Finally ... some run good!

Its been a rough month. I feel like I've been playing better but the results haven't been there. The bankroll peaked at $630 last month and has been down as low as $420 or so this month. The frustration comes from a feeling of "plateauing".

After another break-even/slightly unprofitable session last night, I posted this on Twitter:
"feel like i'm so close to killing the games but lack luck late in the tournaments"
I played 17 tournaments last night, cashing 4 but the disappointment was that my best finish was just two 5ths in the 45's. Not only that but I bubbled 3 more tournaments.

This afternoon tho was a completely different story. I had a fairly productive day at work but was in slow-down mode by 4:30 so I fired up a couple of $1.75 18 man tournaments. I finished second in one and failed to cash in the other. From there tho I went on a tear, cashing 4 straight games including two 2nd places in the $3.25 45 man tournaments.

So tonight I cashed 5 of 7 tournaments and took three 2nds. I'm not too worried about the poor winning conversion rate as I feel I played the heads-up well. In the 18 man game the guy was an extremely good player (I OPR'd him) but the other two weren't. I fought back from a huge deficit in one but my top set on the flop of a strongly raised pot got beaten by a flush draw that hit on the turn. The other I pushed with king jack off, got called by 7 9 suited, I caught a king on the flop but again the villain turned the flush.

Form on SharkScope = HOT

The Poker Star

Well, not too much to report from the PokerStars $50K, or at least nothing exciting for me anyway. I didn't realise but the tournament I had qualified was in fact a rebuy tournament and my first time in it the $10 rebuy didn't interest me too much when I had satellited in using FPP points.

I played fairly tight early, took down some small pots and avoided some of the rebuy madness that was going on at the table. I virtually tripled up at one point with top pair king kicker on the flop managed to outrun top pair midkicker and flush draw in a raised pot. So I survived through until the end of the rebuy and add-on period and got to see that there was a first prize of over $10K up for grabs. Shortly after tho I had ace ten in the big blind and in a multiway unraised pot the flop came 10, 10, 6 ... hello!! It checked around to the button who bet smallish so I called and figured I'd lead out on the turn which I did, I got re-raised and hoped I was up against a worse ten, flush draw or bottom pair. Unfortunately the button had pocket 6's and I was needing help on the river but it didn't come and I was gone midfield.

Other than that tournament tho, my early morning good form continued as I got a 3rd in a $3 45 man, min-cashed a 180 and then won a $3 45 man, all in my first couple of games. From there tho I failed to cash in the next 11 games, bubbling 3 (frustratingly). Happy with the way I played tho and a profitable day overall.

As I mentioned, I missed Joe Hachem's The Poker Star last night but you have to love YouTube for having it on there already. I've just finished watching it and its great to see that the episodes are an hour long, unlike 2M2MM which is just 30 minutes and is drawing heat in the forums for being too short. The city of Melbourne and Crown Casino make a great back-drop for the show and its good to see Lee Nelson involved as well. Week 1 was very much a getting to know the contestants episode so we'll see how the show develops from here.

Good start to the day

I just got up an hour or two ago, didn't feel like breakfast as I ate a lot yesterday. I went to the gym in the afternoon, had a couple of sandwiches when I got home and then went to a friend's place to watch the AFL Grand Final, NRL Semi-Final and I was hoping to catch the first episode of Joe Hachem's The Poker Star but unfortunately that last one didn't happen. As soon as I walked in the door, the beers were cracked and the food started flowing and really didn't stop.

Anyway, I like playing poker on Sunday mornings because its the one chance I get to play in a number of the big MTT's. I late registered for one about 50 minutes late, normally I wouldn't but there was over 6000 players in it and it was only a $1 buy-in. Nothing exciting to report there, registered for another $1 buy in one and didn't do much better there either.

I've been wondering what to do with my FPP's and decided to play in a satellite to the nightly 50K guaranteed (normally an $11 buy-in). It was only 70FPP's and it was a turbo satellite which I really didn't take in to account in the early rounds. Thankfully I got some hands at the right time, picked a few other good spots and was right back in the game. There was 190'ish runners, 19 of which would qualify for the 50K. Being a turbo the blinds were high late and an ace high shove from the small blind held up and I was well in contention. The table was very tight unless they had a big hand so I was pleasantly surprised when everyone folded to my blind instead of making me taking a stand around the bubble. I used my time bank in the right spots to slow our table down and it worked well enough to get me through. The 50K starts in just over an hour so hopefully I can do something in that.

While playing that I also won a $1 45 man game. I was in a good position all the way through and despite being last in chips with about 4 to go, got some hands, took down some blinds and got out of the way when the big action started. I went in to heads-up facing a large deficit but took down a big hand or two to even the ledger. We then went back and forth for a while until he went card dead and got too passive. He was folding way too many hands when short-stacked and I was able to take advantage of it.

Tiffany Michelle & Maria Ho - Amazing Race

I just finished watching Amazing Race season 14 last night (yes, we're a little behind here in Australia) and today thanks to Twitter, found out that professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho are teaming up in season 15 of the show.

Here's their introduction and the new season kicks off on Sunday in the US (probably at least a month later down here):

Headed in the right direction

After a rough last week or two on PokerStars, things seem to be heading in the right direction again. I've been pretty much breaking even for each session this week and then had a solid night yesterday.

The night started slowly, failing to cash in any of the first 6 games. The 7th however I broke through for a 2nd place in a $3 45 man game. The heads-up play was essentially over before it began as the chip leader had taken out the other stack so he had a 11:1 chip lead on me. I had to defend my big blind with king 3 suited, he had pocket tens, I caught a 3 but that was it, game over.

A few games later I got a 5th place in another 45. I was short-stack at the table and it got folded to me in the small blind so I shoved all-in to the big blind with king 5 off. He had a decent stack so could've called me with lesser hands but instead turned over ace king and I didn't improve.

After playing a number of the $2 180's and doing nothing in them, I finished well with a 4th place for $29. I was about to be big blind so I shoved all-in with king queen off, unfortunately for me the big stack was the big blind and could easily call with ace rag. Flopped an ace, I caught a queen but nothing else.

As the night was drawing to a close, I also played two $1.75 18 mans. I was out early in the first one but got second in the last one. Heads-up started with the villain having a 3:1 chip lead. I got it back to 2:1 at one point but called an all-in defending my big blind with ace 9 off, he turned over king ten off and rivered a straight to seal the win.

Unfortunately the 18 man games don't get counted on OPR so my month is still -2% ROI on there. I've had 5 straight months of positive returns so I would really like to finish this week and therefore the month strongly and get back in black. There's still plenty of time but I only have 2 wins so far this month, if I can get this to 5 or more that would really help the bankroll and my profitability. With my winning session last night, I'm back over US$500, after dipping under $440 earlier in the week.

2009 WCOOP: Sick! ElkY scores 2nd bracelet in Event #43, $215 NLHE - PokerStars Poker Blog

I've been taking an interest in the WCOOP this year as I get more and more involved in the poker world. With work not being overly busy all the time, I log on to PokerStars during the day just to rail some of the big name players. I tend to watch the big name pros such as Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker plus some of the bigger name online players such as Shaun Deeb, Tony Dunst and Alex Fitzgerald.

As the work day was winding down, I ended up watching Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier take down his 2nd bracelet of the series. As we speak, he's down to the final 12 of a second chance event where the first prize is over $130,000. Run better ...

Here's the story of how he got his 2nd bracelet, click on the title to read the full story.

2009 WCOOP: Sick! ElkY scores 2nd bracelet in Event #43, $215 NLHE - PokerStars Poker Blog

Event #43, the last of the $215 buy-in no-limit hold'em events in this year's WCOOP series, drew a whopping 9,220 entrants, making for a $1,844,000 prize pool. That was well beyond the $1 million guarantee, and the eighth time during the series we've seen a prize pool of greater than $1.5 million. (There'd be one more WCOOP event with at least a $1.5 million prize pool, of course -- the Main Event, with more than $10 million up for grabs!) The top 1,350 finishers would be cashing in this one, with first place scheduled to earn a nifty $263,323.20.

After nine-and-a-half hours of play, the field had been whittled down to 250 players, with Team PokerStars pros Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier in 12th, Victor Ramdin in 22nd, and Barry 'barryg1' Greenstein in 90th. At that point, 0926ricsi held the chip lead with 683,105, followed closely by LakersGTD, kezug, ångvälten, and HN Kakaroto.

At the 11-and-a-half hour mark, they were down to 100 players. Greenstein had departed in 203rd, followed by Team PokerStars Holland Pro Lex 'RaSZi' Veldhuis in 152nd. But Ramdin was still there in 42nd, and Grospellier had chipped all of the way up to second place, just behind LakersGTD who was nearing the 200,000 mark.

ElkY would soon overtake LakersGTD and claim the chip lead. With five cashes already this WCOOP and a bracelet in Event #38 (NLHE $530 + 1R1A), the London-based French pro appeared to be gearing up for yet another deep run in an WCOOP event. (Click here to read ElkY's reflection on his WCOOP win for the PokerStars blog.)

PokerStars update

Its been a tough week at the tables for me. I've had a couple of awful sessions and I've also had some good performances.

I was proud of the way I played Sunday. Usually a tougher day because its Saturday night in the US and its tough when you have a higher % of donks and suck-outs that you have to try and avoid. I mentioned that I didn't plan to play that day, that I had plenty of other stuff to do ... which I did, but they didn't get done. I decided to just play the cheaper $1 entry games and performed well winning one 90 man, a second in a 45 and plenty of other cashes.

Monday on the other hand was just awful. Stepping back up to concentrate on the $2 180's and the $3 45's, I proceeded to not cash in 21 straight tournaments. Not good for the confidence or the bankroll.

Not much exciting after that until last night when in the early part of the session I was on the final table of two 180 mans. I was really pleased with that because I had bubbled the final table of these a number of times over the last few days. Considering the comparitive increase in pay-outs for the final table to finish just off it had been very annoying. So at the hourly break I was 4-handed on one table and 7-handed on the other, with a fair shot of winning my first one of these. 4-handed the chip leader was being super aggressive and pushing the table around. I got involved with one of the other stacks with pocket 7's in the big blind and I played it badly. I should've re-raised all-in vs his button raise but chose to flat call and bet strong on the flop. The board was all diamonds, two lower than my 7's but I didn't have one. I bet, got re-raised all-in and I now regret that I folded. He could've had the flush draw or one of the two lower cards, but ... we'll never know. Shortly after the chip leader raises strongly on the button and I have pocket kings in the small blind, great! I instantly re-raise all-in over the top and he makes the call with ... 5 9 suited. 9 on the flop ... no problem ... 9 on the river and I'm gone in 4th.

Nothing as eventful on the other table. I had fought back from a short-stack inside the final 18 and had ace ten suited in the small blind first hand. There was a raise and a shortish all-in and normally I'd fold to move up a place but it seemed stupid considering my stack and rivered a ten to take down the mainpot. I made one soft mistake short-handed when I didn't re-raise all-in with a suited ace in the small blind vs a short-stack push. The chip monster who was the big blind re-raised and I ended up folding. He turned over king queen off and didn't improve so I would've chipped up there. I blinded out not long after, again in 4th. The good money comes in the top 3 so it was disappointing to fall just outside both times.

After that tho, things didn't go well and I blanked the next 15 tournaments. I actually think I'm tilting a bit ... which is something I have never done live. I'm running ace king in to aces a little too often and I think I'm rushing decisions a bit. I've played a few of the smaller sit'n go's to mix it up a little and have done ok in these. They don't show up on OPR so its a little harder to keep track of them.

I had two quick $1 45 mans before I went to the gym tonight. Midfield in the first and looked like bubbling the second one. I got on the final table with an average stack and in the opening minutes a few of the shorter stacks got chipped up. We lost one player and the table really tightened up except for the chip monster who was taking advantage of this. I was out of position, wasn't getting cards so there wasn't too much I could do. The bubble seemed to go for ages and I was perilously close to getting knocked out. Luckily the big stack sucked out on someone and the bubble burst just before I was blinded out. I chipped up a little when my ace high blind vs blind held and then I think I chipped up with pocket kings. I fought my way right back and was just behind the chip leader when we were down to 3 players. I get pocket 2's on the button and raise 1/2 my stack ... I thought this showed how strong I was because there was no way I was folding. Looking back, I should've pushed it all-in. Anyway, small blind short-stack folds, the big blind who is the chip leader but not by much anymore takes his time and then re-raises all-in. I of course call because I'm committed to the pot, the big blind turns over 3 8 off. Are you kidding me?? The flop and turn are safe and then he rivers a 3 ... UGGGGGGGGGGHHHH. Horribly I finish in 3rd and he goes on to win. 3 8 off ... donk.

So the bankroll is now at US$480. I've seemingly plateaued again and have been up and down between $460 and my high of $630. I feel like I'm playing well, I'm taking stands a little wider and picking off a number of steals which really help mid and late tournament. As mentioned, I think when I run bad I'm rushing, playing on tilt and probably playing too many tournaments at a time.

I'm catching up with a friend for coffee tomorrow and going to a birthday/pub-crawl tomorrow afternoon so that should be good. I'll probably again on Sunday, hopefully won't be too hungover and can get back to growing my roll.

Donkey poker

I'll give a proper update later but I saw this clip on FaceBook and had to share it.



It rang true to me after playing last night. One of the $3 45 man games I was playing, there was a guy who usually plays higher stakes (I OPR'd him) and from the very first hand he pushed all-in every single hand. He didn't show the first hand but got two callers the second hand and his jack two suited won the pot and tripled him up. He misclicked on the next hand and accidentally folded but after that he would re-raise all-in every single hand mostly with rubbish. I think he only lost one hand in the early going and then he did it again from the button on my big blind. I have pocket jacks so of course I call, he shows ace ten off, no surprise, flop fine ... ace on the turn ... groan and I'm out in the first 5 minutes. FML

Two good sessions in a row

Has the comeback begun? After running poorly for the last week or so its nice to have two solid sessions in a row. When I last saw you I finished the night cashing in 4 of my last 6 tournaments and yesterday was another day of cashing plenty.

I went to the gym in the morning, did a good cardio session, grabbed a late breakfast and watched the start of season 5 of Entourage. Before actually playing I railed Assassinato who was going deep in a number of the games he was playing. He final tabled a big MTT and bubbled another and while I'm sure he's disappointed he couldn't finish one off, he was obviously playing well and doing well to get so far numerous times.

Watching that I decided to late register for an MTT myself. I don't get to play them too often due to the times they run and me not wanting to get to bed at 3am so Saturday was a chance to get in to one. It was a $2 buy-in with just under 5000 starters, I played pretty well and finished just outside the top 100. There were 2 limpers and I had pocket 8's in the big blind so I pushed all-in, got one fold from early position but after some thinking time the small blind called with 9 10 off, flopped two pair and turned the boat. I was short-stacked so I wasn't sure they could fold but it was disappointing all the same.

I also played a few more of the $2 qualifiers to the Sunday 1/4 Million. I mentioned these games a few weeks back and the beauty of them is that 1/5 of the field wins a ticket and you can unregister for the tournament and instead take 5 times your initial buy-in. The standard of play isn't good but if you're patient they're not hard to beat. I won the first one I played in, fell just short in the second when I ran in to the loose chip leader who had a big hand and then got donked out of the 3rd one when my pocket kings got beaten by king 3 suited when I rose solidly pre-flop, c-bet solidly and he called with bottom pair on the flop and another 3 came on the turn ... sick.

I didn't do any good in the 180's but cashed all 3 of the $3 45 man games I played. Unfortunately I didn't get any deeper than 5th, when someone limped with 9's, I pushed with ace king suited and couldn't hit post-flop. So all up, I played 12 tournaments yesterday, cashing in 6. I played for a few hours but didn't play any more than 3 tables at a time to make sure I was concentrating and not missing too many spots.

Not sure if I'll play today. Sunday is usually not a profitable day for me and I have a lot of stuff to get done. I need to get to the gym again, clean up the unit, the office and get a bit of work done.

Movie ratings

Trying to bring a bit more balance back in to my life, I picked up some DVD's on (cheap) Tuesday night.

First on the list was The International with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. I wanted to see this at the movies but never got around to it. It was a good action/espionage type movie but nothing fantastic, 3 stars.

Second was another Clive Owen movie (unintentionally), Duplicity ... also starring Julia Roberts. This was a big let down and while there were some good lines and good moments, it was generally uninteresting and tried too hard. 1.5 - 2 stars.

Best movie of late was definitely Inglorious Basterds which I saw a week or two back, 4.5 stars. Tarantino's best since at least Kill Bill.

Tonight I'm going to see Funny People with Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Eric Bana. The girl I'm going to see it with is getting in to stand-up comedy ... otherwise I wouldn't bother seeing it as my expectations (for the movie) are not high.

PokerStars update

After getting "back on track" last week, it didn't last long as the very next day I ran baaaad. I played 19 tournaments and min-cashed just one ... the second last ... which means I went 17 in a row without cashing to start the night.

The next night, not much better. Again 19 tournaments, started well with a 5th and a 3rd in the early going but then I blanked the last 10 games to finish the night.

The next night, a shorter session but similar results. 12 tournaments, two cashes a 4th in a 45 and a min-cash in a 180 man.

Thankfully the rot finally ended last night. I started with a couple of $1 games to ease in to it, first tournament I finish in 3rd. Then after a string of near misses, I end the night on a roll cashing 4 of the last 6. Two min-cashes in 180's and a 5th and a 2nd in the 45's.

The second was frustrating as I've only won one tournament so far this month. I'm yet to do my goals for September but trust me, I need to be winning more! The guy I was playing against was a fairly solid player, in fact (thanks to OPR) he usually plays at much higher levels so I'm not sure what he was doing in a $3 game. I was facing a 1:3 chip deficit when heads-up started and the plays were already high and large portion of my stack. I pushed with ace 6 off but went in behind as he had a better ace. Luckily I hit a 6 and took down the pot which got me right back in the game. After a bit of back and forth, I ended up pushing all-in with pocket 4's and was surprised when he called, turning over pocket 3's. I loved it when I saw it until the magic 3 came on the turn and I was gone. If I take down that hand where I'm a 4 to 1 favourite pre-flop he would be decimated and I would likely get the win. Oh well, next time maybe?

I'm managing to cash a little more often in the 180's of late, probably due to a more aggressive mid to late game strategy. Last night I just missed the final table twice which was rather frustrating. The second of the two I was last in chips with about 35 players left. My stack was on life support and I ended up pushing in with pocket 3's and won a race against 9 10 off. I did the same soon after with 5's from early position, got a few callers but someone pushed all-in on a complete bluff on the flop and a 5 came on the turn to give me the pot. I then doubled up again with pocket 4's and got called by ace 2 suited and won that race. From there I cruised in to the money, took down a pot or two but needed to double up to make the final table but got knocked out when a steal got called by ace king off and he turned a full house.

Not playing tonight because I'm catching up on some blogging and have a DVD to watch, Duplicity. I'm also up early in the morning to give a friend a lift to the airport. Will probably be back on PokerStars on Saturday and I'd like to get my roll over $600 again.

Jack three baby!

I mentioned it in one of the first posts in this blog but my "lucky hand" is jack three suited. This week, I fell in love with the hand again.

First there was this, first hand of a 45 man tournament. When the initial raise came from early position I actually clicked the automatic fold button. As I was sitting there waiting for everyone to fold when I thought, this is my lucky hand, that raise doesn't look that strong ... let's see what happens.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 3.25 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t1500)
Hero (SB) (t1500)
BB (t1500)
UTG (t1500)
UTG+1 (t1500)
MP1 (t1500)
MP2 (t1500)
MP3 (t1500)
CO (t1500)

Hero's M: 50.00

Preflop: Hero is SB with 3, J
1 fold, UTG+1 bets t60, 5 folds, Hero calls t50, BB calls t40

Flop: (t180) 3, 5, 3 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG+1 bets t140, Hero calls t140, 1 fold

Turn: (t460) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets t420, Hero calls t420

River: (t1300) J (2 players)
Hero bets t380, UTG+1 raises to t880 (All-In), Hero calls t500 (All-In)

Total pot: t3060

Results:
Hero had 3, J (four of a kind, threes).
UTG+1 had 9, A (three of a kind, threes).
Outcome: Hero won t3060

Yes, you read that right ... villian lost his whole stack bluffing all three streets. You have to think when you're called on the flop and turn that you may be in a bit of trouble!

Second time around, I'm blinding out late in a 45 man tournament waiting for a hand. I get jack 3 suited under the gun and I'll be almost all-in next hand, its my lucky hand, its suited ... why not.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 3.25 Tournament, 300/600 Blinds 50 Ante (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t5985)
Hero (UTG) (t1445)
MP1 (t6005)
MP2 (t3285)
CO (t3505)
Button (t8945)
SB (t4170)

Hero's M: 1.16

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J, 3
Hero bets t1395 (All-In), 3 folds, Button calls t1395, 2 folds

Flop: (t4040) J, 2, 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t4040) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t4040) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t4040

Results:
Button had J, A (one pair, Jacks).
Hero had J, 3 (two pair, Jacks and threes).
Outcome: Hero won t4040

Even when dominated pre-flop, jack three will find a way to win for me! Instead of being blinded out in 14th, I pushed, won, went on to the final table and finished in 4th. Thank you jack 3!!

Back on track

After my last post about getting some respectability back I played the next night on PokerStars and things continued to go poorly. I played 11 tournaments and cashed just 1 ... a very crap night in what had been a horrible week.

I was a bit concerned with the way things had been going and tried to think what I could do differently. I thought about the way I had played a few hands and posted one on the Two Plus Two forums. I got a few comments, did a bit of reading and decided to change things up a little for my next session. I was going to play just two or three tables at a time (instead of 4), focus in a bit more, look for exploitable spots and generally be more aggressive in the mid and late stages of the tournament.

I was out last night for a function at a hotel but was home early enough to put in a few hours of play. Things started quite well with a cash in a $2 180 man, bubbling the final table. A tournament or two later I got a 6th place in a $3 45 man before bubbling the next one finishing a frustrating 8th. From there things really picked up with a 2nd in a 180 man and another 2nd in a 45 man to finish the night. So all up, 8 tournaments played, cashed 4, bubbled the money once and had two second place finishes.

I was pleased with the second in the 180 man because its a good score for the bankroll but I'm yet to win one and had a GREAT chance to do so last night. I was well stacked down the stretch and in a comfortable position. When it was down to 3 handed I took down a large pot to gain the chip lead. I then lost a sizable pot and found myself in third before fighting back a bit. I OPR'd the other players and neither were very good and this could be scene in the way they were playing. I think one took out the other and I was in to the heads-up battle. I won a couple of pots early to narrow the gap between us and then the turning point came. I called from the small blind with jack 6 suited and he min-raised so I called. The flop came queen, jack, rag with two hearts, he min bet I called. The next card out was the 6 of hearts, he min bet I raised strongly ... and he called. The last card out was the king of hearts which is not what I wanted to see as there were four hearts on the board and I didn't have one ... he checked and I checked. He turned over ace 7 off ... the 7 being a heart and took down the pot. I was basically crippled and while I did manage a few more hands, I was eventually knocked out when he called with crap and hit.

The heads up of the final tournament lasted one hand I believe. He had a big stack after taking out the last player, he raised first hand from the small blind, I had king queen off and re-raised all-in. He called turning over 6 9 off and I was in front until a 6 hit on the turn, I had plenty of outs still (straight draw and over cards) but couldn't find any of them.

After a week of basically losing every night, it was great to get back on track, cashing regularly and having a profitable night. I think playing only two tables at a time really helped and I'll do this again over the next few sessions.

As you can see from my graph below, the week-long downswing was my sharpest and biggest fall to date. Just before it happened I was at US$630 so I would like to get back above that again soon.

Some respectability

I brought a little respectability back last night, but not too much ...

I like to warm-up by playing a few $1 tournaments to get my head in the right space before moving on to the $2 and $3 games. This started things off well last night when I won one out of the four I played. Another two I got close to cashing in so it was a bit of a confidence shot considering how bad I've been doing for the last few days. I went in to heads up facing a sizable chip deficit which I'm used to by now. I got rubbish cards early and just folded but I had to take a stand and did so with ace ten off when he had raised from the small blind. He turned over king 6 suited and I caught an ace on the river to take down a good size pot. I now had the lead and we both got it in again, me with ace 8 off and him with ace 7 off. I turned a straight and it was over.

After grabbing some sushi with friends, I came back and fired up the normal games. It didn't start well as I got knocked out very early in my first 4 of the $3 45 mans. I cashed in my 2nd attempt of the night in the $2 180 games but was disappointed not to have made the final table. I had a good stack for much of the tournament but lost a decent pot when I rivered two pair but it gave someone else a flush. I was out shortly after that in 13th.

Shortly after that I got a 4th in a 45 man. Again, disappointed to not have gone further as I had a good stack throughout the late stages. I failed to raise with an ace in the small blind when everyone else had folded. I flopped middle pair, he flopped the nuts with junk cards and I bet on the flop and turn before giving it up. That crippled my stack and I pushed with pocket 4's in the small blind, he didn't need much more to call and did so with 3 9 off and of course turned the 9 to send me packing.

Most frustrating was to end the night with a bubble in a 45 man. I think I folded every hand on the final table just waiting for some players to knock themselves out but unfortunately people who pushed with average hands ended up winning and surviving. I was annoyed the big-stacks were so tight but probably more annoyed at myself for not pushing and stealing a blind that would've got me in the money.

So all-up another losing night cashing in just 3 of 18 tournaments. Bankroll is sitting around $500.