Where can you have more fun????

Blogger tourneys really are fun. There is a wealth of talent there that I can appreciate, and the entry fees are downright reasonable. I do notice that I, like most people, tend to remember my beats more than my wins-regardless of where they occur. . . Then again, I have more of the former, and the latter seems non-existent of late. I certainly have too many holes in my own game to start moaning about any particular loss. . . .Not a problem, I am still having fun. Actually, I seem to be enjoying this more than I ever have. The act of reading and writing about it seems to add to the pleasure of playing. It gives me some place to start now that I am wanting to address some weaknesses in my game.

In my tourney play of late, I have regularly been able to make it to that area that I like to call pre-boobulous with a decent amount of chips. Pre-boobulous is the area where I am not quite on the bubble, and I have not quite made a boob out of myself--but the potential for both or either wafts through the air. Finding myself on this sea, where all players must pass through should they wish to reach the shores of nirvana (a win) or even just splash around on the beach (a cash), I have managed to puncture my life raft and lose myself in the swells of the ocean of despair. In the past this has sent me back to making stupid choices earlier in the tourney. My choices there have been somewhat questionable- though I seem to be able to rationalize them in my own sick head. I should like to learn from where I am--with some self examination and a kick in the pants, i will endeavor to explain.

Two recent examples-Monday in the MATH, there are less than 20 of my brethren remaining in this most hallowed event, and I find myself with a stack between 20 and 30 times the blinds. First, I blow off a little better than half on a AK sooooted in the cutoff, that I don't quite have the courage to call AI with after I miss the flop. I then find myself with about 5,000 chips with a bb of 500. Out of position I catch a KQ and push in 1000, I get pushed back and end up moving AI where I face and am eventually sunk by JJ. Now, I was certainly not favored, and did not overly expect to be, but I was in a position to be bullied, so I was making a stand where I could hope to get a reasonable return on my investment in this particular hand. In other words, I wanted to be in good enough shape to make a run at the final table, or I was willing to go home. I was also not in a great position with my chips, so I figured that as long as I wasn't facing AA, KK , QQ or AK, AQ I had a chance that was worth the risk. Needles to say, I did not pass go, I went straight to jail, where I was denied bail until another tourney should come along. At least my cell mate was none other than my lovely bride.



Well, Thursday nights RiverChasers, I find me in similar position at the end. I donk off chips with decent enough starting cards that either catch no help, or I fear have been outdrawn, and I eventually am faced with playing an AK aggressively into a missed flop which included a Q. I called an AL, for the same reason as above. If I hit, I am in good position, if I miss, I get to go to bed. . . . . This time I run into an AQ and I get that familiar feeling while watching my stack go away like I suck at this. I wish everyone GL, and go to bed. The call before the flop was fine, but I knew I was in trouble when I missed. I was praying for a lower pair and a miracle. Of the two--this is the one where I think I was most stooopid in looking back, but it is where I had the most "feel" that my opponent was trying to make a move with less than what I he eventually showed. I figured him for A9 or AJ.



In both cases, I know I was behind when I went AI. In both cases I was crippled pretty severely before I was pushed back into the AI choice. I chose not to fold because I did not want to face the possibility of playing the next 2 or 3 rounds before being swallowed up by the blinds, or not having enough chips for it to make a difference if I did catch a hand. Also, even though I was behind, I had respectable hands that could have sucked out if they were behind, and even had a chance of standing on their own- goddess knows, it is not the kind of place I like to play. It seems like the pre-boobulous area of a tourney lends itself to this type of situation. It just seems that in tourney play with the blinds jumping, there is a bit of skill in managing a stack that I seem to be missing.



It may be beyond this tuckfard to overcome, but I am open to insults, commiseration, or, goddess forbid, constructive criticism. . .or even a reference to an author or a blog.



Thanks for reading