BUBBLE BOY

I played at Stars today since that is where I have been winning and it's home to my biggest bankroll. I started off with $400 at $2/4 NL. About ten minutes in, I got dealt the old KK v AA cooler, which thankfully only cost me $200. I started working my way back, then hit gin a couple of times. I called a raise against a rock solid player with 85s. I hit the old 976 flop and played it strong from the beginning with two others in the hand. The preflop raiser check/called the flop, since I had been bluffing liberally enough that he thought his AQ might be good. The turn was a Q and he called a bet of half the pot. The river paired the 7 and he was willing to check/call anything. He probably figured I had T9, which would have been consistant with how I had been playing up til then. He called a meaty bet on the river, then gave me the LOOOOOOOL in the chat box as if I was a stooge who got lucky. Sure, I did get lucky to see that flop on my junk hand, but I bet it perfectly and he paid me off.

Later, against another player, I hit one of those magical two card nut straights. I had 98 and the flop came 764. I lead at it and was called. The turn was the magical 5 and I lead again and was called. The river was a T, giving me the nut seven-card straight. I figured him for an 8, so I put out a pot-sized bet and he insta-called. It's nice when those hands come about without any flush or full house scares along the way.

The other hand of the day was when I raised preflop with Q9. I was reraised by the big blind and I called. The flop brought AT8 with two clubs. He checked, leading me to believe he had a middle pair and was willing to give up the hand. I bet and he check/raised me. I called for the implied odds of hitting the miracle jack. There was also a club flush draw which I could represent in a pinch. The turn was the jack of clubs. I would have rather seen a red jack, since the flush possibility might now slow him down. He bet and I put in a nice raise. My Q was a club so I had that to fall back on if things got nasty. He called, the river was a blank and he paid off a nice bet, despite the flush possibility.

I figured it couldn't get much better than that, so I quit $628 up, which was fantastic considering the cooler kings that got me started. I didn't let that tilt me. I was an action player and people were paying me off while I was getting away from hands that I thought stood a good chance of being beat. That's where profit comes from.

Next, I played a $160 double shootout for a shot at a WSOP Main Event seat. I left cashDude behind and joined up with TourneyDude, who sits back and waits for spots. There were a few really weak players at my table, and one player who is ranked top ten at Pocket Fives. One of the weak links got busted early, but the other two were amassing fortunes by getting lucky. One guy was more selective, but the other played literally every pot. I just waited for a spot to bust him. Somebody else beat me to the bulk of his fortune, leaving him with only $700. I got dealt AK under the gun and limped in to see what developed. The donkey pushed all-in for $700. Behind him, the Pocket Fives player pushed all-in from the button with $1400. Looked like a classic squeeze play to me. He discounted my limp and was trying to get heads up against the guy giving his chips away. I figured my AK had him beat and was likely the best hand of the three.

I called of course. The weak player showed 44; the strong player showed ATs. I was in good shape. I would likely knock out the strong player and stood a good chance at also collecting the weak player's chips. The flop brought an ace, but the turn brought a 4, which doubled up the donkey and robbed me of those $700.

I kept playing well and running well and it got heads up between me and a good player. He played great heads-up and maybe I did not play aggressively enough. I was chopping away at him, but he would occasionally make a stand, and he never picked a bad spot. I finally made a strong move against him, when I check/raised him after a straight scare hit the turn. I knew he had top pair, but I figured he would lay it down and he did. Before that hand, we were even in chips and he had all the momentum. After that hand, I had a nice lead, which I built upon, and had him on the ropes for 15 minutes. There was a decisive hand in which I had a flush draw while he held an overpair. By the time he pushed in on the turn, the odds demanded I call. If I hit, it's over, but I missed and we were now even again.

Soon after, we got it all in with my TT against his JJ. This knocked me down to just a few hundred dollars. I built this back up to $2500, but lost the match when he called my all-in with QJ and hit a Q against my small pair. That was a tough loss. I owned that table from the start and I had him down under $1500 but couldn't put him away.

Next, I played a $50 rebuy. I doubled quickly, but couldn't build on it and was under $2k at the break. I added-on for another $50, figuring I could get back in it. I did get going and I made it to the money, which started at 27. I was guaranteed $300+, with another $200 pay jump at 18. I wound up bubbling that jump and went out 19th when I got my money in with two pair, but lost to an overcard on the river. I had called a raise from the small blind with 86h. The flop came TT8 two spades, and he went all-in. He had me covered and it was the bubble, so he didn't imagine I'd call with anything less than trips. He had A4s, so it was a solid play with the spade draw. I dodged spades but lost to an ace on the river. I gained some respect though by risking the $200 pay increase to try instead to double up. All in all, a $650 day, with more poker to play tonight.