RPT Represent!

With a complete and utter lack of confidence going into the RPT event, I knew that nothing short of another deep run would get me to my goal as player of the week. This means 3 final tables in 3 tournaments over 4 days against over 85 -120 players in each. With Kajagugu sitting at the top after his 1st and 3rd finish, I figured my 6th and 9th place would put me right behind him.

WRONG.

Not realizing that TwoBlackAces also finished at the final table with us (and ahead of me considering I was first out at both final tables), I was actually sitting in 4th behind TBA and dansty13 who took down the Mookie and pick up a ton of points. So now, not only was I trying to fight for player of the week, I now had to keep track of 3 other players with the hopes that I could get at the same table with any of them and take a stab at busting them to help my cause.
Trying to win the event and take down my seat for the Aussie Millions freeroll is always in the back of my mind... but I know my luck at the final table has never been strong. No matter what, in the end, you have to showdown some cards to win the hands. Sounds like a simple thing, but I just never seem to be the one player at the table that has those hands. I normally run into 3 coin flips and lose them all, or I get some monkey on AquaDots that overplays his QJ to my AceKing and I go down.

Not tonight.

I did get a great lesson in folding playable hands out of position. I wish I had screenshots of the entire tourney to show you how many Ace-rags I had UTG/2nd to act. Everyone has their own style, some players play any ace preflop, some don't. I don't. Hell, final 2 tables in this tourney I laid down AK preflop when two other players came in strong. I would have won the hand but that's not the point. I was up against 2 players with a lot of chips, of which one of them had to have a PP. It was 1010 and QJ. Board ended up with KJ out there and I would have won, but again, that's not the point. I don't like risking my chips on 50/50's if I don't have to. Call me tight, I'm ok with that.

I really sat around and did nothing through the first break. I was up to 4k but it wasn't with anything strong, nothing outstanding. I was able to pick up 400 and 500 here and there with some strategic betting out of position. There wasn't a show down so I may have been ahead, I may not have, but it was still early in the tourney and as long as I wasn't going broke... it was just chip movement.

I started my climb against Snakster. He and I have played some cash games in the past and I have a good feeling on where he stands most of the time, but he has the ability to surprise. Blinds 100/200 and I am in late position with 8d9d and there were 2 limps ahead of me. I get in the action with a limp as does 2 players behind me. Snak is in the big blind and makes a pot bet and raises it up to 1000. The 2 limpers ahead of me go away and I'm assuming a flat call in my position is going to get the 2 players behind me closer to being priced in. I call, they fold away. Not what I was expecting.

I flop a christmas miracle. 5d6d7h. BOOOOOM. Snak checks, I check. Turn brings the Ace of clubs. Pot was 2800 and I had about 4800 left. Snak makes a pot bet and I hesitate a few seconds and push all in. Snak tanks and makes the call and was drawing dead. gg Snak. He was able to get back some of his chips back but never fully recovered.



I take another decent pot down with I flop top 2 in the big blind. I got money at the flop and turn, but wasn't called at the river.



I limp into a pot in mid position with K10 suited. Not a standard play from me but I was rolling from the last few pots and the table raising had slowed down because of it...so I felt I could get in cheap and go from there. I take a very big pot from weak_player as I'm assuming he thought i was on a flush draw the whole way. We pushed at the turn and I didn't get spanked by the river card. These are the hands I typically lose at this pt in the tourney, but the LuckTruck kept rollin' w/o being unlucky.

Here against 1tata1 (who may not sing at my wedding because of this hand), was a small vs big situation. She limped with fives and I checked my KQ. She led out the flop with a minimum bet of 300 and I call. She bets 300 again on the turn and I make it 900, she calls. She checks the river and I bet 900 again and she calls. By keeping her first few bets small I was able to draw her in for another 1200...

This was a big hand vs ScarKnight later in the tourney. I was on the big with 77 and Scar raises UTG 3x (somewhere around 2500). The table was getting shorter and the blinds were going up, so coming in UTG always raises some flags. I figured AK or low PP. I reraise preflop up to somewhere around 6000 hoping that it was just a move and Scar can let it go. Worst case scenario we see a flop and play from there. He calls and I think he misses the board completely. I push out and he comes over for his stack... at this point I think it's a move with AK.. hopefully not hearts... I make the call. I was right... and wrong. His UTG raise disguised his Jack hi hand... I never could have put him in this spot. OE Str8 flush draw. I'm behind with my pair when the money goes in... but my real question is what did he think I had.. .and did it matter what I had. He raised out of position to steal the blinds. I reraised him and then I lead out big on the flop. Does he even bother putting me on a hand or his draw enough for him to commit all his chips regardless of my hand. Either way, money went in and 5th street owned me. I am not terribly upset with the way I played the hand, I just think this was one of the flops that put us both in the hand. I didn't have him on any of it, and he hit the biggest draw in the world.

My run of PP's began. 77 vs Scar. 88 the next hand, I raise up on the button and Scar comes over the top of me. I feel myself wanting to push here... but I don't want to race down his AQ for the majority (if not all of) my stack. I lay it down. Next hand was 1010. Jdband 3x's the blind and i got 2k over him. All folds. Next hand was AA. I raise up again and Murrayclan makes the call preflop. Board came J hi, I think I bet out 5k into a 6k pot and he laid down.

Not too long later, Murrayclan and Bayne get into it 1 or 2 hands after Murray lays down JJ preflop to Bayne's reraise. J10 no good to Baynes Q10. Who knows what would have happened if Murray pushed the JJ. Bayne ended up 3rd in the tourney.

Scar busts out and Shamanalix is moved to my left. We are down to the final table and Madbrooklyns qq is trumped by Sham's AA.

I really don't play many hands out at this point. Raising up my good cards to take down the blinds. We get down to 5 handed rather quickly when On_Thg and I get all in preflop. He pushed all in a few times UTG prior to this, so I knew he hand range was all over just trying to stay alive by taking down blinds/antes. I figured my AJ was ahead, didn't think I had him dead to the King.

We get down to 4 and Bayne is now in the same position. He has come over the top of me 3 or 4 times in my bigblind position and I sat with 72, 62, 32 each time. This time I had an Ace and some chips to play. Unlucky board and I double Bayne up at pull myself way below Sham's stack in first place.

I believe it was Sham who took out GCox25 to get us down to 3 handed. The rail was starting to heat up as Kaja was rooting for anyone who wasn't me. I honestly couldn't believe that COMCAST hadn't blown me out of this tourney yet... For those who hadn't read about my weekly catastrophe, my internet/cable/phone all go out (YAY COMCAST TRIPLE PLAY!!) at 12:00 midnite. In the MATH I was sitting 4th/20 and get back online 10th/12. I end up 6th... not too happy with that, but who knows, I could have busted out 19th and on the bubble like I did the week prior when my Aces were pimped by Kaja's 89 as he went on to finish 3rd that tourney.

So it happens again on Wed in the Mookie... I am prepared for it this time and get over to Iron Hill Brewery (god bless free WiFi) as quick as I can. I am severely short stacked and need a lot of help to get back into the tourney. I get a runner runner... or two... to help me out. I finish 9th as Kaja wins a coin flip on his way to 3rd place again.

Luckily for me I called Comcast and asked if there were any scheduled work outages in my area and they said they all had been completed. Yay. We'll see.

Back to the RPT.

I'm sitting 2nd in chips, 2:1 over Bayne and not too far behind Sham. I get queens in the big and I'm able to take down a 23k pot when I lead out for 25k... not sure what Sham had here, but I was content with a push if he thought I was full of it.

Sham takes out Bayne and we go heads up... 5:1 disadvantage and someone from the rail talks about a chop. Now obviously I have a lot more riding on this than Sham does. If I win, I take down the weekly champ and freeroll into FTOPS#7, I get the $300 first place prize, and I get the seat into the Aussie Millions freeroll. I was hoping Sham already had his seat and was willing to give it up uncontested. I offered him first place money to give up the seat because I knew it would include 1st place points for the week. I was in no position to barter as my 58k looked up at Shams 229k. No chop.

We trade blinds for a little when I get A3 in the big. Sham raises up a minimum raise and I flat call. Flow coms A 10 7. I check, Sham bets 12,8, I push all in and Sham lays down.
A few hands later I have Ah9h in the big. Sham raises up pot to 9,800, I reraise all in and Sham calls with QhJs. Board ATT79. I survive a big double up and immediately offer the money chop again. We agree and play it out for the seat.

At this point AlCantHang and cracknaces get into some friendly banter on the rail over some stuff... pretty comical.

We play it out a little bit and I get a walk with the Hammer.... I show it.

Not too long after I look down at a suited AK in the BB. Sham limps for 1500 more and I raise up preflop to 14k and he calls. The board comes KQ3. I led out for 28k, and after thinking about it, he comes over the top for everything he has. I make the call and I turn over my AK and he shows K9. I dodge the river and go from 126 up to 253k while he falls down less than 35k.
I give up 3 hands in a row. One was J hi that I raised on the LB and Sham comes back over the top for it all. I wasn't going to dbl him up with J hi.

A get Ah5h in the Big and Sham pushes all in on the Small. I call and we turn over and run it out....

Bingo, Yahtzee, Viola, Yippee aye aye ohhh....

It felt like a good game, I think I played like a puss on one or two hands with low pp's... but... whatever I did worked. See the other 26 winners in December and I'm sure I'll be seeing everyone else throughout the next 5 weeks of the promo. I promised the girl that if I was able to pull off the weekly champ then that was a good enough goal to set and I wouldn't be playing in every tourney...

well...now... i'm second only to Kaja for the overall pts lead... oh what to do what to do. I may have to bend my promise a little bit over the next month... but she'll understand if I do well this Sunday in the FTOPS...

Until then... thanks for the railing guys. Appreciate it.

Beep Beep.