GRAND TOURNAMENT

$10K starting stacks, 30-minute levels, and 485 entrants at $1000 per. I won my ticket in a $100 satellite, which is the only type of tournament I can win anymore. I increased my stack by about $450 during the first hour. The only notable hand was when I saw a flop with four other players with ATd. The flop was ten-high and I was fourth to act. It checked to me, so I put in a pot-sized bet to try to take it down. The fifth player raised me. I figured he had a weaker ten and not a set, so I reraised and he folded.

My hand of the day came in the second hour. The PokerRoom blog of the event had deemed my table to be the "featured table" due to the presence of me and two other fan favorites, all seated next to each other, with me in the middle. In this hand, we were dealt AQ, JJ, and KK, with me holding jacks. AQ raised from first position and I called. Third position reraised and AQ and I both called. The flop came JQQ, two spades. AQ checked, I checked, and KK bet. AQ raised, and I reraised. KK wisely laid his hand down. AQ called me and put me all-in when the turn came ten of spades. Does he have the royal? Doubtful. Does he have QT? That is a legitimate concern, but I think he would have gotten off of it facing the preflop raise. He has me covered by four grand, so I am putting my tournament life at risk by calling. But heck, I've got a made hand. If he has me beat, power to him. I called. The river was the nine of spades. Good thing for me the KK was astute enough to lay down his overpair on the flop or he would have been around to catch a straight flush.

That hand put me over $20K and into 7th place overall. But good times were over for dudeseeg. I played aggressively in the second hour with my big stack, but twice I ran into hands that I was priced into at the turn, and both failed to connect on the river. The first time I had T9 v AQ and with a flop containing 87, I called his flop bet, figuring he missed. I was unhappy when he also bet the turn, but I called with my 14 outs, and missed. Soon after, I tried to steal with T8d and found a caller. I hit a ten-high flop and bet into him, but he raised. I called and caught a diamond on the turn which also gave me a gutshot straight draw. I called a big bet on the turn, but missed the river and folded to a bet.

My bad luck continued when I saw a flop with AJ that came KQT all hearts. Of all the bittersweet flops. I've got a straight, but I can't make any money with it. I called a bet on the flop and the third player called as well. The turn was the four of spades, harmless in anybody's book. When it checked around to me, I figured I had the best hand so I bet $1500 into an $1800 pot to discourage the draws. Numbnuts called me and hit a heart on the river to give him a jack-high flush. I wish I had the ace of hearts to stick it to him, but I checked behind him and he took it down after a bad call. From my high of $21K, I was now down to $6K and below the average chip stack.

When I got QQ, I considered it a good time to double up and get back in the hunt. There was a raise from first position, as I sat in fourth. Second position reraised to $2000 and I was in a quandry. I decided I couldn't fold, and I shouldn't reraise, so I called, which got us heads up. The flop came KQ7, he bet, I went all in. He considered awhile, but had me covered and called. He had AA. I got a scare when the turn offred him a diamond flush draw, but I survived the river and got back to $14K.

I lost a chunk of it on a 97J flop, when I called a possible steal attempt with T9. The turn was a jack and I led out betting. He called, and we checked down the river. He had me outkicked with A9. Back down to $9K.

Another bittersweet flop of KJT as I held KJ. It was a three-way pot with the raiser coming from first position. Even though he checked, I was skittish that he might have AQ. There were two hearts on the flop and I was the short-stack of the three, so I decided to take off another card rather than making a big pot and losing to a draw. The turn was the nine of hearts, which shut me down again, since now any Q made his straight along with the possible heart flush. It checked around again, and the river was a fourth heart which sealed my fate. I folded to a bet, reduced to $6K.

Again I was dealt QQ and just called in first position with my dwindling chip stack. I was raised. All-in would not have chased him off, so I took a flop, which brought a king. I check-raised him half my stack, but he responded all-in and I was forced to fold. He must have had the AK that I feared. I had to push it, but at the same time had to avoid going broke with it. It just didn't go my way, but at least I was alive, though barely.

At the three-hour break, I was 333 of 337, on life support with $2231. The blinds were $150/300, soon to go up to $200/400. My first hand after the break, I went all-in with KQ and got the blinds. The second hand, I went all-in with KT and again took the blinds. The third hand, I folded 92. The fourth hand, I went all-in with 66 and was called first by KK, then by JJ. the jacks hit the flop and it was over for dudeseeg in 334th place.