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Raymond Terrace

There is a fours tournament in Raymond Terrace this weekend. I will be playing in an NSWIS team with Dave Ferguson, Carl Healey, Jesse Noronha and myself. It should be a good bowls tournament.

Dave and Carl will be fresh from a training camp in New Zealand preparing for the upcoming Trans Tasman. I'm sure we will go well. Geoff Campbell will be our team coach/ manager/ chef/ driver/ pilot & relationship expert.

If Only

After a pretty good start to December in online poker I decided to go pretty hard over Christmas. I figured the play over Christmas would be easier with an influx of recreational holiday players. Over a 10 day period I went on a massive heater on Pokerstars and made about 3k basically in $10-$50 buy ins.

Around this time I went for the 2nd time to Star City's new poker room. In the first hour I went up 4 buy ins. I would basically just have it and everyone would bet into me, for example the first hand with my friend sitting next to me.

I have A5 diamonds on the button with several limpers 40 big blind game. Flop is A 2 5 rainbow, top two pair not too bad. Big blind bets 25 into 30, I call, turn is a 10, he bets 70, I call in position, and I am basically getting it in on the the river but he basically beats me into the pot when the ace comes on the river for another 100 which I call and win.

A few hands later I flop the nuts with 76 suited hearts on a 543 board with two diamonds. It is pretty obvious the guy has a 10's > AK suited hand as he had been pretty inactive and raised it up pre, he watched the flop keenly and was pretty pleased with the low flop. I felt he had a 10-JJ type hand. Also if someone has a set I want to get it in or a diamond flush draw with over cards. I lead into the pot for 40, he quickly makes it 200, I roll over my hand, he says he is dead so another buy in.

Next I have k6 of diamonds on the button I flop a straight draw 543 flop with one diamond, call a flop bet with 3 others. The turn brings a diamond so I have the second nut flush with a straight draw. The river brings my flush in with the A of diamonds, so it is backdoor, the nuts, in position and I have a guy still betting into me, I didn't say I wan't blessed. Another buyin.

This is about where my run ends, really wish I went home after this as I have a series of near misses and breakeven for hours.

If I played incorrectly I would have made 7k on the 2-500 table. For example; We start playing 6 handed instead of the usual 9 handed. I love 6 handed Vs less guys as I get to play more hands in position and just more hands in general compared to full ring 9 handed.

One guy at our table had just won the tournament that night for 10k and was now playing cash and down about 3k. Another guy was calling everything including re-raises, out of no where, with anything, out of position, so even with just these two at the table it was great. The tournament player was over playing hands and getting it in pre with ak on a non aggressive 6 handed table for 100 big blinds.

One particular hand he squeezed me out of a huge win, I was a bit annoyed with his over play as it winds up costing me at least 1200 by making me fold when he re-opens the betting to a re-raise by Aces on the button. The solid button guy re-raises the 'any two' early position raiser. Normally with QQ I would re-raise this here but with both of us sitting on 1200 I don't want to be getting it in pre, I feel he is decently strong, he hasn't gotten out of line and I am out of position Vs probably the other strongest player at the table. He does have a weakness however, in that he overplays Aces and Kings for 300 bb's as we will see later.

However in this hand where I flat 40 in the sb, the big blind re raise to 140 with AK, button makes it 500, I fold my QQ and AK calls. Flop comes Q 3 5, blank blank, Aces win. I would have surely stacked aces here with my QQ...especially since a similar situation comes up within 30 minutes.

I have 66 in the small blind. UTG raises, Any two guy calls, tight solid button guy, star of previous example raises to 100, now I have 1200 in stack still so 12 to 1 to set mine, not quite enough considering the following.

Two guys behind me including under the gun raiser who is the tournament guy. He is in for 6 buy ins. He doesn't like to slow down and could completely re-raise the pot again. Also 20-1 is better or 5% of my stack to set mine. I am out of position.

However, tournament guy instead of re-raising, just guy flat calls 100 and so does the any two guy. There is just under 400 in the pot when the flop comes out (first card 6 xx) at this point I am a bit annoyed as I made the right decision but wished that I played like a crazy person who doesn't like money, because I would have been raking it in. So the action goes check, check, and the button bets 500! 500 into 400, over pair anyone, not folding ever anyone, I get the noose ready for the second time in an hour...One of the supervisors watching the table saw my QQ hand and my 66 hand, he should have comp'd me a room to do David Carridine.