I had an anxious period from late last eve to just a few moments ago. Poker Perspectives was inaccessible for about 18 hours - I couldn't even get to the server files. But it appears all is well and I am reminded I need to back up. I would be devasted to lose my blog files!
Tonight's the night for the tournament at Poker Stars. When I checked last night ours had the most entries of any of the other private tournies - nyaaa! We rule! Get over to Iggy's for all the details. My bounty is up for grabs. Rumor has it that this has become quite a coveted item which has placed a huge target on my back.
I'm not very optimistic about my chances this eve, however my confidence was reinforced with a couple of satisfying wins in 2 $5 Sit-n-Gos at Stars last night. I actually played three, but I consider the first one a warm-up. I hadn't played a tourney in a bit and so fumbled my way to an embarrassing shut out in 7th or 8th, I think. The second one was a 2 table affair and I managed to triple up with pocket 10s. I was needing to make a move when those landed in front of me so I decided to try a move I'd read about on 2+2 - the Stop & Go.
I knew I would probably be committing all my chips on this hand, but rather than pushing in pre-flop, I just called two bets in front of me. The flop came with uncoordinated undercards which I thought was perfect for the Stop & Go attempt. Any overcards would have had me re-evaluating. I figured there wasn't a big pair in front of me based on the pre-flop wagering. I was confident my assessment was correct with the wagering on the flop. There was a moderate bet, a weak call and then I pushed. Both called. They each had an Ace in their hands with weak kickers and my tens held up, knocking one of them out, if I recall correctly, and giving me the chip lead.
I then managed to gain roughly a 2:1 - 3:1 chip lead - and hold it - right up to the final 3. Some cold cards and weak play lost me that lead. I wasn't much of a table bully, and when I did try moves, I got outplayed. I ended up taking 3rd out of 18.
The 3rd S-n-G was a limit tourney. This one had a character to my right who was absolutely unreadable. He was playing almost every hand, betting and raising with crap. I, along with the rest of the table, had been folding second best and high cards and when I finally caught on to what he was doing, it was almost too late for me. I caught in the chat window 4 pots in a row he took down without a showdown and I thought - nuh-uh - I'm not buyin' that he's having that great a run of cards. So I called him down just to see what he'd turn over. If his crap managed to grab a piece of the flop, he'd bet it all the way.
I was on the ropes a few times, but got my stack back and decided to play him. I called him down on every hand we went heads up in. I wanted to let him know I wasn't going to run from him. He didn't get the message - so much the better for me so when I had a hand, I played him for all he was worth. He bet into me and called every single one of my raises on a hand where I held the absolute nuts and he had a pair of twos with 8-2 in his hand!
What was so frustrating, though, was that he had a montrous run of giving bad beats, mingled with some legitimate hands, and so he had a solid pile of chips for quite a while. The odds finally caught up with him, though, and he was busted out of the money.
The table settled into fairly normal play after his exit. Most of the players were rather weak and made many bad decisions. But there were a couple who were tough opponents who I managed to land "in the money" with. We battled it out for quite a while, each of us landing on the ropes more than a few times. That's an aspect of limit which differs from no-limit - you have a greater ability to come back from "a chip & a chair" than you do in no-limit play.
The first prize ultimately went to yours truly after some well-timed cards and aggressive play.
It was a good evening and a great warm-up for this evening. I just hope:
a. I get to sit at a table with Mr. Wheaton,
b. I don't get seated with the infamous Mr. Kearns, and
c. I don't get knocked out too early.
I can only hope that everyone will be so "star struck" with Mr. W and put out with Mr. K they won't see me sneaking up behind them! Tee-hee.
Thank you to all of you who commented on my last post. I hate it when people bitch about aging and so I hope I wasn't coming off as one of those "Poor me, I'm over the hill..." whiners. Now that I'm back on my hormones (ahem), perhaps I can clarify by stating that I was experiencing more of a "nostalgia" for that 30-something era of my life than I was a disatisfaction for my current era of life. Getting to know you "gen-exers" has been a joy and a walk down memory lane. But, I know things you don't - yet - and am, therefore, in a unique position to share in your experiences and to know, somewhat, of what lies ahead for you. I've been there, done that, had a great time, don't want to do it again! However a shot of tequila and an evening of head-banging rock-n-roll is not outside the realm of possibility...
