Double Trouble... missing out on the $'s

Another double dose of less than good luck today. Woke up feeling like crap but had plans on using ~$700 worth of tourney tickets (in STT SNG's). Just felt off though & blew up a bit at my partner over something trivial (trying to play while TV movie was blasting... maybe a $250 investment in Bose headphones would pay for itself?). Playing the final game of the PokerPlayer Magazine (UK) series (4-games) had no clue I had any pts. on the leaderboard & with no clue how they were accounting for the pts. in the final game. Then with 6players left I discover that whoever wins this final game will actually win enough pts. to take the leaderboard 1st place prize of 500euros!!! (top3 pd. in tourney). Guy on the button raises it up to 900... (150/300) I shove 11bb's in BB w AKs. he calls w KQo. Board comes 8-5-7 4 3 (sigh) we chop :( earlier on, 18 players left (60/120) I'm sitting with 4,200 (biggest stack on table), I raise with AJo utg1 & BB calls. Flop QsThKh I lead out for over 2/3 pot... he calls. Turn brings a 3rd heart '7h' He checks... I bet out again ~60% & he check-raises me BIG (leaving himself only ~8bb's behind). I time down & fold the flopped nuts (broadway straight)... feeling sick while doing so (but still will have largest stack on table & there's plenty of soft spots as the majority are weak players. Later I wonder 'wtf was that?' And wished I'd just gotten it in. Guy on forum tells me "I thought you were weak there. Thought I was ahead with my AQ & the Q was Qh so I had a flush draw if I was behind" I'm thinking that he was thinking that I was strong in that spot. I mean AJ is the bottom of my range there pre... so what could I have where I'm c-betting that board & then leading turn again (after being called & I know he's not calling with garbage there due to stack sizes, etc.). I could have AQ (with Ah), AK, KK, TT I'm not going to have AhTx (cuz I'm not raising in utg1 in that situation (lots of resteal stacks on table 12-17bb range). I might have KQs flopping Top2 Which of those hands can he get to fold? (well... He got me to fold the flopped nuts! LoL). I just assumed he'd figure I was uber strong there but obviously not. Cuz his thinkin was "Figured you weren't strong" Probably my biggest leak... trying to think what they're thinking. Especially in the micro tourneys where they're 'not' thinking & even in these priv. forum games where it's not much beyond level1 thinking stuff. (ie. like am I double barrelling weak'ish' hands that have good showdown value there? basically turning them into a bluff? Am I double barrelling 99 in that spot? Maybe 'JJ'.. with the oesd? (meh.. I'm sure I check that one back on the turn). Anyways, it turns out to be a ridiculously tight fold but I find once I get a few games under my belt on these priv. games I get player reads down pretty decently & do a bit better later on (ie. I still don't know the PuntersLounge players very well at all... girlfriend knows them & her comment was "Just assume that they're all donkeys because almost all of them are. There's a few good players but chances are you'll be up vs. a donk." Hendon Mob games I did crap in the first month, til' I discovered who was a winning reg. & who wasn't. Who overvalues hands, who's often full of shit & picking bad spots. Who are the level1 thinkers.. etc. etc. Last two mos. I've won a ticket on leaderboard every time. I end up going out in 4th for NO money... with 77 < 66 (aipf.. I open shove otb.. they call it off in SB) & once again for the ChipLead. Same guy donked me out in the last PokerPlayer buyin game on WillHill. he jams 20bb's otb with J8o & I call it off with AdQd on BB. Board comes 6s2sAs Qh (me now on Top2!!!!!).. river 7s, giving him the flush, sigh. As usual I did the shits in the CC games this weekend. That FTP $600 satty tickets freeroll evades me once again, winning nothin this time (typically only winning a $3 ticket... at least I won the hoodie, a t-shirt & a coffee mug with my $3 ticket in the CC Invasion). Worst laydown in awhile. And two bummer beats close to some decent dollars! Turns an easy potential $800+ day into a dismal $50 day. (Final table bubbled the $1k PokerCoach freeroll on WilliamHill... with KK < AQo for the chiplead).

finally!! Took 1st in the Cardschat buyin on Carbon!

After running like total shit for ages in the Cardschat Carbon game I finally take one down! Decent payout for a $5 buyin... 1st/31 for $127.51

Double Bubble

Ugh! Had 4 tourneys on the go after working all day. PokerTube on BlackChip with $250added. Cardschat Carbon freeroll. Cardschat $500 mission freeroll. FTR $300 added, + 5x $38 satty tickets to the $100k on Bodog. Go out closing in on bubble in the Daily Mission AK < JJ aipf. Why is that no surprise? Played it 3x now, first time I was the exact bubble boy (pd. 42 & I went out 43rd). Cashed once. In the FTR game on Bodog, I placed ITM but went out in 6th, missing out on the $38 ticket :( And finally in the PokerTube game on BlackChipPoker, I went out in 4th place (7 places paid) only to discover that the $250 added was just for the Top3 spots, lol..... sigh :( busto hand was aipf A2o < 64o on a A-2-4 flop.. '8' trn... '4' river. OMFG! Ended up with some minimal cashes, losing out on at least $100 (but possibly much more). Oh well. Shoulda just taken a nap instead. Here's the busto hand..

Placed Top10 (again) in HendonMob league on Pokerstars

Managed a 7th place finish in the final game of the Feb. season on Pokerstars today which moved me into 7th overall for the league & means I've won ANOTHER $109 ticket! That's 2x $215 + 2x $109 in the last two series! reallyyyyyy enjoying those HendonMob League games & not just for the chance to win the big tourney tickets but also because there's some really good players in them & has been fun playing vs. them. Here's hoping for a three-peat next month! Hopefully I'll be back here with an update on some deep runs with the big tickets! (I wish, lol)

Slow going ... still :( but played the SundayMillion & won some tickets in leagues!

Had all kinds of grandiose plans for 2014 & am falling short on all of them (so far). I don't even have my new computer up & running yet (sigh... I feel like selling it, lol). Haven't played much, TONS of work obilgations & now just recently totally f4cked up my back :( Never thought I'd be wanting to get back to working so badly. One would think it'd be prime time to play the pokerzz but my back is soooo f'n bad it hurts to sit in my puter chair. Have managed to play in some private games & doing decently in the HendonMob league with a 3rd place overall finish in the Feb. Fulltilt Leaderboard.... good for another $215 ticket!!! The wife actually pulled off a 1st in that league! WoW! With a 2nd place finish in the final game (& I got 3rd). Was very fortunate to have been able to play in the 8th Anniv. SundayMillion tourney on Pokerstars this past weekend. Had a few shots at a ticket... all for free (of course, lol). I won an 11T$'s in a satty & used it to play a big satty to the SunMill., but bombed out. Then a $55 ticket from a deposit but lost that one too (raised in EP on 25bb's... player in LP 3bai. Looked him up & saw he was a HSMTT reg. so figured his range to be fairly wide in that spot, called & he showed AQo... but lost the flip). Last chance was from placing in top300 of a 'freeroll' satellite that had 10,000 entrants. I won the $33 Ticket! Played the 333seat gtd. satty & won a $215 entry from it!!! Hung around in the SunMill for a couple/few hrs., then with ~13bb's I went out with AA vs JJ on a J-T-9 flop (allin preflop). Oh well. No big deal. It was just great getting to play in this game 'for free'!! (< may favourite way, lol).