Running bad live

Hello readers. I'm trying to keep up, but have lapsed in my goal of a weekly update. I'll try to do better. So here we go.....

First, I finally made it to the new boat here in Cincinnati. I say "new", but it's been open for over 6 months. I just haven't made it yet. With MLK off, I decided to head down and try to take down the $125 buyin Bounty Tourney.

The new poker room is very nice. Roomy, comfortable chairs. The only negative was that the service in the tourney area was a bit slow, and I ended up going up to the host stand to order my lunch.

On to the tourney. It took me a while to get things going. At the first break (80 mins in) I was doing okay, I had about 7200 chips after starting with 6k. I hadn't busted anyone for a bounty, yet. The most interesting hand of the day was just at the break. I got up to leave after folding on the button with one limper (I had 9-6off) when the small blind shoved all in. Then the big blind re-shipped. What? The limper then smooth-called. SB had J-4 off and thought he could just chase the rest out with his all-in (bad idea). The BB woke up with KK, and the limper had AA. AA holds and he gets 2 bounties. Holy cow!

Coming out of the break I finally started to gain some momentum. I smooth called a 2.5xBB raise on the button with 55 and was happy with the 5 8 J flop. Even better when the raiser bets into you! I raised, he shipped, and I called. If he has JJ I'm in trouble, but nope. A J and he's drawing thin. I had him covered and thus my first bounty! A few orbits later I have 77 in the CO. UTG raises 3x. Player to my immediate right reraises. I decide I'm in bad shape and muck. SB and BB muck. UTG calls. Flop is J 7 4. Crap! UTG checks. Other guy ships and UTG snap calls. Yep. JJ. other guy has 44. I would have had middle set and been crippled, but I manage to get out of the way.

Then I start running people over. I bust the next guy with KK vs QJ SOOOOTed (why do people shove with these hands?) when he still had at least 15BBs. I guess people don't know how to play the medium stacks. Suddenly, I'm up to 40k in chips with about 20 mins to go to the 2nd break. I get up and walk around and no one else is even close. I've got a shot, but there's still a long way to go. Top 9 pay out of 93 runners, and we still have 40+ left. Although I now have about 7% of the chips, I need to be careful. I get up to get lunch ordered and hear people grumbling about my run of cards. Good information. I come back 10 mins later with 10 mins to the break and a few guys say "damn, we were hoping you were going to be gone through the break!". Heh. Nice to have an image. I start to use it, 3 betting and raising limpers in position and putting pressure. The blinds are still low at 400/800 with an average stack of 14k, so I'm not getting too out of control. I chip up a bit more and end up as the bank during the color-up and have 48k. The next biggest stack looks to be around 25k when I walk around during the break.

Coming back I'm card dead. I finally manage to bust a guy when I call his min-raise from the CO with AQ. Flop is A Q 3 and he insta-shoves. Then he starts staring at me. Hard. I decide he isn't giving off a false tell and call, he shows TT and no T on the turn or river (or runner-runner str8) and I have bounty #3.

Then the mother of all hands comes down. I haven't moved yet, and folks keep moving to my table. The guy to my immediate left is playing very aggressive. Finally we get into a confrontation when he raises UTG for the 4th time in my BB. I look down at A4 and decide to call, planning a stop-and-go on the flop. The flop is a beauty, A 4 J. I bet the pot and he ships. I think and finally call. He shows J 9 hearts. A 2nd heart on the turn makes me worried, but the river is a blank and I double through him. Now I've got over 90k in chips. There are 27 players left and I have 1/6th of the chips in play. I'll have to get really unlucky or stupid to not get ITM.

The next hand I'm in the SB and the guy I just crippled says "I'm all in" out of turn. He's POed. The dealer warns him that he's out of turn. Woman in MP then states she's all in. It folds to me. I know the BB is calling with anything, and I find QQ. I ask for a count and MP woman has just over 14k. I call. She shows TT, BB shows rags (not sure what, but I think he had 7-4 off). I'm happy until the flop comes T T 6. Flopped quads! GAH!!! What's horrible is this is the 2nd time she has hit quads at the table, earlier she had turned quad 4s to bust a player. No biggie, I count off the 14k and I still have 80k-ish. No reason to panic. I bust another micro-stack when he shoves from EP and the blinds are at 1500-3000 with a 500 ante. He has 4500 and I'm in the BB. I don't even look at my hand with my stack before calling when it is folded to me. He has A-T and I have J-6. 6 on the flop and he can't connect. I get luck and get bounty #4.

Then, disaster. Another short stack starts shoving that is 2 to my right. He's chippping up with 2000-4000 blinds and a 500 ante. I still have about 76k with just under 20 players. I'm the only player that has an M above 10 so I can still make some moves that others can't. Mr Shorty shoves on my SB, and I look down to find the ladies again. I ask for a count. He counts it down and says "Oh, I have 36,000. I didn't think I had that much." Crap. That means his range is a LOT bigger here and I call. He tables A-J. Flop is great with 2 5 7. 8 on the turn. And then, of course, A on the river. I basically swap stacks with him. I hate this, as if he had realized how many chips he had, he would have raised PF, and I could have shoved him off on the flop. The guy wasn't a bad player at all, and would have been capable of folding. I hate it when players make this kind of mistake and then end up getting lucky. Such is life.

A few more orbits and we are still at 2000-4000 with a 500 ante and 14 players left. I look down at KhJh UTG and look at my chips. I have 32000 left and decide it is all-in or fold time. Not a premium hand, but we are 7-handed and I like being first in here. Unfortunately, quads woman has JJ. I joke saying "well, at least I have your quads blocked!" and she laughs. No K, but the case J comes on the river just to make a point. And just like that I'm out. 14th place.

I'm happy with how I played, and will head back sometime soon, I hope. The Hollywood Poker Open is coming up in March, and I definitely want to play in at least 1 event there.

Next time I'll have to talk about Full Tilt's new Rush Poker. In the meantime, I'll cya at the tables.