HIT AND MISS

Yesterday, I thought my bubble streak was going to continue, but luck went my way and I made the money. Actually, I made the final table, but it was a skimpy $30 tourney and it didn't feel like real money. I think it was $160 or so, which would have made me pee my pants two years ago, but now that I regularly play $100 and up, it feels more like arcade tokens which I will use up later in the day.

Last night at 8P, I entered the $50 PokerRoom and $69 Full Tilt events, but busted out of both of them within ten minutes. PR gave me the old open-ended straight flush draw that I couldn't fill, and FT offered a good old-fashioned bad beat. I played 64h just cause it felt like the thing to do. I flopped a flush while somebody else flopped top two pair. He made a pot-sized bet, so I pushed all-in. He called and filled up on the river. No problem, I want that call every time.

This morning, I joined a $100 at PokerStars. I was up and down during the first two levels. I was around $1100 when I busted. I raised in middle position with QQ. The next guy raised me, but barely. It screamed big pair, so I just called. I wasn't going to invest any more unless I hit a wonderous flop. It came QJ7 and that was wonderous enough for me. I check-raised him all-in. He called instantly with aces and caught one on the river. No problem, I want that call every time.

Today was one of those rare days when I was actually able to play the $50 European Daily at PokerRoom, since Cadence had Girl Scouts after school and Mason was going home with a friend. If I was a woman, I would have lit candles and made tea, but since I am me, I grabbed some couch and turned on Tivo poker. I was humming along real good, then disaster upon disaster struck as we approached the bubble. I kept losing coin flips, getting sucked out on, yada, yada, yada. My money went in good every time, but my stack was going in the wrong direction.

Somehow, I weathered the storm and made it into the money. Then I hung around long enough to make it to the final table. I busted out 7th with my old friend, 88. I called preflop against a player who had literally raised nine hands in a row. The one time he had shown his cards, it was QJc from first position. On this hand, he was first position and came in raising. He was feasting off the rest of us, picking up $6k in blinds every hand. I had a moderate stack and 88 was my first playable hand during his raise binge.

I figured I would just call his raise and decide at the flop whether to go with it or fold. The flop came T93 and he bet half my stack. Any other time, I can get off the eights, but since this guy was an aggression machine, and since he raised half my stack, as if to say he's ready to play for all my chips, I thought maybe he missed the flop. Poker players often 'say' exactly the opposite of what is the truth. Since he was saying with his bet that he wanted to play for all my chips, I took that to mean the opposite, so I pushed all-in. He had JJ and I was gone. I can be such a woman sometimes - I should have listened to him rather than trying to find the hidden meaning. $408 for 7th place.