Blood

A poker tournament.

$4 buy-in, 180 person sit'n'go, 215$ first place, 18 get paid, I got 4th. Those are the particulars. I think part of my strength as a poker player is being able to scrutinize my own play effectively. I made 2 smart plays and 2 bad plays over the almost 4 hours that I played, and it cost me winning more money.

Bad Move #1
I was in the small blind with 55 people left, and I was below average stack wise, but not low. I had been unsuccessful at stealing blinds, and I decided that I needed these blinds to start building back up. So when it was folded back to me, I pushed with 10/3. And I got called by the big blind, who had 9/q. I rivered a ten to double up, but what a bad play. I was impatient and it should have busto'd me in 55th. Luck.

Good Move #1
19 people left. On the bubble of making the money. I'm in 11th, and comfortable. I wind up in this hand with another guy that doesn't feel right, and I'm afraid I'm going to lose my stack. I have k/9 and the board reads k/6/2/6/9. The way the guy was betting didn't tell me anything, and when he shoved on the river, I was stuck. I tanked, and thought for at least a minute (half hoping someone else at another table would bust in the meantime) before folding. The guy flashed a 6, and refused to believe me when I said I had k/9.

Good Move #2
9 players left, and I'm excited that I'm actually going to make money. I'm in 4th. I see q/8 on the dealer button, and everyone folds to me. So i raise, and the big blind calls. The flop comes j/5/4, and the big blind bets out. I had played with him for over an hour, and eventually decided he was trying to steal. So I raised, and he folded to my resteal. With that hand I set a standard of stealing that would put me into first and give me a great shot.

Bad Move #2
4 people left, and the top 3 make decent money. My aim was for top 3. In 2nd place, I got into an unraised hand with the chip leader and the last place guy. I had j/q. flop comes 8/10/q. I think that because I was basically invincible until this point, I thought I could win the hand. I bet, CL raised, I thought and shoved. He instacalled with j/9, and I didn't improve. Patience would have been so much smarter, and the next hand someone else went busto. 2 hands, and the difference between me making 60$ or a lot more.

'home again, I like to be here when I can'