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I'm still recovering from that river, and I think that one is gonna stick with me for a long long time. However, I'm able to look back on this week, and realize that it is without doubt the best week of poker I have ever played. Sure I have had bigger cashes before. But from top to bottom, I couldn't have played any better for a seven day period. Consider this. At this time last, week, I was down to as little as 68 dollars in my bankroll. This is not a typo. 68 bucks. Since then, I've had these results.

12/22
2 buck with rebuys- 4/165- $85.80
14 buck satellite- 1/70- $109
10 buck tourney- 1/293- $761.80

12/23
Same 10 buck tourney- 19/289- $17.34
26 buy in 28k guaranteed- 132/1253-$39.09

12/24/08
3 buck with rebuys 8k guaranteed- 1/923- $1791.56

12/26/08
14 buck satelitte- 1/74- $109
SAME 10 buck tourney- 24/335- $18.42
26 buy in 28k guaranteed- 7/1269- $883.22

Today
22 buy in double deuce 100k guaranteed- 95/8592- $189.02
216 buy in 750k guaranteed- 110/3905- $781

In one week, I won 4567.25 bucks. Not too bad. Despite how well I'm playing and how well I've been running (minus the jack...seriously.....92% favorite and I lose) I'm gonna take a short much deserve break. I'm drained. 2 grand coming in the mail on New Years day, then I hop back into play. Thanks for reading guys.

I mite post details later once I recover. Played the 750k today. Push with AK 35k with blinds at 2k 4k. Get called by AJ. Flop 863. Turn 5. river J. If I win I have 94k in chips and am 50th with 110 left. As it is. Out in 110th for 781 bucks. First got 132,000. No words. Just dissapointment.

So last night I registered for about 42 tournaments lol and only cashed in 3. I won another 109 seat and unregstered for it and this sunday I will be playing in the 750k. I got top 18 in the same 10 buck tournament I won earlier this week. Then there was the 28k. This is a 26 buy in tournament that gets about 1200 people each time, and its one I've notoriously struggle with. I've probably play it at least 10 or 12 times, and have only min cashed at most twice. But last night was different. I was at the top of my game, and deep run was inevitable.

I don't recall many hands leading up to final 18, but i had the chip lead for most of the top 100. Thanks to a great bluff I pull with 55 on a KQ1076 board and I played trips aces aggressively and trapped two pair. I had been playing fairly aggressively preflop, and I raise standard with A8 the bb call. The flop came AQA. Now normally I would check here, but i decide to bet small out 24k into a 80k pot. The guy fell for the biat, and raise to 80k and I pushed he called virtually drawing dead with QJ.

So in the final 18 I make more standard bets. Three times I picked up : AQ and AA back to back. AK and KK back to back. And A10 AQ back to back. All rasie and take it pre flop. I enter the final table as the chip leader with 625k. However, save one short stack of under 100k, everyone else was between 300k and 500k, and with blinds at 12k 24k, I was anything but comfortable. I hit a pretty sick cooler raised to 74k pre with AQ an aggressive calling station called and the flop came A86. I bet 100k he ships it 77k more and flips 66 for bottom set. Ugh down to 350k. Then after a couple raise and take its, I called the short stacks late all in raise wit A9. The guy had been playing pretty tight, but with only 4 big blinds, he was pushing light but he woke up with 10 10 and I couldn't catch up. Just like that, I was down to 175k, and the short stack. 9 people were still left, as at least 6 or 7 all in's had doubled up.

Finally, a short stack busts, so I can breathe alittle easy. Blinded down to 100k, I push with QJ in the SB and get called by the big blind with 107. This guy reallllly wanted to bust me I had raise his blinds a few times with two tables left and he wasn't happy lo. The board bricks out and I have 200k.

I steal two more blinds with AQ and AK and am up to 300k when another player busts. Then on the button, I push 250k with 10 9 off with blinds at 15k 30k. The blinds have 450k and 230k, so each needs to wake up with a hand. Well mr pissed off at me wakes up with the monster 22 and pushes all in!! Did I say the guy really wanted to bust me? Pushes 60% of his stack in praying for a coin flip. Love the flop of J84 two diamonds. Turn bam 7 of diamonds and I'm starting to celebrate until I see he has the 2 of diamonds me no diamond. And wouldn't u know it, 5 of diamonds on the river. I'm out in 7th for 860 bucks.

Can't describe how disappointed I still am. I wanted to make top 3, ad 3rd took 3k and 1st took a whopping 6.7k! Think this was my best shot I'm gonna get for a while, but hey u never know. Weekend schedule. First holiday 100k today. This tournament has 10,000 people in it. 1800 cash minimum cash 10 bucks I think final table gets 1k first gets 10k. Same thing tomorrow at 3:15. Then tomorrow I also have the double deuce 22 buck buy in first gets 30k. Then at 6 tomorrow grand daddy of them all the 750k. I got a good feelin bout that one. Last time I play, I was a flush draw away form 15k in chips at 120 240. And with me playing my best, I hope a deep run is in the cards. No pun intended. Thanks for reading.

Wow can't describe how great this feels right now. Before the week started, I had only ever won 2 multi table tournaments on FTP, the 26 buck 6 handed pl holdem for 1350 and the 10 buck knockout for 2 grand. In the span of 2 days, I won a 10 buck regular holdem for 760, and tonight I won a 3 buck with rebuys tournamnet that got over 900 people for 1750 bucks. I'm so proud right now i can say that tonight was BY FAR the best tournament I have ever played. I made some HUGE bluffs and steals in this tournament that got me going. So here's a recap of what I can remember.

The way a rebuy tournament works is that you start with 1500 in chips, but anytime you are at 1500 or below you can buy in 3 more dollars to get 1500 more chips. And boy, was the first hour frustratingggg. I didnt' win a single all in hand. I had 66 vs JJ and KK 6 on turn J on river. Had 1010 against A10 flop 10QQ turn K river Q to chop the hand. I was in it for about 21 bucks I'm guessing which isnt' a whole lot but def more then I wanted to be. So I have 4800 after the first break, and I slowly work my way up bit by bit. i don't remember how I built it up to 100k, but it was mostly standard hands nothing out of line. Then I made a hugeee play. The big stack of 250k raised to I think 18k with blinds at 3k 6k. Another big stack calls and I pop it to 50k with 10 8 suited to try and squeeze. The big stack insta folds and the other stack thinks for about 20 seconds and calls (not what I wanted to see!!!) The flop comes K74 with 2 clubs flush draw for me. He checks I insta shove for 48k he thinks another 20 seconds and folds. Up to 150k.

So I chip up to about 250k when the biggest hand in the tournamet happens. Facing a raise to 22k I reraise to 60k with AK guy calls we are about dead even in chips. The flop comes Q108 horrible flop for me. We check check. Turn comes a 3 and he bets 24k into this huge pot I smooth call. River comes a 9 bringing a 4 card straight. At this point, I actually had him on a set, but when he checks I fired half my stack 75k into there. He thinks for a good 30 seconds and mucks!! Great feelin. Put me at about 320k.

So I take another pot on a 3 bet with A5 against a weak raise but then I get knocked down to about 220k when this hand occurs. At 5k 10k blinds, button with just 70k raises to 20k. I push with a9 he calls with K10 suited. Flop comes J8J turn is a Q river 9 for a str8 for him. I almsot lost my composure but kept it cool till this hand came up. In the BB with K6 of spades the sb raises jsut over a min raise and I call. flop comes 985 with two spaces. He shoves and I call he has AK off turn is a 7! And i'm back up to about 275k.

So we get down to 2 tables and lot of chips in play blinds at 10k 20k I have about 350k. I raise to 60k with 33 and the bb shoves for about 100k more. I had bet alot on this guy's blind thought he was trying to bully me problem was I was praying for a race. But I said play for the win and call. He shows AQ and the flop comes AQ4. UGH. This knocked me down to 90k with blinds at 10k 20k. A couple hands later I push early with J9 of diamonds. Next player shoves over the top and shows of course the AJ. I'm too busy lookin down to notice that the flop comes AK2 all diamonds!!! Whew back up to 200k. From there I steal some blinds and get into a huge hand when I have 400k. I raise to 60k with AK same guy who shoved earlier with AQ does the same we are dead even in chips. I can't bear to look AQ vs AK has killed me so many times before. I HOLD and get up to 800k 2nd in chips at the final table.

At the final table, safe to say, the deck hit me in the face, and it hit me hard. First hand I pick up KK bust an AQ. Very next hand AA and pick up blinds. I knock a few more players out forget the hands when this comes up. I have 2.5 mil everyone else is 500k-800k. I bet 90k on the button with A2 off. SB raises all in for 400k. BB raises all in for 500K. At this point there is already 1.2 mil in the pot. I say time to gamble and call knowing I'm behind but if I can get butt ass lucky the tournament is mine. They show 10 10 and AQ. Flop comes 572! So at least I win 200k from the over shove with AQ. turn blank river A OF CLUBSSS I knock out both palyers. I have 3.5 mil to 3 stacks of 500k. I basically rasie every single hand till I get caught with K8 vs 1010 but of course K on the flop. 3 handed same deal shove on BB with 74 of hearts he calls with JJ. Flop A23 two hearts. turn 5! river A of hearts. Straight and flush lol. Heads up I push with 55 he calls wit K4 and wins fuckkkk lol but still up 4.5 mil to 500k. Two hands later push with A3 he calls with KJ board 52256. I'm the champ.

I can't believe how far I've come tonight was by far the best I've ever played in my life. Thanks for reading guys and gl to me this weekend 3 more big tournies comin up.

Title says it sorry for the lack of posts. Was in finals till the 10th and I've had alot of stuff since then. I tried an experiment on FTP where I played solely 11 buck 6 handed sit n gos. I've killed these in the past, and I thought it would be relatively easy to jump from 236 bucks to 1000 bucks. I got it up to 385 in a day, then went into a tailspin, plummeting to 130 bucks.

After that, I grinded really hard 6 bucks sit n gos and 3 buck knockouts. Broke even on one night after I got 2nd in a 90 person 3 buck ko for 45 bucks. Then a couple nights ago I got 4th in a 10 buck 6 handed for 210. Woulda loved to have taken first for 600 bucks but this 200 got me back on my feet. So today I played a bunch since by bro had taken off and I had time. Took 3rd in a 10 buck KO for 100 bucks. then I satellited into the 100 buy in 6 handed event I've taken 4th in before. I lasted a couple hours but just went card dead towards the end. ended up having to push with 44 against 1010 and couldn't catch up.

My last multi was a 10 buck tournament that got 293 people. I was an above average stack when a HUGE hand occured. facing a limp I raise to 4k with AK guy pushes for 10k I had 17k in my stack. I call he shows AA not good! Flop J102. turn 6. river QQQQQQQ!!! Up to 27k. I get grinded down to 14k and push a short stack in with 1010 vs AK flop 610K! and I hold. goin into the final table, I was 3rd in chips when I got into a huge hand with the 2nd stack. I raise to 9k with A2 suited and he called in the small blind. the flop came Q52 he min bets 3k into a 25k pot. I call. turn 7 another min bet I call. River J he min bets one more time. He was either really weak or really strong and I take a huge risk push in for 40k he thinks for a few seconds and folds whewwww up to 83k. Then i doubled up huge hand with same guy KK vs QQ preflop I hold. We get to heads up and I'm even with the other stack. I get knocked down to 100 k to his 300k when I flop trip queens with Q4 and he pushes me in on the river with 2 pair. Then I pick up a huge hand KK I just call his raise of 26k preflop. He had a habit of pot betting most flops, so when the flop came J52 I let him bet 52k and I push he calls with QJ I hold! This puts me at 350k him at 50k and a few hands later my 87 beats his A4 for 781 bucks!!

Again really happy with how I played need to enjoy this while I can. Shipped 400 to platt cause of a staking deal. I now have 700 in my bank with a 109 tournament dollar seat. This weekend, I'm playing in 2 100k prize pool tournaments for free just 2000 full tilt points. Will update on those, and I have qualified for the bronze iron man so freeroll coming in January. thanks for reading more multis to be coming for sure.

This was in my fortune cookie at my lunch at Panda Express today. While most people would hope this applies to academics or jobs, I was kinda hoping it would apply to the poker tournament tonight! Well I got knocked out about 60 spots b4 the money about 3 hours in. Got a couple good stories though and some hands to recap. We start with 4500 in chips blinds go up 25/50 up every 30 minutes. Here we go.

Bout 30 minutes in I limp with 10 9 offsuit, and call a raise to 500 after two others call. The flop comes 942 and we check around. Turn is a 7 3 spades on board I have the 9 of spades I bet 500 the raiser calls. River is an 8 of diamonds and we check and I win the pot. Side story the table behind me has Amir Vahedi, a well known poker pro. More on this later.

So I make a couple good bluffs with Q10 to chip up don't remember the exact hands but one I had Q high the other I bet with a pair of tens with a J and A on board. Then with about 8k I have a shot at a bounty. Facing a raise to 600 and a call I reraise to 2k with AK. Raiser folds and limper pushes all in for 1k more I call he shows AJ. Flop comes 234 ugh 5 chops it turn is a blank river is a fucking 5 we chop still at 8k.

I get up to about 9k when a big hand occurs. Facing two limpers i raise to 800 with 66. guy behind me calls then a tight player pushes all in for 2700 more. Both limpers fold and its on me. the odds are pretty good and I'd still have 5k if I lose. Most importantly, I felt like alottt of high cards had already been folded so if he has AK or AQ then I'm in great shape. I decide to call and he shows KK. LAME The board comes 10 high so I was right I woulda won the coin flip.

So then I get moved to a new table, and I happen to sit right next to mr Amir Vahedi. This was really special for me because he was at the final table of the 2003 world series of poker main event. This is the tournament that got me into poker so this was awesome. He doubled up my first hand there then we get into it! He limp the small blind and I check with K4. Flop comes K75 he bets 300 I raise to 900 leaving 3k behind. He pushes all in and snap call! He shows K2 and we chop it up. woulda loved to have doubled through him! Oh well

So I get moved again with about 4800 chips blinds at 200 400 need to make a move. First hand I get I see AJ and shove no callers. About 3 hands later I'm in the big blind guy raises to 1200 and button calls I push for 5k with 99 and they fold. I win the next hand and now i'm up to 10k at the 3 hour break!

Couple hands back I raise to 2k under the gun. Guy pushes me all in and I have to fold because I realllly can't beat a single hand he's pushing with. Very next hand facing two callers I push with AK no callers. Next hand two limpers I call with A9 flop comes A43 I check guy bets 2k I push 6k more he insta calls with A3. Turn is a 2 and river is a 10 and I'm out

Overall pretty solid play woulda loved that initial bounty to get things going. Oh well. Thanks for reading. Online reports coming.

After winning the 10 buck knockout out two weeks ago, I finished 10th in it yesterday for 50 bucks with first getting 1800. Then today I finished 21st for 33 bucks with first getting two grand. LAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

So I played the 120 buy in tournament at the bike got 500 people first got about 13k. Start with 4k in chips blinds at 25 50. So first hand I get involved in I have Q10 in the bb. Flop came 10 9 8 and I bet 200 one caller. Turn is a 9 and we check check. River is Ace of diamonds bringing 3 diamonds on board. He bets 500 and I call even though I really can't beat anything he shows A10 bad call on my part.

Then with blinds at 50 100 UTG raises to 350 I call with AQ of diamonds. Flop comes Qj9 she bets 600 I call. Turn is a 7 she bets 750 leaving about 600 behind. I'm not good enough to fold even though she's only calling with KK, AA, or AQ. She thinks for a few seconds and calls with AQ chop it up.

Then I make a pretty good bluff limp in small blind with Q4 bb checks. Flop AJ7 check check turn is a 7 I bet 250 she calls. river A I bet 700 and she folds. So back up to about 3k when I raise to 600 with KK and get 2 callers including the big stack who's been running really hot. Flop comes QA6 ughhhh I check to him he bets 700 and I fold really frustrating.

So I get grinding down to about 1800 and I push in middle position with KJ and the bb looks at his hand and grunts makes me think he's just got a crap hand. Then he takes about 20 seconds and calls throwing me off he shows 66. Flop comes 10104 bad for me turn is a dream card Q meaning any A, K, Q, J, or 9 and I double up. River is a 2 and I'm out last hand b4 break.

Then I buy in for 80 bucks at a cash game and I tell myself I'm gonna be aggressive so I don't get bored lol. Well it worked for 1 hand! facing three limpers I raise to 15 bucks with 10 10 and get folders. Then the next hand I limped with 44 flop A23 I bet 8 one caller. Turn J check check river 10 she bets 20 I thought she had a busted flush and almost called but folded and she showed A2 good fold.

Next hand I get 10 8 of diamonds and limp. Flop comes J87. Checks around. Turn is a 2. Guy bets 8 another guy calls I raise to 24. Original better folds and guy calls. River is a 10 two pair for me but 4 card straight. He almost instantly pushes all in for 44 leaving me 8 behind. I was confused but told myself I was goin big or goin home I call he shows...95. Had a double belly buster straight draw and hit it. Lame.

I add on my last 20 bucks and call a raise to 8 with K10. Flop comes 10 5 4 and I push. Guy calls raiser moves all in guy calls. Not good for me!! Turn is an A river 8 and guy shows A10. 100 bucks gone in 10 minutes!!

So I come back and play a few multis. Shoulda known it would be a bad night when I got knocked out in 2 hands in a 26 KO flopped trip queens and guy river a full house with a 2 outer 7. Well I played a few others. Turbo fiddy I push all in with A8 facing a min raise. Guy calls with...J2 suited!! Flop brings a deuce as does the river. It was for half his stack! Seriously?!?!

Then I got knocked out of others with my last tournament being a 20 buck with rebuys. I had about 18k with blinds at 300 600 when I get QJ in the bb. SB pushes 10k when folded around to him I tell myself I'm playing for the win and call. He shows 10 8 and turns an 8. I was really pissed because he pushed 20 big blinds with 10 8 coulda easily just raised and if I push he folds makes no sense. Oh well knocks me down to 8k.

After that I make a raise with A8 in late position only to get reraised all in. Down to 5k. two hands later I push with A5 same freakin guy pushes has QQ it holds and I'm knocked a couple tables b4 the money.

Ugh just really frustrating when horrible play is rewarded. I still can't believe the J2 hand or the 10 8 hand, and there are a few other hands that are just gettin to me rite now but its in the past. Ugh frustrating. Might play a good amount tomorrow we'll see how I'm feeling. Thanks for reading.

Gonna play the 120 buy in first even of the turkey shootout at the bike on Thursday. Will be a 120 buy in will probably get about 500 people will be much like the last tournament I played excepted less chips to start. Expect a report Friday afternoon hopefully a lengthy one with a good result! Also won a 26 KO for 600 bucks. Not much to report here its easy when you run as well as I did and get good spots to get your money in. 500 more bucks coming in the mail. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that with cashouts of 3200, 400, 500, 300, and 500 that I'm at 4900 of my goal of 5000 on the semester. So just short but there's still a couple weeks left :) Thanks for reading guys.

Ugh these are getting back to being alittle frustrating. I played a few 26 buy ins today and got really close. I also played a 30 buck turbo and got 214 bucks first got 900 ugh. Then I played the 5k 6 handed pl holdem tourney that I've won before and I got 18th for 64 bucks. It was really frustrating because I was the chip leader with 27 left and I got in a hugeeeee hand with another guy who had 3k less then me and I tried to bluff him on the river hoping he'd fear the bubble but he didn't. alas still cashed. Then I got 8th in for the 2nd straight 26 ko for 54 bucks again and then min cashed in a 26 buck heads up tourney for about 60 bucks first got 1k. So little annoyign but I still have enough to do another small cash of 350 and still have a grand in the bank. Thanks for reading guys.

So since my big win I've been having alottttt of fun with poker. Last night, I played an 8 buck tournament with 160 people and I took 2nd. I was pretty disappointed because I was the big stack the whole final table and I lost to a terrible overly aggressive player who I shouldn't have lost to but oh well. That game me 260 bucks, so I cashed out another 300 after sunday's win I wanted to get some more money in my pocket, so i have 800 bucks coming in the mail.

Tonight I registered for 4 tournaments, and made 3 final tables. Not a bad percentage! I played a 5 buck turbo 6 handed just to pass some time it got 58 people and I took 2nd in that for 60 bucks. Woulda liked to have taken it down but it was just fun to be at another final table. In addition to that, I played a 3 buck turbo rebuy tournament which I invested 9 bucks into. It got 53 people, and I took 3rd for 64 bucks, with first gettin 168 so alittle disappointed money wise there. Lastly I final table another 26 KO and got a disappointing 8th. Everyone was reallly even in chips and I got it in for a big stack against a guy drawing to an A, Q, or 9 and hit an A on the turn. 54 bucks oh well.

So yea there aren't many big nightly tournaments which is the reason for the unusually small buy ins. I want to continue to play he 8 buck and 10 buck tournaments, as they are easy and fun. But I'm hoping to post a bigger buy in report soon. I think I'm gonna play a 120 buck tourney at the bike next thursday. I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks for reading.

So after the horrible play that was this morning's ftops I get some lunch clear my head and play a few other multis. I ship an 1100 person 10 buck KO for 2k. Ain't poker a funny game :) I'll post details later once I get a chance. I shipped some of it to Plattman who was staking me but I cashed out 500 putting me at what I believe is 3700 out of my goal of 5k.


Ok so here are the big hands that I can remember. With the blinds at around 1500 3k I was looking realllly good. I had about 115000 with one other big stack at my table who had 120,000. Next closest to us had about 60k. Big stack raises to 9k I call with 44 able to see a flop for that price. The flop comes 454. Pretty good flop for me! He bets 11k into the 25k pot. I smooth call. Turn is a J he bets 30k into the 50k pot and another easy smooth call. We both have around 70k now. River is a 5 and he pushes all in and I snap call he shows QQ. I double up to a huge chip lead with 245k with 45 people left. Its an easy game. :)

We've gotten down to the final 18 and blinds are at 5k 10k. Ive got about 350k good enough for around 5th or so. I've stayed pretty tight aggressive and hadn't made a big move until now. The button who has about 290k raises 30k into the pot. I reraise to 100k with Q8 off knowing he's only shoving with a made hand .He says "figures" and folds and I gladly show the bluff for the exact reason that comes up a few hands later when I pick up the good ole AA! Same situation guy with about 200k raises to 30k and I reraise to 100k. He thinks for about 20 seconds and shoves in and I snap call he has 1010. The flop comes AQ9 all hearts he has no heart! Yahtzee. Turn is a 4 of hearts meaning that any heart on the turn and he split the pot and my computer goes out the window!!! no heart and I get up to about 500k.

Now with 11 to go I'm 3rd in chips. Blinds still at 5k 10k and I'm pounding the final table bubble pretty hard with only one stack at the table covering me. Guy makes it 30k and I once again make it 100k with 77. Short stack pushes 23k more and I call he shows JJ. Flop bricks out turn hello mr 7! River is a blank and I'm up to 650k. only time in the tournament i got really lucky...at least towards the end.

At the final table I'm 2nd in chips and we are down to 7 when a HUGE hand comes up. I have about 700k opponent has about 400k when he raises to 47,800m just over a min raise with blinds at 10k 20k. I just call on the button with 88 not wanting to reraise and race for this many chips. The flop comes 532 and he bets out 90k almost a pot size bet. I really didn't know where I stood but I decided to call and see a turn fearing an insta call with an over pair if I shove. The turn comes a 7 and he open pushes all in for 320k. The pot only has 300k in it so this is a HUGE bet. At this point, I was confident he has AK or AQ because he would have value bet an over pair I figured. I make the call and he shows.....77. Bit unlucky for me and either a great play on his end or a stupid one but I lose a massive pot and an down to 300k.

After chipping up on a few raises we are down to 4 people when this hand comes up. I have 600k in the big blind the small blind has 300k . Blinds are at 15k 30k. He raises to 90k and I shove all in with AK. He thinks for 20 seconds and calls with A2. The flop is a disaster. AA2 huge suckout for him and I can't catch up. It knocked me down to 300k and now the short stack. I was surprisingly calm afterwards, and knew that now was not the time to get pissed and go on tilt. I simply said nice hand and moved on. So after we all exchange being the short stack, I chip up to around 550k and I open shove all in with blinds at 20k 40k with KQ. The big blind calls with 55 and I spike a K on the turn to get me up to about 800k 3 handed.

More jockeying for position occurs and I make a pretty big move. The big stack of 1.5 mil raises my big blind to 120k. I shove over the top all in for 750k half his stack with K9 suited. HE ponders for a few seconds and folds. Back down to 760k and I raises the BB who is dead even with me to 240k with A10 he thinks for a few seconds and shoves all in and I snap call. He shows A5!! The flop comes J32 not a huge fan as now he has a 4 for an out. The board blanks out and now I am dead even at 1.6 mil heads up for 1st place.

I told myself that if I could get to heads up as at least a 2 to 1 underdog that I could outplay any of them ,so I was stoked to get heads up. I had chipped down to 1.3 million when the following hand occurs. With blinds at 25k 50k he raises to 150k for the 3rd button in a row. I reraise with A5 to 450k and he calls, very interesting play. I put him on a prety big hand, but when the flop comes 653 I figure its as good a flop as I am goin to see. I push all in for a cool mil and he nearly insta calls and I think for sure he's got an over pair. He flips over....44, and I need to dodge a 7 4 or 2 to take a massive lead. I do just that and now I have 3 mil to his 300k. He doubles once, but then I get it in with 55 vs Q9 and I hold up to take down the title and the 2 grand.

Overall I'm so happy with my play and it was a great feeling after coming so close to the big win so many times. Now that my roll is back on track, expect some other lengthy tourney reports. Thanks for reading guys.

Ok FTOPS is starting now I'll be posting updates every hour or so. I took a day off yesterday to clear my head and now i'm focused. Hope to have some good stuff to report. Starting off with 5k in chips and blinds at 10 20 so alotttt of play to be had. Man I suck lol I really do I played horrible today I managed to last 30 minutes in a tournament with 5k in chips really only 3 hands to talk about and I don't wanna go in much detail makes me sick thinking about it.

Sick Hand. KQ raise to 90 called reraise to 270. flop KK5 check check. Turn 7 I bet 250 he calls. River 9 bet 500 he raises 650 I call he has AK figures.

A10 spades call a raise flop 10 Q4 two spades I call 278 bet. Turn J check check river 6 I bet 500 raised 780 I fold. Terrible play be me. I couldn't have made it more obvious I missed my flush. Same guy who beat me in previous hand 2.3 k

KJ call raise. flop Q94 he bets 160 I call turn K check check river I bet 400 guy pushes all in I call Q9 . If I reraise preflop be holds. Fairly easy old don;t even know what I thought he mite have had. God I play so bad

Not much else to be said. Just a bad tournament was bested every time. Probably gonna go lose the rest of my bankroll today. Lol

In recent weeks, I have lowered my usual buy ins from 26 bucks to 8-10 bucks. This is for a few reasons. One, my bankroll dictates that I must lol. Secondly, I miss the thrill of a deep run in a multi tournament. In recent weeks, I've only made final tables in turbos where it is basically all in or fold. I wanted to make a deep run and get some solid deep stack play in before my ftops tournament on Sunday, which is my 3rd reason.

Well I've made some pretty deep runs, but for the most part fell just short of my intended goal. Last week, I cashed in two of the 10 buck 6 handed tournaments that I love that I reported on earlier in this blog. In one, I bubbled the final table, finishing 7th out of 318. First got 700 bucks I got 80. ugh. Later that nite, I got 10th in a field of about 170. First got 400 I got 30. UGH.

Last night I played an 8 buck multi. Full Tilt runs these every hour they are 8 buck buys in with a max of 180 and 2k in starting chips a pretty good structure. I played in one with 94 people and I got 4th despite having the chip lead with 4 to go. UGHHHHH! I got 80 for 4th and first to 260 so in this case it was more so frustrating to just not get first then to miss out on a lot of money.

Today, same old story. I played a 10 buck heads up multi, structured much like the NCAA tournament. You win one heads up match, then you face someone else who won their match. I finished in 8th, first out of the quarterfinals. Got 44 bucks first get 300. UGHHHHHHHH. Lol one more to add on. 10 buck 6 handed with 280 first gets 680 and I get 29th for 20 bucks. This one made even mroe frustrating becasue I was short stacked the whole money bubble thne two quick double ups, only to run AK into AA. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Lol so done venting. I'm feeling good going into Sunday. Its a game that I'm really looking forward to, and something I feel like I can make a good run in. I'll be posting updates every half an hour on Sunday. So wish me luck! thanks for reading.

I think this one tops the other one. Played a 26 KO today and was down to 1275 chips after losing an opponents all in with 26 people left blinds were at 500 1000 with a 125 ante. In the big blind I have 85 off suit and I'm up against A4. 5 on the flop! and I'm up to 3700.

Next hand I have K10 and get it all in vs QJ and yes K on flop! Puts me at 8k. After a few more hands I win a few pots here and there manged to get it up to 25k or so before i knock out a short stack on the bubble with 96 6 on the river.

I'm 3rd in chips to start the final table but I only have about 10 big blinds with 30k and blinds at 1200 2400. After a few eliminations we get down to 5 people with one big stack and the rest about even. I manage to get it in with AA against the big stacks K3 and I double to the chip lead with 4 left!

I doubled both of the small stacks and no I'm 3rd with 3 to go and I thought my run might have ended. I got a bit lucky when I push with A6 and get called by AJ. The board double pairs and we split it. We get to heads up and I have about 50k to my opponents 220k with blinds at 5k 10k. I push with Q10 and he calls with Q4 offsuit and I hold up to get to 100k.

After picking of fa few bluffs and catching a flush on the river I now have the lead!! I then push wit 22 and he snap calls with AJ. the flop comes J high and he's all but doubled up until bam 2 on the river! From just over 1 big blind to 576 bucks feels great.

Quick update I have a 256 seat I'm using for the ftops event. I also have a 216 seat that for now I am using as insurance in case my roll gets weakened but I'm making a deep run in a 6 handed pl holdem event right now so if I'm able to get some good money there then I can use the 216 seat for either an ftops event in November or on a Sunday 750k. I'll keep you guys updated thanks for reading.

Sorry for the delay in posts guys I've been really busy combined with the fact that I'm just finishing a major downswing and no one wants to report on their losses lol. So yea after a week of getting nothing I've had a few deeps runs including a 2nd in a 26 KO after a long heads up battle.

So I start the final table second in chips at 38k and the leader has 108k! I've never seen anyone start with moer then 60k at this final table, and I've probably been to 20 of them. Anyways I knock out a guy here and there and we starts heads up play i have 40k he has 230k. I'm able to take hte chip lead in like 5 minutes and get him all in with 66 vs A5 only to have an A spike the turn frustrating!! I oduble up again and again get him all in i na coin flip that he wins. Ultimately he bests me pretty frustrating but hey it was sitll 300 somethin bucks so cna't complain.

So today I watch USC demolish WSU while I was playing a few tournaments. Nothin too huge I knocked out my 3rd full tilt pro in one where I had 10 10 vs her 99 preflop. It was pro Chris Klectz I tihnk idk who she is. For knocking her out I get another full tilt bounty shirt! Sweet.

So then I decide to enter a 10 buck turbo rebuy sattelite to the ftops 6 handed rebuy event. Ftops stands for full tilt online poker series. You can read details on it here if you'd like. So yea I've enjoyed a decent amount of success in the past. In may, I satellited into 7 tournaments, and cashed in two of them, including the main event, where I finished 186th for 1400 bucks. First woulda gotten 400k so bit dissapointing lol but still really cool.

So yea I get to the final table 2nd in chips. First guy has 28k I have 18k everyone else under 8k and there are 2 seats on the line. I tried to be really aggreesive and was able to get lucky a couple times. I reraised a button raise with A5 he pushes wit 77 I call and flop an A. Later I knock out a button push with J10 to his Q9 and suddenly we are 3 handed. After taking a pretty big hit I'm the short stack. 3rd is good for 6 bucks so bit of a consilation prize!! Lol so yea I get it all in with QQ agaisnt A9 and hold and we're all even again. Eventually I get a bit of a chip lead, and the small blind raises to 4k with blinds at 800 1600. I push him all in with Q5 thinkin he's onyl calling with the nuts lol. He snap calls with...33, and I spike a 4 card flush to get my seat.

The seat is for a 322 buy in 6 handed rebuy event which I'd be crazy to play. So I'm going to unregister for that and use the moeny to buy in for the 256 buy in 6 handed KO on November 9th I beleive. I will post details when we are closer but i'm pretty excited right now. Ok thanks for reading guys.

When you've played as much poker as I have, you get to the point where any tournament I enter I enter to win. If I don't win, I'm either upset or I'm disappointed. If I plain and simply play poorly: pick bad spots, made bad calls etc., then I'm upset. If I feel like I played well and just hit some unlucky spots then I'm disappointed. Tonight, "fortunately" I'm disappointed. I'm gonna break down some hands I won and some hands I lost and try to give some insight on my thought process. Quick recap buy in was 120 bucks got 434 people I got out about 100th 4.5 hours in. We started with 8k in chips blinds at 25 50 up every 30 minutes. Didn't bother to see what first woulda gotten I'll post later if any1 is interested.

Ok good start up to 9.5k pretty quickly. Guy to my right raised to 200 I reraise to 600 with KK he calls. Flop comes 8 high he bets 350 I raise to 1200 he folds. I could have just called and tried to trap him, but I also thought if he had 10 10 or JJ he was reraising in that spot.

I'm at about 9.5k blinds 100 200 I'm in BB with KQ 5 people see the flop. Flop comes QJ5 two diamonds I bet 800 guy on the button raises to 2k. At this point I don't really know what he has but I decide to call and see a turn. The turn is another 5 two flush draws on board. I check and he bets 3k pretty quickly, leaving him about 3500 more behind. I count my chips and we're about dead even. I thought maybe he had slowplayed AA or KK preflop ,but the main thing I had him on was QJ, very outside shot of JJ. Bottom line, I didn't think I could beat anything he had, and he was too committed to bluff. I fold. He later said he had KQ as well. Nice play by him.

This next pot is my 2nd favorite of the tournament. Blinds still at 50 100. I limp with 76 hearts in mid position, guy to my left raises to 300 and I call we're heads up. Flop comes AQJ two hearts, I check and he quickly fires out 400. I put him on an A, but still call hoping to trap him if I hit a heart. Turn is a 7, and it goes check check. I was calling most any bet had be fired. This made me think he had a weak A or a Q. The river brings another Q no flush for me just a pair. However, its a great card to bluff on if he has an A. I bet 1100 around a pot size bet. He thinks for 30 seconds and folds the A of spades. I show 76 and rake the pot.

This next hand is my favorite of the tournament. Blinds are up to 150 300 I have about...13k. I raise to 850for the second straight hand with AJ. Small blind new guy at table had same size stack calls. Flop comes A109 rainbow. He checks, I bet 2k and he quickly calls. I was pretty sure I was ahead here. 5 of diamonds on the turn and check check. K of diamonds on the river bringing 3 diamonds on board. He goes straight to his chips and fired out 5500, the size of the pot. I was 98% sure I was good here. He would value bet less with a flush, woulda raised the flop with AK or AQ. Only hand he coulda had was 1010 or 99 for a flopped set, but I didn't think he had it. I call in 5 seconds and he mucks. The talkative guy at the table praised the call, so I was feeling like a deep run was definetly possible.

No big hands to speak of for a while I got moved to a new table. Couple solid players. The guy to my left played 1 hand an hour and was short stacked the whole time. With blinds at 200 400 I raise to 1500 with A6. He min raises 1200 more and I decide to call against my better judgement. The flop comes QQ8 and I push all in. Despite the fact that he mulled it over for 25 seconds and folded, I feel like I actually made a bad play. It was pretty easy to put him on a big hand preflop, the only hand he's folding is AK, AJ, 1010 etc. So I won, but not toooo proud of the play.

Ok so now I have about 22k blinds are 400 800. I raise to 2800 in early position with A7. I had been pretty quiet and not playing many pots, so thought I could steal one here. Unfortunately, tightest player in the world raises behind me for 1600 more and I sheepishly call. He has AK, and I flop a 7! It holds and I'm up to about 28k.

Unfortunatley, it starts to unravel here. Two hands later I look down at A10 of hearts and raise to 2800 again. Small stack pushes about 4500 more he's been playing really tight but I'm getting the odds to call. He shows QJ and its essentially a coin flip. The flop is great for me 832 two hearts, meaning he's down to 4 outs. Sadly, the Q of spades hits the turn, and I lose down to about 18k. If I win I'm up to about 37k.

The blinds run through me again, and now I'm down to about 16k with blinds at 600 1200. The big stack raises to 3k and the button calls. I have 99 in the sb, I almost pushed but decide to flat call and shove unders on the flop. The flop comes A33, and the big stack bullies us out of the hand. He shows AQ. I'm not stoked by how I played it, but I don't think I can justify an all in preflop the only other play was folding.

And now the final hand. I'm under the gun with 14k and decide to open shove with AQ. It folds around to the button who shoves for about 200 more, and he shows AK. The flop comes AQJ, and I'm surprisingly unphased, because I know there's two cards left. Sure enough, a 10 on the turn seals my fate. Really tough way to go out.

I'm disappointed right now, but I'm glad to get more live expereince, and make some good plays I woulda been too scared to do before. Hope to have more live updates to come. Thanks for reading the essay lol.

Lol so I'm finally gonna make my live debut at the Bike tonight. Playing the 120 buy in Big Poker October Event it has a 25k guaranteed prize pool. The same tournament got 500 people on monday and first place took down 12k! Could be a good one! I'll post as soon as I get back hope i have good news!

So out of nowhere my back starts killing me yesterday...probably a pulled muscle from working out this weekend or something like that. So yea its pretty uncomfrotable, especially when I'm sitting for a long time...which is live poker. Lol oh well hopefully I'll be better by Thursday or Friday. The good part is I'll at least be at home doing work, so I can play alittle online in the meantime. Hope to have a good post by the end. Thanks guys.

Not much in the Online World recently school is keeping me busy. Sadly I won't be palyign the tournament on Thursday because the USC game is that night. However, its only a few day delay because they basically run the same tournament on Sunday that I'll play, and I'll play either the 120 buy in next Thursday or Friday, so look forward to live updates! Thanks for reaing guys.

So my roll has been destroyed recently but I finally was able to get things back on track with a win in a 26 ko for 576 to get it back up to a grand. Dam good feeling and looking like I'm making a pretty sick comeback in a 4k pl tournament. Had 8k when Igot into a hugeeee all in pre flop wtih AA against 99 and QQ, and ended up losign to both! 9 on the turn flush n the river to leave me with about 400 in chips at 100 200 but I've managed to work it back up to 6k at 150 300 so hoping another big cash is coming .Thanks for reading guys!

PS: First live event of the semester comign up in less then a week! 60 dolalr buy in at the bike with a 15k guarenteed prize pool lookin forward to it.

So I played the 750k today and it was bad. I couldn't get anyyy action with my good hands and when I did I lost. I had 2.7k and a shot to get up to 4.1 when I had QQ vs 66 preflop but a 6 comes on the turn. From there, I raise and get no action with QQ, KK, 99,77, and AQ. Then over an hour in, I push with 99 facing a min raise and call, guy insta pushes with KQ awesome play, and flop comes Q 10 10. The way things were going for me I knew I had no chance of winnign that hand, and thats never a good thing to feel lol. Ehh not a great day for poker, pretty annoyed by it now. Oh well thx for reading take it easy guy. FIGHT ON!

So after constant begging from my good friend jeff (and by constant begging I mean one text) I'm gonna play i nteh big one today on FTP. It'll be a 216 dollar buy in that will get around 3600 people with around 500 getting paid. First will get around 132k. I'll post big hands and results whne its done. GL to me!! Oh and I have a 50 buck last longer with Platt (FTP name: mavsusc)

Ok so I just finished a hugeeeeee comeback that I'm really stoked about. So I played a 26 dollar buy in satelitte to the 216 dollar buy in big tournament on FTP. if I win the tournament, I get a seat in their tournament with a 750k guarenteed prize pool that usually pays out about 132k for 1st! So the tournamnet gets 27 people, meaning that the top 3 will get a seat to the big one.

So I got a good stack going at blind levels 40 and 80 when I literally get CRIPPLED. On a board of A682 I get it in with A2 only to face A6. This leaves me with 88 chips, and in the small blind with about 14 people left. It folds to me and I push all in for 8 more chips with the monster J6...the dumbass calls with 10 4!!!(jk obv he's calling) and I doubled with a J on the flop to about 160! The very next hand...KK!!!! I get it all in with 4 callers, and the gods let me hold it one time! I get it up to 600 or so when I c A8 on the next hand. I push and get called by JJ ugh, but hello Ace on the flop!!!

After chipping up a little, I'm sitting at the final table with 2.3k in chips and 6th of 9 left! I win a good size pot with A10 on an A high board that gets me up to 3.5k. Then the biggest hand comes with blinds at 80 160 I rasie to 480 with AK suited. Big stack repops it and I go all in he has AQ and I HOLD!!! (somehow) This puts me at 6k and in 4th with 7 left.

We get down to 4 people left, meaning one more elimination and we get the seats!! I'm sitting on the short stack at 3.5k blinds at 100 200 with everyone else above 8k when I think I'm gonna sneak in! On a board of J 10 2 4 three hearts, two guys get it all in they flip over...J10 both of them. Chop chop ugh. Then I get the big hand 22 in the BB lol two limpers and I c the lovely 10 9 2 rainbow flop. After one guy bets 600 and the other guy calls I push 3k and both call!! Board blanks out (one guy had 10 other 9) and I'm up to 10k and 2nd in chips!!!

After playing 4 handed for about 15 more mins the short stack goes out and I get MY SEAT!!! From 88 chips to a shot at 132k its awesome. I don't think I'll be playing the tournament this sunday, because I have to do work for my broadcast report, plus i'll be too tired/hung over from the game tommorow. USC-OSU is gonna rock. FIGHT ON!!!!

I'll let you guys know when I buy in for the big one! thx for reading.

Been running fairly cool recently and tonight was more of the same. Decided to run the 75 buy in Big Doubles on FTP. Basically they are two tournaments that run at the same time, and they reward players who are able to cash in both by giving them a portion of a building jackpot.

I get knocked out of the first early with a play that was pretty bad on my part. I have about 2k with 77 both reds and I raise to 120 on the button. The SB reraises to 480 and I know for a fact he has an overpair yet for some reason I call. The flop comes out 46K all hearts and he checks to me. I bet the pot 1080 and he thinks for about 5 secs and pushes I have to call and he has AA with A of hearts. I miss out and I'm out we had very similar stacks at the time. Idk my bet is making QQ, JJ, AK, and 10 10 fold but not AA so given the result terrible play lol.

I build a big stack early in the other and am looking good in the other when I get sucked out on real bad. With about 6k in my stack a guy raises to 480 first to act blinds are at 60 120. I repop it to 1k he insta pushes I insta call he has AK. Flop comes K107 with two hearts one of the worst flops I could see because he flops a pair, and runner runner draws. The 10 of hearts in the turn means he's drawing to a heart or K. When the J of hearts comes on the turn I am in shock. I just lost as a 92% favorite. Ugh well I hang around for a while b4 getting knocked out with flopped middle pair vs an overpair.

Pretty frustrated now and school work is kicking in so probably less updates coming but I'll post whenever I play. Thanks for reading guys.

Lol I had a reallllllly long night of poker and there were wayyyyy to many suckouts. I can't remember a night where i've lost so many times while ahead. Fortuantely, I somehow managed to take 7th place in the turbo hundo for 875 bucks so I won my money back and then some and acutally cashed out 400 bucks just to have a memento. Ugh still realllly frusrated lol but I'll be good in the morning. Thanks guys.

Online poker has been more of the same no big scores to speak of mostly been breaking even recently. I'm hoping to get my check by the end of the week or else I'll be starting to get worried that it got lost in the mail.

Some bad timings on a few things. First of all, I qualified for the bronze iron man freeroll on ftp. Its hard to explain so here's a link for it. http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/promotions/ironman. The sad part is the freeroll is on the 13th, which happens to be the BIGGEST DAY in college football for the year, as OSU comes to town to take on the mighty trojans. As a result I will be unable to play for it, but I think that my friend and hopeful blog reader Jeffery Platt (mavsusc on ftp) will be able to take it down for me. Also, I was really getting pumped up for the commerce tournament on sunday, but sadly I'll have to skip it for an atvn sports meeting. Its bad timing, but school is first, and this meeting is always fun so no way I'm missing it. So sadly no lvie poker till october probably but if I put something on my schedule u guys will be the first to hear about it. Ok great thanks for reading guys.

The past two days perfectly exemplify both why I love and why I hate poker, and why I could never use it as a consistent form of revenue. Going into play yesterday, I was flying high. I had jsut cash out 3200 bucks, and I was already deciding which tournament I was gonna make a deep run in this time. Well a couple hours later, and 200 dollars in buy ins later, I was left with nothing to show for it, running dead cold in every tournament I played. Down to 900 bucks after the cashout.

Today I was looking to get most of it back, and it wasn't looking good to start. After a couple turbos and some KO's I was down about 100 until I got 6th in a KO to get...108 bucks. Even on the afternoon. I decide to take a big poker night tonight and register for a ton of touranments, including a 55 and and a 75 I wanted to gamble with. Well, I once again ran dead cold. This time I was down to about 690 bucks with just one tournament left, a 26 buck stud hi/lo tournament. While holdem has been the main source of basiclaly all my winnings, I try to dabble in all of the other games, and for whatever reason I've had the best results in stud hi lo. I've had decent consistent success in cash games, and in the first live stud hi lo tournament I played, I got 9th place out of about 150 people for 210 bucks, where outside of one otehr 20 something year old, I was the youngest palyer by 20 years.

A quick crash course for those of you who don't know what stud hi lo is. Its just like regular stud, where you are dealt 2 cards down, 4 cards up, and 1 card down, and try to make your best 5 card hand. The catch is, a player can play a "lo" hand if he has 5 cards that are 8 or low that don't pair up. For example, if two players are heads up, and one guy has a full house KKKAA42 nad hte other guy has a low 8542A, they split the pot 50 50. The best hand to have in the game is called the wheel A2345, as it is the best possible low hand, and will often be hte best high hand. There will always be a high hand in every hand, but there may not neccessairly be a low hand. hope you guys followed all that lol.

Anyways, I played this tournament alittle differently then those in the past and I feel as though it definetely helped my game. In the past, I would always call with the starting hands of most pairs, flush draws, straight draws, and any 3 low cards. However, I decide to cut down on the low 3 cards rule, folding non connecting hands like 842 or 75A, espeically if I'm only against 1 or two players. The reason being is that I'm really only drawing to low cards, and even if I hit I only win half the pot, which in the case of a heads of battle, is equal to the money I put in. So the tournamet got around 150 people with 16 paid. I was chip leader from about 24 people to 12, and ended up starting the final table in 4th of 8th but with still alot of chips. So we get down to 5 handed and I have the chip lead, but the limits are so high, that even with all my chips I could be the short stack in two hands. Sure enough, by the time 5th place is eliminated, I only have 20k with the big bet at 5k. Aka I'm fucked. So I ended up pushing with starting Aces, and lose to a 6 card straight. For fourth place I get 300 dollars. I started the night with 950 bucks. I ended it with...990. Lol this is the life of a poker player. Oh well, you can never complain with a day when you are up! More updates coming. Football in one day!!! So exicted. Thanks for reading.

Sorry for the delay on the details of my second big cash but here they are. So the tournament I got 3rd in was a daily 30 dollar turbo that starts at like 2:30 each day. Its a tournament that has tortured me in the past. I've probably played it about 8 times, and finished one table from the money at least 3 times. The tournament usually gets anywhere from 60 to 100 people with the final table being paid out. So it surprised me when I logged in and there were 200 people registered and 27 spots paid out. Anyways I play it, and get to 3 handed when the SB big stack pushes all in on my AK(deja vu all over again from the previous nite). I snap call, only to have my internet disconnect right when the cards come. So its either I'm dominant chip leader or out in 3rd, and sadly it was the latter. I have no idea how the board ran out, but the guy claims to have had 22. Lame.

Full Tilt checks are apparently working now, coming in a reasonalbe time and have not been bouncing, so I requested a check of 3200 and its been approved and is on the way so very excited about that. This will be the biggest cash out I've recieved in poker, and puts my total at around 15.2k in my hand. Pretty awesome. Also, I set my goal for the semester at 5000 dollars, and it's awesome to already be over halfway there. Down day today lost pretty much everything but its all good nly lost about 100 or so. Thanks for reading more updates coming.

Anotehr big score this one in a 30 buck turbo that got around 230 people I got 3rd for 761. Details coming soon.

Ok huge night tonight played in a couple 26 KO's and continued my cold streak in those. Also played a 26 PL holdem multi and busted about an hour in. While this was going on I decided to playing one of FTP's nightly tournaments, the Turbo Hundo. Its a 100 dollar buy in turbo tournament, which I like because many of the usual tournaments I run are turbos. Despite being about 10% of my bankroll I was really feeling it and turbos fit my game well because 1. I'm impatient so a 3 hour tourney works perfect for me and 2. The tournament rewards players who are able to pick spots well and I'm good at that. Let me explain.

Say my stack is 5000 and the blinds are at 400 and 800. I'm deal A8 under the gun. Many players have the mindset of pushing with any A here in hopes of doubling up. The problem is, not only do you have to have 8 players fold, but also consider that there is a 0% chance you are ahead if you get called, unless the big stack tries to bust u with say an A4. This is an easy fold for me

On the other hand with the same stack and blinds, a push with 86 offsuit in late position folded around to me is an easy play. In this case, I only have to beat 2 or 3 random hands. Also, first they have to have a hand to call me with, then they have to beat me. By understanding these concepts, I feel as though I'm more then adequate to run deep in this tournament, despite its large buy in which is more then my usual. Also, this was the 4th time I had played this tournament, and I managed to bubble the final table once, so I knew a deep run was possible.

So I can't think off the top of my head of the main hands leading up to the money. I was about 10th with 17 left when I had to get really lucky. With blinds at 1500 3000 I pushed my stack of 20k in in late position with A2. The small blind snap calls with AQ but I get lucky and hit a deuce on the turn to double to 58k. From there I wasn't really able to make many moves. Won a good race with KJ vs 33 and suddenly I was at the final table 4th in chips. The stacks were not far apart and basically the short stack could double to 3rd in chips at any time. After 5 eliminations (one of which was poker pro Mandy B...don't worry I've never heard of her either) I was in the top 4. It was anyone's game with the big stack at 200k and 3 stacks of 100k one of which was me. I wake up with AK in the bb and snap call the chip leader's all in. She has 1010 and we race for the chip lead. Bad news was she had won the same coin flip earlier to get the chip lead, and sure enough, she wins again I'm busted in 4th for 2632 dollars. First got 6.3k so right now I'm honestly pretty bummed. Tommorow morning I'll wake up and be stoked about it but when all you think about is getting first in a tournament, anything short is disappointing right after, no matter how much you win.

So this win puts my account at 3500 dollars. There is a bit of bright news full tilt checks which had been taking forever and bouncing now seem to be running fairly smoothly so I will attempt a check cash out soon. Will keep you guys updated on the process. Thanks for reading.

PS; Live update I will b playing in the 120 dollar deep stack at the Commerce Casino in two sundays on September 7th.

Ok this post is a bit of a 2 parter. Life is taking a bit of a turn for me right now. For starters, classes start..well today so no longer can I lounge around and chill which is never fun but I'm still looking forward to the challenges up ahead. The start of the school year also means the start of FOOTBALL SEASON. Really pumped been looking forward to the OSU game for a while now and its jsut around the corner.

Lastly, the biggest change in my life right now is the departure of my girlfriend Kristal to Hong Kong. She'll be studying abroad there for the semester so I won't c her till January. I'm def. pretty bummed about her leaving, but I know how much she wanted to go and how excited she was to go so I'm happy she's getting to experience it and can't wait to see her in a few months. She has a blog for her asian adventures at spacegirl352.blogspot.com. Check it out

Now onto what you people really care about, poker!!! jk Kristal. Ok well last I left off I wasn't feeling online poker too much and its still affecting me a bit. I was expecting to run a handful of multi's today, but I ended up only playing a couple 26 KO's and my favorite tournament on FTP, the 10 buck 6 handed they run like 2 or 3 times in the morning and at night respectively.

I like these tournaments for a handful of reasons. The fields are very manageable, usually anyways from 80 to 200 people, and most of them are fairly soft. I've made at least 4 final tables and have a win under my belt in theses. 6 handed play is my favorite because it benefits a tight aggressive player like myself, and also emphasizes late position stealing preflop, which I'm a huge fan of!!! Because in a 6 handed game, even if you are the first person to act, u only need 5 folds as opposed to 8 which is huge in poker.

Anyways, the 26 KO's didn't go well but the 6 handed was a fun one. I really didn't get out of line too much I pretty much made standard plays stealing blinds twice an orbit and getting it in when i have the best of it. On my way to having the chip lead at the start of the final table, I really only got out of line twice. Once, I played back at a constant overbetter with mid pair when he had top pair and got lucky on the river. Then trying to pound the final table bubble, I risked about half my stack on a str8 draw against top pair and hit it.

So entering the final table, I have about 48k next closest stack has around 32k and short is at 17k with blinds at 300 600 so ALOT OF PLAY TO BE HAD. I get off to a horrible start losing over half my stack in about 10 mins. First I made a bad call preflop with A10 and folded to a rag flop. Then I went with a read after calling a raise with 55 then getting reraised all in. He had alittle less then half my stack and I felt they were splitting high cards. He had AJ and flopped a J and suddenly I was the short stack (the other guy said later he folded A3 oh well.) Then after a failed bluff attempt I was left with just 8k with blinds at 400 800 and 5 people left. I doubled with QQ vs A9 then doubled again big to get back to 45k when I get it all in with A9 on a 922 board against 44. After being chipped down to 25k I call a preflop raise with 77 and see a flop of 854. I bet 3100 and get raised to 12k. I had a bad feeling but he was the big stack and had been being a bully. I push and he snap calls with 1010. No 7 or 6 for me and I'm out in a disappointing 5th for 86 bucks. Good run overall but i really felt I could have taken it down. Ok that does it for me thanks for reading guys. Should have more reports coming.

Ok so I went to Vegas this week with a bunch of friends and we had an awesome time!! I'll do my best to provide a full recap but I'm sure there will be a couple things I forget. So we get in Saturday afternoon at around 3 o clock and spend most the afternoon exploring treasure island and the Ceaser's shops which were really cool. We had dinner at TI that night and it was great and then we spent the night doing more exploring and such so didn't do any gambling that night.

The next day I decide to continue the tradition that Chad and Platt had and went to Bally's to bet on some horses since I did well last time. Not much luck this time around I had 25 bucks I won in blackjack at Oshea's so I spent the money on this. Had 4 races where I wasn't really close then it looked like I had a score on the last race. I had 3 bucks on a 22 to 1 horse and it pulled out to a huge lead on the home stretch. No more then 10 yards from the end the horse practically pulled up!!! and ended up just short so that was a downer. Decided to go up and play some roulette. After coming up with like 4 or 5 different strategies in the past that sucked I decided to just put 3 bucks down on 10 numbers and 10 on a column of twelve and pray. Well sure enough, the ball lands on 23 (my gf's b-day) and I win 105 dollars! That made it alittle better.

Later on we go to the MGM Grand and me and my friend mikey decide to play some 1/2 holdem. I realized about 10 minutes in how bored I've become to live cash games after running 4 to 5 tables at once online. Anyways, I end up playing like 5 hands in one hour but got a huge score. Facing a raise to 10 and 2 callers, I look down at AA and raise it up to 40 leaving me about 35 left. I had KK earlier in the same spot and moved in, causing 2 folds, so I wanted to keep some people in this time. I get 2 callers, one from a new player who turned out to be loose/bad and another player who had burned through about 350 in 20 minutes. So the flop comes a harmless 834. I go all in and both call. The turn and river come 7 and 2 and I'm 99% sure I'm good. Sure enough I show AA and both players muck. I cash out at 260 up 180 from my original buy in.

From there we get dinner at my favorite place in Vegas, the Burger bar in Mandalay Bay. I get the amazing Hawaiian Chicken Sandwhich...delicious. That night we go clubbing and I gamble some more with moderate success. The next morning I play a 65 buck daily tournament at MGM Grand with 5 friends of mine, including my gf Kristal who I staked. As expected the structure is awful with 2k in chips and blinds starting at 25 50 going up every 20 minutes. So after an hour of play its all in or fold essentially. I double up on a weird hand with blinds at 100 200 I pick up 22 in 2nd position I raise to 600 and get a call in the BB. The flop comes 975 and he checks to me. I bet 1000, leaving 1350 behind, thinking he has high cards. He takes about 15 seconds and calls. The turn brings a 6, meaning a 9765 board. He checks and I go all in, thinking I'm bluffing. He thinks for about 1 minute or so, and I'm guessing he's pondering a call with A7 or A6 or something. He calls, and he shows....AQ?!?! I hold and get up to 5.5k.

On a side note, the best moment of the trip happened during this tournament. At Kristal's table, there is the BIGGEST TOOL I have ever seen. Bare in mind this is a 65 DOLLAR DAILY TOURNAMENT. This guy is wearing a WSOP hat, Oakley shades, and boom box head phones....at a daily tournament. My dream is for kristal to knock him out , and sure enough I look over to see him standing up and her collecting alot of chips. As it turns out, it was a pretty sick suck out (all in on flop of 977 he had 97 she had Q7 Q on river) but he had it coming. Such a tool lol. Anyways, I end up lasting the longest, but finished a table short of the money, having to push all in for 3800 with 400 800 blinds with J10 of spades. I get called by AQ of diamonds..flop comes J53 with 2 diamonds, and the turn brings the K of diamonds, and I'm drawing dead. Oh well.

So from there I gamble some roulette and my system wins again, as I win 100 dollars when it hits 12 (thanks Chad!). After that we get dinner at a nice japanese restaurant at MGM. Then Kristal and I go to Mystere at TI, fantastic show, 9.5 out of 10 and the best show I've seen of the kind. That night we mostly chill since people were tired I actually end up losing a couple hundo playing blackjack and roulette. So overall I actually end up breaking even on gambling so much better then I have done in the past. Aight so ends the epic that is this post. Probably giving an update this coming Sunday as my gf leaves for Hong Kong for the semester :( so I'll have some time to run some online multis. Thanks for reading .

Man alot can change in 24 hours. Just Tuesday night I had one of my best days in a long time got my roll back up into 4 figures was on fire...so much so I decided to make this blog lol. Then the next day tragedy(maybe too strong a word lol) strikes. Full Tilt Poker discontinues the cash pickup withdrawal method for cashing out money. This is such a downer becasue it was the best, most convinent, fastest, most dependable, and most importantly ONLY option full tilt had to withdraw money. With their checks bouncing and their bank transfer(an echecks) on temporary delay, it appears as though right now there is no way for me to get my money out. As a result I have temporarily(won't last long trust me) lost my desire to play online poker. I don't see the point in risking moeny right now if I can't recieve the rewards its a lose lose situation. God this whole government cracking down on online poker thing is really starting to get to me. Oh well gues that means mroe live stuff for me. Vegas this weekend so that'll cheer me up. Will keep you guys updated on any new cashing out options as they come. Thanks for reading.

tayke2.

Sup guys this is Kevin Taylor I'm a senior broadcast journalism major at USC. I've decided to create a poker blog as it is one of my current passions in life. I'm 21 years old and have been playing poker since 2003, after Moneymaker won the WSOP. My screen name on FTP is tayke2, where I play a majority of my poker. I have probably won about 18 to 20 thousand dollars playing online poker, though I have (only) cashed out about 12k into my hand. The main purpose of this blog is to keep a few good friends of mine update on poker since they will be working soon enough, so I'm hoping this will keep their fire lit. So a few brief highlights in my poker career. I have 6 four figure paydays in tournament play with my biggest cash being $2640. The biggest highlight of my career so far was cashing in the FTOPS main event, finishing 186th for 1400 dollars. While it was not my biggest cash, it was my biggest buy in, and was against the toughest in the poker world, including Phil Ivey amongst others. I've had limited live play so far but have enjoyed decent sucess. In just 4 live tournaments at the Bicycle casino, I've cashed twice with one final table finish. This upcoming semester, I'm hoping to play alot more live events and will keep those updated as they come. Today was one of my best days in a while, winning around 1100 dollars, which was needed after losing over half of my bankroll in the past week or so. Well I'll do my best to keep this as updated as possible. I'm going to Vegas this weekend so hopefully I'll have some good stories. Thanks for reading guys!

tayke2.