Unanderra - Monday

Another slow start to the tournament tonight. I liked the table i was on however... I seemed to be the most experienced starting out. Although my chip stack did not show it. I was up and down just like a constipated persons clinger... Great analogy i know :\. I doubled up just before the break to around 1400 chips after i flopped top pair with a K J. I was then moved pretty much straight away. Right next to Johnno (Punisher) who opened up EVERY hand with a raise. He gave most of his chips away and was knocked out *he had to go*. The break was on...
The first hand i got was pocket K's. I opened up with a raise... 600 (3 times the blind)... After a few calls i was reraised all in by the big blind. Teach (the TD) was calling out "Next person out gets a free ticket into tomorrows game"... I told the guy in the big blind "Looks like your getting a ticket"... The raise was exactly the amount of chips i had left... I called and we were both all in. I turned up K K... He turned up A A... WOW! At this point im an 18% underdog... The flop was 10 8 7... 8% underdog... Turn K !!! A set of Kings!... Two tournaments in a row ive cracked Aces with a different pocket pair... the river was a 9 and i took down the pot... Im not sure if it was luck or the fact that i had the "Kings are GOLD!" guy on my table that won me the hand... I was sitting on around 7000 after the hand...
A few hands later i was in the big blind... after a few limpers i looked down at an A 10. Chances were i was ahead at this point but i had horrible position so i checked... The flop was A K 3... A pretty good flop. I led out with a bet of 300 just above the minimum... I was reraised by UTG (Under The Gun) sitting next to me (Steve)... For 500 more, 800 total. I called... The turn was another A... It looked so pretty and so horrible at the same time... Improving my hand like this may get me in trouble against a set of 3's (making a full house) for example... I led out the bet again with 300... Steve reraised all in for 3000 more... which was called by another... Now i had some real doubts about my hand... But it was hard to put people on better than a set of Aces with a 10 kicker since there was no raise preflop... An A 3 (full house) is most likely... I called... After the river card (a 7) action went check, check... I turned up my set of Aces... The other person in the hand not all in turned up middle pair (the K)... and Steve turned up A 3... The chips i had just won GOOOONE! Bad call :(
A new hand and new table later... I was dealt an A K suited... After 3 all ins behind me and the fact that i was on the short stack i called... We all turned our cards up... 8 8 vs. 8 8 (no typo) vs. Q 9 vs. A K (me) vs. A Q... I was in pretty decent shape... No chance of a set for both of the pocket 8's and im dominating the other hands... All i needed to do was hit... After a flop of 4 high i got nervous 2 4 2... 7 on the turn... 2 on the river... The pocket 8's split the pot and i was out pretty early this week.
I did stay till final table though. Ben was playing 4 handed and had just lost all but 1000 of his chip stack with an A 10 against UTG's K Q... Big blind was all in and Ben was UTG. Myself and Siggy told him "FOLD! even Aces man!". Because he was likely to move up in the placings that hand. Sure enough he folded and the big blind was knocked out... 3 handed. Ben was all in blind... He looked at an KS QS and was exited... Both players called. The flop was 9D 10S 7S... Ben had a straight draw, flush draw and 2 overs. The button pushed all in and was quickly called... Button turned up pocket 4's and small blind turned up J 10 (a pair of 10's)... The turn was a Q... He is a massive favourite... J 10 was now drawing to a K or 10 that is not a spade and pocket 4's was drawing to the two 4's left in the deck... Ben was over a 75% favourite with more than 35 cards left in the deck that could have hit which would have not only won him the pot... But it would have put him heads up for the tournament because the chip leader had the pair of 10's and would have taken second in chips out. The river a 4... Pocket 4's had made a set on the river... Ben was out in 3rd place... a $50 two outter... (difference between 2nd and 3rd is $50)