Julie’s Thanksgiving Eve $60 + $20 Bounty Tournament - 11/21/2018

On Thanksgiving Eve, Julie hosted a $60 + $20 Bounty tournament that drew 21 players (3 tables of seven players). The night before Thanksgiving has always been a popular night to host a tournament in the CPMG, as the waitlist for this one was 10+ players deep at one point. I didn’t recap each level (each was 20 minutes long), but I did jot down some notes.

My opening table starting in Seat 1 was Papa Zuited, Dana Ewing, Meat, Pyxis, Julie, me and Luckbox Linda. Aside from Meat, who is one of the best players in the CPMG, this was a great table draw. There were 4 tight players and I had position on the super-aggro Julie sitting to my right. The first break was only 1 hr 20 min into the tournament and I had chipped up to 19700 from my 15k starting stack thanks to a big hand against Meat during level 3. He raised from the cutoff and I defended my BB with Ac5c. Flop was 7 4 3, two clubs. With the nut flush and inside straight draw, I led for 700 and Meat raised to 2200. I put him on an overpair to the board and decided to call. Turn [7c 4c 3x] A. Now I think I’m ahead with my pair of Aces, but I check because I don’t want him to think it helped me. Meat checked behind. River [7c 4c 3x Ax] 6, completed my straight. I decided to bet a small 2200 (less than half the pot) to see if he’d call with a pair of 9s or higher. He did call, but I found out later he flopped a set of sevens, which was way stronger than I thought. Kudos to Meat for not going broke on the hand and losing the minimum.

Around 10pm, we combined to a final table of 8, featuring Mick, Pyxis, Chaz, TK, Papa Z, Nikki, me and Tom DV. Right before the final table, I doubled up with pocket Kings vs Tom DV’s pocket Jacks, giving me a healthy 39900 which was among the top 4 stacks at the table. After a bit, Terry and Pyxis bust out of the tournament and there are 6 left. After sitting back and playing straight at the full table, it was time to get more involved as the blinds and big blind ante were getting higher. Unfortunately, my two strongest opponents at the table - Chaz and Tom DV - had mountains of chip and both had position on me. I had to be careful in any pots against them. In one hand against Chaz, she raised to 3k and I was the only caller from the big blind with Tc9c. Flop 8c 6x 2x. Chaz bet 4500 and I called. Turn [8c 6x 2x] Kc, giving me flush draw in addition to the inside straight draw. We both checked. River [8c 6x 2x Kc] T. I check-called Chaz’s 7000 chip bet and she showed Ace-high for a semi-bluff. That pot was extremely important for me as it vaulted me up to 52500 as we approached the money bubble (4th place).

Papa Z busted around 11pm and the 5 remaining players (Mick, Chaz, Nikki, me, Tom DV) battled for over an hour. At one point, I was the short stack at the table with 40800 before I won a big pot off Chaz when she slow played 2-pair and let me hit a straight. After the hand, I had 77400 at 1000/2000 blinds with a 1300 big blind ante. I ran it up to 87000 before falling back down to 57.5k. It got to the point where everyone was just trading chips back and forth without anyone busting. Finally, Nikki and I proposed everyone pay $10 from their wallets for whomever busted on the bubble. This helped force the action as the bubble broke 5 minutes later when Tom DV hit the rail. I was glad to see him out of the tournament, as he had been playing superb. Nikki came in 4th place, falling at the hands of Chaz. With 3 players left, Chaz had a monster stack while Mick and I were within a few thousand of each other. Mick was playing pretty tight, but I wasn’t able to steal many of his blinds because Chaz was (correctly) raising most of her buttons. We actually played 3-handed for a long time before Chaz earned Mick’s bounty necklace. She had collected several bounties while I still had ZERO.

Chaz held a 2:1 chip advantage as we started heads up play. We battled for over an hour as I slowly chipped away and picked my spots, grinding my stack up to about 215k.

Unfortunately, my 2:1 chip advantage quickly disappeared and Chaz doubled up (I can’t remember the hand exactly). We finally got it all in on a T K 4 flop. I had JT and she turned over T4 for a flopped 2-pair that held. Below is a pic (credit: Nikki) with my sad face for coming in 2nd and failing to capture any bounties throughout the tournament. Cashing for $370 was nice though, and I had a lot of fun playing this one. I felt great going into the tournament and thought I played excellent throughout. Chaz complimented me for being a tough player, but she deserves kudos for being pretty damn tough herself!

$40 Tournament & High Hand Recap

On Friday, 11/16/18, I hosted a $40 tournament that drew 14 players. Everyone started with 15000 chips, 20 minute levels. I also ran an optional $5 High Hand of the Night that 13 players entered.

My opening table featured the following players, seated to my left: Doug Poker, Matt Phillips, Luckbox Linda, Steve Germani, Silent Dave and Jon Novak.

25/50 - I ran hot in Level 1. Steve raised and Jon Novak called. With AJ off-suit on the button, I 3-bet to 800. Both players and Doug Poker called. Flop J 2 2. It checks around and I bet 1500. Doug and Steve call. Turn [J 2 2] 3. Doug bets 3500 and I’m the only caller. River [J 2 2 3] 8. We both check and I win a big pot with two-pair (Doug didn’t show). Later in the level, I won 4K off Jon Novak with TT on a 5 5 6 T X board with 4 diamonds. I ended the level with 28000.

50/100 - I pick up AA and won a small pot off Jon on a board with a bunch off face cards. I have 30000 heading into Level 3.

75/150 - I have QQ UTG and raise to 700. Doug Poker moves all in for 2975. Steve thinks about it with big suited ace but folds. I call and bust Doug, who had pocket 2’s. Later in the level, Jon raises to 650 from cutoff. I reraise to 1500 with J8ss. Flop K 9 4, two spades. Jon check-raises my 1500 bet to 3500 and I call. Turn [K 9 4] 4c. We both check. River pairs my 8 and I loosely call his 3500 bet and he wins with KQ. I end the level with 22600.

100/200 - With 3c2c I raise to 800 from cutoff and Matt Phillips and Jon Novak call. Flop 5d 5c 4c. I lead for 1500 and both players call. Turn [5d 5c 4c] 9h. We all check. River [5d 5c 4c 9h] 6s. With a straight, I bet 2500 and they both fold. I end the level with 30400.

Level 5 (150/300) and Level 6 (200/400) were quiet for me and I have 29000 at the first break.

300/600 - The second hand back from break, I pick up pocket Kings in the big blind. Jon raises to 1600 I 3-bet him to 5100. Jon goes all in for about 10k total and I flop a set of Kings to knock him out of the tournament. Now 5-handed, I raise to 1500 from the cutoff with Kh7h. Matt Phillips andSteve call. Flop Ah 4h 5x. I bet 2200 and Matt quickly calls. Steve folds. Turn [Ah 4h 5x] Ks and we both check. River [Ah 4h 5x Ks] 3h and I bet 5000 with my flush. Matt calls and tables AJ off-suit and I drag a nice pot. I end the level with 49000.

400/800 - I check my BB with Ac6d in an unraised pot. Flop 663, two clubs. I bet 800 and Steve calls. Turn is a blank and I bet 1600 and Steve calls again. River is a third club and I check. Steve bets 2500 and I fold my trips face up. I had the Ace of clubs and realized I should’ve moved all in and Steve would’ve folded. Just a missed opportunity. With 10 minutes left in the level, we combine to a final table of 9, which features (to my left) Meat, Pyxis, Luckbox Linda, Steve Germani, Silent Dave, Dana, Jerry and Randy. At a full table, I slow down a bit and end the level with 50200.

500/1000 - Another quiet level. I have 44700.

600/1200 - Jerry limps in and I raise to 4100 with 65hh and he calls. Flop 6x Kh Qh. Jerry bets 5000 and I call with my pair and flush draw. Turn [6x Kh Qh] 6. Jerry bets 2000 and I raise to 12000 and Jerry says, “fuck it, I call”. River [6x Kh Qh 6x] Jd. Jerry leads for another 5k and I move all in. He asks if I will show him and I don’t respond, which upsets him a bit. He eventually folds and I have 71800 going into the next level.

800/1600 - As one of the chip leaders, I slow down a bit and play straight, ending with 66000.

1000/2000 - I’m card dead this level and head into the next level with 61000.

1500/3000 - Silent Dave busts out on the bubble when he flops three eights and is out-kicked by Pyxis’ three eights. Steve Germani busts out in 4th place and the final 3 are Meat, Pyxis and I. Pyxis went from having a few blinds at the beginning of the 2nd break to chip leader.

2000/4000 - I end the level with 57000 and am sitting 3rd behind Pyxis and Meat.

3000/6000 - I raise to 20k on the button with Qd8h and Pyxis calls from the big blind. The flop bring three hearts and Pyxis checks. I bet another 20k and Pyxis thinks about it before raising me all in. I only have 17k left and decide to call since there’s so much money in the pot. Unfortunately, Pyxis turns over the nuts with A9hh and I’m drawing dead before the Turn. Meat and Pyxis battled heads up for a while before Meat won the heads up battle.

High Hand of the Night - 13 entries at $5 per person created a $65 prize pool to the winner. Within a few minutes, we had our first qualifier - Kings full of Sixes on a KK66X board. Two players had a King and would split the High Hand if it held. It wasn’t until later in the tournament that we had a new qualifying High Hand - Kings full of Jacks - that was split by Meat and Randy. Surprisingly, this High Hand held for at least 2 hours and both players won $32.50 for spitting the hand/payout. Given how many players participated, I think I will offer an optional $5 High Hand for all of tournaments in the future.

Flushball at the JACK

It has been a while since I’ve posted. The last time I did one of these, I recounted my biggest poker meltdown. Don’t worry... I didn’t crawl into a hole and hide from the poker felt. It’s actually been quite the opposite.

Since my meltdown at Julie’s in early September, I hosted a small 10-person SNG on 9/16 that I ended up winning. I also hosted a HA tournament on 9/22 that drew 15 runners, the highest draw since I’ve started hosting. I wasn’t able to host during the month of October. I actually had a game scheduled for 10/14 but Dana was sick and I had to cancel.

Another reason I didn’t host in October is because I’ve been busy playing at the JACK downtown. I hadn’t played live poker in a casino since I was 21 or 22 years old — I think I stopped shortly after playing the WSOP Main Event in 2005 — but Doug Poker convinced me to join him bright and early one Sunday morning for the Flushball promotion at the JACK. He said their $4/$8 Omaha-8/b game qualified for the promotion, which awarded $200 for the highest ranked flush of each suit every hour from 8am - noon. Royal flushes did not qualify for some stupid reason, so the highest qualifier was AKQJ9. 

It’s pretty easy to hit a flush in Omaha. Sure enough, our measly $4/$8 O8 table hogged all the flushballs. I didn’t hit any the first time Doug and I played and ended the day stuck about $70. I went back the next Thursday though and hit a flushball and won a few hundred dollars. The next Sunday I fared much better. Doug hit 2 flushballs and I hit another one myself. I left the day up $410 between the flushball and O8 winnings. Last Sunday, I gave $300 back to the O8 villains, but video poker bailed me out and I left bailed won $430 on the day.

It’s been a roller coaster October, but I’m excited to kick off November with a some home games that I’ll be posting to the CPMG site soon. I eventually want to host a $3/$6 O8 cash game w/Kill and a High Hand payout at the end of the night (voluntary $10 or $20 HH entry before you play any hands qualifies you). Hope to see you guys soon!

My Biggest Meltdown

I hosted a 10-player SNG on Friday, 8/31/18 and came in 3rd place — Mini Mike won and Jerry placed 2nd — so I had a bit of momentum for Julie’s $40/40/40 two days later.

There were 21 runners. 30 minute levels and I started with 25000 chips. My opening 7-handed table featured (to my left) Cheryl, Prowest, David Lee, Amy, Pyxis and Linda. My approach to this tournament was a bit different given the deep stacks and opportunity to rebuy.

25/50 - Pyxis raises to 150 and I call with 98o on the button. Cheryl and Prowest join the party from the blinds to see a a T 7 4 flop. Cheryl leads for 300, Prowest calls and I call. Turn [T 7 4]  6 completes my straight, but there are two flush possibilities. Cheryl checks, Prowest bets 700 and we both call. River [T 7 4 6] 4. Prowest bets 2000 and I call/muck when he shows 64 for a full house.

A bit later, I limp with 3d3c on the button and Prowest raises to 300 from the big blind.  I’m the only caller and we see a J 8 2 flop. Dave leads for 600 and I call, thinking he’s probably c-betting overcards. Turn [J 8 2] 7, putting three diamonds on the board. He bets 1100 and I call again with a baby flush draw. River [J 8 2 7] 3. He bets 1500 and I min-raise. He thinks for a while and calls and I show my set to drag the pot. I end the level with 29400.

50/100 - Linda raises to 300 and I call with JsTs. Prowest makes it 1100 and we both call. Flop is J X X. Prowest bets 2000 and I call. Turn [J X X] T. Dave check-calls 4000. River blank and Prowest check-folds to my 7000 bet. I end the level with 36225.

75/150 - Im on the button and raise to 525 with 65o. Prowest and Cheryl call from the blinds. Flop T 6 3, two hearts. I bet 1100 and Dave calls. Turn [T 6 3] 4h. I bet 2500 and Dave calls. River [T 6 3 4] 5 gives me two pair, albeit on a very wet board. Dave checks and I check behind. He shows 62o for rivered straight. I end the level with 32300.

100/200 - I raise to 600 with pocket sevens and Amy calls. Flop J J 5. I bet 1500 and she calls. Turn [J J 5] 7 fills me up. This time she leads for 3000 and I smooth call. River [J J 5 7] 8. Amy bets 4000 and I put her all in for about 15000 more. She calls with KJ and I knock her out of the tournament (she had previously rebought). I end the level with 58075.

Break - I paid the $40 to add on an additional 20000. I have 78075. 

150/300 - I win small pots with KK and QQ right after break, but end the level with ~79000.

200/400 - I raise to 1100 from the cutoff with 88. Cheryl is the only caller from the button and I check dark. Flop 994. Not a good flop to check dark on and she checks behind. Turn [9 9 4] Q. This time I bet 1600 and she calls. River [9 9 4 Q] 8 fills me up. There’s 5900 in the pot and I want Cheryl to think I’m trying to buy it, so I toss out 5500 and she calls/mucks when I show my full house.

During this level, Prowest and David Lee went crazy on a 9-high board with flush and straight possibilities. Prowest bet 3000 on the river and David instantly threw 20k into the pot. Dave thought about it a while before calling and they ended up chopping with J9 suited. This was a very strange hand. I felt David acted very impulsively on the river for most of his stack and Prowest made a good read/call for most of his. Neither player would have been able to rebuy or add on had they lost so this was an odd hand. I ended the level with 91000.


250/500 - I took ~8000 off Prowest with AK on a King-high board. A bit later, I took ~20000 off Pyxis with A7 when I flopped two-pair and she had AQ. I continued the heater by winning 4000 off Prowest (flopped a set of 7s) and ended the level with 116300. I was definitely running good.

300/600 - With 26 min left in the level, we combine to two tables of 9. Yoda, Robert Reddish and Caryn join the table. With a full table, I slow down a bit and end the level with 114200.

400/800 - Yoda and Pyxis limp in. From the cutoff, I look down at KK and raise to 3100. Both call and the flop is 9 7 5. The action checks around and I bet 6500. Yoda tosses three pink 5000 chips into the pot and Pyxis folds. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the time to think through the hand and immediately went all in. Yoda snap-called with a set of fives and I bricked the turn and river to take a massive hit. If I would have taken a moment to analyze the action, it’s pretty obvious that Yoda’s limp-call pre, followed by the raise on the flop means he likely has a set. I’m usually not too proud to fold Kings there, but instead I thought huge stack would be enough to get him to fold. I shipped him a total of 64100, which was another huge mistake on my part. I didn’t realize how much Meyer was sitting on and didn’t even bother to ask. After the hand, I’m down to 45800 and kicking myself for my terrible play.

Afew hands later, I raise to 2200 with AsJs.. Reddish goes all in for 11600 and 75-percent of the time this is an insta-fold for me given how deep we still were in the tournament. Instead, I’m tilting a bit and want to see if I can win back some of the chips I just lost. Reddish’s pocket Kings held and I’m down to ~33k, which is PLENTY given the stage of the tournament we are in. I’m not even the shortest stack at the table.

I get a text from Dana, who earlier in the week agreed to stay home all day with the kids to support my poker degeneracy - “all the kids ditched me”. Our youngest went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house while the older kids went to sleepovers with their friends. No kids? That’s something I didn’t realize would happen when I signed up for the tournament. If I knew that prior, I probably wouldn’t have even played.

We were approaching the dinner break, so I started playing even more reckless than I already had been. Either I was going to double up to a more comfortable chip position or bust out and spend a kid-less evening at home with my love.

I look down at two black nines the last hand before dinner break. Caryn raises 2800 and Cheryl and I call. Flop J 8 5. Caryn bets 5000 and I moved all in for 25000 more. She thinks for a minute before calling with AJ and I brick the turn and river to bust out of the tournament.

WHAT A DISASTROUS MELTDOWN! Probably my worst ever. Now that I’ve had a few days to think about this epic collapse, it all went downhill for me when Caryn, Meyer and Reddish joined the table. Funny enough, I donked off my chips to each of them. It was no surprise reading Julie’s results on the CPMG message board that Caryn won the tournament, Meyer finished 3rd and Reddish went deep as well. While I made the decision to play recklessly after getting Dana’s text, I could have easily come back from the hit I took against Yoda. It goes to show you how one impulsive decision without properly thinking through a hand can derail your entire tournament. It makes me appreciate the guys and gals who make deep runs in the WSOP Main Event even more, given how mentally sharp you have to be for 10-12 hours each day, for 7 days straight.

Triple Shot

I know it’s not uncommon for people to play poker on a daily basis. I’m sure some of you reading this blog play 4 or 5 times per week, if not more. I wish I had the bankroll to afford that luxury, but I haven’t played a poker on back-to-back days since I was grinding online at PokerRoom.com in 2005. Fortunately, I enjoyed a rare poker triple shot this past weekend.

Friday night, August 17th

I hosted a $40 PLO Tournament that featured 13 runners. Believe it or not, I’ve only played PLO a handful of times in my life. I’ve been wanting to get more experience in the game so I’m glad there was enough interest. A few days prior to the tournament, Doug Poker asked me about having a .50/.50 PLO cash game after the tournament and I agreed if he could find a set of cash game chips. Many thanks to Adam for letting us borrow his set. I didn’t keep a running log for the tournament, but somehow managed to finish 3rd:

1st place - Xavier Sosa, $260
2nd place - John Pshock, $155
3rd place - Ryan Rufe, $105
Bubble - Yoda

I was very successful in the cash game afterwards, which ended up being a 6-handed game of dealer’s choice between Jon Novak, Doug Poker, Pyxis, Xavier, myself and Stephen. I bought in for $40 and cashed out for $141 an hour and a half later. We played PLO, PLO8, Stud 8, Crazy Pineapple and Big O. Between the tournament and he cash game, I profited $166 on the night. Good times.

Saturday, August 18th
After ending the cash game at 1am, I was due back on the felt at 1pm for the $100 NLHE Deepstack that I posted on the CPMG website about a month prior. At one point, I had as many as 17 people RSVP and was well on my way to having a 3 table tournament. Unfortunately, I only had 11 runners by game day and started with a 6-5 split between 2 tables before combining to a final table of 9.

30000 chips to start with 30 minutes levels that included antes (big blind responsible for posting for everyone) after Round 5. My opening table featured Caryn, Doug Poker, Pyxis, Danielle and Krazy Joe. I remained relatively quiet in the first few levels, slightly building my stack to 32450 by the end of level 3. I took a big hit in level 4 (200/400), flopping a set of sixes against Caryn’s flopped set of Aces and was down to 12450 at the first break.

After the break, I was involved in another set-over-set situation, but this time I was on the winning side with Queens over Danielle’s eights to double up. In level 6 (300/600/50), we combined to a final table of 9 that featured myself and (to my left) Malcolm, Pyxis, Krazy Joe, Yosh, Caryn, Papa Zuited, Dana and Danielle. My stack fluctuated between 20k and 12k for a while until I went on an absolute heater in level 8 (500/1000/100). I moved all in with AKo to pick up some blinds and antes. I then raised 3 out of the next 5 hands with 6d5d, J9o and AKo (again). I missed the flop on all 3 but a c-bet was enough to win each one. At the end of the level, I had 38000 and some much needed momentum. Unfortunately, that momentum dried up rather quickly and 38k was the most I had all tournament. I hung around for 4 more levels, but with 5 players left and blinds at 2000/4000/500, I moved all in with 8d6d and bricked against Yosh’s AK.

1st place - Yosh, $550
2nd place - Papa Zuited, $330
3rd place - Caryn, $220
Bubble - Danielle

Sunday, August 19th
Caryn texted around 5:30 inviting me to a single table $40 tournament at 7pm that featured Doug Poker, Jon Novak, David Lee, Luckbox Linda, Krazy Joe and some others. 20000 chips to start with 20 minutes levels. I was sitting pretty early after 3-betting Doug’s 400 chip raise in late position with KcQc. I made it 1100 straight and Doug and Molly came along to see the KQ4 flop. Doug led out for 2500 and Molly called. I made it 7000 and both folded (Doug said he had AK). I had 26150 going into level 3 and roughly 22k at the first break.

In level 7 (300/600), I raised from early position to 2100 with KsTs. Jon called, Krazy Joe went all in for 3100 and Doug immediately moved in for 7500. It was 5400 to win more than 20k, so I made a quick call and Jon folded (pocket nines). Doug won the pot with 7c5c after pairing his seven on the turn, but Jon would’ve won and knocked out 2 players if he stayed in. I had about 12k left after losing the hand. A few hands later, I look down at AsKs and move in from UTG for 9300. Jon called with ATo and paired his Ten to knock me out of the tournament.

Overall, it was a fun weekend. I did get burned out a bit Saturday during the long grind of the deepstack tournament, but that was to be expected. Stay tuned for more poker recaps as I continue to host games throughout the summer and fall.

“Here’s one for the blog”

On Friday night, August 3rd, Julie hosted a $60 Ironman tournament (no scheduled breaks). There were 16 runners and my opening 8-handed table featured (sitting clockwise to my left) Brian Oliver, Prowest, Cheryl, Pyxis, Dave Arendt, Serge and Shekar. I started with 13000 chips.

25/50 - The very first hand of the tournament, there are several limpers. I’m on the button and raise to 300 with QdTd. 4 callers see a flop of 8d 4d 2c. The action checks to me and I toss out a c-bet of 600 with my flush draw and 2 overs to the board. Cheryl and Serge are the only callers. Turn [8d 4d 2c] Kx. Everyone checks. River [8d 4d 2c Kx] Kd. I bet 1500 with my flush and Cheryl calls/mucks when I turn over my hand. I end the level with 16025.

50/100 - After raising the previous 2 hands and winning both uncontested, I raise to 400 UTG with pocket Queens. Serge is the only caller and we see a flop of Ah Kh Qh. I lead out for 800 and Serge raises to 2600. I glance over at his remaining chip stack and he has 10-ish behind. I think he would have smooth called my original bet of 800 if he had a flush, so I move all in over the top with my set of Queens. He folds and says nice bluff. I end the level with 19975.

75/150 - Didn’t play a hand. I end the level with 19750.

100/200 - I saw a few flops this level with 8s7s and As9s, but there was too much action on one hand and I missed the flop of the other. I end the level with 18550.

150/300 - Pyxis raises to 600 on the last hand of 100/200 and I’m only caller in the big blind with Jh9h. The flop brings 2 hearts and I check-call a 600 c-bet. The turn is a blank and I check-call another bet of 1000. I make my flush on the river and reach down for some chips, but Pyxis turns over her hand (pocket Kings) in the process. She explains that she thought I checked, which was definitely not my intention. Now that I can see her cards and know I have her beat, I still have the opportunity to act on the hand. I could be a dick and bet something minimal that I know she would call, or I could go all in and force a likely fold. Pyxis is a very nice person and is someone who attends my games, which is something I do not want to jeopardize, so I check and show her my flush to drag another decent pot.

A bit later in the level, I look down at JJ on the button and raise to 1100. Prowest calls in the big blind and says “here’s one for the blog.” Shekar comes along as well. The flop is 678, two spades. Prowest checks and I bet 1600. Prowest raises to 4000, Shekar folds, and I ask Dave “why so much?” I immediately realize it’s not that much more to call, but compared to Prowest’s remaining stack size, he’s basically committing himself all in. I think about it a bit more and fold my pocket Jacks face up. He shows 6h7h for bottom 2-pair and I’m down to 18175 after the hand.

Fortunately, I would chip back up with AA in a hand against Dave Arendt. Meanwhile, Prowest lost most of his stack against Serge and I busted him with Qc7c vs AQ. I end the level with 23975.

200/400 - I keep up the momentum early in the level, winning three small pots. I won a hand with pocket threes (uncontested), 86o vs Pyxis and AQo against Brian Oliver. I end the level with 26400.

300/600 - I’m on the button with QdJh and raise to 1700. Shekar calls and we see a Queen high flop with 2 hearts. Shekar leads for 1700 and I smooth call. Turn [Qh Xh Xx] Ah, giving me a flush draw. Shekar bets 4400 and shows KdTd for a bluff when I fold. I end the level with 22500.y

400/800 - I’m in the big blind with Qc7c and call Serge’s 2000 raise. The flop is Jack-high with two clubs, and I make a pair of sevens on the river, but lose 5600 on the hand after Serge shows me a pair of Jacks.

A bit later in the level, we combine to final table of 8. Seated to my left (clockwise) are Serge, Shekar, Conundrum, Dave Arendt, Brian Oliver, John Pshock and K-Tina. I have 16500 and need to accumulate some chips. Right before the end of the level, there are a few limpers ahead of me and I follow suit on the button with 8s7s. Four of ujs see a flop of J 9 5. It checks around to Brian, who bets 2400. I decide to move all in for 10200 with my double belly buster straight draw. He thinks for a while and folds. Serge says he laid down a big hand. I end the level with 22300.

500/1000 - I have 65o in big blind. K-Tina limps from the small blind and we see a flop of 7h 8h 9x. She leads for 1000 and I decide to play it carefully and smooth call. Turn [7h 8h 9x] K. She continues for 2000 more and I call. River is [7h 8h 9x Kx] Jh, putting 3 hearts on the board. This card SUCKS as it brings flush and a higher straight possibilities. K-Tina goes all in and I immediately fold. 

A bit later, K-Tina raises to 3000. I go all in for 16800 with AdQd. Con goes all in over top of me and has both of us covered. K-Tina folds AK and Con shows the same exact hand, but I hit my flush on the turn to double up. I end the level with 36100.

600/1200 - The last hand of level, I have pocket threes and raise the button to 3000. Con goes all in for 13700 and elect not to flip. I end the level with 28200.

800/1600 - Another quiet level. I end with 21000.

1000/2000 - I raise to 5000 with pocket Queens and John calls in big blind. Flop A T 5, two hearts. We both check. Turn [A T 5] 7. John bets 5k and I call. John moves all in when the river brings a third heart and I fold.

We’re on bubble when Serge busts Con. The very first hand of bubble play, I push all in for 15000 from the small blind with pocket twos. Serge calls from the big blind with KQ and I turn a set to double up. I end the level with 28000.

1200/2400 - I limp from the SB with J9 and Serge checks his option. Flop 7 6 3. We both check. Turn [7 6 3] 9. I check-call a bet of 6k. River blank. We both check and my J9 has his 92 out-kicked. I end the level with 26800 and we’re now in he money after K-Tina bubbles.

1500/3000 - From the SB, I limp in with 7h5h and Serge and I see flop of A 7 X. We both check. Turn [A 7 X] 5. Thinking Serge will fire on the turn, I slow play my 2 pair and check. He bets 7500 and I go all in for 12k more and he folds. I end the level with 35600 and we’re 3-handed after John hits the rail in 4th place.

2000/4000 -  Last hand before 3000/6000, I go all in for 13800 with AK. Dave A calls in BB with 76o and hits a pair of 7s. I finish in 3rd place for $160, while Dave Arendt and Serge chop for $350 apiece.

All In with a Side Pot of Controversy

Last Friday night, July 13th (cue the Jason Voorhees music), I hosted my first ever multi-table tournament. I was hoping to get two full tables of ten, but 12 CPMGers RSVPed. With 12 runners to start, plus a 13th who arrived before the first break, this tournament would award CPMG Tournament of Champions points for the first and second place finishers.

We started with two six-handed tables and I really enjoyed the short-handed play in the early levels of the tournament. I might actually host some 6-max tournaments in the future. My opening table featured Pyxis, Josh Keeler, Doug Poker, John, David Lee and myself. I expected to see lots of action. $60 buy-in with a 12k starting stack for those in line 10 minutes before the tournament started (10k stack for those who did not arrive early) and 20 minute levels.

In Level 5 (150/300 blinds), I’m in the big blind when Pyxis raises UTG to 700. Doug Poker flats and I call as well with pocket fours. Flop 6 5 4 and I lead out for 1600 with bottom set. Pyxis raises to 3500 and Doug immediately goes all in for 8500. I think for a few minutes and think Pyxis likely has an overpair to the board. Doug’s range is pretty wide here and it’s perfectly within his wheelhouse to show up with 87 for a flopped straight, but I determine he’s probably drawing with a hand like pocket sevens or threes. After thinking things through, I believe I have the best hand and four-bet all in for ~15k. Pyxis reluctantly folds her flopped set of fives (!!!!) and I have Doug at risk of elimination when he turns over 75 for middle pair and open-ended straight draw. He bricks the turn and river and I’m sitting on roughly 25k after escaping what should have been an elimination if Pyxis called my all in.

The last hand before break, Josh moves all in for 9k on a flop of A J 2. John (who was dealing the hand) called the all in, but when he went to turn over his cards he discovered that he only had 1 of them (an Ace). Granted, this single card beats Josh’s bluff Ks9s, but it’s still only one card. Before I can figure out what to do, John starts turning cards over from the muck in front of him. When he turns over a Jack, he says he had AJ for top two-pair — but this is before I could ask him to identify the value and suit of the card that he apparently mucked by accident.

Now what?

After some thought, I decided to award the pot to Josh. I was not 100 percent confident in my decision, but John acted frantically before I could gain control of the situation and started flipping cards over from the muck before I could ask him what his holding was. I felt horrible and explained the benefits of capping your cards during the break.

I was sitting on 30,600 at the break and we combined to a full table of 10 after John busted on a short stack. Sitting to my left was Jon Novak, Shekar, Papa Z, Pyxis, Dana, Special K, John Thevenin, Josh and Malcolm.

During the 400/800 level, I donked off 12k to Josh on a bluff. To his credit, he made a great call on the river with third pair on an Ace-high board. The very next hand, I look down at pocket Aces. John Thevenin raises to 2400 and I reraise to 5300. He counts out his stack and moves all in for over 20k more. I call and my Aces hold against AK. With 64k, I have roughly 45 percent of the chips in play and am in prime position to win the tournament.

During the 600/1200 level, I’m UTG with JsTs and raise to 2700. Jon Novak moves all in for 10900 total and I double him up when I’m unable to crack pocket Kings. Jon would bust a short time later, however, which meant...

Cmdr. Data: “Ladies and gentlemen, we are on the bubble. The next player out gets NOTHING.”

Josh held a huge chip lead (~80k), leaving me (45k), Pyxis (~10k) and Papa Z (~10k) trailing behind. I was content to let him bully the shorties, but they kept folding. Finally, Papa Z put his tournament life at risk with pocket sixes against Josh’s pocket tens, but spiked a six on the flop to survive. Josh continued to raise most hands and my stack was getting smaller.

1000/2000 - Josh raises to 6k from the button. I look down at AK and smooth call. Flop A 8 4. Josh calls my 6k bet. Turn [A 8 4] J. I have 14k left in my stack but decide to bet another 6k. Josh calls. River [A 8 4 J] 5. I check, fearing Josh is holding AJ and turned 2-pair. Sure enough, Josh puts me all in. With only 8k left and so much money in the pot, I feel like I can’t fold. I’m dismayed to see Josh does have 2 pair, but spiked it on the river holding the 8s5s. Josh said he would have folded if I went all in for 14k on the turn instead of betting 6k.

I was pretty steamed for bubbling this tournament, but I really should have been eliminated much sooner had Pyxis called that all in with her set of fives. Funny enough, Josh should have been eliminated before the first break, but lucked into the win after John’s dealing gaffe.

Speaking of which, what would YOU have done if you were the Tournament Director?

I asked several CPMG hosts and all of us would have done something different. One would have awarded the the pot to John because his one card was enough to beat Josh’s hand. Another would have awarded the pot to Josh, but wouldn’t have forced John to call his 9k all in.

Matt Savage, on the other hand, had the following to say about the situation:

New Tournament Chips, Tables and Chairs

When I first started hosting poker tournaments, I didn’t have a great job. I had young kids to take care of, a car lease that I was scrambling to pay for each month and an astronomical rent payment. I barely even had money to play poker, but had one table that fit in my apartment living room and a set of 2,000 9g Super Diamond tournament chips that did not have denominations printed on them. They did the trick, but after years of constantly reminding people which color represented what, I finally purchased a legitimate tournament set - 1,200 Claysmith 13.5g Desert Heat chips (pictured) with palm trees printed in the center.

Claysmith 13.5g Desert Heat Tournament Chips

I bought them via ThePokerStore.com and I couldn’t be happier with their service. When I emailed them with questions, they responded almost instantly. When I finally bought the tournament set, they arrived on my doorstep within 2 days. What a ridiculously fast turnaround!

That same day, I drove out to Terry’s house in Seville, OH to pick up the Playboy table (pictured in background below) he agreed to sell me along with Data's hand-me-down CPMG table (pictured in front).

Now that Dana and I have our own house, we have more than enough room in our basement to fit all three tables. The last item on the shopping list was folding chairs. An old colleague of mine works for W.B. Mason and sold me 6 padded and 4 non-padded chairs that were leftover in his warehouse. I'm pretty sure I have enough chairs in the house for 27 player tournaments. The new chip set, tables and chairs were a $400 investment, but it's been one that I've been wanting to make for a long time.

Now I'm anxious to host a game...

Julie’s $40/$40/$40 - 7/7/2018

I felt very confident entering this tournament. It was $40 to enter with one $40 rebuy option before the 1st break and a $40 add-on option during the first break. Given the 25k starting stack, 30 minute levels and the 20k add on that I knew most of the participants would take advantage of, there was going to be a LOT of chips in play. I mentally prepared myself for a long day of poker.

There were 24 runners (three 8-handed tables) and my opening table was Stephen Germani, Mike Murray, Julie, myself, Grayday, Benjamin Licata, Brian Rieg and Pyxis. Julie was on my right and this would be my first time playing with Steve G, Mike, Ben and Brian Rieg.

I kept a running log of every level of the tournament, but to my surprise two-thirds of it was missing when I went to retrieve it from my email drafts this morning on my phone. Talk about serious tilt! Ugh... here a few hands that I remember from the first half of the tournament:

In Level 2 (50/100), I picked up QQ and 3-bet Julie's initial pre-flop raise. She called and we saw a flop of 9 8 4. I led out for 1400 and she folded pocket twos. A bit later, Julie raised again pre-flop and I 3-bet from position with the 4c2c. She called and we saw a flop 6 5 3. Once again, I bet with my straight and she ended up folding. I could tell she was annoyed that I kept 3-betting her and that we'd be mixing it up plenty throughout the tournament.

In Level 3 (75/150), I took the liberty of 3-betting Julie's 400 chip raise with pocket Jacks. She immediately 4-bet me from 1200 to 3400 and I called. The flop brought J T X, giving me a set of Jacks. Julie bet and I merely called to see the [J T X] Q turn. She instantly went all in and I didn't really take much time to call. Sure, AK was a realistic holding given her actions pre-flop, but this was a rebuy tournament and I had her well covered by about 10k. She flipped over 9-8 off for the low end of the straight and it held when the river did not pair the board or give me the case Jack.

I lost my remaining chips a short time later and elected to rebuy (20k). I quickly ran it up to 30k after winning a couple showdowns against Pyxis. In one hand, I made two-pair with 5d4d. In the other hand, I flopped a flush draw with As8s and rivered an Ace. She bluffed on the river when she missed the same flush draw (9s7s).

I elected to add on at the break for an additional 20k chips to bring my stack to 51k.

After the break, a familiar face (Conundrum) joins the table, but I am moved to a different table that features Dave A, Cheryl, Brian Rieg (who I clashed with several times at my original table), Kathy Ellis and Tina. I took about 30k off of Dave A when my pocket Jacks hold at showdown on a ten-high board. It didn’t help that I gave those chips right back to a Brian Rieg, who moved all in for 20k with Jc2c. I immediately called from the big blind and had him dominated with my pocket Jacks, but of course he rivered the flush. Dave, Kathy and Tina all had massive stacks at this table and I couldn’t get enough momentum to eclipse the 80k mark.

Fortunately, I was able to make the final table of 8 with 62000. The table features Julie, Tina, Kathy Ellis, myself, Dave A, Brian Rieg, Benjamin Licata and Rob Bell. Julie, Rob and Dave A had massive stacks -- Dave probably had a third of the chips in play, somewhere north of 300k. After spending a few hands splashing around in pots that I shouldn't have been in, I fall below the 40k mark and things are looking grim.

Here is what I was able to retrieve from my running log:

1000/2000 (2000 ante*) - I'm the dealer and my position at the far end of the table makes it difficult to deliver the cards to people sitting opposite of me. Unfortunately, Rob Bell's second card flips over when I deliver it to him -- the Ace of spades. He sends it back in disgust and I feel bad, but the Ace now serves as the burn card. Even after my dealing gaffe, Rob still raises and Julie calls. I look down at QQ on the button and push all in. Rob says he folded AJ and would have had pocket Aces if I didn't accidentally expose his original card. I end the level with 59000.

*The big blind is responsible for paying the ante. This is a huge time-saver and we don't have to remind multiple people to post their ante every hand.

1200/2400 (2400) - Rob raises to 6k. Julie, Tina and Cathy call, but my read on all four of these players makes me believe none of them are holding a strong enough hand to call a huge re-raise. I look down at 87 off-suit and push all in for 59000 and everyone mucks. I normally don't show my cards, but I flip over the 87 and this flusters the table. Rob says he folded AQ and will not fold to a re-raise from me again after 3-betting him twice. A bit later, I call a raise from the small blind with QT. I flop two-pair and pick up a decent pot before ending the level with 85000.

1500/3000 (3000) - We're now on the money bubble of the tournament after Brian Rieg, Kathy Ellis and Rob Bell head to the rail. Unfortunately, I lose a significant portion of my stack due to a combination of missed flops, draws and the huge antes. I'm down to 30k -- by far the shortest stack at the table. It's not particularly close either, as everyone else is sitting on at least 150k.

I limped in from the small blind with 87 off-suit in a community pot. The flop is 5 4 X and it checks around. Turn [5 4 X] 6. I'm at a table full of aggressive bettors, so I check my nut straight. Dave bets 7500 and Julie and Tina both call. I move all in for 28000 total and Tina calls with 67. My straight holds up and I end the level with 87500.

2000/4000 (4000) - After losing 10k of my stack from paying the blinds and ante, I'm on the button with Th7h and limp in. Dave raises to 16000 from the small blind and I'm the only caller. His bet is a quarter of my stack, but I have position and Th7h is a deceptive hand that I know he won't put me on. I just need to hit the flop, which comes 8 8 7. Dave immediately goes all in, which seems out of character based on my previous interactions with him. My initial read is that he has overs, but I take some time to think about the hand. It's the money bubble and I've already played 9 hours. I'd really hate to go home with nothing. I also remember Dave just lost a huge pot (over 100k) to Benjamin and might be steaming a bit. We banter back and forth and he makes a comment about being confident his hand is better than mine... so I call my remaining 50000 with my tournament life at risk. Sure enough, he flips over AQo and I fade his over cards to double up.

A few hands later, I'm on the button again and raise to 11k with pocket Tens. Dave goes all in for 84000 and I take a minute to count my stack. I have him covered by about 15k. I decide to call and he turns over pocket Kings. This is the only time the whole tournament where I've gotten my money in bad. I don't even look at the flop as it is dealt, but everyone's reaction tells me I hit a set. Dave is visibly upset and berates me a bit about the Th7h hand and the one that knocked him out of the tournament on the bubble. I didn't take it personally, as I'm extremely proud of the T7 call. The Kings vs. Tens hand is what it is... and I'm sure he's gotten lucky once or twice in a tournament or two.

We’re in the money now and I end the level with 164k.

2500/5000 (5000) - Not much to report in this level besides a decent hand against Tina. With AxTd, the board brings four diamonds and my ten flush plays over Tina's flush to the 9d. I end the level with 190500.

3000/6000 (6000) - With pocket 3's, I get it all in against Julie vs. her pocket Tens. I bink a trey on the flop, but she rivers a Ten for a higher set to knock me out of the tournament.

4th place paid $220, a $100 profit from my $120 investment. While a higher finish in the tournament would have been more fulfilling, I had a blast playing this deeper stack format and felt I played my best poker in years. It was great meeting all the players I haven't met in the Cleveland Poker Meetup Group, especially Benjamin, who is a really nice 21 year old that is new to the CPMG and a pretty solid player. Hopefully we see more of him at future games.

Quick SNG & Rebuy Recap

A couple quick tournament recaps:

On 6/16/18, I hosted a last minute $40 Sit&Go that featured Dana, Doug Poker, Special K, Yosh and several other CPMGers that you know and love. Unfortunately, it ended up being a night that really tested my (and probably many others) patience. For one, I couldn’t stop coughing. It was one of those really dry coughs that came out more as a bark than a cough. My apologies for putting everyone through that. Second, a player that shall not be named was way too drunk to be playing poker. There is nothing more annoying than a player who slows the game down, doesn’t pay attention to the action and verbally berates other players. The next day, that player apologized and was extremely embarrassed for their behavior that night. Apologies and thanks to those who put up with it. Anyway, 10 players participated and we paid Top 3, which ended up being Kirsten ($200), myself ($120) and Krazy Joe ($80).

On 6/30/18, I was planning to attend Julie’s tournament but she was under the weather and couldn’t host. I contemplated hosting another game, but Doza posted a $20+$5 Rebuy Bounty tournament at a tattoo shop in Parma Hts. I decided to attend and ended up collecting the bounty of the owner of the tattoo shop owner, but busted after 2 or so hours of play. Call me a poker snob, but there was a lot of novice players at my table who slowed down the game considerably when it was their turn to deal and act. I ended up taking over dealer duties and it was difficult to pick up chips and the cards on the white folding table that we played on. Needless to say, it was yet another instance where my patience was tested, and subsequently affected my play.

Julie’s $60 Ironman - 6/8/2018

For those unaware, an Ironman tournament has no scheduled breaks. You can leave the table at any time, but you risk losing your blinds if you’re away from the table. My opening table was Cheryl, Missy, Twitch, Colleen, Julie, Bruce, Shekar (new to poker and the CPMG), Todd, David Lee and me in the 10 seat. 13000 chips to start.

25/50 - Bruce raises to 150. Another person calls and I call on the button with 63o. Flop is 63X, giving me two pair. He leads out for 350 and I’m the only caller. I don’t want to get crazy without seeing the Turn and River. Turn is a blank. Bruce bets 800 and I call. The River blanks again, with no straight or flush possibilities. Bruce bets 1500 and this is a big enough bet for me, in the first level no less, to be cautious in case he’s made a better hand. I just call and he turns over pocket Aces. I show him my two pair and rake in a sizable pot. I end the level with 15625.

50/100 - I continued to play position throughout this level, but missed all my draws with hands like 54ss and 87o. I end the level with 13100.

75/150 - From the cutoff, I call a raise of 400 with AQdd. The flop is J34 with two diamonds. Todd M leads for 800 and I flat call. Turn [J 3 4] 4d. This completes my flush but pairs the board. Todd checks and folds to my 1500 bet.

A bit later, I limp in from middle position with K7ss. Cheryl raises to 600, Missy calls and I tag along. Flop K87, with two diamonds. I check. Cheryl leads for 1100 and Missy calls with about 7-8k behind. After considering my options, I re-raise to 4000. Cheryl goes all in for more than I have left. Missy folds, leaving me with pretty easy decision (to also fold). With two cards to come, I do think AA or AK are possibilities. Maybe A8dd, giving her mid pair and a flush draw? There are some hands that I’m beating and with Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Cavs and Warriors starting soon, I wouldn’t be too upset if I was sent home early. It doesn’t take me long to make a VERY loose call, and I’m really not surprised to see her set of 8’s. The Turn and River are no help to me and I’m on my way home after an hour at the felt.

Julie’s Rebuy Tournament ($60+$20) - 6/2/2018

16000 tournament chips to start with 15 players. 20 minutes levels. Opening table is Big Country, Dave A, Mick, me, Nicole, Colleen and Dave P. I have never played with the Daves, Mick or Colleen before. 

25/50 - I was fairly involved this level, trying to see some cheap flops. I end the level with 16175.

50/100 - Dave P opens for 300. I re-raise on the button w 98o. On an Ace-high flop, I bet 1100 and he calls. Turn is a [A X X] 9 with three hearts on board. We both check. River is no help to me.Dave bets 3k and I fold my pair of nines. 

Meats joins table. I end the level with 13075.

75/150 - From UTG+1, I raise to 525 with pocket Jacks and get 2 callers. Flop Q88, two clubs. I lead for 600 and am quickly re-raised to 2500 and fold. I end the level with 11425.

100/200 - I call a 3-way pot with A9 on the button. Flop A97. I bet 500 and get one caller. Turn A. I bet 1k and Colleen folds.

Nicole raises to 1k UTG. 3 callers so I call in BB w A8cc. Flop 864 2 hearts. She leads for 2000 and we all fold. I end the level with 10425.

150/300 - KJcc in mid position, I min-raise to 600 and get 3 callers. Flop 762, 2 clubs. Action checks around to Meat on the button who bets 1200. I call. Turn [7 6c 2c] A. We both check. River 7c completes my flush. I bet 2400 and Meat folds. I end the level with 12975

200/400 - KQhh UTG, I min-raise to 800 and get two callers. Flop Q Xh Xh, two hearts. I lead for 1500 and get one caller. Turn is a blank, but I bet 2500 and he folds. I end the level with 16100 - 100 chips over what I started with.

*BREAK*

300/600 - I’m in the small blind the first hand back from break with T8cc. Meat raises to 1600 and I’m only caller. Flop is JTX. We both check. Turn [J T X] 2. We both check again. River [J T X 2] J. I bet 1500. Meat calls and mucks when I show my Ten. Next hand, I have A5o on the button and min-raise. Meat is only caller in the big blind. We both check down to the river and both show a pair of fives, but my kicker plays.

400/800 - The cutoff raises to 2000 and I’m the only caller on the button with TT. Flop TXX, two spades. Dave A leads for 2600 and I flat call. Turn is a blank. Dave leads for 3600 and I flat call again River is the Qs, putting 3 spades on the board. Dave checks and I bet 4000. He deliberated for a minute before folding. I show the Ten of diamonds and he says he had me beat. Winning that pot put me at a much healthier 28700 in chips. Unfortunately, I lost a AQo vs AK showdown against Big Country a few hands later and end the level with 23300.

500/1000 - We combine to the final table of 9 with 17 min left in the level. Meat, Big Country, Dave A, Julie, Dave P, me, Randy, Tom Gross and Mick. I sit tight for a few hands to feel out the table, but with 5 minutes remaining in level, I call a raise of 2700 with JJ in a four-way pot. Flop is 745, two hearts. The initial raiser leads for 3500. Me and Big Country call. Turn is [7 4 5] K. BC and I fold to another bet. Dave A shows pocket Aces and I’m down to 14100. Last hand of level, I limp UTG with JJ with the intention of moving all in if someone raised. Randy obliges immediatley, tossing out three yellow 1000 chips. Everyone else folds, I shove, he snaps w AKhh. The flop is rags with 2 hearts, giving Randy a ton of outs. Fortunately, my Jacks hold and I double up over 30k.

600/1200 - I get pocket Jacks again (third time this tournament) but lose a chunk of my stack. A bit later, I limp with QJo from mid position. Dave A raises to 4400 total from the big blind and I call with position. Flop is JT2. He leads for 4500 and I flat. Turn is another Jack, giving me trips. He checks and I go all in for 14300. He looks disgusted and folds. I end the level with 32300.

800/1600 - Card dead and end the level with 28600.

1000/2000 - Another uneventful level. I think I saw T5o about four times. I did get pocket fives on the button in a limped 4-way pot and won a showdown that was checked all the way to the river. I end the level with 25300.

1200/2400 - K5dd in BB. With 3 limpers ahead of me, I go all in for about 20k more and they all fold. I show my K5 as I rake in a much needed 7200 in chips. Unfortunately, I saw flops with KJss and JTss and missed both times. I end the level with 20000 and am the short stack at the table.

*BREAK* - There are 6 players left in the tournament. 3 get paid with $450 for first place. I still haven’t collected any bounties.

1500/3000 - Meat raises UTG to 7500. Big Country re-raises to 18000, which is basically all I have left. With pocket Jacks (4th time), I have a tough decision to make. I’m short-stacked at a 6-handed table, but both are strong players who raised from early position. After a minute of deliberation, I toss my hand into the muck, knowing both players wouldn’t be messing around with a couple of short stacks at the table. Maybe I should have called given my chip count and my strong holding at a short-handed table? Let me know what you would have done in the Comments.

Down to 15500, I move all in with AJhh. Mick, who has been playing very tight all evening, snap-calls with KK for less than what I have (14000). The Flop is somewhat encouraging, bringing 2 hearts and a gut-shot (I need one of the 2 remaining Kings in the deck), but I end up bricking the Turn and River.

With 1500 left, I triple up with Ace-high. The next hand, I move all in UTG for 4500 with T8o. There are 4 callers (the small blind folded), which means if I win the pot, I'd have more in my stack than I started the level with. I flop a pair of tens and turn two-pair, but Meat makes a straight on the River after he shows pocket 9s. I'm eliminated in 6th place, 3 spots from the money.

It was an up-and-down tournament for me overall. I was pleased with my play in Level 1 but disappointed with the way I played in Levels 2-5, up until the first break. After the first break, I thought I played much better. Despite the poor finish, I really enjoyed myself and gained some confidence back after 8 months away from the felt.

Now that we've gotten some repairs done to the new house, I should be able to start hosting some games in the weeks/months to come.