The Poker Aquarium

I've picked up a torrent for this volume, message if you'd like to know where to get it.

Team-Points
Mike-22809.8451
Brian-22452.8027
Marshall-22037.10101
Tad-21461.53725
Team Studly-20195.09367

Alright. So I have a no-deposit 1x $25 PartyCasino bonus available and give it a try. Playing $1 ante/$1 pair plus in Three Card Poker I play a little and breakeven. Then I realize I needed to click something to activate the bonus so those bets don't count and I have to start over. Oh well, maybe I'll hit something big I'm thinking and then 5c6c7c straight flush. If only I was betting more then a dollar... Including the bonus I make a nice $71 in about 3 minutes!

Going into the main event, here are the standings...
Blogger won't let me just paste in the table w/o causing issues, excuse the gap.

Team	Points
Brian	20685.12628
Mike	19411.06417
Marshall	19376.41696
Tad	18296.87024
Team Studly	17372.33853

Marshall
------------------

John Juanda
Chris Ferguson
Daniel Negreanu
Mike Mizrachi
Howard Lederer
Erick Lindgren
Phil Hellmuth
Julian Gardner
Gavin Smith
TJ Cloutier
Ram Vaswani
Ted Forrest
Johnny Chan
Mike Matusow
Erik Seidel
John D'Agostino
Barry Greenstein
Allen Cunningham
Robert Williamson
Scott Fischman
Harry Demetriou
Cindy Violette
Phil Ivey
Brian Haveson
Todd Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Marcel Luske
Mark Seif
Layne Flack
Men Nguyen

Tad
------------------

Chris Ferguson
Phil Ivey
Phil Hellmuth
Doyle Brunson
Johnny Chan
Layne Flack
Ted Forrest
Allen Cunningham
Men Nguyen
John Juanda
Mike Mizrachi
Freddie Deeb
Michael Gracz
Gavin Smith
Devilfish Ulliot
Chad Brown
David Chiu
Scott Fischman
Daniel Negreanu
Marcel Luske
John Hennigan
Max Pescatori
Patrick Antonius
Erik Seidel
John D'Agostino
Brett Jungblut
Kenna James
Joe Sebok
Robert Mizrachi
Robert Williamson

"Team Studly" aka Chris' 'homosexual slurs'
------------------

Mike Mizrachi
Barry Greenstein
Allen Cunningham
Phil Ivey
Todd Brunson
Chris Ferguson
Daniel Negreanu
TJ Cloutier
John Juanda
Sam Farha
Josh Arieh
Erick Lindgren
Patrick Antonius
Freddie Deeb
Mark Seif
Michael Gracz
Dan Harrington
Alan Goehring
Johnny Chan
Scott Fischman
Brett Jungblut
Erik Seidel
Huck Seed
Gus Hansen
JC Tran
Hoyt Corkins
Layne Flack
Mike Matusow
Phil Hellmuth
Doyle Brunson

Mike
------------------

Gavin Smith
Chris Ferguson
Tuan Le
John Juanda
Allen Cunningham
Mike Mizrachi
Phil Hellmuth
Daniel Negreanu
Erik Seidel
Ted Forrest
Chad Brown
Men Nguyen
Scotty Nguyen
Harry Demetriou
David Williams
Jennifer Harmon
Annie Duke
Howard Lederer
Carlos Mortenson
Johnny Chan
Greg Raymer
An Tran
Mihn Nguyen
Phil Laak
Antonio Esfandiari
Doyle Brunson
Darrell Dicken
Barry Johnston
Scott Fischman
Mike Matusow

Brian
------------------

Dan Harrington
Phil Hellmuth
Greg Raymer
Chris Ferguson
Scotty Nguyen
Mike Mizrachi
Phil Ivey
Daniel Negreanu
John Juanda
Erick Lindgren
Minh Ly
Sam Farha
Howard Lederer
Men Nguyen
Barry Greenstein
Phil Gordon
Prahlad Friedman
David Williams
John Phan
John D'Agostino
Dustin Woolf
Doyle Brunson
Joe Hachem
Erik Seidel
Jennifer Harmon
Mike Matusow
Darrell Dicken
Cliff Josephy
Brett Jungblut
Gus Hansen

The rules, we're using Pokerstar's TLB formula to determine points (minus the 15% rule) for those that cash WSOP events. If you go here you'll find an Excel sheet to calculate TLB points. All WSOP events count except the super satellite, employee, media, ladies events and the 'second chance' events that follow the main event.

You will pick 30 players and split them into three tiers of 10. The top tier will earn you 100% of their TLB points The second tier: 85% and the third tier: 70%. After everything it tallied, highest point total per team is the winner.

IM me with your lists and I'll tell you where to email them. I prefer the lists in Excel or Word but that's not required. I'll try to update things regularly on here.

No stakes, just a lot of bragging rights.

What to do with it though? Should I play in the 160 double shootout? Invest the 160 into two 80$ satellites to the 650? Invest in the 33+R or maybe even the smaller rebuys to the 650. I guess I'm asking what's my best option to qualify for the main event?

I have tomorrow off and then my schedule is locked for a week.

Opinions?

Sorry everyone, but you are all drawing dead to the poker prowess that is Juliane. She was basically the only one to pick winners in the round of 16 and round of 8 and that left everyone else WAY behind. She is standing here doing the "I can't believe I WON I WON I WON" happy dance. I didn't total up everyone's score but most people have about 25 points. Juliane has 43. So everyone send $2 to jul_dea on pokerstars.

And just to rub it in, she didn't know who 90% of the players were. She adds though that had she known that Ferguson was the Jesus guy, she would have picked him to go even further.

I love poker. Poker nice.


--Tad

Hes not in the money pool because he was preoccupied before, but these are his pics just so we can make fun of him.

After the first round, the results are:

Tad- 16 !!!!
Juliane, CornellDad and BMW 17 (you all suck)

Marshall - 20 BOO!


Nobody's pick to win made it out of the first round alive.

My folks combined for these pics. They are in.

These are Juliane's picks with no help from me at all. Shes in the pool.

Good luck

Click me!

Site was being dumb and won't let me upload pics, so I tossed it on my website.
(edited out so it didn't push the page)

Good luck everyone.

So this snuck up on me... thought I still had a week. 64 Man National Heads up Tourney starts today/tomorrow. Anyone who has ever entered a march madness pool knows how this works. Fill out the bracket (either type it in text or download image and use MS paint like me) and post your bracket picks. Points are awarded 1 pt for correct first round picks, 2 for 2nd, 4 for 3rd, 6 for 4th 8 for 5th and 14 points if you pick the winner.

This starts soon so don't dally. We are using the honor system, so if you don't find this until after the tourney starts, but havn't looked up results you can still post. We are all friends here.

Entry fee is $2, winner take all (unless we someone get a ton of people which I don't think will happen since I'm arranging this so late. If a ton somehow enter it will be like 75/25). Tell everyone, hopefully BMW, Hoax, Bidzior and everyone else that I havn't been able to get ahold of that might be interested sees this in time. Tell your friends :-p

And please enter this so I don't feel really dumb for posting and not getting any response.


Tad

frostyc was playing pretty aggressive with lots of raises brought in, showing some bluffs. I sat with position on him. I neutralized him pretty well but he did bust a short stack with a pretty good hand and then this conversation ensued. I've bolded the funnier parts.

tm1313ri: pitiful player regardless
frostyc: me??
frostyc: pokerdb smart guy
kidici428: f uck the poker db....check mine on the poker db...its good 2....pokerstars decides who's good and who isnt
kidici428: its all fixed so they make more
moneytm1313ri: if that is true then why play?
kidici428: there is no other way to explain all this s hit that happens
kidici428: because every now and then its your day

kidici428: im serious think about it...a month ago i made 3 ft's in 2 days...very confident...played alot all the sudden....bam its all gone
BoBtheMule: yeah... that's definately pokerstars

kidici428: earlier tonight i flopped 3 queens put 450 in pre flop...guy called with ace -7...flop is like i said queen 3 6 rainbow
kidici428: runner runner clubs i lose
frostyc: that is poker
frostyc: players are alot looser here
tm1313ri: at times it seems like it isn't
frostyc: no doubt

kidici428: no thats f uckin pokerstars fixin a hand helpin a moron so he plays
BoBtheMule: do you play much live at the casino?
frostyc: have you ever played live???
frostyc: crap happens all the time
kidici428: no casino's near me.....alot of home games
tm1313ri: not sure if it is the numberof hands we see
kidici428: right....but on the last hand....ace 8 out flopped pocket jacks
BoBtheMule: that's poker
BoBtheMule: 1 outta 3 times that's gonna happen w/ JJ vs. an ace
BoBtheMule: you notice the previous hand... an ace flopped and I didn't sweat my jacks

tm1313ri: i play foxwoods and i never see the bad beats i see here
tm1313ri: makes you wonder
frostyc: way more callers here
tm1313ri: we're trusting a fckg program
kidici428: dude im tellin ya one day another site will actually take the same poker format pokerstars has....will use a diffrent rng....and pokerstars will be no more
frostyc: plus there are no .25/.50 tables anywhere
tm1313ri: lot of callers live games
tm1313ri: evenat 10/20
BoBtheMule: indeed

frostyc: just forget itf
rostyc: its gambling
tm1313ri: hmmmm

kidici428: and the program is rigged....if someone who just clicks buttons comes in and pokerstars sees that whats stopping them from droppin a few cards here or there so they make a few bucks then oops...oh man i lost...well i did good the one day so ill just
kidici428: put a little more on....then it all goes from there

kidici428: and here is one more thing......ever notice that slight pause before the 3 outer?

frostyc: WHY ARE YOU HERE??
kidici428: why are you here?
frostyc: why deposit money if it is rigged??
BoBtheMule: actually I'm more concerned about the seat your filling
BoBtheMule: either rebuy or leave
kidici428: i belive i could go to sleep and stay here if i want....im not...thats why im not back in the game
kidici428: HAHAHAHA....make me
BoBtheMule: I'd prefer you rebuy

good stuff...

Havn't been running well. THought I'd keep track of how I'm losing to see if I can detect any real big patterns. Comments welcome.

$50 Match-Loss when A5 loses to KJ for almost all the chips in play (I had him covered)

$50 Match Win

$50 Match win

$50 Match - Won
Sucked out on last hand when I flopped top pair with K9 vs J8 on KJ8 board. Opponent was a move in specialist, and so when he moved in I thought it was an easy call. I hit a K though, and it was over. I had him outchipped like 2250-750.

$50 Match - lost
First hand AA he raises I reraise, he foldsNext hand KK I raise he reraises, I raise to 700 and he pushes with AQ, QQ7 flop.
Left with me 80 chips which I built upto 400 before getting allin with 55 vs Q8 and he made 2 pair.

$50 Match- lost
Got allin AT vs AK and lost a big pot... yeah gameover.

$50 Match lost
AQ vs 33 Q on flop, bet he calls. 3 on turn and we get allin.

$50 Match-Won
T8s vs 45 ... priceless
First hand I runner runnered a flush against the flopped nut straight http://www.pokerhand.org/?241038

4 man $50 match
1st round- win
big hand was 53 vs 23 on A45 flop. He checked flop, turn was a 5 he bet min, I raised a tiny bit he called. River was a 3 giving me a boat I bet a lot and he called.
Last hand I raised to 60 preflop with 9T, he called. 952 flop with 2 clubs and he moved in first to act. He had Q3o total bluff and my hand held up.
2nd Round- Lost
Was a half hour battle. Had him down early and got allin with pair and flush draw but his top pair held.
Took a hit with top two vs trips, down to like 1000, battled back to take the lead when the blinds were high and I flopped top pair with Q9 vs KK and that left me with a few chips and I went out a couple hands later.

$50 HU match... sigh lost
J8 vs K9 all the money went in on turn J925K

$50 HU Match... Win
Nothing real exciting. Ground him down. He liked to raise strongly preflop then passively from then on. He was convinced I was bluffing a lot towards the end so was able to get some good value bets. Last had was A9 vs 55 and I hit a 9. He only had 450 to start.

$50 HU Match- Loss
Got allin with Queen high flush draw vs AK high flush drawFlush got there

$50 HU Match vs same guy- Loss
http://www.pokerhand.org/?241133

76% on Flop

86% on Turn

Lose. Doubled up and then got allin with AT vs A5 to complete the whatever-fecta.
I think I'll play some sudoku now.

$150 down plus rake. Blech.

Dear bjybjy,
You finished the tournament in 19th place.
A $0.62 award has been credited to your Real Money account.


You earned 49.08 tournament leader points in this tournament.For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at http://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.html



Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

-$500 on the day at the moment. Been a beat your head against the wall kinda day.

Lost a match against a huge dick who was talking shit before and after the last hand. He raised A9, I called with 89 flop was 78T we get allin and he hits running aces to win.

Played a huge fish at a $100 match. Got him down to 300. He limped and I put him allin with ATs and he insta called with 57o. Yeah 57! 75476 board. Two hands later I doubled him with 88 vs his KK (he raises and I put him allin and he took forever to call with KK.. slow rolling dickhead). Then like 4 hands after that he raised the minimum which he did about every hand, and I called with K9. Board came A92AA and of course he had the case ace and I doubled him again. A few hands later he busted me when I was short and he raised AA, I flopped a pair and moved in. He again did the real cute slowroll with AA.

He was really bad though and I was pretty confident I could beat him so when he sat at a $200 HU table it was a pretty easy choice to sit with him. Ugh! Like 5 minutes in, he raises T4o and the board came something like TJ2TT and I had a Jack, doubled him again. I still had chips and doubled when he called my allin with K3. Then the last hand I raise A9, he calls with Q9. Flop is 78T. I bet out quite a bit of my stack and he calls. Turn is a Jack and we get allin and I"m drawing dead to a chop. No dice.

In like 15 minutes I got quads over my boat twice and nut straight vs my 2nd nut straight. Killer.

I took a break after that and came back. Won my first match. 2nd one was a marathon. I got short and moved in literally like 30 times wihout getting called. Finally the blinds were at 50/100 and I had 1300 chips. Guy limped I moved in with A8, he calls with A3 and flop is A3x. Done.

Just now I played my next/last match of the night. I got allin on turn as an 88% favorite and got outdrawn. Not my best day.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?202644

Poker sucks, lol

Been playing some poker again after about a week off. My grandfather has been in bad shape since a bad car crash on Christmas eve, and actually passed away early this morning. Both the loss and timing were bad for my family, but at least grandpa wasn't in pain, and he won't have to fight his cancer anymore.

I've only played maybe an hour or so all week till today when I thought it'd be good to take my mind off things. I played 4 $100 matches today, and I've won all 4. My 4th match was my 60th since I moved up to $100 matches.

My results through the first 30 matches was in the black, but not by a whole lot at 17 wins 13 losses. Don't get me wrong I'll take it, but I'm looking for a higher winning %. I felt that quite a few of the wins were due to bad beats, but some could have easily been avoided.

The last 30 matches have been better though, and I'm 23-7 over that stretch. I feel I'm coming up with a pretty optimum strategy for these heads up matches. Keep the pots small when you are raising strong hands, and raise a little more often than you think you should. Control the pot size, stay aggressive (including calling down when you think you are ahead even if not strong) and you'll win a lot.

$T buying has been going great. Still have over $5000 in T$ and they increase my overall profits by about $8-9 per match, win or lose.

Starting January first as you all probably know stars is starting their VIP program and I'm gonna try and bust my ass and get gold status. I'll have to play 160 matches in January to qualify, or about 5 a day. Should be a fun challange, and at this rate I'd expect about $7000 profit for the month, so wish me luck. At this rate it will only take me about 40 years for the porsche, so hopefully they are still cool when I'm 65. hehe

Good flops in the new year, all!


Cheers,
Tad

I was checking out a list of blacklisted poker and casino sites and came across some disturbing news.

"Pokertropolis is blacklisted because they use poker bots (computerized players run by the house) at their tables. Their management denies this, but anyone who plays there will realize that they are not playing against human opponents. "

Can you believe a poker site is using bots? The site is pretty solid, don't see them making that up. Now while that is one thing... what Joyland Casino did is horrible. I'm just going "Oh My God" throughout.

One poster says, "The problem is that Joyland Casino has changed my transaction history and he has deleted my withdrawal request of 4529 and substituted it for another of only 500 euros (my original deposit), this is the amount that I have received into my neteller account, only 500 of my 4529 withdrawal requested.I have been talking with the casino's support but they have not tell me anything."

Other people have the same complaint. "I have had the same problem with Joyland with my initial deposit made on 8/4. They adjusted my withdraw request of about $1500 down to $500, my deposit amount."

We're talking thousands of dollars stolen from individual accounts. "The total estimated owed to players ranges from $100,000 to half a million."

"I signed up to their casino on the 4th of August and deposited $500 and did receive an $808 signup bonus. I played some video poker (allowed by their terms) and had a very good run, then played blackjack (also allowed) and had some more very good luck. I made some cashouts that night just over ten thousand USD. I also played well over their required wagering for the bonus, and it was removed from my account on cashout.much to my suprise they simply refunded my $500 deposit, and locked out my account. I have not been able to login to the casino since 8/5, and have received minimal support."

Oh my god. 9500 stolen. They won't let you cash out your winnings. They only give you back your deposit. On top of that there are reports that they have altered transaction histories to make it appear as if you didn't actually win anything.

"I did contact the casino CS. They said there was a bug in their system, and so they were voiding all wins for that day. Deposits were being returned instead. Somehow I don't think deposits were returned for people who busted out though."

"Today I received an offer from Joyland to give me $500 to settle the account. Considering I'm missing out on over $10,000, this figure doesn't look nearly as appealing."

What a horrible situation. I can't imagine being one of these players. If anyone wants to check out these devestating accounts, here are a couple links.

http://bonuswhores.com/blacklisted-sites.php
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/online-casino-poker-complaints/9195-joyland-casino-problem-withdrawal-request.html

I found this hilarious site while browsing fullcontactpoker forums tonight. Parodies include http://www.parttimepoker.com/poker-humor/articles/depositbonus-baby.html

"At least with frequent player points you can choose your merch, but with this you get whatever his wife happened to pop out last. Plus it's like 15 times the bonus in raked hands to clear, which is excessive."

Yes, what is the world coming to when you have to play 15x to earn a baby. I won't do this one for more than 10x.

http://www.parttimepoker.com/poker-humor/articles/tj-ripshead.htm

I especially love the punchline. Then Maksteniks uttered what would ultimately be his final words: "Sorry T.J. - but I love your book. It taught me everything I know."

Another highlight: http://www.parttimepoker.com/poker-humor/articles/aces-terrible.htm

"DID U SEE HIM CALAL [sic] WIHT [sic] THAT CRAP?! I **** HATE ACES. AA IS A ***** TERBIBLE [sic] HAND"

Apparently frustrated by the site's automatic obscenity filter which prevented other players from seeing his curses in chat, MRTITLTY proceeded to experiment with spelling and spacing variations for the following four minutes, including "PHUCKING ACES", "F_UK ACES", "AA FKUKING BLAWS." ...Love it.

As most of you know I've been buying up T$ left and right over the past couple weeks on pokerstars. Whenever I havn't been in the mood to play, I stalk the FPP and $3 tourney satellites into the $215 and offer to buy the seat for $200 or $205 cash.

So far to date I've saved $431.50 while buying $7,415.50 in T$ from folks. The money I save is basically a little bit more than the rake (which is about $353) and I'm amazed at how fast it is adding up. I'm going to continue stockpiling T$ when I'm bored because I absolutely burn through them. I used almost $1500 worth today. I look at this whole thing as free money. I would probably be playing just as much if I didn't have the T$, and since I started buying them I've saved more than a month's rent for free. I'm so stoked.

If any of you guys plan on entering some tourneys let me know and I'll sell you some T$ to cover the entry fee. I can't say you'll save a ton, but I'll sell them to you for less than face value.

Cheers,
Tad

Wow, this guy needs a valium.

http://theredpill98.blogspot.com/

Dear bidzior,

You finished the tournament in 1st place.You qualified to play in Tournament #14407693 and are automatically registered for it.

PokerStars Tournament #14704527, No Limit Hold'em Super Satellite Buy-In: $3.00
Target Tournament #14407693 Buy-In: $215.00 17 tickets to the target tournament

Another $215 victory! This one was much more intense than the last satellite. I really wish someone could've observed the ending because it was very entertaining. Thursday it was basically 3 big hands. QQ v the AKs. AK v AJ. AKv99vA10. That's really all I needed. I was pretty safe throughout the tourney. If it was a regular tournament I had a great shot at a final table and possibly maybe even score a victory. I was almost disappointed when it ended sitting there with a 100k+ stack.

Sunday's tournament was much different. It started out fairly similar. I had 16k at the first break. Near the end of the 2nd break I was over 40k in the top 5. But that is where the similarities ended. I made a couple mistakes in the first two hours that cost me a couple big pots and was never able to break away from the bubble. It was a hard-fought grind throughout the tourney. I was faced with many difficult decisions. Not easy at all. My steals were not working at all. Until the very end.

Let's go through some key hands. Third hand of the tourney I have AQ and raise a couple limpers to 120 a bunch of callers and we see a 885 flop. I fire 220 and get two calls. Not looking good. Blank on the turn and we check. Ace on the river. A small 140 bet is in front of me and I call it. He has A8. Next hand same two limp in front of my AK0 and I push. Get a call from J5c! He flops a flush draw but misses. 5k.

At the 15/30 level I have 4600 and call a raise to 160 from the BB with 78o. 4 see the flop of 9h10hJd. I check and preflop raiser makes it 480 and I push. He calls with Kh8s and misses and I double up to 8800. Very next hand I have AKo in the SB and raise a couple limpers to 270 and they both call. Flop is KJ2, 2 spades. I bet 780 and they both call. Turn is a 5 of spades and I go all in with my TPTK along with the Ace of spades. They both think forever and fold. 10.9k. Later on in the first hour my KK beats AQ to take me to 13.8k and I take the rebuy a few hands later to put me at 16.1k.

Marshall sees my first steal attempt fail as I have 78s in the BB. A MP limps and the SB limps so I think a 5x raise to 1k might do it. I am mistaken when the SB pulls his 66 and I have to fold. I get it back when I call a 3x raise with 67h. When I flop a flush draw I raise a minbet of 400 and a caller to 1600 and they both fold. Next hand I have TT raise to 600 and flop trips with a 1097 board and decide to slowplay with a check. Turn is a brick I bet 800 now he calls and the river is an Ace. I hope he has one and bet 2600 and he folds. Up to 18k. Later on I double up to 30k when his 33 is no match for AA. It was versus the same opponent I had failed to steal from earlier with the 78s in the BB. This time two limp into my BB at 200/400 blinds and I make the same raise of 5x to 2000. Exactly the same as before versus the same opponent when I folded to his rereaise. This time he calls. QQ5 rainbow, he bets 2000 and I call thinking there's not too many cards to fear if he is behind so I don't have to worry about giving away free cards. If he has a Q I am sunk. He all-ins the turn for 8400 and I river an Ace for good measure. Next hand I flop a set of 6s and an aggressive OP can't get away from top pair 10 kicker and I am now at 38k near the leaders.

Going through the history I see a quote from Tad I did not notice before, "75!" as I river a 2p with the magic hand to win a 2800 pot. At this point I level off in the mid 40s for a long time as I can't find a hand. Finally, I get AK and get all in vs JJ but this is not too be and I am back down to 36k.

I get lucky here. In the SB I raise to 6k at 600/1200 vs a BB with 11k. He thinks forever and folds but not before calling me a bully even though I was hardly raising. However, he was right this time as I only had 56o. Next hand on the botton I find JsTc and raise to 4800 vs the SB and a sitting out BB. I raised a little less this time to make it seem like a real hand that wouldn't mind action. The SB thinks forever again and decides to go all in with Q5h! What a play! But the first four cards are clubs andI am up to 49k.

I am starting to think I have a chance at a repeat at this point. I am in the hunt but again get cold carded and blinded off and I'm down to 40k in trouble. 17th place is around the low 50s here, there are about 40 left. For the skae of cruelty 18th pays $2.

I have AKo in the SB and the button makes it 3x to 9k. I decide to pull it hoping for the game deciding flip. If I win this flip I am in... If I lose I am at least not right on the bubble. He folds, I'm at 53k. Right on 17th place now. AJ steals the blinds and I am at 59k. I have A3 in the BB, folded to the SB. He limps I check the option. K92 diamonds. I have the 3d. He minbets 1500 I call. He checks the Js turn, I bet 6k and he folds. 65.8k, I think I'm in now. Right around 12th. Next hand I decline a steal attempt from the SB and can't pass up another on the button with Q6d making it 3x to 9k. BB goes all in for 14k more and I fold. This was a close decision and I think I should've called because who is going to respect me now? A rotation later I try a 3x raise from EP with QJc for 12k and fold to another allin for 35k more. Suddenly I am in serious trouble. I'm appx 22nd out of 24 now. The blinds go around and I am at 28k. I went from 65k and nearly off the bubble all the way down to 28k and not looking like I am going to make it. Maybe 21st out of 24 here. But you can never give up.

Crunch time. 2/4k blinds. I am not going to bubble. I refuse. I make a raise to 12k from the CO with A8o and they fold. 35k. From 3rd position I raise it 5x to 20k with A4o and they lay down. Whew. 42k. 2nd position. KJo. Repeat. 50k.The blinds go by and I am down to 43k. With 21 left Its folded to me on the CO and I look down at Q6o. I think long and hard and decide I am going to go for it. I make it 20k again and they fold and I'm back at 50k. suddenly in good shape again. 13th out of 21. 4 steals in the matter of minutes and I go from 28k to 50k. 21st to 13th.

I try to limp in now only to see a few small stacks at my table double up. 18th out of 21. Finally a big stack drops out at 21st. Another drops. Another. And we are down to 19. Smallest stack gets all in with AKs v AA. Flop is QJx. OE. Turn gives him a flush draw. River is a brick and we're at 18. I am in 15th with 40k. 16th=35k, 17=30k, 18=25k. It is not over yet. I have been in many situations like this where the small stack continuously doubles up and finally I have to make a move. Who will win the $2 for being bubble boy... The small stack gets all in with K2. Bigger stack turns over A6. AK2 board. River... 6! And its over. If he wins that hand I'd be in 16th out of 18 with gigantic blinds, anyone's ballgame. I was fortunate to end without a flurry of small stack double ups this time.

This tourney was much different. I was up against what seemed like tougher opponents which like to play back at you. I was faced with many difficult decisions and had to pull off 4 steals at the end to make it. It really could've gone the other way. After winning this one I was extremely pumped. It was much more fun than the last one. Later.

I shouldn't have to swim with Sherman Sharks anymore thanks to the following email.

PokerStars Tournament #14407977, No Limit Hold'em Super Satellite Buy-In: $3.00
Target Tournament #14113646 Buy-In: $215.00
21 tickets to the target tournament.

Dear bidzior, You finished the tournament in 1st place.You qualified to play in Tournament #14113646 and are automatically registered for it.

Congratulations!Thank you for participating.

Satellite tournaments are tough, tense and suspenseful, but when you win one they are well worth your while. I was lucky at times. I don't remember being sucked out once. Definitely not after we were all in. Really one huge hand early on got the momentum going.

http://www.pokerhand.org/index.php?page=view&hand=160281

QQ v AK v AK v AK! That has never happened to me before. That is unreal. What a feeling to know that a coinflip has turned into a 71.8% favorite with dead money coming from the AKs. It was really smooth sailing from there. Later on I called a decent raise along with 5 others with KQ0s. Q22 flop and I checkraise all in. Only a small stack calls with 55 and I am up to 12.5K. I take the add-on at the break and I am at 15.9K. Around 15th. Top 21 cash, 22nd receives almost $100.

After the break I get my first big break. 75/150 blinds. I have A9c and make it 450 from EP, folded to the BB who makes it 600 more. We are the table leaders, I have 16.9k he has me covered with 21k. Flop comes A43. Preflop raiser bets 600, I think about raising to see where I am at but call instead. Turn is the J and I am faced with a 1050 bet. About 1/2 the pot so I call hoping for a 9. It hits and I make my 2p but am disappointed when he checks. I bet about 1/2 the pot 2050 and he calls with AK. Rather lucky there. I am up to 22k.

I am up against the same OP 3 hands later at 100/200 blinds. There is a limp and then a push all-in by the previous opponent. I look down at AKo and instantly call. Flop comes 3 spades I have the Ace and there is no help for my OP. I am now the chip leader with 40k. That was a huge hand for me and that's really it for me for the next hour or so.

I am constantly trying to stay aggressive, making steals when I can. But the steals aren't working well and the cards are getting cold. The chip leaders are steadily moving ahead and I am getting blinded away. At 33k luck combined with poor OP play helps get me back in it. I have QdJd in EP and make it 3x to 2400 and the BB calls. 853 clubs on the flop. I make a continuation bet of 1600, he thinks long and calls. 9h on the turn he checks to me and I fire 2400, now he instantly calls and I know I am in trouble. River=Jh I bet 5600 he instantly calls with As8s and I am back up to 49k. "zing" "lucki as"

I keep trying to stay active as the blinds are high. Another lucky hand occurs when I am in the BB with Q6 and a MP tries to get tricky with AK and limps. Flop comes 6 high and i make a decent value bet on the flop and a small bet on the river and take down a 10k pot when he calls with the AK unimproved. If he plays it right I am not going to win that one.

Now comes my first big hand against my rival for this tourney, a loose player who is catching. I have Kh9h he limps and i limp behind him trying to see some flops and keep that stack growing. 5c9d10d Rival bets 1200 I min raise to 2400. First mistake, should've raised to about 4k. 5s on the turn and he minibets and I make another mistake and just call. I guess now I am trying to see the showdown cheaply. Jc on the river and he makes another minbet I call and he has J8. He starts with an OE that hit TP on the river. I am down to 41 K and get AcKc next hand. Rival limps and I raise to 4800 hoping it looks like tilt. No help on the flop but I fire out 3600 he calls. We check the turn and a K falls on the river. I bet 6k and he calls with A3 no improvement! 57k.
Another blind stealing attempt goes wrong. At the CO i make it 3xBB and the SB calls. I bet 2xBB on the flop he calls then pushes the turn and I have to fold. Down to 42k. Its getting late. I am below the average now.

Down to 37k after bumping heads with the rival again. Now there are 40 left and I know I need to win at least one more flip to make it. I remember thinking I'd rather make the flip sooner then later because I'd hate to be bubble boy. The opportunity arrises a couple hands later. Once again I have AKo at 1/2k blinds. 2 limps and then the short stack goes all-in for 12k. I am very happy with that and then even happier when the semi-maniac rival doubles it to 22k. This looks like an obvious isolation play and I know he is loose enough and his stack is large enough at 90k to make this move with AQ-A9, JJ-77. I push it all in from the SB and he calls with 99. The classic coin flip. I walk away and return to see the chips sliding to my stack. K on the flop. The short stack had A10 and I nearly triple up to 94k.

I am in right? It is close. I should be able to make it now but instead blunder. A9 in the BB for 3k. Folded to the SB(rival) who limps. KK9 flop, he checks and i bet 3k he check raises to 6k and I call. Mistake. Blank on turn and he bets 3k I call again. Ace on the river. I call a 15k bet. Poor play and I am down to 66k. In trouble once again. Maybe 15k ahead of the bubble. Two hands later I get it back with QQ. Rival limps and I make it 5x to 15k, he calls. AcJc6h flop, we check. Tc, we check again. Qs on the river giving me trips. There is now a 4 straight on the board and a 3flush. Luckily he bets the min and I decide to call. He has 55 and I am OK again. 88k. Almost there.

Playing tight now I have 33 in the SB and the rival limps on the button for 4k. I call and the BB is sitting out with a tiny stack. Q42 flop He minbets 3k I call. Ace on the turn, same thing. 5 on the river and i check. He bets 12k and I call with the straight. Only 63 beats me so why not raise? I figured this call puts me in the tourney so why risk it... after all he could have anything. Now over 100k and the rival would soon be on his way to being Bubble Boy.

No all-in suckouts. Some luck. And a victory. I'll take the tournament dollars and maybe move up to some higher SNGs. It has been fun. Later.

Brian

Yesterday I played a series of $50 heads up sit n gos. Things were really clicking and before I knew it I had won 3 in a row.. then 4 then 6 and then was upto 8-0 on the day. I almost quit but decided to try and make it 10-0 for the day.

The 9th match was crazy. I was against a really bad player. He wouldn't fold and loved to min raise with whatever he had. I normally do well against these guys, but just couldn't get a hand to hold up. One hand I had something like AT and raised preflop and he min reraised, I called. A9x flop. He bet out small, I raised it up, and he min reraised. I called. Blank on turn and he bet and I called. 8 on river. He bet and I called. He turned over 98o. Twice he called huge check raises by me with just overcards or gutshot draws and kept hitting. I eventually got allin with KJ vs his T3o (he reraised me preflop and called my allin preflop blinds were 50/100) and he hit a T and it was over. Oh well. I played one more and kept out playing the guy but couldn't win. I had him allin with AK vs KQ. He flushed. KT vs K6. He spiked a 6. He was very passive preflop though and once the blinds got big I really started to steal. Again blinds got to 50/100 and I finally got him to call allin with K3 when I had A9, and it held. Game 0ver.

9-1 on the day for a $375 profit. No complaints, though I wish I could have made it 10-0.

I paid pokerstars exactly $25 in rake on the day. They should love me.

Tad