Finally, another score

Played the Full Tilt $14k guaranteed tourney tonight after a day of drinking. Finished 4th out of 643 when my pocket 4s was beat by A 10s with the river 10. Won $1350 for my efforts. Some details to follow. Right now I need some sleep.

Update 11/13

I had come home from watching the Badger lose their game to the Hawkeyes. I had a belly full of Leinie's Red and Goldschlager. Some say you should play poker while drinking. I say they don't know what they are talking about. I think I play better when tanked.

That may be why I didn't do as well in Pauly's tournament. I finished somewhere in the 20s I believe. I had built up a decent stack and was doing well until I lost chunk of chips when my flopped set of 7s ran into flopped set of Qs. But I fought my way back and was doing well again until I donked off my chips to GRob. He took the last of my stack when the Hiltons beat my pocket 10s. Seems fitting.

So when I got home half in the bag and fired up the pc, I didn't intend to play another tournament. Intentions are one thing. Actions are another. I registered for a Razz tourney on Full Tilt. Did ok for a while before I got two great starting hands hit with a ton of bricks. Finished 38 out of 66 there.

As the Razz tournament was going I saw there appeared to be a nice overlay on the $14k tournament that was to start in 10 minutes. Why does there always seem to be a mad rush in the last couple of minutes that kills the overlay?

The no limit tourney started out well. I double up early and was playing pretty good. I had just about tripled up when I lost 3/4 of my chips losing A Qo to 9 10 suited. I had raised it preflop 3.5xs the BB and the SB came along. Flop was Q 9 4. He bet the pot on the flop. I just min-raised thinking that would get him out. He called. The 10 hit the turn and he checked. I pushed him all in and he insta-called showing the two pair. At first I was shocked. Then mad. I should have made a bigger flop raise.

It was at this point that I realized the problem I was having in these tournaments. I was playing aggressively but wasn't changing gears. If I built up my chips early on, I would end up getting involved in pots with weak hands when I was trying to steal. I needed to tighten up in the middle of the games when the time was right. That is what I did during the 14k.

Of course, I did get lucky along the way. I had built my stack back up thanks to some Cowboys and Pocket Rockets. I went on a little rush that got me back into the game. But there were two key hands that not only propelled me into the top ten, but also guaranteed I would be in the money with 90 left and 63 paying.

With A 8o, and about 18k in chips, I made my first move. I think blinds were 800/1600. UTG limped and it folded to me in MP. The LPs were all pretty passive so I figured I could take down the pot right there. I read the limp by the UTG player to be a weak ace as well. A weak ace that he would fold. So I was surprised to see the call and him turn over A 9o. I wouldn't play that to a push. So I was about to leave when an 8 hit the flop. I hit my 3 outer for once and doubled up. My opponent then started bitching in the chat box. I did my best to get him totally on tilt and chatted it up. Sure enough, he donked off the rest of his chips within the next 5 hands.

Later with about 88k, I got really lucky. I was dealt 10 10 UTG. I made a pot size raise. It folded to the button who re-raised the min. That left him just 10k behind. The blinds got out of the way and it was 51k to me. I pushed him all in. I figured he had A K or A Q at best. I was partially right. He did have an A. But he had another one to go with it. I looked to see if I lost the hand I would have 11k with. The flop looked innocuous- Q 9 x. The J on the turn suddenly gave me 4 more outs. I was pleasantly surprised to see the K on the river giving me a straight. The table went bonkers and I was able to sit back and breathe a sigh of relief.

I was now over 160k. From there I tightened up into the money. I was able to steal some blinds along the way but I stopped making too many loose calls in an effort to knock people out. People fell like flies and before I knew it, it was the final table. My plan was simple at this point. Outlast the 4 small stacks to get a bigger payday and get some chips to make a stab at victory. The small guys stuck around for about a half hour before dropping off. I was able to win some good pots but never got over 225k. I lost a chunk with A 3. My continuation bet was called on a Q high flop. I made one last stab with on the river with a 30k bet but had to fold to a raise. I could have tried to outlast one other player into 3rd place, but to do so would mean not playing to win. If I was going to win, it meant I had to double up and get the ammo I would need to be a force. Thus, I had to win a coin toss with my 4 4. It looked so good until the river.

I felt ok about 4th. The payout was nice. Third was good for another 400 while second would have meant another grand. I was also lucky enough that the power didn't go out on me. A big wind storm came blowing through Milwaukee in the early hours. With 5 of us left, the light flickered and I though the electricity was going to go. About 4 hours later, it did. So I feel I dodged a bullet there as well.

Now if only I can win today in the shootout...