Gray-haired poker TRs: Living the WSOP dream

One last tournament before I read my book ... The Land of Unplayable Cards ... A crucial river card

I watch the not very interesting Monday Night Football game between the 49ers and Panthers. When it ends, I decide I will squeeze one online tournament in before I start reading my book.

98 entrants, 15 get paid, starting stack 3,000

I am card dead for 99% of the tournament. I patiently fold, fold, fold, fold, steal light, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, steal light, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold. You get the idea.

I am crawling through and trapped in The Land of Unplayable Cards.

The best hand I have for the first 99% of the tournament is Qc-Jc UTG. Never saw a single Ace. The only pair I saw was 6-6, also UTG. This is the worst instance of unplayable cards I have experienced since I started playing online.

With 25 players remaining, somehow I am still in the tournament. I am 22nd in chips.

I only have 3.5 big blinds, and the blinds are headed my way. UTG+1, I am dealt A-5o. This is the first Ace I have seen all tournament. It’s a lousy, weak Ace, but I am in any Ace territory, so I go all-in. I haven’t played a hand in forever, so even though my bounty is sitting out there for anyone to go after, everyone folds figuring I must have A-A.

The very next hand I am UTG, and I actually am dealt A-A. I feel like a parched man crawling through the blazing desert who then sees an oasis of water. It’s a miracle, but is the oasis of water real or is it a mirage? I double check my cards. They’re real. Still A-A.

Even though I have enough chips (barely) to make a bet that is not all-in, I instead decide to go all-in figuring this will look very bluffy one hand before I have to post the big blind and one hand after I just went all-in after folding forever. I am pleased with myself for taking this line. I am even more pleased when I get called by the player who has been running over the table the entire tournament with insane aggression. He has recently taken a couple of big hits, however, so I cover him by 174 chips. He has K-10o. I am waaaaaaay ahead. If I win, I will be 10th in chips with 24 remaining. Plus, I will win his bounty, which is juicy since he has knocked out a whole bunch of players. The incredible patience I have displayed the entire tournament while staggering through The Land of Unplayable Cards is finally about to be rewarded.

It’s moments like this that I love poker.

The flop is completely harmless. It does not pair either of villain’s cards. Furthermore, he has no flush draw and has only three to a straight. He will need runner-runner to beat me. The turn does not pair either of his cards, but he now has an inside straight draw.

You know what’s coming (cue the scary music). He hits his four-outer.

It’s moments like this that I hate poker.

I am down to 174 chips. Not even a full ante. Two players go after my bounty the next hand. On the turn one of them bets the other player out of the hand. Not that it matters given the infinitesimal chips I have in the middle of the table, but I am actually ahead.

You know what’s coming (cue the scary music). There is an 8 on the river, which gives him a pair. A fitting way for me to get jettisoned out of the tourney.

The river was not my friend tonight.

Sometimes I really hate the game I really love.

Time to read my book.

Also a Baldacci fan here, but I actually dislike the fact that he keeps inventing new main characters. I miss Will Robie!

I haven't been keeping up with the thread, but I see I made an appearance at least once. I did play against 'rppoker' today (I flamed out early, was working also)(-$1.1), but unless you have an alternate ID on Global, I thought that was the first time we were at the same table. I play these $1 donks pretty regularly. And can usually go deep if I don't get distracted...

Oh, look! Something shiny...

Also, this is the only weekend I'm a Michigan fan (Go State!).

An unplanned tournament ... Hey look, it's AzOther1 again ... I wasn't keeping notes until I had to ... Final Table bound ... BadBeatWoman#1 and BadBeatWoman#2

I am at work and by early/mid afternoon I am completely caught up. I had anticipated this, so I brought the book I’m reading with me. I read for a while, and then I notice what time it is. I have just enough time to squeeze in a tournament.

As I sign up, I make the decision to not take notes. The reason for this is I don’t want to write up the poker session since I want to read my book later at night.

That game plan goes up in smoke when it becomes obvious that this tournament shows a lot of promise.

AzOther1 is briefly at my table. Second time recently. Should I wave to him?

Not much happens in the early stages. I’m not getting cards and not connecting with flops.

With the blinds 100/200 or 150/300, I’m below starting stack. I’d guess I had around 2,000-2,400 chips. I have K-Q in early position and I open. Not sure how many chips since I wasn’t taking notes at this stage of the tourney. I get one call. I whiff the flop, but I continuation bet, and I get the fold.

With the blinds 200/400, I am dealt A-A. A big stack from UTG opens 1,600. I go all-in for 3,200. The big blind calls. So does BigStack. My hand holds up, and I triple up. Obviously, this is when I start taking notes for the thread.

The next hand I am involved in (well, almost involved in) is during the same level, when I have 9-9. Three players limp. I decide that if it folds to me, I am going to squeeze. Before it is my turn to act another player squeezes. My read on this player is he is not doing this light. It’s possible he has A-K and we’d be flipping, but I think he’d go all-in with that hand since my take on him is he does not like to make post-flop difficult decisions. The fact that he has bet less than all-in makes me think this specific player has a big made hand that he won’t be upset if someone calls. The sizing seems to be inviting someone to come along for the ride. I fold my 9-9. I wonder if this is way too nitty. I think to myself that I really hope someone calls so I get to see what Mr. Squeeze has. A player calls for all of his chips. Awesome, I am guaranteed to see what Mr. Squeeze has. Will I kick myself, or will I pat myself on the back when I see? Everyone else folds. Mr. Squeeze has A-A. My read was spot on. I am pleased with myself. I pat myself on the back.

With the blinds at 300/600, I am dealt 10-10. There is one limper. I bet 3,000. A new player to the table goes all-in for 6,640. I call. Limper folds. I am up against A-Q. It’s a coin flip. I win the coin flip. My least favorite hand in poker actually held up for me. I have 18,900 chips, which is 3rd out of 13 remaining. Only nine players will make the money since there were only something over 50 entrants, which is small for the poker web site (usually these particular tournaments get 80-110 players).

There are only six players at my table, which means I need to open up my playing range a bit. I am dealt A-3, I open and everyone folds. I have 18,827 chips.

When I am in the big blind, still six handed, I am dealt As-Qs. Come to Papa. Unfortunately, everyone folds, and I get a walk.

Someone gets eliminated at the other table, and we are down to 12 players, three off the money I have 19,147 chips.

From UTG, I have A-9o. It would be a little light to open nine-handed, but six-handed I open for 3,000. A player goes all-in for 5,746 chips. Obviously, I am priced in, and I call. I’m up against 8-8. It’s another coin flip. I lose this coin flip. I am down to 11,861 chips, which is still good for 6th place out of the 12 remaining players.

A player gets eliminated, so we are down to 11 players, two from the money. When I am in the big blind, I have 4-4. The small blind goes all-in for 3,499. I call. I am up against A-10o. It’s a coin fli. I lose another coin flip. I am down to 7,362 chips, which is 8th out of 11.

When I am the button, I have A-10. An aggressive big stack opens with a min bet. I have two choices. I can fold and try to limp my way to a min cash. Or I can go all-in and try to give myself a chance to win. I choose to go for the win. I go all-in. Villain insta-calls with J-J. OK, this isn’t great. I’ve gotten it in bad. I miss the flop. I miss the turn. Then, there is a tournament-saving Ace on the River. Variance has thrown me a poker life preserver. I now have 15,564 chips (4th out of 11).

When I am in the big blind I have K-7. It folds to the small blind who just calls. I have him easily covered. Plus, he just limped. I take this for weakness and put him all-in. He happily calls with K-K. Oops, didn’t see that banana peel laying on the ground. I am down to 8,886 chips (7th out of 11)

In the small blind I have K-J. I go all-in. It gets thru. I have 11,166 chips (still 7th out of 11)

When I am the button, I have 5-5 and go all-in. Everyone folds. I have 13,566 chips (4th out of 11).

I have A-5, and I open 2x. Another player bets enough to put me all-in. I fold. I have 11,046 chips (7th out of 11)

We have had 11 left in the tournament for a loooooooong time. I write in my notes, “No one is getting eliminated.” The small stacks have tightened up their ranges, and when they go to showdown they keep winning. We may never reach the money.

I get a walk in the big blind. I have 12,006 chips (6th out of 11).

With the blinds at 600/1,200 I have A-2 on the button. Not a huge hand, but with my table only having five players it is a hand worth trying to win the blinds. I bet 3,600. The blinds both fold. I have 13,566 (5th out of 11).

I’m not sure what my position was, but I have A-K. I think someone may have limped. I go all-in. It seems large, but with the blinds being where they are it’s only 11 big blinds. I’d hate to get called by 2-2 and lose a coin flip. Everyone folds. I have 16,266 chips.

The blinds go up to 700/1,400. We are still stuck on 11 players, two short of the money. Is anyone ever going to get eliminated?

When I am in the small blind, I am dealt 4-4. It folds to me. I don’t want to go all-in with this hand. In fact, my chip stack is such that there’s no need to go all-in. But I don’t want to bet tiny since if I get called, I will be playing out of position. I bet 5,600. The big blind folds. I have 16,500 chips (4th out of 11).

I am cognizant that with the blinds and chip stacks being what they are, one misstep can end you.

I am in the big blind with 7-2o, and I get a walk. The thank you notes are in the mail. I have 17,346 chips (4th out of 11).

Finally, a player busts on the other table. There are 10 players left. The stone money bubble. The stone Final Table bubble. The next hand, a player busts at the other table, and both bubbles burst.

We have reached The Final Table. I notice that the new player to my immediate right is a woman who once delivered a horrifically bad beat to me at a Final Table. Is this bad karma? Or is it a chance to even the score? She has a small stack, so how much damage can BadBeatWoman cause me?

On the first hand of the Final Table, BadBeatWoman has Q-Q and triples up (fortunately, not at my expense).

I go card dead for a bit, and the blinds take me down to 12,986 chips (4th out of 9). No one gets eliminated for awhile. Eventually, someone busts.

Then BadBeatWoman is dealt K-K and doubles up, knocking out a player and taking us down to seven players. She then proceeds to fold her way to a third-place finish, not playing another hand until her bust-out hand.

At this point the blinds are out of whack compared to the chips on the table. You kind of have to pick a hand and commit to it.

I have A-J from middle position, and I go all-in. I get called by the player to my immediate left, and she has A-8. I’m way ahead. I remain way ahead after the flop. Villain can only beat me with runner-runner eights or runner cards for a straight. The turn means she can only beat me by rivering one of four cards to make an inside straight.

You know what’s coming (cue the scary music).

The inside straight gets there. I’m out in 7th. If my hand had held, I would have been second in chips. Instead, the player who just busted me, BadBeatWoman#2, goes on to win the entire tournament.

That’s two days in a row I have been knocked out of tournaments by runner-runner, drawing-to-an-inside-straight miracles.

And yes, I realize that I only survived earlier in the tournament when I hit an Ace on the River, but still, this ending really stings.

Time to go back to reading my book.

Getting it in good versus the Sith Lord known as Darth Variance

This will be a shorter report than usual for the simple reason that I got overzealous in my shredding of paper at work, and in the process I shredded my notes from a tournament I played during lunch at my desk today. As a result, everything except the final hand is from memory.

The usual tournament: 76 entrants, 12 will get paid, starting stack 3,000.

I get no playable hands the first two levels, resulting in me not voluntarily putting a single chip in during these two levels. Part of it is bottom feeder hands. Part of it is during level 2, I get a call from my assistant who is not working today and got a call from the owner of two of the buildings I recently sold with a question. She needs me to go to her desk, look at her calendar and read her some information. I bring my laptop and watch the tournament while talking on the phone and looking for the requested information. Mostly I am dealt awful cards. The one close decision is when I am on the button, there is action (I forget if it was a limp or an open) and I have 9h-7h. I consider playing it, but it seems like there will be tricky decisions and I can’t give my full attention at the moment so I just fold.

We get to level 3 (30/60), and I finally get some playable cards. From middle position I have K-10o. It’s not exactly a premium, but it’s the best hand I’ve seen so far. Plus, given that I have not put a single chip into a pot voluntarily, I figure I’ll get credit for a much better hand than I actually have. It folds to me and I open for 180. Everyone folds. The very next hand I have As-10s. It folds to me, I bet 180, and everyone folds. The very next hand I am dealt Ac-Kd. Again, it folds to me, and I bet 180. I figure at this point the table may think I’m getting out of line and I’ll get some action. Everyone folds. Clearly my table image is that I’m playing so tight that I must have A-A in all three hands. I tell myself to look for spots to open up my playing range if they are going to give me this much credit.

I try to do so when I have 10-2o in the big blind. There are two limpers, and I come along for the free ride to the flop. The flop is three low to medium sized cards that are completely unconnected and offer no flush possibilities. It goes check-check-check. The turn is a Jack. No one has shown any interest in the pot thus far so I take a stab at it, betting 40% pot. Limper1 folds. Limper2 calls. I have absolutely nothing. Just 10 high. I don’t feel like a boss. The river is a low card that changes nothing. I feel confident that I cannot push villain off her hand. My guess is the turn card gave her a pair of Jacks. I give up and check. She bets 60% pot, and I fold.

From there I go extremely card dead. Well actually, other than that three-hand sequence during level 3, I’ve already been card dead, so let’s just say I remain card dead.

I don’t play anything for quite some time. I still have enough chips to be patient, but it is getting close to the point where I will have to open up the range of cards I should go with. I get dealt Ah-10s in middle position, one player limps and I go all-in for 2,060 chips. There is an empty seat at our table and another player is in sleep mode, so we are effectively playing seven handed. Between the blinds, the antes and the limper’s chips, there are close to 1,000 chips in the middle, which would be a nice boost to my chip stack. Everyone folding would not be a terrible outcome.
It folds back to the original limper who is a strong player whose game I respect very much. He has about 12,000 chips, which apparently are enough to call light since he sees my bounty there for the taking. He has Qh-10d. I am way ahead.

Pre flop I have 72% equity.

After the 2-6-9 rainbow flop I have 83% equity, and he needs either a Q for a pair, or runner-runner cards to make a straight.

After the Jack on the turn, turn I have 75% equity. But ... ugh ... now he has an open-ended straight draw to go with his live Q. Any 8, Q or K will beat me. Still, I’d rather be me with 75% equity. But there’s a sweat.

Cue the scary music. The river completes his open-ended straight draw. It took runner-runner cards for his straight to get there. That’s three tournaments in a row that I have been knocked out or decimated by runner-runner cards to give my opponent a straight. I’m out in 35th place.

Given that I didn’t have a ton of chips (7 big blinds) and the money bubble was far off in the distance, I wouldn’t call it a horrendous beat, but it is a bad beat. I mean, runner-runner yet again. If I have to lose my chips this way, I’m sort of glad that it is to a player whose game I really respect. He went on to finish in the money, getting to The Final Table, and busting out in I believe 8th place.

Still, I sure would have liked to have had my final hand -- with so much equity at every step – hold up and give me the much-needed double up. Who knows what might have happened from there. I would have had close to 5,000 chips with the blinds at 150/300. That would have been more than enough to make a run. At least I keep getting it in good, which is way better that getting it in bad as eliminations hands go.

Maybe I need to buy some bad beat insurance. In particular, insurance against runner-runner straights.

I need to do something to combat the Sith Lord known as Darth Variance who seems intent on causing me maximum pain the last few days. He's a fearsome foe to try to defeat. I suspect my only/best defense is time.

A disappointing finish to my book ... A thrilling finish to my Wolverines three games in Las Vegas ... More to look forward to the next few days

I finished my book. It introduces a new character, who will clearly be the focus of a series of future books. The new character is compelling. The book serves as the backstory of the character's transformation from quiet businessman into a lethal force of nature that will drive future storylines. The story is interesting and well-crafted.

What I don't approve of is the way the book ends, leaving the reader hanging. Lots of loose ends and cliff hangers. The last page may as well conclude "to be continued."

Actually a couple of pages later it pretty much does say this, when it reads, "Can't wait to see how Nash's story continues? Turn the page for a preview of Hope Rises. Coming April 2026." This is followed by the first two chapters of the next book.

The author is a #1 New York Times bestselling writer. He does not need a gimmicky cheap trick like this. Just finish the book with a real ending. The author's legion of fans will still buy the next novel.

This feels like some past WSOP Main Events where you got down to The Final Table during the summer ... and then had to wait until November to get the big finish (which thankfully is no more). It's a letdown. It's unsatisfying. It's unfinished business.

My disappointment in the book's ending is quickly forgotten when I watch the Michigan-Gonzaga basketball game on TV, and my Wolverine's completely dismantle a really good Gonzaga team in a tournament in Las Vegas at the MGM Garden Arena. At halftime it is Michigan 53, Gonzaga 29. The second half is a foregone conclusion. The lead balloons to 46 at one point in the second half. It's a bludgeoning. It's an execution.

It's a celebration.

They eventually call off the dogs, and Gonzaga cuts the lead to ... 40. Final score: Michigan 101, Gonzaga 61

Over the last three days and three games, Michigan has been a killing machine and is putting the college basketball world on notice that it is a national championship contender. Three games in Las Vegas, three blowout wins against quality programs. I wish I had been three. Las Vegas and dominant Michigan basketball, damn I wish I had gone.

It's still a loooooong way until March Madness, but right now Michigan may be playing the best basketball of any team in the nation.

I think I may need to get to Ann Arbor for a Michigan basketball game once college football season is over.

Meanwhile, tomorrow is Thanksgiving which means lots of football, lots of food, lots of family.

Then the following day it's off to Ann Arbor for the Michigan-OSU football game. Beat Ohio!!!!!

A lot to be thankful for

I decide to squeeze in one last, late-night tourney before football takes center stage the next few days.

69 players, 12 will cash, 3,000 starting stack, turbo bounty tournament.

The very first hand of the tournament there are fireworks at my table. Three players go all-in. The hands are A-Q suited versus K-K versus J-J. No one improves until the river when a Jack changes the direction the pot is headed.

The second hand of the tournament I am UTG+1. I have Kh-Qh and I bet 60 (blinds are 10/20). Three people call. The flop is Qs-4s-Js. I have top pair, second-best kicker but I have no spades. I decide I will stab at it, and if I meet heavy resistance I’ll fold. I bet 205. One of the other players goes all-in. I obviously have to fold, but I don’t see how this bet makes any sense. If they have “it” then they are unlikely to extract any additional value. If they are bluffing, they can get the job done by raising a smaller, but still chunky, non all-in amount.

The third hand of the tournament I have A-K, and I open 60. The big blind calls. The flop contains three low cards that do me no good. The big blind bets 20, which is a strange amount. I pop it to 154, repping a large pair. Big Blind calls. The turn is another card that misses my hand. Big blind checks, I bet pot, and the big blind calls. The river also does me no good. There are no possible flushes, no possible straights. Big blind checks, and I decide to slow down. I check back. Villain turns over A-8 which also failed to connect with the board. I am surprised that my hand is good.

We are still in level 1 when I play my next hand. I am in the big blind and have Qs-Js. A middle position player limps, small blind calls, and I raise to 120. The limper folds, but the small blind comes along. The flop is 3-9-5 rainbow. The small blind checks, I bet pot, and the small blind calls. The turn does not help me. I have played against this player before, and while I know she can be sticky, it is also true that she likes to be the one exerting the pressure. When she checks, I am convinced she does not like her hand. I also know a small bet may not do the trick against her. I bet 75% pot, and she folds. I have 3,833 chips (6th out of 61 remaining).

The blinds go up to 20/40. I am dealt 10-10, the hand that I get more than any other hand and the hand I hate playing the most. I don’t have to twist myself up in knots this time, because UTG goes all-in for a little over 3,000 chips. It’s a crazy bet. If she has A-A she is likely to get no value. If it is 7-2o it is reckless. There is no hand she could have that would justify this bet. In any event, I fold. At best I am flipping a coin, and at worst I am dominated. I don’t see any hand she could have that I would be significantly ahead of. My guess is she has A-A or K-K. Maybe A-K although I think that is less likely. Regardless, I’m not going to play a 75 BB hand with 10-10 in level 2. Everyone else folds, and villain wins crumbs. This player then proceeds to hardly play any hands level after level after level, so I’m thinking she had a much bigger hand than my 10-10 when she went all-in for such a ridiculous amount.

I don’t get anything playable for a couple of levels. Then I am dealt Ac-Qc from UTG when the blinds are 75/150. I bet 450. Three players call. I find it odd that three players think their hands justify a call of an UTG bet but aren’t good enough to raise. Whatever. Everybody come along for the ride. If I make a pair, there is a good chance I win a big pot. I make a pair. The flop is Qd-5h-2s. With three other players in the hand, I decide to size up. I bet 75% pot. Everyone folds. I have 5,114 chips.

The next hand I am dealt is J-J when I am in the small blind. There is a min bet to 300, followed by a tiny raise to 622. I pop it to 1,844. The first player to act folds. The other player goes all-in. I call. Villain has K-J. The flop has a King, and I am in trouble. The turn is a Jack, giving me a set, and saves the day. I don’t feel bad given that when we got all of our chips in to begin with, I was ahead. I now have 9,924 chips (6th out of 35 remaining players).

With the blinds at 75/150, I have 8-8 in the cutoff. UTG limps, another player limps, and now I have a decision to make. Do I just limp, or do I raise? I decide 8-8 is just a little thin to raise, so I instead just limp and hope to set mine. The table big stack, an aggressive player, pops it to 1,200. He gets one call. I decide to fold. It has gotten a little too expensive to try to set mine. And if I don’t spike an 8, there are sure to be over cards on the flop. I decide to wait for a better spot.

With the blinds 100/200 I am UTG+1 and I have Kd-Jd. I open for 600 and get two calls. The flop is 5-5-7, no diamonds. One of the blinds bets. The flop hits their range way more than mine. I have a nice chip stack. I see no reason to chase. I fold.

When the blinds are 200/400 I note that the aggressive player to my left has 17,588 chips and he is extremely active and aggressive. This sort of handcuffs me. Plus, the player to my right also has a ton of chips -- 29,468 chips to be exact. I have 7,874 chips which is good for 7th out of 29 remaining, but with these big stacks surrounding me I have to be careful.

With the blinds still at 200/400, I am in the big blind and I have 8-8. There is one limper ahead of me. I raise 2,000. The limper calls. The flop is 3-5-6 rainbow. I go all-in. Villain folds. I have 10,714 chips (9th out of 27 remaining).

We go on break. There are 19 players remaining, 12 get paid. I have 9,674 chips, which puts me in 10th place.

My table is playing six-handed. One more bust out and we’ll go to a full, nine-person table. Until then, the blinds come around much faster. We get down to 18 and I am switched to a different table. This is great news because my previous table was full of aggressive players who had much bigger stacks than me. My new table has smaller stacks and much less aggressive players. The new table is a lot easier than my previous table.

Players start busting pretty quickly as we work our way toward the money. We get down to 14 players remaining when there is A-A versus K-K carnage (I was not involved).

The blinds go up to 400/800, and I am in 9th place out of 13 players remaining. We are on the stone bubble.

The blinds increase to 500/1,000. After the blinds goes through me, I am down to 7,554 chips. I get dealt A-4 in the small blind. While I am waiting for the action to get to me, I notice that we are down to 11 players. The money bubble has burst. When it folds to me in the small blind, my decision becomes very simple. I go all-in. The big blind folds. I have 9,654 chips.

We get down to 10 players and are on The Final Table bubble. I am in 8th place. I have A-8 suited. It folds to me and I open 3x. Everyone folds.

I make The Final Table with 11,354 chips. The blinds are still 500/1,000. I am UTG with Q-Q and I open 4x. I get one call. The flop is 2-3-7. I go all in and get called by A-J. The turn is a King. The river is a Jack. My Queens have held, and now I have 25,108 chips (4th place out of 9).

From the big blind I have K-Q. Three players limp. I raise it to 6,000. I get one customer who is by far and away the most aggressive player at the table. The flop is 6-8-10 rainbow. I check. To my surprise, he checks back. The turn is a blank. I decide to stab at the pot. It’s not like villain to have checked the flop. I suspect he is concerned that I have a big pair and merely slow played the flop. If that were in fact the case and it went check-check after the flop, I think it makes sense that I will now do my own betting after the turn. I bet 50% pot, and I get the fold I was hoping for. I have 33,188 chips (2nd out of 9 remaining).

The blinds go up to 600/1,200. I don’t get any playable cards this level.

The blinds go up to 700/1,400. I am still 2nd in chips, but now we have lost a player and are down to eight. I then proceed to get out of line two hands in a row, figuring my table image has become tight since I’ve gone a bit without playing. I try to leverage this image ... and it ends badly.

It folds to me in the small blind. I have J-8. I bet 3x to 4,200. Big blind, who has not been active, calls. The flop is 2-6-6. I smell a rat (he likes to slow play his big hands, plus I only have Jack high), and I check. Big blind bets and I fold. I have a still healthy 26,408 chips (4th out of 8 remaining).

The next hand I am the button. It folds to me and I have A-10. I again bet 4,200. I get called by the big blind who only has 6,514 chips remaining. The flop is 9-9-4. I figure it’s unlikely villain flopped a monster, so I turn up the pressure and put him all-in. He snap calls with 4-4 for a full house. So much for my belief that he was unlikely to have flopped a huge hand. I still think it is OK to have turned up the heat. Most of the time it would have worked. Unlucky that he flopped a full house. That said, I have gone from a comfortable (for me), dangerous (for the rest of the table) chip stack to an unthreatening chip count of 15,554 (7th out of 8). All it took was two hands that went badly for me. Fortunes change quickly.

A player gets eliminated and I am now 7th out of 7 in chips.

I don’t find a playable hand when the blinds are 800/1,600.

When the blinds are 1,000/2,000 I am down to 11,674 chips (still in last place). After I have to fold my blinds, I am down to 7,874 chips.

A player gets eliminated and we are down to six players.

I need a hand. I get a hand. I look down at the ladies. Q-Q is a sight for sore eyes. I go all-in. I get called by a player I have played against plenty who I consider to be a tight player. It’s not going to be a walk in the park as she has A-K. The runout of cards is 7-4-3-3-8. I’ve won the coin flip. I have 17,148 chips (5th out of 6 remaining).

The blinds go up to 1,250/2,500. When I am in the big blind, UTG limps, it folds to me and I have 10-3o. I check. The flop is A-4-3. I have a piece of the flop, but it’s a pretty small piece. I decide that a pair of threes is not the hill I am prepared to die on. I check. To my surprise, he checks as well. The turn is a 5. I am thinking that if he checks again, then I will go after the pot. Instead, villain bets and I fold.

The blinds are 1,500/3,000. I have 11,298 chips. I need a hand. I’m not getting anything to work with. Finally, I am in the big blind. There is a bet and I have 6s-2s. I fold. I am in the small blind and I’m on life support. Surprisingly, it folds to me. I have 10c-8h. It’s not great but it’s not awful against two random cards. I know I have virtually no fold equity here, but I am running out of time. In all likelihood my cards will both be live. I’m not going to get a better situation than it folds to me with one player still left to act. I go all-in. The big blind calls with J-6o. The flop is Q-4-3 which does not improve me, but at least my cards are still live. The turn is a Jack. I am drawing to an inside straight. I need a 9. Instead, the river is a King, and I’m out in 6th place.

I’m not disappointed. The glass is half full. My streak of getting pulverized by runner-runner cards that made straights for my opponents has finally ended. I made the money. I made The Final Table. I am closing in on my high-water mark for my online poker bankroll. I watched my Wolverines annihilate a very strong opponent in basketball on TV tonight. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. The following day I am driving to Michigan to go to the Michigan-OSU football game with my daughter and my best friend. Life is good. I have a lot to be thankful for as Thanksgiving arrives.

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for rppoker's usually entertaining, sometimes educational, and occasionally inspirational posts.

Judgment Day gets closer and closer ... Beat Ohio!!!!!

The drive to Michigan is complete for tomorrow's Michigan-OSU football battle to the death in The Big House.

The day starts great. For starters, zero traffic getting out of Chicago thanks to the fact that yesterday was Thanksgiving. In addition, my daughter did two-thirds of the driving, which was awesome. Two years ago when she came to the Michigan-OSU game with me, she slept the entire drive. Today, she does the heavy lifting. As a result, while she drove and while we chatted, we had the Kansas-Utah football game on the radio (she's a KU grad), and I also had the Mississippi-Mississippi State game playing on my phone. It's still amazing to me the quality picture you get watching sporting events on your phone.

During the drive I see an e-mail from my 50-50 partner in a strip center we are trying to sell, which updates me on negotiations. I give him a call and we have a brief discussion on the matter. He says he hopes we have good weather for the Michigan game. I explain that terrible weather will be very much in Michigan's favor. He chuckles and says, "Well, I guess I wish you awful weather."

My daughter and I get to our hotel and check-in. She says she is tired and will just get something to eat in the hotel room. I imagine DoorDash will be involved.

In our hotel room, I turn on the Georgia-Georgia Tech football game, and when I look over I see that she is sound asleep. There can be no poker while here because Global Poker, the site I play on, is not legal in Michigan.

Tonight's plans will involve my college roommate NextDoorLou and a trip to our usual haunt Buffalo Wild Wings. The Parmesan Garlic wings are the absolute nuts. No menu needed.

I'm so excited for tomorrow's Michigan-OSU football game. After suffering traumatic losses virtually uninterrupted for a decade-in-a-half, Michigan has out-of-nowhere, won four straight. It's a rivalry again. The last four years have been the greatest stretch in my lifetime. Two years ago my daughter, NextDoorLou and I took part in the field storm after beating the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor. On my deathbed someday, that will be one of the memories that will pass before my weary eyes. I would love to do a field storm again tomorrow. At 63-years-old, I think I have a field storm left in my tired legs. I just need the Michigan football team to cooperate and create the opportunity tomorrow.

Michigan is around a 10-point underdog. That might seem daunting, but we were a 20-point underdog last year and inexplicably, impossibly won the game on the road in Columbus. I still can't believe it or explain it. If we can just make it an ugly rock fight tomorrow and get the game into the fourth quarter tied or better (or even a tiny deficit), the pressure on OSU will be overwhelming, weighing something like 10 tons on their shoulders and 20 tons on their mind and soul.

I can't do justice to how badly I want to beat the Buckeyes. Even after four straight wins, the hatred is as powerful as ever. Tomorrow will either be a spectacular celebration of epic proportions, or it will be a funereal grieving of soul-crushing misery. There can be nothing in between. I have been rooting for Michigan and against OSU for 56 years now (since I was 7 years old), and my disdain for the Buckeyes grows greater every single year. Yes, I know that level of animosity is unhealthy. No, I don't have any intention of trying to work toward a better sense of emotional perspective on the matter.

Beat Ohio!!!!!

Ohio State 27, Michigan 9

Pregame:

Optimism (unrealistic?) exists. We’ve won the last four games against Ohio State as the underdog in at least three and maybe all four of those games. Michigan is waaaaay less of an underdog than it was a year ago on the road as a 20-point underdog.

I have seen nothing from these two teams this season to think Michigan can win based upon the eyeball test. But it’s a rivalry, and strange things can happen in a heated rivalry. NextDoorLou and I discuss if Michigan can vault all the way into the college football playoff with a win. No one in America outside of Ann Arbor thinks this will happen. We are believers. Just keep it close into the fourth quarter and then watch OSU wilt from the pressure just like they have done against us in recent years.

There is all the usual pregame pageantry, including a military flyover of four F-15 Strike Eagle Jets via Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.

The game is about to start. Players become legends in games like this. I just hope the newly minted legends will be wearing Michigan colors.

First half:

The game starts great for Michigan. The Wolverines get the ball first, and we kick a field goal to go up 3-0. Then, OSU throws an interception, which lead to another field goal to go up 6-0. I suspect that kicking field goals is not going to cut it versus OSU and could well come back to bite us, but if Michigan can keep this up for a bit, the pressure will rachet up on the Buckeyes.

OSU takes a 10-6 lead. Michigan cuts it to 10-9. This is the formula. Keep it close long enough, and OSU will eventually feel the pressure of four straight losses in the rivalry.

Michigan falls behind 17-9 at the conclusion of the second quarter. It’s still a one-score game, but control of the game has started to tilt toward OSU to a level that is concerning.

Halftime:

Halftime when your team is losing is annoying and bothersome. I don’t want to see the marching band when things are going poorly. I just want halftime over so I can see if Michigan can turn things around. That said, today’s halftime show is peppy, enthusiastic and pretty fun.

Second half:

OSU takes control of the game. It is clear that Michigan has no answers, no ability to respond, no ability to win this game.

The only member of Team Michigan who finds the endzone is Victor the Frisbee Catching Dog during a TV timeout.

We stay until the bitter end, but it is clear that this game is not winnable a long time before the clock ticks down to 0:00. There is none of the devastation of a last-second loss. Instead, there is unhappiness that the Buckeyes are surgically carving Michigan up in every way possible. There is snowfall throughout the second half, which should work in favor of Michigan’s ground-and-pound style and cause difficulty for the high-flying OSU offense. The snow makes no difference. Michigan is the inferior team, and nothing is going to change that today.

I feel anger, then despair, then frustration, and then, worst of all ... acceptance.

The four-game winning streak against our most hated rival is over. There are no sadder words that I can write.

Poker Public Service Announcement

I stumbled across a website tonight that LVL members who have played in a poker series may find interesting.

The website is ...

https://www.jessbeck.com/poker/

The site is for a photographer who, among other things, goes to poker series and take photos of players while they are playing in a tournament. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page on the link above, you will find a bunch of tournament series he shot. Once you click on a particular series, you can work your way through the various tournaments in that series and see photos of players competing. It took some time, but I found a picture of myself playing in a WSOP-Circuit event. I wasn't even aware that I was being photographed. It's a nice photo.

Just thought I'd share in case any of you want to check it out and see if there is a photo of you.

Things you do NOT see in Las Vegas

Sunday morning. The weather reflects the mood of Michigan fans after a dreadful loss to their bitter rival. The drive from Michigan back to Illinois is not going to be sunshine and rainbows.

Rather than Las Vegas lifestyle, this post is Midwestern Lifestyle. So when you are in Las Vegas next summer for the WSOP and you're complaining about the blazing heat, consider this to be a reminder of the alternative. I'll take the heat seven days a week and twice on Sunday.

Meanwhile, here in the Midwest, this is what everyone is faced with after checking out of our hotel. Snow scraping. Ugh!

The snow plows are out in force.

The warnings are out as well.

It appears that these truckers are taking the opportunity to grab some sleep in a designated area while the snow continues to fall.

At its worst, the vision is not great while driving through the snow.

Not surprisingly, accidents litter the side of the road. The first accident we pass is a car that drove off the side of the road and descended down a hill. The following picture is of a crane trying to lift the car (not shown) back up to the side of the road.

Accident #2 that we pass.

At one point, the traffic slows, backs up and comes to a halt ...

... which is a prelude to accident #3 that we pass that looks to be two cars that spun out and got buried in the deep snow in the area separating the highway going in different directions.

And finally, one last accident that we pass.

Fortunately, we make it all the way home accident free.

Driving home in a snow storm run good much more important than poker run good. Glad you made it safely. Sorry about the game result, although it was probably inevitable.

oof. am so very glad I live somewhere warm. 0 interest in northern winters

Snow pictures reminds me of Northern Norway in the winter, growing up. A part of our driving school curriculum was even 'driving on ice'. And I don't miss snow skraping!

I find a bit of common ground between my world of tournaments (and only tournaments) and the world of cash game play

I'm watching the Sunday Night Football game between the Broncos and Commanders. There are 3 minutes 31 seconds left on the game clock in the fourth quarter. It's a three-point game.

Meanwhile, an online poker tournament is ready to start in less than a minute. Do I play? The football game has much more than 3 minutes 31 seconds of real time remaining. Timeouts, two minute warning, clock stoppages from incomplete passes. I will be focused on the football game's potentially dramatic ending more than the poker tournament. The countdown clock on entering the online tournament is down to 20 seconds ... 19 ... 18 ... 17 ... I decide to pass on the online poker tournament.

Just before I have to make this decision, I had been contemplating the discussion going on elsewhere in LVL about making the proper decision in live cash games as to when the time is right to rack up and walk away from the game. I had been thinking that this concept is completely foreign to me as a tournament player who has never once sat down at a cash game. When to decide to call it a night and get up from a poker table? That is not my world.

When I am live at the WSOP or a WSOP-Circuit event or an MSPT tournament, I only call it a night when I am out of chips and the dealer or floor tells me I have to leave. Not even begging works. Always the departure is against my will. Rack up and choose to leave? I would never do that in a tournament. Calling it a night is never my decision, I tell myself. I would never pat myself on the back for making the correct decision to take my chips and leave. In tournament poker you leave when you bust, and not a moment sooner. Rack up? Nothing to rack up when you bust.

I am certain I am correct about this.

And then I realize that I am completely wrong. While it is true I would never voluntarily leave a tournament while I still have chips just because I feel I am not playing well, I have in fact just made the decision to not play in an online tournament because I would be distracted and unlikely to play well. Furthermore, at live WSOP, WSOP-Circuit or MSPT tournaments I have played at, I have faced the decision about whether to rebuy, and I have made that decision based upon how I felt, how much playability is left if I rebuy, etc.

In other words, is it a good idea to rebuy, or am I -EV if I do so?

It's the same thing as a cash player deciding whether to keep on playing, or are they -EV if they do so?

I thought my world of tournaments had nothing in common with the world of cash. I now think I was wrong.

P.S. My decision to skip the online tournament mentioned above because I thought I would be distracted by the final 3 minutes 31 seconds of fourth-quarter action? A pretty good decision. The game ended up going into overtime and was absolutely bonkers. Two teams throwing haymakers at one another. Down to the very last play. I couldn't take my eyes off the TV screen.

Back to poker content

We now return to our regularly scheduled poker programming.

College football season is more-or-less over for me. Michigan still has a bowl game of little (and by little I mean no) importance, so I won’t be attending that. I’ll definitely watch the college football playoffs on TV, but I won’t have a dog in the fight. And I won’t be attending the national title game. I used to go to the national title game with my friend IlliniArt, but I stopped doing so when I started playing in the World Series of Poker. Bankroll management. The money I used to spend on the national title game in college football now goes to my WSOP bankroll. Tickets to the college football national title game are expensive.

I may go to a Michigan basketball game with NextDoorLou this season, which I haven’t done in maybe 20 years. Michigan hoops looks like the real deal, so I think a road trip could be in order. Michigan basketball games aren’t as exciting to attend as Michigan football games for a number of reasons. First of all, Michigan is a football school. Second, a basketball game is a considerably shorter experience than a football game. Lastly, and probably most importantly, Michigan basketball games lack the pageantry and traditions that fill every TV timeout during Michigan football games. The Big House is a bucket list item for people. The Michigan basketball arena – Crisler Center – most definitely is not.

I do think there is an excellent possibility that I will attend the college basketball national title game with IlliniArt since it is in Indianapolis, which is a short drive from Chicago. If you wait until the Final Four semifinal games are finished, the ticket prices online plummet since the two losing fan bases want to get the hell out of Dodge and the inventory of available tickets sky rockets, which drives prices way down. Supply and demand.

I’ll also continue to read books. I have stacks of unread books just waiting for me to pick them.

Otherwise, no other distractions. All poker all – OK fine, most -- of the time. Heavily online. Maybe some occasional live play sprinkled in.

I don’t know where Mrs. rppoker and I will spend some of the winter. The good news is Global Poker is allowed in all of the states she is considering. I haven’t studied whether there is decent casino tournament action in those locations yet. I’ll wait for her to tell me where we are going, and then I’ll do my due diligence.

And of course, I will wait impatiently for the WSOP schedule to be released. I’m sure I’ll start whining in this thread at some point about the fact that the schedule still hasn’t been announced.

Do they always have it?

Online turbo bounty tournament, 62 entrants, 12 will get paid. (I thought I posted this last night, but it does not appear so)

In the third hand of level 1 (10/20), I am dealt 3-3 in middle position. One player limps. I decide to limp as well. The player to my immediate left has already donked off one-third of his chips the first couple of hands. He goes all-in for 1,938 chips. Two players call. I’m not punting most of my chips with 3-3. I fold. The guy to my immediate left has A-5o. He is up against 10-10 and some sort of suited connector that I did not write down. A-5 wins. WTF!? Spewy McBlufferson to my immediate left now has 5,900 chips. I hate level 1 for this reason. You’ve got to let the Crazytown players to bluff it off (which is mostly what happens and usually doesn’t take long to get punished) and then you can play real poker.

Early in level 2 (20/40), the UTG player goes all-in for 986. It folds to me in the small blind, and I fold my rags. Spewy McBlufferson is in the big blind and calls. UTG has Ah-Kh. Spewy McBlufferson has made an overly optimistic call with Kc-8c. Naturally the worse hand wins. Spewy McBlufferson is building a very large chip stack. I am certain he will never last.

He’s not the only player at the table overplaying mediocre holdings. It’s still 20/40 and a player at the other end of the table goes all-in for 1,012 chips with 3-3, gets called, and he then flops a set of threes and doubles up. The very next hand this same player goes all-in first to act with 7-7, runs into Q-Q and gets knocked out of the tournament.

My table is going crazy. I wish I could get dealt a playable hand to take advantage.

The blinds increase to 30/60. I have 2,876 chips (30th out of 55 remaining). I still haven’t even seen a flop. Patience, I tell myself, patience.

In the big blind I have Kh-Qs. Finally, a playable hand. UTG limps. UTG+1 raises. A player from middle position goes all-in for enough to have me covered. While Kh-Qs is a pretty hand, it’s not good enough to play for my stack. I’ll be behind any Ace. I’ll be flipping against any puny pair. I think I play well enough that I can be patient and try to outplay the table once the lunacy settles down. I fold. The all-in gets called by one player. The player who went all-in has A-4. The caller has 7-7. I was right in my read. My Kh-Qs was not beating either player even though they are far from having the nuts. As it turns out, I would have lost to both players once the run out of cards is complete.

The blinds go up to 50/100. I am 31st out of 49. I can’t find a hand to play. Patience, patience, patience.

I am dealt 4-4 in middle position, and I limp. Spewy McBlufferson to my immediate left min raises to 200. From many players I would think the tiny raise means they have A-A or K-K, and they want to keep players in the hand. From Spewy McBlufferson, it means he has two cards. Three players call. I call. The flop is Js-10c-4s. I’ve flopped a set. This has the potential of a full double up given the number of players in the hand. Another player bets 200. Someone else calls. I just call. I want to keep my customers in the hand. The turn is another Jack. Two Jacks on the board, which gives me a full house. I have a completely under repped boat. I bet tiny. A mere 400 chips. Two players call. Thanks for coming along. Come aboard my boat. Thrilled to have you continue in the hand. The river is a Kd. I bet tiny once again. A mere 400 chips. One player raises to 800. The other player in the hand folds. I bump it to 1,600, which almost puts villain all-in. He goes all-in. I call. He has A-J for trips Jacks. Sorry, that’s no good. I have 6,419 chips (8th out of 43 remaining). Patience rewarded.

Very soon after this hand, I have Q-Q UTG+1. The blinds are still 50/100. One player limps. I raise 500. One player calls. Another player goes all-in for 2,506. I go all-in, and everyone else gets out of the way. The all-in player has K-K. Sigh. I don’t improve, and I’m down to 3,903 chips. Still a very playable stack. Time to get back to work. Time to grind. Time to manufacture chips.

Shortly thereafter, I have 8d-8s. UTG limps. I limp. Spewy McBlufferson raises to 300. UTG calls. I call. The flop is 9d-3d-4s. It’s not a pefect flop for me, but it’s not a terrible flop for 8-8. UTG checks. I still have Spewy McBlufferson to act behind me, but I have noticed that while he massively overplays hands pre flop, he becomes pretty timid post flop. With two other players in the hand, I decide to bet pot. Both villains fold. I have 4,683 chips (14 out of 42 remaining).

The player whose K-K beat my Q-Q earlier, now gets dealt A-A, and he knocks out Spewy McBlufferson.

The next hand I get involved in is when I have A-Q suited. A player I am familiar with opens for 5x. My notes on this player say he is uncomfortable playing post flop and doesn’t like it when another player puts significant pressure on him. My read here is that he has a hand worth opening, but by going 5x I interpret it to mean he simply wants to take down the hand without having to see a flop. My thought process says he has a medium pair. I bet enough to put him all-in. He snap calls. My read could not be more wrong. He has A-A. I lose the hand, and I’m down to 941 chips.

I need to work on my timing. When I had Q-Q, villain had K-K. When I get dealt A-Q suited, I run into A-A. They can’t always have it, can they? In the tiny sample size that is this single tournament, it sure seems like they always have it against me. Which is odd given that the table has been getting it in light, not heavy. Just bad timing I tell myself.

That said, this is no longer the time for patience. I have six big blinds. I can’t wait for a pair of Aces.

The blinds increase to 100/200. I have just over 4 big blinds. I am 35th out of 36 remaining. My fold equity is practically non-existent. I have not been dealt anything even mediocre since I lost to A-A. I’m in the big blind for 200 with 661 behind. I have Q-10o. One player limps from UTG. Surprisingly, it folds to me. Q-10o is not great, but if I want any chance of making anything happen in this tournament, I have reached the point where I need to gamble. I go all-in. I am certain UTG will call, and I think it is quite likely I will be behind if he has any Ace or any King. But as I see it, even if he has limped A-K, I will still have two live cards. I’ll need to hit the flop. Sure enough, UTG calls with A-5. I’m behind, but it could have been a lot worse. We both whiff the flop. I spike a 10 on the turn, and I hold on the river. I am up to 2,307 chips. It’s not heaps, but it is playable for the moment.

The blinds go up to 150/300. I have 2,182 chips (26th out of 33 remaining). A new player joined the table to my immediate left a little bit ago. He almost immediately asserts the role of table captain, playing ultra aggressive and playing a lot of hands. Then he gets moved to a new table. I write down in my notes, “He was either going to bust me or double me up.” We’ll never know.

Shortly thereafter, I get moved to a new table. The blinds are still 150/300, and I am 23rd out of 26. Grinding the small stack.

The blinds increase to 200/400. I have 1,602 chips. I’m still 23rd out of 26. Almost right away I am UTG, and I have A-8o. It’s hardly ideal UTG. From late position when everyone folds to you, sure it is an obvious shove. From UTG I’m am not going all-in with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind (Jim Harbaugh reference), but I go all-in just the same. After all, I will have to post the blinds the next two hands, so A-8 UTG will have to do. A player in middle position goes all-in for 8,277. Everyone else folds. My opponent has A-6o. Not only am I ahead, I have him dominated. I stay ahead on the flop and the turn, but the river card counterfeits my advantage and we chop as neither of out kickers come into play. Unlucky. I have 1,862 chips.

Next hand I am in the big blind. I have 10d-8d, which while not ideal isn’t terrible. There is an open, a raise and a re-raise. Too much heat. I fold.

The following hand I have 1,422 chips after I post the small blind. I am dealt Q-Q. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The massive table chip leader sees that both players in the blinds are down to scraps. Sensing there is a bounty or two to be had, he goes all-in for 13,555 chips. Obviously, I call. The big blind also calls off his remaining crumbs. Table chip leader has 8-8. The big blind has junk that I failed to write down. I hold and now I have 4,546 chips (11th out of 18). For the first time this tournament, I think I have a chance to actually cash. This is a surprising thought given I have been residing in chip poverty for so long.

The blinds go up again to 250/500. I have 4,506 chips (14th out of 18 remaining, 12 get paid).

When I am in the big blind, I have 6-4o. One player who has just a little bit less chips than I do limps. It folds to me. I just check. The flop is A-6-5. I have a piece of the flop. Plus, the limper is a pretty passive player. Could she have an Ace? I think, given her small chip stack, she would have gone all-in pre with any Ace. I think I am good. How would I play this if I flopped the world. I’d either completely slow play it and check, or I’d bet small. While I think I am ahead, it’s not like I flopped a monster. So, I really don’t want to check and let her get there on the turn. I decide to bet small. I bet 500. If she goes all-in, I’ll fold. She folds. I have 5,856 chips (14th out of 16).

We go on break. I have 5,056 chips (14th out of 16). I will be the button on the first hand after the break ends. I look where the two players to my immediate left are in the chip standings. They will be in the blinds on the first hand back. They have both been pretty passive. The small blind has been extremely passive. The big blind isn’t as tight as the small blind, but he has still been tight. The chip standings say they are currently 7th and 8th in chips. Somewhat comfortable, but they are not going to want to get in a somewhat big hand, lose the hand and fall to the danger zone of chips. I decide that if it folds to me and I get anything halfway decent I’ll go all-in. I’m a man with a plan.

Break ends and the blinds go up to 300/600. Two players limp. I look down at my cards and I have ... 9c-3d. None of this is what I hoped for. I’m a man with a discarded plan. I fold.

I am 15th of 16 in chips when I am dealt K-Qo in middle position. It folds to me. I go all-in. Everyone folds. I have 6,196 chips (13th of 15).

A player gets eliminated on the other table. A new player gets moved to my table. I have played against him several times before. He is really aggressive and really good. He is seated four to my left. Good, that puts him far enough from me that he shouldn’t be a huge problem. Plus, he only has a medium stack, so he probably won’t go too crazy with the aggression.

When I am the button, it folds to me and I have Ac-4c. Aware that the players in the blinds are the two passive players I described earlier, I figure an all-in bet will send them running to Mommy. I go all-in and they both insta-fold. I have 6,736 chips (11th out of 14).

Very quickly I get dealt Kh-Qh, and I go all-in. No one is interested in coming along for the ride. I have 8,256 chips (10th out of 14).

The money bubble bursts. I am 12th out of 12. The hand immediately after the bubble bursts, I have Kc-7c on the button. It folds to me. If the money bubble had not burst maybe I go for it, but I wouldn’t love it. But now that the bubble has burst, along with the passive play of the two players to my immediate left, I am more than happy to go all-in. I figure to be ahead of any two random cards. Plus, I think these two players will fold some hands that are ahead of my Kc-7c if I go all-in. I go all-in. The super tight small blind folds. The less tight but still snug player in the big blind calls with 8-8. The flop is A-4-7. The turn is a Jack. Heading to the river I was behind, and I still needed a King or a 7 to win the hand. I had five outs. I needed an unlikely card to hit.

An unlikely card hit ...

... It just wasn’t my unlikely card. It was an 8, giving villain an unneeded set of eights. Was that really necessary? Piling on. If this were a football game, the ref would throw a flag for unnecessary roughness.

The three biggest hands of my tournament did not go my way. My Q-Q ran into K-K. My A-Q suited ran into A-A. And on the final hand of my tournament, villain only needed to hold and went on to river a set to rub salt in the wound. So, to answer the question posed in the headline at the start of this post ... yes, against me, in this specific tournament, They Always Have It!!!

The reality is, I’m not that upset about the fact that I kept running into bigger hands. OK, I didn’t exactly enjoy that aspect of this tournament. But I didn’t let coolers get the best of me. I managed to cash in a tournament that seemed impossible for me to cash in. I overcame. I didn’t punt. I battled. I hung in there. I cashed.

It’s not a big score, but these small cashes against all odds keep the online poker bankroll headed in the right direction. Min cashing the way I did in this tournament in some ways is more rewarding than winning a tournament in which you get smashed by the deck. OK, OK, OK, I’d rather get smashed by the deck, but I think LVL gets the point I’m trying to make.

7-3o is a monster ... A-A gets hardly any action ... Runner-runner madness with a twist ... DoubleDeuce is crazy and rides the roller coaster up, up and away only to quickly crash and burn ... A-K versus 3-3 for heaps

OK, let’s play some online poker. I’ve got everything I need. I’ve got a great college basketball game on the TV (Duke-Florida). I’ve got my laptop to play on. I’ve got blank pieces of paper to take notes on. And I’ve got my dog Astro on my rail.

105 entrants, 15 get paid, turbo bounty tourney, starting stack 3,000 chips.

After a small number of of hands, I think we have just gone to level 2 (20/40). I am in the small blind with Qc-3c. Two players limp. I call. Big blind checks. The flop is 7d-Qd-7s. I decide to take a stab at the pot. I bet pot. As long as no one has a 7, I should be good. The big blind folds. The other two players call. I didn’t expect to get that much action. The turn is the 2d. The third diamond slows down the action as it goes check-check-check. The river is the harmless 4s. I check. The next player to act bets 320. The other player in the hand folds. Given that I can close the action, I decide to call. I mean, how many hands can have a 7 in it. I figure that my Queen wins enough to justify the call. Villain has the 7. He has the highly unlikely 7-3o, no diamonds. Why he would limp pre flop with 7-3o escapes me. Apparently, this is a continuation of yesterday’s tourney when “they always have it!!!”

The very next hand, I am on the button and I have A-A. It folds to the cutoff. Now no one has it????? The cutoff limps. Well, that’s something. I make it 120. The blinds fold. The limper calls. The flop is Qh-5c-3s. The cutoff checks, I bet 120, and the cutoff calls. The turn is the 10d. Cutoff checks, I bet three-quarter pot and cutoff folds. Disappointing. I have 2,862 chips (61st out of 100).

With the blinds at 30/60, I have Jh-8d in the small blind. It folds to me and I just call. Big blind checks. The flop is Ad-Kc-Jc. I bet half pot, and the big blind folds. I have 2,934 chips (41st out of 90).

With the blinds at 50/100 I have Kh-Jc in middle position. I open 300. I get one caller who is somewhat short (less than 1,200 to start the hand). The flop is 9s-8s-3h. I put the other player all-in, and he folds. I’m back above starting stack with 3,388 chips (33rd out of 82).

The blinds increase to 75/150. A new player joins the table with 22,000 chips. How on earth does this player have that many chips (more than seven times starting stack) when the blinds are this small? I anoint this player the nickname DoubleDeuce. I mean, 22,000 chips, it’s mind-boggling. Second-place at our table is 7,200 chips.

With the blinds at 100/200, a player whose game I respect, gets it all-in bad with Q-9 against Q-10. There is a 9 on the river to save the day for the strong player. It just goes to show you how one card can change someone’s fate, as he goes on to finish third in this tournament.

Meanwhile, I am card dead. My cards make it easy to fold. No decisions that have to be made. The poor cards are the bad news. The good news is the Duke-Florida game is a action-packed war that is going down to the wire, so I have something to watch (and it’s not my cards). Duke is up 62-58 with two minutes to go.

The blinds increase to 150/300. I have 2,593 chips (49th out of 64). I’m still getting nothing playable. Patience. Florida takes a 66-64 over Duke with 30 seconds left to play. Just a great game (the hoops, not the poker).

Still more rags are dealt to me. Boring! Duke hits a 3 to take a 67-66 lead with 19.7 seconds on the clock. Exciting!

I get dealt 7-2o. Duke steals the ball with 2.5 seconds left.

Finally, I have something in the poker tournament that takes my attention away from the basketball game. I have Kc-9s in the small blind. DoubleDeuce and one other player both limp. That’s a nice amount of chips in the middle, and so far no one has shown any strength. I go all-in. Only DoubleDeuce calls with A-8. I’m behind. The flop misses both of us, although there are two clubs. I need a King, a 9 or runner-runner clubs. There is no King or 9 on the turn or river ... but there are runner-runner clubs. There are four clubs on the board, and I’m the only one with a club in hand. For once, I am the recipient of a runner-runner miracle. It’s raining clubs. I thought runner-runner miracles only torpedoed me. It’s nice to finally be on the other side. I’d rather hit a runner-runner miracle in a more significant moment in a tournament, but I guess you take your miracles whenever they decide to show up. I have 5,086 chips (25th out of 57).

Back to the basketball game, it appears that Duke has missed a couple of free throws. Florida still has life down one point with 1.5 second left to play. While this is playing out, DoubleDeuce makes a huge bet with 9-4o and gets called by Q-Q. DoubleDeuce is crazy. Q-Q holds. Duke steals the ball and hangs on for the win.

The blinds increase to 250/500. I have 4,876 chips (26th out of 46). I get a walk in the big blind. I have 5,076 chips (27th out of 38).

DoubleDeuce has been hemorrhaging chips and has run the 22,000 chip stack that arrived at our table all the way down to 1,462. DoubleDeuce goes all-in. It folds to me in the cutoff (I think that was my position, I didn’t actually write it down). I have Ah-7s. Against any other player at the table I simply fold. But DoubleDeuce is crazy and can have literally any two cards based upon what I have seen. I’m not a believer.

The other thing is, DoubleDeuce obviously knocked out a ton of players at their earlier table to get to 22,000 chips so quickly, and as a result there is now a huge bounty on DoubleDeuce’s head. I go all-in, which is ambitious with other players left to act, but I don’t want anyone else coming along to try to win the bounty. The remaining players fold. DoubleDeuce has A-6o. My A-7 has DoubleDeuce’s A-6 dominated, although there is a decent chance we may end up chopping the pot. My hand holds, and I win the large bounty. I have 7,288 chips (22nd out of 35).

The Kentucky-North Carolina basketball game comes on TV, but it is very early in the game and therefore has almost none of my attention (although it will also be a down-to-the-wire thriller eventually).

We go on break.

The blinds increase to 300/600. I am immediately moved to a new table where I have to sit out the first hand. I see that the player two to my left is someone my notes say is “tricky.” Gotta be careful.

Don’t have to be careful as I again get moved to a new table without ever being dealt a hand at my first post break table.

My new, new table has huge chip stacks everywhere. I am in 22nd out of 31 players remaining.

I am in the big blind and get dealt Ks-6d. Two players limp and I just check pre flop. The flop is 8-10-6 rainbow. Given the weakness shown by the two limpers pre flop, I figure I can tell the story that this flop hits my range more than their range. I bet 1,800 and both opponents fold. I have 8,608 chips (19th out of 30).

The blinds increase to 400/800. I have 7,888 chips (19th out of 27). Two more players get eliminated, and we are down to 25 players. The money bubble is still not that close.

In the big blind I am dealt A-K. The table chip leader is also the tournament chip leader. I have faced him before. He is the type of player who either builds a huge chip stack or gets knocked out extremely early. In my notes on him, it says, “Embraces variance. Can have any two cards. He’s the crazy guy at the table.” CrazyGuy opens 2x to 1,600. The small blind calls. I go all-in. CrazyGuy calls. The small blind folds. If I win this hand, I will be 4th in chips out of 25 players remaining. CrazyGuy has 3-3. A puny pair of threes. Puny but good enough. I don’t improve, and I’m out of the tournament.

Felted by a pair of threes. That’s unfortunate. Would have been nice to win this coin flip. I can’t complain, though (well, I guess I could complain, but I won’t). I remind myself that the only reason I was in this spot to begin with was the fact that I hit a runner-runner miracle earlier in the tournament.

Where is tonight's post???????

No full blown post tonight, but that doesn't mean I took the night off from poker. To the contrary. I tried out some new stuff tonight during the course of three separate tournaments. The results were interesting/different. As a result, I had too much information to type up in one night once I finished playing. I've done the rough draft of 2-of-the-3 tournaments, and I'm falling asleep.

It's coming. Just not tonight.

It’s time to stir things up and make some changes to my playing style

OK, it’s time to take stock in how I’m playing. It’s also time to make some decisions to try to grow my game. I have taken the 5 Sweeps Coins that the Global Poker site gave me for signing up, and I’ve turned it into 117 Sweeps Coins (which is equal to $117).

I am very consistently making it into the money in the small stakes I have been playing. I have also been making Final Tables a waaaaaay above expectation percentage of the time. If this were simply about running it up as high as possible, I suppose I’d just stay at the stakes I’m playing. But Global Poker is not about making money to me. Global Poker is simply a vehicle for me to try to get better as I work my way toward WSOP 2026.

I set two goals for myself for tonight:

Goal #1 has to do with my chip stack when I reach Final Tables. Usually, it is either average or below average. I see certain players repeatedly making Final Tables with huge chip stacks. These players push hard when they think they have a small edge. These players are not afraid to get it in when they don’t have the nuts. These players embrace variance. These players aren’t afraid to see flops and try to bluff their way to mountains of chips. I want to try to be one of those players. I’m not going to go into Table Lunatic mode, but I want to try to find more spots to ramp up the aggression more than usual for me. I don’t think I want to stretch my pre flop calling range too much. That seems like a recipe for disaster. I’ll save that for down the line. What I do want to do is look for more spots post flop to ramp up the aggression since post flop players don’t play as close to GTO as they do pre flop since pre flop ranges are pretty easy for people to memorize. I think I will do much better pushing the envelope post flop than I will pre flop. I guess I am about to try to go Mach 5 with my hair on fire.

Goal #2: I have been talking about moving up in stakes, but I haven’t done it yet. I am to the point at the small stakes tournament level where I know most/almost all of the top players. I have extensive notes on them, which makes it pretty easy for me to do well. Time to step outside my comfort zone, which means higher stakes and probably an altogether different pool of players who I suspect will play better than the players I have been facing.

Well, that’s the game plan. It’s probably highly -EV in the short run, but I think these are the right moves if I hope to improve as a player in the long run.

..................

Wednesday tournament #1:

This will be at the same stakes I have been playing at, but the goal is to look for more spots than usual to try to manufacture chips in an effort to build a big enough stack to be dangerous at a Final Table.

104 entrants, 15 get paid, Turbo Bounty Tournament, starting stack 3,000.

In the very first hand of the tournament two players are all-in on the turn. One player has a flush draw, while the other player has 10-10 plus a straight draw. Neither draw get there and the two tens hold for the double up. This is not the kind of increased aggression I aspire to. This just seems unnecessarily reckless.

The winner of the hand sees the double up as grounds for playing in almost every hand for a while and betting 2.5 times pot a decent amount of the time. Again, this type of lunacy in level 1 of a tourney is not what I am going for.

Another player shows up at the table in level 1 with a double-up stack as well. These two double-up stacks start playing every hand against one another, and they are playing these hands hard. They will never last. I just stay out of the way waiting for something decent, and then I feel confident they will do the betting for me. They are driving race cars with no breaks.

Level 2 ends, and I still have not seen a flop.

In level 3 (30/60), I play my first hand. Two players limp. I am in the big blind with J-3o, and I just check. The flop is A-J-5. I just check. While I have connected with the flop, I only have a smallish piece of it. I have second pair, terrible kicker. I’m not going to play for stacks. It goes check-check-check. OK, I think I might have the best hand. The turn is a 7. OK, this seems like a spot where aggressive players take a stab at it. No one seems enthused about the Ace, so that makes me think my Jacks might be good. I bet 50%, and both players fold. Head’s up I would often make this bet, but three-handed would normally make me take a more cautious line. But today I am looking to push the envelope. I have 3,176 chips (34th out of 86).

Shortly thereafter, I have 6-6 on the button. Two players limp. I limp as well. The small blind then makes a massive raise to 780. I would have called a normal raise, but I have to fold to such an enormous raise. It’s a shame. I feel like this is my day to set mine.

The very next hand, I am dealt 7-7. Two players limp. I limp. The small blind calls and the big blind checks. As I see it, I will either lose one big blind if I miss, or I will win a huge pot if I flop a set. The flop is 10-2-2. I have none of it, and I’m just looking for an excuse to muck my cards. After all, five-handed, someone surely must have flopped a piece of it. It goes check-check-check-check-check. Is it possible I’m good here? The turn is yet another 2. I have a full house, but it is far from being the nuts. Still, I tell myself that the aggressive players who build big chip stacks would take a stab at the pot with my holdings along with the betting action up to now. It goes check-check-check-check. I bet pot. Everyone folds. I have 3,350 chips (31st out of 75).

The blinds go up to 50/100. I am the button with K-8o. It folds to me. I know the big blind is a very timid player. The small blind is a LAG player who has a huge chip stack (12,000+), so he might be sticky. Showing no fear, I make an ambitious bet of 300. The small blind calls. The big blind folds. The flop is J-7-5. I have none of it. Still, I tell myself that the aggressive players I am trying to imitate would bet here. I bet 50% pot. LAG raises me. I’ve got absolutely nothing, and I fold. I asked a question, and I got an answer. An answer that I did not care one bit for. Knowing from past experience that this player is so loose aggressive, making this bet perhaps wasn’t against the right player to try to bluff. I still think it was worth a shot in my continuing education on the art of bluffing to try to build a huge stack. I am down to 2,435 chips (54 out of 66).

I don’t get anything playable for a bit. I finally get a sort of playable hand when there is one limper, and I am in the small blind with A-2o. I just call. The big blind checks. The flop is 10-10-K. Three-handed, this does not feel like a spot when one of the other players in the hand makes a chunky bet. I just fold. I have 1,905 chips (50th out of 57 remaining).

The next hand I am the button. It folds to me and I have As-9s. It’s an interesting hand, but it’s not an elite hand. Still, it has folded to me on the button. I only have 9+ big blinds, so I go all-in. Both of the blinds fold. I have 2,345 chips (43rd out of 57).

The blinds increase to 150/300. I am UTG+2 and I am dealt A-2. The pot has not yet been opened, but there are still plenty of players still to act. I think it is premature to gamble with an “any Ace” approach, so I fold.

UTG+1, I am dealt 7-7. I am still sort of a short stack, so I go all-in. I get called by not one, but by two players. One of them has A-K, the other has K-10 suited. The flop is K-8-7. I’ve flopped a set. My hand is good after the river, and I now have 7,275 chips (19th out of 45).

A new player to my immediate left joins the table with a whopping 21,000 chips. My notes on him say he is willing to bet light.

The blinds go up to 200/400. I have J-J in the small blind. One player opens 1,760. Another player raises 3,088. Suddenly J-J is looking a little dicey. I tell myself this is time to put on my big boy pants, embrace variance and go for it. I go all-in. I get called by both players. That’s probably not good news. Actually, the news is not bad at all. My opponents have A-10 and 9-9. The flop comes 6-J-3. I’ve flopped a set. Again. It’s set mining day. The turn 7 and river King do me no harm. I collect two bounties and now have heaps of chips. I have 17,328 chips (4th out of 37).

I get moved to a new table and my stack, which I thought was enormous, looks downright puny compared to the 32,000 chips of a player from Tennessee. When I think of Tennessee and prolific, I think of Peyton Manning who played his college ball for the University of Tennessee, so that’s what I’ll name villain. In my first hand at the new table, I am in the big blind and I have A-Q. PeytonManning limps 400. I raise 1,600. PeytonManning calls. The flop is 5-5-Q. I ignore the danger of the pair of fives on the board, and I bet my Queen. I bet 50% pot, and PeytonManning folds. I have 19,128 chips (3rd out of 33).

The blinds go up to 250/500. I notice that six players at my table have 10,000+ chips.

We go on break. I have 18,038 chips (4th out of 28). During the break, I check out the tournament page and see that three of the top five stacks are at my table.

With the blinds at 300/600, I am in the cutoff. It folds to me and I raise to 1,800. I didn’t write down what my cards were (I think I did so a little light), but that is irrelevant for reasons about to come to light. The blinds fold, and then I see that I have made a terrible mistake. It didn’t fold to me. UTG+1 had min opened to 1,200. Thus, my raise to 1,800 was only a min raise. I whiff the flop, and I fold to a raise. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I am really mad at myself for being so unobservant and missing the original pre-flop bet. I’m not saying I would have lost any less chips had I noticed the original bet, but this kind of mistake is really bad. I’ve got to be better than that. I have 16,058 chips (5th out of 26), so the damage was minimal. But my failure to pay attention really irks me.

With 25 players remaining, we are down to three tables. Yet, four of the top six chip stacks are at my table. It’s going to be difficult to push people around.

The blinds go up to 400/800. When I am in the big blind with K-Qo, UTG goes all-in 7,707. I mean, K-Q is a pretty hand, but it doesn’t fare especially well against a pretty big UTG jam. What’s it beating? It’s dominated by A-K, A-Q, A-A, K-K, Q-Q. It’s behind any Ace. It’s only flipping against any pair J-J or worse. While I have said I want to be a bit more willing to embrace some variance, this does not seem like the place to do so. I fold. Maybe it’s a nitty fold, but I just don’t see me being in good shape if I call.

I then proceed to go card dead for a while. My chips dwindle, but I’m not in the danger zone. I’m also not in the money and the bubble is not imminent. The blinds go up to 500/1,000. Finally, I look down at K-Q. The same hand as I had in the prior paragraph. But not all K-Q hands are created equally. In the previous iteration of K-Q, I was facing a large all-in bet. In this instance it folds to me in middle position. I open to 3,000 and only the small blind calls. The flop is A-10-3. The small blind checks.

I tell myself that villain only called my bet pre flop, and now he has checked to me post flop. He hasn’t shown a lot of strength. I, on the other hand, was the pre-flop aggressor. I can represent A-K very easily. I don’t have A-K, but I can try to tell the story. I go all-in. As I wrote at the start of this post, one of my goals for the day was to work on my aggression as the money bubble nears in an effort to not be short stacked at the final table. This seems like exactly the situation I described. Villain snap calls. That’s not good. He has A-J. He trapped me. Well played. Good game. I’m out in 19th place.

OK, let’s analyze my bluff gone wrong. I had been folding for quite some time prior to this hand due to a bit of a bout of being card dead. I thought that this would give me a lot of fold equity from my opponent. It can also be argued that my pre flop-hand was sort of near the bottom of my betting range and it ran into the top end of villain’s just calling range. Is this me rationalizing how I played the hand? I suppose it could be viewed as reckless. Or is that simply being results oriented? My bluff would have worked against a large percentage of the hands my opponent would have called pre flop. Given that today is intended to be an exercise in inflating my aggression near the bubble, I think it was a bluff worth trying. As the saying goes, “If you never get caught bluffing, it means you aren’t bluffing enough.”

Let’s look at the bluff through another prism. Would I try it at the WSOP 2026 seven from the money bubble of a tournament? If I’m being completely honest, if this were my first tournament of my series, I doubt I would have bluffed it off. I would have wanted to lock in a cash for the third consecutive summer. I realize that this opens me to criticism, but I’m just being honest. Now, if I already had a cash under my belt, then I could see trying this bluff in an effort to do more than just limp into the money.

All of this said, the goal for today was to increase the aggression near the money bubble in an effort to try to bring a bigger stack than I usually do to a Final Table. With that in mind, I think this was a spot worth taking a shot. It didn’t work, but if I am going to get comfortable trying to increase my aggression, I have to accept that it won’t always work out. It’s a process. Right now, the results don’t matter. What matters is trying out different things, rather than continuing to play the same purely TAG style over and over and over again.

.................

Wednesday tournament #2:

No time to feel sorry for myself. I jump into another tourney. Same stakes as I’ve been playing. The goal is to be more aggressive than is my norm.

81 players, 15 will get paid, Turbo Bounty tournament, starting stack 3,000.

First hand of the tournament. I have Ah-Jh in the small blind. The Hijack opens to 140. I raise to 420. Hijack goes all-in. What have I gotten myself into? A-J suited seems just barely strong enough that I have to call. At least that’s what I tell myself. Remember, the goal is to not play afraid. I call. Hijack has 10-10. It’s a coin flip. It could have been much worse for me. I lose the coin flip when the flop is 10-K-J. Hijack flopped a set. I don’t improve, and I’m out.

OK, maybe that was too aggressive. And by maybe, I mean definitely. Still, as bad as this was played, it still came down to a coin flip. Which I lost. Still, no reason to overcook A-J suited to the degree I just did.

Harnessing increased aggression is harder than it looks. You drive your sports car Mach 5 with your hair on fire, and you can completely forget where the breaks are. Breaks? This car has breaks?

.......

Wednesday tournament #3:

Time to achieve both of my goals. I register for a higher stakes tourney. I presume the competition will be better. That doesn’t mean I am going to back off my other goal, which is to try to build a big stack rather than try limping into the money with scraps. I am prepared to try to push small perceived margins and embrace variance. Whether it will work is to be determined, but I want to try new things

Immediately, I notice that the blinds go up much slower than the lower stakes tournaments I’ve been playing. So, I’m going to try to player faster in a structure that moves slower. This seems like I have it backwards, but I’m committed to my process.

In the first hand of the tournament, I limp from early position with Ad-8d. I normally would fold this hand from early position. The flop is 3 diamonds. Wait, how come no one ever told me that when you play A-8 suited from early position you flop the nuts? Easy game. I don’t win a lot since the blinds are a mere pittance (10/20) so there’s only so many chips I can win unless someone decides to lose their mind, which they don’t. My 3,000 starting stack improves modestly to 3112. It’s a shame a hand like this doesn’t happen later in the tournament when pots are much bigger.

I take notice of all of the players at my table. I do not have a single player note on any of them. Total strangers to me. Any reads I am able to make will have to be made in game. I am starting from scratch at this table. I decide I need to focus, which means I decide to only take quick notes rather than the more detailed notes I usually take for this thread. So, if details are a bit skimpy, that’s why.

A player at my table gets decimated. He has crumbs that get put all in merely by the ante collected. I am UTG and have A-J. I open and get called by a player who has been playing a crazy style. I whiff the flop, but I bet anyway. Not because I am trying to be aggressive against CrazyGuy. I bet because I want the bounty on the all-in player. Almost as soon as I bet it hits me. There are no bounties in this tournament. The lower stakes tournaments I have been playing exclusively for months have all been bounty tournaments. Not the case for this tournament. Rookie mistake. CrazyGuy raises big, and I fold. Lesson learned.

I get moved to a new table. I have 10-4o in the big blind. It folds to the small blind who just calls. I check. The flop is A-K-10. Small blind checks. I bet, small blind folds.

The blinds go up to 20/40.

It is really noticeable how much slower the blinds increase compared to the tournaments I have previously been playing. I have 2,769 chips (27th out of 37, although late registration is still going on).

I am surprised that several people have gone all-in for stupidly massive amounts. I thought I’d be leaving that behind me by playing in a more expensive buy-in tournament. I tell myself that despite my game plan to be more aggressive, it’s probably a good idea to briefly tighten up until the all-in blasters get eliminated. Patience will serve two purposes. It’ll keep me out of trouble against the blasters, and maybe it gets me a reputation of being tight right before I decide to open up my game.

I win some chips in a big blind special. I have 8-4. I flop a pair. On the turn I have two pairs, eights and fours. No one has much interest in the hand, and I only win a small pot. I am back above starting stack with 3,133 chips.

Next hand in the small blind I am dealt A-A. The player I perceive to be the table captain bets. I decide to slow play my hand since, from what I have seen, he takes any show of weakness as grounds for massive aggression. I just call. As expected, TableCaptain does all the betting for me on the flop and turn, and I just call. I’ve made it clear that I’m not going away, and after the river I decide he may slow down, so I bet. TableCaptain folds. I have 4,953 chips (11th out of 45, late registration is ongoing).

My dog Astro joins me on my rail. Astro is a world class napper.

The blinds increase to 30/60. I still have yet to face a player I have a note on.

I get dealt K-K from UTG. First Aces and now Kings. Apparently, they deal you much better cards in bigger stakes tournaments than they do at smaller stakes. I open 180. One player calls and then the action folds to the player to my immediate right in the big blind who has been playing way too many hands, has been overplaying hands but has a ton of trips because he tripled up in level 1. The big blind goes all-in. Let me see, what to do? So many choices. I call. The other player folds. BigBlind has A-K suited, does not improve and I become the tournament chip leader with 10,090 chips (1st out of 51).

Twelve will get paid so no reason to get too excited just yet.

The blinds increase to 50/100. When I am in the big blind I have J-J. First Aces, then Kings, and now Jacks. Now I am absolutely certain that they deal you way more premium hands in higher stakes tournaments than they do in lower stakes. But back to my Jacks. The players in early position fold. The players in middle position fold. The players in late position fold. I get a walk. With the blinds at a mere 50/100 everyone folds? Strange. I have 10,042 chips (6th out of 46)

From the small blind I have K-9. We are three to the flop, which has a King. I bet the flop and turn and get called by one of the players. I decide to slow down on the river since while I have top pair, my kicker is not great. It goes check-check and we chop the pot. I was ahead on the flop and turn since my kicker was better than villain’s kicker. But the river counterfeited both of our kickers. Oh well, chopping beats losing.

We go on break. I have 10,272 chips (5th out of 46).

I take stock of where I am in the tournament. I have a big stack, but the blinds are still really small. While I want to pick my spots to be aggressive, I tell myself not to go crazy. I have heaps, so there is no reason to get way out of line trying to win tiny pots.

The blinds increase to 75/150

When I am in the big blind, I have Q-9. The flop is Q-8-7. I bet 450, and one player calls. The turn is a 10. I now have top pair mediocre kicker, and I also have an open-ended straight draw. Tons of equity. My opponent has 3,800 chips. In terms of a made hand, I have top pair with a mediocre kicker. Based just on this, I would not mind at all if I took it down right here. I decide to put villain all-in, figuring if he has a Queen and a better kicker, I can still get there with my straight draw. Villain folds, which is just fine by me. I have 11,262 chips (3rd out of 42).

The blinds increase to 100/200. I only have one playable hand this orbit. Well, it’s not actually playable, but I play it anyway. I have 8-4 in the small blind. It folds to me. I bet, big blind calls. The Ace high flop completely misses me, but I bet anyway (as the pre-flop aggressor I should have more Aces than villain should) and the big blind folds. I have 11,617 chips (4th out of 39).

The blinds go up to 150/300. I get dealt A-Q UTG, and I bet 900. Everyone folds. Then I get a walk in the big blind.

Table change, which is unfortunate since I really liked my table.

The next time I am in the big blind, I get a walk.

When I am the button, it folds to me. I have K-9o, and I bet 900. The big blind raises to 2,308. I have barely been at this table. I know nothing about this player. I have a decent but not special hand. I decide to fold and try to get a better lay of the land before I go to war. I later determine that this player is an aggressive but reasonable player. My guess is I was behind when I folded. I have 11,327 chips (9th out of 26).

The blinds increase to 200/400. The guy two to my right keeps going all-in with about 10 BBs. When I am in the big blind, I have A-9. It folds to Mr. All-in. He just limps. This is surprising. I thought his only move was all-in. It could either mean he is slow playing Aces, or he has something like J-10 and doesn’t want to go broke with it. My read is that all of the all-in bets have gotten him to a chip stack he thinks is playable, and he doesn’t want to stack off with less than the nuts. I decide to put him to the test, and I bet 1,600. My suspicion is he is a player who does not like being put to a test, hence all of the all-ins when his stack did not dictate all-in being necessary. Mr. All-in folds. I have 11,097 chips (9th out of 23).

The blinds go up to 250/500

The slower structure has resulted in hardly anyone getting eliminated for a while. The money bubble seems like it may take a while to get to. My tablemates seem passive/careful. I think this is an opportunity to rachet up the aggression.

No sooner do I make this observation than I am dealt A-K in middle position. I bet 1,500 and only the big blind calls. The flop is 8 high. Villain has the range advantage, but I think I can act as though I have a big over pair. I bet (not sure how much, it’s not in my notes). My opponent goes all-in, which is not for a ton more. Clearly, I am behind, but I think the equity I have if an Ace or King hits on the turn or river means I am priced in and I call. Villain has exactly what you’d expect, which is 8-9. OK, I have 6 outs with two cards to come. I don’t get there. I am a big stack no more. I have 4,681 chips (19th out of 21).

Did I just punt? I think my rationale for getting aggressive was sound. I am trying to be more aggressive in my play, and I think this is the kind of play I see big stacks do successfully all of the time. What has just happened to me is what I have seen happen to aggressive players all of the time. The aggression works most of the time ... until it doesn’t. The result is their chip stack has big peaks and valleys. Well, that’s just what I did. Welcome to the world of high variance aggression. I have these thoughts racing through my head ... and then I tell myself I have to stop. I still have chips, so this is not the time to debate whether my aggression was well-placed but mistimed or did I just donk off a ton of chips?

The very next hand I am in the small blind and I have K-Qo. UTG min raises. Given his position, A-K or A-Q are very possible, which would be very bad for my hand. It folds to me. I decide I can’t be timid here. I don’t have a ton of chips, and while this tournament is a somewhat slow structure, I think I need to be in a double up or go home mode. This might be the best hand I see for a while. If I can double up here, I can be relevant again. I go all-in. UTG calls with 9-9. It’s a coin flip. That’s as much as I could have hoped for.

I miss the flop.

I miss the turn.

I miss the river.

I’m out in 21st place.

In the course of two hands back-to-back I just went from 9th in chips to out of the tournament. Did I just set my chips on fire?

Or was this the type of aggression that I began this night vowing to embrace

Did I get too impatient? In those two hands I had A-K versus 8-9 in one hand, and I had K-Q versus 9-9 in the other and I just couldn’t connect. I suspect I’d feel a whole lot better about my plays if the deck had cooperated.

I stick around and observe. The player who knocked me out finishes in 10th place, which is barely in the money and clearly disappoints him as he says in the chat box, “Playing good all day but can’t win the flip to go deep. Just stuck in sh*t cashes.”

As I read this, I think to myself, “Uhhh, dude, you knocked me out on a coin flip. But I understand the sentiment.”

If I am going to become a more aggressive player, I can’t expect everything to work the first time I try it. I am sure that if I continue to try to become a more aggressive player, a trickier player, a more dangerous player, the short-term results may be bad for my online poker bankroll (which really doesn’t matter). But I think it is an exercise that is worth trying.

This reminds me of many, many, many years ago when I used to golf 2-3 times a week. One summer I decided to take golf lessons to try to get better. Initially, the lessons destroyed my game. I was doing different things. I was having to think in mid swing rather than having the muscle memory that makes your swing be second nature. It took time, but eventually I did improve from the lessons. But not before having to deal with the frustration of a new learning curve. That is where I think I am. The start of a new poker learning curve.

I’m not comparing my poker game to Tiger Woods golf game in his prime, but at the height of his powers he reconstructed his swing several different times throughout his career. People thought he was crazy. He was dominating, so why fiddle with what was working. But fiddle he did, and the result is he kept getting better.

In my much lower-level situation, I have been getting great results online, but I know that if I want to continue to get better against better competition, I have to go outside my comfort zone and fiddle with my game.

Massive collisions for huge stacks

My efforts to widen my ranges and increase my aggression take aim at a 77-person online tournament where 12 will get paid. Starting stacks are 3,000.

Level 1: Blinds are 10/20. First hand of the tournament sees UTG bet 40. I am UTG+1, and I have Qh-10h. The old me would fold this hand with so many players still to act. The new me calls. Seven players (SEVEN!) choose to see a cheap flop, which is Ad-9c-7c. I don’t have any of this flop, and I fold to a bet. I’m trying to be more aggressive, but I’m not insane. With seven players in the hand, surely someone has a big piece of the flop.

Very next hand, I am UTG. I am dealt 9c-8c. Again, the old me would fold this connected but not premium hand given the entire table is still to act. Instead, I limp 20. One person calls, another player bumps it to 40 and virtually the entire table wants to play this hand (me included) Again, seven players (SEVEN!!!) see the flop, which is Qh-8h-10h. I have middle pair, bad kicker and no hearts. I check, and when someone bets, I fold.

When I am in the big blind, I have Kc-4c. UTG min bets 40. Stop me if you’ve heard this, but while the old me would fold, the new me thinks that I will call this bet. One player calls. Another player raises to 160. I was prepared to call the UTG bet, but both the new me and old me agree that we aren’t calling the raise. I fold.

The table has been pretty passive so far. I start to think about turning up the aggression. No sooner do I write this in my notes, the table explodes with fireworks. The hand has three players all-in. One player has trip threes. Another player has a flush draw. The other player has junk but went with it since he was a short stack. I may have to rethink the whole, my table is passive thought. This will not be the last massive collision I see in this tournament.

The blinds increase to 20/40. Immediately, a regular I have played against a few times arrives at our table with 16,440 chips. How on earth do you build a stack that enormous in the first level of a tournament. The table he just came from must have completely lost its mind. Immediately he starts throwing his weight and his chips around. Even so, this table remains limp and limp/call happy. Very frequently 5-6 players see a flop.

There is a hand that results in another massive collision. I am just a spectator. By the time the river card is shown, there are three players still in the hand. The board is 6s-10s-8h-8s-9s. There are four spades on the board. That makes a flush extremely likely. Plus, the 7s would give someone a straight flush draw (there are also a bunch of other straight flush possibilities with the right two cards). In addition, with two eights on the board a full house is definitely a possibility. Straights are possible, but they can’t possibly be good. All three players go all-in. Two players have a flush (but not the straight flush). The other player has 8-9 for the runner-runner full house. Fireworks! Explosions! Poker carnage!

I’ve been card dead for a while even with my expanded playing range.

The blinds go to 30/60. Still card dead. Nothing playable.

The blinds go to 50/100. The only hand I come close to playing is 3-3 from middle position. UTG bets 500, which is really big. UTG+1 calls, which seems somewhat strong. To call, I will have to put 20% of my chips in the middle, plus who knows what the action will be behind me. This seems like too many chips to try to set mine. I could try to squeeze, but that would probably require me to put 60% of my chips in the middle. I want to be aggressive, but that doesn’t mean go bat sh*t crazy. I fold.

Toward the end of this level, I still have not gotten anything I can play. While I want to open up my game, the cards dictate that I remain patient. Being patient when my goal is to be aggressive has a constant tug of war going on in my brain. Bad me: “Let’s get nuts and start betting with rags.” Good me: “Don’t be ridiculous. We aren’t blasting off with 2-7 or 5-10. Be patient.”

I choose to be patient. Patience means I am 34th in chips out of 37 remaining players. Man, this deck is ice cold for me.

I get moved to a new table. Hopefully the deck is warmer in my new digs.

The blinds increase to 100/200. I have 2,588 chips (29th out of 36).

I get dealt A-A. Patience rewarded. Two players limp. Normally this would dictate a raise to 1,000. But I don’t want to scare away my customers, so I raise 800 instead. The table chip leader goes all-in. A player with a shorter stack than me calls. Hmmmm ...what .... should ... I ... do? Obviously I call. TableChipLeader has K-K. ShortStack has Q-J. A-A versus K-K is King Kong versus Godzilla. I am tempted to tell ShortStack to take his puny Q-J over to the kiddie table, and let the big boys go to war. This is yet another massive collision in this tournament. I flop a set of aces. BOOM!!!! The board runs out 9-A-J-5-10. I now have 8,264 chips (11th out of 34).

From UTG+1, I have As-10s. Old me liked to have A-J or better to open the betting from early position, but its suited, I’m trying to be more aggressive, so what the heck, I bet 600. Four players call. OK, with that many people in the hand perhaps I need to proceed with caution. The flop is Kh-5h-Qs. Everyone checks. The turn is the 4s. Now I have the nut flush draw along with an inside straight draw. It’s a card that should not make anyone excited that they have made a big hand. Everyone just checked the flop. To heck with caution. Though perhaps ambitious with four other people in the hand, I bet 1,580 (half pot). Fold ... fold ... fold ... and finally ... fold. My bet gets through. I have 10,784 chips (8th out of 34).

The blinds increase to 150/300, and I have come to realize that this table is as limp happy as my last table. I don’t get dealt anything playable during this level.

The blinds go up to 200/400. I have 10,094 chips (10th out of 29).

On the button I get dealt K-K. The big stack at the table limps 400. I pop it to 1,600. He calls. The flop is Ah-10d-Kc. I have a set of kings. It’s not the nuts, but it is huge. I lose to a set of Aces, but villain would have re-raised pre flop if he had that. I lose to Q-J, but this is not the time to be afraid of monsters under the bed. Plus, even if villain has flopped the straight, I can still make a full house if the board pairs. Lastly, it’s a rainbow flop so flushes are not a concern. Villain min bets 400. I raise 2,000. Villain calls. The turn is Qd. That means a spade flush draw is now a possibility, but it seems unlikely villain would have called my robust post flop bet just to pursue a runner-runner flush draw. No, the bigger concern is, does he have a Jack for the straight? He could certainly play A-J this way. I decide to slow down and when villain again bets a puny 400, this time I just call. The river is 4d. A third diamond. A flush is now a possibility, but that seems so unlikely. Why would he chase a flush on a rainbow flop? The story does not make sense to me. I mean, yes, Ad-Jd could play the hand this way, but I don’t see how I can fear just one specific hand. I’d like to get to showdown cheap at this point, but I prepare myself to call whatever he bets.

Villain goes all-in. I didn’t expect that. He has let me play the aggressor all throughout this hand until just now. Yet the way he kept calling my large bets tries to tell the story that he has had it every step of the way. But “it” kept changing throughout the hand. On the flop, “it” was A-A or K-Q. On the turn “it” meant you had to have a Jack. After the river “it” is the flush draw. “It” kept changing,” yet villain seemingly snap called at every step as though he had “it.” But it is impossible to have had “it” or close to “it” at every different stage of the hand.

Ad-Jd is the only hand that would make any sense, but again I ask, should I just fold to one specific possibility? I don’t see how I can run deep in tournaments if I see my opponents as having the nuts every time. Yes, sometimes they have the nuts, but most of the time they don’t. His chip stack to start the hand was huge, which makes me suspect he is an aggressive player, which is also what I have noticed since we were at the same table together. He’s been playing a lot of hands.

You don’t have a lot of time to work out the puzzle online. This is a hand that I needed more time to think it through. More time, however, was not an option. I think he’s bluffing. I call. It’s not the reason I called, but calling has the added benefit of me getting to see what he has, which is useful to my ongoing evolution as a player. It also allows for a better story in this thread, but that’s not why I called.

Villain does not have Ad-Jd.

Villain does have the Ad-6d for the flush. This surprises me.

On the flop he has a pair of aces with a terrible kicker. He min/probe bet 400. I raised 5x to 2,000 with a set of kings. Him calling my bet seems really ambitious. Him calling that bet is precisely what I wanted him to do. He was waaaaay behind.

The turn was a terrible card for me. It meant a Jack would give villain a straight. As it turns out, villain did not have the Jack, but I did not know that. So, when he again min/probe bet 400, this time I only call since my set of kings, while a big hand, is shriveling up in value. Had the turn card not created four to a straight, I would have bet big. The question is would it have been big enough to get him to stop pursuing the flush draw that just became a possibility?

On the river, a potential flush draw just got there, and he goes all-in pretty big. Am I supposed to buy his story that he just made a flush thanks to runner-runner cards? While possible, it seemed unlikely to me. Plus, if he has the nuts, why bet so big? The sizing seemed like an attempt to blow me off my hand. Would he do that with the nuts? Again, I didn’t think the huge sizing meant he had the nuts, which perhaps is the reason he bet so big. I know what you know what I know ...

As played, I think I made every right decision pre flop, post flop, and on the turn. I would argue that villain misplayed his hand pre flop, post flop, he got the perfect turn card which did not help him but served to slow me down, and then villain got there on the river.

Should I have folded after the river card? I don’t know. If I fold, I am in bad shape chip wise (but not decimated). If I call and I’m right, it’s something like a 22,000 pot and I become very dangerous and very likely to make the final table. If I call and I’m wrong (which is what happened) I’m out. But I think the risk-reward was to call since folding would mean making The Final Table was going to be extremely difficult, whereas calling and being right would have rocketed me toward the top of the leader board. Plus, more importantly, I didn’t think villain’s story made sense. Perhaps better players than me could have found the fold.

In any event, this was yet another massive collision in this tournament. Turned out it was the last one I would see, If the earlier A-A versus K-K hand was King Kong versus Godzilla, then this final hand of my tournament felt like Superman versus Batman (and I was Batman since in my mind Superman defeats Batman seven days a week and twice on Sunday). On the other hand, maybe I’m Superman in this analogy since K-K has been like Kryptonite to me far too many times. Whatever, I’m sure you don’t need me to do a deep dive on the whole Superman versus Batman debate.

Final comment, having K-K cracked for heaps of chips by runner-runner hearts sure is dispiriting. Poker.

The difficulty playing K-Q

I played tonight without taking any notes because I was feeling lazy.

I keep getting myself in trouble with K-Q lately. It's funny (actually, it's not at all funny) because going from memory, K-Q is a hand that I almost never have been dealt in recent months. All of a sudden lately I have been getting dealt the pretty but not devastating hand with unexpected frequency, and I keep making an unholy mess out of it most of the time.

Tonight, I was playing in a large field tournament. The money bubble was sort of coming into focus, but not really. I have a really healthy stack. I probably could fold into the money, not that I would intentionally do that.

The table big stack (make that huge stack) who has been extremely active limps from middle position. I am on the button, and I have Kh-Qh. The small and big blind have medium stacks and have not been at all active. I go all-in very large. They are unlikely to call unless they wake up with a monster. They do not. They both fold. I am confident that my bet is going to get through. To my surprise, the table huge stack who only limped now calls my all-in and he has Q-Q. On the flop, there is a Queen (it sucks to be me). I'm out.

I thought this was a good spot, but I have once again gotten in trouble with a hand that I really need to SLOW THE F*%K DOWN with when I am dealt it.

Although ... K-Q did work for me once tonight. In the earlyish stages of the tournament, K-Q was my friend. Once. Around level 3 or 4, a new player joined my table. I had notes on this player, which said he plays any two cards, plays them aggressively, and usually builds a big stack against timid players. Even better, I have position on him, and I know his playbook. Quickly I am dealt K-Qo. AnyTwoCards bets large into my big blind, I raise large, he goes all-in, I call. He has 9-7. My hand holds. Thanks for the donation. AnyTwoCards rebuys. He immediately comes out firing, I have A-K and put him all-in, he calls, I win again. AnyTwoCards rebuys, comes out firing (he seems pretty one-dimensional), I play back at him and he folds. Rinse lather repeat. Again. And again. I am printing chips at AnyTwoCards expense. Then, to my horror, I get moved to a new table. Noooooooooo. I no longer have my own personal ATM two to my right at my new table like I had at the just broken table. But I do have a ton of chips. And it all started with good player notes and K-Qo.

The moral of the story? I still need to SLOW THE F*%K DOWN when I am dealt K-Q.