Wooooooo

See the date of the previous post? Early June...

That's because I have fuck all to report, apart from the coldest streak of my life.

2 months without a final table, with people doing their very best to out-do the current 'worst bad beat I've ever suffered' champion.

New entry, in 2nd place:

Wednesday £50 comp.

With 14k (one of the chipleaders) and blinds 200/400 I raise the button to 1200 with AA. Rik in the BB is well aware of my aggressive rep, and reraises to 3700. Sticking in a reraise gives the game away, so I just smooth call in position, expecting him to fire on the flop.

Flop J 6 2 rainbow

What a flop, and Rik leads out 4000, I move all-in for his last 3k or so. He comments 'I don't want to play this comp with 3000' and calls with T9o.

Turn 9

River T

Bah, argh, soapytitwankcuntbollocks.

Anyway, it's been stuff like that for 2 months, I have no problem getting a stack - just keeping it. Finding hideous spots against the worst players with my tournament life continually on the line. I'm sure I can't do anything any differently, I'm sure I'm making the correct long term decisions - I will take a +EV gamble if it puts me into a dominant position.

Anyway, 2 weeks ago, the tide began to turn. I wasn't experiencing any bad beats! The big problem is that I was either getting fuck all hands to get bad beated with, or getting hideously cold-decked when monster stacked.

£10 rebuy, 1k starting stack, 90 mins in I've built it to a massive 23k. No-one else has more than 1800. I promptly get other stacks all-in or committed against me 7 times. One is a 6 way pot where I'm racing on the side and pretty unavoidable given my chip position. The other 6 times I am significantly ahead (AQ twice and AT v A6, 6 hits twice and flush once. Q4 v AK on QJJ board, 88 v K9 etc etc) and lose 5 of them. I go to the break with 'just' 14k.

It gets built to 18k, before James Bagley raises to 1200 with blinds 200,400. He has 9k or so. A weak-tight old fella calls from the CO, he has 14k. With odds in the BB with 86o it's an easy call for me.

Flop 6c 6d 3c

I've checked dark, and I plan on betting most turns.

Turn Ah

Not that one, I check, Bagley fires 1600, old fella smooths, I repop to 7600. Bagley folds and Villain moves in. He is seriously bad enough to go broke here with AJ type hands. But he has A6 - of course. Gah. I am crippled and soon out.

Anyway, Sunday 2nd I made a final table! I did only manage 9th after isolating the short stacks shove with KQ, I make trip Ks but he hits a flush with his bare Jh. A7 is soon smashed by TT which sets up on the flop. But it's a final, the tide had been ready to turn for a couple of weeks. Was still feeling good about my game and online had kept me afloat.

Wednesday though, I finally got a slice of luck in one of my customary hideous spots (AQ cracking KK) and although I was unlucky not to win heads up, a slight deal meant I took £500 for 2nd, overturning a 10 to 1 chip deficit at one point, gaining the chip lead and getting the money in on the turn as a 2 to 1 favourite against a player who'd won 7 out of his last 9 tournaments. I'd have taken that at the start and after a rocky midgame.