PAY ATTENTION

For the second time in three days I registered for a goddamn $60 tournament by accident. Thank god this time I did well with lots of luck, but I really have to watch out for this in the future. This can't happen again; it's too costly.

Anyways I finished second for short of 3 bills. The tourney was filled with 5 and 6-figure-winning players, and that had me a little intimidated, but not enough to throw me off my game. I got lucky early on winning a race when my AK spiked a king vs QQ, and got lucky again several times with smaller races to build a massive stack. I maintained the big stack until we got ITM, and I started to steal lots.

One player (who ultimately won) was playing back at me postflop like crazy. He chipped away at me, and eventually we got heads up where the chips were flying back and forth. He dominated me postflop somewhat, but preflop I think I had a significant edge, and kept my stack at a comfortable level.

Eventually, I trap-limped the SB with A8 (he'd pushed my limps nearly every time), and got him in with KJo. The thing with HU is that you're never really a huge favourite, and pushing would have been a better play. Long story short, he ended up winning that 60/40, and I eventually lost my crippled stack and took second.















The only real highpoint against him was one pot where he played back at me (yet again) 3-handed, and I made a tough call. Here's the HH:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (3 handed)

BB (t6025)
Hero (t12370)
SB (t8605)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5h, Ac.
Hero raises to t1500, SB calls t1200, 1 fold.

Flop: (t2800) 5c, Td, 9h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

Turn: (t2800) 4d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t2000, SB calls t2000.

River: (t6800) 2d (2 players)
SB bets t3000, Hero calls t3000.

Final Pot: t12800

Hero has 5h Ac (one pair, fives).
SB has Qh Jc (high card, queen).
Outcome: Hero wins t12800.

Anyways, apart from poker I've been somewhat busy lately. I went back to the youth employment centre I went to for help a while ago, and they've referred me to a job fair that's happening this friday. Hopefully I can get an electrical apprenticeship out of it, but the damn thing is out in Etobicoke. Too far for me.

Swingy as always

Well I had better start learning to control my anger; it seems that Party is only the swingiest site out there, and I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it.

I played a few games today - two multitable SnGs, and an STT. In one MTSnG, I took a beating and ended up eventually losing my short stack with AJ vs TT AIPF (so many abbreviations; I know, sorry). In the other, I found myself shortstacked again and all in with KQ vs KT and 77. I hit my Q, but 77 hit his set on the river and I was busto yet again. Getting frustrated at this point. The STT, on the other hand, went very well (why couldn't it have been the higher-paying MTTs that went well???).

Early on, I nearly doubled up with AK vs A6s on an ace-high flop that got bet and called to the river. I started to dwindle my stack away little by little, but was never short stacked. Long story short, as the game went on I went on an insane card rush and blind-stealing frenzy. Boy, oh boy, are party players nitty on the bubble. From ~6 handed all the way to HU, I got:

54c hit a flush vs slowplayed AA
A5 stole
A7 stole
A9 stole; all in a row
QQ no action in BB
K8 stole
A6 folded to button minraise which was probably beating me
AQ stole
Q5 for steal
AJs stole
KJo stole
AA stole; AJ and on were in a row
J9 from BB lost to the button pushing A5s; I had a pot odds call
A7 stole
JT in BB; tiny stack limped, and I pushed his remaining <2BBs in
KK vs QQ to take us to HU play, and
AJ to win it vs K7 AIPF.

If everyone at Party plays this tight on the bubble, I'm going to make a bloody killing. I think I literally could have even won it had I got rags the whole time we were shorthanded. When the blinds hit 200/400, people just plain didn't want to play. The funny part is that the loosest, most aggressive players were the last ones left too, and it surprised the hell out of me just how tight they got.

In other news, I actually did well in a $4/180! I managed to actually play well and not take any major beats, and that got me a 3rd place finish. I ended up a little shortstacked 3-handed vs a couple of monkeys, and had to resteal with 77, which ran into KK and didn't improve. So 3rd for around $80 or $90 made up for my losses from last night. Let's just see if I can ride the upswing.

Grrr.

Well last night was no fun. It was so not fun that I was angry enough not to bother writing about it.

I was playing a few $4/180s and some other 2-table SnGs. I end up making a terrible play in the first 4/180 and get money in with KK on an A8xxx board, with my opponent ending up having a set of 8s. I smack myself in the face and promise I'll smarten up.

I then register for two more $4/180s, play well, and ultimately end up busting in one on standard short stack play, and getting far, but losing to a beat in the other. The beat super-tilted me because it was against a chronic blind stealer. I reraised his button minraise, he calls with 6s vs my Ts, flop off 222 doesn't matter because the turn is a 6. Then I realize the last $4/180 I played wasn't a $4/180. It was a $60/45. GRRRRR.

Anyways, I played about 3 more 2-table tourneys and don't fare well in them either, and I nearly slam a hole through my desk. Still not completely over tilt :)

The OFC freeroll and buyin was also last night, and although I thought I played well, I ended up busting out of the money in both.

I made a particularly good laydown, IMO at least. I saw a free flop from the BB in a five-way pot with J3o, and we saw a JxQcKc flop. Checks all around. Turn comes Jc, and the SB, a player who I knew wouldn't bet here without a flush or a jack, came out betting. I snapmucked my J3o, and he ended up showing down AJo for a FH, and I patted myself on the back. He was fairly nitty though, so maybe that was standard.

Anyways, not a good night in poker. Down quite a bit and my BR is dwindling. I've got a meeting set up this week with an employment counselor. If I end up getting a good full-time job, then I'll have to put a few hundred more into the BR to give me some more building blocks. Gotta make sure this doesn't become a recurring theme though.