Let's Review

Let's get this out of the way:

AA x 3
QQ x 4
JJ x 2
TT x 3
99 x 2
88 x 3
44 x 2
33 x 3
22 x 1

23 pairs. 384 hands. 5.99% vs 5.88% expected. What an edge! Granted, 0.78% were Aces, vs 0.45% expected. Or something. I'm not so good with stats. :)

AK x 4
AQ x 3
AJ x 4
KQ x 4
KJ x 6
QJ x 10

31 Ace-face/paint. Yay donk hands!

Ok, so let's look at how this went down.

The game started off fairly regularly. I hovered above the starting stack for the first 25min or so, and then started dropping until I was at 1,095 chips with the blinds at 80/160, 1:20 into the game.

Seat 1: RecessRampage (3,345)
Seat 2: DDionysus (4,398)
Seat 3: Leafs_NL (2,150)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (7,300)
Seat 6: bdidde (3,675)
Seat 7: Astin (1,095)
Seat 8: RNallin (8,505)
Seat 9: a104l9 (5,070)
bdidde posts the small blind of 80
Astin posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [Th 9h]
Leafs_NL has 15 seconds left to act
Leafs_NL raises to 480
Astin raises to 1,095, and is all in
Leafs_NL calls 615
Astin shows [Th 9h]
Leafs_NL shows [Ah Ts]
RNallin: if he had anymore chips maybe
*** FLOP *** [2d 8d 7c]
*** TURN *** [2d 8d 7c] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [2d 8d 7c Jd] [Ks]
Astin shows a straight, Jack high
Leafs_NL shows Ace King high
Astin wins the pot (2,270) with a straight, Jack high

Leafs_NL called it a terrible shove, "srsly". Note to my fellow Canuck (and I'll assume GTAer) - I can't take you seriously if you spell it "srsly". It was also a terrible call on your part. Seriously. I liked the hand, and wasn't about to call just to fold on the flop with 615 chips behind, so it was shove or fold. I picked shove, and got lucky.

So now I have a little bit more room, but still not a fantastic stack at 80/160. I built it to around 5k by the times antes kicked in, without seeing a showdown, and then found the always interesting ladies 20 minutes after th

Table 1 - 150/300 Ante 25
Seat 2: DDionysus (2,558)
Seat 3: GCox25 (7,475)
Seat 4: PirateLawyer (6,235)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (4,505)
Seat 6: bdidde (4,510)
Seat 7: Astin (4,710)
Seat 8: RNallin (5,965)
Seat 9: a104l9 (4,080)
DDionysus antes 25
GCox25 antes 25
PirateLawyer antes 25
pushmonkey72 antes 25
bdidde antes 25
Astin antes 25
RNallin antes 25
a104l9 antes 25
RNallin posts the small blind of 150
a104l9 posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [Qs Qc]
bdidde raises to 4,485, and is all in
Astin raises to 4,685, and is all in
Astin shows [Qs Qc]
bdidde shows [As 6s]
Uncalled bet of 200 returned to Astin
*** FLOP *** [3c Jh Qh]
*** TURN *** [3c Jh Qh] [4d]
*** RIVER *** [3c Jh Qh 4d] [Js]
Astin shows a full house, Queens full of Jacks
bdidde shows a pair of Jacks
Astin wins the pot (9,620) with a full house, Queens full of Jacks

So now I had some chips again. Which is always fun.



Table 10 - 150/300 Ante 25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [Jh Jd]
Astin raises to 1,025
twoblackaces raises to 3,750
Astin has 15 seconds left to act
Astin raises to 9,470, and is all in
twoblackaces has 15 seconds left to act
twoblackaces has requested TIME
twoblackaces calls 5,720
Astin shows [Jh Jd]
twoblackaces shows [Kh Ah]
Astin shows two pair, Jacks and Fours
twoblackaces shows a pair of Fours
Astin wins the pot (19,615) with two pair, Jacks and Fours

And now, we're cooking with gas. This gave me my first chip lead of the night. Shortly thereafter, I found the ladies again.



Table 10 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:54:28 ET - 2008/05/22
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [Qd Qh]
CheckinMyAA raises to 2,180, and is all in
Astin raises to 7,040
Astin shows [Qd Qh]
CheckinMyAA: fawking card racks
Astin shows a pair of Queens
CheckinMyAA shows a pair of Fives
Astin wins the pot (4,860) with a pair of Queens

Still on top here. We know how this works. I was on a run. Just look at the hand numbers in the corner.



Table 10 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:55:28 ET - 2008/05/22
Dealt to Astin [Qh Ah]
Astin raises to 1,025
twoblackaces raises to 1,270, and is all in
Astin calls 245

The ladies loved me on Thursday. But then I gave it away.

Table 7 - 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:01:49 ET - 2008/05/22
Seat 1: Rake Feeder (14,150)
Seat 3: pushmonkey72 (5,872)
Seat 4: lightning36 (13,523)
Seat 5: Astin (23,490)
Seat 6: BuddyDank (9,715)
Seat 7: katitude (11,283)
Seat 8: wwonka69 (13,498)
Seat 9: cemfredmd (3,080)
Rake Feeder antes 50
pushmonkey72 antes 50
lightning36 antes 50
Astin antes 50
BuddyDank antes 50
katitude antes 50
wwonka69 antes 50
cemfredmd antes 50
pushmonkey72 posts the small blind of 200
lightning36 posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [4c Ac]
Astin raises to 1,600 - Terrible raise. S0000ted ace! Chipstack! Bleh.
wwonka69 has 15 seconds left to act
wwonka69 raises to 3,200 - Must assume a hand better than mine. Minraise? Gotta be aces.
Astin calls 1,600 - So why not call!
*** FLOP *** [2h 4h 2d]
Astin checks
wwonka69 bets 3,000 - Aces are so weak here
Astin raises to 9,000 - TPTK! The CR obviously means I have a 2! Preflop action be damned!
wwonka69 raises to 10,248, and is all in
Astin calls 1,248 - Whoops... committed now.
wwonka69 shows [Ad As]
Astin shows [4c Ac]
Astin: whoops - That's what I said!
*** TURN *** [2h 4h 2d] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [2h 4h 2d Kc] [9h]
wwonka69 shows two pair, Aces and Twos
Astin shows two pair, Fours and Twos
wwonka69 wins the pot (27,896) with two pair, Aces and Twos

I wasn't lying about giving it away. I might as well have tied a bow around it for Wonka. Not dead by any means (9,992 chips left), but hurting. I pretty much stayed there and blinded away around 1000 chips. Until my lovely ladies showed up again.

Table 6 - 250/500 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:20:35 ET - 2008/05/22
Seat 1: flstfboy11 (28,705)
Seat 2: Astin (8,842)
Seat 3: Baywolfe (6,750)
Seat 4: JD Schellnutt (9,195)
Seat 5: NumbBono (12,395)
Seat 6: PouringReign (13,500)
Seat 7: wwonka69 (38,126)
Seat 8: katitude (3,048)
Seat 9: dwal78 (32,340)
flstfboy11 antes 50
Astin antes 50
Baywolfe antes 50
JD Schellnutt antes 50
NumbBono antes 50
PouringReign antes 50
wwonka69 antes 50
katitude antes 50
dwal78 antes 50
PouringReign posts the small blind of 250
wwonka69 posts the big blind of 500
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [Qs Qh]
Astin raises to 2,200
PouringReign calls 1,950
*** FLOP *** [8s 3c Kd]
PouringReign bets 3,500
Astin raises to 6,592, and is all in
PouringReign calls 3,092
Astin shows [Qs Qh]
PouringReign shows [9s 9h]
*** TURN *** [8s 3c Kd] [Ac]
*** RIVER *** [8s 3c Kd Ac] [Ks]
Astin shows two pair, Kings and Queens
PouringReign shows two pair, Kings and Nines
Astin wins the pot (18,534) with two pair, Kings and Queens

Breathing space again. I gave away a few grand on bad flops, and failed steals. Won it back with AA preflop. Which was unfortunate because one hand earlier my folded A8s (to a raise and call with KQo and KJo) would have taken down a bigger pot.

We got 5-handed on the final table and cash bubble, and I stepped up the aggression to chip up some more. Then the bubble popped and the table looked like this:



And this this happened:



Table 8 - 600/1200 Ante 150 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:53:33 ET - 2008/05/22
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [9d 9h]
scottc25 raises to 4,000
Astin has 15 seconds left to act
Astin raises to 14,250
scottc25 raises to 22,109, and is all in
Astin calls 7,859
scottc25 shows [Kd Ks]
Astin shows [9d 9h]
scottc25 shows a straight, Ace high
Astin shows a pair of Nines
scottc25 wins the pot (46,468) with a straight, Ace high

This dropped me to 600 chips (not 450 - the 150 ante left me with 450 behind). So I did this:



Astin wins the main pot (2,850) with two pair, Kings and Nines



Astin wins the pot (7,050) with two pair, Kings and Eights

I folded crap for a few hands and took hits from the blinds and antes. M = 1.4, and looking for something remotely live.

Table 8 - 600/1200 Ante 150 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:00:07 ET - 2008/05/23
Seat 1: NumbBono (14,400)
Seat 3: scottc25 (49,368)
Seat 4: wwonka69 (10,684)
Seat 5: dwal78 (105,748)
Seat 6: NCDeaton (20,450)
Seat 7: Astin (4,050)
Seat 8: PirateLawyer (59,300)
NumbBono antes 150
scottc25 antes 150
wwonka69 antes 150
dwal78 antes 150
NCDeaton antes 150
Astin antes 150
PirateLawyer antes 150
wwonka69 posts the small blind of 600
dwal78 posts the big blind of 1,200
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [6s 7c]
Astin raises to 3,900, and is all in
wwonka69 raises to 10,534, and is all in
wwonka69 shows [Td As]
Astin shows [6s 7c]
Uncalled bet of 6,634 returned to wwonka69
*** FLOP *** [Jd Qs 5h]
*** TURN *** [Jd Qs 5h] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [Jd Qs 5h 6h] [6d]
wwonka69 shows a pair of Sixes
Astin shows three of a kind, Sixes
Astin wins the pot (10,050) with three of a kind, Sixes

Once again, ATo goes down to me and my horseshoe on the brink. And again, blinds and antes chip away at my tiny stack. M = 1.8... and I get the hammer for the 2nd time at the final table, what else am I supposed to do?

Full Tilt Poker Game #6527032040: Riverchasers Online Tour (49262698), Table 8 - 800/1600 Ante 200 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:05:00 ET - 2008/05/23
Seat 1: NumbBono (15,200)
Seat 3: scottc25 (48,268)
Seat 4: wwonka69 (11,168)
Seat 5: dwal78 (80,964)
Seat 6: NCDeaton (43,450)
Seat 7: Astin (7,000)
Seat 8: PirateLawyer (57,950)
NumbBono antes 200
scottc25 antes 200
wwonka69 antes 200
dwal78 antes 200
NCDeaton antes 200
Astin antes 200
PirateLawyer antes 200
dwal78 posts the small blind of 800
NCDeaton posts the big blind of 1,600
Fuel55 (Observer): decent flop
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [2h 7s]
Astin raises to 6,800, and is all in
NCDeaton calls 5,200
Astin shows [2h 7s]
NCDeaton shows [6h Kc]
*** FLOP *** [Jd 7d Ac]
*** TURN *** [Jd 7d Ac] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [Jd 7d Ac 6c] [Js]
Astin shows two pair, Jacks and Sevens
NCDeaton shows two pair, Jacks and Sixes
Astin wins the pot (15,800) with two pair, Jacks and Sevens

Hammer at the final table = the nuts obviously. Still, I have just enough chips to be mildly picky and fold to raises. But I'm pushing anything remotely likable if the pot is unopened. I take blinds and antes with 44, which keeps me alive, but I chip down again to 8900, M just under 2, with 6 left.



I shoved preflop, hating it all the way. I despise pushing short-stacked with A-rag, but seeing how often people thought KQ and KJ were the nuts, figured I might get a call from the BB with total crap. I figured I was finally done when PirateLawyer flipped the Jacks... but of course, they don't call this the Riverchasers for nothing.

I was still in last, but once again had some life. I started stealing when I could to stay afloat, and then found my old friends...

Table 8 - 1000/2000 Ante 250 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:25:05 ET - 2008/05/23
Seat 1: NumbBono (45,550)
Seat 3: scottc25 (44,268)
Seat 5: dwal78 (110,632)
Seat 7: Astin (23,550)
Seat 8: PirateLawyer (40,000)
NumbBono antes 250
scottc25 antes 250
dwal78 antes 250
Astin antes 250
PirateLawyer antes 250
Astin posts the small blind of 1,000
PirateLawyer posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [Ad As] - Yup, hard to believe
dwal78 raises to 5,500
Astin raises to 23,300, and is all in
dwal78 calls 17,800
Astin shows [Ad As]
dwal78 shows [Jc Jd]
*** FLOP *** [5h Kh Qd]
*** TURN *** [5h Kh Qd] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [5h Kh Qd 3d] [Qh]
Astin shows two pair, Aces and Queens
dwal78 shows two pair, Queens and Jacks
Astin wins the pot (49,850) with two pair, Aces and Queens

I took some flack for thinking about this one, which was the hand right after the AA:



Table 8 - 1000/2000 Ante 250 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:25:41 ET - 2008/05/23
Seat 1: NumbBono (45,300)
Seat 3: scottc25 (44,018)
Seat 5: dwal78 (87,082)
Seat 7: Astin (49,850)
Seat 8: PirateLawyer (37,750)
NumbBono antes 250
scottc25 antes 250
dwal78 antes 250
Astin antes 250
PirateLawyer antes 250
PirateLawyer posts the small blind of 1,000
NumbBono posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [As Jh]
dwal78 raises to 5,500
Astin calls 5,500
NumbBono calls 3,500
*** FLOP *** [9h 5h Js]
NumbBono bets 39,550, and is all in
dwal78 has 15 seconds left to act
dwal78 folds
Astin has 15 seconds left to act
Astin has requested TIME
Astin calls 39,550
NumbBono shows [Jd Qh]
Astin shows [As Jh]
*** TURN *** [9h 5h Js] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [9h 5h Js 6c] [9d]
NumbBono shows two pair, Jacks and Nines
Astin shows two pair, Jacks and Nines
Astin wins the pot (97,850) with two pair, Jacks and Nines

I'd just built my stack up to something respectable and had to decide if TPTK was worth giving it all back with TPTK 5-handed and 1.5:1 odds. NumbBono was getting better than 4:1 to call preflop. He could have taken a risk to slowplay a monster, or a medium pair and caught his set. I decided I was good, and hoped (always bad) to be against a worse Jack or a heart draw, even though I was thinking overpair. Obviously, I was wrong about the overpair, and now had the chiplead with 4 left. Not bad from 600.

The lead bounced between me and Dwal for a bit and even went to PirateLawyer for a hand, which evened out the table a bunch. A couple uncontested AK's and a few paint hands played aggressively got me back on top quickly. I held on to this tightly, despite some great moves by PL to move close a few times. Then, the biggest hand of the night:



Full Tilt Poker Game #6527499377: Riverchasers Online Tour (49262698), Table 8 - 1500/3000 Ante 400 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:45:43 ET - 2008/05/23
Seat 3: scottc25 (65,236)
Seat 5: dwal78 (39,782)
Seat 7: Astin (97,750)
Seat 8: PirateLawyer (61,232)
scottc25 antes 400
dwal78 antes 400
Astin antes 400
PirateLawyer antes 400
scottc25 posts the small blind of 1,500
dwal78 posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [Qs Qh]
Astin raises to 12,100
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer raises to 29,200
scottc25 folds
dwal78 raises to 39,382, and is all in
Astin raises to 97,350, and is all in - Remote chance of isolation, but I'd rather get it all in here than decide on a flop 3-way. I've got over 30k behind if called, so I'll still have plenty of life if I lose.
PirateLawyer has 15 seconds left to act
PirateLawyer has requested TIME
PirateLawyer calls 31,632, and is all in

And just like that, we go from 4-handed to heads-up, with the ladies holding up yet again for me. Queens winning that often? Unheard of, I know. I had a better than 3:1 chiplead HU, but Scottc25 made it interesting.

Table 8 - 2000/4000 Ante 500 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:50:53 ET - 2008/05/23
Seat 3: scottc25 (64,036)
Seat 7: Astin (199,964)
scottc25 antes 500
Astin antes 500
Astin posts the small blind of 2,000
scottc25 posts the big blind of 4,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [8c 7c]
Astin raises to 13,000
scottc25 calls 9,000
*** FLOP *** [Jd 4c Ts]
scottc25 checks
Astin bets 20,000 - Bluff with the inside straight draw, and backdoor flush
scottc25 raises to 50,536, and is all in
Astin calls 30,536 He has a J, and I'm rich, so I make the uber-loose call
scottc25 shows [Jc 9c] so much for the backdoor
Astin shows [8c 7c]
*** TURN *** [Jd 4c Ts] [7h]
*** RIVER *** [Jd 4c Ts 7h] [2s]
scottc25 shows a pair of Jacks
Astin shows a pair of Sevens
scottc25 wins the pot (128,072) with a pair of Jacks

This evened us up, and we stayed that way for a bit. That is until 2nd pair was believed to be gold. I saw the flop for free, bet on the flop, checked the turn, and pot bet the river.



Then, this hand finished it all off:



Table 8 - 2000/4000 Ante 500 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:55:33 ET - 2008/05/23
Seat 3: scottc25 (99,572)
Seat 7: Astin (164,428)
scottc25 antes 500
Astin antes 500
Astin posts the small blind of 2,000
scottc25 posts the big blind of 4,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Astin [Tc Kd]
Astin raises to 13,000
scottc25 calls 9,000
*** FLOP *** [6c Ks Qh]
scottc25 checks
Astin bets 27,000
scottc25 raises to 86,072, and is all in
Astin calls 59,072
scottc25 shows [Td Qd]
Astin shows [Tc Kd]

And that was all she wrote.