I just got bounced out of the tournament at the Majestic Star. The tourney was well run as usual and I managed to build my starting stack of 6k to 10k in the first hour. I busted out holding [As][Js] and the flop came down [Ac][Jc][8c]. There was a raise pre flop and I simply flat called hoping to hit a flush draw or better. Anyhow, I decided that I was going to push and I got insta-called with my opponent holding [Ac][Kh]. A [9c] came on the turn and a blank on the river. Off to the rail I go.

A little frustrating but that’s the way it goes sometimes. As long as I get my chips in good I am OK with the outcome even if it is not too favorable. This is one of those times I had to suck it up.

I had another good weekend at the poker tables. There were two tournaments that I played particularly well in but I got railed when I lost to a larger set deep in both tournaments. Not much I could do about that. On the other hand the proliferation of All-In pushes pre-flop was bizarre to say the least. I mean any time a player had pocket Aces or Kings he would simply re-raise All-In. I saw this move in $20 tournaments as well. Most times players would fold but every now and then someone would call with Ace King or a medium pair. I still have no idea of where the value is in making this play when a healthy re-raise will accomplish the intended task of keeping your opponent in the hand. Why would I want to push my opponent out of the pot pre-flop with Aces or Kings?

Apparently I am one of the few players that thinks this way because it was very prevalent.

I did make the Final Table in the 180 player tournament and took down 5th place. It was a great lesson in short stack play as I picked my spots and continued to survive until I could pick up a few hands to get a few chips. I even surprised myself by making that Final Table. With 17 players left I took a beat and only had $83 dollars left in my stack. After consecutive All-Ins I managed to build it all the way back up to over 22K with a LOT OF LUCK. I just refused to give up and I hit some cards at just the right time several times in a row. Once I built back up to 5K I picked up Aces and tripled up.

I had to stay home due to illness today. So I sat in front of my computer and played a little poker this evening. I made one Final Table and went deep into a 2000 player tournament only to get my Aces cracked by Tens pre-flop for a 56k pot! It was tough beat to take but it is what it is. No bitterness on my part but I sure would have like to have won that hand. I finished up 237th in that tournament with a small cash.

It was nice to get back to playing tournaments. I have been so focused on cash games lately that I really felt fresh again after a few hands. I am trying to play enough tournaments to stay tuned up for the Heartland Poker Tour when it comes to Indiana in April. I am also working on a new web site too. Do or Die Poker is not going anywhere. However, I do have a few ideas for another poker related site that I am working through. I hope to reveal the site over the summer.

I just got back from playing at my local casino and boy am I happy! I played the .50 / $1 No Limit table and made an absolute killing. I was unable to play in my typical $2/$1 NL game because a tournament was running and they only had two tables spread at this limit. The waiting list was a mile long. The electronic table made the game move fast and the players were mediocre with the exception of one lady sitting at the opposite end of the table from me and another player to her right. We basically took every dime at the table for an entire two hours.

I flopped a full-house in the big blind but there was a straight draw and the guy hit the straight on the turn. He pushed all his chips in thinking it was a chop and dropped his head when I showed him the boat. None of the players ever gave any thought to how the betting went or what their opponents may have had. The bad players would simply continue to bet until they were beat at showdown. I am not sure it gets much better than this in a cash game. I will be stopping by tomorrow for more action. Hopefully the same crowd will be around again and dump another $200 in my lap.

After a bit of time away from the tournaments I am back in action, cash game action that is. You may now follow my journey at the cash game tables on Pokerstars as I play the .25/.50 tables and grind away. I have decided that playing every night is not in my best interest. I will likely have most of my sessions on weekends when I have more time. Last night proved to be a learning experience. I started out with a $50 max buy-in and ended my session (-$2.15) after ninety minutes. I won a few pots but nothing big. The play was extremely tight and the standard raise was $2 dollars. While I am quite stoked by the idea I also realize that grinding is nowhere near as appealing as tournament poker. However, it does require a high degree of focus which keeps me zeroed in.

On the other hand I have decided that I will be buying into the SCOOP $109 Main Event. Although the field will likely be around 8000+ players it will be an incredible opportunity to make a big splash on the tournament scene and put a few hundred thousand in your bankroll should I take it down. The structure is 15 minute levels and $10000 starting chips with blinds starting at $50/$25. I would have liked to see the blinds start at $25/$25 but this is a two day event and clearly they want this tourney to move along. I figure if I can triple up early and start to put some pressure on the table I will be in good shape.

I will keep you posted on any other events I may be playing in as far as the SCOOP goes. Lastly, I will begin playing WSOP satellites soon too. I have done extremely well in satellites over the past few years winnings seats in the PCA but having to pass and take the points or cash. Not this time though. When I win a WSOP seat I will be on that plane to Las Vegas with a quickness folks. That’s about it for me. There are plenty of challenges ahead for me and my poker game and I relish the opportunity.

The last two weekends have been really interesting at the poker table. The weekend before last I had set out to play in the Pokerstars FPP tournaments for a seat into the $1050 NL Tournament Event #20. Things didn’t quite work out that way as my brother came up to surprise me. So I did not get to play any of the four satellites that were still scheduled. A little disappointing but I still had a great time hanging out with my brother.

This past weekend was entirely different. I was finally able to sit down for an extended period of time and play the Pokerstars $10 NL Deep Stacks tournament. Things did not start off well and I ended up with $3200 in chips when I finally picked up a big hand after the first break. Before that I had played several small pairs for cheap but was unable to hit anything on the flop. Anyhow, after I picked up [K][K] to double up I went on a bit of a run. Seven hours later I was sitting on $70k in chips and about $20k+ above the average. I continued to steal and take down some small pots but nothing big.

About an hour later I had [J][T] in the small blind. Prior to this play I had noticed that I needed to make a move. I was already well in the money, the tournament paid 240 places, and I was sitting in 109th place overall with 132 players left. I was also down to a little more than $60k in chips. 

My thinking in the hand when Jehnova bet out after the flop was that he was on a flush draw. I was correct in that assumption. I also felt like I could push him off of the hand which turned out to be incorrect. If he had had more chips this would have been a much better play as he would have been more likely to wait for a better spot. Also, it was not an optimum play for me simply because there was a flush draw on the board. Even if I hit my straight he still had a re-draw.

The fact of the matter is that, once again, I misplayed the hand. I also felt like the big blind, samKeppler75 would simply fold after my push, wrong again although I could not put him on top pair. I was simply hoping to get heads-up with Jehnova to hit my straight and hold at worst. In retrospect this was another poorly played hand. No excuses here. I felt great and had plenty of rest. I should have waited for a better spot and got a bit impatient. On the other hand after I got the money in I didn’t feel too bad after seeing all the hands. I figured if I hold I am sitting on $160k and I am in the hunt for the promised land. I did cash and learned that I needed to be just a little more patient in that spot.

Here is how the hand played out:

PokerStars Game #20590422060: Tournament #107929927, $10+$1 Hold’em No Limit - Level XIII (600/1200) - 2008/09/21 19:05:36 ET
Table ‘107929927 122′ 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: samklepper75 (28427 in chips)
Seat 2: mportage (50630 in chips)
Seat 3: tranquilo76 (172685 in chips)
Seat 4: Jehnova77 (66718 in chips)
Seat 5: Ditchdoc720 (49092 in chips)
Seat 6: ostereo (147629 in chips)
Seat 7: xxViolatorxx (71916 in chips)
Seat 8: Blobtastic (83678 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 9: Curtom (61832 in chips)
samklepper75: posts the ante 125
mportage: posts the ante 125
tranquilo76: posts the ante 125
Jehnova77: posts the ante 125
Ditchdoc720: posts the ante 125
ostereo: posts the ante 125
xxViolatorxx: posts the ante 125
Blobtastic: posts the ante 125
Curtom: posts the ante 125
Curtom: posts small blind 600
samklepper75: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Curtom [Td Js]
mportage: folds
tranquilo76: folds
Jehnova77: calls 1200
Ditchdoc720: folds
ostereo: folds
xxViolatorxx: folds
Blobtastic: folds
Curtom: calls 600
samklepper75: checks
*** FLOP *** [Qd 2s Ks]
Curtom: checks
samklepper75: checks
Jehnova77: bets 1200
Curtom: raises 59307 to 60507 and is all-in
samklepper75: calls 27102 and is all-in
Jehnova77: calls 59307
*** TURN *** [Qd 2s Ks] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [Qd 2s Ks 5c] [8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Curtom: shows [Td Js] (high card King)
Jehnova77: shows [9s 6s] (a flush, King high)
Jehnova77 collected 66810 from side pot
samklepper75: shows [2d Kh] (two pair, Kings and Deuces)
Jehnova77 collected 86031 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 152841 Main pot 86031. Side pot 66810. | Rake 0
Board [Qd 2s Ks 5c 8s]
Seat 1: samklepper75 (big blind) showed [2d Kh] and lost with two pair, Kings and Deuces
Seat 2: mportage folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 3: tranquilo76 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 4: Jehnova77 showed [9s 6s] and won (152841) with a flush, King high
Seat 5: Ditchdoc720 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 6: ostereo folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 7: xxViolatorxx folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 8: Blobtastic (button) folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 9: Curtom (small blind) showed [Td Js] and lost with high card King

Otherwise, I did extremely well in the single table tournaments and took down a second and third place in the two tourneys I played in. Overall, my bankroll increased another fifty bucks over the weekend.