Tournament #73

Fast start to this one as we've got an all-in maniac pushing all-in on every hand. I pick up KK on the second hand and call his push-in. He turns over K/J. Flop is 3/3/9, turn and river both aces. I double up to over $3000, he's gone. A/K on the next hand goes nowhere thanks to a Q/6/5 flop and a big re-raise of my feeler bet, down to $2890. A few hands later, I pick up A/Q suited, raise to $80 (4xBB) and get 2 callers. Flop is K/6/J, 2 spades. I bet $120, 2 callers. Turn is nothing, checks all around. River is another 6. I've got nothing. Other two guys check, I bet $200, no callers. $730 pot, up $3300. Been in reverse a little bit, down to $2800. I'm getting hit with the deck tonight - KK, A/Q, A/J, 10/10, 5/5, 3/3 already - but most are turning to nothing post-flop. A/J went nowhere when another player raised all-in for $1500 in early position. I'm not calling half my stack with A/J like that. Lots of bust-outs already, though, so I'm 9th of 22. Dropped $500 when I rivered an ace after a turn of a 10. I had a pair of aces, other guy had 10/10 for a set. Down to $2200. Win a nice pot with A/J. Raise to $200, one caller. Flop is 10/7/10, check. Turn is a J, I push in $400, called. River is Q, another $400, another call. My pair of Js is good enough and I take down $2200 to move to $3300 again, 8th of 20. Next hand I fold K/5 only to watch three Ks on the board for missed quads. ARGH! K/K again! Raise to $400, one caller. Flop is 10/2/6, I bet enough to put the guy all-in, he folds. Pushes me to $4000, 7th of 18. Q/Q turns into a $2100 pot for me with 4/3/5/9/3 on the board, up to $5000. And I pick up KK again very next hand! Raise to $450 (3xBB) and no callers. I'm getting a week's worth of hands in one tourney. $5200, 5th of 13. 2 gone on one hand, me 6th of 11. Another gone on the next hand, down to 10. Could there be a final table in my near future?!?!!? Another gone, final table baby! 7th of 9. Blinds still a reasonable $100/200, me at $4800. Short stack gone, we're at 8. Coulda made a ton of money with that hand if I had the stomach. J/6 with J on the turn, 6 on the river. Winner had a pair of aces but no way I could call the bets being made with absolutely nothing. A/J suited turns into a $3600 pot for me when I flop a flush draw, call a small bet, and turn the flush. Other guy bet on the river, I raised, he folded. Up to $7200, 5th of 8. Another gone, we're into the money and I immediately get A/A! No callers to my raise tho :( Back to back big hands, including a K-high and a straight push me to over $12000 and now I've got A/K suited! K on the turn and I pick up $2400. $13800, 2nd of 7. Sitter FINALLY gone, we're down to 6, me in 4th now, no big leader. K/Q turns into a $16000 pot for me when K/10/3 hits on the flop - all diamonds (me with none). I call big bets on flop and turn then bet big on the river when no diamond hits. Other guy had K/J. Me at $20K, chip leader! I bust a guy when I turn a pair of Qs, me at $21000, 1st out of 5. Bust another guy with my A/K. Up to $29000, 1st of 4. Short stack busted by another guy's almost-forced call while holding just 7/2. Down to 3, me still leading. A/K and QQ push me to $37000. Four straight steals of blinds and I'm up to $41000. A dumb call with 5/5 and I'm down to $35000, solid chip leader. Big pot has me on the short side with 9s against Js, down to $29000, barely chip leader. Misplayed that hand, knew I was behind. 3/3 and I raise the short stack all-in. He calls with K/7 and I bust him. Heads up, me with $38000. I take down a couple small pots to push to $53000. Pick up 6/6 and call a raise. Flop is 2/7/6. Other guy pushes all-in and I call. He turns over 8/8. Turn is a 5, making me a bit nervous but river is a J and he's busted. WOOHOO. First tourney win since March 29! I'd like to say this was some great demonstration of skill but I can't. I got hit upside the deck in this one - AA, KK (3 times), QQ (twice), A/K at least 5 times, etc. Still, it's great to win again and be back on the right track. 1st place.

FINISH: 1st place
PAYOUT: $3.52
PROFIT: $3.27
BANKROLL: $59.17

Tournament #72

Ups and downs in this one. Several nice pots early have me up to $2500. I then drop nearly a thousand when a guy calls my 4xBB raise with A/5 against my QQ. Flop is 5/3/2. Big bet, he calls. Turn is, naturally, an ace. That put me down to $1500. Made most of that back with A/K that turned into a flush draw on the turn and then a pair of Ks on the river. Won a big pot with 4/9 suited in the SB after limping. Flop was J/8/4 giving me four to a flush. Turn gave me the flush and a straight flush draw. River was a deuce. Checked the river and then called $500. Other guy had J/5 for a pair of jacks. Me up to $3800, 7th of 26. Back from the break, I pick up A/K off and raise to $200 (4xBB), one caller. Flop is 2/7/4. I bet $300, uncalled. Up to $4100. Pocket 10s push me to $4400, 8th of 22. A few blinds gone then an $1100 pot with 9/9 pushes me back to $4400, 5th of 17. A couple missed bets and some blinds and I'm down to $3500, 8th of 12. Play is glacially slow in this one, every single guy taking 20+ seconds on every single decision. Very frustrating. Moved to a different table with much faster play - yay! Limp in the SB with J/8. Flop is 9/9/Q. Check. Turn is a 10, giving me a straight. I bet $400, raised to $800, so I push all-in, called. Other guy has 9/6. So I'm golden right? HAHAHAHA, yeah right. River is a 9 giving the guy quads. ARE YOU FRIGGING KIDDING ME? Tell me this site isn't rigged. Seriously. I make a straight and the guy rivers quads on me? Yet another miracle suckout that goes against me. When the hell is one of these going to go in my favor? Or better yet, when will guys stop hitting miracles against me? I'm sick of whining about my bad luck but, damn, wtf else do you call it? 11th place.

FINISH: 11th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $55.90

Tournament #71

Sigh...same old broken record. Up to $2000...blinded down to $1400 thanks to a run of Q/2 and J/2 over and over. Blinds up to $75/150. Pick up A/Q and raise all-in. BB calls me and turns over J/7. Flop is 4/4/5. Turn is 7. River is a blank. And, yet again, I take a horrible beat from someone who had no business calling. 2:1 underdog calling off 15% of his stack with only $150 invested. Horrible call but this is Pokerstars so he gets rewarded. 15th place. 21 straight tournaments without a cash, I'm about ready to go insane.

FINISH: 15th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $56.15

Tournament #70

Higher finisher, faster tourney this time. Frustrated, I raise to 6xBB with A/Q, get re-raised and re-re-raise all-in. The guy calls and turns over 3/3. Seriously? Who calls an all-in with 3/3? Flop is 10/6/7. Turn is 2. River 9. Busted in 39th place.

FINISH: 39th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $56.40

Tournament #69

Missed bluff, loose call by another guy that knocks me down and I'm sitting on $620 very early. All-in with A/9 and I get called by K/Q. Flop, naturally, is Q/J/10 with 2 spades. So I'm open-ended for a straight and four to a flush but behind. Turn and river are a blank and I'm busted. AGAIN. 40th place.

FINISH: 40th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $56.65

Tournament #68

Stop me if you've heard this before...card dead...forced all-in, etc. Lost about $400 on an early hand when my top pair quickly faded in the face of four clubs on the board and an all-in bet. From there, it was yet another parade of 7/3, J/4, Q/2, etc. Blinds at $50/100, I push all-in with K/9 suited, called by K/Q. Manage to suckout a flush and double up to $1900. Very next hand, I pick up J/J as the blinds jump to $75/150. All-in again, one caller, this time A/K suited. I dodge landmines til the river when the guy naturally gets an ace and I'm done. 26th place.

FINISH: 26th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $56.90

Tournament #67

Yet another tournament where I can't get anything going once the blinds jump to the $50/100 level. I was up to about $2200 at one point but went completely card dead after that. Amazing how I can never see AA/AK/KK/QQ for an entire tournament but still manage to get Q/2 probably 5 times. Anyway, card dead til $800 left. All-in pre-flop with 2 callers. Flop gave me 3 to a flush with K/8/8 but no further help on the turn or river and K/J busted me. 14th place.

FINISH: 10th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $57.15

Tournament #66

Took down a nice pot with A/5 after flopping a pair and turning two pair. Up to $1800. Took down another nice pot with just ace high with a bluff on the river. Up to $2000, 6th out of 42. Holding 6/6, I raise to $60, then call a raise to $90 ($15/30 blinds). Four other players. Flop is 8/2/6 with 2 clubs. I push all-in, no callers, up to $2300. Take down the next pot, too, with A/4 on an A/3/5 flop. Bet $150, no callers. Up to $2500, 6th out of 35. Blinded down to $2000, I pick up A/K suited. Raise to $300 with $50/100 blinds. Re-raised to $1200 (all-in for other guy). I call. He turns A/7. Naturally flop is 7/6/9 - if that, seriously, isn't my last 30 tournaments in a nutshell. Down to $800. Raise all-in with A/6 on very next hand, same guy calls with K/10. I flop a 6 and nothing else hits. Back to $1700, 16th of 24. Lost a big chunk playing Q/J with a flush draw when Q/A/x hit on the flop. Other guy had KK and my flush went nowhere. Down to $1000. Raised all-in with JJ, no callers, up to $1200. Blinded back to $1000, looking for an all-in spot. Down to $700, I push all-in with A/Q suited, one caller. He turns over A/10. 5/A/5 on the flop, nothing on turn or river, I double up to $1700, 15th out of 17. Pick up A/8 and raise to $400. 2 callers. Flop 10/8/6. I bet $800, no callers. Up to $2800, 12th of 17. Blinded down to $1700. In the BB with 3/8, unraised. Flop is 7/9/10, I call $200. Turn is a 6, I push all-in, no callers. Up to $2600. Blinds up to $200/400, I pick up QQ. I re-raise all-in and get one caller - he turns over 10/10. The Qs hold up and I'm up to $5600, 6th of 14. A couple missed calls go nowhere and I'm down to $4800. A/9 is good enough vs a short-stack A/2 all-in and I'm back to $5300. A couple blinds and a missed raise with A/9 and I'm down to $3100 in the BB. All-in with K/Q, one caller. He's got A/Q. Man, if that ain't the story of my life. Busted in 10th.

FINISH: 10th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $57.40

Tournament #65

Dropped a couple hundred with middle pair early on, then picked up 10/10. Raised all-in pre-flop, one caller. He turns over A/K. Flops an ace and I'm done. 33rd place.

FINISH: 33rd place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $57.65

Tournament #64

Yet another card dead tournament. Really no traction the entire time. Busted in 20th place after pushing all-in with A/5 against a 10/5/4 board for $1000 (blinds $75/150). Two callers, A/10 and A/A.

FINISH: 20th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $57.90

Tournament #63

Crazy moment early on in this one when I checked with K/8 in the BB, along with four other guys. Flop was K/10/Q. I bet $150, and the other four guys all went all-in. I quickly folded. They turned over Q/10, K/10, A/J, and J/9. Two straights and two two-pairs. Turn & river were both hearts allowing one guy to come from way behind and hit a flush!

I picked up nothing early on and was down to $990 with blinds at $75/150. Got K/Q suited so pushed all-in. Three callers. Runner-runner clubs gave me a flush and quadrupled me (nearly) to $3500! Blinded down to $2900, 8th of 13. Blew most of it chasing a flush with 2nd pair, down to $500. All-in with A/J pre-flop...two pair on the flop! Full house on the turn! Back to $1730, blinds at $100/200. Next hand I get A/K suited, raise to $600, one caller. Flop is J/7/3, I push all-in, get called. Guy turns over 8/7. Really? Calling a big bet from a short stack with 8/7? Turn and river are blanks and I'm busted in 13th. Granted I made a couple mistakes here but wow. How do you call a big raise and then call with a LOW 2nd pair on an all-in? Bad poker rewarded is what that hand was. Lesson learned - next time push all-in pre-flop.

FINISH: 13th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $58.15

Tournament #62

Sigh...I am totally mystified. I have no idea how to place this online game. Seriously. First to act, I pick up KK and raise to $120 (4x BB). I get 4 callers. Flop is Q/10/6 with 2 clubs. I bet big, 2 raisers and I push all-in. They turn over Q/10 and A/2, the latter with 2 clubs. Nothing else hits and I'm busted. WTF. Who the hell calls with Q/10 like that? Then he hits a miracle flop and I'm finished. This is just so damn frustrating, one horrendous beat after another. One miracle flop after another. One idiotic play rewarded after another. This makes 12 straight tournaments I haven't cashed and just 4 in my last 32. At this point, I truly have no idea what to do to get better results. Guess I should have folded to the re-raise or something, I dunno.

FINISH: 28th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $58.40

Tournament #61

Feels like my luck is turning around. I call an all-in for a big pile of money with A/Q. Other guy turns over A/10. Flop is A/J/J and I'm golden. Until the turn is a K and splits the pot. ARGH. Won a nice pot after that while chasing an ace-high flush draw. Hit a pair on the flop then a set on the river to take it down. $2300, 11th out of 36. And my luck continues...7/7 in the BB, unraised. Flop is 10/7/4, 2 clubs. I push all-in, get 2 callers. One guy with 3/6 (wtf?), the other with.....10/10. Are you kidding me? Unbelievable. Yet another early flame-out. 32nd place.

FINISH: 32nd place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $58.65

Tournament #60

Another bad one. Up to $1900 early, I overplayed a couple bluffs and folded two hands that turned into monsters. Soon enough, I found myself with < $800 left and blinds of $50/100. Picked up A/Q, raised all-in, one caller. Naturally he's got A/K. J/4/4 flop leaves me begging for a J on the turn or river. A on the turn but blank on the river. 20th place.

FINISH: 20th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $58.90

Tournament #59

Angry poker is bad poker. After watching a guy suck out an ace on me - calling a re-raise with no draw and clearly behind in the hand - I weakly folded to an all-in bet while holding a K-high flush draw. That guy got called - one had a Q-high, the other a J-high. Naturally the needed diamond hit on the turn and I was left swearing as I saw my triple up fly away. A stupid all-in on the next hand for no reason left me busted in 43rd place. Terrible poker all-around. Time to start over with another tourney.

FINISH: 43rd place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $59.15

Tournament #58

Started out slow again, losing yet another big pot. A/8, I raise to 3xBB, get 2 callers. Flop is A/10/5, 2 hearts. Bet big, 2 callers. Turn is 2 of hearts. Bet big, 2 callers. River is A of diamonds. Bet big, 1 caller. He turns over J/9 of hearts for a flush to beat my set. Cuz, ya know, you should always call with J/9 against an early position raise. Sigh... Picked up a $400 pot when my Q/10 turned into a pair of 10s on the flop, A on the turn, blank on the river. $1200. Doubled up with A/J - raised to $400 in the BB ($25/50) after the SB limped in. He called. Flop came 9/J/3. Bet another $400, call. Turn 8. Pushed in my last $230, call. He turns over Q/7 for a straight draw. 7 on the river gives him 2nd best pair, me up to $2000, 16th out of 30. Getting blinded down, now at $1200 with blinds at $75/150. Very nearly called an all-in with K/10. Naturally THAT turned into a straight and I would have quadrupled up. All-in for $1200 with A/10 off, one caller - QQ. 10 on the flop but no further help as he rivers a set. 18th place.

FINISH: 18th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $59.40

Tournament #57

Nice start as I limp with K/9, flop is 7/8/9. I bet $60, get 4 callers. Turn is a Q, I bet $120, get one caller. River is a 2, another $120 and no callers. $1910. Lost almost my entire stack with J/4. Flop was J/2/5. Turn an A. I'm betting every step of the way, getting called. River is a 4. I've got two pair, call an all-in - guy turns over A/3 for a straight. Perfect. Down to $300. All-in for $285 with A/10, I pick up 2 callers. They turn over A/6 and 2/2. Naturally, nothing hits for me and I'm busted. 32nd place.

FINISH: 32nd place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $59.65

Tournament #57

Nice start as I limp with K/9, flop is 7/8/9. I bet $60, get 4 callers. Turn is a Q, I bet $120, get one caller. River is a 2, another $120 and no callers. $1910. Lost almost my entire stack with J/4. Flop was J/2/5. Turn an A. I'm betting every step of the way, getting called. River is a 4. I've got two pair, call an all-in - guy turns over A/3 for a straight. Perfect. Down to $300.

FINISH: 28th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $59.90

Tournament #56

Rough start as I dropped $400 chasing gutshot straight and flush draws that went nowhere. That sucked. A couple other missed raises and I'm down to $1080. Holy crap, I won a pot! Raised to 3x BB pre-flop with A/J. Flop was K/6/6, I bet $120 (4x BB) and got no callers. A huge $225! Chip leader at my table decides to start raising all-in on every hand so when I pick up A/2, I call for $920. He turns over 7/5. Stop me if you've heard this before...J/6/5 on the flop. 4 on the turn. Blank on the river. 28th place. I can't remember the last time I won one of these where I'm a gigantic favorite but the shorter stack. My friend Calvin's theory about Poker Stars being rigged in favor of whoever has the bigger stack sure seems to be true in my case - at times, anyway.

FINISH: 28th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $59.90

Tournament #55

All-in early on when my gutshot straight draw hits. I've got an open-ended straight flush draw as well but that goes nowhere, leaving me just the straight. I bet big, get raised all-in and call. Other guy has the same J as me and we split the pot. Lots of grief to end up winning a whopping $20. 4x BB raise with A/K gets me FOUR callers but goes nowhere and I end up having to fold to a garbage flop. Another A/K and another 4x BB raise gets me 2 callers. This time flop is Q/K/10. Dangerous flop for me, despite the top pair. I bet $300 into a $400 pot and get no takers. $1545, 19th out of 35. Blinds up to $50/100, I raise to $250 in early position with yet another A/K. No callers this time. $1545 again, 18th out of 27. Dropped $250 when I raised with A/7 and got re-raised to $1100. 2 callers on that and I fold. Dude turns over 10/8 and flops a pair. Glad I folded but WTF. Down to $945 when I limp with 33, raise to $200 after a Q/Q/5 flop when an ace hits on the turn and I fold to a bet. All-in pre-flop with A/10 and get called by A/3. Flop is 2/3/J and I'm way behind. Turn is a K, river a Q to give me a straight. Just prevails and I'm up to $1900, 16th of 24. Up to $2150 when I bet my A/8 in the BB post-flop and get no callers. Down to 15 players. Missed a chance to double up when I folded A/3 instead of raising all-in. Flop had a 3, turn was an A - so a real good shot at doing something. Down to $1800, 12th of 15, looking for a double up. J/8 in an unraised BB. Flop come J/3/K, me & 2 other guys. Bet is $400, I raise all-in, one caller. He turns over J/3 :( Turn and river are no help and I'm busted. 15th place. Probably should have raised all-in pre-flop but thought I'd take a chance to play for free and then double up, which backfired.

FINISH: 15th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $60.15

Tournament #54

Not a whole lot to say about this one. Overplayed a flush draw early, missed a bluff later, and found myself with $500 in the SB with blinds at $50/100. Called an all-in with 5/7 of spades figuring I'd have two live cards. A third guy went all-in as well and we were 3-handed. I flopped a pair but another guy rivered a pair of Qs and I was done. 18th place.

FINISH: 18th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $60.40

Tournament #53

Better, but not great, result with this one. Don't have a whole lot to say, didn't really take notes during this tourney. Sucked out with 2 pair to split a pot when all-in early on, rivering an ace. Doubled up to $3500 on the final table but was blinded off from there. All-in with a suited A/4 for $2550 in BB with $300/600 blinds. One caller - A/Q. Neither of us got anything, me busted in 9th place.

FINISH: 9th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $60.65

Tournament #52

Pretty similar to the last one - lose a hand early, battle back to hang around. This time I doubled up from $850 to $1700 with JJ. Eventually pushed up to $2200 before I started to get blinded off. Eventually busted in 12th place with A/8 in an unraised BB. Flop is 4/7/8. One guy bets $800, I raise all-in for $1800. Re-raised by third player, first guy calls. They've got QQ and 8/7. River is a 7 and 2 of us are busted, me in 12th place.

FINISH: 12th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $60.90

Tournament #51

Not a whole heckuva lot to say about this one. Feeling a bit rusty after not playing for several days. Lose a $400 pot early on when my A/6 turns into two pair on the turn. When a third spade hit on the river, however, my opponent held a flush. Not exactly card dead after that but nothing that turned into any real pots. Blinds up to $50/100 and me on $1100, I push all-in with 10/10. Called by QQ and busted in 22nd place.

FINISH: 22nd place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $61.15

Tournament #50

Tough to end the night on such a stupid play, so here we go for another shot! Not a whole lot of detail on this one, lots of small wins keeping me around. Built up to $4500 then back down to $2400. With blinds at $100/200, raised to $600 ($2400 total left) with KK. Shorter stacked re-raised all-in and I called. He turned over A/K. Flop came 8/7/5. Turn 6. River 4. Split pot. Awesome. Could have doubled up. Still made $800 off the other pre-raise callers. $3200, 9th out of 12. Folded A/5 to a small raise. Not real sure why. Flop would have given me middle pair and flush draw. Turn would have made the flush - with an all-in bettor. Could have busted someone and made a nice pot but didn't because I weakly folded. Bad play. In BB with $200/$400 blinds, I pick up K/J. Unraised pot, one caller. Flop is J/8/8. Other bets $800, I raise all-in. He folds. Up to $3600, still 9th of 12. 2 guys gone, we're down to 10, me still in 9th. A bad beat has me doubled up to $5500 when I flop a 10 to go with my all-in A/10 against A/K. Nice to have one go in my favor. Short stack finally busted and we've got a final table. I've got $4400 but blinds are $300/600. Immediately all-in with A/K , no callers, I pick up a $2500 pot, now up to $6200. Picked up a $1900 pot with K/2 when nothing hit the flop, turn or river and me & one caller checked all the way to the end. $7100. Money distribution is real even. One guy under $2000. Everybody else from $5000-$11000. We finally lose a guy, so we're down to 8 and the short stack is still here with $1600. We finally lost a guy and we're into the money. Former $1600 short stack is now #1 with $16,000. And me the short stack with blinds at $600/1200. Double up with K/6 when a 6 hits the flop. One caller and his straight draw goes nowhere. $9300. Another play gone, down to 6. Another guy gone, we're down to 5. Steal a couple blinds and I'm up to $12000. Getting late so I called an all-in with K/Q. Four spades on the board gives him an ace-high flush to my king-high and I'm down to $5900. I make a ridiculous all-in raise with 3/9 and promptly double up when the flop is 3/J/9. Now at $10700. Blinds are now $800/$1600, basically everyone except chip leader is short stacked. One more gone, down to four. Double up with K/9 in the BB to put me at $16000. One more gone, down to three. Double up with A/J has me to $29000 and chip lead. Short stack gone, we're heads up! I want it over fast so I push all-in with K/3, called by A/K. Board goes nowhere, I'm busted in 2nd place. Very happy with result, no doubt I could have won had I wanted to play longer. 2 excellent places in my last 3 tourneys and I'm suddenly to a high mark for my bankroll after being in the depths of despair for awhile. The difference? The last three tourneys have been much more "standard" in terms of play. Less craziness and guys calling with 9/3 all over the place.

FINISH: 2nd place
PAYOUT: $2.41
PROFIT: $2.16
BANKROLL: $61.40

Tournament #49

Very slow start to this one for me. Wasn't catching anything so played very few hands and didn't win any of those. Missed a big opportunity to quintuple up when I folded 9/9. But when you raise, someone re-raises all-in and THREE MORE PEOPLE all go all-in, how can you call? Flop naturally had a 9 and I would have been instant chip leader. Oh well. With more than half the field eliminated, I finally took down my first pot, going all-in and doubling up with KK. Another small pot followed with another double-up half a dozen hands later. Called a small all-in with AJ. Me and another guy. Flop was A/x/x with 2 diamonds. He turned over a diamond draw that went nowhere and I was good. $4200 total. Two hands later, I've got A/K suited and raise to $450 (3xBB). Re-raised to $1200, I call. Flop is x/Q/J. Check. Turn is K. Other guy bets $1500, I raise all-in. He's got JJ :( River is nothing. Busted in 15th place. Dumb play. Should have recognized the big pair to start with, or for sure on the turn. Could have gotten out for $1200 instead of going broke. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

FINISH: 15th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $59.24

Tournament #48

Wow, finally back in the $$$ column! I couldn't take the way the last tourney played out, so I played a second tonight, knowing it could run late. I managed to hang around, with a couple of un-called all-ins pushing me to about $3800. Key hand of the tourney for me had me calling an all-in with A/J with an ace and two diamonds on the board. Other guy had 10/8 of diamonds but ended up missing his draw, pushing me to about $7500. I made the final table with a nice stack of around $7500 and was able to steal enough blinds, as well as win enough "walk" hands, to keep hovering in the $6000 range. Missed an opportunity to triple up when I folded 4/4 in the face of an all-in raise. It got called and a 4 came on the river that would have put me to nearly $16000. Alas, twas not to be. Meanwhile, players kept dropping around me and I suddenly found myself in the final three. With blinds at $600/1200, I pushed all-in on back-to-back hands with A/9 suited and A/10 suited. The A/9 went uncalled, the A/10 was called by 8/8. A straight draw was flopped but went nowhere and I was busted in 3rd. I'LL TAKE IT.

FINISH: 3rd place
PAYOUT: $1.85
PROFIT: $1.60
BANKROLL: $59.49

Tournament #47

Decided to play tighter this tourney early on - and then immediately called off 90% of my stack with 10/10 against a board 9/3/2/9. Knew I was behind, called anyway - other guy had JJ. Terrible play on my part, putting me down to $150. Frustrating to make such a terrible play :( Of course, since that happened, I've folded two full houses - J/5 and 10/5. No way I'd call but still. Busted in 30th place when my K/J turned into a pair but that wasn't enough against AA and a straight. Horrible tournament best forgotten - except for learning to stop calling so stupidly.

FINISH: 30th place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $57.89

Tournament #46

Win a nice pot with 2 pair early to push to $1900. Another nice pot has me up to $3000. I then flop a straight but with 2 spades on the board. I put in a nice-sized bet and get 2 callers. Turn is another spade and warning lights go off in my head when I bet again but get a big re-raise in return. I fold and the hand plays out to the river with one guy having a straight flush. Nice fold for me! I almost immediately double-up right after when I flop an ace-high flush. Shortly thereafter, I bust two players and cripple a third when my A/Q with top pair turns into an ace-high flush. That pushes me to $7500, 2nd out of 25 and I'm sniffing the chip lead for the first time in forever. Immediately lose $2500 calling an all-in with KK. Other guy has AA and flops another A for a set. But I pick up AA on the next hand and bet big. 2 callers. Flop comes 6/7/J and we are all all-in. One guy has JJ though and I'm crippled down to $100. Unbelievable luck I'm having - losing back-to-back hands with KK and AA. If that ain't typical of my luck recently. I tripled up right away to $300, just in time for the blinds to go up to $50/$100. And I'm busted. A/7 all-in, called by A/J. A/9/8 on flop, 5 on turn, nothing on river. Unreal - $7500 to nothing playing 4 hands - AA, KK, 33, A7. 21st place.

FINISH: 21st place
PAYOUT: $0.00
PROFIT: -$0.25
BANKROLL: $58.14