$2 MTT fun

I played in a $2 + .25 today on FT and it was amazing. 457 runners, 176 left at the first break!?!?

The blinds were 50/100 at the break, I cannot fathom why they insisted on impaling themselves on each other. Consistently.

I was a few hundy above average at the break and never really saw great cards. Two biggest pots were 56s where my OESFD missed but my bluff won (second hand of mtt) and a key double up against a maniac when I had 88 about 45 mins in.

81 spots pay, so my goal was to simply make the money and then start taking some more chances. That got a little tougher with 137 left when the SB caught a flush and cost me about T1600. My read that my middle pair was good on the flop, his K5c was flushing on the river and I paid him off on the Q high board. Tighten up or get looser to accumulate and make a real run? That was the question. I thought that I had enough chips (T3900) with 100/200 blinds that I could still wait for some premium hands and spots. Let's see if that works. One double up with the right donkey (and there are still some left around) and I am sitting pretty.

One small problem, the homebrew is starting to kick in a little. I am trying to drink enough so that I have 28 empty bottles for my next batch which I will be bottling next weekend. Tough job, I know. I have a lot of the high octane stuff on hand right now (10.5% abv) so two a day is a tall order.

92o in the BB. Doubt I get to see it for free. Surprise! I did, but the QJ6 did not help me at all. Fold to the raiser.

A9s in the SB and I flop OESD. It fills on the turn and I check it heads up. River pairs the board and my 600 bet is called. The hand holds up and I get some ammo.

AQo very next hand and it is folded around to me on button. Bet 700, SB goes all in for 250 more and BB folds. Hmm, have to call here. He flips AK and I am in trouble, especially when the K flops. NH sir, I give back my gains.

T3740 when the blinds hit 120/240 25 ante. 109 left, money starts at 81. First hand for me at this level is 1010. Win the blinds and antes. T4275 and I promptly get moved for the first time in the MTT.

First hand on the new table is KJo in the BB. I raise pot on the SB limp and he ejects. Cool. AQd is next hand and the early pot bet looks fishy. Apparently I was smelling myself because I jammed on him and his AKc hit a flush. T720 and the beep of life support can barely be heard over the gasps of this fish. I really considered folding that, should have trusted my fishy intution.

In an amazing run, the cards start coming and who am I to deny them? AJ two hands later and I turn my T650 into T2450. Then, one hand after that, my 99 gets all the chips in the middle PF and I am up against KJ. I hit a 9 on the flop and he is out. T4430. That was quite a fast and wild little ride. Let's check the tourney info. 61/95. I am in the BB for the old price when the blinds go up, that never hurts.

I am roughly 13x BB and I get AA in LP and one limper in front. I raise pot, folds around to him and he jams. Easy call, plus I have him covered by 1200 and he shows 88. The flop gives him 4 more outs with a gutshot and it does not materialize. T7290. Wheeee this is fun with good cards.

Stats look like this with 92 left:

Statistics for 111 Hands
Street Saw Saw/Total
Flop 19 17%
Turn 15 14%
River 13 12%
Showdown 8 7%

Street Won Won/Saw Won/Total
Pre-flop 4 4% 4%
Flop 2 11% 2%
Turn 0 0% 0%
River 3 23% 3%
Showdown 5 63% 5%

Random Thought while playing - I saw Freedom Writers last night and I had to admit I was moved some by it. It was not my choice of movie, but I was glad I saw it. It inspired me enough to call and thank the teachers in my life, my mother and my brother's wife. It was certainly a variation on the Dangerous Minds theme with hot white teacher doing right by the minority class, but I found it much more adept at tugging the heart strings. There were several points where the painful lump in my throat rose and I was not too far from crying. Not sure why that was, I guess I could identify with the characters and the respect themes. Last time a movie did something like that to me was Legends of the Fall. I know even admitting seeing both of these movies might put me "under suspicion" but I have to admit that I cried during the mustard gas scene in Legends of the Fall. Something about a movie with three brothers and the military made it very easy for me to put myself in the shoes of the characters. (I have two younger brothers and I served as an Armor Crewman from 93-96) The scene where Brad Pitt watches his younger brother get mustard gassed and then tangled and stuck in concertina wire and then chewed up by machine gun fire got to me. For some reason I could see that as myself and my younger brother Jared.

As I typed that, we lost 9 more and the bubble is ready to burst. 83 left and I am falling behind average. 5790 with 8300 avg stack. Hand for Hand begins and I fold A10o to a raise in EP. I get 88 in MP. Decision time. I decide to go in a blaze (the bubble popped and the difference between 80th and 64th is $0) I jam and get one caller with J8. Cool! I dodge his three outs and very dubious call (he only has 4300 left now and I have T12300) and I am back in the saddle.
Two hands later, AJo in the BB. I dislike this hand. Two raises in front make it an easy fold.
Blinds escalate to 250/500 with 50 ante and I am sitting 22/69 with 11k. I get a support call from work and now I am really multi-tasking. Auto-folding and the large blinds/antes are taking their toll. T9900 and no cards and still on the phone.

300/600 75 Ante. 8700, still on phone and no cards. This is an issue with the firm's CIO so it will take the time that it will take.

500/1000 100 ante. I go out 31st while I am still on the phone when my A7 splits the pot with A3 and then I get A7 the very next hand. I interpret this as a sign from the poker gods and that justice will be served so I go all in PF just like last time and get called by AJ this time. Fickle poker gods! 31/457 and I am not too unhappy with that. I think I could have gone farther if I had not spent 40 plus minutes on the phone troubleshooting a local mail replica issue with the CIO during a very crucial phase of the mtt, but that is how it goes. I am rewarded with a massive 3 dollars in profit and the feeling that my game is not in bad of shape as it sometimes feels.