Hottest day yet, with a tourney win!

Went to the see if I can find a loose table full of eejits at Excalibur or Luxor yesterday morning. After my mega snooze it was really nice to jut get out and see a bit of Vegas. I got some breakfast and jumped on the Deuce using my bus pass we bought the first day, I have to twist Arian and Waitseys arm to get on it because they say a taxi is just the same as a preflop cash game raise lol, but I enjoy moochin around early doors.

No game at Circus, Excalibur or anywhere except the MGM at 7am. I sat down with 100 when they all had 300-400 in front of them and was slowly blinded. Its like $15 a go, and every hand I had was missing the flop. After busting out I put another $150 on and made it to $250, but lost that too after I played 89d to the death.

Flop is 6d 7s Kc so I'm up and down. Turn is a Td giving me the straight and the straight flush draw! 3 left in the pot and the first guy betes $10 into a $70 pot, I call, other guy pushes for $120 and I snap call him. He's got two pair with 66's and 77's and the river is a 7 to bust me. Can't believe how bad I'm running, and again I'm almost all out of cash before 9am.

I spent a bit of time looking through gift shops at the side of the strip I've not been at, and then spent the day in the hotel and pool. It was so hot yesterday, I must get some suncream sorted!

Later we saw the Bellagio fountains and its incredible! The force and height of some of the shots of water is unreal, no photo or video can do it justice ever. We tried shopping but the walking and heat was just killing us, so we went to find a tournament to pass the day. I'm several days ahead of myself with cash at this point, but hey ho, when its gone its gone. We decided on Caesars Palace and the 7pm $150 freezeout.

The tourney was held in a big room that was running three tourneys, including the WSOP circuit events. All the big names are on huge portrait photos around the wall. I decided not to take a $50 proposition bet for 'Lasting Longer' than Arian or Waitsey, and at first it seemed that it was going to be a short tournament for me! It was 10,000 chips and in the end 95 people were in.

Some hands I can remember:

In the first couple of hands I call with 68o and flop trips, but everyone had folded to the small blind and after checking the turn which filled a boat for me, I bet 200 into a 100 pot on the river and took it down. That hand is not something you want when theres only one other and nothing in the pot!

Another hand and after some guy was reraising the table and showing down real 0strength, I get AA. I raise a decent amount preflop and get 5 callers which doesn't bode well, and on the flop of a 3Q5 rainbow I bet like a continuation bet and immediately get reraised for 2.5k by this guy, and I think for a moment and visualise me going home early again...then go all in. He snap calls me...and shows Q4o... I can't believe he hasn't got at least two pair over me given the snap call, then take down a nice 18k pot :)

Arian was doing very well, like chip leader with 47k in a ridiculously short time. Waitsey was donked out early by an idiot who couldn't lay down 77. It was a re-entry tournament for the first 120 minutes though so he reenetered and was put on another table.

I pretty much go card dead for the majority of the tournament, and somehow manage to get Ultimate respect at the table when I raise or reraise. I get no pair above TT's, hit nothing above two pair, and yet still take down some nice pots when scary flops come or people make a continuation bet. I'm liking the flop call-turn checkraise moves at the moment!

My stack grows to 45k with nothing but awesome post flop plays, respect and the stars aligning. 5 callers for 600 and I reraise preflop to 3000 with QTh and manage to get 66 and AQ to fold lol! They said 3000 was way too much and screamed JJ or something, I thought it was the correct sized bet given the limping and pot size. From that point on people were laying down hands all over.

I've got 44 and raising limpers with one caller, flop 882, turn 3, river 8. I check the guy bets and I reraise to see him fold for a nice pot.

Another hand I call a raise of 1800 from my bb of 600 with 45h because there were so many limpers and the pot was decent (bit of cash game play really, but makes it easy to lay down the hand!). Flop comes a 3K5 rainbow and I check raise a guy who lays down AQ for the second time that night. I had the table done in because they were getting no information on my hands yet I was kicking their arses lol.

Biggest hand of my tourney came quite late on when the blinds were 600/1200 or so. My stack was 50k and so was this old guys who was next to me. He was a really good player and was in the bb and me in the sb with 57o. He says shall we chop it and I motion that'd be ok and he laughs and says its against the tourney rules, so I end up calling anyway although feeling like a bit of a noob. Flop comes 69J and I check, he bets and I call. The turn is an 8 and gives me the 2nd nuts. I check and he bets 5k and I reraise to 15k. He calls at the river is a 7, a horrible card for me putting 4 to a straight on the board and making my hand now a single card which fills the bottom straight. I bet out again leaving me with 15k chips and he reraises me all in. Argghh, did I just donk my tourney chips at this stage?!

I take a long time to decide what to do, but end up calling and he turns up 62o and I take the tourney lead with 100k chips. My reasoning was he must have paired the flop somehow to be calling til that point. I expected to see two pair though, or at least the top pair on the flop! I was so shook up from that hand I just left the table and had an extra five minutes before the break.

Eventually we get broken up and I'm seated next to Arian to watch a nasty hand in which he's counterfeited and fails to bet the river. Then he watches me race AKo vs. AKh and lose to the flush. That halfed my stack...

Some woman, who I gave too much credit too after hearing her talking with Arian in a break, kept getting involved in hands with me until I busted her ass lol. She raised my big blind when I've got Q9o. It was a 5k raise into a pot of 9k. I call and flop is 9TT. I check raise her all-in and she snaps me with A3o? I've no idea what the hell that was all about, but she did get to a showdown with me and I took her chips as a gift from above lol.

Finally at the 2nd from last table, after Arian and Waitsey have busted out (wish I'd made that prop bet now!), I start getting some real strong hands. On the final table I take two short stacks out with AA and QQ, and even take 25k off the chip leader with a preflop reraise with a mid-Ace. I was hollywooding so many hands the entire tourney it was unreal. Its starting to be a real bonus to my plays, and getting me paid a lot. If I wanted to get a walk and the blinds I just put my card guard on the chips and my head really low and make it look like im trying to be inconspicuous. The other players were decent enough to know it as a warning sign, but not quick enough to catch me doing it to win blinds.

In the end though my luck ran out, and I began losing chips at a ridiculous pace. I went from chip leader with 7 left to out in 5th. Major hands were betting 50k on the river when the flush diamond came, and raising the bb with A8o and then calling his allin and seeing A9!

Shame I didn't hold out longer, as everything else went awesomely and it was $4000 for first place. I took $842 though, and made my mark at Caesars!

Bit disappointed that I got a bit of 'donkey' abuse from Waitsey and Arian when they didn't like a move or two, or my final table play (they didnt see relative stack sizes or anything and buggered off from Caesars). Arian claims I should pay for a lesson off Waitsey to improve my game. Waitsey asked me this morning if it was pride why I don't, and it may well be, but its more my reluctance to pay for advice from a friend and a lack of confidence in any teaching ability other than watching. My games improved a lot this last 6 months I've been playing again, and theres definitely room for improvement. But its all a gamble at the end of the day. Sometimes the technically correct thing to do isn't the right thing to do given the table situation and image.

Anyhow, I patted myself on the back and blew my own trumpet for my performance as I did awesome given the cards I was getting and the competition. Its been a long time since I saw a final table, I was cold, tired and hungry when I got there and my confidence is redeemend.

Tourney play only now I reckon. Wish me luck!