Badger Poker..Day 3, Where's my shirt?

Gametime! No that is the name of the bar that had the tourney last night, not some proud declaration. One guy I work with always says that so and so won because he caught cards. For the most part, it is true only because it makes it easier to play. It is when you don't have the cards that matters how you play. That and a little luck. But before we get into that part too much, I know what you are thinking. How were the wings? Best wings of the 3 days. They had their own sauces which gives them a resounding victory. I went with the Firestorm. It had a bit of heat. Good though. Next time I have to try the Hotter than Hades. Supposedly it is much hotter.

But on to poker. I got into the room with about 10 minutes to play. It was packed. Little room between tables. I squees into a spot, one of the few that are left. I notice one guy from last night right away. I then see the Cowboys fan at the end. I noticed how aggressive he likes to play. And then there is my nemesis. The idiot player who knocked me out. Yes, the idiot player (IP for short). I can now substantiate this as he is not a good player. Lucky maybe, but not good. In like the second hand, he called down half of his stack with 3rd pair. Yes, third pair and he called a final bet of 2500. Amazing. There was one other player like that at the table, who I would knock out. But for the most part, I didn't get much to play. Early on I did get big slick but that was busted by trip 5s. This guy played it well. He had the pocket 5s and flopped the set. He slow played and then made a good bet. Took me and another with big slick for ride. Suddenly I was down half my stack. Not much happened. Later I would knock this other guy out with pocket jacks. But little else as blinds went up. Suddenly I was down to just 1700. Went all in on J 10 and beat out J 9 when no help came. My K Q would double me up with a Q. Later, my K J would suckout A Q when I hit the K on the river. That popped me up to 15500, the highest I would get. I went out on a decent hand. With the blinds at 500/1000, it was raised to me a total of 4500. I was in the big blind. Had pocket 10s. I raised it 4500 more. He gave the big sigh. I liked that sign. I figured A high, not even with a face. He finally called. Flop came 8 8 5. I moved all in with my final 6k or so. He quickly called and showed A 8. I knew he didn't have a bigger pair, but he had me. 2 hours of not much but I had made a small move. If I had doubled up again, I had enough to wait and start to steal other blinds. For a while though, I must have gone a half hour without playing a hand.

I did try and bluff out some. In one case, I allowed my nemesis to double up mainly because I didn't know he was down to 1000. I raised with J 10. Had IP and another. Flop came with rags. I bet 1000. He called all in as the other guy folded. He showed A 9. Ace high won. Later on, he would hit a straight on the river to double up again. He finally got knocked out when his flush didn't fill. He called a 3000 raise with 5 6 clubs. Amazing. Now you see why he is an idiot player. I will look for him at future tables.

Overall, I didn't get much to play. I did very well with what I did get. Got lucky on some, but had little to play with. Pushed in on players I knew would call. Hit some, mainly when it counted. So it goes.

What I am looking for is feedback. On the last hand with pocket 10s, should I have gone all in? I think my bet was good. I was willing to take a chance and see the flop hit. If an A hits, I am out as I had him pegged on the ace. I also say to go all in is wrong as I have a better chance for more action. Your thoughts?