Sit N Go

I am about to start a 45 player $1.25 SNG on Full Tilt.

The first hand of the tournament I pick up 77.  I raised the pot but got 3 callers.  All over cards on the flop, so I had to ditch it.
I just picked up AA with 2 limpers in front of me and blinds at 20/40.  I raised the pot and got one caller.  I flopped top set and took down a pot of 500.
Blinds are at 20/40. I have Q9 suited and raise from middle position.  The button reraises to 960 and I have to fold.  My stack is down to 1100.  I am a middle stack at my table, but there is still plenty of play with the blinds at this level.
Blinds are now at 25/50.  I have KJ clubs in SB.  There is one limper.  I raise to 200. The big blind folds and the limper calls.  Flop is Q95.  I flopped open ended.  I bet the pot and my opponent moves all in.  I  figure that I have 11 outs and call. Opponent shows Q8 for top pair, but I hit my straight on the turn.  I double up to just over 2200.
I have 34 clubs in BB.  The cut off raises 3 times big blind and I call.  The flop misses me completely and I have to fold.
I have 8T Spades in middle position.  I raise to 175.  The button and BB both call.  The flop is AJK rainbow.  The BB bets the pot and I fold.
Blinds are now at 30/60.  I have been aggressive but this table seems to be tougher than usual. I think I am going to switch gears and tighte up.
I had Q7 diamonds on the button.  there were 4 limpers, so I called hoping to get lucky.  The flop brought 2 diamonds.  All checked to me.  I bet about 1/2 the pot.  and get one caller.  The turn is a K.  Check, Check. River is a blank.  Opponent checks and I bluff about 1/3 the pot and he folds.  I now have about 2100 in chips. 
The table is very unbalanced at the moment.  Chip leader has 6800 chips, I am 2nd with 2100 and everyone else has under 1000.  Should make for an interesting table dynamic.
The unbalanced table didnt last long.  We just got 2 new players with average stacks.  Blinds are now 40/80.
I havent picked up a playable hand for a few rounds now and my stack has been blinded down to 1900.  I am going to have to chip up soon to avoid getting too short as the blinds are now at 50/100.
I just had 66 on the button with 3 limpers ahead of me.  I limp also and the flop brings no help.  I had to fold.  Maybe I should have raised big and punished the limpers preflop.
One hand later, I pick up 89 suited in the cutoff.  I raise this time and take down the pot.  I now have 2000 in chips, I am holding steady, but need to increase my stack before the blinds get too big.  They are now at 60/120. 
I am in the BB and have QQ.  I decide that if I get raised I am just moving in.  The button raises to 500 (as he has done my last 3 BB's) and I move in.  He shows KQ.  I am in great shape to double up.  He fails to improve and I now have 4000 in chips.
I have AQ and there is one limper (the opponent from  previous hand).  I raise to 720 and he calls.  Flop is 256.  I bet the pot and he calls.  Check, check on the turn.  He moves all in on the river.  I think about calling as I am sure he is steaming from the last hand.  I finally decide to fold as he had me covered and he showed his bluff, K9.  I now have about 2400 in chips.
I just changed tables.  Maybe I will be able to push this table around a little more than the last.  I pick up K9 my first hand at this table in middle position with one limper ahead of me.  I decide to just move in and take down the pot.
Blinds are now at 100/200, so I need to chip up VERY SOON!! I have about 2700 in chips, so only about 9 rounds.  This table loves to limp, so maybe I can make some big raises in position.
I am in the cutoff with A5 suited.  one limper ahead of me.  I raise to 700 and take it down.  I am now at 3000 in chips.
I just made a move with A8 suited and was called by the BB with QQ.  He doubled up and I now have 1300 in chips.  I am in big trouble.  Blinds are at 120/240. 
Any A or any 2 face cards and I am moving in.
The last 3 hands were 25, 26, 28.  Things areen't looking too good.  I have been blinded down to 1000.
I moved in on the button with T5 and took it down.  Next hand I picked up 44.  I moved in and was called by KJ.  44 held up and I now have a little breathing room with 3100 in chips. 
Blinds are now 150/300 and players are dropping fast.   
I was in BB with T7 spades.  Button limped, SB folded.  Flop was J6K with 2 spades.  I moved in for 2700.  Button tanked and finally called with J9 for a pair of J's. I failed to improve and busted out in 15th place.  I think it was the right move to put the decision on him, it just didn't work out this time.
My account balance is now $59.63.  I am up $9.63 from my starting balance.

Lost a little, but I'm still ahead.

Last night I played in "The Ferguson" on Full Tilt.  It is a $1 tournament that usually attracts over 1200 players.   I had AA vs JJ.  We got all the money in preflop and my opponent flopped a set.  I was eliminated in 1027th place.  I also played in another 45 player $1.25 SNG.  I made the final table, but was a short stack and it didn't take long to bust out.  I wasn't able to post as many details on these 2 tournies as usual due to trying to get a 3 year old to sleep between hands.
I also played a little .01/.02 NL last night. 
My account balance is at $60.63, down a little from my prior sessions, but still up from my starting balance.

$1.25 SNG 45 Players

I am about to start a $1.25 SNG at Full Tilt. I will update my notes here as the action happens. Wish me luck!!



The table is fairly tight so far. The blinds are at 15/30. I made pot sized raises preflop with K9 and KT and been able to pick up the blinds. In the big blind I had 93 suited. The pot was limped around, I checked and I flopped bottom 2 pair with 2 spades on board. I made pot sized bets all the way and was able to pick up a nice pot.



With blinds at 20/40, I picked up JJ on the button, no callers in front of me. I made a pot sized raise and took down the blinds. I thought about slow playing it, but thought better of it. I hate JJ.

Blinds are still at 20/40 and I have 66 in middle position. No callers in front of me, so I made pot sized raise. SB and BB both called. Of course the flop brought three over cards. SB bet, BB called, and I folded.

Blinds are at 25/50 and I have been successful in taking down several small pots that nobody else seemed interested in. Hopefully the table will keep allowing me to do this. I am chip leader at the table and would like to stay that way. At the break, I have 3320 in chips. Next closest at my table has 2930.

The tables were just balanced and I had to move. I was hoping to stay at that table, but so be it. I will have to feel the new one out. Hopefully it is as weak as the last. At least I am still table chip leader, so at the moment I am comfortable.

So far, I am not dissappointed with my new table. I have managed to take down a couple of healthy pots with complete air. I think I will tighten up a bit for a couple of rounds so that they dont catch on.

The player to my immediat left just took down a huge pot and is now ahead of me in chips, appx. 4800 to 4300. I will have to be careful of her as she has position on me.

Nevermind, she just donked off her chips to another player. He has a huge chip lead on the table. I will not get involved in any big pots with him.

Blinds are 40/80. I am in the cutoff and raise with JT. The BB goes all in, I am getting 2:1, so I call. BB shows 22, the board comes 449KK. I take down the pot and eliminate a player.

I have the table pretty much under control. Everyone seems to fear when I am in a pot. I hope this continues.

Blinds just moved up to 50/100. I expect to see some desparation plays from some of the mid and low stacks.

My prediction has come true. A couple of the small stacks have doubled up with inferior hands that got lucky. It may be a lucky break for me though, as I think I can steal a lot of their new found chips when they are in the blinds.

Blinds are now at 60/120 and the table chip leader has been doing a lot of preflop min raising. I am going to try to slow him down with the first reasonable hand I get.

I just lost a sizable pot. I raised to 420 with 88 from the cutoff. The button called. Flop came K42 with 2 clubs. I moved in and the button called with AJ clubs. He hit a J on the turn and doubled up. I still have appx 3700 in chip, but I am not as comfortable as I was a few minutes ago. Most of the players at the table are close in chips except for the chip leader who is up 2:1 on everybody.

Player to my left has moved all in last 3 hands in a row for bets of 20X the BB or more. I hope to pick up a hand and take him out.

With blinds at 100/200, I just took down 2 monter pots. I had 2 full houses in a row and managed to get the money in with both of them. I eliminated a player and we are now at the final table. I am 3rd in chips with appx 13000.

Small stacks at the final table are playing scared. I am still able to steal their blinds. I think they are waiting for the 3 big stacks to hurt each other. I plan to stay out of the way of the other 2 chip leaders unless I have the nuts.

Blinds are now 150/300 and I am 2nd in chips. Play is still 9 handed.

Chip leader just gave away a bunch of chips, making me the new leader.

I am now massive chip leader. I flopped a set and got AA to move in on me. I have over 23000and next closest is 15500. Play is now 7 handed. 6 places pay, so we are on the bubble.

3 of the players have over 10000, so I will try to keep the pots small against them.

We are in the money now. Blinds are 200/400 so I think the rest of the tourney will be quick. The small stacks seem content to be blinded to death.

Play is now 4 handed and the remaining players are all tough. I may have to wait for a good hand as they are quite capable of pushing back.

All of the 4 remaining are like cockroaches. None of us will go out. We just keep swapping chips back and forth.

We have finally reached 3 handed play. It took JJ vs QQ to get here. Blinds are 400/800. We are all close in chips, so it should be interesting.

We are finally heads up. I am outchipped by 2.5:1. My opponent doesnt seem to want to play small pots, so I am going to have to take the lead in the aggression. He is moving all in about half of his buttons. Any A and I am going to call him.

Blinds are now 500/1000 and he has slowed down for the moment. I have been able to get almost even in chips with him. I picked up AK against his A7 and he shoved on me. I now have 10:1 chip lead. He shoved on me from the button. I had K9 and called. He showes K6 and doesnt improve. I win the tournament!! My account balance is now $64.12. I am up $14.12 from my starting deposit. Not bad for the 2nd day of this experiment.

Small Loss in Cash Game

I just played a short session of .01/.02 NL cash game at Full Tilt. I lost $.93. This was the first cash game I have played for these small of stakes. The players were surprisingly tight for a low stakes game. Most of the loss was making a play at a pot and I was check raised out. I look forward to playing more sessions at these limits. I am down $1.73 from my original deposit.

27 Player SNG $1.25

I just finished 7th in a 27 player SNG at Full Tilt. Payouts started at 5th place. I played very aggressive picking up a lot of orphan pots. I should have tightened up near the end though, as I believe most of the players had picked up on my aggressiveness. My account balance is now $49.20 down 80 cents from my original deposit.

45 Player SNG at Full Tilt

I am currently sitting at a 45 player $1.25 SNG at Full Tilt. I have managed to take down more than my fair share of pots. I am sitting 2 to the left of Hesler. He is wild and has been pushing in with weak hands and getting lucky. He is currently the tournament chip leader. I am currently in 5th place. I do have position on him, but he likes to make very big preflop raises. Hopefully, I can pick up a hand and take advantage of his large raises.

I just make my first donkey move in this experiment. The blinds are 40/80. Player in middle position has appx 1100 in chips and raises to 280. I am on button with 57 suited and I think I may be able to steal the pot. I reraise to 960, MP player moves all in for the rest of his chips. I am pot committed and call. MP player shows KK and I don't improve. I lose appx 1/3 of my chips. A few hands later I am in SB with 93offsuit and blinds of 50/100. A couple of players limp, and I limp. I flop 2 pair, but there are 2 clubs on board. I am in early position and check waiting to see what develops. Player in last position bets 200 into pot of 500. I raise all in to appx 1900 and other player calls. other player has nut flush draw and hits flush on turn, but I fill up on river. After this hand, I have 4200 in chips and blinds are 50/100. Blinds are now at 80/160. I have 99 in the SB. My arch nemesis Huselr raises to 640. I have not played many pots with Huselr, but I believe they perceive me as pretty tight as I have not made any moves without a hand from out of position. I reraise to 2200 and I am able to pick up the blinds, one limp and the raise from Huselr. This hand puts me in the top 5 chip stacks.

I am now at the final table of this 45 player $1.25 SNG. I am 5th in chips with 8150. Blinds are 150/300. Huselr is still chip leader with appx 15,000. So far, I have managed to get my money in good against him, I will continue to pick my spots against him. I will try not get involved in large pots with him as he is easily able to knock me out if he gets lucky. Blinds are now at 200/400 and I was able to eliminate a player. I now have 11000 in chips and am 3rd in chips out of 7. We are now on the bubble.

We are now in the money. I have appx 9400 and blinds are 250/500, so I expect the rest of the tournament to go quickly.

I am 5th in chips out of 6. The chip leaders seem to want to play big pots with each other, so I will try to either wait them out and hope they hurt each other, or hopefully pick up a big hand against one of them and double up.

My wish just came true (almost)!! I picked up QQ against Huselr and got all the money in. He had K8 and spiked a K on the flop. I am eliminated and win $2.70. Not a big win, but it's not bad for my first night at this wonderful experiment.

After this tourney my account balance is $50.45. I am up 45 cents from when I began.

Just busted out of $1 tourney

I just busted out of a $1 tourney at Full Tilt. I was in SB with 8s4s. The pot had 5 limpers, I limped, BB checked. I flopped bottom 2 pair. There were 5 players, so I bet the pot. Everyone folded to the button, who moved all in. I called. He held a straight draw and a flush draw. He hit his flush on the turn and I couldn't fill up on the river. Unlucky.