So a few things I would like to throw out there. First, I usually play the lower stakes MTTs on stars with pretty good results. Just out of curiosity I bought in to a 12.5k guarantee for 33 dollars. The blinds are like 20 40, its pretty early. This total fish directly to my right is raising every hand. I pick up pocket JJ in the cutoff and of course he bumps it to something like 137 and I repop to 380 and to my expectation he flats. The flop comes rag rag rag with two spades to which I am holding the J of spades but Its pretty irrelevant in this case. So the pot is now like roughly 700 and I lead out for 550 and again to my expectation he flats. The turn comes another under card to my pair and is not a spade. Now due to my read on him and with the pot now 1500 I shove my last 1100 chips and he calls. What do ya know the turned a wheel as he was holding the might A5 OS. Did I do anything wrong or out of line here or is it just bad luck?

So I'm not sure everyone can relate entirely with my situation. I'm currently deployed to Iraq at the moment for my second tour. So playing online poker is kinda tough considering the wireless connections around here are so weak and/or slow. So every once in a while I will get lucky and find a high speed DSL/WIRE connection and am able to download stars or tilt really quick and my get in a SnG or small staked cash game. The problem I ran in to the other night or early morning I should say. So, I buy in to a MTT on FTP for $5+1 rebuy I think it was. Out of like 760 people and 6 and half hours I grind my way to the final table with 8 players left. The soldier in charge of the internet cafe I was using informs me that my time is up...!!! HAHAHA wonderful I thought. I'm not sure I would've takin the tourney down entirely but I would've finished better than 5th. Just thought it was funny and the story shows a day in the life of a poker playing soldier!!!

Good luck all,
Josh (stipester_85) Stipe

I have a question for anyone with some good advice on playing, raising or even folding certain hands UTG or even early position. Hands like QJ, KJ, KQ, 22 through 99 on a table with alot of unknowns of an MTT. I run across these situations alot as I'm sure everyone else does. I'm just really not sure how to approach this especially deep in a MTT. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Josh