Tonight was Roy's game, with 14 people buying in. I got carded to the floor, as per the custom in that room, and was seated to Jonathan's left, with John Moon, Alex, Ryan, Pete, and Bobby going around.

I saw a couple flops early and lost just a little bit of money. Meanwhile, there was action all over the place. Pete got shortstacked early, then doubled up on a very strange hand. Jon raised it a buck on the small blind, and everyone called, including me, with a 7 10 of hearts. Alex, Ryan, and Pete were all in the hand, as well. The flop came 5 7 jack. Jon checked, so did I, and it got checked around to Pete. Pete bet out two bucks, a pretty average bet. Jon then raised him $5. Everyone folded to Pete, who said, "Oh, I guess I should look at my cards now." He was joking, or so I thought. After a little while of thinking, he goes, "I'm all-in," with very un-Pete-like authority. Jon thinks for a while, then calls. Pete shows pocket jacks, for a set of jacks, and Jon flipped over 5 8 of spades, giving him bottom pair with a backdoor flush draw. Oh boy. The turn is a spade, giving Pete a temporary heart attack, as Jon was now four to a flush. It's worth noting that Pete has lost multiple times before when flopping a top set of jacks. The river was an offsuit ace, though, so Pete doubled up.

It was at this time that I told Roy to bust out the birthday present that we had gotten Jon. Roy and I were looking on ebay for something for Jon's birthday, and found a golden fish trophy. On it, we had inscribed, "Big Red- World's Greatest Fisherman." What better time to bust it out then here? If he would have won that hand, we would have had to erect a statue, as well.

A little bit later I had king 8 of clubs on the big blind. Bobby raised it a dollar, as he had been doing all night, as he had a ton of pocket pairs, and I called. The flop was ace 2 3, and I bet out 3 bucks. Bobby called. I figured he had something like ace ten or ace 9, as he called pretty quick, but never really looked like he wanted to raise it. I, of course, had nothing. The turn was a king, giving me a pair, and I bet out 3 again, wanting to see the river cheap. I was also hoping to communicate to Bobby that his kicker wasn't good enough, but he called immediately again. The river was an 8, giving me two pair. I decided to go all-in for my last 11 bucks, honestly because I didn't want to have to show my hand. Betting out on the flop with nothing then getting runner runner for two pair usually doesn't go over too well. At this point, Bobby decided his kicker was no good, and threw away his ace 9. This pot put me in decent shape, probably third behind Pete and Bobby at my table.

I didn't play any huge hands of note for a while after that. One time Bobby came raising a buck on my big blind again, and I called with 10 8 off. The flop was queen 10 5. We both checked. The turn was a queen. We both checked. The river was an 8, not that it mattered because I had tens and queens. I figured I was best, so I just threw out a dollar. He called with pocket 6s, so I took that pot.

Meanwhile, Moonie the Gentleman got knocked out. He had lost all his money earlier to Pete after raising Pete big on the flop, betting big on the turn, and then folding when Pete raised him all-in for his last 3 bucks. There was about 40 bucks in the pot, so he must have been on a total bluff. Alex also got whacked, so we had 5 of us left when the following hand came up.

The blinds were now at .50-$1. I didn't like my position, because anytime I wanted to come in raising I had to be wary of Pete and Bobby on the blinds. Anyway, Pete came in raising on my big blind- 3 dollars on top. I called with pocket 3s. The flop came ace queen 7, and I bet out 4 bucks. Pete raised me 6. Here was my thinking. I figured Pete had a lousy ace, and he was throwing out a feeler bet. Something like ace ten. I called him, figuring he would think he was beat when I made the call, and I could take it later. The turn was another queen, the perfect scare card. I checked to Pete, who bet out 6 bucks again. I was sure I could make him fold his ace, so I went all-in for another $15.50. This apparently wasn't the right time to do it, as Pete called after thinking for two seconds and flipped over king queen. I dug my own grave on this hand, making a bad read, combined with a fancy play. That's just a recipe for disaster. I don't feel bad, though, for a few reasons. First off, although I've been in the money a lot lately, I haven't been able to win because I'm always shortstacked at the final table. I made a resolution to go after some more chips early, and I thought this was the right time to do it. I trusted my read, which is usually right, but it got me broke. The second reason I don't mind is because this marked a huge turning point for Pete. Up until today, Pete would never have made the play he made against me in this hand. With second pair, he would either have flat called or folded on the flop. I've been really encouraging Pete to try more aggressive moves, and to play a little looser. The old Pete would have always had an ace in this situation, but the new Pete got me to give him all my chips by being aggressive and forcing me to make a bad read. Excellent play, Pete. i hope he wins. I told him after I got knocked out to go kick some ass.

Quote of the day: "Every time I've rubbed the fish I've had suited connectors."- Jonathan, Big Red Fish

Terrence's bankroll: $215-$5= $210