A Big September?

For the month of September, I have set a lofty goal of trying to finish in the top 10 for Pocket 5's monthly rankings. This month's tenth place person has 2298 pts currently. apestyles, SCTrojans and ComeonPhish are some of the big names in this month's top 10, and only 2 of the top 10 are not in the top 100 of Pocket 5's overall sliding rankings (the sliding rankings have a different method of calculating your overall score than the monthly). mr. menlo, PearlJammer, atimos, and BeLOWaBOVe are just outside it.

They have a pretty simple formula: Points = (PrizePool^1/2) / (PlaceFinished^3/5). All cashes are counted. For perspective, if you get 1st place in a 100 person $100 tourney, you would receive 100 pts. For a month, only your top 20 scores are counted, and only 12 can be from the same site.

I will be playing almost all of the WCOOPs, and I will be playing a variety of the bigger tourneys. What I won't be doing is playing nonstop everyday. I plan on increasing my play without going overboard. Some days I probably won't even play at all (or barely).

To give you an idea of how I have been doing, I am in 520th place for August with 519 pts (only 8 cashes). In their overall rankings, I sit in 602nd place. Even though I have never really focused on tournaments, I do play a fair amount of them. However, alot of the tourneys I do play are small ones just for shits and grins. They are relatively worthless in a ranking system. I will be cutting these out for the main reason of I will already be playing enough bigger tourneys. My minimum requirement to play a tourney is going to be a 10K prize pool. The only exception to this is if the buyin is over $100. Some of the UB $100 tourneys get less than 100 players. I will play these because they provide a very reasonable chance of winning (an 81 person one would give 90 pts for 1st). Even though I need to average around 115 points or more for my 20 scores for the month (20*115=2300), a 90 point score is still good. The current 10th place person has 7 scores less than 90 being counted for the month.

I will keep everyone updated on my progress, or you can check it out at http://www.pocketfives.com/. Wish me luck!

Someday my ship will come in....

The following is a short final table I made on a $109 78 person tourney on UB. It is the same tourney I bubbled in 11th the last time I played it on Friday. It paid the top 10.

JM2WIN is at seat 0 with 34995.
PokerNightly is at seat 1 with 11170.
PiMaster is at seat 2 with 15690.
bunuts2 is at seat 3 with 31980.
thechad78 is at seat 4 with 9420.
laz24 is at seat 5 with 15340.
Wavva is at seat 6 with 25060.
Howzen is at seat 7 with 5415.
starvmarv is at seat 8 with 4915.
debo34 is at seat 9 with 41015.
The button is at seat 6.

starvmarv posts the small blind of 300.
debo34 posts the big blind of 600.

PiMaster: Jh Jd

Pre-flop:

JM2WIN folds. PokerNightly folds. PiMaster raises
to 1500. bunuts2 folds. thechad78 folds. laz24
folds. Wavva re-raises to 2400. Howzen folds.
starvmarv folds. debo34 folds. PiMaster calls.

Flop (board: 4d 3h As):

PiMaster checks. Wavva bets 1500. PiMaster calls.

Turn (board: 4d 3h As Kc):

PiMaster checks. Wavva checks.

River (board: 4d 3h As Kc Ad):

PiMaster checks. Wavva checks.

Showdown:

PiMaster shows Jh Jd.
PiMaster has Jh Jd As Kc Ad: two pair, aces and jacks.
Wavva mucks cards.
(Wavva has Tc Th.)

Summary:

PiMaster wins 9450 with two pair, aces and jacks.

I know his min RR looks strong pre which is why I didn't RR him. His bet on the flop I thought actually looked weak or a monster, so I called intending to try to steal it away later. When the K came, I wasn't going to try anymore. I was happy to check it down out of position.

JM2WIN is at seat 0 with 34920.
PokerNightly is at seat 1 with 11095.
PiMaster is at seat 2 with 21165.
bunuts2 is at seat 3 with 31905.
thechad78 is at seat 4 with 9345.
laz24 is at seat 5 with 15265.
Wavva is at seat 6 with 21085.
Howzen is at seat 7 with 5340.
starvmarv is at seat 8 with 4540.
debo34 is at seat 9 with 40340.
The button is at seat 7.

debo34 posts the small blind of 300.
JM2WIN posts the big blind of 600.

PiMaster: Ac Jc

Pre-flop:

PokerNightly folds. PiMaster raises to 1500.
bunuts2 folds. thechad78 folds. laz24 folds.
Wavva calls. Howzen folds. starvmarv goes all-in
for 4465. debo34 folds. JM2WIN folds. PiMaster
goes all-in for 21090. Wavva folds. PiMaster is
returned 16625 (uncalled).

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:

PiMaster shows Ac Jc.
starvmarv shows Ks Kh.

Flop (board: 5c Ad 5s):

Turn (board: 5c Ad 5s 8h):

River (board: 5c Ad 5s 8h 4c):

Showdown:

PiMaster has Ac Jc 5c Ad 5s: two pair, aces and fives.
starvmarv has Ks Kh 5c Ad 5s: two pair, kings and fives.

Summary:

PiMaster wins 12080 with two pair, aces and fives.

Getting basically 3 to 1 on my money if my raise can get the other guy to fold, I figured it was worth the risk. I got somewhat lucky, but I think it was the right play.

JM2WIN is at seat 0 with 31320.
PokerNightly is at seat 1 with 9970.
PiMaster is at seat 2 with 27955.
bunuts2 is at seat 3 with 35730.
thechad78 is at seat 4 with 4005.
laz24 is at seat 5 with 15040.
Wavva is at seat 6 with 19360.
Howzen is at seat 7 with 11805.
debo34 is at seat 9 with 39815.
The button is at seat 0.

PiMaster: Kh Th

Pre-flop:

thechad78 goes all-in for 3930. laz24 folds. Wavva
folds. Howzen folds. debo34 folds. JM2WIN folds.
PokerNightly folds. PiMaster calls. bunuts2 folds.

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:

PiMaster shows Kh Th.
thechad78 shows Ks Kc.

Flop (board: 7h As 8s):

Turn (board: 7h As 8s 7c):

River (board: 7h As 8s 7c 6h):

Showdown:

PiMaster has Kh Th 7h As 7c: a pair of sevens.
thechad78 has Ks Kc 7h As 7c: two pair, kings and sevens.

Summary:

thechad78 wins 9135 with two pair, kings and sevens.

I thought this guys range was rather large with him getting ready to move into the blinds. I thought KTs was a decent holding, and it wasn't a large part of my stack.

Bought some blinds w/ T9s, A8, KQ (UTG)

JM2WIN is at seat 0 with 40760.
PokerNightly is at seat 1 with 8945.
PiMaster is at seat 2 with 26000.
bunuts2 is at seat 3 with 35305.
thechad78 is at seat 4 with 8585.
Wavva is at seat 6 with 31470.
Howzen is at seat 7 with 8205.
debo34 is at seat 9 with 35730.
The button is at seat 1.

bunuts2 posts the small blind of 400.
thechad78 posts the big blind of 800.

PiMaster: Ac Ah

Pre-flop:

Wavva folds. Howzen folds. debo34 raises to 2300.
JM2WIN folds. PokerNightly folds. PiMaster calls.
bunuts2 folds. thechad78 folds.

Flop (board: Qh Th 8c):

debo34 bets 4800. PiMaster goes all-in for 23600.
debo34 calls.

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:

PiMaster shows Ac Ah.
debo34 shows 8h 9h.

Turn (board: Qh Th 8c 9s):

River (board: Qh Th 8c 9s 5d):

Showdown:

PiMaster has Ac Ah Qh Th 9s: a pair of aces.
debo34 has 8h 9h Qh 8c 9s: two pair, nines and eights.

Summary:

debo34 wins 53800 with two pair, nines and eights.

Classic risk/reward play. Even with this monster flop he is still only 53% to win. If my hand held I would have had a decent chip lead w/ 8 left. As it turned out, I was knocked out 8th for $360.

During this tourney, it seemed I continually chipped up only to take a bad beat. I also lost JJ vs 88 pre, AJs vs K6s (when a guy called my RR pre for a 3rd of his stack and hit trip 6s), and KK vs A9 pre. All of these were large pots.

The Deep Run Blues

11 Players left. Only 2700 for 1st, but still would be nice. If I win this hand I have a monster stack of 230K w/ second only having 120K.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3352754669: $8,500 Guarantee (Rebuy) (25086466), Table 15 - 1000/2000 Ante 250 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:34:51 ET - 2007/08/24
Seat 2: vince1611 (56,050)
Seat 3: RivRunsDeep (59,564)
Seat 4: PCscooter (25,966), is sitting out
Seat 5: PiMaster (125,788)
Seat 7: DannyMac31 (69,500)
Seat 9: LAGJEM (100,770)
vince1611 antes 250
RivRunsDeep antes 250
PCscooter antes 250
PiMaster antes 250
DannyMac31 antes 250
LAGJEM antes 250
LAGJEM posts the small blind of 1,000
vince1611 posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [8s 5s]
RivRunsDeep folds
PCscooter folds
PiMaster raises to 5,000
DannyMac31 folds
LAGJEM calls 4,000
vince1611 calls 3,000
*** FLOP *** [7s 3s Ts]
LAGJEM checks
vince1611 checks
PiMaster bets 12,000
LAGJEM calls 12,000
vince1611 folds
*** TURN *** [7s 3s Ts] [Jc]
LAGJEM checks
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster bets 108,538, and is all in
LAGJEM calls 83,520, and is all in
PiMaster shows [8s 5s]
LAGJEM shows [Qh As]
Uncalled bet of 25,018 returned to PiMaster
*** RIVER *** [7s 3s Ts Jc] [Js]
PiMaster shows a flush, Jack high
LAGJEM shows a flush, Ace high
LAGJEM wins the pot (207,540) with a flush, Ace high
STAT032 (Observer): no fear
iWinFOLDIT (Observer): yikes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 207,540 Rake 0
Board: [7s 3s Ts Jc Js]
Seat 2: vince1611 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: RivRunsDeep folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PCscooter folded before the Flop
Seat 5: PiMaster showed [8s 5s] and lost with a flush, Jack high
Seat 7: DannyMac31 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: LAGJEM (small blind) showed [Qh As] and won (207,540) with a flush, Ace high

I ended up getting 10th.

Blessing in Disguise?

I had just gotten knocked out 11th in a $100 NLH tourney on UB (top 10 got paid). First prize was $2308. I decided to sit down at this 10/25 6-handed because the only name I recognized was HOVADOGG84. This was the 1st hand I played....

Hand #45631943-3274 at Hopewell (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 24/Aug/07 17:14:59

wynn1365 is at seat 0 with $2475.
PiMaster is at seat 1 with $2500.
DannyKK is at seat 2 with $2560.
appleseedx is at seat 3 with $2405.
DIRTYCARPET is at seat 4 with $1438.
HOVADOGG84 is at seat 5 with $6037.
The button is at seat 5.

wynn1365 posts the small blind of $10.
PiMaster posts the big blind of $25.

wynn1365: -- --
PiMaster: Ts Td
DannyKK: -- --
appleseedx: -- --
DIRTYCARPET: -- --
HOVADOGG84: -- --

Pre-flop:

DannyKK folds. appleseedx folds. DIRTYCARPET folds.
HOVADOGG84 raises to $85. wynn1365 folds.
PiMaster re-raises to $275. HOVADOGG84 calls.

Flop (board: 2s 7c 7h):

PiMaster bets $400. HOVADOGG84 raises to $1760.
PiMaster goes all-in for $2225. HOVADOGG84 calls.

Turn (board: 2s 7c 7h 5d):

(no action in this round)


River (board: 2s 7c 7h 5d 5s):

(no action in this round)

Showdown:

PiMaster shows Ts Td.
PiMaster has Ts Td 7c 7h 5d: two pair, tens and sevens.
HOVADOGG84 mucks cards.
(HOVADOGG84 has Kc Ah.)


Hand #45631943-3274 Summary:

$3 is raked from a pot of $5010.
PiMaster wins $5007 with two pair, tens and sevens.

I netted $2507 on the hand. Interestingly enough almost $200 more than first in the tourney. I ended up +3290 when I left an hour later.

$100 NLH 6-Handed w/ RBs on Tilt

Last night I played in the above mentioned tourney. It had a loaded field with 258 players. The structure was awesome. My opening table was actually very tame for a RB. For the most part it was like a regular tourney except for one guy. "seth owns" was going allin pre maybe 20% of the time. At the end of the 1st hour he was doing it far more often b/c he had blown through his stack a few times. The following are some of the noteworthy hands.

This first one is my obligatory idiotic RB hour push. Even for the RB portion this was kind of stupid given the action.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335067869: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:49:09 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (2,260)
Seat 2: seth owns (5,760)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (2,390)
Seat 4: PiMaster (2,885)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (7,830)
Seat 6: McShove (2,875)
PiMaster posts the small blind of 30
flopmynuts33 posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [9h Jh]
McShove raises to 180
kingscaper calls 180
seth owns folds
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 180
PiMaster calls 150
flopmynuts33 folds
*** FLOP *** [3h 4d 9s]
PiMaster checks
McShove bets 500
kingscaper calls 500
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 500
PiMaster raises to 2,705, and is all in
McShove calls 2,195, and is all in
kingscaper folds
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 1,710, and is all in
PiMaster shows [9h Jh]
McShove shows [Jc Js]
HoRTSeYsGuRL shows [4s 4h]
Uncalled bet of 10 returned to PiMaster
*** TURN *** [3h 4d 9s] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [3h 4d 9s 3s] [8c]
PiMaster shows two pair, Nines and Threes
McShove shows two pair, Jacks and Threes
McShove wins the side pot (970) with two pair, Jacks and Threes
HoRTSeYsGuRL shows a full house, Fours full of Threes
HoRTSeYsGuRL wins the main pot (7,910) with a full house, Fours full of Threes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8,880 Main pot 7,910. Side pot 970. Rake 0
Board: [3h 4d 9s 3s 8c]
Seat 1: kingscaper folded on the Flop
Seat 2: seth owns didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (button) showed [4s 4h] and won (7,910) with a full house, Fours full of Threes
Seat 4: PiMaster (small blind) showed [9h Jh] and lost with two pair, Nines and Threes
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: McShove showed [Jc Js] and won (970) with two pair, Jacks and Threes

This came near the end of the RB period and seth owns was in push mode.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335172314: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:58:35 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (7,315)
Seat 2: seth owns (3,970)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (7,700)
Seat 4: PiMaster (2,610)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (5,105)
Seat 6: McShove (1,800)
McShove posts the small blind of 30
kingscaper posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [8s 8h]
seth owns raises to 3,970, and is all in
HoRTSeYsGuRL folds
PiMaster calls 2,610, and is all in
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove has 15 seconds left to act
McShove calls 1,770, and is all in
kingscaper folds
seth owns shows [7s 9s]
PiMaster shows [8s 8h]
McShove shows [Ad 3d]
Uncalled bet of 1,360 returned to seth owns
*** FLOP *** [9d Kc Ts]
*** TURN *** [9d Kc Ts] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [9d Kc Ts Jd] [7h]
seth owns shows two pair, Nines and Sevens
PiMaster shows a straight, Jack high
PiMaster wins the side pot (1,620) with a straight, Jack high
McShove shows Ace King high
PiMaster wins the main pot (5,460) with a straight, Jack high
seth owns adds 1,500
McShove adds 3,000
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 7,080 Main pot 5,460. Side pot 1,620. Rake 0
Board: [9d Kc Ts Jd 7h]
Seat 1: kingscaper (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: seth owns showed [7s 9s] and lost with two pair, Nines and Sevens
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: PiMaster showed [8s 8h] and won (7,080) with a straight, Jack high
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: McShove (small blind) showed [Ad 3d] and lost with Ace King high

I wasn't folding a middle pair at this point to that guy. However, I have no idea why McShove called w/ A3s when I had not shown any kind of light calls preflop. Fortunately, I hit runner runner straight to beat nut job's flopped 9. This moved me up to a solid 7K.

This came 2 hands later...

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335184726: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:59:42 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (7,195)
Seat 2: seth owns (2,980)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (7,700)
Seat 4: PiMaster (7,080)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (5,045)
Seat 6: McShove (3,000)
seth owns posts the small blind of 30
HoRTSeYsGuRL posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Kd Ks]
PiMaster raises to 150
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove folds
kingscaper folds
seth owns raises to 2,980, and is all in
HoRTSeYsGuRL folds
PiMaster calls 2,830
seth owns shows [8h Ah]
PiMaster shows [Kd Ks]
*** FLOP *** [9s Js Jh]
*** TURN *** [9s Js Jh] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [9s Js Jh 8c] [8s]
seth owns shows a full house, Eights full of Jacks
PiMaster shows two pair, Kings and Jacks
seth owns wins the pot (6,020) with a full house, Eights full of Jacks
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,020 Rake 0
Board: [9s Js Jh 8c 8s]
Seat 1: kingscaper (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: seth owns (small blind) showed [8h Ah] and won (6,020) with a full house, Eights full of Jacks
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster showed [Kd Ks] and lost with two pair, Kings and Jacks
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: McShove didn't bet (folded)

In a gross runner runner I lose 3k right before the RB period ends to finish at 4K. I added on to get me to 6K. Average was around 10K.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335389505: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:17:46 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (9,950)
Seat 2: seth owns (7,050)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (7,130)
Seat 4: PiMaster (5,630)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (6,050)
Seat 6: McShove (7,190)
kingscaper posts the small blind of 40
seth owns posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Ad Ah]
HoRTSeYsGuRL has 15 seconds left to act
HoRTSeYsGuRL raises to 280
PiMaster calls 280
flopmynuts33 calls 280
McShove folds
kingscaper folds
seth owns folds
*** FLOP *** [Qs 2d 2s]
HoRTSeYsGuRL checks
PiMaster checks
flopmynuts33 bets 400
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 400
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster raises to 1,400
flopmynuts33 folds
HoRTSeYsGuRL folds
Uncalled bet of 1,000 returned to PiMaster
PiMaster mucks
PiMaster wins the pot (2,160)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,160 Rake 0
Board: [Qs 2d 2s]
Seat 1: kingscaper (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: seth owns (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL folded on the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster collected (2,160), mucked
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 folded on the Flop
Seat 6: McShove (button) didn't bet (folded)

I like this play short handed especially when you and your opppnent aren't ultra deep. The flop was perfect to continue the slow play, but after a bet and call, I decided the pot was getting big enough. I am up to 7100 now.

**Chip siphon alert**

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335479270: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:25:32 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (6,835)
Seat 2: seth owns (7,235)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (8,150)
Seat 4: PiMaster (6,990)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (6,900)
Seat 6: McShove (6,890)
seth owns posts the small blind of 50
HoRTSeYsGuRL posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [7c 7h]
PiMaster raises to 250
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove folds
kingscaper calls 250
seth owns folds
HoRTSeYsGuRL folds
*** FLOP *** [Qc Th Qh]
PiMaster bets 400
kingscaper calls 400
*** TURN *** [Qc Th Qh] [Ts]
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster bets 600
kingscaper raises to 1,200
PiMaster folds
Uncalled bet of 600 returned to kingscaper
kingscaper mucks
kingscaper wins the pot (2,650)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,650 Rake 0
Board: [Qc Th Qh Ts]
Seat 1: kingscaper (button) collected (2,650), mucked
Seat 2: seth owns (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster folded on the Turn
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: McShove didn't bet (folded)

I think I should give up on the turn, or at least check and see what he does on the river. Down to 5700.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335585891: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:34:48 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (7,765)
Seat 2: seth owns (7,365)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (8,520)
Seat 4: PiMaster (5,810)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (6,800)
Seat 6: McShove (6,740)
flopmynuts33 posts the small blind of 60
McShove posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [9h 9s]
kingscaper folds
seth owns folds
HoRTSeYsGuRL raises to 240
PiMaster raises to 850
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove folds
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 610
*** FLOP *** [Qd Jh 6d]
HoRTSeYsGuRL checks
PiMaster bets 1,200
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 1,200
*** TURN *** [Qd Jh 6d] [7c]
HoRTSeYsGuRL checks
PiMaster checks
*** RIVER *** [Qd Jh 6d 7c] [8s]
HoRTSeYsGuRL checks
PiMaster checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PiMaster shows [9h 9s] a pair of Nines
HoRTSeYsGuRL mucks
PiMaster wins the pot (4,280) with a pair of Nines
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,280 Rake 0
Board: [Qd Jh 6d 7c 8s]
Seat 1: kingscaper didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: seth owns didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL mucked [As 6s] - a pair of Sixes
Seat 4: PiMaster (button) showed [9h 9s] and won (4,280) with a pair of Nines
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (small blind) folded before the Flop

Thankfully he checks it down after two loose calls preflop and on my continuation bet on the flop. Up to 8100.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335670948: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:42:17 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (1,670)
Seat 2: seth owns (7,485)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (12,680)
Seat 4: PiMaster (7,485)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (6,630)
Seat 6: McShove (7,050)
kingscaper posts the small blind of 60
seth owns posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Ah Kh]
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 120
PiMaster raises to 420
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove has 15 seconds left to act
McShove folds
kingscaper folds
seth owns folds
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 300
*** FLOP *** [5h Kc 6s]
HoRTSeYsGuRL checks
PiMaster bets 600
HoRTSeYsGuRL raises to 2,820
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster raises to 7,065, and is all in
HoRTSeYsGuRL calls 4,245
PiMaster shows [Ah Kh]
HoRTSeYsGuRL shows [Kd 7d]
*** TURN *** [5h Kc 6s] [8d]
*** RIVER *** [5h Kc 6s 8d] [3d]
PiMaster shows a pair of Kings
HoRTSeYsGuRL shows a pair of Kings
PiMaster wins the pot (15,150) with a pair of Kings
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 15,150 Rake 0
Board: [5h Kc 6s 8d 3d]
Seat 1: kingscaper (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: seth owns (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL showed [Kd 7d] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 4: PiMaster showed [Ah Kh] and won (15,150) with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: McShove (button) didn't bet (folded)

HoRTS had been playing fast and loose. He rarely folded top pair and was min raising and checkraising on the flop a ton. This hand was unfoldable to him post and pushing was the obvious choice give his willingness to make marginal calls. I doubled to 15K (still barely above avg at this point.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335776178: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:51:34 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (1,690)
Seat 2: seth owns (6,545)
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (5,050)
Seat 4: PiMaster (15,790)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (7,230)
Seat 6: McShove (6,695)
seth owns posts the small blind of 80
HoRTSeYsGuRL posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [3c 3h]
PiMaster calls 160
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove folds
kingscaper folds
seth owns calls 80
HoRTSeYsGuRL checks
*** FLOP *** [As 2h 7s]
seth owns checks
HoRTSeYsGuRL checks
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster checks
*** TURN *** [As 2h 7s] [8c]
seth owns has 15 seconds left to act
seth owns bets 350
HoRTSeYsGuRL folds
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster raises to 1,000
seth owns has 15 seconds left to act
seth owns calls 650
*** RIVER *** [As 2h 7s 8c] [2c]
seth owns checks
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster bets 1,500
seth owns folds
Uncalled bet of 1,500 returned to PiMaster
PiMaster mucks
PiMaster wins the pot (2,480)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,480 Rake 0
Board: [As 2h 7s 8c 2c]
Seat 1: kingscaper (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: seth owns (small blind) folded on the River
Seat 3: HoRTSeYsGuRL (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 4: PiMaster collected (2,480), mucked
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: McShove didn't bet (folded)

This was more of a change of pace move. I rarely limped all tourney especially UTG. When the A high flop checked around to me, I decided to not bet. I am sure they expected me too. When seth led out the turn, I wasn't surprised b/c he liked to stab. His range here is very wide. I raised to represent a slowplayed hand that may make sense w/ my pre and post flop action. His call was only slightly disappointing. He easily could have a draw or even a 7 or 8, and wanted to see the river. The 2 was pretty meaningless, so I fired again as he folded fairly quickly. (17K)

Full Tilt Poker Game #3335850687: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:58:11 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: kingscaper (2,760)
Seat 2: seth owns (6,707)
Seat 4: PiMaster (15,140)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (11,420)
Seat 6: McShove (6,973)
McShove posts the small blind of 100
kingscaper posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Ts Ad]
seth owns folds
PiMaster raises to 500
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove folds
bigvolfantwo sits down
bigvolfantwo adds 32,561
kingscaper calls 300
*** FLOP *** [6h 9h Qh]
kingscaper checks
PiMaster checks
*** TURN *** [6h 9h Qh] [3h]
kingscaper checks
PiMaster bets 200
kingscaper calls 200
*** RIVER *** [6h 9h Qh 3h] [Qs]
kingscaper bets 200
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster raises to 900
kingscaper folds
Uncalled bet of 700 returned to PiMaster
PiMaster mucks
PiMaster wins the pot (1,900)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,900 Rake 0
Board: [6h 9h Qh 3h Qs]
Seat 1: kingscaper (big blind) folded on the River
Seat 2: seth owns didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: PiMaster collected (1,900), mucked
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: McShove (small blind) folded before the Flop

Even though this was a pretty small hand, I liked my line. It was kind of screwy and fun. (16K)

I lost about 4K in a blind battle w/ 22, and then another 2.5K w/ JJ when I RR preflop. On an A high flop the guy led into me for half my stack and I mucked. I was down to about 10K.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3336053310: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:16:32 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: x2then (24,170)
Seat 2: seth owns (3,734)
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo (44,728)
Seat 4: PiMaster (9,465)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (12,411)
Seat 6: McShove (6,298)
x2then antes 25
seth owns antes 25
bigvolfantwo antes 25
PiMaster antes 25
flopmynuts33 antes 25
McShove antes 25
flopmynuts33 posts the small blind of 120
McShove posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Th Ah]
x2then folds
seth owns folds
bigvolfantwo raises to 990
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster raises to 3,000
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove has 15 seconds left to act
McShove folds
bigvolfantwo raises to 44,703, and is all in
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster calls 6,440, and is all in
bigvolfantwo shows [9d Ad]
PiMaster shows [Th Ah]
Uncalled bet of 35,263 returned to bigvolfantwo
*** FLOP *** [6s Ac 7c]
*** TURN *** [6s Ac 7c] [Qs]
*** RIVER *** [6s Ac 7c Qs] [Kh]
bigvolfantwo shows a pair of Aces
PiMaster shows a pair of Aces
PiMaster wins the pot (19,390) with a pair of Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 19,390 Rake 0
Board: [6s Ac 7c Qs Kh]
Seat 1: x2then folded before the Flop
Seat 2: seth owns folded before the Flop
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo showed [9d Ad] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: PiMaster (button) showed [Th Ah] and won (19,390) with a pair of Aces
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: McShove (big blind) folded before the Flop

bigvol had been pretty active on his big stack. I decided not to RR allin b/c I thought it would look stronger this way, and if something crazy breaks out behind me I can still fold. However, I had decided I was calling his push if he decided to. I dominated him and it held. (19.4K) This was a trend on my table: bigvol gets everyone else's money then gives it to me.

I blinded down to this point w/o any big pots and a couple steals.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3336188565: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 140/280 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:29:01 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: x2then (24,080)
Seat 2: Pechorin (32,933)
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo (45,616)
Seat 4: PiMaster (16,675)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (8,552)
Seat 6: McShove (6,213)
x2then antes 25
Pechorin antes 25
bigvolfantwo antes 25
PiMaster antes 25
flopmynuts33 antes 25
McShove antes 25
Pechorin posts the small blind of 140
bigvolfantwo posts the big blind of 280
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [8d 8h]
PiMaster raises to 700
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove has 15 seconds left to act
McShove folds
x2then folds
Pechorin folds
bigvolfantwo calls 420
*** FLOP *** [Qs 8c 6d]
bigvolfantwo checks
PiMaster bets 1,100
bigvolfantwo calls 1,100
*** TURN *** [Qs 8c 6d] [3s]
bigvolfantwo checks
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster bets 2,400
bigvolfantwo calls 2,400
*** RIVER *** [Qs 8c 6d 3s] [Jc]
bigvolfantwo bets 4,480
PiMaster calls 4,480
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bigvolfantwo shows [Jd 9d] a pair of Jacks
PiMaster shows [8d 8h] three of a kind, Eights
PiMaster wins the pot (17,650) with three of a kind, Eights
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 17,650 Rake 0
Board: [Qs 8c 6d 3s Jc]
Seat 1: x2then (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: Pechorin (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo (big blind) showed [Jd 9d] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 4: PiMaster showed [8d 8h] and won (17,650) with three of a kind, Eights
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: McShove folded before the Flop

I flopped a set and I know bigvol wont fold alot of hands. I continued to bet the nonscary board, but when he led into me on the river, I had a bad feeling he may have had T9. He would have flopped a double gutty, and rivered the straight. Furthermore I didnt think a raise had much value, b/c he would fold the majority of his hands to it anyways. (25.6K)

What do I have here??

Full Tilt Poker Game #3336255588: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 140/280 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:35:20 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 1: x2then (24,410)
Seat 2: Pechorin (33,593)
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo (30,998)
Seat 4: PiMaster (24,055)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (8,532)
Seat 6: McShove (12,481)
x2then antes 25
Pechorin antes 25
bigvolfantwo antes 25
PiMaster antes 25
flopmynuts33 antes 25
McShove antes 25
McShove posts the small blind of 140
x2then posts the big blind of 280
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [????]
Pechorin has 15 seconds left to act
Pechorin raises to 840
bigvolfantwo folds
PiMaster calls 840
flopmynuts33 folds
McShove folds
x2then folds
*** FLOP *** [3c 9c Jd]
Pechorin bets 1,400
PiMaster calls 1,400
*** TURN *** [3c 9c Jd] [Kh]
Pechorin has 15 seconds left to act
Pechorin bets 3,080
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster raises to 8,000
Pechorin has 15 seconds left to act
Pechorin folds
Uncalled bet of 4,920 returned to PiMaster
PiMaster mucks
PiMaster wins the pot (11,210)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 11,210 Rake 0
Board: [3c 9c Jd Kh]
Seat 1: x2then (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: Pechorin folded on the Turn
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster collected (11,210), mucked
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: McShove (small blind) folded before the Flop

If you guessed 76h give yourself a big pat on the back. This gets filed under Moon's book of I could only have something real big to be raising here, so he can only play his hand if it is real big. I took a flyer in position on the flop, and took it away on the turn. I don't do this very often which is why my success ratio is pretty high with these moves. Not only that, but my image was perfect for this. Tight agg ABC poker. (30K)

Full Tilt Poker Game #3336369953: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 170/340 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:46:06 ET - 2007/08/22
Seat 2: Pechorin (30,328)
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo (54,918)
Seat 4: PiMaster (29,255)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (9,012)
Seat 6: McShove (10,556)
Pechorin antes 25
bigvolfantwo antes 25
PiMaster antes 25
flopmynuts33 antes 25
McShove antes 25
McShove posts the small blind of 170
Pechorin posts the big blind of 340
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [9c Js]
bigvolfantwo folds
PiMaster raises to 850
Diangelo prince sits down
Diangelo prince adds 5,810
flopmynuts33 calls 850
McShove folds
Pechorin folds
*** FLOP *** [6c Ts Qh]
PiMaster checks
flopmynuts33 bets 900
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster raises to 3,600
flopmynuts33 raises to 8,137, and is all in
PiMaster calls 4,537
flopmynuts33 shows [Qd Ks]
PiMaster shows [9c Js]
*** TURN *** [6c Ts Qh] [Tc]
*** RIVER *** [6c Ts Qh Tc] [4d]
flopmynuts33 shows two pair, Queens and Tens
PiMaster shows a pair of Tens
flopmynuts33 wins the pot (18,609) with two pair, Queens and Tens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 18,609 Rake 0
Board: [6c Ts Qh Tc 4d]
Seat 2: Pechorin (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster showed [9c Js] and lost with a pair of Tens
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (button) showed [Qd Ks] and won (18,609) with two pair, Queens and Tens
Seat 6: McShove (small blind) folded before the Flop

This is one of my worst hands of the tourney. I should not raise the flop given his stack size. I decided to pot commit myself, if he wanted to go allin. It wasn't well thought out. I think I should have just called his flop bet giving me over 3:1, and seen the turn. In any case I missed my draw and was down to 20K

I lost another 4K allin pre w/ 76s vs JJ when I decided to gamble getting 2:1, and was down to 17K when I doubled up against bigvol again with AK vs JJ.

I was playing very tight and had blinded down to 31K.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3336734655: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 300/600 Ante 75 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:21:37 ET - 2007/08/23
Seat 1: Diangelo prince (8,105)
Seat 2: xSt0n3rx (31,240)
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo (59,550)
Seat 4: PiMaster (31,421)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (24,103)
Seat 6: pokernubz (40,939)
Diangelo prince antes 75
xSt0n3rx antes 75
bigvolfantwo antes 75
PiMaster antes 75
flopmynuts33 antes 75
pokernubz antes 75
flopmynuts33 posts the small blind of 300
pokernubz posts the big blind of 600
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Kh Td]
Diangelo prince folds
xSt0n3rx folds
bigvolfantwo folds
PiMaster raises to 1,500
flopmynuts33 has 15 seconds left to act
flopmynuts33 calls 1,200
pokernubz folds
*** FLOP *** [3c As 3d]
flopmynuts33 bets 1,800
PiMaster has 15 seconds left to act
PiMaster raises to 5,200
flopmynuts33 folds
Uncalled bet of 3,400 returned to PiMaster
PiMaster mucks
PiMaster wins the pot (7,650)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 7,650 Rake 0
Board: [3c As 3d]
Seat 1: Diangelo prince folded before the Flop
Seat 2: xSt0n3rx folded before the Flop
Seat 3: bigvolfantwo folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster (button) collected (7,650), mucked
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: pokernubz (big blind) folded before the Flop

I just didn't see him having a good Ace here and maybe no A at all. It was near the bubble, and it just seemed like a feeler bet. Another small pot, but these can easily be the ones that make someone a winner vs an avg player. (35.7K)

I picked up about 6K on a RR preflop hand when I went allin big on a 532 flop. (41K) I got up to 44K before this hand.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3337012584: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 500/1000 Ante 125 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:50:39 ET - 2007/08/23
Seat 1: SirWatts (44,643)
Seat 2: xSt0n3rx (61,145)
Seat 3: joocs (121,031)
Seat 4: PiMaster (44,096)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (44,606)
Seat 6: pokernubz (36,564)
SirWatts antes 125
xSt0n3rx antes 125
joocs antes 125
PiMaster antes 125
flopmynuts33 antes 125
pokernubz antes 125
PiMaster posts the small blind of 500
flopmynuts33 posts the big blind of 1,000
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [8s 8c]
pokernubz folds
SirWatts has 15 seconds left to act
SirWatts folds
xSt0n3rx folds
joocs folds
PiMaster raises to 3,000
flopmynuts33 calls 2,000
*** FLOP *** [2s 3d 5c]
PiMaster bets 4,000
flopmynuts33 calls 4,000
*** TURN *** [2s 3d 5c] [Td]
PiMaster checks
flopmynuts33 bets 7,000
PiMaster calls 7,000
*** RIVER *** [2s 3d 5c Td] [2h]
PiMaster checks
flopmynuts33 checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
flopmynuts33 shows [As 3h] two pair, Threes and Twos
PiMaster shows [8s 8c] two pair, Eights and Twos
PiMaster wins the pot (28,750) with two pair, Eights and Twos
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 28,750 Rake 0
Board: [2s 3d 5c Td 2h]
Seat 1: SirWatts folded before the Flop
Seat 2: xSt0n3rx folded before the Flop
Seat 3: joocs (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster (small blind) showed [8s 8c] and won (28,750) with two pair, Eights and Twos
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (big blind) showed [As 3h] and lost with two pair, Threes and Twos
Seat 6: pokernubz folded before the Flop

When he called my flop bet, I was almost positive he had a 2,3,4, or 5 in his hand. I did not want to create a big pot here once the T rolled off, but I wasn't folding. I was content to check call both the flop and river here as long as the board didn't get too bad. (58.7K)

I chipped up to 66K, w/o any big pots either way.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3337187661: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 800/1600 Ante 200 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:10:14 ET - 2007/08/23
Seat 1: SirWatts (39,093)
Seat 2: xSt0n3rx (61,345)
Seat 3: joocs (123,381)
Seat 4: PiMaster (66,346)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (28,756)
Seat 6: pokernubz (33,164)
SirWatts antes 200
xSt0n3rx antes 200
joocs antes 200
PiMaster antes 200
flopmynuts33 antes 200
pokernubz antes 200
flopmynuts33 posts the small blind of 800
pokernubz posts the big blind of 1,600
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Kc Ks]
SirWatts has 15 seconds left to act
SirWatts raises to 4,500
xSt0n3rx folds
joocs folds
PiMaster calls 4,500
flopmynuts33 folds
pokernubz has 15 seconds left to act
pokernubz folds
*** FLOP *** [6d 6h 8d]
SirWatts has 15 seconds left to act
SirWatts bets 7,500
PiMaster raises to 61,646, and is all in
SirWatts has 15 seconds left to act
SirWatts has requested TIME
SirWatts calls 26,893, and is all in
PiMaster shows [Kc Ks]
SirWatts shows [Tc Ts]
Uncalled bet of 27,253 returned to PiMaster
*** TURN *** [6d 6h 8d] [7s]
*** RIVER *** [6d 6h 8d 7s] [4d]
PiMaster shows two pair, Kings and Sixes
SirWatts shows two pair, Tens and Sixes
PiMaster wins the pot (81,386) with two pair, Kings and Sixes
SirWatts stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 81,386 Rake 0
Board: [6d 6h 8d 7s 4d]
Seat 1: SirWatts showed [Tc Ts] and lost with two pair, Tens and Sixes
Seat 2: xSt0n3rx folded before the Flop
Seat 3: joocs folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster (button) showed [Kc Ks] and won (81,386) with two pair, Kings and Sixes
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: pokernubz (big blind) folded before the Flop

We had just got into the money. I think this is a perfect time to take some risks such as this one (just smooth calling pre). Obviously that flop was prefect, but I wanted to make a raise that looked somewhat weak. He tanked before calling. I am shocked it took him that long to call w/ TT, but fortunately the play worked, and now my stack had skyrocketed to 108K.

I lost a series of small pots to drop me to 83K. when I got the dreaded AA on the button. This hand has been my bad luck hand in many tourneys this year when it has gotten down to the final few tables.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3337256728: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 38 - 800/1600 Ante 200 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:18:16 ET - 2007/08/23
Seat 1: number1PEN (35,163)
Seat 2: xSt0n3rx (61,545)
Seat 3: joocs (153,381)
Seat 4: PiMaster (83,039)
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (35,756)
number1PEN antes 200
xSt0n3rx antes 200
joocs antes 200
PiMaster antes 200
flopmynuts33 antes 200
flopmynuts33 posts the small blind of 800
number1PEN posts the big blind of 1,600
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Ah Ac]
xSt0n3rx has 15 seconds left to act
xSt0n3rx folds
joocs folds
PiMaster raises to 4,000
flopmynuts33 raises to 35,556, and is all in
number1PEN folds
PiMaster calls 31,556
flopmynuts33 shows [Jc Kh]
PiMaster shows [Ah Ac]
*** FLOP *** [Jd 9h Th]
*** TURN *** [Jd 9h Th] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [Jd 9h Th Kd] [8c]
flopmynuts33 shows two pair, Kings and Jacks
PiMaster shows a pair of Aces
flopmynuts33 wins the pot (73,712) with two pair, Kings and Jacks
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 73,712 Rake 0
Board: [Jd 9h Th Kd 8c]
Seat 1: number1PEN (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: xSt0n3rx folded before the Flop
Seat 3: joocs folded before the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster (button) showed [Ah Ac] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 5: flopmynuts33 (small blind) showed [Jc Kh] and won (73,712) with two pair, Kings and Jacks

When he showed KJ, I figured not too bad. I am probably only a small dog. However, when the JT9 flopped I knew I was drawing pretty thin. Fortunately I still was left with 47K after the hand which was plenty of room to play with.

I kept my stack steady with some well timed RR and steals.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3337408381: $65,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) (24005307), Table 18 - 1000/2000 Ante 250 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:36:48 ET - 2007/08/23
Seat 1: pokernubz (144,030)
Seat 2: America_One (150,786)
Seat 3: xSt0n3rx (128,582)
Seat 5: PiMaster (42,133)
Seat 6: bigvolfantwo (79,666)
pokernubz antes 250
America_One antes 250
xSt0n3rx antes 250
PiMaster antes 250
bigvolfantwo antes 250
PiMaster posts the small blind of 1,000
bigvolfantwo posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Ah Tc]
pokernubz folds
America_One folds
xSt0n3rx raises to 6,000
PiMaster raises to 41,883, and is all in
reques03 (Observer): so wrong knocking out kev like that lol
bigvolfantwo folds
xSt0n3rx has 15 seconds left to act
xSt0n3rx has requested TIME
xSt0n3rx calls 35,883
PiMaster shows [Ah Tc]
xSt0n3rx shows [Ad 9d]
*** FLOP *** [Ks 9c 6c]
*** TURN *** [Ks 9c 6c] [As]
*** RIVER *** [Ks 9c 6c As] [4c]
PiMaster shows a pair of Aces
xSt0n3rx shows two pair, Aces and Nines
xSt0n3rx wins the pot (87,016) with two pair, Aces and Nines
PiMaster stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 87,016 Rake 0
Board: [Ks 9c 6c As 4c]
Seat 1: pokernubz folded before the Flop
Seat 2: America_One folded before the Flop
Seat 3: xSt0n3rx showed [Ad 9d] and won (87,016) with two pair, Aces and Nines
Seat 5: PiMaster (small blind) showed [Ah Tc] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 6: bigvolfantwo (big blind) folded before the Flop

I don't know if this guy's call is good or not. Given what I had shown down all tourney, and my RR range, i think it is poor. He should have known this b/c we had been together for a while on a couple diffrent tables.

I was pretty disappointed with this result b/c I felt I had played extremely well in a stacked field. 1st place was 26K, and I got only 1K for 17th place.

1st Day of School

My oldest child, Elizabeth, is at her first day of kindergarten today. It's kind of strange feeling for a parent. You get a mixture of emotions: sad - she is growing up, happy - she is growing up, confused - am I getting that old, reminiscent - different memories flash through your head both of her as a baby and your own childhood, relief - one less kid in the house all day, proud - anyone who has met her knows how good of a kid she is, worried - hopefully she meets some good kids and is not an outsider. Most importantly though, you realize how much she means in your life and how different it would be without her. Good luck Ellie!

Day 2 - Full Tilt Style

I entered day 2 in 22nd of 78. I had an above average chip count (56K), and blinds were only starting at 400/800 100 ante. There was plenty of room to play.

400/800

AJh SB, haralabob raise in mid pos to 2100, I reraise to 6600 he folds (55K).

JTs MP, I call dmikkel's UTG raise to 2250, haralabob also comes in from the SB. (Q4d)2 flop
check check I bet 5K, they fold (59K). The previous day I had set in dmikkels mind that I was a complete nit. 1) by never challenging him, and 2) by mentioning we sat together at the end of day 1 of the main event, where he had a monster stack on my left and I had a big stack. I had him there for the last 2 hours and played very tight knowing a redraw was coming for day 2. He remembered me, and I wanted to let him pigeon hole my style to very tight.

KJs MP, 5 way limped pre, (98s)4h all check, 7h 1st 3 check to me, so i try to represent JT w/ a 3K bet into the 4800 pot knowing I have alot of outs, they all fold (63k)

Bought some blinds (once w/ AA)

500/1000 w/ 125 ante

J9d CO, I raise to 2500, BB goes allin for just over 10k, I decide to gamble getting 2 to 1 for 7500 more. I know he has a good hand here b/c we are close to the bubble, but it is not a large portion of my stack. He shows AK and the board comes 2AJ4J for rivered trips (74K)

33 HJ, I call a UTG raise to 2500 and fold his flop bet on an A high board (69k)
In the meantime I keep folding to people reraising me pre (I hope to exploit this later on)

KK SB, MP raise to 3k, haralabob calls, I raise to 12K all fold (76K)

600/1200 150 ante (72,666)

A3c SB, folds @ I complete. agriffrod raises to 3600, i call. Q52 (1 club), check he raises to 5200 i call (i intend to take this away from him on turn or river, and if a 4 hits i may win a monster). A on turn, we both check (I am content w/ letting him try to bluff me b/c I think i am best, but I dont want a huge pot w/ this hand). river 6, we both check again and he had 93 (80k)

33 BB, call haralabob raise to 3500 and check fold J76 flop (74K)

AK UTG, I raise to 3K, BB calls. QJ3 flop check, I bet 5K and he folds (78K)

QQ MP, I raise to 3K, BB (dmikkel) calls. 952 flop, check, I bet 5K and he calls. turn 8 check, check. river 3 he checks, I bet 10k and he calls after some thought. he had T9 (95K)

AK BUT, MP haralabob raises to 3500, dmikkel calls, I RR to 14K, all fold (103K)

A2 CO, (next hand) raise to 3k and buy (106K)

J9c MP, I raise to 3K, button (tight player) RR to 7200, I call getting good odds but knowing I will have to hit this well. I think I can stack him though if I do hit. T96 diamond flop and I check fold (98K)

98s BB, SB completes, I check (I should raise here). AQ6 check check. 8, he bets 1200, I call. river 5, he bets 2K, i call and he shows 54 (103K)

800/1600 200 ante (102K)

AK SB, folds @ and I push in on a 15K BB stack, he folds (103K)

98h HJ, MP raises to 4K, BB and me call. (KJd)Qh flop, we all check. 5 check check, I bet 8500 and they fold (108k)

QQ MP, (next hand) raise to 4K and win (112K)

98d UTG, raise to 4K all fold (112K)

95c CO, I raise to 4K, BB calls. flop (QTc)7 check check (i checked here for 2 reasons: i thought he was going to CR, and it would disguise my hand well if the flush hit). turn 2, check I bet 6K, he calls (this may be a bad bet b/c what am I representing, when he called I put him on a draw or a mid to small pair). river 5 and he leads for 8K I called (his play seemed to me like a missed draw type bet so I made a "brave" call w/ 4th pair) he shows 55 (91K) this was a very weird hand for me

QJd HJ, I raise to 4K, BUT RR to 12500, i opt to fold although i considered calling and RR (78K)

1000/2000 250 ante (78K)

**Strangest hand of my life**
66 HJ, I call a MP raise to 5K, flop 6(J3h), at this point the guy gets disconnected and runs out of time. Now I can bet here and take down the pot, but do I really want to? Of course not, so I tank for a while and check. He still is not back so it autochecks to me. I tank again and finally bet 10K (I am not giving 2 free cards), fortunately he is back by the time I bet. Now I think it is obvious to everyone I have a monster b/c I didn't "steal the pot." However, he CR me to 25K. I push allin, and he folds (109K)

I get moved to a new table with 6 guys all over 100K and in the top 14 of 31 left
KJs EP, I raise to 5K, all fold (112K)

QT CO, ditto (112K)

97h BB, BUT raises to 5200, I call. (K2h)7 flop, I lead for 8K (this gives me the allin option if he raises me, if I CR he has the allin move), he folds (118K)

JT CO, I raise to 5k, BB RR to 13500, I fold (112K)

A3 BB, SB raises to 6K, I call. 843 flop check check. 5 check, I bet 7K and he folds (119K)

T9c CO, EP raises to 5200, I call. K76 flop I fold to his 8200 bet (112K)

33 BUT, UTG raises to 5500, me and BB call, J63 all club flop BB pushes for 21K I call. He has AcJ. 8 and T turn/river. (142K)

1200/2400 300 ante (142K)

AK BB, SB raises to 6200, I RR to 18K he folds (149K)

AQs 2nd, I raise to 6K, next guy calls (soggydog), Q98 flop, I bet 11k he raises to 28600 (i have a real bad feeling here) I push for 136K total and he calls w/ 99. turn and river irrelevant. This hand really pissed me off b/c I didn't go with my gut. Two other times during the tournament I had real bad feeings about other guys hands. One time I folded top two pair to an allin bet, and the other time I played AQ very slowly on a A72 flop Q turn. I boated on river and busted a guy who flopped a set of 2s. I could have laid this down even though it would have been a very tough fold. If I call it is going to be real hard for me to fold the turn which I believe was a 4.

I would rate my overall tournament performance as a 9 of 10. If you take away the last hand I may have given it a 10. The reason for this is that I went in with a game plan, and I stuck to it perfectly. I chipped up all tournament long w/ marginal hands and got my money in very good on the big pots. There were definitely spots where I could have been more aggressive, but in this structure, i did not think it was the right strategy for me. I knew guys would give me there chips if I just waited for the right opportunities. The only hand I wandered from this strategy was on the last one (that is what makes it such a bad play in my mind).

Congratulations to both Moon and MasterJ! Master made an unbelievable comeback from dead last to start the day, to chip leader w/ a few tables left, to out 16th. Moon played a very similar style to me, but he had to do it on a short stack. This made his run even more impressive than mine. He picked his spots wisely and was so close to some truly big money finishing on the final table bubble in 10th.

Yesterday's FTOPS

Both events (the $2500 NLH and the $100 PLO w/ RBs) started during my drive back from nationals in Iowa. So I had Joel, aka gamblegambel, start both tourneys for me. Not much happened during his time holding down the fort, but he was instrumental in me being able to play in both. I got home about an hour and forty-five minutes into the NLH event and fifteen minutes into the rebuy.



I will talk about the rebuy event first b/c it is a much shorter summary. I ended the rebuy period with about 6K, and I was in for $409. In a PLO RB this is neither a lot of chips or a lot of money spent. So I wasn't unhappy but I had some work to do. I was down in the low 4K range when I doubled up with A(AKd)Q vs Q(Q6d)9 on a J(Txd) flop. Unfortunately this was the only significant hand I won in the post RB period. I stayed about even for a while picking up small pots here and there before my bustout hand. I had A(AKd)3 in the BB at the 100/200 level. Someone min raised and then the next guy made it 1100; someone called. I potted it (something like 5600 of my 8200). All folded except the 1100 raiser who repotted it. I called and he showed KKQQ rainbow. This trailed my hand 73/27, but he spiked a Q on the flop as my tourney ended. Had I won the pot, I would have been a pretty large stack at the time, but it was not to be. The PLO tourneys always feature some truely horrific players. Some of the so called top online tourney players aren't even adequate at this game. I still think these big PLO tourneys offer some of the best overlays online. Even the play in the lower buyin WSOP events was pathetic.



On to bigger and hopefully better things. I still had around 4400 after starting with 5K in the NLH. Joel said the only significant hand he played involved his straight running into a flush. My whole strategy in this tournament was patience. With 30 minute levels, and small jumps in the blinds, this tournament was going to be fabulous. I didn't think most online tourney players would properly adjust. This meant they would be playing too fast on many marginal hands. I just wanted see cheap flops and sit back and pick these plays off.

I chipped up to 5100 by the end of the 2nd hour. (I lost my hand history, so I am trying to remember the significant hands.) I was at around 4200 when I doubled up. UTG raised to 180 at the 30/60 level. I called on the button with 55. Flop was K5? with two of a suit. He led for 300 and I raised to 1000. He pushed having me covered, and I called as he showed AA. I knocked out Phil Gordon in a KK vs QQ situation. He had smooth called an EP position raise to 360. I had KK in the SB, and tried to make a squeeze looking raise to 1300. The original guy folded, but Gordon obviously pushed. My hand held and I got the Full Tilt pro bounty ($200) on him and will also be receiving a shirt. I will add this to the "I busted Layne Flack on Full Tilt" shirt. These shirts are goofy, but add a little fun to any tourney. I then won a big one with TT. Button raised, I RR, he shoved for around 3K, and I called. He had 99, and my TT held. I belive I was in the 11k range at this point.

This was my hardest hand of the day. At the 60/120 level, after a limper, I also limped w/ QTc. Four others came in. The flop came (Q9h)4. The big blind led out for 500, the 1st limper called, I made a marginal call, and another guy called behind. An offsuit T turned, and it checked to me. I bet 2200 into the 2800 pot. This was a bigger bet than normal, but the board was extremely draw heavy. The first two folded, but the last guy CR allin for 7800. I had him covered by about 2000. I had no idea what to put him on. It seemed a strange way to play a draw or trips. I could only figure it was a weirdly played monster, but it easily could have been a bluff, but I wasn't willing to risk it this early because my table was soft and I still had just under 8K left. I was confused so I took the "safer" route of folding. This may be timid (Moon said he would have probably called), but I felt the risk wasn't worth the reward.

I got right back up to 10K when a short stack moved allin for 1500 with Ax and I had AA. I stayed in the 9500-11000 range for a while. Still at the 60/120 level I picked up QQ. After a limper, there was a raise to 480, and I repopped it to 1500. He called. On a T high flop, he lad at me for 2700, and I pushed for around 9500. He folded to get me up to around 15K.

The biggest bluff I pulled off on the day started with me raising to 400 in the CO w/ A4h at the 80/160 level (I think). The BB called. On a QT3 rainbow, he check called a 500 bet. He also check called an 1100 bet on the turn when a J fell. The river brought a 9. He checked again, and I fired a 2700 bet (into a 4K pot). I didnt think he could call even w/ two pair. He tanked for a while, and finally folded. If he called I would have been down under 14K, but as it was I jumped to over 20K. I picked up another 5K with a coin flip AQ vs TT allin pre.

I chipped up into the mid 30K range, and then the hand of the tournament for me came up. At the 150/300 w/ a 25 ante, two players limped. I had AQd in the BB and opted to check. The flop came As(72h). I decided to check and see what happened. The first limper (RiverLoser a real good online player) bet 700 into the 1200 pot and the other guy folded. For some reason, I had a feeling he had a monster like 77. I am not sure why, but I wanted to keep this pot as small as possible, so I just called. On the Q of spades turn, I check called a 2K bet. We had both started this hand w/ over 28K. The river was the beautiful Q of hearts. Like I said I thought he was real big. Maybe he started with Ax of hearts or 22 or 77. So I led out into the 6600 pot for 4500. I thought he would RR if I was right. If I CR, I may not get his stack. Indeed he did RR to 15000 (leaving himself just over 10K). I pushed allin. He thought for just a little bit of time before calling w/ 22. I had majorly sucked out with runner runner, but I played the hand perfectly. I would have lost the minimum had I not hit, but I stacked the guy when I got lucky. This was one of the best hands I can remember playing. It put me to 63K and in 2nd place with around 150 players left. The rest of the day I was pretty card dead. I ended at 55,686 which is good for 22nd of 78. The top 63 are in the money.

This tourney was really loaded. I think I have played extremely well so far. Hopefully, I can continue this through today. Both Moon and Master J are still alive. Moon is in 39th with just under an average stack. We swapped 5%; so that is looking good. Golden Boy has done a masterful swap again. Master J is very short with 6300, and he is in last going into today. However, one double up will give him some room to manuever. Good luck to both of you! We start at 2PM if anyone wants to watch. The main event also starts today at 5PM I think.

Nationals

Not much to say but 0-3. We pitched alright; we fielded about average (except for DJ our shortstop/2nd baseman, who was phenomenal); and we hit like s$#%$. This won't cut it at nationals, especially when most of the teams have better hurlers than us. I had my worst tournament possibly ever. I was hitless, and mostly a nonfactor defensively. Fortunately, we still have a great group of guys, and I look forward to next year.

Just When You Thought You've Seen It All.......

We just finished our first game at nationals. I did pretty poorly offensively going 0 for 3 w/ 2 K's and a walk. The team we were playing from Nebraska scored 3 runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-0 lead. Their pitcher brought it pretty good, and we didn't get our first hit until two outs in the top of the 4th. However, it led to a run as we got back-to-back singles along w/ a wild pitch to score. Both teams failed to get any offense going. We had our chances though, but every time we got guys on it seemed to be with two outs. I left the bases loaded once, and we left two guys on another time.

In the top of the 7th it started to get interesting. We got a walk w/ one out, and he advanced to 2nd on a passed ball. Then our 9th place hitter got a single to score him. Their pitcher was starting to labor badly, and our bats also seemed to be catching up with him. Our next guy got out. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, and another passed ball tied up the game. Unfortunately, our clean-up hitter popped up to take it to the bottom half of the 7th tied 3-3.

In the bottom half, their leadoff guy got hit by a pitch, and was bunted over to 2nd (1 out). We opted to walk the next guy to setup force outs. Their 6th place hitter hit a hard grounder in between short and third, but our shortstop made a great diving short hop play and gunned the guy out at third (2 outs). With guys on 1st and 2nd still, the next guy hit a single. Our left fielder charged hard and gunned the guy out at home to preserve the tie and send the game into extras.....or so we thought. Our whole team is off the field congratulating our left fielder, and their team is starting to take the field. When all of a sudden the field ump is running over saying "Just a sec, I have interference on the third baseman. The run scores." Naturally, our whole team loses it. This is nationals, and we have just lost on a B.S. call that no one else saw. We battled back from a 3-0 deficit to tie it with 2 outs in the 7th against a very strong pitcher, and now got hosed. The other team even thought it was awful. I talked w/ the runner, and he said he didn't even notice our 3rd baseman. Needless to say, we lost on a phantom call.

Now we have to win something like 11 games in a row to win it. I won't claim to think we had a chance to win this thing, but we still want to put forth a strong effort and not get things taken away from us.

Tomorrow, we play at 11:30.

Nationals

I leave tonight with my family for Des Moines, Iowa. My fastpitch softball team, the Belleville Stallions, is playing in a national softball tournament there. We are hardly going to be one of the favorites because our pitching is below average in a tournament like this, but I think we can win a few games if we play well. If you have any interest in checking in to see how we are doing, here is the website: http://2007ws.nafafastpitch.com/a_major.htm. They have the bracket, box scores, etc., that you can view.

On a side note, the temperature there is supposed to be in the low 80s. I haven't seen that in St. Louis in at least 3 weeks if not more. In fact, the past week in a half has been hovering around the 100 degree mark.

Wish our team luck!

Why are these guys even bothering to play Omaha H/L?

Full Tilt Poker Game #3242754994: Satellite to FTOPS Event #8 (24716150), Table 2 - 60/120 - Limit Omaha H/L - 17:55:23 ET - 2007/08/13
Seat 1: stagmatta55 (401)
Seat 2: snookondahook (610)
Seat 3: fets31 (822)
Seat 4: PiMaster (1,117)
Seat 5: Randal Graves (2,943)
Seat 6: fstmdmslwbrn (441)
Seat 7: kb128 (3,978)
Seat 9: MashLikeThome (2,582)
Randal Graves posts the small blind of 30
fstmdmslwbrn posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [6s 3s 8s 3h]
kb128 folds
MashLikeThome folds
stagmatta55 calls 60
snookondahook folds
fets31 folds
PiMaster folds
Randal Graves folds
fstmdmslwbrn checks
*** FLOP *** [8c 4d Jd]
fstmdmslwbrn bets 60
stagmatta55 raises to 120
fstmdmslwbrn raises to 180
stagmatta55 raises to 240
fstmdmslwbrn calls 60
*** TURN *** [8c 4d Jd] [5d]
fstmdmslwbrn bets 120
stagmatta55 calls 101, and is all in
fstmdmslwbrn shows [8h 9d 4s 2c]
stagmatta55 shows [4c Js Tc 5h]
Uncalled bet of 19 returned to fstmdmslwbrn
*** RIVER *** [8c 4d Jd 5d] [5s]
fstmdmslwbrn shows two pair, Eights and Fives, for high
stagmatta55 shows a full house, Fives full of Jacks, for high
stagmatta55 wins the pot (832) with a full house, Fives full of Jacks
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 832 Rake 0
Board: [8c 4d Jd 5d 5s]
Seat 1: stagmatta55 showed [4c Js Tc 5h] and won (832) with HI: a full house, Fives full of Jacks
Seat 2: snookondahook didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: fets31 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: PiMaster (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Randal Graves (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: fstmdmslwbrn (big blind) showed [8h 9d 4s 2c] and lost with HI: two pair, Eights and Fives
Seat 7: kb128 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: MashLikeThome didn't bet (folded)

JT54 at a shorthanded table is bad enough, but 8 handed in early mid pos. What are you hoping for, that you hit a boat and despite the low coming your opp doesn't hit it, but he sticks around w/ a low two pair. Well good work then!

Full Tilt Poker Game #3242795996: Satellite to FTOPS Event #8 (24716150), Table 2 - 80/160 - Limit Omaha H/L - 17:59:46 ET - 2007/08/13
Seat 1: stagmatta55 (632)
Seat 2: snookondahook (945)
Seat 3: fets31 (722)
Seat 4: PiMaster (1,117)
Seat 5: Randal Graves (3,153)
Seat 7: kb128 (4,183)
Seat 9: MashLikeThome (2,142)
fets31 posts the small blind of 40
PiMaster posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [Jc 8d 8c Ks]
Randal Graves folds
kb128 raises to 160
MashLikeThome folds
stagmatta55 calls 160
snookondahook folds
fets31 calls 120
PiMaster folds
*** FLOP *** [9h 5s 3d]
fets31 checks
kb128 bets 80
stagmatta55 raises to 160
fets31 folds
kb128 raises to 240
stagmatta55 raises to 320
kb128 calls 80
*** TURN *** [9h 5s 3d] [Td]
kb128 bets 160
stagmatta55 calls 152, and is all in
kb128 shows [As 9s 6h 5h]
stagmatta55 shows [7h 8s 6c 5d]
Uncalled bet of 8 returned to kb128
*** RIVER *** [9h 5s 3d Td] [3s]
kb128 shows two pair, Nines and Fives, for high
stagmatta55 shows two pair, Fives and Threes, for high
kb128 wins the pot (1,504) with two pair, Nines and Fives
stagmatta55 stands up
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,504 Rake 0
Board: [9h 5s 3d Td 3s]
Seat 1: stagmatta55 showed [7h 8s 6c 5d] and lost with HI: two pair, Fives and Threes
Seat 2: snookondahook (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: fets31 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: PiMaster (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Randal Graves didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: kb128 showed [As 9s 6h 5h] and won (1,504) with HI: two pair, Nines and Fives
Seat 9: MashLikeThome didn't bet (folded)

Calling a raise w/ 8765? You are playing for half the pot a majority of the time. Hit a straight...usually a low shows up. If it doesn't your straight is almost always on the dumb end. Hit a low...you can't bet it and you really shouldn't call with it. But this hand does have it's upside....if an 888, 777, 666, or 555 comes (and the low doesn't get there), usually you'll scoop. The other guy's play is better but not that good either.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3242811404: Satellite to FTOPS Event #8 (24716150), Table 2 - 80/160 - Limit Omaha H/L - 18:01:25 ET - 2007/08/13
Seat 2: snookondahook (785)
Seat 3: fets31 (562)
Seat 4: PiMaster (997)
Seat 5: Randal Graves (3,153)
Seat 7: kb128 (4,575)
Seat 9: MashLikeThome (2,822)
kb128 posts the small blind of 40
MashLikeThome posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [7c 5c Jd Js]
snookondahook folds
fets31 folds
PiMaster folds
Randal Graves folds
kb128 raises to 160
MashLikeThome raises to 240
kb128 calls 80
*** FLOP *** [2c 8c Ad]
kb128 checks
MashLikeThome bets 80
kb128 calls 80
*** TURN *** [2c 8c Ad] [Ah]
kb128 checks
MashLikeThome bets 160
kb128 calls 160
*** RIVER *** [2c 8c Ad Ah] [9d]
kb128 checks
MashLikeThome checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MashLikeThome shows [Td Ac 2h Kh] a full house, Aces full of Twos, for high
kb128 mucks
MashLikeThome wins the pot (960) with a full house, Aces full of Twos
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 960 Rake 0
Board: [2c 8c Ad Ah 9d]
Seat 2: snookondahook didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: fets31 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: PiMaster didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Randal Graves (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: kb128 (small blind) mucked [Jh 4s 2d Kd] - HI: two pair, Aces and Twos
Seat 9: MashLikeThome (big blind) showed [Td Ac 2h Kh] and won (960) with HI: a full house,

Battle of the blinds. Flop A82, SB calls a bet from the BB w/ KJ42 (??). He did have the nut backdoor flush draw and he was hoping the 4 would be good if another low card came (high level Omaha 8 thinking going on). Another A comes same thing happens (the bettor already has boated). River 9 and now it goes check check (??). How can the boat check behind? Is he really afraid of an A8 or A9 heads up in the blind with a guy check calling the whole way? Sure the guy usually has a low to win half, but it is a very low risk bet.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3242841489: Satellite to FTOPS Event #8 (24716150), Table 2 - 80/160 - Limit Omaha H/L - 18:04:36 ET - 2007/08/13
Seat 2: snookondahook (465)
Seat 3: fets31 (282)
Seat 4: PiMaster (1,637)
Seat 5: Randal Graves (2,433)
Seat 7: kb128 (5,335)
Seat 9: MashLikeThome (2,742)
Randal Graves posts the small blind of 40
kb128 posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PiMaster [3h Qh Ad 8d]
MashLikeThome raises to 160
snookondahook folds
fets31 folds
PiMaster calls 160
Randal Graves folds
kb128 calls 80
*** FLOP *** [8s Kc 2h]
kb128 checks
MashLikeThome bets 80
PiMaster calls 80
kb128 calls 80
*** TURN *** [8s Kc 2h] [Qc]
kb128 checks
MashLikeThome checks
PiMaster bets 160
kb128 calls 160
MashLikeThome calls 160
*** RIVER *** [8s Kc 2h Qc] [Jh]
kb128 checks
MashLikeThome checks
PiMaster checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PiMaster shows [3h Qh Ad 8d] two pair, Queens and Eights, for high
kb128 mucks
MashLikeThome mucks
PiMaster wins the pot (1,240) with two pair, Queens and Eights
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,240 Rake 0
Board: [8s Kc 2h Qc Jh]
Seat 2: snookondahook didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: fets31 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: PiMaster (button) showed [3h Qh Ad 8d] and won (1,240) with HI: two pair, Queens and Eights
Seat 5: Randal Graves (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: kb128 (big blind) mucked [Qd 4c 3c 5c] - HI: a pair of Queens
Seat 9: MashLikeThome mucked [Js Ac 9s 9d] - HI: a pair of Jacks

Notice the UTG raisers hand [Js Ac 9s 9d]. This is equivalent to raising UTG in Limit Holdem w/ J5s maybe. Then he bets out the K82 flop (you might as well since you got yourself into this mess), and then calls a turn Q bet with basically just a gutty.

I could easily post 20 more hands from this satellite of just awful plays. This is why is a good idea to be proficient at various forms of poker. You never know when and where a profitable situation may occur.

Life is Good

"Life is Good", why do I have that phrase in my blog title? It goes back to this WSOP Main Event. I was 0 for 14 in the series, and it was probably as bad of a rut as I had been in emotionally for a while. The day before the man event, Paul, Doug Kim, Truman, Gabriel (Truman's girlfriend), and I watched this goofy little video Paul had. It was all about the power of positive thinking. I said why not try it. I went into the main event with a thought in my head, "Just play your game, and all the chips will come your way." I repeated this to myself countless times during the each day. I also thought to myself periodically while I looked at everyone at my table "You guys know I will get your chips." This sounds pretty ridiculous I know, but it put me in a positive frame of mind which makes decision making much easier simply because you are confident. Exuding confidence in poker as well as life can be felt if not seen. People react differently to confident looking people. I didn't win the main event, but I did place 306th for 40K. It got me back to about even for the series, but more importantly it gave me a better way to look at life. Since the end of the WSOP, I have been on the best run in poker since early last year when the games were much easier.

It goes beyond that though. I have a great wife, wonderful kids, and a great extended family and group of friends. Really what more could you ask for. Short term swings in poker take on much less importance. Furthermore by being my own boss, I get to chose when I work and when I spend time doing other things. I spend far more time with my wife and kids that most fathers. I am trying to keep this in mind when things aren't going as well.

Life is what you make of it. If you always whine and bitch about how shitty your job is, you have chosen to focus on that aspect of your life. It will consume you. I know plenty of people who have bad jobs; some are happy, others aren't. I rarely ever hear the happy ones complain even though they have the same problems as most everyone else. Be proactive. If you sit around doing nothing, don't be surprised when nothing good happens to you.

I believe the vast majority of people have the opportunity to make whatever they want of it. Figure out what you want out of life and how you're going to get there. Make this your daily focus. Pretty soon you just might get there, but it will take some work. I seem to accomplish most of the goals I set for myself, but I don't think I appreciate life nearly enough. Currently, my focus has been to appreciate what I have, this is why I have chosen "Life is Good."

Oops!

I was going to post some hands from my tourneys yesterday, but on my new computer I forgot to activate the autosave hand histories for Full Tilt and Stars. As a result, there are none to show. I will tell you I played 4 tournies yesterday (2 satellites, and 2 FTOPS). I satellited into the $500 PLO 6-handed yesterday by winning a single table sattellite that I owned. However, in the actual FTOPS event everything went wrong. I got seated w/ Lee Watkinson, Eddie Scharf (both of whom have final tabled the 10K PLO event at the WSOP in the last 3 years, w/ Lee winning it once), and The_Dean221 (a fairly highly ranked internet player). This was a killer table to start out at. I have some really good results in PLO myself: A 3rd place finish at the WSOP Circuit RB event in Indiana, and a win in the UB $200 RB event last December celebrating Hellmuth's 10th bracelet. I kept flopping straights (which aren't that strong in Omaha. I kept the pots small, but everytime a flush got there by river. I kept folding as a result. I had Q high flush versus A high flush heads up, and on the last hand (I was very short-stacked), I flopped two pair versus A's w/ a flush draw. Incidently, I was gone w/in 45 minutes.

I then played the $100NLH RB FTOPS. I was in for $700 after a fairly ugly first hour, but I got on fire in the 2nd hour. Then lost a couple coin flips to get short-stacked. I pushed in EP w/ T9s at the 400/800 100 ante level for 9500 and ran into KK. This was too big of a push, so I just should have folded it. It was a mistake that resulted in me getting knocked out. I had played fairly well up to the point, but you can't make those mistakes. I was in a super-satellite at the same time for the FTOPS main event, and fortunately I made it through that for a seat.

On a side note, Joel aka gamblegambel cashed again in the FTOPS RB event barely. He has played very well of recent in tournaments, and I foresee a big breakthrough shortly for him. TheMasterJ also made a good run in the RB. He finished 41st, but easily could have made a run at victory if it wasn't for his AA getting cracked by QJs for a monster pot to get knocked out.

Today I went to Harry Potter w/ my daughter. It was a little dark for her, but she still enjoyed it, and now I am beginning play in the Million. Later I will again do battle in the $300 NLH FTOPS event.

FTOPS Event #3 $200 PL Holdem

I consider PLH one of my stronger events b/c the nuances of it fit well with my style (ie tighter pre, post flop play more). I think I played real well, but you be the judge of that. My bustout hand I definitely could have played in many ways (including folding pre in most cases). I numbered all the hands so you can tell how active I have been. However, I will only note ones I played or made questionable folds pre.

10/20, 3000 in chips

8) SB 95 3 limpers, I limp, BB R to 70, I fold
10) CO AKd 1 limp, I R to 80 2 Call
Q44 2 spades ch ch I R to 150 all fold, 3130
13) 3rd QTs I limp, blinds in
Q74, 2 diamonds ch, B to 40, I call, fold
4, 2 clubs ch ch
9 diamond ch, I B 100 fold, 3210

15/30, 3210 in chips

18) But 95c 2 limpers, I limp, BB in
JT9, ch @
4, ch R to 67, I fold
19) CO QT, 4th Limps, I R to 110, he calls
T88 2 diamonds ch, I B 150 fold, 3290
21) 4th QJ I limp, Blinds in
A92 ch ch I B 60 fold, 3350
23) 2nd JJ I R to 90 all fold
24) UTG KQs I R to 90 all fold, 3440
26) SB TT 2nd Limps, 3rd R to 120, 4th R to 280 I fold (both raisers have @3k - do u set mine)
I was afraid of the RR even though I am pretty sure 2nd guy has KK or AA
28) CO JT 3rd R to 88, I call, BB call
A62 2 spades ch @
Q R to 139 fold @, 3307

20/40, 3307 in chips

35) SB T9 I limp, BB ch
T52 I ch he R to 80, I call
A ch, he R to 200, I call
J ch ch he shows 92, 3587

25/50, 3587 in chips

44) SB K4 3 limpers, I complete, BB R to 200, I fold
48) 4th JT I R to 125, CO & BB call
AKT ch, I B 250, call fold
9 ch, hes allin for 778, I fold, 3112

30/60, 3112 in chips

52) BB 83 UTG limp, SB and me come in
AT2, 2 clubs ch ch R to 180, I fold
56) HJ JTs 3rd R to 120, me & BB call
K63, 2 clubs ch, B to 180, I R to 600, all fold, 3472

End of 1st Hour w/ 3472 in chips, Avg 4100, I'm in 632 of 1224, a guy 3 to my right has raised my blinds almost everytime it has been folded to him. The button keeps calling almost everytime. I have let it go so far b/c the blinds aren't big enough to care, but soon I will make some moves.

40/80, 3472 in chips

61) BB T6, 3rd limps, I ch
KQ5, ch, R to 140, i fold
63) BUT 54c, CO R to 240, I call (debated RR), BB call
QJ2, 2 clubs ch, B 400, I R to 1100, BB allin for 308 more, fold I call, he shows T9????
T, T of clubs, 5600
65) HJ JT, 2nd R to 220, 3rd me & CO call, SB R to 1400, fold @
66) 4th 22, 3rd R to 240, I call, HJ R to 800, fold @ (he had 4200 more, I had to call 560)
67) 3rd 99 UTG me & CO limp, BUT R to 380 All call
J43, 2 clubs, ch ch R to 1640, Allin for 5660, I fold
70) BB 85d, CO R to 225, BUT calls (these are the 2 I was talking about), SB call, I R to 1000,
all fold, 5475

50/100, 5395 in chips

74) HJ A8c, UTG 2nd me & blinds limp (5-handed)
K92, 2 spades, ch R to 250, all fold
77) 2nd KQc, I R to 275, 3rd & BB call
743, 2 hearts ch I B 550, fold, call
T ch ch
J R to 987 (half his stack) I fold, 4510
81) BUT AT, HJ R to 300 (he has 2K left so I opt to just call instead of RR)
J64, 2 clubs B 300, I R to 1400 fold, 5110
83) HJ AQ I R to 275 bought
84) 4th 87s I R to 275 bought
85) 3rd AQ I R to 275 4th calls
J64, ch B 500, I fold, 5135

60/120, 5135 in chips

91) CO KJc I R to 300, BB calls
KKJ 2 diamonds, ch ch
6 2 hearts B 330, I call
6 B 1320 (pot leaving himself 218 more), I put him in, he folds, 6965
95) 2nd AJ, I R to 300 CO call SB R to 1050, I fold, 6665
99) BUT QT I limp as 1st in, Blinds come in
Q64, 2 diamonds ch, B 180, I R to 650, all fold, 6905
101) HJ KTd, I R to 300 bought

80/160, 7085 in chips

106) BB QT, SB completes I R to 420, he folds, 7245
115) BB 75 UTG limp, blinds come in
KQ6, 2 hearts ch I B 300, both call
9 heart B 690, I fold, 6705

100/200, 6625 in chips

121) 3rd 99, UTG R to 550 (he has over 20K), I call
QT6, ch ch
K B 700, I fold, 6075

End of 2nd Hour 5775 in chips, Avg 7359, I'm in 374 of 682. I think I have maximized my chip count in most hands, while making a few moves here and there.

120/240, 5775 in chips

150/300, 5055 in chips

from hand 122 until 153 i got - Q5,94s,94s,62,53,J5s,A2,74,Q4c,J8,75,J9,62,73,J9,54c,82h,T9,
84c,86,T3,J5,Q2,94,J8s,J5,T3,92,KQ(UTG??),K7,T3&53d
154) CO AQ, I R to 750 bought, 5055
159) UTG AK I R to 750, 2nd calls
AQT, ch ch
2 ch, B 1000, I R allin for 4305, fold, 7255 (1st hand I won in since 106 and I increased
my stack by 10) - this is why you can afford to be patient in PL. With that in mind I
bring you the bustout
161) SB 94h, I had already written fold down, but it folded @ & I decided to limp, BB ch
K53, 2 hearts (we each start w/ @6600), I B 400, he R to 1K, I RR to 3K, he tanks and
goes allin, I call getting 3 to 1, he has K7
8, K Im out - I thought his R to 1K looked like a feeler & he would fold to a RR. I also
mentally commited myself to the pot when I RR.

I would definitely like opinoins on some of the hands I played especially the last one. I feel like I made alot of well timed moves, and solid plays w/ my good hands. I did not get a pair above JJ, and I got AK twice. I only flopped 1 monster (the KJ boat & completely maximized it). I had 1 other big pot w/ the 54c allin on the flush draw versus straight draw (where I was probably only a small dog).

Moon and Mandy both had deep runs. Moon took two ugly beats to get knocked out, and played a fantastic tourney. I plan on playing both the PLO 500 and NLH 100 w/RBs tomorrow in the FTOPS.

FTOPS Event #2 - HORSE

For my inagural blog, I am doing a moon type run through of my HORSE tourney from yesterday. Any comments or insight on some hands would be appreciated.

R - raise BUT - Button L - limp
RR - reraise CO - cutoff
Ch - check HJ - hijack
B - bet UTG,BB,SB

Holdem 20/40 3000 in chips

1) SB 99 2nd hand of tourney folds@ I R, BB calls qj4 B Call, 8 Ch B Call, A Ch Ch, he wins w/ J9
2) HJ 44 folds@ I R, BB call, kj9 Ch B fold
3) BUT ATs 2nd pos (xrao) R, 3rd call, I call, k63 (2 of my suit) 2nd R fold I RR fold
4) BUT JJ 3rd pos R, I RR Calls, A92 B I RR fold
I have noticed that xrao raises loosely and all the time (pretty much an autoraise in mid to latepos if folded to him)

Omaha H/L 30/60 3110 in chips (suited cards in parentheses)

5) BB A9(53), folds@ SB complete I R Call, JT7 Ch Ch (opt not to B w/ complete miss), 8 B fold
6) SB A2(72), 3rd (xrao) L, BUT R, I Call BB Call 3rd Call (4-Handed) AK4 Ch@ BUT B, all fold
7) BB 2(34)6 UTG R I Call, k97 ch ch, K I B Call, 6 ch B fold

Razz 40/80 7 ante 10 bring in 2870 in chips ( ) - down cards (i am leaving out other upcards b/c too difficult to record)

8) (73)2K47(J) xrao ( )4TT3 on 3rd R I call, 4th bet I call, 5th I bet, R, I RR call, 6th I B R
I call, 7th ch ch, he shows a 754 down and wins
9) (42)3983(Q) xrao ( )A6QT 3rd R I call, 4th R I call, 5th I R RR I call, 6th B I R RR I cap
7th B I call he shows 973 down and wins (this was ridiculously played by him he put in the 3rd bet on 6th street on more than likely a draw. I can see there is no way he is ahead so I cap it w/ one to come knowing he has to hit)

10) (KQ)7 I L in late pos and get HU w/ bring in bet on 4th & win

Stud 50/100 10 ante 15 BI 1323 in chips

11) (AK)J bought
12) (44)2x vs ( )JJ i was BI got a free look at 4th & fold to his bet
13) (7T)J3 vs ( )78s vs ( )Q6 3rd 7up R i decide to take flyer & Q comes in behind, 78 bets I fold (very marginal play by me at best)
14) (AQ)JK95(5) vs ( )3Q62 I bet whole way and R me on 7th I fold

I ended the 1st hour w/ 853 in chips. I won 6 hands (all on flop or b4 or 4th street or b4). xrao continued to bet, raise & reraise w/o any thoughts of other players holdings. However, he was hot and had a fair amount of chips (which was good).

Stud H/L 60/120 10 ante 20 BI 873 in chips

15) (43)6466(6) xrao ( )57QsK 3 clubs up 3rd R I call, 4th B I call, 5th I B R call, 6th I ch
(stupidly) ch, 7th I B he calls - he had flush (I am now at 1400)
16) (AA)73 ( )Q3 3rd I R call, 4th I B fold (1523)
17) (75)AQJ vs ( )39A vs ( )2Q5 suited 3rd Limped, 4th ck@, 5th 2q5 bets i fold (this is a
marginal holding on 3rd but the A up provides me some scare potential
and I got in for only the bring in
18) (8A)2 I was BI and got a walk
19) (24)A324 xrao ( )5Q7K I opened and bet whole way won on 6th (2013)
20) (KT)KJ3J(T) vs ( )42T7 all same suit I opened in late and bet thru 5th street, check called
6th and 7th and was lucky to split. He had 36k down none of suit

Holdem 80/160 2133 in chips

21) SB KQ, BUT R I RR call, Q42 I B call, 9 I B call, A ch ch he had TT (2700)
22) SB AJ xrao R CO call BUT RR I fold (xrao flops flush w/ KTs to win a monster)
23) 2nd 77, I R SB RR call, KK3 B I call, 8 B fold (not sure how to play this)

Omaha H/L 100/200 2133 in chips

24) 2nd (35)48 I L, it gets R and RR I fold (marginal limp at best, I hit straight for half if stayed)
25) 3rd A8(J3) fold to UTG R
26) UTG AK(Q4) I R, 2nd RR I call, 236 B R I call, 7 (2nd of my suit) I B R I call, A (of my suit)
I B, R, I RR he calls w/ A224 (I am lucky to 3/4 him)
27) BB (56)(T7) CO R SB call I call (marginal call), A24 (2 of my suit) ch ch B fold I R call,
J I B call, 3 I B, R, I call, he has AA57 and we split
28) SB (A2)98 folds@ I R BB RR call, A374K I ch call flop & turn, ch ch river, he has AAQJ split

Razz 120/240 20 ante 40 BI 2496 in chips

29) (87)AT vs ( )A6 vs ( )2K L @ on 3rd fold to B on 4th (marginal starting hand basically
looking to play the other guys hand)
30) (98)62JA(7) vs ( )2ATT poor hand by me then got beat on 7th, guy B 3rd & 4th, I B
6th and ch called 7th he had 643 down (1020 in chips)
31) (92)A27 xrao ( )K85 xrao is BI, I R w/ only 1 low card up behind me & xrao calls! I B 4th &
5th he folds 1550 chips
32) (32)542A(J) vs (23)4J68(6) i call R on 3rd, I B rest of way he R on 6th I RR to put him
allin drawing dead 2660

End of 2nd Hour 2620 in chips (Avg 3865 Im in 554 of 804). xrao has over 10K and is in top ten. Chips are going to be up for grabs.

Stud 150/300 25 ante 50 BI 2620 chips

33) (JT)Q24 vs ( )7TA 3rd I R RR I call, he bets 4th & 5th I fold
34) (KQ)T bought
35) (AQ)J bought 2350 chips
36) (TQ)JQ95(Q) vs ( )336A 3rd I R call (he was BI), 4th 5th & 6th B I call (I dont think he has
trips possibly a lower 2 pair, maybe nothing), 7th ch I B call, he has 765
down (his 3rd street call is very poor) 3700
37) (AA)652Q(T) vs ( )JT6K 3rd R I call (trying to disguise), 4th B I R call, 5th ch I B call,
6th & 7th ch ch he has J94 down, I m up to 4550

Stud H/L 200/400 30 ante 50 BI 4550 in chips

38) (3T)A bought
39) (79)852 vs ( )JT7 I was BI & got free look, I B 4th & 5th to win 5100
40) (3K)AA vs ( )2Q 3rd L 4th B & won 5500
Pearljammed sits on my left
41) (3K)A236(8) vs ( )7532 3rd I R (steal) call, 4th & 5th ch I B call, 6th ch ch (I dont see him
folding and I am weak), 7th B I make a crying call (I hit an unlikely to win
low & split w/ my pair of 3s) he has A62 down 5450
42) (99)295 (all up r suited) vs ( )AKJ 3rd I BI & get free look, 4th B I call, 5th ch B fold 5875

Holdem 250/500 5675 in chips

43) UTG AKs, I R SB RR call, T(72) 2 of my suit, B, I R, RR call, 3 B I call, Q ch ch (he had only
260 left) he has AK for chop. did I misplay this at any point?...4 bet flop or bet river?
44) HJ KQ bought 6175
45) UTG AQ, I R, 3rd RR I call, T93 ch fold

Omaha H/L 300/600 5050 in chips

46) BUT (A9)23 xrao R I call, JT7 B I fold (he is not the guy to make a move on)
47) 2nd AAQ8, I R (not that great of play), xrao RR, BUT RRR we call, 763 flop ch fold 2950
48) UTG (A3)(Q3), I L blinds come in KQ9 2 of my A high suit, ch ch I B fold@ 3550
49) BB A2(J9), xrao R I call, 8548 I ch call flop & turn, A ch ch, he has 25J9, I get 3/4, 4413
50) 2nd A4(K5) L 5-Handed, QT5 2 of my suit, I R xrao RR call, A ch ch, 2 ch ch, he has QJT9
I may have missed a bet but I had no low & fairly weak high 5913

I end the 3rd hour at 5463 (Avg 7507 251 of 404) xrao has lost most of his chips including alot on a poorly played hand agains PearlJammed (who may have played it worse). PJ R CO w/ AJ77, xrao RR in SB w/ AA96, flop Q53 B call, T B call, K B R call. First of all PJ should not be stealing those blinds w/ that hand or calling flop or turn. xrao should have ch called river. All in all awfully played by both.

Razz 400/800 75 ante 100 BI 5463

51) (42)A6KQ(J) vs (38)A2TQ(4), 3rd shortstack R I RR call, get it allin on 4th for about 4500
pot, I brick 3 straight 3350
52) (A6)42TQ(8) xrao (34)925J(6), 3rd I L as does xrao, on 4th we get it allin for a 3500 pot,
he is drawing to a 9 me to a 6, he hits a 65 I brick 1650
53) (63)AQ55(9) vs (62)323T(4) allin on 3rd & I double up on coin flip 3500
A bunch of BI and antes takes me down

Stud 500/1000 100 ante 150 BI 1673

54) (A7)QJ vs ( )29 3rd I R BI calls, I buy on 4th
55) (6A)Q4 vs ( )2Q vs ( )66, 3rd I try to steal 2 callers fold on 4th (it is 500 to R on 3rd for 950
antes & BI, I try to steal at this point if I have highest card up plus live cards down)
56) (QJ)Q7JT(6) vs (9K)K885(J) desparation mode I get allin on 3rd

I got knocked out 305th out of 1036 (29.44 percentile). I mention this b/c Moon said my over/under for this event was 30th %ile (nice line Moon). I felt I played real well minus a few marginal hands I'd like back. If the two Razz hands go my way when I am ahead on the last cycle, I have 10K+ in chips. I fought back from a frigid 1st hour that left me shortstacked, but I could never get over the hump.

Today, I am going to Raging Rivers w/ my wife & kids for a nice day in the sun at a water park.
Tonight I am playing in the $200 PL Holdem Event #3.