I have had some modest successes since my last post. Two weeks ago, I played in the PokerWorks Family HORSE tournament again, and won it again. It was a small field, but the competition was tough, so I feel like I accomplished something by taking it down. Linda and I had a pretty good heads-up match at the end, but the cards came my way when I needed them. I think it would be great if this tournament could get a bigger turn-out. Here is the info; mark it on your calendars and sign up to play.
PokerWorks Family HORSE tournament
PokerStars
Sundays at 9:00 PM ET, every two weeks
Buy-in: $5 + 0.50
Password: donkeys
The game is on tonight. I may not make it due to a family commitment, but don't let that stop you from registering.
Two nights ago, I played in Katitude's Friday Night Donkarama on FullTilt for the first time in ages. I find it hard to get into the push-with-ATC spirit of this game, mainly because my bankroll isn't deep enough to handle pitching dollar after dollar for the rebuys. I donated more than I had planned, and ended up quitting before the break so I wouldn't bleed off any more. Because I busted early, I decided to try to win some back by registering for a $3 + 0.30 deep stack turbo KO tourney. I had to get lucky several times to hang in, but I made the final table. I was the shorty, but got lucky again and doubled up to get within striking distance of the rest of the pack. On the next hand, I made a stupid mistake.
Full Tilt Poker Game #11495044495: $3 + $0.30 KO Sit & Go (86320637), Table 10 - 1500/3000 Ante 400 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:27:55 ET - 2009/04/03
Seat 1: Barbie19 (34,417)
Seat 2: Mas Malo (72,355)
Seat 4: yestbay1 (24,660)
Seat 6: JHearn (26,225)
Seat 7: Assman08 (40,900)
Seat 8: Don7768 (33,998)
Seat 9: xriex (37,445)
Although I am still the short stack, I am not far behind several of the others. I could have waited for a better opportunity to pick up more chips.
Barbie19 antes 400
Mas Malo antes 400
yestbay1 antes 400
JHearn antes 400
Assman08 antes 400
Don7768 antes 400
xriex antes 400
Don7768 posts the small blind of 1,500
xriex posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to yestbay1 [Kc Jc]
A nice hand, and one I'm ready to play. A little too ready.
Barbie19 raises to 9,000
UTG raises, which should make me pause. Barbie hasn't been all that loose, although I have seen her make some iffy plays. I should have expected her to have a stronger hand than my sooooted KJ with a raise in early position. But, flush with my success on the hand just before, I try to keep the momentum going.
Mas Malo folds
yestbay1 raises to 24,260, and is all in
JHearn folds
Assman08 folds
Don7768 folds
xriex folds
Barbie19 calls 15,260
yestbay1 shows [Kc Jc]
Barbie19 shows [Ac Qh]
Now, another player in Barbie's situation might think, "Hmmm, this guy re-raised me after I raised in early position. Would he do that with something other than a premium hand? Maybe he has AA or KK or QQ. Do I want to call off most of my stack with AQ offsuit? Maybe I should fold." But, maybe she thought I was pushing with a weaker Ace and she had me dominated. In any case, she was ahead, but I still had live cards. Unfortunately, none came through.
*** FLOP *** [Qc 6s 7d]
*** TURN *** [Qc 6s 7d] [8d]
*** RIVER *** [Qc 6s 7d 8d] [4s]
yestbay1 shows King Queen high
Barbie19 shows a pair of Queens
Barbie19 wins the pot (55,820) with a pair of Queens
yestbay1 stands up
I feel like I should have been more patient there. If it had folded to me, I was probably shoving with that hand, but with the raise in front of me, I should have waited for a chance to get my money in first. 7th place is OK but I expect I could have finished higher if I had been smarter and less impulsive.
In another of these $3 + 0.30 tourneys a few days earlier, I finished 8th, once again making some bone-headed plays to screw up my shot at a bigger cash. It is frustrating to feel like I am not learning from my mistakes. More frustrating than just about any bad beat. All I can do is keep trying, and hope that some of it sinks in, however slowly.
