So..

It's been a while since I've posted on here. I have so much to talk about. How I got really deep in an online tourney, but was felted 81st when I ran KK into AA preflop against another big stack. How I got kings cracked twice within 10 minutes of each other playing 1/2NL live. Overall I think I'm down about 100 playing live and 50 online.

Last week I was hanging out with my girlfriend and saw that Isleta was holding an 11PM $50 no rebuy tourney. So I called up Mez and Bob and told them about it. Mez was down so I met him there. We barely get there in time and lucky for us there are seats left. Looks like there are three tables. As I sit down I am shocked to see 5k stacks. Usually Isleta plays this ridiculous structure of 2k starting stacks and 15min levels starting at 50/100 that double every level. I call it a super super turbo. This was really only a super turbo in my book with the 5k starting stacks.

I get pocket 8s right away and raise it 3x. The flop is nasty AA2 or something, so I fire out 300 into 2 players. Both call... Oops. The turn blanks and I fire 300 again. They call again! So I'm done with the hand and check/fold the river. I'm down 1k to start, nice. I forgot I'm playing at isleta! I pick up pocket 10s a few hands later and nothing is there for me. The deck is so cold.

By the 100/200 level I'm so low as the blinds hit me. I'm on the button and its folded around to me and i have 74o. I push allin with 1k. The big blind thinks about it for a minute then calls. This asshat calls with 10 4 offsuit. Great! I'm out of the tourney in like 30mins. So I get on the list for 2/4 holdem. It's either that or 2/5NL. I play in that game til it breaks. I actually had AA hold up in a 2/4 game, I was surprised. The next hand I get dealt 9 2 of clubs and I flop a flush. Some guy bets and i raise on the flop. He calls me down with a pair of Kings, LOL. I get the kill button and win the very next hand as well. I guess that kill button is good for something.

As I'm winning my money back from the tourney in the 2/4 game Mez is putting on a great showing in the tourney. Pretty soon he is at the final table with a nice stack. I played the 2/4 game until my table broke. By that time it was 4 handed at the tourney. I rail for a while and the see the same douche bag that knocked me out playing like an idiot. He was allin with A4o vs JJ preflop. Of course this asshole hits his Ace and stays alive. Next thing I know Mez raises 3x the BB, this guy goes allin and has Mez covered. He turns over KQo and Mez has AQo, I LOL a little bit inside. That is until a K hits the river. I was upset that this idiot did Mez so dirty. He has the nerve to apologize. So Mez gets 3rd for like 270. I walk out ahead 10bucks, woohoo!

Since I pretty much freerolled that tourney I decided to play in the $40 pineapple NL tourney at sandia the next day. I somehow convinced my girlfriend to come with me, as she is my good luck charm. Since it was superbowl I didn't expect it to sell out. For those that don't know, pineapple is a variation of Hold Em when you get three cards and discard one of them preflop. Unlike 96% of the people playing I realize that there are a lot more pocket pairs going around and AK, for example, loses a ton of value. Even AA isn't as high and mighty, as a bunch of sets are flopped.

Someone should have told this to this old man on my table. He pretty much stacked off to me when I flopped trip 5s. I almost tripled up that hand because this other guy was in the pot until the river bet. I'm sitting pretty with my decent sized stack and am looking to play some suited connectors so I can bust some high pocket pairs. The chance comes sooner than I expected when I get QJ of diamonds in the BB. The button raised 3x so I obv call. The flop is Jack high with 2 diamonds. I check and some guy bets, the button goes all-in as expected. I call and this other idiot folds. I was getting sick odds to bust up Aces or Kings, which was what I put him on. Unfortunately for me he had pocket Queens. So I lost a couple outs that I thought I had, so any diamond or Jack and I knock him out. The turn bricks and the case Queen hits the river. Dear Lord why couldn't he have had Kings or something.

I win a few small pots, but the blinds are getting bigger so they are actually decent sized pots compared to the stacks. Our table soon busts and I have a pretty decent stack. I am slowly chipping up when I get moved to my third table. I am like 3rd in chips at this table, and of course the big stack is sitting on my left. Soon I get 998 in the big blind of 1k. Like 4 people have limped in. I throw away the 8 and check. Flop comes 7 9 10 rainbow. I fire out 1.5k and two call including the big stack on my right. I'm a little scared of a straight slow playing for some reason. Another 10 hits the turn. So I think I'm golden. I bet 2k this time, pretty much as a sick value bet because anyone with a pocket pair Jacks and above will call as well as any 10, and since we are at Sandia a straight draw will call. The river seems to be a harmless 8. So whoever was chasing a straight got there and I try to value bet 3.5k, the big stack to my right goes all-in right away. The other guy in the pot call so fast it makes my head spin. Could any of these guy have played 10 9 this way? I really only see that as only valid hand that beats me. I say "This is so sick. So sick" and think about it for a bit. I say "Well I have a full house, I call." The guy I had covered stayed in with pocket 8's and made a smaller full house on the river. The big stack made a straight on the river, LOL! So I practically triple up that hand. I'm now the overbearing chip leader at the table but I'm careful with my chips because there are about to be 2 tables left and blinds go up pretty fast.

I bob and weave my way (read: fold) to the final table. I find my self very short stacked but people are dropping like flies. Everyone at the final table makes the money so I am pretty happy about cashing in a Sandia tourney. I haven't cashed in one since I won it about 6 tourneys and 8 months ago. I'm so low at one point I have half my stack in as the BB and go all in with QJ and only one person calls with KJ. I look to my good luck charm and she has no idea whats going on. (LOL she's so cute) I tell her that I'm in trouble. She nods. A Queen came straight from the ass crack of Zeus or something because it hit the river and I was still alive. Whew, would been out in 5th. The very next hand this crazy old lady gets knocked out. 4 left in the tourney and I have less than 4 big blinds.

I'm in the big bling again with about half my stack and see 78o. The chip leader pushes all in. This crazy asian dude who hasn't played much calls. I like my 78 against one player but not two, plus if the asain guy loses I move up a spot in the money, a gamble I was willing to take with such low chips. Chip leader has JJ and crazy asian has A10o, LOL! BTW he is crazy because he calls with A10 there vs an obvious big pair. Of course he spikes his Ace and leaves the other guy crippled. A few hands later the crazy asian guy call this other guy's all in and gets lucky on him too!!

We are down to three and the blinds are so high. Its the crazy asian guy in first with a million chips. The other guy with almost 9k in chips and then me with 8k and I have the button (blinds are 1k/2k). I look down at my cards as they are dealt to me. First card is a promising Jack. The second card was a nasty Four. I need something good dealer! Another Jack hits me in the face, I gotta go with it so I push with my 8k. SB folds and he has like 7k left. I'm actually hoping the crazy asian folds because he was on a sick heater. Of course he calls with KQo and spikes a King on me. It was so dirty. Oh well, I cashed out my $240 and left to go watch the super bowl.

I have a special story about the NL hold em tourney me and Mez played in the sunday before super bowl, but that has to wait until next time. Basically I feel like I am playing the best poker I have ever played. Live and online. Which is why I have bought my seat into the BIG DOGS tourney at Sandia. This is going to be the biggest tourney I have ever entered. Buy in is $300 and first place is guaranteed $25k. They have only held this tourney once before and of course they chopped it, but the blind structure is almost normal. 30 min levels starting at 25/50 and you start with 5k, with antes in the later levels. Tourney is on saturday at 11AM, wish me luck.