Tuesday night's Stacy Poker Tour event was big for many reasons. For one, I was coming off a second place finish last week, as well as a first on Thursday, so I really wanted to continue my momentum. Also, I needed to set the tone early in the Player of the Year race. Right now, some of the strongest players, namely Aaron and Dan, haven't been able to put together any really strong finishes, so I felt like if I could jump out to an early lead, I'd be able to run away with it this semester. Gibby and Joe, the two guys currently at the top, are much improved from last semester, but I don't think they have the staying power that I do. I've also been getting good cards for the most part, and I've been playing everything extremely well. Everything is feeling more and more natural now- whereas in the past I had to focus on focusing, now I'm more relaxed, and I'm able to maintain that same level of focus without making a concerted effort to do it. I think that comes with playing so much- eventually you've been in almost every situation, and you have a wealth of knowledge to call upon.

A few new guys came out on Tuesday, so we had 18 players all told. I got put in the lounge, which seems to be my home this semester, and the seating went me, this new kid Matt, Gibby, Donald, Aaron, Will, Joe, a new kid named Grayson, and Pete. I absolutely loved this seating arrangement, as I had the tight players, Matt and Gibby, seated to my left, so I could be sure to feast on a steady diet of blinds. The more aggressive guys acted right before me, so I could use position against them.

In the first round, I played my share of pots, but didn't hit anything big, and I was about even as we neared the second round. I woke up to see aces on my big blind after Grayson limped from the button and Pete limped from the small blind. This was my first time playing with Grayson, but he was your prototypical terrible player. First of all, he was Greg's friend, so that's all I needed to know, but he also calls any amount of money after he contributed to the pot. He never raises preflop (limping from the button?), but he showed a tendency to throw out huge overbets on the flop without necessarily having anything. With the blinds at 100-200, I figured an overbet was in order. I didn't think Pete would call any kind of raise, so I had to dust off my Grayson ATM card here. I raised 1000 into the 600 dollar pot, and Grayson predictably called without much thought. Pete folded after giving me an angry look, and we saw a flop of rag rag rag with two hearts. I checked it to Grayson, hoping he'd throw out a massive overbet again and I could trap him for all his chips. He bet 3000, leaving himself with about 800, and I raised all-in. He then started thinking and shaking his head. First of all, there was about 9400 in the pot right now, and he was getting almost 12-1 on his money. He said, "You may have a couple hearts, and I'd hate to lose to a flush." Everyone at the table was telling him to call, but I told them to shut up and let the man play his hand. I knew I had him by far, but if he had just a pair, he could still draw out on me, so I was fine with him folding. Eventually, he folded and said he had ace 9, for ace high, so he would have had to hit 9 9 to beat me, just a bit of a longshot. This pot put me up to about 13,000 going into the next level.

Joe, last week's winner, was the chip leader at the time, as he had taken a monster pot off of Matt, and he was up over 20,000. This, of course, didn't make me happy, as I wanted my revenge on him. On his big blind, with the blinds at 200-400, I looked down to see pocket aces once again in early position. I raised it 1200 on top of the blinds, and both Will and Joe called. Will looked like he wanted to reraise, but decided not to. The flop came jack 7 5 with two clubs, a very good flop for aces, and after Will checked, Joe bet out 1200. I didn't figure him to be drawing, and I smooth-called it to trap him later. Will said, "I don't like Terrence calling here," then folded. The turn was a king, and I figured the only thing that could hit me was king jack right now. Joe bet out only 1000 this time, and I raised him 3000. This threw him for a loop, as he knows I wouldn't call with just overcards, and he called. The river was an ace, giving me top set, so now the only thing that could beat me was queen ten, and the only way he could hold that was if he had queen ten of clubs, and remember, I had ruled out a draw for him. Much to my surprise, Joe fired out 5000. I'm assuming he saw the ace as a scare card for me, and he thought I would lay down a lower pair. I raised all-in for another 2450, and he called pretty much just to see what I had, as I think he had just jacks. I was hoping someone would jump up and yell, "Does this look like a man beaten by jacks?!" but it didn't happen. This pot was monstrous, and I was up near 30 grand with a monster chip lead.

Once I got the lead, I started raising like I had a plane to catch. There was $600 of blinds laying out there at all times, and Matt, Gibby, and Donald weren't defending their blinds at all. Will was the second chip leader after he took out Aaron and Grayson on a huge hand (pocket queens for Will, ace king for Aaron, king ten for Grayson. Matt actually quadrupled up on this hand with pocket aces, but Will still took a huge pot off of Aaron to more than make up for it), and he was the only one that could do any damage to me. Grayson was gone, and Gibby had gotten a rough break when his kings didn't hold up against Matt's queens. Pete lost a rough hand to Joe when Joe went all-in on a flop of queen 9 10, Pete called with bottom two pair, and Joe hit an ace on the river to make aces up. This got Joe back in the game, but knocked Pete down to the felt.

My next big hand came against Will. I picked up ace king in early position, and came in raising 1200. Will called from the small blind, and the flop king 8 2, two spades. Will bet out 1500, and I smooth-called, figuring a raise would scare him off, and I could induce a bluff later on with a weak-looking call. If he had something like king queen, this could be a gold mine. The turn was the 5 of spades, putting the flush out there. Will checked. This was a little suspicious, as Will tends to stay strong if he isn't raised, but I thought he could have easily concluded my call meant I was fishing for the flush. I checked, too, again trying to induce a bluff, plus I had the king of spades if another one fell. The river paired up the deuce on board. Will came out betting 6000, a seriously big bet at this point in the game. No one else at the table had too much more than 6 grand. I tried to figure out what the hell he could have to make this bet. I started to worry that he had hit the flush and tried to trap me with a check on the turn. I wasn't worried about the deuce pairing too much, if he had a set, he had me from the get-go. Still, I had top pair, top kicker, and he may have been hoping I would call with something less than his king queen. The bet was just so big, though, that it seemed to be a bluff. I had played it weak throughout with the intention of inducing this bet, but when it came it still scared me. I called, and he flipped over pocket 10s, so my kings were good, and Will was now crippled, as well.

The entire table wanted no piece of me at this point. I was raising, raising, raising, and everyone else was getting whittled away. Donald was the only one that managed to get me, taking a few small pots to get himself healthy again. Joe was the next one to go out, after doubling up a couple times, his luck finally ran out.

I could have taken Pete out at one point, but I laid down pocket 8s preflop after Joe limped in early position, Pete went all-in, and I had a lot of people behind me to act. Pete only had ace 6, and I would have flopped top set then rivered quads. This didn't make me happy, but I was hitting everything else under the sun, so I can't complain.

We merged into the final table with 9 of us left. I had the chip lead, and seating went me, Dan, a new kid named Dave, Andy, Will, Donald, Matt, Alex, and Pete. Most of the pots early on got taken by a raise and a bet on the flop, and it seemed most guys were playing cautiously to make their way up the ladder for points and cash. With the blinds at 500-1000, Andy, who had been staying pretty quiet as his stack got blinded off, came in raising 2500 under the gun. I looked down to see queen ten of spades on the button. Normally, I wouldn't call this raise, because I'd give Andy credit for having a big hand under the gun, but he seemed to be getting impatient, plus I had position on him, so I figured I might be able to bust him with a favorable flop, as if he has one weakness, it's that he tends to overplay his hands when he's out of position. I called, and the blinds folded. The flop came 10 6 3, and Andy went all-in right off the bat for another 8 grand or so. I started thinking, and felt pretty sure that he didn't have an overpair, because he would figure not to get called in a spot like this. I thought he had a mid-pocket pair between 6 and 10, or just overcards. There was as much in the pot as there was in his stack, and I knew he needed to take it. I called with top pair, and he tabled ace queen, which was beautiful, because he only had three outs. He was shocked that I had called his raise with queen ten, and he derisively said, "Nice flop," but I don't see anything wrong with how I played it. For one thing, I'm the chip leader, so I can afford to gamble a little bit more, and for another, I knew he overplayed his hands and that's exactly what he did. The position paid off beautifully. He couldn't hit an ace on the turn or river, so we had our first casualty of the final table.

All of a sudden, the room got dark and a crackling, electrical sphere appeared out of nowhere. I appeared out of it, naked, but with giant muscles. I slowly rose as some mean-sounding music played in the background. I then went to find some guns.

OK, that didn't really happen, but what followed really seemed like a scene from Terminator. After taking out Andy, I got Alex on a hand I can't remember for some reason. Hasta la vista, baby. Then came Pete. He made one of his silly raises right before me for about 3/4 of his stack, and I looked down to see ace queen of spades. I reraised something like 6000 to drive out the others, and Pete called after saying that he didn't want me to "push him around." He had king jack, and I hit a queen on the flop to finish him. Pete's problem this semester is that his ego is getting in the way of his play. He doesn't want to be bullied, so he's calling every bet I make. I, of course, love this because I just keep coming at him with big hands. Next was Donald. I have to confess, this was my one bad read of the night. Donald had just doubled the blind preflop, and I called from the big blind with queen 7 of hearts. The flop came down ace queen 6, and after I checked, he went all-in. I thought that my queen was good, and I called him, but he had ace 5. I got extremely lucky and hit a 7 on the river for two pair to take him out.

Now that we were one off the money, here's how the stacks looked. I still had the big stack, while Dan had lost a fair portion of his stack when Matt got lucky and moved all-in with 8s on the flop. Dan called him with 10s, and Matt hit an 8 on the river to win. This was the third time he had cracked a higher pocket pair, and now he had a huge stack. Will was getting shortstacked, as was Dave.

Nobody really wanted to die on the bubble, and most all-ins didn't get called. Dave's only move was all-in, and he kept going down as a result of it. Honestly, I don't know why you play if you don't know how to. I don't see how moving all-in for 10 times the blind is any fun. Oh well. Anyway, Will came in raising 4 grand under the gun, and Matt went all-in over the top of him for another 35 grand or so, a monstrous bet. Matt was the second chip leader behind me, and I looked down to see pocket jacks. It was clear that Will wasn't going to call the bet, so I just had to worry about Matt. I really didn't want to get my money in against him with a coin flip, because I would have taken a huge dent to my stack if I did it and lost. Judging by his previous play, though, I figured him for a mid-pocket pair, as he had really been pushing hard whenever he picked one up. I also knew that he kept drawing out on people, too, so I was in a tough spot. His bet really seemed weak to me, though, and I called. He showed pocket 7s, so I was a 4.5/1 favorite, and the jacks held up to knock Matt out in 5th.

I limped in under the gun with ace queen, hoping to trap someone and reraise all-in if I got the chance. Unfortunately, no one raised, so I saw a three-way flop with Dan and Matt. It was all low stuff, something like 5 7 2 with two spades, and after Matt checked, I bet 5000 to try to take it down right there. Dan moved all-in for another 2500 or so, and after deciding that a pair would be good if I hit, I called. Dan had 8 9 of spades, for a flush draw as well as a gutshot. The turn was a king of clubs, but the river gave him his flush, so he doubled up. He got shortstacked again, though, and Will took him out a little bit later.

Will had been going all-in like a maniac, and he kept taking the blinds to build his stack up nicely. Finally, a hand came up between Will and Dave. Dave limped on the small blind, and Will checked. The flop came queen 10 4. Dave checked, and Will bet 8 thousand. Dave moved all-in and Will called immediately. It was only about 6 thousand more. Dave had pocket aces, and Will had 10 7 for a pair of 10s. The river brought a 7 for his two pair, though, so Dave was done. I don't think I saw the kid win one pot except for the times he went all-in preflop. I don't know how he made the final table.

Heads up, I was brimming with confidence, as I had been outplaying Will in our few encounters, and I had pretty much gone wire-to-wire up to this point. I also had about a 2-1 chip lead. On the first hand, Will limped in and I had jack 7 of clubs. I checked, and I threw a bet out on a low flop to take it down. The blinds were at 4000-8000. The next hand, I picked up ace king, and I raised it 14,000 on top of the blind. Will went all-in, and I called. He had king 8, so I had him dominated. The flop had an ace, so it was all over. I had my first Stacy Poker Tour title of the semester, and I launched myself into first place in the Player of the Year standings. I also grabbed $80 to put my bankroll over $900. And I did my best Arnold impression. Next week, "I'll be back."

Quote of the day: "Oh, look at that look on the defending champion,"- said by Will during a hand with me (borrowed from Rounders and the 1988 World Series, of course.)

Terrence's bankroll: $854+$70=$924

I've now played in four tournaments since I last wrote here, which is unfortunate because there have been some really good games since then. I'll sum up the past three before going in depth on tonight's action.

A week and a half ago at our Thursday game, I took first place when I beat Bobby heads up after cruising for much of the night. On the final hand, I had ace queen, he had ace jack, and we got all our money in on a flop of ace king ten. I hit a jack on the turn for the nut straight, so I took $20 and my 12th yellow chip.

Last Tuesday's Stacy Poker Tour event finally saw the end of my streak of dominance. I have to admit, I went on tilt a little bit at the final table after I got reraised on five straight hands that I played laying them all down. I finally made an incredibly retarded call with queen ten after I came in raising and Stephen went all-in. I was getting 2-1 pot odds, and I felt like gambling, but Stephen doesn't move all-in without premium hands, so I shouldn't have been surprised when he turned over queens to annihilate my queen ten. It was a deeply stupid call on my part, and I can only blame myself for tilting in the face of all those reraises. Aaron finally knocked me out later when I made a move with king 8 of spades a couple of spots off the button. He called with ace 3 of diamonds, and the ace held up. I did have a sick hand earlier at my first table, though, where I limped in with pocket queens under the gun, and managed to have two shortstacks go all-in behind me. I was more than happy to call them, and I proceeded to flop top set, then river quads on them. They hand ace high, and ten high, respectively. So that was nice. In the end, though, I finished 9th out of 17 and lost $10.

Last Thursday's game saw me get a frigid wave of cards. I couldn't get any starting hands worth playing, and I had to use every ounce of my shortstack ability to hang on. I ended up finishing third after that bastard Roy trapped me with pocket kings. He limped on the button, I had pocket tens on the big blind, all the money went in (as I said out loud that I knew he was trapping me) and I was out in third. That got me my money back. Other notable things that happened during that game was having Aaron whacked when his kings ran into Nasty Nate's aces, Moonie hitting every card under the sun, flopping about 5 sets, hitting trips with a king kicker another 9 times, yet he still finished in fourth. That's how tough play was when we got four-handed. Oh, and Moonie's new nickname is Moonie the Executioner, coined by me. I'm going to bring a black hood to poker this coming Thursday for him to wear.
For my third place finish, I got my money back. Hooraaaaaaaay.

Terrence's 3 game bankroll: $15-$10+0= $5

Quote of the day: "I know you've been waiting all night to trap me, Roy. Well all right, you got me."- Me as I pushed in all my chips against Roy's sneaky pocket kings.

Now on to tonight's game. I began the night in the ping pong room. We had 14 people play tonight, slightly less than we've been having, but it was still a good number. The seating for my first table was me (I had the button, finally!), Andy, Stephen, Will, Dave, Pete, Dan.

The very first hand, I limped on the button with 4 6 of spades after Dan limped from the cutoff seat. Both blinds played, and we saw a flop of queen 6 2. Everyone checked to me, so I bet out 400. Only Dan called. The turn was a deuce, and he bet out 400. I was a little confused, as I didn't put him on a 2, so I called, thinking I may be letting him chase something cheap, but I didn't want to go nuts with a couple of 6s, either. The river was a queen, and he checked it to me. That meant that I could now beat only a busted draw or very low pockets, so I checked. Dan had queens full, but I'm too smart to go betting into him. So I minimized my losses there. The very next hand, I picked up ace ten on the cutoff, and when everyone folded, I raised it 400 coming in. Only Will called, and when the flop came king queen 3, he checked. I figured he'd bet with anything, so I bet out 600. He folded, saying he didn't want to chase a gutshot, so who knows, maybe he had ace ten, also. That's why it's good to be the aggressor. So after two hands I was basically even.

I cooled down a little bit after that, not playing so many hands, but I still mixed it up with everyone. The good thing about playing with everyone so often is that I no longer have to wait a round or two to get a feel for what everyone is doing. I know how they play, and I can use that knowledge right from the get-go. With the blinds at 200-400, Pete limped in on my big blind, then Dan raised it another 700 to go from the small blind. I called with ace ten and position, and Pete folded. The flop was king queen 8. Dan checked, and I was suspicious, so I took a free card. The turn was a rag, and Dan checked again. Now I figured he either had a huge monster or he had just abandoned the hand. At this point, I put him on mid-pockets, as that board would scare anyone into checking. I bet out 800, and he called. Hmm... I still thought something was up, but I wasn't about to give up on it yet. I didn't think he was strong at all. The river paired the king. Right when it came off, I saw this as a good card for me. There was no way he had a king with the way he had played it. A king would bet out at the flop to make any chasers pay, and he wouldn't check-call the turn. Dan then bet out 1200. I knew immediately that he was weak, and this was some kind of protection bet, meant to represent the king and force me to throw away something like queen jack. I still thought he had mid-pockets, and I quickly raised another 2500, leaving myself with 3000. He thought for about two full minutes, then finally folded. He wanted to know what I had, but I told him he would find out later, as I know he reads my poker diary. I had ace ten, Dan, for just ace high, but I read you as being really weak. I talked to Pete afterwards about this hand, and he remembers thinking that Dan was weak to bet out on the river like he did, and he thought I was full of it when I raised, because he knew that I read Dan as being weak. It's complicated, but that's a little insight to what's going on in my head during a hand.

Taking that pot got me back in very good shape, with about 12.5 grand. If I had lost it, I would have had only 3 thousand left. I didn't want to press my luck too much after that, and I avoided any big hands. I mostly made my living off of eating up Will and Stephen's blinds. Stephen told me he was folding pocket pairs to me when I came in raising, so decided to keep doing it. Most times I had good hands on the button, so if they did play with me I would have been OK, but I was fine taking the blinds and steadily increasing my stack.

Up came a big hand between Pete and Andy. Try to figure out what they both had. Pete came in raising in middle position, 800 on top of the blinds. Andy reraised another 1000 from the small blind. Pete called. The flop was 4 9 10, and Andy bet out 1000 again. Pete raised another 2000 on top, and Andy, after much thinking called. The turn was a jack. Andy checked, and Pete bet out 3000. Andy raised all-in for another 5 thousand or so, and Pete called. What did they both have? I put Andy on aces or kings, judging by the reraise preflop. Andy won't reraise without good hands. I thought Pete had either pocket 9s or tens for a set on the flop. That would explain him only calling Andy's reraise preflop. It would also explain why he pushed so hard on the flop and turn, because it appeared that Andy had an overpair and would pay him off. Well, the read on Andy was right: he had kings. Pete had... ace jack. Which meant he called a reraise preflop with a hand that's in big trouble against almost any reraising hand. Mistake #1. His big raise on the flop wasn't a terrible play, because if Andy had, say, ace king, he would have had to fold it. But then Andy called, so Pete had to give him credit for a big hand. The turn killed Pete, because it gave him top pair, top kicker. I think he stopped thinking about what Andy had and got blinded by his own hand, so he ignored all the signs and put all his money in. Lately Pete's been learning the hard way the dangers of playing ace-x for big money. The river bricked and Pete was dead.

This gave Andy a big stack, so I made a mental note to be more careful raising when Andy was in the hand. I kept stealing blinds, but I was very selective about it. A hand came up where Stephen, under the gun, went all-in for about 7000 with the blinds at 300-600. What the heck??? Everyone folded, and he took the blinds. A very strange play. The very next hand, everyone folded to the blinds (I didn't steal this time, thank God), and Andy raised another 1000 over the big blind. Stephen went all-in again, and Andy called. Stephen had kings, and Andy had ace queen. An ace on the turn gave Andy a new mountain of chips. Stephen wasn't happy about it, but when you play the all-in game, you're going to get burned sooner or later. That's why the best players win by outplaying people after the flop.

We had lost a couple players, so we high-carded someone over from the other table to play 5-handed until we could eliminate one more for the final table. That one was Aaron. He pulled an ace at his table, only to watch Gibby pull an ace, too. He then pulled another ace, meaning he would have had pocket aces if they played that hand, but instead he got to come over with us. We played only about 2 hands before someone went out on the other table, so we combined for the final table at 9. I was in good shape, with around 16 grand. Andy had a huge mountain of chips, over 30 grand. Godwin came in with over 20 grand, and everyone else was either average or shortstacked. Seating went me (the button again!), Andrew, Andy, Will, Gibby, Dave, Aaron, Alex, and Godwin. I stayed selectively aggressive at this table, picking off Gibby and Will's blinds every chance I could, but not trying to raise Dave, aka All-in man's, blinds. I mostly just played my position and built my stack without getting in any big confrontations.

I lost a bit of money on my big blind when Dave and Godwin both limped. I looked down to see 2 3 off, so I checked. The flop was queen 5 2, and we all checked. The turn was a 3, giving me two pair, but it also put a club flush out there. For some reason, I checked, and Dave bet out 3 grand. I called. Very weak. The river was a blank, and I checked again. Dave bet 4 grand, and I called, and he turned over 9 10 of clubs for a flush. He bet it well, I played it weak, so that added up to me losing a good little chunk of my stack. I was still fine, but it was the first time I had lost a showdown all night where any significant amount of money went into the pot.

I got all my money back on the next hand, though. All of it and then some. Three people limped, and Aaron, who had been nursing a shortstack for as long as I had seen him, went all-in for another 5500 on top of the blinds. There was already about 3500 in dead money out there, so it was a good play, but unfortunately for him, I woke up with pocket kings in the small blind. I reraised all-in for another 12 grand or so. Everyone else folded, and he turned over ace 4 of clubs. Someone mentioned that they had folded an ace, so he only had two outs other than a straight or a flush. The board was harmless, though, so I got revenge on Aaron for last week. I also put myself in second chip position behind Andy, and guaranteed that Aaron wouldn't be gaining on me this week in the Tournament of Champions standings.

After that, I was on cruise control for a while, raising a few hands preflop, betting on the flop, and taking most of them down. Andy, meanwhile was dropping pretty steadily, as he was playing way too tightly for a big stack. The blinds were significant, and every round he bled off another 3000 or so of his stack. One hand came up where I raised 3500 from the button and he called on the small blind. I had king 9 of hearts, and the flop was 2 2 6 with two hearts. He checked, so I made a big bet to get him to lay down right there, free cards be damned. I wanted the pot without a fight, because he was the only one that could hurt me. He folded, so I was fine with that.

I tried to be sneaky a while later. Everyone folded to me in the small blind, and I raised it up with 2 4 off. Andy called, and when the flop came ace 6 7, I bet out, and he went all-in. That cost me about 7 grand. Down to 5-handed, I was second in chips, Dave had a good amount, and Alex and Godwin were both shortstacked. The top four got paid, so we were on the bubble. I picked up pocket 7s in second position, and I raised it 4000 over the 1k-2k blinds. Andy reraised another 6000. Everyone else folded, and I had a decision to make. I took a good look at him, and I just didn't get the feeling that he had a monster. I didn't think he would reraise me with something like pocket 9s, so I decided he had something like ace queen, and I moved all-in on top of his raise for another 17 grand or so. He was by no means pot-committed, so I made the raise hoping to move him off his high cards, as I don't want to get in a coin flip with the one guy who can kill me on the bubble. He called, and I said, "You have a pair?" He said no and flipped over ace king of hearts. Eek. My read was good, but I wasn't really happy to be in a coin flip situation for my tournament life. The flop was 5 6 ace, meaning I was in trouble. For some reason, though, a calm came over me, and I felt sure I would hit something. The turn was a 4, making me open-ended, so now I had 10 outs. The river was a beautiful 7, giving me a set to beat his aces, so I doubled up and crippled Andy. I had a huge chip lead after this hand, and I knew I could coast into the top 3 at least. The very next hand, Godwin doubled the blind under the gun, Andy went all-in, Dave went all-in on top of him, and Godwin folded pocket 9s. Andy had jacks, and Dave had 8s. I don't like Dave's play here at all. You're facing a raise and a reraise from two tight players, and you re-push with 8s? Maybe against just one of them that would be OK, but not both. Unfortunately for Andy, the flop came 6 8 8, giving Dave quads. Andy was mighty pissed, and he got up and slammed the door on his way out. He also threw his chips across the table at Dave, which was a bit unsportsmanlike, but Andy's usually a gentleman when he loses, so I think he can have a pass for this time. It all started with pushing with ace king on the hand against me, though. I don't know why people fall in love with ace king so much. If you get raised, then reraised, what can ace king beat? You must be against a pocket pair, in which case you're a slight underdog. If I were him, I would have flat-called with position against me. He would have been able to raise the flop and win the hand when the ace hit.

With Andy out, I knew I'd be gaining on everybody who was near me in the points standings. Four-handed, Alex knocked out Godwin with ace king against queen jack when they were all-in preflop and Alex hit top two pair. Alex doubled up off of me later when he limped on my big blind, and I went all-in, which covered his 10 grand. He called immediately and turned over ace king. I only had ace 6, but still, why the hell would you slowplay ace king? If I would have checked and the flop came down with rags, you just let someone hit their awful cards for free. The flop gave me a 6, so I had him, and the turn was an ace, but then the queen paired up, so my 6s were counterfeited and his king kicker played. This got him back in good position, but I whittled away at him on a couple key hands. I checked pocket 5s on my big blind against Dave. The flop came queen 10 4, and we both checked. The turn paired the ten, so I bet out 4000, and he called. I was pretty sure he was drawing. The river blanked, and when we both checked, my 5s were good. I then got Alex when he came in raising to 10k and I saw pocket 3s. I didn't think he had a pocket pair, but I also didn't want to get it all-in preflop on a coinflip. I called, and when the flop came king 6 6, I checked, he bet out 4 thousand, and I raised 4 thousand. He folded, so I made a good read that my 3s were the best hand, while getting some chips out of him, too. A few hands later, Alex came in raising to 10k again. I saw pocket 9s, and I reraised enough to put him all-in. He called with ace ten, and my 9s held up, so we were heads up.

Dave had a slight edge on me, about 75 grand to 65 grand. He won the first 4 hands when I folded preflop.
My strategy was to see cheap flops and wait for him to move in on me when I had big hands. He loves moving all-in, and I planned on using it against him. On the 5th hand, I picked up pocket aces, and he came in doubling the 2k-4k blinds. I reraised 12 thousand more, and he moved all-in. I immediately called and tabled my rockets, and he only had king 4. The board ended up being 9 9 9 5 jack, so I demolished him. This gave me the chip lead, but he doubled up on me a few hands later when I misread him. I bet 4 thousand with jack 8 on the turn, with the board reading ace ten ten 8. He raised all-in. I thought he was stealing, as there hadn't been any betting up until this point, but he had an ace, so he doubled up.

The pivotal hand of the match came when I had queen 7(computer hand!) of clubs, and I limped in. The flop was ace 10 6, with two clubs, and when he checked. I decided to take a free card to try to win a big pot. I don't like betting my draws against Dave, because he likes to check-raise all-in a lot. The turn was the perfect king of clubs, giving me the nut flush. He checked, and I bet 6 thousand. He raised me 12. I didn't think he was too strong, so I just called, hoping to get a big bet out of him on the river. The river paired the king, which didn't make me happy, because I no longer had the nut flush. He bet out 12 thousand, and I raised another 20. He went all-in for another 16 *(he barely had me covered). I thought for a second, then called. He had 8 9 of clubs, so my queen-high flush took it down. This left him with only about 8 grand, and two hands later we were all-in with 8 10 for me and 6 9 for him. The flop was 3 4 5, which didn't make me happy, but the turn paired my 8, and the river was a king, so I took first place, $60, and a huge lead in the Player of the Year standings.

Quote of the day: tabulas.com/~Peterman You just can't beat that.

Terrence's bankroll: $924+$5+$50=$979

I came into Thursday's game with a renewed sense of purpose, as Roy informed me shortly before the game that his friend Bert was coming for the first time. Roy characterized Bert as a solid player, who plays in Vegas frequently, as well as doing quite well online. Thursday's games are always a challenge, but I was determined to tackle this new challenge head on.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of those games where I got frustrated to no end. Every time I entered a pot, I got checkraised on the flop. It seemed like my opponents were hitting every flop, while I was missing everything. A couple of these run-ins came with Bert. I remember one hand where I came in raising with 7 9 of spades on the button. Bert defended his big blind, and we saw a flop of ace queen 9. He checked it to me, so I threw a bet out, hoping to take it down right there. He came over the top for about twice my original bet, so I mucked it, saying "Take it with your lousy ace." By this time, I had already been check-raised enough times to fill my monthly quota, so I was a bit irritable. He turned over ace king of hearts, though, so that had to make me laugh at my own stupidity.

One would think that I would take my foot off the gas pedal after being check-raised repeatedly. One would be wrong. "Why don't you try to limp into more pots, or play less hands. Tighten up, Terrence!" you might say. My response to that would be, "Easy for you to say. You're not retarded." I didn't learn my lesson, and I continued to make bad plays. I saw pocket 9s after Roy came in with a raise. The right play would have been to push all-in, seeing as I was a shortstack, or fold, giving Roy credit for a real hand. I flat-called, then when the flop came with three overcards, I tossed it. Very weak.

My demise came on a hand that I shouldn't have been in in the first place. Two people limped in early position, and I saw 10 6 off on the button. I limped as well, figuring I could get out cheap if I missed the flop. My plan was to move all-in if I paired up, unless of course there were multiple overcards. The blinds checked, and the flop was 2 3 6. That's about all I could ask for. Both blinds checked, and Yush bet out. I figured he had low suited connectors, something like 5 6 or 6 7. I was a little worried he had mid-pockets, like 7s or 8s, but I figured I had to move with this flop. I went all-in. To my horror, Bert then reraised all in. "Jesus, he's sitting on 4 5 or a set of deuces or 3s." I figured I was drawing dead. Yush then called the all-in, which really didn't make me happy. Luckily, Yush only had 6 7, though. Bert turned over... pocket queens. I thought this was a really strange play, considering there were 3 other people in the pot. Why would you give a free flop to 3 other players with pocket queens? They're so vulnerable. I didn't like that play, but he definitely caught a good flop for it. Now I had 4 outs, which is better than drawing dead. The turn and the river both bricked off, though, and me and Yush were the first ones out. I was technically in last because I had less money. This was the first time in forever that I was the first one out. My boy Moonie got revenge on Bert though when he flopped a boat against Bert's pocket aces, then proceeded to hit quads on the river. Moonie went on to win, beating Pete heads up in one hand (Pete had no money at all). I offered Yush 20-1 on Pete heads up, but he wouldn't have any of it.

My self-esteem got a reprieve when we decided to play another game. I was hoping to get trash cards for the first half hour, so I could stop steaming. This was not the case, though. The very first hand, I saw jack ten off on the button in an unraised pot. I limped, and we saw a 4-handed flop. It came down queen 9 4. Donald made a small bet, and I called. The turn was a ten. Not what I wanted to see, but I figured I could beat him with another ten or jack, in addition to an 8 or a king. He bet bigger, and I called again. The river was a king. He bet big again, and I doubled it. He called, and I showed my straight. I think he said he had two pair. This pot gave me a big chip lead early on, and I caught a few more hands to build my stack over 20 grand.

Once I hit 20 grand, my cards went ice cold. Luckily, it wasn't like the first game where I would get good cards then miss the flop. This time, my cards were just garbage, so I didn't pay anything but my blinds. After sitting out a bunch of hands in a row, I saw ace 4 off on the button. I came in raising, and Moonie called from the big blind. The flop was ace 2 3, and Moonie came out betting. This is why I hate playing low aces. What should I do here? The best play probably would have been to put in an information raise, but then if he called I still wouldn't really know where I was, so I decided to just call. The turn was an 8. Moonie bet out again, bigger this time. I still didn't know where I was at, but I thought he may be betting with mid-pockets, as he's known to get very aggressive with them post-flop. I called him again. The river was a 10, so I still just had a pair of aces with no kicker. Moonie bet out even bigger this time. To be honest, I had almost no idea what he had at this point. I decided that I had come this far, and I was going to have to call him down. When I did, he mucked his cards, saying he had missed a flush draw and a straight draw. He must have had 5 6 suited or something. This took a big chunk out of Moonie, which is good because he's a freaking animal.

Yush had been saying all game that he would take Moonie out, so we had a running subplot the whole time whenever Moonie got shortstacked. Moonie came in raising on the button one hand, and Yush called from the big blind. The flop was ace ten 6, all diamonds. Yush checked, and Moonie went all-in. Yush called and flipped over king jack of diamonds for the nut flush. Ouuuuuuch. We figured Moonie was completely dead, but he said, "I have outs," and flipped over ace ten, for top two pair. What a sick hand. No help came for Moonie, though, and he went out in 5th. Yush is a man who sticks to his word. One of the few honorable Chinese in the world today.

With four left, it was me, Donald, Pete, and Yush. I came in raising with king queen under the gun, and Yush called from the big blind. The flop was 5 6 9, all diamonds. I had the queen of diamonds. Yush checked, and I decided to take a card off rather than get check-raised again. The turn was a king, and Yush bet out 1200. I raised him 1200, and he went all-in for another 3500 or so. I said out loud, "I think I know what you have, Yush." "King jack, maybe king ten." I figured if I was wrong, I still had outs with the queen of diamonds, but I was almost positive he had king jack. "I gotta go with my gut," I said, and I called. Yush flipped over king jack. Bang. He did have the king of diamonds, though, so he had 10 outs going into the river. I dodged them, though, and Yush was out in fourth.

Once we got three-handed, Donald started going all-in like crazy. I just sat aside and let him take my blinds. I knew eventually I would trap him for all his money, so losing blinds was not a big concern for me. Donald limped on the small blind one hand, and Pete checked. The flop was ace 2 3, and Donald bet out. Pete went all-in, and Donald called immediately and flipped over 2 4. What?! I think Donald was looking to get lucky or go home, because I have no other explanation for calling with that. Pete had ace ten, but he knew he was going to lose, because that's the way life works for Pete. He told us to get the window ready so he could jump out, so, good friends that we are, we opened it. I told Yush to get the camera to catch Pete's imminent death on film. The turn was an 8, but the river was a 5, giving Donald a straight, so Pete began his run to the window. He actually got a leg out, which wasn't very smart, because if the window gave way he was dead. We pulled him back, though, and Yush got a picture, which is now my desktop picture.

Heads up, I decided just to wait for Donald to hang himself, and he won the first 5 hands by raising and taking my blinds. Then I picked up pocket kings. He raised, I reraised a pretty small amount, and he went all-in. I couldn't call fast enough, and he had king 10. I don't know why people keep putting all their money in against me with such bad hands heads up, but I'll take it. This doubled me up, and left Donald with almost no money, and I took him out a couple minutes later when I had king 3, saw a flop of king 8 4, got a king on the turn, and got Donald to put all his money in. He only had jack 8, so he was drawing dead. I got a 3 on the river for good measure, so I won $20 for first.

Quote of the day: "Get the window ready!"- Pete "Accidental Suicide" Robson

Terrence's bankroll: $979+$10=$989