Back At It

T minus 28 days until Vegas. Please let the hot streak continue.

I played a bit online last night. First time playing since Sunday. I started off playing two WSOP Step 1's out of boredom. I busted out of one of them in short order when my draw didn't come home. In the other one in the second level I flopped a flush draw with a gutter. Good enough to go with in these turbos. I hit the fluhs on the turn and was up to 3000 right away. I was able to coast down to 4 players and picked off some short stacks to get the advance to step 2. I played the step 2 and with the blinds at 75/150 and still 8 people left I lost a coin flip and was done.

I played in the BBT3 Challenge last night which was the $10+$1 Riverchasers Online Poker Tour NLHE double stack. In the early going I picked-up Q,Q. There was a raise and a re-raise ahead of me. They way these things play a 3-bet doesn't mean a whole lot. There are a ton of these plays happening. I decided to 4-bet it. The original raiser folded and the 3-bet called. The flop comes 10 high and the other player shoves. I just can't fold in this spot. I called and the other player shows J,J and I get the double-up and in great shape early.

After that hand I bounced between 4k and 6k until the first break. In the second hour when the blinds got up there I decided to run a bluff against the chip leader at the table and lost about 2k on the hand dropping me to 5k. With the blinds around 125/250 and Zooks at my table to my immediate right she shoved from the button for 3k. I had J,J in the SB and called. Zooks had A,2 and didn't catch up and I now had 8k and was in the top 10 with 45 people left (out of 85 runners).

Towards the end of the second hour and the third hour we are working down to the last two tables. I didn't get anything remotely playable. If I 3-bet any hand I am pretty much committed. Down to 22 players I pick-up back to back hands and win the blinds and antes. Two hands later I get Q,Q and shoved over a big stack raise who called showing A,10. I was up to 29k and was all the way up to 2nd in chips just like that. Down to two tables and with only the FT getting paid I picked-up nothing and pretty much folded to the final table. I had to make a couple shoves when I had 10 bb's but wasn't called. Down to the final table I was sitting 5th in chips.

We lost two of the short stacks fairly quickly. Down to 7 there was someone all-in for less than the BB UTG. 5 handed to the flop someone bet and everyone folded. The short stack had 3,3 and turned the two outer to stay alive. I am sitting on 20k and the blinds at 1k/2k was in push-fold mode. This goes on for around 10 minutes when I am sitting on 21k and the blinds at 1500/3000. An EP player who has me covered raises to 7k. Its folded to me and I shove the mortal nuts of A,J. The other player who has me covered by around 15k calls with the Ac3c. The flop brings a 3 and I am out the door in 7th.

Small pay day ($31) but I really needed some points for the overall standings. I was 0-6 coming into this one.