Last night's PokerStars $10+1PLO8 tourney

I have been home for the last 2 days with a wonderful fever and some form of kidney/bladder infection but finallly felt good enough to sit at the PC for a while while watching That 70s Show reruns (and getting to see Scott 'wifebeater' Savol finally get booted). I figured I'll play the 7:30 tourney since at least it will be over early enough to get some rest. Haven't played PLO8 in a while, but absence does make the heart grow fonder I guess.

Early on there was a lot of action as expected and I was able to play conservative and had about 3k (start with 1500) by the first break. Of the 270 or so that started there were already 100 guys out.

I get moved in the 2nd hour and am to the immediate left of a crazy LAG that has maybe 10 or 12k thanks to bullying and dumb luck. I sit tight and double through on a made wheel that he bets into me on (with his pair of queens and no low, thank you). 3 or 4 hands later I get AA3K and he bets the pot, I raise, he reraises and I push him in. He shows AQQ5, no Q comes and he's gone. I am in the top 10.

Start of the 3rd hour I get moved again to a table with a bully that makes the first guy look tighter than a frog's ass (and that's watertight). He has about 56k to my 25k or so. I am patient....so damn patient, but finally get another nice hand (AA25s) and raise the pot (blinds are 3k/6k). He just flat calls. Flop comes 67Q and I bet the pot at him, he comes over the top to push me in. I call faster than shit through a goose and he shows A25T. No low comes and who's your freakin daddy now, beaches!

I stayed in the top 2 or 3 till we hit the final 12 or so when I missed on a couple of hands and got card dead for 2 or 3 rounds. When we hit the final table I was 4th, but for the most part we were all pretty closely grouped. Didn't see much playable for a while, which killed me because there were some great steal opportunities. One guy knocked off 2 players almost back to back with nice AAxx hands and got himself a commanding lead (he had almost 150k to my 56k, 2nd had maybe 70k or so). 6 players left now.

3 hands later I get A2QKds in EP. Blinds were 6k/12k. I raise the pot and big stack (on the button) reraises to push me all in. I looked at the payout and the difference between 5th and 6th was $118 vs. $148, but 3rd paid a little over $300. I figure if I hit this hand I'm good for 4th easy, probably top 3, so I called. Part of me also figured he might have another A2 hand but couldn't have picked up another AA. Bad logic, I know.

He shows AA36 so I am a slight dog, but not terrible. Flop of T67, then a 5 on the turn brings a second diamond (I had diamonds) so I am looking at a split with a shot at scooping. Then a flucking deuce comes on the river, counterfeits my low, and I'm gone. Yet another reaming at the hands of A2. I think I'd still play it the same way, and I'll take those river odds all day long, but damn, it hurt.

I can't think of a tourney that I have ever played better than this one. I had only one time where I got involved with the poorer hand and sucked out. For the most part my good hands did hold up, which certainly helped. I had a 79% win rate at showdown with 23% VPIP over the 197 hands. I made 2 semi-calling station types of calls (both times with top 2 on a str8 board) but they only cost me a few K and wouldn't have mattered in the end. Still....I know I could have had a shot in the end if that damn deuce didn't come.

Nice showing - but from now on - you might want to avoid putting your stack at risk with an A2xx hand...

Just kidding - looks good from here.

I've got to get back into playing tournaments, but it has been nice with the stable (somewhat) income I've been making off of ring games. For that matter, I should put some money back onto stars so I can play the tournaments I like...