Online Poker Tournament Rankings

 After 2nd, 2nd, 3rd yesterday I got to take one down today. Felt good because....

I bubbled the Sunday 2.5million on Stars

I bubbled the Sunday 200k on UB

I busted out of FTOPS Main in a race.

There goes 1k right there and I busted everything else today except a small cash in UB 33 Rebuy.

5-6 handed at the FT of the PLO $55 Rebuy I OPR all the guys. They are all good players. Most of them are opening lots of pots so I'm having to pick my spots. I'm the shorty 5 handed but pick good spots and this happens:

5 handed UTG I open with QQ53 double suit. The button makes PSB 3 bet. Considering he hasn't 3bet me once I should give him credit for a hand. But I'm sure he is thinking that as well. I decide there is a chance my hand is good and reshove, he calls with A1078 and I double up. Then this guy Scarface_79 (A very good player) goes on a heater and outdraws the other guys every time. We go to HU and I'm down maybe 4.5 to 1 to start. This guy plays really aggro so it's a matter of letting him bet himself into trouble. Usually I under perform HU but I just had this guys number. I picked probably all his bluffs and trapped him a few times. I end up getting the chip lead about 3 to 1. Then he raises his button, I 3-bet, he 4-bets...etc etc...

My hand AA53 double suit

Scarface KK57 double suit

Flop is J84dd giving me NFD. He has 4 outs. He rivers the gutshot str8 (non diamond) and takes the chip lead. FML.

Didn't matter, repeat of before and I just picked him off. Final hand I limp KQQ6r and he raises from BB. I could reshove as I'm surely ahead of his range there but I feel I'll outplay him post flop as I have been no need for the high variance play. Flop is 997cc and he makes PSB. I don't have any draws, I doubt he slams the PSB with a 9 so I jam it up and he calls with 108xx for the up/down str8 draw. I fade the str8 and take this one down. That made up for the Sunday Major disappointment. Ship the 7.3k.... no poker tomorrow....gl all who play.

 Two of my nemesis tournaments, the Stars Weekly $216 PLO and PLO8:

PLO: 2nd for 6.2k.....bust hand

My hand: AJ103

After a  raise, flop is Q103hh, I lead out with bottom two. Button raises, I feel my hand is good and he is on the draw. I call and turn makes it Q1032hh, I check to him and he bets hard. I shove it (trusting my read) and he calls with KJJ8hh. It's a race and I'm 53% to win. Board makes a Q and I lose

PLO8: 3rd for 4.2k.....bust hand

Button raises, I 3-bet the Pot from SB with AK75cc and BB flats, button folds.

Flop: Q46r and I shove the rest (a pot size bet), BB calls with A278, he turns gin (5...the only card that would give him a scoop) and I lose

FTP 33$ PLO Rebuy: 2nd for 2k

I raise my button with KQ89 and Tutenkhamen calls in the BB (I see him lots in this tourn, he is a good PLO player). Flop is Kxx and I c-bet 2/3 pot, He makes PSB. I feel I'm good here, he would have 3-bet with AKxx preflop, I shove over him and he calls and tables KJJ5 and is in bad shape. Turned the J and I'm done :(

FTPS 109$ PLO Rebuy:

I've been so looking forward to this and here is the sickness:

Blind level 120/240

I call EP raise with J1098 and see a flop 4/5 way.

Flop is J107dd, I flop nut str8 and top two. EP guy leads out for half pot. I think calling here is good because my str8 can be counterfeit easily by AKQ and a diamond is bad. So if he is betting KQdd type hands raising won't get him off his hand. I'm not concerned about a board pair because I have top two. I call and HU to the turn.

Board: J1077dd

Turn paired the board (why the 7?), he checks to me. I think my initial read is correct. I had blockers to trip Js or 10s so I put him on a str8/flush draw type hand. I bet half the pot and he shoves over me. Since I'm really out Js and 10s would quads shove over me? I don't think so. I call it all (trust my read) and he tables QQxxdd for a pair and flush draw. River is a Q FML. He wins the 22k pot (100 bb's) and I'm stuck with 10bb's

My bust hand:

I raise AK108 in EP and aggro guy to my immediate left 3 bets me PSB. I actually had 20bbs after a double up but my hand is so far ahead of this guys 3-bet range. Trust the instinct and shove over. He tanks for 10 seconds and calls, shove 4678.

Flop: A108 

Turn: A108K   

River:  A10K89 and he hits the 4 outer and takes the 40plus BB pot.

So disappointing because the field was soft with a 93k first prize. I played well and my other cashes for the day took the sting away from his tournament.

Trusting my instincts: Stars $109 Cubed

I raise in the CO with 66 and SB 4-bets me to about 4x my opening raise. Usually this is always a hand like AK/AQ IMO but I don't want to shove because he will call and get to see 5 cards. I call and decide we'll see three.

Flop is 1022cc. He checks to me and I bet 2/3 pot. He shoves and I snap it off. He tables AK. I'm happy with how I played it, he really should c-bet the flop, trapping with Ace high and no fold equity is redonkulous. He turned the A but that's poker.

My big mistake of day:

AP $322 50k

From SB I shove A4cc into the BB. I have 30bbs and he has 21bbs. This is a pretty big over shove and this guy is pretty loose. He over calls A8o and his kicker players. I'm kind of surprised at his call but he was loose so I could expect to be looked up light and I'm only racing at best if called with suited broadways and crushed by better As.

Probably playing the Sunday Mill and FTOPS Main Event. GL ALL.

 I was at the FT of the Stars $109 Cubed the other day and made two bad plays 3 handed. The bad part is I knew what I was doing was wrong. I'll explain......

I raise K10o OTB 3 handed. BB 4-bets it pretty small. I've seen him do this a few times 4-5 handed and snap fold every time he was re-shoved on. I could shove here but we're pretty deep and I don't want to 4-bet and call his shove. So I call. Flop is AJ7ss and he makes minimum bet of 7k. The pot is almost 100k so this is a meaningless bet. Usually this bet is a) someone trying to get to the turn cheap and trying to set the price for that or b) a feeler to see if you have anything. Calling kind of says I don't have anything. Anyway, so my instinct is to raise, but I did OPR the guy and he wasn't the greatest but was a winning player. And even though I gave lines a) and b) there is sometimes a c) option where he flopped a big hand and is asking for a raise with that baby bet. So I call and turn is some baby card. Then he bets 44k into about 110k. 1/3 pot size bet, this is weak, even if he had a big hand why let flush or str8 draws get there cheaply? I consider shoving but after 10 seconds fold it, he shows K4o. Instincts.......

So I'm pissed at my self and exactly two hands later. I complete SB with A6o

Flop is A67 and I check to BB. He bets 2/3 pot and I raise. I like this play because it's an unraised pot and BB may take this line as a bluff with A flopping and no preflop raise. BB is a good player BTW. My hope was he would call raise and thinking a 6 or 7 was good, or float me, or pay for a 89,45,85 str8 draw. He tanks for 10 seconds and calls, board is now A674. Not too bad a card, 85 got there. I check and he bets 40k into a 160k pot. Suspiciously small, I'm puking in my head here because this is a good player who is clearly trying to let me raise or at least get a call. I call and river makes it A6744r. I check and he bets 168k which is most of my chips. Now I'm puking as this seems like exactly 85. So I tank for a while, telling myself to let it go but for the 3rd time probably for that day I call when my instincts tell me to fold. He tables 85o. Can only blame myself for those two hands. Had to write those two mistakes out and teach myself a lesson/call myself out on it. These hands here and there cost a lot of money. I took 4.2k for 3rd but it was 8.5k for 1st. I took myself out of the running for the extra 4k by not going with the gut. Hopefully lesson learned this time.

 Bad day to say the least. I'll spare the bad beat stories of the past two days. I did have two deep runs though on Tuesday.

FTP PLO 33$ Rebuy - I ran really hot in this tournament before I left for Cyprus and have been bricking it since. I entered FT pretty short 8/9 and somehow made it to 3 handed against guys who weren't really good PLO players. I had a massive suckout 3 handed when I raised OTB with AQJ5hh. SB calls, BB folds, flop J,6,5r and he insta makes PSB. It was a weird line and threw me off. I've been c-betting almost all of my pre flop raises so why wouldn't he check to me to let me bet if he had something strong? So then I'm thinking he isn't strong and I raise PSB. He sticks the rest in and I'm committed. I call and he shows 554x for bottom set. I river the two out J and double up. Eventually I bust the guy and I'm HU down almost 3:1. I chip up to almost even and then.

I raise PSB OTB with KK66ss, he 3-bets me PSB (I've been make pot size bet for 80% of my button). So then I 4-bet a PSB. He tanks and calls (putting 2/3 his stack in pre) and flop is 984cc and he shoves the rest. I call (400k pot and 100k to call, pretty easy) and he shows 5522cc. He hits the club and gg.

FTP 33$ NL Rebuy - Made the FT and 4 handed.....

UTG raises 2.5x, button folds, I 3-bet from SB for 3x his raise. He shoves, I call, he tables 88 and I show QQ, 8 on the flop gg.

Actually, Thursday same situation in the CAKE $33 NL Rebuy - 8 handed at the Final Table I face an EP raise and I'm in the BB with 1010, I shove and guy tanks/uses time bank and finally calls with 99. 9 on the turn, puke gg. 

Tomorrow is FTOPS PLO 6 Max $535 (I'm 0 for 3 in that) and the $109 rebuy (which I puke busted in 13th this last FTOPS when 88/QQ couldn't fade AQ/AK AIPF in back to back hands....heartbreaking) Lemme run good. I'll try and play good.

GL.