Million Dollar Guaranteed

Ah fuck it, I didn’t win; didn’t get in the money: do you really want to hear the rest?

Long story short: 700th from about 1800 runners. 5000 in starting chips – reached a dizzying high of about 5700 early in the tournament; didn’t fall below about 3700.

This is what I didn’t hit in two and a half hours at the table: a boat, a flush, a straight, a set, or two stinking pair. This is what I did hit: the jack of shit, bubkus, the royal sampler (if you don’t know what the royal sampler is: either use your imagination or read the first post). I will admit to hitting top pair twice in the first level – but that was it.

I was forced to steal blinds and bluff in position just to keep my head above water. According to my notes, the last fives hand I won were the following: A4 on aboard of (KQx)(K); J3s on a board of (QA9); AT with (7J5) down; KQ pre-flop, and 98s pre-flop - which tells me I was probably getting a bit desperate.

And I went out making a horrible mistake. A had A9 on the button with one limper. Blinds 300/600. I raised to 1800 instead of pushing. I should have pushed. 1800 was at least half my stack. I was going all-in on the flop anyway, so why not push and increase the chances my hand would win without the need for a showdown? Bad play; bad mistake. Anyway, I was called by KQ and that was that. In my own defence, it was probably the only major mistake I had made.

But in tournament poker, you only need one, right?