Football and Final Tables

There is nothing better than waking up on a Sunday morning knowing there will be football on all day. What more could make this day better? Hmmm how about... poker?

I jumped in the $10+1 NLH Multi on Party Poker
(signup code Blu) at 0800a est with 455 peeps total (50 get paid). Starting with T1000, hour one was uneventful until I get AsKs in the small blind in level 4 (50/100). I make it T300 to go and a small stack goes all in for T335 with QsTs. He hits a 10 on the flop and IGNH so I'm down to T600. Right before the first break I get lucky when my A10o wins all in, with a board of JxxJx, against a guy trying for a flush with A3s. So at the first break I'm at T1300 vs average T1900 and 225 peeps left.

The second hour I start getting some monster cards and before I know it, I'm up to T5600 with the average at T3200. I would have been at T8000 but I lost a big pot with AJo against a guy holding AJs and he caught his flush. Still, I was happy and there were only 110 peeps left at the second break.

The third hour I played tight/aggressive and since the blinds were becoming significant, I was able to pick off smaller stacks going all-in with average holdings. I was up to T11500 and the table leader when one guys takes out 2 peeps in one hand and now has T12000. At this point there are only 63 people left and 50 get paid. On the very next hand, T12000 man has to put up the BB and there is no SB because he took them out. I get Q10o on the button and everyone folds to me. I pop it to 4x BB and he calls. Flop comes 10 10 x and he checks to me. I go all in and he calls with AJo!! I double up to T23000 and am now the chip leader.

I push the big stack to my advantage since everyone was playing tight trying to make the money. Long story short, I get to the final table with T79000 which is still the chip lead. Play is tight in the beginning and when we are down to 7 peeps, I lose a good chunk (T28000) when I put a guy all in with my QQ vs his 44. He hits his 4 on the turn and now I'm middle of the pack in chips. I win a few tough hands and end up going out 4th when my A5s loses to 77 for a nice payday of $308. I felt I had to take a chance because the 77 guy and myself were the 2 lowest stacks against 2 really big stacks and I needed his chips to win it all. 4.5 hours for $308 - I'll take it.

In its truest form I realized that you really have to keep your head after a tough beat when you are still in a tourney. I took, what I consider, three big time bad beats and still made it into the top five, by taking a step back after each beat, and playing a solid game. I could have been out in the first hour easily if I had tilted after my AK spades lost to the Q10 spades, but I did what I could, got lucky one time (the only time the whole tourney), and cashed a nice payday.

I am trying to decide which weekday (Mon-Thurs) $150+12 tourney I am going to enter this week since I won the satellite entry last week. I might go tonight so look for me if you're playing.

L8r...

Blu