity to play some poker. Recently, my Sit n Go tournament play has been less than desired. I usually get sucked out on. It happens when you play quality hands to very aggressive players who happen to get lucky. For example, QQ vs J3. I am ahead after the flop with a pair of Queens. He goes all in and catches runner runner 3s. Oops.

So, I decided to slow down my single table sit and goes. Instead, I started playing bigger sit and goes (90 and 180 players). I decided, after some success there, I would try some larger multi-table tournaments again. In the past, I have placed in the money on several of these. For example, I played a $5 tournament with 500 players. I came in first and took down $500.

So, I started playing bigger games, between the $5 and $24. In the first $24 I played, I made the money, but I didn’t make much. After 4 hours of play, I won an astounding $40.

So, Saturday night, I decided to try another. Only this time, the results were different. It started off by me picking up Aces a couple times. Against multiple callers, they held up.

With about 20K in chips, I was the chip leader for nearly an hour. I then picked up Q10. I hit a 10 on the flop and put the other player on high cards or some sort of draw. Turns out, I was wrong. He hit trips on the flop and I doubled him up.

The very next hand, I have Q10 and I decide to bully the table. This player has just a few more chips than I do when he calls with 99 again. On the turn, he hits trips. On the river, I get the straight.

I battle my way up the ranks. I make incredibly good calls, picking off bluffs and knocking players out. I don’t want to look at my standings, but I know I am in the top 10 for most of the tournament.

As the game gets to the money, I am able to pick off pots easier as the action slows down. Then, right after the bubble, the action become frantic. I simply wait for good hands, having the stack to do it. I watch as the 153 paid players dwindles to 100, then 80, then 50. Then we hit 3 tables. Then 2. And finally the Final Table. I am there, in 3rd place.

And I get bluffed. I am on a straight draw and the big stack is to my left. He makes a move at the pot, basically committing 3/4 of my stack on a draw. I fold. He shows 2 4, a 4 high. Ugh. I make another bad call and I am now a short stack. I quickly return to the 3rd place.

I then pick up QJ. I raise 4x the big blind. I get a caller for all in. I put him on a pocket pair. I call anyway, as the odds are good. He turns over KK. Oops. I am in trouble. I never catch up.

I have 100K chips left. The button raises 3x the big blind. I have AJ, so I go all in. He calls with for another 40k chips. It’s the right call.

He turns over 10 J. He has three outs and catches one on the turn. Without an Ace on the River, I am done. And it never comes. I go out 6th. Five hours of play, and I am gone. Out 6th. I do make a nice cash finish.

In the end, I had to get lucky a couple times to win, but I was aggressive and worked my way through a field of 955 players to take 6th. I am just disappointed I didn’t take the top 3.