Session: 31st December, 2007

Games played: NLHE: Ring ($10) and Tournament ($2+20); Stud ($0.04/$0.08)
Tables played at any given time: Two, then three.
Net profit: $34

Right, let's get straight to it and do this "session" thing. Basically, I'll post key hands and provide a general summary of my session.
For the first time, though, I decided to be in a tournament whilst I was playing two or three ring games. I searched for a tournament, and literally just caught a $2+.20 tournament... 2,389 entrants. $714 for 1st; $400; $200 and ~$150 from there.

Anyways, I took my seat at two $10 NLHE tables, and took a TAG stance. It wasn't long until I got my first piece of action at a table that was immediately seeming pretty loose:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($8.60)
SB ($11.15)
Citizen Erased ($9.70)
UTG ($5.85)
MP ($25.20)
CO ($12.15)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is BB with K, A.
UTG raises to $0.2, MP raises to $0.6, CO calls $0.60, 2 folds, Citizen Erased raises to $1.55, UTG folds, MP folds, CO calls $0.95.

Flop: ($3.95) 9, A, 3 (2 players)
Citizen Erased bets $3.2, CO folds.

Final Pot: $3.95

No showdown. Citizen Erased wins $3.95.

Simple enough. A few pennies for the jar.

Next up's one that does not show the greatest side of my play... The betting on the turn and river is basically to get a free card. It shouldn't work, but it does. Maybe I should fold on the flop, but I'm considered my Ace and Queen as an out, so consider myself to be getting the right price. I anticipate the criticism for this, though:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

MP ($8.60)
Button ($11.10)
Citizen Erased ($11.95)
BB ($5.65)
UTG ($10.60)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is SB with , .
UTG calls $0.10, 1 fold, Button calls $0.10, Citizen Erased raises to $0.4, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.30, Button calls $0.30.

Flop: ($1.30) , , (3 players)
Citizen Erased bets $0.55, UTG raises to $1.1, Button folds, Citizen Erased calls $0.55.

Turn: ($3.50) (2 players)
Citizen Erased bets $0.1, UTG raises to $1.7, Citizen Erased calls $1.60.

River: ($6.90) (2 players)
Citizen Erased bets $0.1, UTG calls $0.10.

Final Pot: $7.10

Citizen Erased has Qd Ad (one pair, aces).
UTG doesn't show.
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins $7.10.


Bad play being rewarded? I don't know, but I'm settling...
15 minutes of patience sees a treat come up. The result was inevitable and thankfully, unlike last time, I was on the right end of this one:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (4 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($11.30)
BB ($21.55)
UTG ($10.35)
Citizen Erased ($9.45)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is Button with , .
UTG calls $0.10, Citizen Erased raises to $0.3, SB calls $0.25, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.20.

Flop: ($1) , , (3 players)
SB bets $0.4, UTG calls $0.40, Citizen Erased raises to $1.45, SB folds, UTG calls $1.05.

Turn: ($4.30) (2 players)
UTG checks, Citizen Erased bets $2.7, UTG raises to $7.3, Citizen Erased raises to $7.7, UTG calls $0.40.

River: ($19.70) (2 players)

Final Pot: $19.70
UTG doesn't show.
Citizen Erased has Ah Ac (one pair, aces).
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins $19.70.


Right, so there's a good start under my belt. Twenty minutes into the session, I'm $15 in the green.
The very next hand on the same table, I wake up with another treat. Despite my win, I feel I played this hand too cautiously and should have continued to bet on the turn and the river:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (4 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($10.60)
SB ($21.45)
BB ($0.90)
Citizen Erased ($18.75)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is UTG with , .
Citizen Erased raises to $0.3, 1 fold, SB calls $0.25, BB raises to $0.9, Citizen Erased calls $0.60, SB calls $0.60.

Flop: ($2.70) , , (3 players)
SB checks, Citizen Erased bets $2.2, SB calls $2.20.

Turn: ($7.10) (3 players)
SB checks, Citizen Erased checks.

River: ($7.10) (3 players)
SB checks, Citizen Erased checks.

Final Pot: $7.10

SB doesn't show.
BB doesn't show.
Citizen Erased has As Kc (one pair, fives).
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins $7.10



All going well... until this piece of foolish play by me. Just plain bad, and I'm not even going to defend my play. Perhaps on a high or something from previous results, or a profound arrogance that I could outplay this table:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($8.95)
SB ($1.60)
BB ($12.35)
UTG ($8.30)
UTG+1 ($3.85)
Citizen Erased ($11.70)
MP2 ($11)
MP3 ($3.15)
CO ($17.55)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is MP1 with , .
UTG raises to $0.4, 1 fold, Citizen Erased calls $0.40, 3 folds, Button calls $0.40, 2 folds.

Flop: ($1.35) , , (3 players)
UTG bets $0.7, Citizen Erased raises to $1.8, Button calls $1.80, UTG calls $1.10.

Turn: ($6.75) (3 players)
UTG bets $0.8, Citizen Erased raises to $2.5, Button calls $2.50, UTG calls $1.70.

River: ($14.25) (3 players)
UTG bets $1, Citizen Erased raises to $4, Button calls $4, UTG calls $2.60 (All-In).

Final Pot: $25.85

Results in white below:
UTG has :Qd :Ks
Citizen Erased has Ad Qs (one pair, aces).
Button has :Qd :Jh, a Straight, Ten to Ace

Button wins $25.85 with a Straight, Ten to Ace



hm... sucks. Time for a break...
Upon my return about twenty minutes later, I see a guy sitting at my table with a VPIP of 98%, and a PFR of 86%... should be fun:


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($26.45)
UTG+1 ($1.55)
MP1 ($11.95)
MP2 ($4)
CO ($3.60)
Citizen Erased ($9.85)
SB ($10.90)
BB ($17.55)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is Button with , .
UTG raises to $0.4, 2 folds, MP2 raises to $0.7, 1 fold, Citizen Erased calls $0.70, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.30.

Flop: ($2.25) , , (3 players)
UTG checks, MP2 bets $0.3, Citizen Erased raises to $1.5, UTG folds, MP2 calls $1.20.

Turn: ($5.25) (2 players)
MP2 bets $0.2, Citizen Erased raises to $2.6, MP2 calls $1.60 (All-In).

River: ($8.85) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $8.85


MP2 has Jh 2h (Full house, fives full of twos)
Citizen Erased has Ks Qc (two pair, kings and fives).
Outcome :MP2 wins $9.65


Managed to get that money back of Jurex a few hands later. After that I just stayed even. I sent $15 to a friend as he went bust playing Stud (I bust him, which was nice and ironic). It was time to focus on the tournament... You may have heard me mention it in a certain thread on FCP. Just fill you in on the happenings of it now:

Started so quiet. Played like two hands in the first hour, then finally got a nice wake up call from the following four hands, consecutively (literally):



PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Citizen Erased (t1500)
CO (t8770)
Button (t3690)
SB (t2920)
BB (t865)
UTG (t3080)
UTG+1 (t1898)
MP1 (t8300)
MP2 (t3550)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is MP3 with , .
1 fold, UTG+1 calls t100, 1 fold, MP2 calls t100, Citizen Erased raises to t300, 4 folds, UTG+1 calls t200, MP2 calls t200.

Flop: (t1050) , , (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, MP2 checks, Citizen Erased bets t350, UTG+1 folds, MP2 calls t350.

Turn: (t1750) (2 players)
MP2 checks, Citizen Erased bets t850 (All-In), MP2 calls t850.

River: (t3450) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t3450


MP2 doesn't show.
Citizen Erased has Kd Kc (three of a kind, kings).
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins t3450.




PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Citizen Erased (t3450)
MP3 (t8770)
CO (t3690)
Button (t2870)
SB (t765)
BB (t3080)
UTG (t1598)
UTG+1 (t8300)
MP1 (t2050)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is MP2 with , .
2 folds, MP1 calls t100, Citizen Erased calls t100, MP3 calls t100, 1 fold, Button calls t100, SB raises to t765, 1 fold, MP1 raises to t2050, Citizen Erased raises to t3450, MP3 folds, Button folds.

Flop: (t6565) , , (3 players)

Turn: (t6565) (3 players)

River: (t6565) (3 players)

Final Pot: t5165

SB has 8s 8c (one pair, eights)
MP1 shows Qh, 6h (one pair, sixes)
Citizen Erased has Kc As (one pair, aces).
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins t5165



PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Citizen Erased (t6565)
MP1 (t8670)
MP2 (t3690)
MP3 (t2770)
CO (t1031)
Button (t2980)
SB (t1598)
BB (t8300)
UTG (t4465)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is UTG+1 with , .
1 fold, Citizen Erased calls t100, 2 folds, MP3 raises to t2770, 2 folds, SB calls t1548 (All-In), 1 fold, Citizen Erased calls t2670.

Flop: (t7238) , , (3 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t7238) (3 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t7238) (3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t7238


SB has As 9s (high card, ace)
Citizen Erased has Kd Ad (one pair, kings).
MP3 has 7c 7h (one pair, sevens)
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins t7238.




PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Citizen Erased (t11033)
UTG (t8670)
UTG+1 (t3690)
MP1 (t1031)
MP2 (t2980)
CO (t1100)
Button (t8200)
SB (t4465)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is BB with , .
3 folds, MP2 raises to t200, 3 folds, Citizen Erased calls t100.

Flop: (t450) , , (2 players)
Citizen Erased checks, MP2 checks.

Turn: (t450) (2 players)
Citizen Erased bets t350, MP2 folds.

Final Pot: t450

No showdown. Citizen Erased wins t450.



So there was my patience being payed off, and I sat in 20th place with about 1,400 players left. Half an hour later, this happened, and I was on my way:


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Citizen Erased (t10958)
CO (t4695)
Button (t4440)
SB (t2395)
BB (t1661)
UTG (t5930)
UTG+1 (t8290)
MP1 (t6619)
MP2 (t4666)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is MP3 with , .
2 folds, MP1 raises to t1000, MP2 calls t1000, Citizen Erased calls t1000, CO calls t1000, 3 folds.

Flop: (t4300) , , (4 players)
MP1 checks, MP2 checks, Citizen Erased bets t9958 (All-In), CO calls t3695 (All-In), MP1 folds, MP2 folds.

Turn: (t17953) (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t17953) (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: t11690

Citizen Erased has 8s 8c (two pair, tens and eights).
CO has 7c 7s (two pair, tens and sevens)
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins t17953.



45 minutes later I got pretty annoyed by the reaction to a big blind special. Luckily it was on the verge of a break, and so I had time to forget about it:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t400 (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Citizen Erased (t16740)
UTG (t6391)
UTG+1 (t2690)
MP1 (t6330)
MP2 (t3568)
MP3 (t8916)
CO (t14681)
Button (t9007)
SB (t1301)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is BB with , .
6 folds, Button calls t400, 1 fold, Citizen Erased checks.

Flop: (t1000) , , (2 players)
Citizen Erased bets t815, Button raises to t8582, Citizen Erased calls t7767.

Turn: (t18164) (2 players)

River: (t18164) (2 players)

Final Pot: t18164

Results in white below:
Citizen Erased has 9d 5d (two pair, nines and fives).
Button has Ad 3d (one pair, aces)
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins t18164.

Dudeman IV said, "Big Blind special there lads"
Dudeman IV said, "(or ladies?)
whitealroker said, "that's probably the most chips he'll ever have"
Dudeman IV said, "what do you mean?"
IDAFOLD said, "how many do i have lol"
Dudeman IV said, "going off $4+.40?"
IDAFOLD said, "plenty"
Dudeman IV said, "cos in terms of tournamnents in recent days, I believe my track record is 2-2-11-1-4-1"
Dudeman IV said, "(but theyre pussy 45 man, tbh)"

What is the point in that? Just because I knocked him out, he feels the need to try and take a cheap shot. Totally unprovoked - I was yet to chat to anyone. I was just someone who knocked him out, and he felt the need to try and prove he was better than me... Oh well, he's out now so sod him.


It was a whole hour of folding later, this time on the other side of the break, when I hit another Big Blind special against a player eager not to see his invested chips leave his ownership:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t1200 (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

Citizen Erased (t30350)
UTG (t45040)
UTG+1 (t22722)
MP1 (t13205)
MP2 (t18040)
CO (t14300)
Button (t7550)
SB (t50353)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is BB with , .
6 folds, SB completes, Citizen Erased checks.

Flop: (t2675) , , (2 players)
SB bets t1200, Citizen Erased raises to t3625, SB raises to t49028, Citizen Erased calls t25400 (All-In).

Turn: (t80728) (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t80728) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t60725

Results in white below:
Citizen Erased has Th 4d (two pair, tens and fours).
SB has 9h Kc (a pair of nines)
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins t60725. SB wins t20003.


By now you've probably realised that my approach to tournaments is to sit and wait for a massive pot, whilst taking down a few pots with easy steals to maintain a healthy stack. The waiting was over in the following hand, and my run to contention was in full swing:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t1600 (9 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

MP2 (t60403)
MP3 (t14620)
CO (t30040)
Button (t25872)
SB (t7280)
BB (t80725)
Citizen Erased (t81629)
UTG+1 (t19803)
MP1 (t47644)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is UTG with , .
Citizen Erased calls t1600, 7 folds, BB checks.

Flop: (t4400) , , (2 players)
BB bets t4800, Citizen Erased raises to t12879, BB raises to t33600, Citizen Erased raises to t79879, BB calls t45375 (All-In).

Turn: (t163254) (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t163254) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t162350


BB has Jc 6d (two pair, sixes and nines)
Citizen Erased has Qd Qc (two pair, queens and nines).
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins t163254

4th... mint. I managed to get up to second, but then didn't capitalise on a chance to go into 1st after I gave up on a bluff only to find that another bullet would have done the job when he won with a missed nut flush draw. Oh well, I fought on and was steadily hovering around the 2nd-5th mark. That was until this challenge to a raiser went all too wrong:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t6000 (7 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG (t41436)
MP1 (t526487)
MP2 (t102124)
CO (t157819)
Citizen Erased (t128887)
SB (t81308)
BB (t113008)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is Button with , .
UTG raises to t40836, 3 folds, Citizen Erased raises to t128287, SB calls t77708 (All-In), 1 fold.

Flop: (t249831) , , (3 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t249831) (3 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t249831) (3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t249831

UTG has 9d Ts (two pair, tens and sixes)
Citizen Erased has Qs Ah (one pair, sixes).
SB has As Ad (two pair, aces and sixes)
Outcome: SB wins t249831


4th to 14th in an instant. That's the short stack, for anyone who's wondering how far in we are. Four hours, btw. Time to hope for a nice double up... surely a triple up is way too optimistic...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t8000 (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

SB (t276345)
Citizen Erased (t46179)
UTG (t192508)
UTG+1 (t553299)
MP1 (t104946)
MP2 (t241771)
CO (t282454)
Button (t173419)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is BB with , .
1 fold, UTG+1 calls t8000, 3 folds, Button raises to t32000, SB calls t28000, Citizen Erased raises to t45379, UTG+1 folds, Button calls t13379, SB calls t13379.

Flop: (t144937) , , (3 players)
SB checks, Button checks.

Turn: (t144937) (3 players)
SB checks, Button checks.

River: (t144937) (3 players)
SB checks, Button checks.

Final Pot: t144937

SB has 2s 2d (one pair, Deuces)
Citizen Erased has Jd Ah (two pair, aces and jacks).
Button has As Qs (one pair, aces)
Outcome: Citizen Erased wins t144937


So there's my suck out for the day. Up to 5th and going strong... Yeah right. Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades:


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t8000 (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

BB (t226166)
Citizen Erased (t142537)
UTG+1 (t174108)
MP1 (t577299)
MP2 (t192652)
CO (t258571)
Button (t265654)
SB (t227386)

Preflop: Citizen Erased is UTG with , .
Citizen Erased calls t8000, 1 fold, MP1 raises to t32000, 4 folds, BB calls t24000, Citizen Erased raises to t142537, MP1 folds, BB calls t109737.

Flop: (t313074) , , (2 players)

Turn: (t313074) (2 players)

River: (t313074) (2 players)

Final Pot: t313074

BB has Qh Qc (Full House, Queens full of Sixes)
Citizen Erased has Kc Kh (two pair, kings and sevens).
Outcome: BB wins t313074.


That would have put me 4th, a finish at which gives you $217. Oh well, no point moaning over lost expenses (even though I did here: