Tag Archives: full house

Roots

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Portland Players Club $1,000 Guarantee Freeroll (4,000 chips)

I hadn’t been in PPC since the middle of last May, preferring the comfier chairs of Aces, but a Facebook invite from their new owner and the potential for nearly-free money lured me in. The format allowed for re-buys during the first hour and an add-on, all for 4K in chips. About 70 players started.

I caught a big break early on in a four-way all-in holding [jx jx]. Two players had drawing hands but the guy in seat 1 had [ax ax]. The board had other ideas, however, and drew out to a jack-high straight, giving me a pot of about 17K. By the time of the first break I was at 19K.

Playing [jd qd] and the board turned up some more diamonds. A king-high flush gave me another win that put me up to 30K. At the 140-minute mark, I was up to 40K.

I thought I’d lost a big stack with [qx qx] when an all-in matched the cards in his hand for two pair, but a pair of twos on the board gave me a second pair, as the dealer pointed out. He got a good tip later. That hand put me up to 75K and I was starting to dominate the table. I took a look around during the second break and I’m pretty sure I had the biggest stack in the room.

An hour after I was at 40K I hit the 100K mark. We’d started with eight tables; by the time it was consolidated to two I had 101K.

The blinds were getting up there and several of my hands failed to connect, with me just letting my raises go rather than trying bluffs, but at the four-hour mark I was down to 89K and there were a couple of other stacks at my table that were close to or possibly even larger. I lost another 6K to the woman on my left when I tried to play bottom pair on the flop from [kc 5c].

At the third break, I was down to 83K, but still one of the larger stacks. Not dominating any longer. The first hand after the break, though, I picked up [ax kx] and managed to bust out two smaller stacks, boosting me up to 110K.

Got into it with the big stack on my left with [5h 3h] that double-paired on the turn. The woman on my left was all-in, I had called and had 30K in the pot and was ahead of her [8x 8x] until she made a set on the river and took it down. Even so, with some more wins I was sitting on 170K when we redrew seats for the final table four hours and forty-five minutes into the match.

The woman who’d doubled up through me earlier had been seated directly on my right for the final table and had a healthy stack. She went all-in with about 70K and I called her with [jx jx]. She flipped over [9x 9x], I made a set on the flop and I was up to 247K.

I caught another player all-in with [9x 9x] while I was holding [tx tx], then took out the second-largest stack at the table when he shoved with [ax kx] and I had [ax ax] in the big blind. Incredibly good luck.

By the fourth break I had about 475K in chips. The blinds were 4,000/8,000, we were down to three players, and I was raising every hand I could with opening bets of 25K, which was over half the stack sizes of either of the the other two players. Barring a double-up, they had only a few hands each left before they were blinded out, and they proposed a chop that left me first place with them splitting second and third. I had no problems with that.

After paying the door fee, an add-on, and a tip for the dealer (plus a couple of Diet Cokes) my ROI was +450%.

Portland Players Club Shootout

Since I’d already paid my door fee for the day, I figured I’d go back over to PPC for the last tournament, but while their 7pm game was going strong, I was only the second person signed up for the 9pm turbo when I got there at 8:45. It wasn’t promising and I waited around for one of the shootouts to start, playing Tonk with the owner and a couple of the dealers.

Supposedly, you buy into the shootouts for 25-50BB but it seemed as if some of the players re-loaded above the top level after the game had been going for a while. Just sayin’. I bought in for 30BB. The game was set to play for 90 minutes.

Took a massive hit on my first hand holding [2x 2x] in the BB. Hit a set on the flop, got into a bidding war with a 50BB stack at the end of the table and he beat me holding [6x 6x] when his set made it on the river. I lost about two-thirds of my stack right there.

Not too long afterward, though, I played [7h 9h], went all-in after making middle pair with the nine, made a set on the turn, and got back up to 20BB.

Another suited gapper ([6c 8c]) made two pair for me but another player’s pocket [qx qx] tripped on the flop and cut me back down to less than 8BB.

I slow-played [jx tx] on a flop of [jx jx tx] and managed to get two callers for a triple-up on my full house.

Another [jx tx] doubled me up against a two-paired [ax kx] and [kx kx] when I hit a Broadway straight.

My hand of the night was [jx jx] but it beat me when someone else played it against my [ax qx]. I lost 20BB but was still had over 25BB in my stack after the previous windfalls. Lost another 5BB on [ad 8d] when I missed the flop completely and utterly.

Three spades on the flop and [ks kx] in my hand meant I was all-in against a big stack. He called, the [as] hit on the turn and I was way ahead for the night, with a half hour to go on the timer I had nearly 90BB, triple my buy-in. I should probably have just sat on it, paid my blinds, and waited for the buzzer.

I was sort of intending to do that, and dumped [ax kx] with two all-ins ahead of me. Pocket [8x 8x] took it down, but there was a [kx] on the flop and I could have made more. That’s probably what got me antsy.

I called a 30BB all-in holding [qx qx], they showed [ax kx], pulled an ace, and I was still ahead of where I’d begun but not as much.

Time ended soon after. I’d paid my door fee earlier, after a tip to the dealer and a Diet Coke I had +85% ROI.

Overall for the day: +262% ROI.

End of An Era, Pt. 4

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Full Tilt Round 1 Freeroll (1,500 chips)

Another run at a freeroll. Doubled up on the second hand with [th ad] in SB. UTG2 was all-in for 1,605. I called with 1,470. He showed [qd kh], the flop had [ah] in the middle, and it was over by the river.

Fifth hand grabbed me even more chips. [qc 3c] in CO. Five of us limped in, [as 2c kc] gave me second nut flush draw, I called HJ’s bet of 30, the blinds folded, and UTG1 called. [8c] made my flush, UTG1 checked, HJ bet 30 again and I raised to 100. Both UTG1 and HJ came along. A scary [ks] hit the river, making several full house possibilities, but I didn’t think either of them had it. UTG1 checked, HJ was all-in for 1,325, I went all-in (UTG1 only had 15 more than HJ), UTG1 folded. HJ had a set of kings, but that didn’t touch my flush. That popped me over 4,700.

My [3s 3c] that made twos full of threes by the river was bested by [th tc] a few hands later, though, costing me 1,200, and on the very next hand an ill-advised all-in call with [ac js] burned me for nearly 3,000 chips when [kd kh] showed up for the showdown. I was down to 910 after that.

I managed to briefly recover two hands later with something similar to what had gotten me started: [ts ah]. I had 1,000 even on BTN, we were still at 15/30. HJ raised all-in to 935. I went all-in. BB—who’d taken me down with the kings a minute earlier, called. We flipped the cards over, BB had kings again: [kh ks]. HJ was in bad shape with [kd qh]. The flop showed some promise: [2d 3h 5h]. Any ace, any four, a couple more hearts…I could even still get a straight flush. The turn [7s] didn’t do me any good but I got my [ac] on the river (h/t Barry Greenstein). The pot netted me nearly 2,000 chips.

All of which I lost three hands later with [ac kc]. Blinds were 20/40. I raised to 100 from UTG1. The guy with kings was CO and re-raised to 360, getting a call from BTN. I re-raised to 1,020; CO and BTN were in. The flop looked good: [ah qc ad]. At least so long as he didn’t have a [qx]. I bet my last 1,900 and got a call. He had the Mutant Jack: [as js]. Nearly 7K in the pot, I was a 4:1 favorite to win. [8d] for the turn. [jd] for the river. Nobody named their book for that.

18 minutes, 14 hands. Placed 4,564 of 6,983 players.

Full Tilt $1 Main Event Satellite (1,500 chips)

BAM! Out of the gate, picked up steam with a win holding [kd 8d] on BTN. Four of us to the flop after a raise to 80 from UTG. [ks 6c ts] and everyone checked to me. I bet 180, getting a call from only BB. [9c] on turn and I bet another 700 (with only 540 behind), driving off BB and netting me 440.

[ks 8s] was mine again in CO, five hands later. Action folded to me, I raised to 100. BTN and SB called. I made top pair on the [6s 8d 2h] flop, SB bet 200, I called, BTN folded. An [8h] for the turn made a set but SB (who had me covered by thousands) bet 550. I raised all-in for 1,515 and he called, showing a weaker kicker: [8c 5c]. harmless [7s] on the river and I was up to 3,780.

That was my apex, though. I raised a limp by UTG1 to 200 as UTG2 at 40/80. 4 callers. Low cards on the flop: [9s 3c 6s]. UTG bet 700 and I raised to 1,500, putting him on a pair to the board, which I could beat. Three folds, then a call from UTG. [2c] for the turn and UTG checked. I bet 1,960 all-in. UTG called with just 130 behind, then dropped [9c 8s]. I was just about there, but then [8d] showed up, giving him two pair and knocking me out.

18 minutes, 21 hands. 85th of 201 players.

End of An Era, Pt. 3

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Full Tilt Satellite to the $200K Double Deuce (1,500 chips)

Two of the players at my initial table were eliminated in the third hand by the guy on my left, then a couple hands later I falled him down to the river with a pair of jacks and took over 600 chips from him when his busted straight was exposed. He got moved to a new table right after that and I was left as chip leader for a bit with 2,700 chips.

Got [jd ac] on SB at 30/60 fifteen minutes into the game and three-bet to 400 after a raise and a call to 150. There were three of us who saw the flop of [jc ts kc]. I bet all-in for 2,550, getting a call from a small stack of 1,015 who then showed the straight with [9h qh]. Fortunately for me, [qd] came on the turn and the [8h] river card went nowhere. That put me up to 4,800. Got moved to a new table for the next hand.

There were seven players at the new table; I was in third place behind stacks of 7,500 and 5,250, with another stack about my size and the other three running from 1,000 to 2,600. Got [7c 7s] in BB and when action folded to the SB who went all-in for 1,797 I called. He showed [td js] and I was in trouble on the flop when it came out [th 6s 4s]. Then the turn [5c] game me hope and [3s] rier sealed the deal for my straight. Not exactly how I would have expected to win that hand, but I’d take it. Up over 6,600.

Back in the BB at 50/100 ten minutes later and I had [ac 9c]. UTG called. The big stack at the table with 13K was UTG1, who raised to 450. I called and UTG called. The flop was [tc ks 8d], I bet 450, UTG went all-in for nearly 4K, UTG1 called and I gladly folded. UTG held top pair with [kd qd] and UTG1 had crap with [7s jh]. Who knows what he was doing.

Another ten minutes, another BB. 80/160 with [ks 4c]. I’ve got about 5K, with the two larger stacks at the table of 9,700 and 8,100 on my right in SB and BTN. HJ, CO, BTN, and SB all limped and I checked to see what would come of this not-promising hand. [8d 7s kh] hit the flop and after SB checked I made a pot-sized bet (800) on my kings. Everyone folded to the SB, who called. [9s] on the turn, check from SB, pot-sized bet (2,400, now) from me, call from SB. [9h] on the river, check from SB, check from me, he shows [7d jh] and I take in 3,840. He’s the same player I took my first pot from. Life’s different in non-cash games.

I was over 8K at the 100/200 level when I had a serious turn-around with [kc qc] as HJ. UTG limped, I raised to 500. BTN, BB, and UTG called. The flop wasn’t auspicious: [9d 2c 5h]. Action checked to me, I bet 300, BTN folded, and the other two players called. [ac] on the turn gave me the nut flush draw. BB checked, UTG went all-in for about 3,200, and I called. UTG had two pair with [2h ah]. My club didn’t show and I was down to 4K.

I was down to less than 3K ten minutes later at 150/300/25, in SB with [td as]. UTG1 raised to 1,500, I went all-in, and he called, showing [jh jd]. It was a nail-biter after the [qc jc 7h] flop, with his trips and my straight draw. The turn [9c] gave us a chance of a chop. But pairing my ace with [ad] for the river didn’t do me any good.

58 minutes, 67 hands.

Full Tilt Satellite to the $200K Double Deuce (1,500 chips)

One hour later. Got chopped down to 950 chips in the first fifteen hands, then managed to parlay [ts ad] into a win of 1,175 when a pair of fours didn’t believe I had an ace.

Lost 1,300 playing [6d 7d] and a straight draw from BB against a set of tens, then won 2,300 two hands later with [kd jd] going all-in and flopping two pair against callers with [ac qh] and [ad 4d].

Proceeded to lose nearly 3,000 over the course of two nearly consecutive hands shortly thereafter when a Mutant Jack beat my [ad 7d], then a pair of fives became a set on the turn after I’d flopped a pair for my jack. That put me on life support, down under 1,000.

Everything went into the pot with [5c 7c] in UTG. BB with [9h 9s] called, there were no clubs on the board, my only concession was a [7d] for the river.

38 minutes, 47 hands. Finished 30th of 76.

End of An Era, Pt. 1

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Full Tilt KO Sit & Go (3,000 chips)

Didn’t last long here at all. Got caught with a stupid call holding [ks qh] with [kc] on the board against pocket aces.

13 minutes, 12 hands. 75th of 90 players.

Full Tilt Mach 10 Rush

Got up as high as 125% of my buy-in but put my flush up against a full house on the fortieth hand and lost my all-in.

10 minutes, 40 hands.

Full Tilt KO Sit & Go (3,000 chips)

A lacklustre showing here, I feel. I did briefly get up as high as 8K, but was quick to lose that and get knocked back down to about 4K. My [jh td] didn’t quite make a straight on the last hand.

46 minutes, 44 hands. 31st of 90.

Full Tilt Flash Rush

Never got ahead at all here. Three hands near the end wiped out my buy-in: [qs kh], [jh ks], and [as jd].

6 minutes, 26 hands.

Black Friday Freeroll

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Encore Club $500 Guarantee Freeroll (5,500 chips)

I don’t know if this freeroll noon-time tournament was planned ahead of the Black Friday shutdown of the big online poker sites in the US, but it seems like an auspicious time for the local card rooms to try to step into the rather large void left by PokerStars and Full Tilt. Me, I’d  have played it anyway.

The game was at least 20 minutes late getting started, and about seven tables were full when one of the staff came around to drop off an extra red 500 chip for everyone in their seats. A couple table’s worth of stragglers came in during the first hour but for the most part everyone started with the bonus.

Ducks were all over the board during the game, and in fact my first win was holding [2x 2x] in BB as several of us limped to the flop, which was [5x 5x 2x]. I stepped up the pressure with my full house and everyone folded.

My second take came with [6d 7d]. The flop was a [qx 8x 5x], and apparently my open-ended straight draw was more awe-inspiring than anything anyone else had because another raise took it.

Flopped top two pair holding [ax kx] and grabbed some more. Forty-five minutes into the game at the 75/150 level I was holding 8,325 chips.

Pushed with [ah 3h] and won a pot of 1,400, which I promptly lost speculating on [ax 6x].

The last hand before break 1, I had [ax 6x] again. The flop was [tx 5x 8x] and there were several of us in the pot, with me leading out for 500. The turn was [9x] and I was almost there, leading out with another 500. Finally, the [7x] showed on the river and I bet 2,500 (keeping in mind that [jx] could beat me), getting a call from the woman sitting to my left. We flipped our cards and the dealer called her as the winner, pushing out the [5x] and [7x] for two pair. The chips got pushed over to her and she started stacking before I got it together to ask what she’d won with, and I pointed out that my 6 should have been good for the straight. A couple of players backed me up and they and the dealer tried to reconstruct the pot, so I ended up with about 7K, which gave me 9,400 going into the break. I opted out of the add-on.

Once the action got going again, I had a couple of good hands. [ax kx] again and I raised 2,500 in a pot of 1,000 to pick that off. Confident play of [ah th] managed to take down a pot of 8,000. By the end of the fourth level I had 18,900 chips.

Picked up [ax tx] again and raised 2500 on a queen-high flop with middle pair. Took in 6,600.

There’d been a discussion at the table about how [kx qx] was a losing hand. Another player and I went to war with me holding [kx qx] and [qx] on the flop. I won a pot of more than 20K, then pointed out to the guys who’d been the biggest detractors that I’d just used their least-favorite hand to win the biggest pot at the table so far. Even though we had a different dealer than the previous hour, he managed to nearly screw this up for me, as well by forgetting to count the chips I’d put all-in after matching the raise until I prompted him.

ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad‘s least-favorite hand is [ax qx], and indeed, it promptly lost me about 8K of my big win. Still, with seven-and-a-half minutes to go in level 6 (400/800) I had 26,000 chips.

Lost 12K on a flush draw with [kd qd] but still somehow managed to finish the level and get to the second break with 22,800 chips.

After the break, we started up at 500/1,000. Promptly lost 6,500 with [jx jx] after an [ax] showed on the flop. Took the blinds down with a 2,500 raise holding [ax kx]. Same raise on the next hand took the blinds but with [ax ax] I was really hoping for some action.

Won another hand with [ac 3c] with two more clubs on the flop and a raise. Wasn’t exactly making any headway, though because I still had only 22,000.

Tried to see the flop with [5d 7d] but just lost 2K at the 1K/2K level.

I opened with an all-in holding [ad 5d]. Slightly larger stack called with [6x 6x], then flopped a set. No diamonds for me.

About 190 minutes of play. Didn’t count the hands. Out about 30th of 75 players. More than $1,100 in the prize pool by the time re-buys and add-ons were made.

The Slice

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Cake Poker $25,000 Guaranteed Semi-Final, 20 Seats Guaranteed (2,000 chips)

I decided to play this tournament because it looked as if from the early stats that the overlay would be pretty good for twenty guaranteed seats. I’d intended to use this part of my Cake bankroll to make another run at the Irish Open Semi-Final but the last couple of weeks of March it didn’t look like there would be enough people playing the satellites to actually award a seat in the monthly final. So, go for the money.

My second hand I was on the BB. UTG3 opened with a min-raise to 40. Action folded to me with [js 4s] and I called. The flop was spadey: [7h ks 8s]. I bet 60, getting a call. [qd] hit the turn, which wasn’t helpful, but I continued with a 60 bet. UTG3 raised to 120 and I called. My flush came through with a river [6s] and I made a pot-sided bet of 450. UTG3 called, showed a pair of queens with [jd qs] and I took in a 680 chip profit.

Ten minutes later I picked up the same amount, this time from SB with [ah 9d]. Three players limped in and I raised to 50. BB folded but all of the limpers called. [8s 4s ac] on the flop gave me top pair and I bet 200. Only UTG called this time. The turn was [2d], and I checked but UTG bet 310. I called. The river card was [tc]. I checked again and this time UTG didn’t try anything. He showed [8h kh]. I was up to about 3,500.

My next hand on the button was [qd kh]. CO limped in for 30; I raised to 75. BB called and CO folded. Top pair on the flop again with [3h 8s qh]. BB checked and I bet an amount almost the size of the pot: 175. BB raised to 448, with only 877 behind. I re-raised to 721 and BB called. It was a [6d] on the turn, BB went all-in for his last 604. I called and he showed [qc 9s]. The [3c] on the river paired the board and gave us both queens and threes but my king gave me the win and a total of more than 4,900 chips.

Things went to hell at the half-hour mark. Action folded around to me in CO at 25/50 holding [ts tc]. I raised to 200, was re-raised by B to 650, and both the blinds folded. I called and the flop was [qh 5h 4d]. I checked, B bet 800, and I called, thinking B had something like [ax kx] and was trying to push me off. [4h] on the turn and I stepped into it even further, with a 580 bet. B called. The river was [ad], I checked, B bet 650, and I called, only to see him flip [qd qs]. I lost almost 2,700 chips, taking me down to 1,618.

Fortunately, I was able to recover within less than ten hands. I was in SB with [ah jc] at 50/100. Action folded to the button who went all-in for 3,006, twice as many chips as I had and about half the stack of BB. I called, then so did BB. B had [7h 7s], BB held [jd jh], so I had a chance. I got my ace on the [2d 9h as] flop, nothing came through for the other players, and I tripled up to 4,629.

My pattern for the next sixty hands was to maintain at about 4,500 or 5,000 chips for 15 hands, get busted down to 2,500 chips for a few hands, double up, and repeat. Not exactly where you want to be when the blinds are running 300/600/50. I finally broke out on a hand where I was CO. I raised to 2,000 holding [ah as]. BB went all-in for 4,010 and I called, with 146 behind. BB flipped [js jd]. He came one [8x] away from getting a straight, but the aces held up and I made it to 8,866.

Three hands later I had a pair of tens again but this tie they didn’t get shot down by queens. BB was all-in with only 137 chips. I had [td ts] in UTG1 and min-raised to 1,200. Everyone folded and I was heads-up with the all-in. The board looked familiar—[qc 6h 4d 4h 5c]—but the BB had [7c ks] and was out. I was pretty solidly in the top 20 by this time.

A walk on my big blind a couple hands later netted me 850 with [2d 6h] and put me over 10K just before the second break.

It took about twelve more minutes to get the final elimination. I got down as low as 8K but finished with just over 12K.

132 minutes, 138 hands. Tied for “1st” with 19 out of 86 players.

Cake Poker $25,000 Guaranteed (5,000 chips)

Fifty minutes after the end of the Semi-Final, the real match began. The first half-hour was uneventful, with my stack bumping between 5,000 and 5,500 chips.

Blinds were 25/50 and I was UTG3 with [7d 7c]. Action folded to me, I raised to 125, B called, and SB raised to 413. I called and B followed along. The flop put two over cards out—[jh ts 2d]—and it got checked all around. The [5s] on the turn didn’t change things much. SB checked again, I put out just 100 into a pot of 1,289. B and SB came along. [7h] on the river gave me a set and when SB checked again I bet 500. That forced B out but got a call from SB who showed [9s 9d]. I was up to 6,851.

I was the only caller on the next hand, holding [js td] heads-up against BB. The [8d kh 9c] flop gave me an open-ended straight draw, so I bet 200, which bought me the pot.

In UTG1 on the next hand I had an unimpressive [4h 4s]. I limped in, UTG2 raised to 400, UTG3, B, and I called. The four of us saw a [8d 2c 4c] flop. I bet 500, UTG3 was the only caller. An [as] turned over next, I bet 1,000 and UTG3 followed along. [9d] for the river. I checked, wanting to see if he’d bet out more but he checked as well, then showed [kh kd]. That put me up over 9,800.

On my next BB, I had the [qc 7d] “internet hand.” There were two limpers, I checked, and the flop was [5d 9c qd]. I bet 200 on my top pair, UTG2 called, and HJ folded. The turn was [3h] and I bet another 200 and got another call. I felt fairly secure with the river [6c] and bet 101 to leave an even 9,000 behind. UTG2 raised all-in for 2,889 and I called. He only had a [tc jh] and my queens were good enough to bring me up to 13,140.

I promptly lost 2,400 on the next hand with [9d ad]. I had top pair on the [ah ts 7d] flop but BB picked up two pair with [th 7h].  [6d] on the turn gave me a flush draw but it didn’t come through.

I spent the next fifty minutes ranging a couple thousand chips on either side of the 10K mark. I was down to my lowest point just under 8,300 when I got fours on the button at 150/300: [4s 4c]. UTG1 raised to 600, action folded to me and I made a big raise to 2,000. That pushed the blinds out. UTG1 went all-in for 9,862, and my all-in call was about 1K less. He turned over [ac kd]. The board was [qd 8s qh 3d 3h], and I doubled up to just over 17K. This briefly put me in the top six.

Over ten minutes I slid down to 12K, then popped back up to about 17K with an [ad 7d]. I was at about 16,500 at the end of the second hour.

Just after coming back from the break, I thought I was in pretty good shape when I got [kc kd] in UTG. Blinds were 200/400/40, and I opened with a raise to 1,000. I got calls from UTG4, HJ, B, and BB. The flop was [8c 9h ts] and I bet 2,000 after BB checked. That got a call from UTG4, HJ folded, then B went all-in for 19,171, about 6K more than I had. BB folded, I called, UTG4 folded, and B showed [9d 9c] for a flopped set. [qd] showed on the turn, making [jx] good for me as well as [kx] but the last card was [7d]. Could I have raised enough to keep the nines from playing the hand? Could I have been smart enough to have folded the kings after the all-in raise? Maybe next time.

124 minutes, 117 hands. 67th place out of 159 (30 places paid).

Good Thing There’s Bounties

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Full Tilt $20,000 Rush Guarantee (1,500 chips)

Just five minutes in and I make top pair from the SB holding [jd qs] on a safe-looking [jh 3s 2s] flop after four of us have limped in. I bet out 100 as first to act, getting two callers. [6s] for a turn and I bet out 300 more, again two calls. [2d] is the river and I check, BB checks, UTG2 puts both of the blinds all-in to call, and I do. He’s been holding a set with [3c 3h] in the pocket from the flop.

Out 622 of 714.

Full Tilt $9,000 KO Guarantee (2,000 chips)

A big one that got away from me. I had quite a setback on my 12th hand, holding [qc tc] on the button at 25/50. There was a raise and a call to 175 ahead of me and I probably should have ejected, but I saw the flop of [ad 3c qs] and decided to play it. UTG1 bet 250, UTG2 wisely got out, I called, and [4h] appeared on the turn. Another 250 from UTG1 and myself, [5s] at the river and I called his last 250 bet before he turned over [6s ah]. That knocked me down to 735.

I’d dropped to just 435 ten hands later after some other action and [jd td] came into my hand. UTG called the blind of 60, UTG1 raised to 120, UTG2 called, I (UTG3) decided to make a move and made my tiny shove. That got called by UTG, UTG1, and UTG2. My role in the hand was over as I watched the flop roll out [3s 8d 8s]. UTG1 went all-in and drove the other two players out, then showed [ad qd], so any chance of a flush I had was shot; I needed a pair. [jc] showed up on the turn and an inoffensive [5h] was the river. I bounced back to 1,830.

[ac tc] on the next hand. We’d lost a the guy who’d played the previous hand with me to re-shuffling and I was UTG1. I open-min-raised to 160, getting four callers. The flop was [3d 7h 9c], probably making someone happy but the blinds just checked and I bet 200 to open. Only the big blind dropped out. [kc] on the turn was interesting and I opened with another 200, inducing everyone to fold and making me an easy 1,245 profit, which put me just over 3,000.

Nothing much happened for twenty minutes. I’d drifted down to 2,250 chips when [7d 7s] came into my hand. It’s not my favorite pair of cards but I was at less than 19BB and the Andy Bloch “Tournament Checklist” is all about going all-in with the small pairs when you’re getting short-stacked. Did I listen? No, I raised to 300 and there were three callers. The flop was [3d 2c 2d]. Checks from the blinds and this was where I shipped it, for 1,950. SB called, BB raised all-in to 2,750, then SB called that. SB had [ah 4c] for a one-ended wheel draw, BB had us seriously in trouble with [5h 2h] and a set. [8d] shoed for the turn, giving me a chance for a backdoor flush, and the river [ad] completed it. I took in 7K (but significantly did not learn me lesson about shipping with small pairs, something that comes back to bite me later).

The last significant hand was my final one, forty minutes later. I still had only 6,675. Blinds were 120/240/25 and I was BB. Picked up [as qs]. UTG3 goes all-in for 8,374 and I call. He’s got [kd qd], so I’m good unless he catches diamonds or a [kx]. The flop is [9d 3d jd] and anything else is irrelevant. Could have gone the other way but it didn’t.

98 minutes, 87 hands. 1 bounty collected. ROU: -85%. Finished 829 of 3,687 players.

Full Tilt $20,000 Rush Guarantee (1,500 chips)

Another one-minute wonder. Called the 120 min-raise of UTG3 from BB on the second hand, flop was [9d 7c 2c]; I bet 120, he raised to 660; I three-bet to 1,200; he called. [jh] on the turn; I’ve got 180 chips, an inside straight draw, and an ace. Might as well. He calls with the [ah js]. [9c] for the river. I’m sort on my flush and short on my straight and out of the game.

One minute. Two hands. 1,013th of 1,196 players.

Full Tilt $36,000 Rush Guarantee Rebuy (1,500 chips)

Six minutes in with most of my starting stack I get [7h 7s] again, this time in late position on the button. Two players limp in. I raise to 300, ten times the big blind. BB and UTG2 call. The flop shows up with [6d qh tc] and everyone checks. Another [6c] on the turn. UTG2 opens with 340 and I call. BB has the sense to bail. Another over card on the river. [kd] and UTG2 bets 810 to put me all-in if I call. I bail.

That whittled me down considerably. I’m at 660 13 minutes into the game when I get [qh qd]. UTG raises the big bet three times to 120. I re-raise to 280 but should probably be all-in here. SB calls, BB is all-in for 1,245. UTG calls, SB raises all-in to 1,560. UTG calls. Three all=ins. Here’s the cards. SB [8d 8h], BB [ad kd], UTG: [Jh As]. I was a 43% winner so far. The flop’s fine: [5d 6c 9d]. It put a lot of diamonds on the board for BB, as well as a straight possibility for SB. The [4h] for the turn didn’t change anything, my win percentage was up to 57%. The [7h] on the river completed the straight, though. Maybe an all-in pre-flop would have induced the eights to fold.

14 minutes, 37 hands. 683rd of 1,324.

Cake Poker Series 2011 Super Satellite (1,500 chips)

Nothing to say about this. I was stuck just below the starting stack size twenty-odd minutes in, got priced in with [tc ad] and shoved, with [jc 9c] and [kh qh] calling—altogether we made a long straight—and the hearts won out.

24 minutes, 17 hands. 8th of 16.

Full Tilt 90-Player KO Sit & Go (3,000 chips)

No movement for twenty-five minutes here, I was in CO at 3,270 with the blinds up to 60/120 when everyone ahead of me folded. I held [9d 8d] and min-raised to 240. Button and BB called. The flop just gave me bottom pair: [jd ac 9h]. BB checked and I bet 180. B called, and BB was gone. The turn was [2d], giving me an ugly flush draw. I checked and B bet 600. Calling left me 2,250 behind. A tantalizing [ad] hit the river. I bet 1,000, concerned about pocket jacks making a full house. B must have thought he had it but he was far behind with [jh qc]. That picked me up 2,300.

[qc qh] made me the next jump a dozen minutes later. UTG3 raised to 540 at the 120/240/25 level. I was on the button and re-raised to 2,500, about half my stack. The blinds folded and UTG3 four-bet all-in to 3,540. I called with 1,740 behind and he showed [jc jd]. The flop went my way with [6s kc qd], and he was out. I was at 9,450. First bounty.

I caught one of the mid-sized stacks trying to pull something three hands later. I limped for 240 in after UTG called, CO called and SB as in. The flop was [6c 3c ts] and everyone checked. [jc] hit on the turn. SB bet 480, BB and UTG folded, I called and CO was out. The river was [4h] and SB checked. Worried about a flush, I checked too, but SB had [8c jh], so I had the best of it and was just short of 11,000.

Just eight hands later I was UTG2 at 200/400/50. I open-raised to 800 with [qd ts] and the only caller was SB. Got a pair in the [th 6s js] flop. SB bet 1,200 and I called. A turn [9d] gave me second pair and a straight draw. SB bet another 1,600 and I called again. I made trips on the river with [tc] and when SB checked I shoved all-in. Amazingly enough, he called with [4h 4c]. That put me over 18K and made a second bounty.

The end was fast and violent just five hands later. I was UTG with 17,790, holding [7h 7d]. Blinds were at 250/500/50 and I opened with a raise to 1,250. A slightly smaller stack in UTG1 was the only caller, so that was good. The flop was a promising [5d 2h 8h] and I bet another 1,250 but I probably should have gone bigger. UTG1 called. The [ah] on the turn pretty much shut things down as far as I was concerned. Flush draw and an ace on board? I checked and then folded after UTG1 bet 6,150. That took me down 2,550.

Next hand, I was in the big blind with just [2s 4d]. There was a raise and call to 1,000 and I decided to see if my low cards would hit anything, with pot odds of 6.3:1. The flop was [td 6c tc], when the initial raiser bet 3,650 I got out of there pronto.

Still, I had 14,190 in the small blind. Suited connectors: [9s 8s]. That looked good. The only player into the pot ahead of me was UTG1, who’d min-raised to 1,000. I called. The flop gave me a dangerous pair: [8c as ah]. I bet 750 and got called by UTG1. The [ad] showed on the turn and I had a full house. Did he have the other ace? I bet 1,000 and he smooth-called. [3h] on the turn didn’t change anything. He needed the fourth ace or a pocket pair better than eight to beat me. He bet 7,500, I called, and of course he had [ac jd]. I was down under 4,000.

The last hand for me was at 300/600/75.  I had [kh qc] in UTG1 and went all-in for 4,815. What’s Andy Bloch say? Fewer than 10 big blinds? Check. Open-raise with [kx qx]? Check. UTG2 called, everyone else dropped out and I was up agains the Mutant Jack: [ad jd]. The board was tantalizing with [2h th 8c 9s 8h] but I didn’t make the straight or the flush and I was someone else’s bounty.

66 minutes, 77 hands. 2 bounties, no prize, ROI of -70%.

Cake Poker Internazionale 6-Max (20BB)

[6d 6c] on the third hand in CO. Open-raised to 3BB, called by SB. Flop was [8s qc 8c] and we both checked to the turn [7c]. SB bet 4BB and I called. [7h] river card counterfeited my pair and I was playing the board. Another 4BB bet from the SB and I folded.

[8h 8s] a little later in HJ and UTG raised to 3BB. I re-raised to 7BB and everyone folded. I was still stuck 6BB.

Down to 7.5BB fifteen minutes in and picked up [ac 6s] in the CO. UTG raised to 2BB, I called and B did as well. Flopped well with [ad 8c 6d], HJ and I checked, B put out a bet of 7BB. That was the end of it for HJ but I called all-in for less than the bet. He flipped [9d 8d] and the race was on. No diamonds on the turn or river—[qh 5h]—and my two pair held up. Just down by 2BB now.

I was on the BB with [7d 8s]. Min-raise from HJ and a call from CO. I went along and got bottom pair in the [qd 7h js] flop. I opened with a bet of 2BB, HJ raised to 5BB and I called for some reason. [ah] on the turn and it didn’t take the 3BB bet from HJ to get me out of there. Back down to 12BB.

In HJ with [kh 4h]. Min-raised with a call from CO and re-raise to 6BB from B. I’m the only caller. The flop is [5h 6c ts]. I check and B shoves his entire stack of 185BB into the ring. I call for some reason and he shows [qs qc]. [td] makes the turn and my hopes for a backdoor flush are gone. The river [jc] ends this session.

Full Tilt $9,000 KO Guarantee (2,000 chips)

Started off with a bang eight minutes into the game with [kh jh] on the button. UTG1 limped in and HJ min-raised to 80. I re-raised to 140, getting calls from SB, UTG1, and HJ. The flop was [5h 5d ah], SB checked, UTG1 bet 400. There was a fold from HJ and I re-raised to 800. SB folded, UTG1 re-raised to 1,675, and I made a dangerous call that left me with 80 chips. He had a set with [5c 7c]. The [4s] on the turn looked grim, then a safe [8h] made the river and I doubled up plus I got a bounty.

A similar hand on the button ten minutes later got me into trouble. Three limps were ahead of me with [kh th]. I raised to 250, which got a call from SB and a re-raise to 450 from BB. UTG3 called, I called, SB called. The flop was [ac qs 7c]. SB checked and BB bet 1,410 all-in. UTG3 fled the scene, I called, and SB folded. BB was way ahead and had me dominated with with [ad td] but a [jx] could put me on top. Didn’t happen, though, and I lost 1,860 chips.

The blinds were 30/60 a little later, I was still around 2,500 chips and got [9d 7d] in UTG2. UTG raised to 120, I called, and BB was in. The flop of [jc td qd] gave me flush and open-ended straight draws. BB checked, UTG went all-in for 1,205, I called rather than go over the top, because BB had me by 1K. BB folded anyway and I was heads-up against two pair: [tc qc]. [kc] for the turn gave me my straight but opened up the flush for him. The river was [6h] and I took another bounty, as well as 1,475 chips, which put me up to 3,995.

Speculating on some unsuited ace hands cost me over the next quarter-hour, so I was down to 3,115 when I got [ks kd] as UTG. I min-raised to 160, getting four callers. The flop was [9d 6s 5s]. SB opened with a 240 bet that got BB to fold. I raised to 1,500, enough to put SB almost all-in but not necessarily scary for the others. They both folded, though, then SB pushed for 1,680. I paid the extra 180 and he showed a gutshot straight and an ace: [ah 7c]. He got his ace on the turn with [as] but that gave me four to a flush, which came in the shape of a [9s]. Up to 5,435 and another bounty.

On the 60/120 big blind with [ah 9h]. B raises all-in to 683. SB calls. I call. The flop gives me top two pair: [ad 9s 2h]. Right now I’m beating [ax kx]. SB checks and I go all-in for 5,142. SB folds, B has [qd ac], and the rest of the hand is irrelevant. I have almost 7,200 chips and another bounty.

Took a big hit on the big blind again at 100/200. [qs 9s] in my hand; not one of my favorites. Action folded to the button, who raised to 700. I called and we were heads-up. The flop looked pretty good—[7s js 7d]—and I opened with 750. B went all-in for 2,670 and I called. An [8d] showed on the turn but the queen-high straight was going to be harder and pointless with [ts td] in B’s hand. The last card missed me: [5h] and I was down to about 4K again.

I made a couple of attempts over the next ten minutes but nothing panned out. Finally, I got [4c 4h] in UTG3. Action folded to me, I followed Bloch’s instruction on what to do when you’re under 15 blinds and open-raised all-in with the low pair. Everyone but the BB folded. He showed [th td]. The board ran out [8h 2s 3s 4s 3c] and I came an [ax] or a [6x] away from a straight, but I was bounty-bait. The other part of the goal on Bloch’s “Tournament Checklist” is to win with that move.

105 minutes, 100 hands. 3,831 players and I made 939th. Four bounties and ROI -39%.

Full Tilt $20,000 Rush Guarantee (1,500 chips)

Just nine hands and nothing of note here. I was down about 300 from a [kc qs] play. My last hand was [8s 8h]. I raised all-in after a single limp at 30/60 for 1,230. The button isolated me by going all-in for more than 4K., showing [kh ks]. By the turn I had a little bit of hope with [6s jc ts 9h] showing but a queen would give a straight to the kings. Instead, he got trips with a river [kd].

Four minutes. 1,385 players, finished in 617th.

Full Tilt 90-Player Sit & Go (3,000 chips)

Surprised I lasted as long as I did in this game. I was steadily downhill and under the starting stack for forty minutes until a Mutant Jack rescued me. Got [as js] in the big blind at 60/120 holding 1,845 chips. UTG called and everyone else folded. I raised to 725. He three-bet to 1,330 and I shoved for 1,845, getting a call. Naturally, he was pleased, he had [ah ad] and I looked like a goner. The [4s 5s 5c] flop gave me some life, though. I hung in suspended animation through the [8c] turn, then [ts] came on the river and I doubled up, leaving UTG with a little more than 3BB.

Got my own comeuppance in short order four hands later when I had [kh ks] as HJ. Blinds were up to 80/160 and UTG min-raised. I re-raised to 995. UTG and I were heads-up after some folds, and he went all-in for 3,010. I called with 985 behind and he showed [th td]. The first card out was [ts], with [3s 7s] making another nice flush draw for me, but it was [jd jc] on the last two streets and I wasn’t the one with a full house.

I managed to build back up to about 1,800 but the blinds were getting big and I was down to 1,240 at 200/400/50 when I tried to make [8c ks] work for me. UTG raised all-in to 800, UTG1 and SB called, and I re-raised all-in. UTG1 called with more than 11.5K left, SB called holding another 27.5K. The board was [qh 6d 7d 9d 7c] with the big stacks checking it down to the river. Nobody had much of anything [9h ac] for BB, [as ts] for UTG, but SB had a [tc qs] and the queen pair was good enough to take it.

63 minutes, 57 hands, one bounty. 32nd place of 90 players. ROI -85%.

The Recovery Act

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Encore Club (5,000 chips)

A late game on the Westside seemed like a nice way to relax at the end of the day. The first hour started off quite well. A player two seats to my right was heads down over his chips and shoving late into the hand what seemed like a little too frequently. I picked up [ax 8x] and we played cautiously, with me catching third pair on the turn. He made a big bet on the river and I called with my eights, which were better than anything he had. That seemed to put a stop to the endless raising.

Got really lucky and picked up [ax ax] in late position, just watching people put money in, re-raised it well but not too much and was pleasantly surprised when there was an all-in to my left that let me push. The aces held up, I forced a re-buy, and things were looking good.

A couple of missed opportunities. Even with the chips I had I was loath to call some large bets with [3x 3x] in my hand but was really wishing I had when a [3x] dropped on the river, with that set beating the two pair that won the hand. A [6x 9x] I dropped pre-flop would have made a [tx].

Another player fell victim to my play while I was speculating with [3d 5d]. I had the flush by the turn, he didn’t seem to believe me, and the diamonds double-crossed him.

I was one of the bigger stacks at the table toward the end of the hour when I got [kx kx]. I was in seat #4 and the guy in seat #1 had been playing seriously and aggressively but he was well behind me. We were all-in before the river and the best he had was a gutshot straight draw to 8, but he made it and my kings were taken to the cleaners for 7,600.

Going into the break, I had 12,700 chips. I would have had about 30K if I’d won that last hand. From here on, it was harder going and almost all downhill, doing things like raising to 1,200 with [ax tx] only to have to fold when other stacks went all-in.

Got knocked down to 8,700 when I called a small stack all-in. We were heads-up but his [kx kx] held up against my [ax 9x]. I picked up blinds and calls with a suited [ax kx] all-in raise.

My big regret of the night? Laying down a [4x 5x] pre-flop from the big blind at 400/800 with just a 1,000 raise on top. There were five callers, the flop was [ax 5x 4x], and many thousands of chips went in before the river when another [5x] was down. My full house would have been best. I can remember before tossing the cards thinking: “If only they were suited….”

Just 8,300 by the second break. Seat #6 had 40,500. My notes from the Tournament Director screen showed there were 14 of 33 players still in play. There were 10 re-buys, and the total pot was $1,075, paying 5 places.

I was out before consolidation to the final table, in 11th or 12th place. I had [tx tx] and re-raised all-in but got called by seat #1 who had enough chips he wouldn’t notice a loss. He showed very low connectors but managed to pull a [6x]-high straight.

D and I had discussed playing in some of the $40 satellites to the Mizrachi/Levy $340 tournament this weekend, but my schedule just wasn’t working out for it.

In other news, @pokermutant is now followed on Twitter by Portland-based online player Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt and I’ve got copies ordered of his Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth: Correcting The 50 Worst Pieces Of Poker Advice You’ve Ever Heard and Treat Your Poker Like A Business (although I’m rather hoping my poker playing is more successful than the various business ventures I’ve been involved in).

Suckouts

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Puffmammy 2010/11 Quarterly Tournament 3

The race for the POY title has entered it’s make-or break period. After D’s win earlier in the week, he had a 33-point lead on me, which was 14% of his total points. There were only five events left in the season, with two of them being a quarterly and the Main Event final, both of which award double points. I haven’t made particularly good showings in them in the past, for some reason, and there was a lot of concern on my part that D would extend his lead past a point where I had any chance to catch up. N was still in the running, as well, only a point behind me after the last game.

The field was larger than we’d had in a while, which meant that even more points were going to be awarded to the top spots. Our table was dominated much of the evening by B, who’s only played with us a few times but who has a good cashing rate. He knocked out K early on and quickly put his doubled stack to work pushing people around. I got a taste of it with [ax 9x]. B was in the hand with myself and his wife No. The flop had [ah], but there were two other hearts, as well. The pot was good-sized on the turn with another [ax] when I called No’s large bet, but B raised all-in and I couldn’t continue. No went all-in and showed the flush, B had just two pair, but the case [ax] came on the river and I would have scooped it all if I’d stayed in (although quad aces would not have been the high hand for the night, there was a [jx]-high straight flush on the other table in the first five minutes.

I won one hand that I shouldn’t have shortly after T, one of the new players from the other table, was moved next to me after a couple of knockouts. I pushed with [8x 8x] on a [tx tx 9x] board and we were all-in before the river. T had me crushed with [qx qx] and I was going to be out relatively early since we were past the re-buy period. But another [8x] came with the river and I sucked a big chunk of his chips away, leaving him to be preyed on by No a bit later.

I pulled down a bunch of chips from B with an [ax 6x] flush that he apparently didn’t think I had. At one point on the final table I was chip leader.

D was seated to my right as we got short-handed. He was getting a little antsy with a short stack and when I had [tx tx] he was all-in with a suited one-gapper. I was safe through the flop and turn and actually thought I’d won the hand at first but a [6x] on the river made a straight for him and he sprang back to life instead of letting me gain on him gracefully.

I doubled up B, as well, and then I was the short stack going into the end game. My last hand was a club short of a flush, with D taking me out in third place. I fell another five points behind, but my usual showing at the quarterlies would have gained him another dozen or more points, so it could have been a lot worse.

Essen Gee

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Continuing on with the Andy Bloch “Tournament Checklist” Challenge at Full Tilt Academy.

Full Tilt 45-Player Sit & Go (1,500 chips)

Technically, this isn’t a turbo tournament, but the levels are only six minutes long, so you’re going to be seeing the blinds go up almost every time they come around. Watch your back.

I was on my second small blind (at 20/40) when I got [ac qs]. Two players called and I raised to 120, getting calls from everyone but the big blind. The flop was [ah tc as] and everyone checked. The [jd] on the turn gave a potential straight in addition to a possible full house, so I bet the pot: 400. Everyone folded.

Raised to 125 with [kd qc] a few hands later (with the blinds up to 25/50) and the only caller was the big blind who had a stack of about 3,000, twice my size. The flop was [ah 2s 2c] and I bet 100 after a check from the BB. He called and [6s] showed up. We checked it down past the river [4c] and he showed the same pair I had, with [7c qd] but not a very good kicker.

After that it was mostly downhill. Last hand was a decent [ah qs], a raise to 240 that got called by both blinds, and [ac js] drawing two pair by the flop. Out in 31st after 29 minutes and 30 hands.

Full Tilt 45-Player Sit & Go (1,500 chips)

Got a Mutant Jack ([ah jh]) on hand seven sitting on the small blind. Everyone folded to the button, who limped in, and I raised to 180, bringing it down to just me and the button. The flop was [5c td as]. I put in 400 for a bet and was raised to 800, then I shoved and was called by [ad th], who had me covered. Things looked bleak with the [7d] on the turn but [jc] popped up on the river for a suck-out. Up to almost 2,800 chips.

Limped in from the cutoff with [7c 9c] a little while later, then called an all-in to 445 from BB. Button called, as well, so the pot had 1,400 in it pre-flop. [kc 6s 3c] gave me a flush draw and I went all-in to push out the button. He dutifully folded and the all-in players cards went over: [5h 8h]. The turn and river were [th 6d] so I never made as much as a pair but I was still ahead and up to more than 3,300 chips.

That quickly bled away with “premium” hands. I drew [qs ad] in SB at 30/60 and raised to 210 with two limpers. BB and UTG+1 called, then the button three-bet all-in to 955. Everyone called so there was 3,820 in the pot. The flop was [7d ts ks]. I checked and BB went all-in for 1,815. UTG+1 called but I decided not to wait for the [qx] and folded. It didn’t show up, BB took a pot of 7,500 with [js kd]. Down 955 chips on that one.

A bigger loss came two hands later with [ac tc]. Our table was down to six players at 40/80 and I three-bet a UTG raise of 320 to 640. BB called with just 60 behind and UTG went all-in for 1,362. I called; BB went all-in. I was pretty much screwed from the flop, the board was [6c 6d jd] and  UTG had [jc js] for a full house. Down to less than 1,000.

My final hand was shortly thereafter. I called the BB and a limper from the SB for 80 with [8h th] and saw a flop of [jh 6s ts]. I checked to the BB who bet 240. UTG called and I went all-in for 831 with my middle pair. Both of the others called. BB bet 80 after a [3h] turn (which gave me a flush draw) and got an all-in call from UTG. BB was holding [tc ad], UTG had top pair with [jc kh]. [2d] on the river didn’t change anything. UTG took the 4,161 chips and I was out in 17th place. 35 minutes of play, 31 hands.

Full Tilt 90-Player Turbo KO Sit & Go (3,000 chips)

Got [jx tx] twice in a row (sixth and seventh hands), profiting especially nicely from the second.

FBlinds were 20/40 and I was the cutoff on the first outing. UTG limped in and I raised to 100. UTG called and we were heads-up. Flop was [ks jc 9c], UTG checked and I bet 160 which he called. [6d] on the turn, which we both checked. The river was [8d], we checked again, he showed [as ts] and my jacks took it.

There was a call from UTG+2 on the next hand and I raised to 140. Button and UTG+2 called. The [6c jd 5c] flop gave me another pair of jacks and I bet 400 into the 480 pot when UTG+2 checked. Button came along for the ride and UTG+2 folded. [2c] on the turn gave me a flush draw in addition to the highest pair on the board. I bet another 400 and the button went all-in, covering me by more than 300. I called and he flipped [8s 8d]. [ah] on the river left me in front and I took in a pot of 5,700.

My own pocket pair—[qd qs]—cost me almost 1,500 ten minutes later. I raised three times the blind to 240 from UTG, getting calls from cutoff and SB. The flop was [9s 9c ks] and I bet 400 after SB checked. Cutoff checked and SB folded. [tc] on the turn gave me a potential straight. We both checked. The river [2c] made a potential flush; the king was troubling, but I bet another 800 in the hope that he had an ace of some sort. Nope. He called and showed [jh kd]. I still had over 4K, though.

It took me about 15 minutes to find a spot to pick it back up. In UTG again with a speculative [9h td], I min-raised to 240. SB re-raised to 480 with only about 1,700 behind, and I called, putting us heads-up. The flop was [ad 3h 9d], not particularly good for me. SB checked it and I checked behind. The turn was [9s] and when SB bet 840 I put him all-in with my trips. I’m not sure what he was thinking when he called with [qh jh], I guess he must have thought I was bluffing, but that was a bounty for me and put me up over 6,600 chips.

It was nearly half-an-hour before I had another big hand, by which time blinds and small losses had whittled my stack down to about 5,200. There were a couple of very short-stacked players at the table in the blinds (200/400/50), flanked by two 20K+ stacks, one of which was just to my right. One of the big stacks opened to 850 and I re-raised all-in with [ad 9d] and 5,135 chips. There were folds around to BB, who went all-in with 1,740. The big stack folded and BB showed a [ks ah] big blind special. The flop was a grim [qs jc 5s], but [9h] on the turn and the river [6h] saved my bacon and gave me another bounty, along with a total of 8,300 chips.

The table was down to six players ten minutes later with me in SB at 300/600/75. UTG limped in. I had BB and UTG covered (although barely in the latter’s case) and went all-in with [ac td] after everyone ahead of me folded. Only UTG called, showing [ah 6d]. The [4c qh 5h jh qd] board didn’t hit either one of us and I was up to about 12,600, earning my third bounty.

The end was only three hands later at another table with eight players. Blinds were up to 400/800/100, so I only had 15BB despite my double-up. I was in the BB with three stacks bigger than mine at the table, including one of more than 32K. UTG+1 opened with an all-in of 16,764. Everything folded to me and I called with [ac td], the same hand that had just doubled me up. It wasn’t going to be as effective against [ad qd]. I was knocked out in 16th, a little short of the money. 86 hands, 78 minutes, 3 bounties, no prize money, -55%ROI.

Full Tilt Turbo $3.5K Guarantee (2,000 chips)

Just three significant hands in this tournament for me: one good and two bad. I got [as ac] in UTG+1 early on and min-raised to 80 to see what kind of action I could get. CO re-raised to 300 and I three-bet to 960 after the blinds folded. CO went all-in and I called with 300 behind. He flipped over [kh ks] and I crossed my fingers and hoped against a repeat of the nasty surprise of Monday night’s live game. My aces filled up with a [5s td ad 9h tc] and I was up to nearly double the starting stack five minutes in.

The Mutant Jack failed to come through for me at the twenty-minute mark. I made a 3x raise to 180 from UTG+2 with [jc ac] getting a call from only SB. The flop only gave me middle pair—[qc 7d jh]—but I bet another 300 after a check from SB. He re-raised to 960 and I should have ejected but I pushed all-in and he called, with me having him covered by about 1,000. His [kd qd] was in front, and it stayed there with [2d 2c] on the turn and river. The next hand I threw a [kx 2x] and saw a board that would have made that best two pair, with [8x 8x] winning a pot of 2,200.

My last hand was [qs th]. I limped in from UTG+1 for 80. BB raised to 240 and I called. [2d 9h kh] on the flop gave me a gut-shot straight draw. We both checked. [3h] made a flush draw on the river. BB checked, I bet 520—leaving me with 155—and BB was all-in. I called. With [ah kc] he had top pair and beat me on a flush. I needed a jack but the river was [2s].

Out in 594th place of 684 players. 23 minutes, 31 hands.

Full Tilt 90-Player Turbo KO Sit & Go (3,000 chips)

Short and sweet. [ah kh] on the fourth hand. Raised to 75 from UTG and got three callers. Flo was [4d 7s as] and I bet 300 after a check from BB; only caller was UTG+1 who had doubled up on the first hand. [jc] on the turn and I bet 900, getting raised to 1,800. Went all-in and the lucky UTG+1 shoed he was really lucky, with [ac js] when he called. Just a [5h] on the river and I was out in 85th after less than five minutes.

Full Tilt 90-Player Turbo KO Sit & Go (3,000 chips)

The first fifty minutes of this tournament went rather poorly. I won only a few small pots and was down to 1,165 chips when I got a Mutant Jack in UTG at 150/300/25. I raised all-in with [js as]; the button re-raised to 3,300; SB went all-in for 5,625 and got a call from the button. SB had [4h 5s], button held [kd td], and the cards on the board were [7c 8s 9c 3c 8h]. My ace kicker was good for almost 4K of the 13K pot and I was semi-alive.

My next hand was [jc ks] on the big blind. UTG+1 limped in, SB raised to 600, and I pushed all-in for 3,920 getting both the other players to fold. I was over 5K.

Two hands later it was [7s 7c] on the button. Blinds were 200/400/50. Cutoff raised to 1,000 and I pushed all-in again for 4,695. SB called with more than 20K behind and everyone else folded. He had [kc ac] but the board was free of clubs, aces, and kings: [qs 5d td 6d 9s]. The entire pot of 11,090 was mine.

Eighty minutes in I got [ks kd] on the big blind (300/600/75). The table was six-handed. HJ raised all-in to 6,035. Action folded around to me and I called with 3,700 behind. The kings held up, I picked up a bounty, and I was over 16,500. [tc jc] on the next hand won me another 1,900 chips.

I picked up blinds and antes worth almost 2,400 with a raise to 2,500 and [kd td] shortly thereafter, then dropped over 4K speculating with [ad 9s].

The very next hand I was on the big blind (500/1,000/125) with a massive [3d 2s]. The button raised to 2,000, SB folded, and I called, not expecting much. I hit the bottom end of the [5h 2c 7s] flop and opened all-in for 12,275. SB had 49K but folded and I gained a bit more than 3K. On the small blind I had [ts 9s] (with the blinds having gone up to 600/1,200/150). Action folded to me and I raised to 2,400. BB called and the flop was [qs as 3c]. I pushed again for 14,975, this time covering the BB, who folded. That pushed my total over 20K.

My next turn on the big blind was with [td ks]. Two players limped in and I checked to the flop. [qs jd 3c] gave me an open-ended straight draw, I bet 3,000, and the others folded.

Seven hands went by and we were in our first hand at the final table. I was down to 15K, blinds were 1,000/2,000/250 and I was on the big blind with [qd ks]. HJ called, CO raised to 8,000, and I re-raised to 14,925 all-in. HJ got out of the way and CO called with 40K behind. And [kh kc]. I got a [qs] on the river but it was too little, too late. I was a goner.

I took the smallest payout for ninth place. 97 minutes, 101 hands, only one bounty due to my poor showing in the first hour. ROI of 85%. In that first hour, I managed to fold a [3s 4s] in the small blind to a raise to fulfill one of the two sub-tasks for the 25-50BB section of the “Tournament Checklist” challenge. If I’d been able to cash in a regular-speed tournament within 48 hours of this one, I would have finished the fifth task, but that didn’t happen.

Full Tilt 45-Player Sit & Go (1,500 chips)

[ad jd] Mutant Jack knocked me down under 900 on the fourth hand in a three-way battle for a 4K pot that had two of us all-in. The cards on the board missed everyone. The smallest stack took over 3K with [qh qs] and I got the 870 side pot, beating out the largest stack’s [qd kc].

[kd kc] a little later doubled me up to just about 2,500 but I ran into [ah as] with [jd qc] just three hands after that, making two pair on the turn and going all-in but with [ad] showing on the river to make a set.

19 minutes, 20 hands. Finished 28th.

Full Tilt 45-Player Sit & Go (1,500 chips)

The fourth hand was even worse in this game. I held [td ts] in the big blind, with a limper in UTG and a min-raise to 60 from UTG+1. I raised to 200 after action folded to me, UTG got out of the way and UTG+1 and I went to the flop. It was a safe-ish [8c 4c 2d] and I bet another 200. UTG+1 raised with all but 30 of his chips to 1,045, and I called, which left me with only 195. [4d] came with the turn and I raised to put him all-in, making the pot just under 2,600 chips. He held [ac 3d] for a straight draw, but he only had seven outs. Naturally, the river was [as], making his better pair.

[ks ac] on my next hand allowed me to triple up my 165 over a [ad 4c] and another hand that was pushed out by a post-flop raise from the weak ace. There were two aces on the board by the river; presumably the folder didn’t like the one that showed on the flop.

It took about five minutes of play but I managed to get back over the starting stack with [ad 9h]. We were at 25/50 and I open-raised all-in from UTG+1 with 715 chips. The guy who’d taken most of my stack earlier had done well since and was over 5K. He called from CO and we were heads-up with him holding [8s ks]. The flop could hardly have been better for me: [ac 6d 9s]. A turned [kd] gave him a slim opportunity for a set but cut off any backdoor flush, and the river [4s] didn’t do anything.

I drifted down below 1,000 over the next nine hands until limps by UTG and SB let me play [7s 8h] from BB. The flop set me up for a double-gutter straight draw: [5c js 9h]. I was good with either a [6x] or [tx]. I bet 120 after SB checked the flop, getting a re-raise to 240 from UTG. SB folded; I called. The [tc] turn gave me the higher straight. There was 720 in the pot, I had 645 and it went all-in, getting a call. UTG had [jh 3h] and was drawing dead before the river [9c] showed. Suddenly, I was the third-largest stack at the table, with 2,010.

That was to be extremely short-lived, however. As anyone knows, playing the blinds can get you into trouble. [qc 6d] on the small blind when you’ve got 25BB? Two players limped in for 80, I called, BB said all was good and the flop was an enticing [8c qs 3d]. I bet 200, action folded to HJ and he raised to 920 with 380 behind. I still had 1,730 and could have kept it but I put him all-in, he called, and then he showed [tc qh]. [td] on the turn sealed my fate and I was back down into the hole, with 290. This time I wasn’t able to recover and I went out in 30th place four hands later.

34 minutes, 32 hands.

Full Tilt 45-Player Sit & Go (1,500 chips)

I seriously can’t figure out what I was thinking on this hand. I had [ad js] on the eighth hand, the board ran out [4s 4c 3c 9c jc] and I was all-in with a slightly-smaller stack before the river, which is the first time I had anything. The other player had a set on the flop, with [4d 5d]. 8 minutes, 11 hands, 35th place.

Full Tilt 45-Player Sit & Go (1,500 chips)

Lost 440 early on chasing a flush with [9c qc] from UTG then picked up 1,000 on the next hand with more clubs. The [9c ac] didn’t flush but the lower card paired on the turn to beat [8s 8c] held by SB. Lost the whole thing with a [as js] Mutant Jack that missed Broadway and lost to a set (and a bigger hand) [ah kc] and a [9d ks qh kh jd] board.

19 minutes, 17 hands, 35th place again.