Wednesday, April 9th Update

Where do I start? I get home after work on Tuesday night just in time to sign up for the PS 55k that has become my new goal to win after my disappointing 41st place outing on Monday night. Of course, why not also play a limit game and a $30 SNG at the same time. I proceed to exit the SNG in record fashion when my set of 10's get rivered by a straight (did I mention the 10 on the river also made the straight for the other person). At the same time I'm just taking money from players in the 2/4 limit game. I actually do very well in the 50k and even take the chip lead for a short amount of time. The new changes to my game are working great and allowing me to keep at above chip average throughout the tournament. Then it happens. I get my PPK's cracked by AQ on a horrible river card. Even after this disaster my chip count is just at the average with just over 300 people left in the tournament paying out the top 180. My emotions get the best of me and I end up trying to bluff the BB while in the SB when the BB has a made hand. I exit in 304th place on a BLUFF!

Well, the nights still young and I've already more then recouped the cost of the 50k in the 2/4 limit game. I decide to buy into another $30 SNG and proceed to make the money. Eventually I get HU and blow a small lead and exit in 2nd place for an $81 cash, but still unsatisfied with anything but a 1st place finish.

It's now 10:30PM and I contemplate calling it a night and going to bed with a still profitable evening of about $150, but my thirst for a 1st place finish drives me to check out the 180 person SNGs. I check out the $20 buy in of the 180 SNG and it just fills starting over at 0 persons registered. Damn, if I was just a little faster. Then I see a 360 person max $33 tournament which is just as good as a 180 person SNG at a decent stake. I proceed to buy in and it's now 11:15PM; what am I doing?

Now I don't want to just "blow" $33, so I also get into another 2/4 limit game and proceed to play the $33 tournament which ends up with 270 players and paying the top 27. I double up almost immediately and then stack a few more players in record time. I'm now chip leader with about 6k in chips in the first 10 minutes. It's amazing, as I end up 2nd in chips after the first break, 1st in chips after the 2nd break and 2nd in chips after the 3rd break. How often are you able to take the chip lead and hold it throughout a tournament? It doesn't happen often and I played the big stack with perfection. At one point I raised pf 6 times in a row to which a player finally re-raised my 6th raise when I held cowboys, oops. Play starts to dwindle down to the top 50 and I change my style a little as my top 50 play has not been the greatest. The adjustments seem to work and after the 3rd break, well in the money, the field looks like this:



Then the final table where I still hold a 2nd place chip stack:



Then the final 6 where, I'm still 2nd in chips:



Then we get down to 3 way action to where matkinson has been taking the table and winning all the pots. I end up short stacked and throw out a "3 way chop?" to which I get the reply from matkinson of "only if you give me $2000" and ROMDOD says "doubt it". Always worth a try when it's the top 3 (and your the short stack).



Here I am at the 4th break with hardly any chips and know that I am going to have to get aggressive soon and push with almost any paint as matkinson is raising every hand.



We get back from break and I finally look down to find J10, one of my favorite limit hands. matkinson makes the usual raise with position and I go all in to which he almost immediately calls and tables AQ. Shit! It's all over I think to myself after the flop comes blank, blank, blank. Turn brings another blank and I physically close my eyes and pray to the poker gods for the one suckout per tournament to be right here... on the river... PLEASE!!! To my amazement, when my eyes open I see that the river was a J and I more then double up. Unbelievable! Thank you poker gods, I will worship you forever or until the next bad beat you place on me! Like others have said, you are almost surely due a suckout at least once in these MTTs and I had been sucked out on at least 3 times during this tournament. This was my first suckout in the tournament and it happened at just the right time, when I needed it most... on the river of all things! This puts me in great position and on the next hand I get 66 to where matkinson makes a pretty big raise. I make the call and the flop is AA9, I check and he makes a pretty small bet at the pot which says to me "please call". I'm sure my 6's are no good, but I'm allowed to draw to a six for a very cheap price and make the call. Turn brings one of my two outers and I check my boat. Just like clockwork, matkinson goes all in and I insta-call to where he tables A2 for a set and I take the chip lead HU with my sixes full.



I become very aggressive HU and raise about every flop with my chip lead. Eventually I wear down ROMDOM down to 100k. He fights back and gets back to 125k. I turn on the aggression and eventually dwindle down his stack to 50k, then 25k. Finally I get 10s and the flop brings J high. He bets and I put him all in to which he calls and has a pair of 5's. I yell at my monitor, "Hold! Hoooooooold!" The 10's hold and I pump my fist in triumph. Wow! What a feeling to finally take down a worthy first place prize. It was so hard to get to bed after this as it was after 4AM. I leave you with these AWESOME screen shots. Good luck on the virtual felt all!