Disclaimer: i do not think i'm a great player or anything so my thought processes may be off...i'm just writing what i was thinking at the time...if there are some glaring errors in my game...i am open to constructive critism and hope to improve...oh and to the grammar police...i purposely wrote it the way i did as it is easier for me to just type it out instead of using proper punctuations

some of the info may not be 100% accurate but it's as closest i can get it using my memory (which i think is pretty close to being almost 100% accurate)...mostly the chip counts have been rounded for simplicity

i just thought this could be a good read for some of you guys who are bored at work on a friday afternoon...so i decided to write about my tournament yesterday...

here is how yesterday's $1k wsop qualifier on FTP went for me...99 entrants...8 get $12k packages..9th gets $3k...you start with 3k in chips and blinds increase every 12mins starting at 10/20...etc.

my starting table...i wasnt too happy cuz i got 3 real good players (2 big name ranked internet pros and david chu)...but oh wells tough luck here goes...

first hand of the tourney...i have AQs in the bb and its folded to the SB who raises it 5x the BB...i dont feel like playing a huge pot this early since i dont know his style so i opt to just call...flop comes out rags...he c-bets out pot...and i fold giving him credit but knowing i couldve been bluffed..whatever..

next hand...i get AQo again in the SB...folded to me and i make it 3x bb raise...the bb is a ranked player...he reraises me pot...i put him on a huge range of hands...he could have Ax or any pocket pair...or he could be doing it with any two trying to resteal setting the tone for me to not steal his blinds...but since its early and im not sure what his style is..i opt to call as i thought folding was a weak play...flop comes out all rags and i decide to give him the benefit of the doubt and give up the hand...when it goes check bet fold...

then few hands later when im in middle position...i get AQs again...this time there was an UTG limper so i was kinda suspicious of his limp putting him on any pocket pair including the high ones...therefore i was deciding whether to limp or to raise...but figured i need to figure out where i stand right now cuz if the wrong flop comes such as Qxx...it could cost me a lot of chips if he indeed had KK or AA or even a small set...so i decide to throw in a feeler 3x bb raise with the intention to fold if i get reraised...it gets folded to him and he reraises me back pot...i mucked instantly not wanting to play more big pots with AQ

so quickly i am down about 2200 in chips and the blinds are now at 15/30 and im not happy but i know i have enough chips to comeback so i buckle down and just play ABC poker trying to pick up abandoned pots here and there as stealing wasnt working....i worked my way back to about 2500 when they fortunelty broke down the table and moved me to a new table (whew!)...so at this new table to my delight...i didnt really recognize any solid players...the one player i did recognize was an overly loose aggressive player in a bad way and he was sitting directly to my right...im estactic about this cuz now i know i have a real shot at coming back by picking on him...this guy ALWAYS raises in position to steal the blinds..especially in the SB and the cutoff..but his weakspot is reraisers...he doesnt call nearly enough resteals to be dangerous...so basically everytime i had a semi decent hand on the button and he raises it in the cutoff...i would resteal from him by reraising him while shutting out the blinds...when were in the blinds...i would call his raise..float the flop to freeze him then steal on the turn if he showed weakness (there was a pattern to his betting that gave away his hand on the turn)...by doing this i got my stack up to about 4500 and his stack dropped to about 1300...then i got the chance i was looking for...i knew he was getting frustrated with me and with the blinds at 40/80 he open pushed his 1300 from the cut-off and i was looking at AQs...i knew i had him beat because his range is any two except solid hands...knowing his style...he wouldnt have open pushed with a solid hand (thank goodness for notes)...the only question was...did i feel like gambling...and i basically came to the conclusion that if i lost the pot..i would still have over the starting 3k in chips...which definitely doesnt put me in a bad shape at all...but if i win the pot..then id have 6k in chips which would put me in a great spot...so i called...he flips over J3s...NICE!...but of course he sucks out a jack on the turn and back to the drawing board...but i wasnt too upset cuz i knew i was gonna get the rest of his chips eventually...unless the table broke..which of course it did about 2 mins later...UGH!

next table..not as juicy as the last one..oh wells time to play smart...so i grind my way back up to about 5000 in chips stealing pots and never showing down a hand...then i get KK in EP...i make it 400 to go with the blinds at 80/160..gets folded to the SB who pushes all in for 3000+ chips...NICE!...i of course call figuring im either an 80-20 or 70-30 favorite...he turns over AQ...flop comes QQx and no help for me on the turn or the river...so now im back to 1800 and shortstacked..UGH...this is when i got up from my chair and started cursing like a madman at the screen then gave myself a quick pep talk..."dont panic...shortstack play is your specialty via sngs...your table is tight and easy to steal...etc"...well pep talk worked...managed to steal several pots and with the blinds at 120/240/25a...i get black AA in LP...i decide to gamble and open limp knowing that i NEED to double through this hand and cant waste it by just getting the blinds since i only had about 3000 in my stack...so the two blinds and i take a flop...T96 two spades...not a great flop with all the draws but not horrible either...both blinds check to me...i bet 3/4 of the pot making it look like a standard continuation bet trying to pick it up and hoping for a reraise...it works..cuz the SB who is a ranked player smells my "weakness" and pushes all in...i call..he has 95o..for mid pair and gets no help...i double up while crippling him...NICE!

Now i got some breathing room with about 6k in chips...work my way up to about 9k with the blinds at 140/280/25a and sitting in 16th place out of 24ppl...then i get KK in the SB...everyone folds to me..i make a "stealing" raise to 700 trying to induce a resteal from the BB...the BB was a big stack with about 17k...he senses my "weakness" and pushes me all in...NICE! if i double here..im one of the chip leaders with 24 left and 9 getting paid!...i insta call knowing hes pulling a move...he turns over A7s...flop comes out rags...then the UGLIEST ace EVERRRR on the turn...GG me!...ugh! so not fair...i was so in the zone too..and with all the bad beats..i kept on fighting and never gave up...i really thought i was gonna win a seat this time but sigh it wasnt meant to be...3 hours of play for nothing...FTP hates me...i lost EVERY all in preflop confrontations this tournament and i was a big favorite in all of them..ugh!...so i just went to sleep on tilt around midnight...

sometimes you play your best but poker gods are just out to get you...but i do hope that one of these days i'll finally win a satellite to the WSOP ME..sigh...

thanks for the kind words bushansen..i will keep trying...=)

I feel your pain brother. Same situation lower stakes in the AP 60K GTD. sunday. 8th out of 50+/-. Blind vs. Blind I flop a straight....BB gets a higher straight on the turn. Then my AA beat by AQ and my KK beat by 99 in almost back-to-back hands to finish as the bubble boy.

I hate poker, but I love poker too.

We have almost the same tale. I keep playing really good poker but just cant seem to win that coin flip or take a really bad beat right when you can least afford it. I only play small buy ins but it hurts all the same I reckon. All we can do is play our game and sooner or later the breaks will all fall our way!