Sit 'n' Win

So about three weeks ago, I get into a sit-and-go tournament at Party Poker, wheere I've been playing with actual money for about six weeks or so by now. It's a Limit Texas Hold 'Em game, which is easily my best game right now for real or play money... I always seem to do well in these things, particularly SNG's, which you can run through in an hour and make a small pile of change in if you do well. I think what I like about limit poker is that it's harder for me to get suckered in for a lot of money, since you can only bet so much. I actually find I'm more willing to fold in a limit game than pot-limit or No Limit.

The lineup:
15/30 Tourney Texas Hold'em Game Table (Limit) (Tournament 15405575) - Sat Sep 03 02:37:15 EDT 2005
Table Table 11871 (Real Money) -- Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: IceHousePRB (800)
Seat 2: justfootin (800)
Seat 3: greatkinkade (800)
Seat 4: soupbutler (800)
Seat 5: TheIXIMan (800)
Seat 6: hoaha888 (800)
Seat 7: cunha14258 (800)
Seat 8: IH8JJ (800)
Seat 9: eagle405 (800) <------ You know who I am, damn it
Seat 10: Kendellfalls (800)

We'll jump to the second hand. I'm in middle position and get dealt AcAh. cunha14258 raises, IH8JJ re-raises, I cap it. Kendellfalls calls. It's folded around to hoaha888 who calls. Everybody else remaining calls.

Flop comes Qh5s3c. Checked to me, I bet. Kendellfalls raises. IH8JJ reraises after everybody in between calls, I call, and everybody else calls. Turn is Kh. hoaha checks, cunha raises, IH8JJ re-raises, and I call because I don't think anyone's got KK. Kendellfalls folds, the others call. River is 2h. Two checks, IH8JJ bets. Everyone calls. I turn over my aces. hoaha888 has pocket jacks. cunha14258 has KsTc. And IH8JJ rolls... QcQd. Ouch.

So, as usual, I'm behind. I fear the day I actually get off to a decent start in one of these, as I won't know what to do with myself.

Six hands later, I get KJc in the small blind. hoaha calls, cunha raises, IH8JJ folds. I call the 20, Kendell re-raises, kinkade calls, hoaha calls, cunha caps it, and my confidence is shaken and I fold. Flop comes QT7d and I'm feeling a lot better about my decision -- until the hand ends. The board was Qd Td 7d 9c 8c, and Kendell's jacks gave him a queen-high straight... which my king-high straight would've beaten had I stayed in. But cunha had AK and was betting and raising throughout the hand, so I likely would've been forced out at some point.

cunah was out first when he put in his last 65 chips with nada.

I laid down the best hand again when I raised from UTG+1 with JT and saw a re-raise and three callers behind me. The winning hand was pocket 8s with a 10 on the board.

Players started dropping like flies. We went from nine to six players in one level. With the blinds at 15 and 30, I woke up to pocket jacks in the big blind. IceHouse calls, and it's folded around to IH8JJ in the small blind, who calls. I raise and both call. Flop comes Ah2d7s. IH8JJ checks, I bet, IceHouse calls, IH8JJ folds. Turn is 5h. I bet and win my first pot (150) when IceHouse folds.

The blinds go up to 25 and 50 and I'm the short stack with T465. I get AdKc in the big blind and call a raise from the SB after everyone else folds. Flop comes AsTdTc. IH8J bets, I raise, he folds, I win.

Blinds are now 50 and 100. IceHouse gets all-in on the river and actually wins when her pocket 8s beat IH8JJ's KQ. This is notable because it's the first all-in hand that doesn't lead to an elimination.

On the next hand, I raise from the button with As5d and only T340 left. and IceHouse calls from the big blind. Flop comes T4Q, all spades. We both check. Turn is Ks, giving me the nut flush. IceHouse checks, I bet my last T140 and she folds.

The following hand, I get KTs and come in with a raise. kinkade calls. Flop comes AsTd6h and with top pair, top kicker, I decide I'm going. kinkade bets, I raise, he calls. Turn is Ah, giving me two pair. kinkade bets, I call my last T190. He turns over Js Qh. The river is the Ace of clubs, putting three aces on the board and giving me a full house.

This next hand was nuts. Blinds are 75/150. IXIMan only has T155 left, and he raises all-in. I fold, Kendell raises, IceHouse folds, and kinkade calls. Flop comes 7s9d8s. kinkade checks, Kendell bets, kinkade calls. Turn is 3d. kinkade checks, Kendell bets, kinkade calls. River is Td, and both players check. Here's what happened: Kendell [8h Ad] flopped top pair and was a 52% favorite at that point. IXIMan [3c 3s] turned trips and became 90% to win, with Kendell drawing dead, but kinkade made his four(?)-outer on the river with the 10 for a queen-high straight [Qc Js]. IXIMan was out, and Kendell took a big hit and was left with only T705. Worst bad beat of the tourney. (Odds calculated courtesy of twodimes.net)

Four players left. I took the chip lead on the next hand, and two hands later I dropped The Hammer from the small blind and won when I bet a three-club flop.

With the blinds at 100/200, IceHouse and kinkade fold, and I wake up to 55 in the small blind. Kendell's the big blind and already has 200 of his 480 chips in the middle, and a pocket pair heads-up against the short stack is a Good Thing, so I raise and he goes all-in with K7s. The flop brings three diamonds and I bust him with fives and twos.

Three players left. We're all guaranteed cash, and I'm the chip leader with T4135. I get Kd9h on the button and raise. IceHouse reraises and kinkade folds. Flop comes QsAc2d. IceHouse bets, I call. Turn is a Kh, giving me top pair. IceHouse bets, I raise, and she reraises herself all in. I call and she turns over JsJd.

Uh-oh.

River's a 10 and she makes her straight to win a T3460 pot.

Disaster strikes soon after. Blinds are 150/300, and I'm dealt 3hJs in the small blind. kinkade calls, I call (probably a mistake; even three-handed, that's a crappy hand) and IceHouse checks. Flop is TcKd3s. Everyone checks. Turn is Jd giving me two pair. I bet, IceHouse folds, kinkade raises, and I call (mistake #2). River is 6h, I bet to put kinkade all in, and he calls and turns over QdAh for a made straight.

That cripples me -- I'm down to T870. On the next hand, I get TQd on the button and raise. IceHouse folds, kinkade calls. Flop comes Jh, Tc, 8s. kinkade bets, and with middle pair and an inside straight draw, I have to go. I raise my last 570 and he calls and rolls... 7hKc? The low end of the straight draw. Turn is a blank, but the river is the Jack of diamonds, giving me the winning two pair. Interestingly, on the next hand, I get QcKs in the big blind and I raise kinkade on the small blind and he folds. At that point, I realized that I'd been playing tight, possibly too much so, even when it was five and four-handed, forcing the table to respect my pre-flop raises at this point. I went on to pick up a few pots with post-flop bets in position, building my stack back up to T3690 before... this hand.

I get 2cQd on the button and raise. IceHouse folds, and kinkade has exactly 300 left and calls, turning over Tc Js. And my hand holds up. A river Ace gives me Ace-Queen high and knocks kinkade out.

I take the chip lead back with that win (4440-3560), but I give it back two hands later when my Broadway draw doesn't get there and I fold on the river. I get some of it back when I reraise with KdQh and flop a set of Queens. I then lose T1600 when I get check-raised out of a hand on the turn when an Ace came and we had both checked the flop. I dropped the Hammer again postflop with two kings on the board. I then stole three of the next four hands to get back to almost 3000 in chips.

Then came... the deciding hand. Blinds are 250/500. I'm dealt KsJc in the big blind and strangely just check after IceHouse calls, almost as if I know what's coming. And what's coming is 7sJhKh. I bet, IceHouse calls. Turn is 9c. I bet, IceHouse raises, putting me all-in, and I can't call fast enough. She flips over K2c and I've got her dominated. Another seven comes on the river and I surge into the lead.

Two hands later, it ends. I see TcKh in the big blind. IceHouse raises, I call, and the flop is 7c6hKd, giving me top pair. I bet, she raises, and I know I've got her, so I re-raise, forcing her to bet her last 520. I call the extra 20 and see her flip over... 4dTs? Ouch. The turn is the seven of spades and that's it. The river is a six and I'm $25 richer. Go me.