Sorry I haven't written here in a bit- I'm taking 18 credits, working at the DTH, and trying not to kill myself. Oh, and I've been playing my fair share of poker. A few weeks ago, I was in a bit of a down spell, and I snapped out of it recently. I decided I was getting too aggressive early on in tournaments, so I've been laying low until it gets shorthanded, which is when I make my move. I've been hosting my own poker tournament every Tuesday night here in Stacy, and the response has been amazing. Each of the three tournaments I've held has had about 30 people in it, with a 5 dollar buy-in, as well as an extra dollar which is going to go towards a semester-ending Tournament of Champions. The top 8 players, based on points, will qualify for the tournament, which will have a nice purse and trophies. I finished third in the tournament last week, out of 27 people, and this week I came in at third again, out of 29 people. In the last one, I was down to almost nothing on the first table and I fought all the way back to take third and $25.
Roy had his tournament tonight, and I haven't been faring too well over there, either. Mostly it's because I'm getting called by idiots (John Moon called my all-in with with ace 2, and announced before he did, "I'm going to rely on luck to win this hand." To me, if that's your philosophy, stay home and watch a movie. Of course, he caught an ace, and my pocket 8's were blown to hell.
This week I came in very confident. I had the two straight third place finishes under my belt, and I was making awesome reads on people. We had 12 players, at two tables of six, and my table consisted of Alex, John Moon, Ryan, Jonathan, and Pete. Jon and Pete are tough, but the other three are all pretty bad, so I felt good with that arrangement, plus I was sitting after Jon, which is always nice because he's a raise-aholic.
I laid low early on, as per my plan, and didn't take my first pot until about 10 hands in, and that was just the blinds. My first big hand came when I picked up pocket 3's, and Pete came in raising $2 (The blinds were .50-1). I called, and the flop came out King Ten 5, all hearts. I didn't have any hearts. Pete checked to me, which was pretty weak considering that he had raised preflop, and I checked it, too. I was pretty sure he hadn't hit the flop, but I didn't want to invest too much with two offsuit 3's here. The turn paired up the 5, and I saw that as a good card for me. When Pete checked, I bet $3, and he called. Now I was certain he was on the flush draw, with either an ace or a queen, and the river was a black 6. I bet out $3 again after Pete checked, and he folded and told me he had the ace. I think I played that hand pretty well, getting as much as I could out of it. Most of it was due to my read of Pete, as I was pretty sure he hadn't hit anything.
As the blinds went up to 1-2, I started to push a little more. I had the second biggest chip stack at the table, behind Jonathan, so I started raising more than I had been. One hand came up where I had the ace 9 of diamonds, and I raised two bucks coming in. Jon called me on the big blind (big surprise), and when the flop came 4 3 9, I was pretty sure my hand was set. After Jon checked, I bet $3, and he thought a bit and called it. The turn was a 5, and after he checked, I bet $3 again. He raised me $5, and I called it, figuring he was trying to steal with all the low cards out there. The river put a third club on the board, and Jon checked, so I checked it down. He flipped over 6 7, which means he chased an inside straight for $3 and caught it on the turn. Man, he has got to be the loosest, most chasingest(?) player I've ever met. I gave him one of those, "You know you're a fag" looks, and he gave his trademark "I can't believe I caught my longshot again" sheepish grins.
I didn't get in a funk over it, though, as I was still fine in chips. A little bit later, Ryan, one of the lowest 1% of poker players on the planet, gave all his chips to Jon in the following situation: Ryan raised it $5 over the blind, a ridiculously big raise, which he is wont to do, and Jon called. The flop was 3 7 9, and Ryan bet $5. Jon raised him $5, and Ryan called. At this point, I already knew what they both had. Jon had flopped a set, and Ryan had overcards that he was willing to chase for a third of his stack. The turn was a king, and Ryan went all-in, which was called by Jon. Ryan flipped over king jack, and Jon had a set of threes. So sad. Let me make this plea to everyone out there- Don't call a bet when you have nothing! Overcards are no good! You only have 6 outs and you still may have the worst hand!
OK, now that I got that off my chest, I can go on with the tournament. I steadily built my stack, and I took a nice pot off John Moon, that calling bastard, when I decided to raise with 10 7 off on the button. Alex folded, and John Moon called- naturally. The flop was 2 3 9, and I bet out $4. John called, with his overcards, of course. The turn was a 5, so I knew he still had nothing. I bet out $7 this time, and he folded. Hooray for folding!
Pete went out a short time later when he called an all-in with queen 9. We'll give Pete a one-time reprieve for making this insanely psychotic call, but don't let it happen again, Pete!
I took a nice pot off Jon, although I maybe could have gotten all his chips, when I had pocket 3's again. He came in raising another $3, so it seemed like a sign. I called, and the flop was king ten 3. Bingo. He bet out some absurd amount, like $25 bucks, and I raised all-in, figuring I'd get a call. Jonathan hemmed and hawed, said "I think you're bluffing," then folded. That gave me great satisfaction to know that it is possible for him to fold, but I should have won more with my set.
I picked up pocket 5's a little later against John Moon, who had come in raising $4. I decided I had him, so I put him all in for another 12 or so. He called with ace queen, and when he hit an ace on the flop, the devil hand had struck me again. The turn, though, was a 5, and I finally won a coin flip. That put Jonathan and I at the final table with Roy and Godwin. From what I could see, Roy had been having his way with the other table, which was no surprise, as he's won his tournament twice in a row.
At the final table, I picked up some good hands, and I came in raising most of the time. Usually, my raises were respected, and when they weren't a bet on the flop was usually good enough to take the pot. Godwin was the short stack, and I took him out when my 10 8 on the big blind held up against his straight draw (I had flopped 8's and a straight draw myself.)
Down to three-handed, Roy came in raising $10, and Jon reraised $30. At this point, I had the chip lead, but everyone was pretty comfortable. Roy pulled a Mike Matusow and said, "I play to win," and pushed all in for another $35 or so. Jon called, because he likes coin flips, and showed ace queen, versus pocket 8's for Roy. Everyone knew the 8's didn't have a chance against Jonathan's monumental fishing power, and sure enough, an ace came on the flop to end Roy's night and give Jon the chip lead. Actually, Roy went out fourth, and then Godwin took third.
Down to heads up with my nemesis, I took a sizeable pot and got the chip lead, then folded to a river raise and gave the lead back to him. He came in raising on my big blind when I had jack 6, and I called, as it wasn't a big raise. The flop was 7 8 9, with two diamonds, so I was open-ended. I checked, and he bet $10. Cheap enough, so I called. The turn was a 4, and I checked again. Jon bet out $20 this time, and I was sure he didn't have a damn thing, and was just trying to take the pot. I reraised all-in for another $65 or so. Jon agonized over it, but then called and said, "I have nothing." OK then, good call with nothing. He had king 5 of diamonds, and called my all-in with a flush draw and an inside straight draw- with only one card left to come! Unbelievable. I made the right read, and Jon just can't fold a hand where he has a chance to improve on the river, even for all that money! He said he didn't think I had anything as a cover, but even so, king high is not going to be ahead very often on the turn. Anyway, the river was a deuce of spades, and Jon had won the yellow chip. So sad. If I had taken that pot with his fold, I would have had the chip lead, but alas, I lost to king high. I think I'm going to hire Phil Hellmuth to come in and bitch at people for me when they make retarded plays, that way I save my voice.
I still took home $20 for my night, which I'll take any day. That ran my list of money finishes to three straight, and I'm feeling good about my game.

Quote of the day: "Chris Ferguson has just increased his stack from $3,000 to $25,000 with Jack high."- Norman Chad

Terrence's bankroll: $140+$40=$180

I played in Roy's tournament tonight. I haven't scored a yellow chip yet this year, and it's in danger of getting away from me early, because Roy already has two of them. I played pretty tight early. I didn't win a pot until about the 15th hand when I had king 8 in the big blind and faced a minimum raise. The flop was 8 7 4. I checked then called. The turn was a 4. I checked, and Roy bet the minimum, as he'd been doing all hand. I called again. The river was an 8, and I figured I shouldn't get cute, so I bet out, but he folded. He told me later he had pocket jacks.

I played pretty tight until the blinds went up, which took a while because we kind of forgot to raise them. I don't like playing much early because there's seven people in on the flop, even with a raise, so I wait for the blinds to go up and throw some cash around. I picked up ace 9 in middle position after the blinds were up. It got folded around to me, so I made a medium raise of 3 bucks. This new kid Jeff called (he always defended his blind), so we had two of us in the pot. The flop was 8 5 3, and he checked. I bet out 4, and he folded.

A few hands later, the same thing happened. I got ace 9 again and came in raising. The same kid called. The flop was low again, something like 2 3 6. I bet out 5, and he folded. I built my stack up nice mostly without showing anything.

With the blinds up, we started seeing bigger raises, but more people tightening up. I got the 4 5 of clubs one to the right of the dealer. Everyone had folded to me, so I raise it 4 coming in, just looking to steal and use my position. The same kid called yet again(when will he learn?) The flop came 3 6 10, and I bet out 5 on my straight draw, although I just wanted to take it down right there with the low cards. Once again he folded, so I took another nice little pot.

I picked up ace jack a little while later and came in raising 4. Roy called, and we saw the flop two-handed. The flop was jack 9 4. I checked it to him, expecting him to bet out, and he did, with ten bucks. I thought for a minute, then went all-in. He told me he had a flush draw, and decided to fold it. That's a good man. Most guys call with a flush draw, which just drives me nuts. Sure, you have money in the pot, but why chase good money with bad? So a good laydown by Roy.

The first real sick hand came when I had ace king under the gun+1. I raised it 6 bucks coming in, and Roy reraised another ten. The kid Jeff behind him went all-in for another 3.50. I wasn't worried about Jeff, because I figured he'd go for it with any ace, so I figured to have him dominated. I was just trying to figure out what Roy had, and if I could get him to fold it. I ended up putting him on tens, and I knew Roy was good enough to lay that down against another reraise from me. I went all-in, and Roy folded, saying he had 8's, so I made a pretty nice read there. The other kid had ace queen, which was again a nice read, so I had him dominated. The flop was queen jack 5, giving him his queens. I needed a king or a ten. I just had this feeling that a ten was coming. I knew it. I yelled, "Give me a ten!" The turn was a blank, and the river was my beautiful ten. Man, I love tens. That pot was huge, and gave me the chip lead while whacking Jeff.

The very next hand I picked up ace jack under the gun and came in raising 6 again. Roy again reraised me ten. Everyone else folded it to me. At this point I figured Roy was steaming a little bit, but I didn't really have a handle on what he had. I didn't figure him to have another huge hand again, so I called. The flop was ace king queen, pretty sick, so I had top pair with an inside straight draw. I decided to go all-in and put a lot of pressure on Roy. I knew he didn't have jack ten, and I was pretty sure he wouldn't have reraised with a lot of guys to act with king queen. I put him on either a mid-ace or another pocket pair. The way I saw it, unless he flopped aces up or a set, he had to fold it. He called right away and I knew I was in trouble. He turned over ace king. The turn was a jack, so I needed a jack to win and a ten to split it. The river was a 9 so I took a huge hit, and Roy had a monster chip lead. Looking back on that hand, I think I really overplayed it. I should have made a small information bet on the flop, and go from there. If Roy decided to slowplay, I may have been able to steal it from him when the jack came out, as you only needed a ten for a straight. As it is, I messed with the only guy that could hurt me, and that's just what he did. Good hand, Roy.

This knocked me down to 30 bucks, so I wasn't in deep crap, but I wasn't really comfortable, either. We got down to four-handed-Roy, Alex, Pete, and I. Pete and I were both shortstacked, so I figured I needed to hit something because Pete is notorious for folding everything when it gets near the money. One of the first hands four handed, Roy came in raising on Pete's big blind. Alex called, and Pete went all-in, much to our surprise. Roy called him, getting real nice pot odds. Pete had ace king, and Roy had jack 9 of spades. The flop was jack 9 5, and Pete was dead. Just to add insult to injury, the river was a 9, giving Roy his boat.

Now that I was in the money, I was pretty aware I needed to double up, because I had about 4% of the chips on the table- not too good. I stole the blinds once when I went all-in with ace 3 on the button. They both folded, surprisingly, because they only had to call 11 more with 29 in the pot. If I was Alex, I would have called with anything, but I was happy to take it.

I lost my blinds back by getting 9 4 offsuit three straight hands, and my big blind came up. Roy folded, and Alex called. I had 10 4 of diamonds, so I just checked, with only 11 left. The flop was 8 8 4. I got a piece of it, so I figured I had to go for it. He flipped over pocket kings, and I couldn't get another 4, so I was done. That was a really nice job by Alex of baiting me to go all-in preflop, and I had no idea what he had on the flop. Good play, Nasty Nate.

I took home $10 for my efforts- not much, but I'll take it. That runs my streak of money finishes to four straight. Third, third, second, third. I played really well tonight, save for the ace jack play, which killed me. I could have pretty much cruised into heads up with Roy, but I'm greedy. Roy ended up winning, taking his third yellow chip, so I have some work to do to catch up.

Quote of the day: "You... I want ALL of your chips!"- Marcel Luske

Terrence's bankroll: $180+$5=$185

Tonight I held a game in the lounge, seeing as we didn't get to play on Tuesday. There were nine of us, and the field was pretty decent. Me, Pete, Roy, Bobby, Godwin, Ryan, Alex, Andrew, and Josh all bought in for ten bucks apiece. Wow, more than five, you say! Yes, shut up.

I started off on Roy's right (again), which wasn't a good sign, but I had resolved not to get too involved with him unless I had to. A few hands into the game I picked up my favorite hand, pocket tens. I decided to limp with them, as we had a lot of multiway pots early on, and try to set up. If the flop came all unders, I'd play it strong, but otherwise I could get away cheap. The flop came queen 10 4, with 5 of us limping in. Bingo! Everybody checked, including me, and Bobby bet out four bucks. I knew I had him, so I flat called it, hoping to milk him later. Everyone else folded it. The turn was an 8, meaning jack 9 had a straight, but I didn't figure Bobby had bet out on a draw in this situation. I just called his 5 dollar bet again. The river was a blank, and I checked again, hoping to really stick him. He bet 10 this time, and after thinking for a while, I raised it all-in. He had a dollar more than me, so he was basically all-in as well. When he didn't call right away it was obvious that I had him, so I was rooting for a call. He said, "I wonder if your two pair is better than my two pair." I didn't say a word, but in my head I was thinking, "Yeah, I think it is." He decided to call with queens and fours, and I showed my set of tens. Very nasty. I doubled up early and had a good stack.

The very next hand, I picked up tens again. I decided to limp again, as it had worked last time, and I still didn't want to get crazy with the blinds so low. I few others limped, and the flop came jack 9 4. I checked, and Roy bet out 4 bucks, not a huge bet considering the pot, and I thought my tens may have been good. I also had a backdoor flush and straight draw, but I was calling to see what developed later on in the hand. Everyone else folded. The turn was a queen of clubs, giving me an open-ended straight flush draw. I checked it again, and Roy bet 5, not very big. I called. The river was a blank, so I checked again, as did Roy. His jacks were good.

Alex was the first one out when he tried to bluff Roy out of an $80 dollar pot with ace high, ace ten specifically. Roy, being totally pot committed, called with ace queen, and ace high won. Alex said, "I don't know how he called that," but he was getting 8-1! That was just a retarded play.

A few hands later, I folded. Roy came in raising, Bobby reraised, then Pete reraised him! Psychotic. It got back to Roy, and he rerereraised. Bobby folded, and Pete called. The flop came ace 4 6. Roy checked, Pete thought for a while, and bet... 1 dollar. Into a $40 pot. Roy raised him $5, as anyone would do when faced with such a My Little Pony bet. Pete called, and then they checked it down. Roy had pocket kings, Pete pocket jacks. Pete, fold that crap with a raise and a reraise in front of you! Jacks never work anyway, as we'll soon find out.

Andrew was shortstacked, and he hadn't been playing that well, as he wanted to go get drunk. He went all-in for something like ten bucks, while the blinds were .50- $1. He's another one that bets way too much. He could have just raised it $3, then gotten away from it if he had to, but he's crazy, so what are you gonna do. I looked down and saw pocket jacks, and I flat called it, not wanting to get into trouble if someone picked up a big hand behind me. Everyone folded. Andrew said, "It's either a coin flip or I'm in deep shit." He flipped over pocket fours, and I confirmed that he was in deep shit. I showed my jacks, but said, "Don't worry, jacks never hold up here, anyway." And they really don't. The flop was innocuous, the turn was a brick, and the river was a 4. I didn't even react, because I'm used to having 3-out suckouts go against me. I was still fine, though.

More people started getting whacked, and I was sitting on an average stack with about 5 of us left. Roy got knocked out by Godwin when his 3's ran into Godwin's 6's. That left Josh, Ryan, myself, and Godwin. Godwin and I were the shorter stacks, although we weren't in serious trouble, as the blinds weren't huge. I have to say, the structure I came up with for this tournament was really perfect. I based it off Roy's system of .25, $1, and $2 chips, but instead of $25 in chips, I gave everyone $40. It worked really well, and I'm going to use it again in the future. I hope Roy picks it up for the Thursday game, too.

With the blinds at 2-4, I picked up king jack in first position. I just doubled the blind, as most people were calling preflop, and I didn't want to get in big trouble, but I also wanted to establish myself as the aggressor. Ryan called, and the flop was king jack jack. I come from a small tribe... I checked, because that's what I do, and Ryan bet ten bucks. I only had another 19, so I figured I should go all-in now to look like I was bluffing, rather than call and set the alarm bells off in his head. I figured he had a king, as Ryan gives me respect and doesn't try to bluff me out. I said out loud, "Alright, I think we have a kicker war," then I raised all-in. He thought for a minute, then flipped over pocket 9's. I thought he had folded them, so I was about to rake the pot, when he said, "I call." Haha. I love having someone drawing dead to double me up on the flop. Everyone in the room was like, "Oh crap." Haha, this is why I play poker. Needless to say, the running 9's didn't come, and I doubled up to get pretty comfortable. I should also take this time to say that Ryan played really well tonight. I've had the impression of him as kind of a loose cannon at Roy's- not a very good player- but he showed me something tonight. I hope he keeps playing like this all the time, as he was very tough.

I forgot a hand that happened earlier that cost me a good chunk of my stack. I had pocket queens. Godwin came in raising 6 bucks, and Josh called it (he called everything). This has worked well for him, as he had caught a lot of retarded cards, such as his ace 6 against Roy's ace queen, with the board showing ace ace king 4. All the money was in after the turn, and Josh caught a 6 on the river to stay alive. A pretty bad play, in my opinion. How do you play that? What do you think Roy has? Some people just can't fold anything above a certain level on their hand rank cards. Anyway, I reraised 18 with my queens, knowing I had the best hand, but also not wanting to see a flop with an ace in it so they could catch their cheap cards. Godwin folded, and Josh called, because he had already put money in the pot, of course. The flop came king king 6. Crap. I bet out 10, hoping to get rid of him, but he raised all-in almost immediately. I had about 33 left. There was about $70 in the pot. He had this little smile on his face that I had only seen once all night, and it had been when he was bluffing. I was so close to calling, but I decided I was good enough to come back and take over again. If he had a king, I was drawing to a two-outer for my tournament life. Not exactly an optimal situation. If it was a cash game, I probably would have called, without that fear of going broke. I ended up folding it, and he told me later he had ace ten, although I don't know if I believe him. I'm fine with my decision, because I think I'm the best one at that table, so I knew I could come back.

Godwin got knocked out in fourth, leaving everyone left in the money, when his king ten couldn't catch against Josh's pocket 4's. The payout was 50-30-10, so I was at least getting my money back. The blinds were starting to pick up, so stealing became a very viable option. I got 4 5 of spades on the button, so I raised it 8 bucks over the 2-4 blinds. Ryan called in the small blind, and Josh folded- for once. The flop was king ten 7, all clubs. I didn't have any clubs, so I was drawing dead to almost anything. That meant I had to bet him out. He checked, and I bet 10, not wanting him to think I was pushing him out. He called. The next card was a blank. I bet ten again, knowing he was weak. He called again. At this point I put him on a draw of some kind, probably for the flush. The river was an offsuit queen. That meant that unless he was chasing an inside straight he hadn't hit. He checked it again, and I was pretty sure I wasn't getting slowplayed. I said out loud, "Alright, we'll go through this charade again." As in the check bet call act we'd been going through. I wanted him to think I had a good hand and I wanted a call. I bet out 20, and he folded. He said he was on a straight draw and a flush draw. I think he must have paired up the queen if he was on a straight draw, but he figured that wasn't good enough with me betting out the whole way. He laid it down, and I breathed a big sigh of relief. That was a huge pot for me, and it hurt Ryan pretty good. He went out a little later, I'm not sure what beat him.

Now I was heads up with Josh, who had been running pretty lucky all night. I knew I was much better than him, so I was confident despite having a 2-1 chip disadvantage. The blinds were now at 3-6, and I decided to come out aggressive early. I had a 9 2 offsuit, and I raised it 10 bucks. He reraised 30. I folded. Next hand, I had jack 7. After he limped, I raised it 10 bucks. He reraised 20. I folded. Next hand I picked up 4 6. I raised it 15 bucks. He reraised 40. I folded. Man, this was not working. I had just pissed away most of my chips without even playing a hand post-flop. Now that I was down real big, I decided to stop the aggressive play, because it obviously wasn't working. I starting limping with most things, and I still couldn't get a hand. He took literally the first 9 pots. I was down to about a 10-1 chip disadvantage, and saw jack ten with about 30 bucks left. Screw it, I figured. This is the best thing I've seen yet, and I need to double up. I went-all in, and he called immediately. I figured I was in big trouble against two overs probably, but he had pocket 7s. That was good news, because now it was a coinflip. I hit a ten on the flop, and I doubled up. I continued to pick up non-hands and lose my money, and I was back to where I had been before my double up. I got jack 2, and went all-in, praying for a fold, which he did. A few hands later, he came in raising ten. I noticed his hand was shaking, and I even said it to him. I saw ace ten, and figured I had to go for it with as short a stack as I had, so I went all-in. He called, and showed me that rotten devil hand, ace queen. We hit an ace on the flop, but I couldn't pick up a ten, so I took second and $30. That makes 5 straight finishes in the top 3 out of fields of 29, 27, 12, 11, and 9. Pretty impressive. This money finish ran my bankroll up over 200, and my winnings since school began to over 100.

Oh, and I forgot to say, Pete got whacked again by Roy, but before that he doubled up with quad tens when he was all-in preflop with pocket tens. What a hand. Pocket tens are so nice.

Quote of the week: "Say no to tilt."- Ryan

Terrence's bankroll: $185+$20= $205

Last night was the Stacy Poker Tour tournament, returning after a week hiatus. The turnout was slightly below what we're used to, with 23 entrants. There were a couple new faces, as well, with Roy, Bobby, and Ryan playing in their first Tuesday game. We started off with three tables, and I got carded to what seemed to be the toughest one. Aaron, the current Tournament of Champions points leader was seated three to my left, while last week's winner, Andy, was on my right. There were a couple weak players at either end of the table, though, so I figured as long as I was careful, I could increase my stack.

A few hands in, I picked up ace ten of spades UTG+1. Andy limped in from under the gun, and so did I. The small blind limped- this kid Todd who is a real fag and might get a beating soon, and the big blind made a small raise. Everyone called, because when you double the big blind, anyone that has already limped has no reason to fold. Stupid. The flop was ace ace 5. Wowsa. I decided to slowplay it, as these guys can't help but bet. It got checked through on the flop, and then I checked it again on the turn, which was a 9. The river came, pairing up the 5, so I knew I was set. Todd bet out 20, and the big blind called it. I put the big blind on a pocket pair above 9s, which he thought were good, and I thought Todd was just stealing. I raised it 20, hoping to get a call. Todd folded, and the other kid called. He showed pocket tens, and my boat won it. Why did he call there? He said he didn't think I had it. Good read. I think anyone could see I had it by the way it played out, but I won't complain because that was easy money.

I took a few small pots in the next half hour or so- nothing substantial. Our table was playing pretty tight, so everyone was pretty easy to read. I folded a full house to Aaron one time, which I didn't feel like losing a lot of money on. The flop was 10 10 queen on my big blind. I had 10 5. I checked it, and he bet the like ten. I called it. The next card paired the queen. I checked it again, and he bet 25 this time. I figured him for the queen, so I mucked it. A little while later I picked up pocket kings UTG. I raised it to 12 to play, and the kid two to my left went all-in for another 19. He had been playing tight after giving all his money away in the first few hands, only playing once to call a guy with king high on the river. I know that's the opportunity I wait for when I'm low on chips. I called his 19, and he showed ace queen of clubs. The board didn't help him, so I took a nice little pot, and I had the chip lead at the table.

Shortly after that hand, we recombined to two tables, as we were down to 16 players left. Pretty much all of my friends were still alive. Pete, Jon, Roy, Godwin, Bobby, and Ryan were all in it, so it looked like we could have a real battle on our hands.

Before I go on, I need to say something about my first table. I respect anyone who can play well, and who knows what they're doing. But you have to know the rules of the game. Aaron is a very good player, but he disrespects everyone at the table with the way he acts. Almost every hand that he wasn't in on, he gave a running commentary. For example, Godwin was involved with another guy in a pot, and Aaron told the guy, "If a spade comes, fold, because he hit his flush." I tried to tell him to be quiet when a hand is going on, but he wasn't taking it. Anybody playing poker, heed this advice. It's fine to talk while playing. If you're talking about anything besides the hand in play, go right ahead. But don't talk about what you think someone has or how you would play this particular hand. It's bad form, and it's against the rules, too.

Another piece of advice- If you're playing in a tournament that you're not hosting, don't spend the whole night whining about the structure of the tournament. If you don't like it, don't play. Simple as that. Otherwise you may get a beating like that kid Todd is going to get.

Back to the game: I was in the ping pong room for my second table, and the only one that stayed with me from the first table was Godwin, who was still one to my left. Jonathan was on his left, and we had Alex, Josh, this kid Joe, and two other kids that I don't remember too much. The first hand at the table, I came in raising, and Alex called it. I bet out on the flop and took it. The next hand I got pocket 4s. Josh came in raising to 12 bucks, and I called it, as did Jonathan behind him. The flop was 9 4 2. They both checked it, which was unlike them, so I threw out a small bet of 12 bucks. The pot had 40 bucks in it, so I figured I would get some action, but they both laid it down. Grr.

I had a nice chip stack, better than average, so I just waited on some nice hands. I took a few small pots, but overall, I didn't take anything big. My stack increased, though, so I can't complain. My one big pot came on the final hand of our table, as I had ace jack on the big blind. Godwin and two other guys had limped, so I figured I wanted to thin the field, and maybe even take it right there. I raised it another 25, and Godwin went all-in. The other two folded, and I had to call another 65 or so to play. With most people, I would think they had trapped with a monster, like pocket kings, but Godwin had this whole feeling of being frustrated all night, so I got the sense that he was looking to either double up or go home. At first I put him on a mid-pocket pair, like 5's or 6's, but the more I thought about it, the more I figured he would have come in raising with a hand like that. I finally put him on a worse ace, as he may have figured I would raise with something like king queen, and he figured his hand was best. I called him, and he flipped over ace 9. Big read. My ace jack held up, and I took Godwin out.

Pete got knocked out in tenth, so he got a point in the standings, but I didn't get to see him play, as we were never at the same table. Godwin was ninth place, so he's also on the board now.

We got to the final table with some familiar faces. Jonathan, Roy, Aaron, Andy, and Alex were all there, as well as fag Todd, Joe, and me. Roy was shortstacked, and he lost most of his money when his 8's ran into Andy's 9's to double him up. Jonathan got whittled down to almost nothing, then went on a crazy rush, doubling up twice in a row. He went out in 6th after he went all-in on the button with 9 10 and got called by Todd's ace queen. Todd actually ended up with a boat when it was all said and done.

Down to 5 players, with 4 making the money, Aaron was the shortstack, with me next. Alex had a huge chip lead, and Todd and Andy were in good shape. It's worth noting that Todd should have been killed by Andy earlier when he went all-in on a flush draw and got called by Andy's pocket 7s. The flush came on the river, so Todd stayed alive.

Aaron was looking to double up, and he managed to stay pretty aggressive, despite being shortstacked. He raised it one time on the small blind, just doubling the big blind. Alex came over the top, as he had been doing all night, and Aaron said, "Man, you've been pushing me around all night," then pushed all his chips in the pot. It was another 130 or so to call, and I knew Alex was in big trouble, but he just can't lay down a hand when he has money in the pot. He called. Aaron showed pocket aces, and Alex had ace queen. The aces held up, and Aaron was now a force to be reckoned with.

Alex doubled up on Aaron a few hands later when Aaron went all-in with queen high on a bluff on the turn. He had raised preflop, bet on the flop, then went all-in on the turn, with a board of 2 4 7 8. Alex called and showed queen 7, so Aaron was actually drawing dead. Aaron was pissed that he made this call, but Aaron always gets pissed when people call him. Don't bet on nothing, then! Especially against a calling station like Alex.

Alex reverted back to his old ways of calling everything, though, and he lost most of his chips back to Aaron. I stayed tight, not finding a hand to play, and not wanting to be the last one out of the money. Andy got knocked out by Todd when Todd's top pair held up against Andy's second pair and a straight draw. Now we were down to 4.

The blinds were at 8-16 at this point, and I only had about 100 total, so I needed to make a move. Finally, after watching Aaron go all-in about 10 times, I saw ace 6 in first position. I was down to about 80 chips at this point, so I figured I had to make a move. I went all-in, and was called by Todd, who showed king queen offsuit. The flop was 2 6 9, so I had paired my sixes, but I could still easily lose. The turn was a 4 of spades, which put three of them on the board. Todd had the king of spades, so he needed a spade, a queen, or a king to beat me. The river was the 6 of spades, giving me trips but him a flush, so I was out in 4th. I got 15 bucks for my efforts, not much, but it's better than losing 5.

Down to threehanded, Alex got knocked out when he had top pair against Aaron's top two pair. Aaron then beat Todd heads up when Todd called with queen high after the flop. Good play, Todd. I need to find a way to keep this kid from playing, because he's a real pain, as well as being a bad card player. He got 30 bucks though, so I'm sure he's happy. Aaron took $50, and all the points that come with it, so he distanced himself from me a little bit in the Player of the Year race, although I gained on pretty much everyone else. In the end, I can't complain because I added another money finish, as well as solidified my standing in the Tournament of Champions.

Quote of the day: "Well those cards didn't help me."- Alex, after the flop came in one hand. He then proceeded to raise someone $50.

Terrence's bankroll: $205+10=$215