£50 NLHE, 2 Rebuys

71 Runners, Top 10 Pay.

Similar stucture as other night apart from more money in the pool. I decided before even entering I was going to play sickly agressive early on, so that I could either go home early or have alot of chips so I could take a beat or loss later on. Anyway, early on I played Jc-8c to a riase and lost, then Qh-7h I limped ep, flop came 7-2-K rainbow, I lead out and got 2 calls, turn Q, they check to me , I lead out for 700 and got check riased , and the other guy called lol. There was 2 clubs on turn now, I thought the check riase could be K-2 , but he thinks im a bit crazy so I re raised all in , check riaser folded....other guy called with Ac10c and no club or J came.
5 limpers, and im in position with Qh3h , I raise to 1,600 and get one call from a lucky old man....someone else mutters they were gonna re raise all in (yeah rite), flop came JKK and he bet 2,000 leavin just 1,000 behind. So I had to fold.Sigh.
I limp Ac9s in ep, and after someone min raises and gets 2 calls , I decide to re raise all in...they pass and my image is improved plus I picked up like 1,200 in dead money. Very next hand theres a min raise and 1 call, I find AK in bb and re raise all in again. He thinks for ages and makes what I consider a bad call with 4-4 , the other guy calls with A-Q and when flop comes 10 J Q I am sitting very stacked.
My wreckless bought me a loose call ,and granted I was fortunate to beat 4-4 but with AQ in there too, I was standing to win a huge pot should I connect at all.
I limp A Q lp in level 3, and flop comes 10-J-6, (2s), I lead about 3/4 of the pot and a young confident lad re raises all in very fast for like 6,200 more. I rationed the hands I was behind to ,Q-10,and 6-6 were the only ones, and I felt he'd give a bit more time before going all in so fast. It smelt of a draw like nut flush , I called. He turned over 10s Js and I was lucky enough to dodge all 14 outs. Break comes , and I am sitting with like 39,000 chips.Average was like 9,000.

Back from the break , I decided to ditch my wild image and play a little less wreckless as I see people throw away big stacks playing mad. My first nice pot won ,was when I had 10-10 called an ep riase , and a young lad behind me re raised all in for like 7,000 the pot was laying me around 2-1 and I kinda thought the raiser and the all in boy had duplicate cards, So I called , thankfully he had 6-6 and I held up.

As we got further and further on, I was mainly raising in position and playing some good yet selective poker. My good friend got drew my table late on, and was sitting a bit shallow. I lost 12,000 of my 36000 stack when I called his all in from sb with A-6 and he won with A-10."nice hand"....I earnt a pot when I called an all in from a respected regular when I checked my option from bb with 5d7d, flop was 5s3sJd,it went check, I bet min, he called. turn 8s, He tapped my 23,000 stack...I thought for a while before deciding to call, my logic was a spade draw he check riases or bets the flop and cehcks turn....a J he leads flop or c/rs flop and no straight connects with that 8. I was right , he had 6d7s, I dodged a couple of outs on river and was up to around 66,000.
I didn't really get any hands close to bubble but stole here and there to keep me alive, with like K-8 suited, Q-8os,7-8d, and didn;t run into any monsters like I have been. So that was nice.

Final table came and I was sitting with like 65,000 I think.I was a bit below average, but to be honest, this final table wasn't daunting at all. I had at least 5 pinned as "rocks", but also, the blinds were even bigger then usual at this point. With like 820,000 in play and the bb like 12,000 or something , There really wasn;t any room to play.
I won't bore you with the hands, cos frankly I had none, i busted a guy with Jh6h when I made an obligatory call from bb and stole to keep me going , but it was a boring final table with very few hands or decisions post flop. Long story short my mate finished 5th when his raise all in from bb to sb with 10-4 lost to a trapper with AK. And I did a 4 way split , getting £1,370. I felt I had to deal, as I had 110,000 and there was 800 in play. And, the blinds were going up higher in 2 mins to 30k. Had there been more play, I would have continued. All in all , a good tournament for me, I didn't really play much different to lately , Just someone didnt wake up with KK,AA etc. I even lost a 150,000 race when my A10 lost to 3-3 on FT so I gotta be happy finishing with £1,370.My spreadsheet I setup yesterday looks impressive now. £114 per hour I am on from these live comps lol....

Ciso

£20 NLHE (2 Rebuys)

£20 NLHE 2 Rebuys100 Runners, Top 20 Pay

I went into this competition on the back of 5 or 6 deep finishes in succession. I have to admit I didn't really have any pre tournament strategy , I noticed 2 regulars one of whom is creative so It looked like a nice table for me. First level I limped a few pots but didn't connect. Then 2nd level, I built up to around 6,000 from my original 5,000. My table was quite loose at this point so it wasnt ideal for me. I laid 88,66 and AT to raises inthis level where my opponents showed TT,JJ and AQ respectively.
Level 3, last level of rebuy and I done in my first rebuy. I lost with 9-9 to Q-8 on a Q-6-3-2 board. I bet got a call, then check riased all in on the turn lol. I ended rebuy with 8,500.Average was like 12,500. I got up to like 11k when after 2 limps I pushed all in with A-Q. Then a big hand came up. The bb was 1,200 there was 2 limpers again, and I looked down at A-J. Usually I might just call here in position but I felt I had the better hand and wanted to take the 4,200 out there. So I raised to 6,500. 1 caller to my surprise. Flop came 10-4-5 (2h) , He pushed me all in. I laughed a little saying "i knew that was coming", I looked at my hand AhJd, I calculated that with the pot laying me around 4-1 and with 2 overs and a backdoor flushdraw I would gamble. So I called, he turned over K-10 and was 75/25%, turn came Jc though and I was doubled up. Some would criticize my play here, but he should realise once I have put in over half my stack pre flop, few flops am I going to pass. So I think his call pre flop was a worse call then mine post flop.
I built up a little here and there, until I raised in ep with 45h and got re raised from a creative regular in the BB and obviously passed. As we drew closer to the final 20, I was sitting on around 40,000 after an all in push with AK beat 9-9. Then I picked up A10d 7 way and raised to $8,000 with the BB being $3,000, and got re riased all in for 32k more by a weak player imo, I had to fold and he flashed 6-6. Bad play by him imo, but it worked out. Then we cashed, and I found K-J in mid position. BB was 6,000 and I decided to shove all in for something like 38,000. A tight Lady decided to call for 26,000 of it with 7-7 and hit a full house which was nothing new to me.
Next hand I pushed my 14,000 stack in with 9-9 , got a call, then the same lady re raised all in, So I could triple up while only getting one call cos the caller passed. She turned over K-K unsurprisingly and hit yet another full house.
I cashed for a meagre £50 ,meaning a £10 loss. It's frustrating going this deep every tournament and busting out but that is the nature of tournaments, the more annoying thing is that I know I am playing at my peak right now, so I should be winning more tournaments. If luck was a bit kinder (i..e. normal luck) then I really feel I would dominate this cardroom. An arrogant thing to say maybe, 7 tournaments on the bounce I have made it to the last 2 tables and either been very unlucky, or did a strong move and was behind but NEVER outdraw lol.
Still,I am done complaining about luck or variance, the thursday competition I am going to go gung-ho and see what happens, I will play my usual game but with abit more wrecklessness. I ll leave with a famous poker quote which is somewhat applicable :)......
"if luck wasn't involved,I'd win every one" Phil Hellmuth

Ciso

£30 Pot Limit Rebuy

59 Runners, Pot Limit hold em.

I entered this comp in good spirits, despite coming 17th,15th and 8th in my last 3 competitions which was quite frustrating. 2,000 starting stack bb $100, encourages loose and fast action this tournament - but I aint rich enough yet to gamble too much so I sat tight during rebuy period, rebought once after losing JJ vs A5 and added on leaving myself $7.5k at the break.
Post rebuy things didn't kick off too well, after 2 limpers I limped in late cutoff with 10c-7c, and a ss in sb pushed for $1,200 more. They all folded to me (bb $400) and with attractive pot odds, i called. He turned over As6s and won leaving me down like 1.6k already.
I steadily increased though and won a nice pot in bb with 9-4 when flop came 9 9 K, and some woman had KQ and doubled me up. Then I made my biggest move in a while in live, a young lad who limps alot called from utg, I looked down in early/mid ish and saw Kh 8h, and riased to $2,100 with bb $600. Villian just calls. Flop 6-7-10, he bets out for like $600, I make it $2,600 he mutters "what the hell" and calls. Turn comes 7, he bets $3,000 and after a bit of thought decide to push all in for 8k I think. He folds , I show Kh. After that , my confidence grew and despite not finding any "premium " hands, I won alot of pots in position, raising a bit and takin it down post flop.
I got moved and steadily increased to about $28,000 when with 21 people left, I found Ah7h in sb and they all folded to me. I had a tight asian guy in bb , but what it did it matter ? BB was $2,000 So I raised the pot and he moved all in for $5k more. I had to call and was upset to see I walked into 10 10. He won and im left with $14,500. I won when in bb, and then some interesting hands came.
This new middle aged guy had riased 2 pots in a row and came in on the 3rd from ep,I am ss (bb $3k) and found AsJs,I studied him and decided to pass, he showed A-A. Then again dodged when he had 6-6 and again my AJ would have lost when a fellow ss took his A9 vs the raisers 6-6.
Then i busted out, K-8 on button , they fold to me , two tight guys in blinds , and bb $3k , I riased pot to $10,500 , villian in sb re riases all in and I call for pot odds. He flips up AK , and I am walking out of the casino with another last 2 table finish and no $$$.
I feel I am playing my best at the moment, but soon as its far into a comp, luck and bad timing are against me....Skill can take you so far when blinds are small, but you have to win a showdown sometime and get a hand. Might take a break and hit cash tables before my next comp....Sigh

Ciso