Still running good

Haven't been putting in much volume of late but the bankroll is still steadily growing and I think playing less tables at a time is really helping my game. I'm basically playing no more than 3 tables at a time and its been paying off with good results of late.

Tonight was the first time I played since a short session on Monday night. Tuesday I hate a date with a girl I used to play poker with at the Shafston. It went well so we'll see what happens from here. Wednesday is trivia night and we came second again after losing in sudden death last week.

The night didn't start well tonight with a couple of ugly suck-outs in the first couple of $3.25 warm-up games. In my third $6.50 game I had a 3rd place finish which was good but could have been so much better. Three-handed the game was just going around in circles until I defended my big blind with ace 6 off to a small blind shove. Unfortunately he turned over ace 9 suited and caught a 9 on the flop to cripple me. I fought back a little but was knocked out when my aces in the small blind couldn't beat king 8 suited in the big blind.

After grabbing dinner I got a second place in another $6.50 game. I had a good shot at the win against a relatively new player but just went card-dead come heads-up and just got pounded on. I eventually got it in good on the flop but was called and he caught a gut-shot straight on the river for the win.

Thankfully I finished the night with a win in a $3.25 45 man. It was nice to take one down after getting close a couple of times earlier in the night. Three handed again was taking its time but I raised with ace king off on the button, small blind shoved turning over ace 8 and thankfully my hand help up to give me a decent chip lead going in to heads-up. First hand the small blind shoves all-in and I call with ace queen in the big blind. Thankfully my hand holds and its all over straight away.

With 3 strong results tonight and clearing the 2nd Stellar reward on Monday, the bankroll is now just under $1150. I probably won't be playing again until Sunday afternoon, friends place tomorrow night for the AFL, heading to the parents on Saturday and then caddying on Sunday morning.

Greatest comeback EVER!

At the start of January I had a post titled "a win for the ages" but that was nothing compared to what happened two days ago in a $6.50 45 man game on PokerStars.

After losing to 3 4 three-handed I managed to scrape in to second place and faced the seemingly impossible when heads-up started:

Seat 2: CapitalDodge (1860 in chips)
Seat 9: Kstnbike (65640 in chips)

And to add to the challenge, the blinds were already at 1000/2000. I survived my big blind as my 9 high was good enough to win the hand. We split the next pot with the same hand, I then doubled up again with an ace high win and shoved the next hand with ace rag and he folded. Up to 10K and in the big blind I called an all-in with 10 2 suited and sucked out with a ten against queen 2 suited. He didn't like it but I had to take the chance and giving my blind away when it was now at 3000 just didn't make sense.

After pots going back and forth mostly pre-flop the turning point of the match came when I completed the small blind with 7 10 off and saw a 7 10 3 flop ... unfortunately for me all clubs. Villian led out and I decided to shove over the top and take my chances. He called turning over 7 2 off with thankfully NO flush-draw and my hand held. This now gave me a 52K to 15.5K chip lead and I began to whittle him down.

I called an all-in with 7 9 off but his queen 5 caught two pair and the stacks were even again. After coming back from nothing and having a dominant chip-lead, I really didn't want to let this one get away. I took down a large pot when I raised pre with king ten and flopped the open-ended straight draw and pleasingly he check-folded to my strong c-bet. Two hands later I got it in with ace rag against his queen 9 and an ace on the flop sealed the deal and gave me the win.

Coming back from all-in on my first big blind when heads-up started to fighting all the way back, then having a huge chip lead only to see it disappear and then getting the win ... extremely satisfying and definitely the greatest comeback EVER!!

A win for the ages

The last day or two has been back to the see-saw up and down that I went through a few weeks back.

Monday I played just 6 games and failed to cash in any of them. Tuesday I came back, played 9 games, got two 3rd places and a 6th. Last night I played for a while longer, 18 games but cashed just 3 of them, 2 min-cashes and a 5th.

I've been sticking mainly to the $3.25 45 man games with a few $2.20 180 mans thrown in. I'm not sure why I bother playing those because I haven't done any good lately. I got close last night in one of the 4 but bubbled going out in 23rd spot.

After work I played 5 of the 45 mans. The plans were to get to the gym and do some cardio before it got too busy but I was waiting for some clothes to dry so figured I would get in some time on the tables.

I grabbed a 3rd in the second game I played, called an over-shove with ace king, he turned over 4 9 and hit a 4 to take down the hand and knock me out. I bubbled the next game when I went to the final table short-stacked and couldn't get a shove-worthy hand and had to defend my big blind and couldn't hit.

My final game of the night is where the title of this post comes from. I found myself in trouble with the blinds at 100/200, I was the big blind with just 540 behind. I had pocket 5's in the big blind and had 2 limpers in front of me. I figured I had to try and get rid of one of them and hope for the best so I pushed all-in but called by both of them. Thankfully there was a 5 on the flop so I survived and tripled up. Next hand I got pocket queens, the chip-leader next to me min-raised so I shoved over the top but he called with king jack suited. I had him labelled as loose before this but this call confirmed it by him. Thankfully my queens survived and I now had a good stack of over 5000 (blinds still at 200) and was the chip leader on my table.

By the time the blinds were at 600 I was down to 3600 in chips but picked up a few shovable hands and took down a few blinds to get a healthy stack again. When the final table formed I had an ok stack of over 6000 but so did most other people. There was some crazy play on the table and by the time a few players had survived all-ins I was soon short-stack with 1 more player to go before the money. With the loose player still on my right, and blinds now at 2000, it was folded around to him in the small blind and of course he raised. I only had 1200 behind and had queen 2 but against him I didn't mind called and he turned over 9 4 off. I hit a queen on the flop, took down the hand and moved ahead of 2 other stacks.

The bubble burst but with the blinds so high compared to my stack I had to get it in soon and double-up. I had 2 limpers to my big blind and I had queen 3 off and checked. The flop came down 8 5 3 and the loose player checked to me. I thought the one limper from early/mid position shouldn't have hit that flop so if I shove I should take it down and chip-up. I push but am called by the limper who played ace 8 off. I'm in trouble but hit runner runner flush to escape and almost triple up.

By the time the hourly break comes around we were down to just 5 players left and I realised I was now in second place. The chip leader had 3 times the chips I did and knocked out 2 players in one hand when he raised and flopped a straight. He then took out the 3rd placed finisher and had a HUGE chip lead 58,000 - 9,500 when the heads-up battle began.

I was more than happy with second and didn't have high expectations facing that sort of deficit and with the blinds at 1500/3000. I got dealt 4 8 off and 6 10 off first 2 hands and folded them both. Considering the state of the game, I probably should've taken my chances with the 6 10 but didn't. So in the big blind with just 1560 behind (chip lead was 62,790 to 4710) I called his push with queen 9 suited. He turned over 5 6 off and I was looking good until he flopped a 6 ... I said "gg" but spiked a queen on the river to survive. Next hand I get queen 9 again and push all-in, he calls with ace 8 off but I spike a queen on the flop and now have a playable stack of over 18,000 (he still has over 45K).

Next hand he raises from the small blind and I have ace queen off in the big blind and shove over the top. He calls turning over king 4 off, neither of us hit so I win and now have the chip lead! I don't complete the small blind on the next hand but a few hands later I'm now in a dominant chip position with 44,000 to 23,000. I complete the small blind with 9 2 suited (spades) and he checks the big blind. Flop comes down 9, 4, 5 but they're all hearts. He shoves for 19K and I call hoping to hold on, he turns over 5 6 off without a heart and I'm now on my feet fist-pumping for the win and do!!

I couldn't believe I had fought back from short-stack with about 25 players left, survived the final table bubble and fought back from the unbelievable chip position during heads-up to take down the win. To top it off I even got a run in at the gym so a winning and productive day.

Best win

November was a crap month for me online. My bankroll which had been up over $600 earlier in the year had plateaued for a while and was now dwindling ever lower. When looking at my OPR stats, they weren't that different to my good months, the only things were that I wasn't getting quite the same late % and wasn't getting the same number of wins. I had just one win in October and none in November.

Thankfully, the drought broke for me last week when I won a 45 man game. It was only a $1 buy-in so the cash pay-out wasn't that great but it was a win nonetheless and it was nice to win a heads-up battle again. Not just that, this win was special for the way it happened.

At level 9 with the blinds at 300/600 my stack had dwindled down to just 1800 and basically on life-support. Our table was down to just 5 players and we had a chip-monster who was basically just doing as he wished. He limped from early position, I had ace queen and shoved and with his stack he had no problem calling, turning over 7, 8 suited. He flopped a flush draw, I thankfully found an ace on the turn and just had to fade another diamond on the river which I did. I didn't know it at the time but this monster would be where all my chips would come from.

I survived through to the final table but had just 5 big blinds and there was just one stack shorter than mine. I needed to make top 7 to get paid and if I didn't get a hand quickly I had no shot of winning and I would have to just focus on cashing. I was however completely card-dead and rarely saw picture cards let alone something I could push or even take in to a race vs a raise. My stack was gradually disappearing so with jack ten off under-the-gun I had to push all-in and hope for the best.

My "push" (which was only just more than the big blind) got isolated and then further isolated. I was racing against king jack off and pocket aces ... uh oh. My prayer got answered tho when I hit a gutshot straight draw on the river and more than tripled up.

From there, I continued to get dealt nothing but happily watched on as players fell by the wayside. Down to just 4 players left and my stack was again on life-support and I was eventually forced all-in on the big blind with 2 5 suited ... groan. The chip-monster from earlier in the tournament had 4 times more chips than anyone else at the table, isolated with queen jack off and I was lucky enough to flop two pair and survive.

Shortly after, I called an all-in with ace jack off and the big stack came along for the ride. The initial all-in turned over pocket 7's, the big stack had ace ten, I flopped two pair which was better than the big-stacks two pair and the 7's were eliminated and we were down to just 3 players. I OPR'd the big-stacks form and frankly he was a donkey so I felt confident that if I could get a hand or two he would chip me up.

I got dealt ace king, raised all-in and wasn't surprised to see the big-stack call me but was surprised when he turned over pocket jacks. Classic race scenario but thankfully I flopped a king and held on for the win which got me level in chips with the player in second. A few hands later the big-stack sucked out on him with 5 7 off against pocket 8's and we were heads up. To say that I was in trouble would be an understatement as the chip count was him 59,370 me with 8,130. I needed hands and I needed them quick.

I got a suited ace first hand, had to push and did. I got called by rubbish, flopped two pair and quickly doubled up. Shortly after, he raised solidly from the small blind and I had re-shoved with ace ten off. He called turning over queen 4 suited and I flopped a ten, held up and doubled up again to now be level. It was also good to see what he was raising with and saw that he was doing it light so I knew I could shove any 1/2 decent hand and get paid off.

After I folded a few hands either on the flop or pre, I took a stand with ace 4 off and held up against his king 9 and now had a more than 2.5 chip advantage. From there, I got queens and won a raised pot and then trapped him with kings and the game was over.

I was pumped to get the win and even more pumped to fight back from the depths so many times and take down the victory. There's nothing I hate more than losing to a bad player heads-up so it was nice to get the win despite facing a huge chip deficit at the start of the battle. Sure, I had plenty of luck along the way ... but frankly, its about time.

The win drought is over and I look forward to having a few more in the very near future.

APL - Broadway Hotel

Its been a few weeks since I've blogged and its a mixture of tilt, busy being and falling out of the habit. I'll start getting back in the rhythm with an APL update from the Broadway Hotel venue.

Last Monday I got a text from a friend who was having dinner with the TD and said that it was the last night of the venue for the quarter because the Broadway had functions for the weeks leading up to Christmas. I checked the leaderboard and after a few weeks of not getting deep I was still clinging on to 3rd place which meant if I could make it through the night without getting passed I would be off to the State Finals. There were 3 or 4 people who were within reach so I knew who I needed to worry about.

The night started off well for me with an early chip-up but after that it all went downhill. The key hand for me was when I limped from the hijack with ace 3 suited (spades) and it folded round to the big blind who just checked. The flop came 9 spades, 8 spades, rag so I had the nut flush draw. The big blind led overbet the pot so I was either all-in or fold and needing to double-up I pushed. He was committed to the pot and ashamedly turned over jack ten off and was chasing the straight but liked that I was chasing too. Unfortunately for me an 8 came on the turn to give him the straight and my hand didn't improve. I was out shortly after when my ace king didn't hold up in a multiway pot.

I had a second chance on the turbo table but didn't win that either. When I left the turbo table I scoured the room to find out that just one player who was a chance to knock me off was left in the tournament. It was one of my friends so he was well aware of the situation that he and I was in and he needed to make final table to knock me off. After sweating his table for another hour or so he almost limped on to final table with just one 100 chip left (the blinds were 4K by this time) but he ended up bubbling. I felt bad for him because he was so close to making it through, but obviously relieved that I had secured 3rd and would again be off to States having just watched and played the freeroll last time.

Quick session on PokerStars

It feels like ages since I've played online so with an hour or two to kill before I jumped on PokerStars and played some micro multi-table sit'n go's. I just checked OPR and its actually been almost two weeks since I last played.

Anyway, got some cards, played well and had two 2nd place finishes. One in a 45 man and the other in an 18 man. I went in to both heads-up battles behind in chips and couldn't get in front. I played well during the tournaments tho going deep in almost all of them. The only I didn't was the other 18 man I played when I got knocked out 9th when I shoved all-in from midposition with jacks and got called by an under-the-gun limp with pocket 2's. He of course flopped a 2 and I didn't improve.

I really need to clean up around the unit and get some work done so I'm not sure when I'll be playing online again. Bankroll is sitting just under US$460 ... very frustrating having been around the same level for the last few months.

PCA Fantasy Freeroll

I've been at the parents for most of the weekend and while I did take my laptop with me, I didn't end up switching it on. I think the beers, food, pool and Foxtel may have distracted from me getting online.

Anyway, Friday night I ended up playing at PokerStars. The plan was to get to the gym after work but the afternoon was mad busy and by the time I finished writing everything up and sending confirmations it was already 6:30. By this time I needed a beer and something to eat so the gym got put off till the next day.

I played one of the Sunday Quarter Million qualifiers and cashed as usual. I played a few $1 90 man tournaments as well but did no good in 4 of those. Since I was sitting in front of the TV and not switched on 100% I was mostly just playing for fun. With that in mind, I decided to again play in the PCA Fantasy Freeroll.

It started off fairly well winning a few hands, avoiding some of the madness and steadily chipping up. Still early stages in level 2 just 9 minutes in two people lost their shit on a king, king, jack flop one with the jack, another with the flush draw and of course I had the king. A second jack on the river sealed the pot for me and I basically tripled up. Things slowed down for a little while until it was folded to me in the small blind and I had pocket kings. Luckily for me the big blind was chipped up and aggressive and acted strong when he hit a small pair on the flop and I checked when first to act. He didn't improve, my kings held and he doubled me up.

From there I lost 1/2 my stack when I had to fold queens on a very ugly turn heads-up but got it back shortly after when my ace king held up against ace 6 suited. From there, it was uneventful for a while and with the blinds rising and the field diminishing I pushed all-in under the gun with queens and to my surprise got 3 callers. Thankfully my hand was the best going in, it faded a flush draw on the flop and I quadrupled up.

I then got moved to a table with a couple of the chip leaders and they were essentially playing every pot so I waited for quality hands. With the blinds going up I pushed with pocket jacks, got 2 callers and it held up to triple my stack. Later as my stack dwindled I pushed with ace ten off, rivered a straight and and held upended up pushing with ace ten off and managed to river a straight to get ahead of the blinds again.

Having learnt from my last freeroll adventure where I finished 30th, I sped my game up. The blinds were so high compared to most stacks that it was essentially push-fold play. If I had a solid hand I was all-in pre or if I was in the blinds and hit a flop I pushed. I got called my midpair a number of times and steadily moved in to the chip leaders.

In the later stages of the tournaments, I only lost a couple of hands that I played but thankfully they were to short stacks. The first was when I raised solidly from the button with 6's and the small blind woke up with queens. Another raise from the hijack when I had ace queen only to be flat-called by kings in the big blind and then he pushed on the flop but I had to call because there was so much in the pot.

When we got down to two tables left I stole a couple of pots when checked to and had queens twice in the blinds that helped me chip right up. Once when someone shoved with ace rag and another I shoved vs multiple limpers, got called by ace jack and he only managed to catch a jack. Those moved me in to the top 5 stacks and I avoided any further trouble to finish in the top 9 out of 8200 players and qualify for the Main Event Satellite. I checked that tournament which isn't for another 30 days yet and apparently there can be up to 40,000 players and again you have to finish in the top 9. The odds on getting through that size field are extremely slim but its worth a shot.

APL - Broadway Hotel

My second week in a row of live poker was on Monday night at the Broadway Hotel. As mentioned last week, I hadn't played APL in ages but after a good showing last week I was keen to do it again and its also a good social activity as a few of my friends play that venue.

Much like last week I was card dead for the first half of the game. I had an entertaining table with a few of my friends on it as well as some active/interesting players to mix it up. There was an older lady next to me that was being aggressive and no one really knew how she was playing because she was getting away with it and not having to show down too many hands. After the break this came to an end when she got busted in a few raised pots betting strong with marginal hands when first to act. Thankfully I got to take advantage of it as she limped the small blind when it was folded around to her and I checked the big blind with king 9 off. One of my friends gave me shit for not being aggressive pre-flop but I was fine with the play since I knew she'd call with most hands. Luckily for me the flop came 4, 7, 9 and she lead out with a bet. Not going to muck around with my hand I re-raised all-in and she ended up calling with jack ten off on the gutshot straight draw. Thankfully she missed and I doubled up knocking her out.

I then started to get some cards and took down a few blinds with them. A little while later I had kings under the gun and took my time deciding how much to raise. Once I decided with 2.5 times I got instantly re-raised all-in by the player next to me and there was a caller from a shorter stack on the other side of the table. I wasn't about to fold and had them both covered so called, turned over my kings much to the pain of the guy next to me who had queens and the other person had jacks. Cold deck for them as the king was the second card out and I took down a massive pot with my set and took out two players at the same time.

Our table was then broken and we were down to 2 or 3 tables left. I got a bit more aggressive on the other table, stole a few blinds and cruised on to the final table with a decent stack. The blinds were quite large by this stage but I drew a good seat starting as the small blind. I took out a shorter stack with queens in the small blind, flopped top set and then rivered a boat. The action on the final table was fast and furious and before I knew it we were down to 4 players. One of my friends took out the other two players who were the shorter stacks by that time and he had a strong chip lead when we got to heads-up.

I took down a couple of the opening pots and since the blinds were so high I had clawed my way back in to the match. With the blinds at 10K/20K I limped from the small blind with 4 5 suited and the big blind checked. The flop came queen, 8, 2 with two diamonds and with the big blind first to act he overbet the pot putting me virtually all-in. I decided it was now or never and called much to his disappointment as he thought he was busted when he turned over 2 6 off for bottom pair no kicker. Unfortunately he dodged another diamond and knocked me out to take the win.

The second place finish after my fifth the previous week actually puts in me in to the lead for the venue, admittedly after only 3 weeks in to the season. So with that in mind I'll definitely be back on Monday to hopefully put in another good performance and attempt to qualify for States.

My friend Paul who beat me heads-up with 2 6 off ... ouch ...

Update

I know I put a ban on myself playing online poker but I really didn't expect to go a week without blogging so apologies for that.

Its now been a week without playing online and I'm itching to get back in to it but likely won't until Thursday night at the earliest.

Since I haven't been playing, I got stuck in to those DVD's I mentioned in the last post. I know it didn't get good reviews but I enjoyed "Angels & Demons". I think they did well considering the limited access to the Vatican that they were allowed. "Notorious" was ok too. I'm not a fan of Biggie, especially not compared to Tupac but it was an interesting story all the same. With P-Diddy as the producer, I take the "reality" of the movie with a grain of salt especially when it came to the east coast - west coast rivalry. The final movie was "Little Miss Sunshine" which was recommended to me by a friend and I've been meaning to see for a while. I think I was hesitant to see it until now because it didn't seem like my type of humour. After watching it this turned out to be the case, sure it was funny in parts but essentially not my style but still worth a look.

Friday night was my league's NBA Fantasy Draft ... now known as the GREATEST night of the year. There are 7 of that grab dinner and drinks and then come back here for the draft. Due to some players in the league living in Perth, the draft itself doesn't kick off until 12:15am so there is plenty of time for talking shit and catching up.

This weekend I went up to Maroochydore to hang out with some friends that were playing in the APL State Finals. Having not played APL for months I wasn't eligible to play in the main event but could play in the freeroll. The freeroll was madness to say the least. Players were allowed unlimited spend cards for re-buys and by 5pm when it kicked off plenty of players were pissed after busting out of the main event or just pissed (due to alcohol). I had been at my brother's place in the afternoon so didn't fill out a spend card which meant I was up against it from the get go. My starting table was very loose and a number of people were playing any 2 cards no matter the pre-flop raise. I won a small pot early, lost another with 9's against someone trapping with top pair and from there it was shove or fold due to the blinds. I shoved with ace queen only to get called by king 6 suited and thankfully turned two pair to take the pot. I later went all-in with ace king off and survived against two players. I got moved tables and the blinds were already 500/1000 and I only had around 3000. It folded to me in the cutoff so I shoved with ace 8 off and unfortunately got called blind by a short-stack in the big blind. He turned over jack 9 off and caught a jack on the flop to win. My stack was crippled and I was out shortly after.

Last night I decided to play a regular APL game at the Broadway Hotel. I used to play this venue in the past but they lost it for a while and its only just returned. There were some terrible players on my table but I was card dead early (which has often been the case at this venue for me) so couldn't take advantage of it. After being extremely patient for the first 2 hours, I had 5 7 of hearts in the big blind against a big stack in midposition and a completed small blind. Flop came 3 4 6 with two diamonds ... SWEET! Small blind checked, I decided to check also figuring the big stack would bet and he didn't let me down. Surprisingly tho the small blind re-raised and I pushed all-in which was just less than her re-raise ... and the big stack still called. The small blind continued to bet on the turn and river and get called so I assumed at least one of them had a flush draw which thankfully didn't come. Small blind turned over the bottom straight with 2 5 of diamonds and the big stack mucked so I took down the main pot and was finally chipped up. I then had kings in midposition and with one limper and the blinds at 500/1000 decided to just shove and see if the under-the-gun limper called and he didn't. Shoved with ace king off late but didn't get called and then the bubble burst and I was on the final table.

I drew the under-the-gun spot on the final table and with the blinds at 2000/4000 I had just 10,000. I got pocket 6's first hand but with a number of smallish stacks I decided to just fold and move up the rankings. It turned out to be a good decision as someone with 9's caught a set on the turn to take down the pot. A few players got knocked out and then I got queens and called with my final 4K when the blinds were at 6. I thankfully got isolated by someone with ace rag and my hand held up. I pushed next hand with ace jack suited and then held up against a caller with ace 8 suited. We were down to just 6 players and it folded to me with king jack off in the hijack. I wanted to be aggressive so pushed all-in but got called by the big stack in the small blind and the big blind decided to play as well so he didn't get blinded out. Big stack turns over ace ten which catches two aces to knock us both out and I finish in 5th. The shove wasn't a play I normally make but I was going for the win and don't hate the move at that stage of the game. So a good result for my first game back and I'll likely play that venue from now on.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Frustrating

Last night's session seemed like hard work. My game seemed to be all over the shop, sometimes making good moves and smart plays and other times I just couldn't play hands any worse.

My dumbest hand of the night by far was against an early position raise from a loose/aggressive player. I've got pocket queens so I re-raise him solidly and he calls, which I expected. The board comes 5, 5, 7 or something like that and stupidly I check thinking he'll take a stab at the pot with his lower pair or ace high. He instead checks and the next card comes a king so I bet, he re-raises all-in and for some reason I call ... he of course turns over ace king and my stack is decimated. Just a dumb, dumb play and I was embarrassed I made it.

Another surprisingly horrible move by me came when I was 4-tabling and on one table I had ace king suited and on the other I had ace 4 suited, both on the button. One table there was a raise and a call and the other had a short-stack all-in. For some reason I re-raised all-in over the top of the all-in with ace 4 suited thinking it was the AK and by the time I realised what I had done, I decided to fold the AK on the other table and get my shit together. The ace 4 suited was up against pocket queens but I turned the flush for the nuts ... woops.

I played 23 tournaments last night, $2 180 man games but mostly $3.25 45 man games and cashed 5 of them. No heads-up action but I did have a 3rd and a 4th ... as well as roughly 5 bubbles, so roughly a break-even night by the end of it. I had a look at my August numbers and my profit is essentially all coming from the 45 man games. I realise the 180's have a higher variance and aren't suited to my normal/old game, but I'd like to continue to play them, work on them a little more and hopefully see some better results.

Won't be playing online tonight as I'm off to see Brad Pitt in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds", I'll let you know what its like next time. Also not playing tomorrow as I'm catching up with a friend I haven't seen for a few months.

Online poker update

After waiting a week or so, I finally got my ADSL wireless turned on last week. Hopefully, that'll mean I'll be blogging a bit more often as its easier to do than when I was using the plug-in modem between my two laptops.

Since my update last week, I've played 4 poker sessions on PokerStars. After my back to back tournament wins I was hoping the momentum would continue. The next session was a short one but profitable with 4 cashes out of 14 games but the next day did not go so well. It started fine, me playing well, going deep ... I then grabbed some dinner and got back in to it. Other than an early cash, I could do nothing right and ended up failing to cash in my last 14 tournaments of the night. I was blown away by this stretch and looking back at the results, I wasn't really close to getting in the money. The best I could do was two 12th placed finishes in the 45 man games where you need to finish top 7 to get paid.

After a dinner party on Friday night, I was back playing again on Saturday. I had a big night on Friday and didn't sleep well so was pretty tired. That didn't hurt me tho as I played well and the results came. I played 17 tournaments and cashed 7 of them, no wins but I finished the afternoon with 2 second placed finishes in a row. One was a $3.25 45 man for $30 and the other was a $2 180 man for $72. The first one annoyed me because the stacks were fairly even going in to heads up. The villain had pushed all-in for the first few hands and I had nothing so folded. He limped in from the small blind and I raised strongly with pocket 7's. I expected him to fold but he took a while and eventually called. Flop came down 9, 8, 5 and by this stage there was so much money in the pot (as the blinds were high already) I pushed it all-in. He again went in to the tank and then called turning over 6 8 off. I was surprised to say the least that he limped and then called pre-flop with that. His 8 was good and a 7 on the river rubbed salt in the wound giving me a set and him a straight. The 180 man was different as the villain had a large chip lead going to heads up as he'd just knocked out the other big stack. He raised from the sb and I had pocket 4's. I knew he wasn't folding if I shoved so the plan was to call and then push on the flop and hoped he hadn't hit. The flop came down queen, 7, 3 so I push and he calls turning over ace 3 off. I'm in good shape until the ace comes on the river and I finish second.

With the two second placed finishes to end the night my bankroll broke through US$600 for the first time which was nice. I played yesterday evening as well, doing really well early until I got an emergency text from a friend saying she was in trouble and needed me to get her out of there. I was in the middle of 3 tournaments at the time so was a little torn, wondering how much trouble she was in and how desperately she needed saving. I was deep in one and finished 3rd, deep in another one before running queens in a to kings when I was flat-called from the button by a big stack. I was in the middle of a 180 man and doing well but realised I had to just walk away. After driving for 30 mins picking up my friend (in tears) and then driving home, I walked back in to find that I had finished 25th in the 180 just 7 places out of getting paid despite sitting out the final 1/3 of the tournament. I frustratingly bubbled a couple of $3.25 45 mans later in the night but thankfully got a 2nd to pretty much break even for the session.

Worlds collide

It's so annoying planning for a night of poker only to find out PokerStars are doing their weekly reset of the server. Its weekly (I think) but it never seems to be on the same night, there's no announcement so you can never plan to be elsewhere.

Before the reset I was doing really well, chipped up in two 45 man tournaments with a good chance to cash both. I went a bit card dead in one and by the time final table formed I was in 8th or 9th place. I pushed all-in early and chipped up a little when I took down the blinds but was still short-stack. I picked up ace king off and pushed that all-in only to get called by the short-stack in the big blind who had pocket 6's and found a 6 on the flop. I then had pocket 5's under the gun and decided to put it in. I got called by a big stack in the small blind with ace ten off and the big blind who had ace 3 suited. Not a terrible spot for me until a ten hit the flop and the turn and I didn't improve, going out on the bubble.

On the other table I was in a good position, decent stack with a few short-stacks on the table. One or two went out and I found ace king in the small blind. The table folded around to me so I pushed all-in and got called by the big blind for 2/3 of his stack. He showed queen ten suited and turned a flush to knock me out in 7th. Frustrating as if I take down that hand I easily make top 3 and have a good shot at the win. Oh well, I now play for the win so I have to accept that sometimes.

I had another bubble later in the night to end what has been a very ordinary week in terms of profits (in other words losses) and statistics.

I was going to post this video clip as music and poker go well together. This is probably my favourite song at the moment, not because its Jay Z who gets plenty of love ... but because of the alto sax and the old-school groove. I watched the official clip for the first time today and saw it also includes a quick poker scene as well as LeBron James which is where the "Worlds collide" title comes from. Click here to see my other life.

Rough night of online poker

The night before last I started to come down with cold/flu like symptoms so instead of going to a trivia night yesterday, I instead lay low and played online at PokerStars. I'm pretty sure I got the cold from a friend on Sunday so I wasn't keen to pass it on to anyone else.

Yesterday's session started off well enough. I came 5th in my second game and then 2nd two games later to break my streak of not reaching heads up. The heads-up battle was frustrating because I couldn't catch a break against someone I felt I should clearly beat. The final table had been a longer one so by the time we got to heads up the blinds were high already. I had a commanding chip lead (3:1) and we ended up getting it all-in first hand. Opponent limped in, I had ace rag in the big blind so I raised solidly and he re-raised all-in with jack 2 suited. The flop comes safe for me as did the turn and then BINK, jack on the river and our stacks are now even. It went back and forth from there until I had a 2:1 chip lead and I re-raised him all-in with ace 5 suited. He turned over ace queen off and held on to win. He ended up raising me all-in and the blinds were too big to fold and I called with queen 8 suited. He turned over 6 10 suited and rivered a straight with his 6. Frustrating ...

After those early cashes, it seemed to go down hill from there. I felt I was playing well and making the right moves mostly, but had some ugly, ugly beats.

1. Raised solidly with aces from early position, called by the player next to me and then re-raised by the player next to him. Everyone else folded, I raise all-in, the player next to me takes an age to decide and then calls, as did the re-raiser. The re-raiser turned over jacks, the guy next to me turned over 5's and I had aces. Great for me until a 5 on the river, decimating my stack.

2. Two tables left in a tournament and I have pocket kings in the big blind. Someone min raises under the gun and is called by a loose bad player right next to him. I re-raise all-in, under the gun thinks and then folds ... loose player eventually calls turning over jack ten off. Great for me ... flop is 2 2 jack, blank turn and then jack on the river. I'm out and Mr Jack-Ten off is chip leader.

3. Second level of a 90 man tournament I have aces on the button (I think). Five players limp in so I raise 5 times the blinds (probably should have gone more) and get called by all but one of them. Flop comes king, rag, rag so I lead out with a strong bet. I get re-raised by someone in earlyish position. I'm committed to the pot and I put him on king something so I re-raise all-in. He calls and turns over king jack off ... jack on the turn and I'm gone.

4. The worst of all tho was late in a tournament, two tables left I think. Someone from middle position raises solidly and is called by 2 others and I'm big blind with pocket jacks. I should've shoved but thought I'll call, see the flop and evaluate from there. Flop comes 7 5 3 (I think). Small blind bets min so I re-raise him. Other two players fold, he calls. Another 3 on the turn and he shoves all-in. I don't believe he has the 3 and am virtually sure my hand is still best so I call. He turns over pocket 2's, fist pump from me until a 2 comes on the river. I could not believe it ... I'm out and he's the chip leader. Off the top of my head, one of the worst beats I have been given. Yes, I should've shoved pre-flop or even on the flop and there's a chance he may have folded (although somehow I think he would have called at least on the flop).

There were other ugly occurences but that's enough of those stories for now. Yes, it was a rough, rough night and I'm a little scarred. I likely won't be playing on Friday and Saturday so I will tonight while I hopefully recover from this cold (and these recent beats).

PokerStars update

Just a quick post as I'm heading to bed shortly so I can get up and go to the gym in the morning.

I haven't actually played online at PokerStars this week. I went and played an APL game on Tuesday, State of Origin 3 last night and I can't remember what I did Monday, other than go for a run.

Anyway, I was looking forward to playing and after the usual slightly slow start I won my 4th tournament which was a $1 90 man game. I was short-stacked around the 30th spot but managed to survive in to the top 20. When I was 17 of 19 I won 2 big pots in a row and was suddenly in 6th place. The heads up battle was fairly close because I had been on the same table with the guy for most of the tournament so we knew how each other played.

I did really well in the ANZPT freeroll but pushed with 6's with about 100 to go and called by pocket 9's and was out.

I bubbled a 45 man game when I pushed from early position with pocket 5's, got called by pocket 8's and was out in 8th spot. The next 45 man game I wasn't doing much until I started getting cards at the right time, pocket aces within about 5 minutes of each other and chipped up well. I struggled on the bubble when I was playing aggressively with good hands and kept getting sucked out on. I folded ace 9 suited from the small blind when someone pushed massively from early position. I was short-stacked but got aces again and doubled up and from there started to climb my way. There was an uber-aggressive newby that was shoving with very marginal hands and he pushed from the button 3 handed, the small blind was virtually all-in and called and I pocket 7's in the big blind. Against another player I might've folded ... but I knew he could be pushing with anything, called caught a 7 on the turn and took down a good pot. He still had a 2 to 1 chip lead going in to heads-up but again he was pushing with anything much of the time so I re-raised all-in with pocket 5's and he called with 2 4 suited. I won that hand and gained the chip lead and from there he ended up pushing with ace rag, I called with jack ten and hit a jack to win the tournament.

So I think I only played 12 tournaments but won 2. My heads up record for this month is outstanding and it was nice to have another day with 2 tournament wins. I'm just outside the top 3% of PokerStars tournament players on Official Poker Rankings, hopefully these 2 wins will put me over the top.

Bankroll continuing to grow, US$460. Graph from SharkScope is looking good ...

PokerStars update

After my 3 day break from poker I jumped back in to the action on Monday night. It started well enough, min-cashing my first 45 man tournament but things got ugly as I then failed to cash 13 tournaments in a row before again min-cashing a 90 man tournament to end the night. I don't think I was playing badly as I made it down to the final 2 tables on 9 of those 13 tournaments but couldn't win hands at the right time to get me on to final tables and in the money.

Tuesday went a lot better. After the disappointment the night before I was focussed and crushed early, cashing 3 of the first 4 tournaments including a win a 3rd and a 5th (all 45 man tournaments). I trailed off a bit but still had another 2nd a 5th (45 mans) and a min cash in a 90 man. So the results from Tuesday (6 cashes from 18 games) made up for the losses of the night before.

Last night I planned to play a little in the afternoon and then watch some DVD's (Seven Pounds and Role Models) later in the night. I forgot that poker is on OneHD on a Wednesday night so the DVD's would have to wait. Unfortunately, the poker turned out to be a replay of the PCA that I had seen a few weeks earlier ... but I of course still watched it.

The night started well with a 5th in a 45 man before a stretch of 6 non-cashes. After some dinner I cranked it up a level tho and cashed 5 of the last 8 tournaments including a win in a 90 man and three 4ths. I was pleased that I had two good finishes in the 90 man tournaments because it had been a week or so since I had a top 3 finish in those so to finish with a win was nice.

The win was a hard-fought one. I was struggling for chips with about 30 to go and would have been close to the bottom of the chip-count. I pushed all-in twice with pocket 3's, once out-running ace queen and another time getting called by a big blind short-stack with 3 8 suited. After getting to a comfortable stack I then started to actually get hands and come final table was well placed.

Final table started a bit rocky when my ace jack couldn't hold up against a short-stack all-in of ace 2 suited and another caller with queen jack off. A 2 hit the flop and it was good enough to win. The same short-stack later pushed all-in from the button 5 handed, the small blind big stack then re-raised strongly and I loved it because I had aces! As I was re-raising my wireless internet connection dropped out so I was frantically trying to reconnect. Thankfully I managed to, button turns over king ten off, small blind has kings and my aces held up to take down a massive pot.

3 handed I raised solidly from the button with pocket queens, I get re-raised all-in by a shorter-stack who has ace 9 off ... 9 on the flop, ace on the turn ... groan. I exacted some revenge shortly after taking him out and getting to heads up with a slight lead. The other person took down a few early pots but the turning point would be when they min-raised from the small blind and I called with king 2 off. Flop comes king 9 9 with two spades which I didn't really think much of. First to act I checked, assuming my king was good, he bets, I re-raise strongly and he calls all-in. He turns over 5 6 of spades so I'm sweating no more spades and thankfully I take it down. He's almost out so I re-raise with ace 3 suited, he turns over ace queen but I flop a flush and its over.

I thought the king ten button, kings small blind, aces big blind seemed cold short-handed on the final table but I just across this from the World Series:

McKusick Gains Heat From a Cold Deck

There's was a ton of commotion over at table 72 in the orange section just a brief moment ago. We turned to the table to see three players all in. One player held and another player held . Both were terribly dominated by the third player's .

The board ran out , to give the player holding the the nut flush. That player was Ken McKusick out of Baltimore, Maryland and he now has nearly 120,000 chips.

To make things even more interesting, two players in the hand held jacks and another player held pocket sevens. Cold deck much?

Solid lay-down from the pocket jacks. You'd be pretty unhappy if you were the guy with the aces ... "but I have trips!!"

Bankroll now just under US$400 and I'm already just one win short of my goal of 4 tournament wins for the month.