It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been able to blog with this as the title. Now I’ve reached the final table twice in two nights. Tonight, I played a $50 NL Hold ‘Em tourney with 68 entrants. I finished in 9th, but should probably have finished higher.
I got AK in the small blind. It’s raised in front of me about slothoki and I call. The flop is A-x-x. I check, he bets the pot and I raise all-in. He calls and shows AQ. Guess what the turn card is? Oh well, I’m out in 9th with $102.
The tourney last night gave me my best finish ever…
Hand #32
We’re down to just six players and here’s the standings:
I’m at seat 0 with 25310.
Pomobufuguy is at seat 1 with 38185.
Polo79 is at seat 2 with 50360.
acerol is at seat 4 with 54400.
steelhead is at seat 5 with 40505.
bnet is at seat 6 with 22240.
I get dealt A♦ 5♦. There are two folds in front of me and I raise the big blind of 3000 to 6000. acerol (the big stack) calls. The flop comes 6♣ 8♥ 7♣. I’ve got an open-ended straight draw and figure it’s a good time to make a stand. He limps in with 3000 and I go all-in. He folds.
Hand #36
I’m in the small blind of 1500 when I get J♠ K♠. It’s folded around to me and I raise to 7500 and get called by Pomobufuguy. The flop is 2♦ 4♦ 8♠. We both check. The turn is the T♠. We both check. The river is the 6♣. I check, he bets 7500 and I have to fold.
Hand #44
I’m down to 25310 now and in 6th place out of 6. In late position, I get 8♣ K♠. I fold. Polo79 (biggest stack) calls and acerol (in 4th place) raises to 6000. Polo 79 calls. The flop is 7♠ 2♥ T♦. Polo79 bets 3000, acerol raises to 15000, Polo79 calls. The turn is the A♥. Polo79 goes all-in and gets called. It’s the showdown. Polo79 has 7d 6♣. It’s just third pair. acerol has T♠ K♣. He’s got 2nd pair. The river floats Polo79 a miracle. It’s the 7♥. acerol finishes in 6th.
Hand #45
Next hand and I quickly fold my Q♠ 6♥. Polo79 (now the huge stack) raises to 6000 and steelhead (4th place just ahead of me) goes all-in. Polo79 calls. Here’s the showdown: Polo79 A♥ A♠, steelhead Ad 7♥. Tough break for steelhead. The cards come 6♠ 9♦ 9♠ Q♣ 4♠. steelhead is out in 5th.
Hand #53
A few hands later, and I’m about 1000 behind 3rd with 29810. I get Q♣ Qd. Pretty. I raise the big blind of 3000 to 10000 and everyone folds. Too strong? Nah. I’ll take the blinds. I’m up to 34310.
Hand #80
27 hands later(!) and I’m now at 36310. I’ve hardly moved, but I am up to 3rd place, just ahead of 4th. I get dealt A♠ Qd. I’m in the small blind of 2000 and I raise to 16000. Pomobufuguy is about 7000 ahead of me. He re-raises me all-in. I don’t think he’s got a better hand. I call. It’s showdown time and he’s holding the all-powerful A♦ 9♦. It wasn’t a bad play by him, but I’m a big favorite. In fact, I only supposed to lose this hand 27% of the time.
Guess what? Flop comes 5♦ 9♥ 6♠. Suddenly, I’ve got an 86% chance of losing. The turn is the 6♥ and the river is the 5♠. So instead of taking down a 76620 pot and moving into a strong second, I bust out in 4th. The good news is the $173 I took with me!
I couldn’t get too upset because earlier in the tourney, I caught a miracle 10 on the river that propelled me to the final table. It was the difference between winning $27 and $173. I’ll take it.
On a side note… if anyone knows how to make the diamond symbol, drop me a line. Thanks!
Chris over at his poker blog has instructions for how to get the playing card symbols on your blog(Movable Type primarily). Right now, my diamonds don’t quite look right, but I’m just practicing. I’m going to try this, but I’m doomed to fail since I don’t know scripts that well. Hopefully I don’t destroy the blog!
