Vegasnights End of Month - €50 + €50 26/02/2006

As I am a big fan of Nick's tournies and knew there would be a few of the boardies there, I drove out to the Angler's Rest for the 1pm start, after a very late night and suffering from lack of sleep. There were 63 runners in total, buying in for €50+10, with the option for 1 re-buy or top-up for an additional €50+5. The starting stack was 4k, with 5k for the re-buy / top-up. The blind structure was great, 30 minute blinds, starting at 25/50 and didn't skip any. I arrived a little late and was put on the 8th table, most players were of poor quality. One hand I remember from the first level is being dealt KK (dealt by myself, it was self deal until the final table), making a nice big 4xBB raise to deal with one limper and the blinds. The BB was an extremely agressive player, I have played with him a few times before in the SE and he has always paid me off. He flat called in the BB (maybe he didn't believe the button raise), the limper folded. The flop came down 679 with two spades, he checked, I bet 500 and he called. The turn was another 9, and he insta-pushed. He was a player who had the tendency to push when he had to nuts, so I had to very regretfully fold, showing my KK. He smiled and said, great fold, happens to us all, flipping his A8 spades...'I had the straight'!!!! Hmm, no, you didn't, you actually had the straight DRAW and nut flush DRAW. He made the same mistake later, with a less beneficial result.

This knocked me back a bit and I had to struggle to avoid tilt. 5 minutes later I was back on track, and by the time our table was broken up 40 minutes later, the villain described above had kindly doubled me up twice, giving me the table chip lead. Other than a single occasion on the second last table, those was the last times I was all-in and covered until I was eventually knocked out.

My new table was the strongest by far of the remaining 7, containing: Ollie and Big Dragon, two tough competitors. I was to Ollie's left, and two to Big Dragon's right, and really wanted to get off the table to target the weaker players. I got my wish fairly quickly, and was off to table two, with a nice mix of tight passive players and loose maniacs. I slowly but surely chipped away at the big stacks on this table, to build an above average stack. One player was extremely drunk and extremely clueless, he had a massive stack after calling three players all-in holding 67 and hitting a house. Everyone at the table knew he would give it all away, we were all fighting for a piece of it! I took 10k off him when I picked up AA on his BB, he called any raise, so when I saw a raggy flop and he checked into me, I pushed, happy to take a small chunk and avoid being outdrawn. I knew that, with the players I was facing, many small pots were a less risky way to build a stack than getting involved in a few big pots.

An hour after the break I was moved to table 1, again, a mix of players here, some good and some not so good. The structure was so gentle that there was tons of play. I constantly increased my stack without going to showdown, as I got a lot of respect during post-flop play. The only scare came for me when I raised with A10s in mid-position, the SB called, the flop came down 10 5 5 rainbow, he checked and I pushed for about 25k. He called, and I was sure I was in trouble - however, he had always bet when ahead so what was he on? He had me covered, and flipped 10....3 off??? What was he thinking? Out he goes and into the top few big stacks left go I!

Culchie and Big Dragon were playing well on the other table, but Culchie fell victim to some strange play and was knocked out on off the bubble in 11th. I had a healthy stack on the final table and decided to play tight until the shorties were knocked out. One of the players was quite drunk and fairly obnoxious, which is never a nice combination on a poker table. Another was a loudmouth who yapped on about his play during any bit of dead air! Big Dragon was knocked out in 6th, so the final 5 were guaranteed at least €300, with 1st place getting €2100. I had my sights firmly on that 1st place spot. However, I got involved with the big mouth, and was knocked down to 2nd shortest stack. Next hand I was dealt KQo on the SB, and as usual the yapper on the button raised into me. As usual, he starting talking, warning me about calling his raises and so on. The flop came down K44 rainbow and I checked, as I was reasonably sure I was ahead. He bet 20k and I insta-pushed for my remaining 60k, knowing he could be making the move with a very wide range of hands, from AA all the way to J10...unfortunately, he was actually holding AKo and I was going home with only €300!

I heard the remaining four (including two very poor players IMHO) made a deal for €1000 each, and played for the remaining €800 in the pool. Argh.