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Sometimes This Game Makes me Sick

Date: Tue, Nov 27, 2007 Internet

This is how I feel after all the bad exits from tourneys lately. Qs running into As or Ks, trips getting sucked out by flush draws, As cracked by some donkey's lower pair catching trips on the river, etc, etc, etc.

I can't take credit for this picture as I found it on the web while Stumbling.

Very appropriate though.

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In Tournaments, It's often Where you Play that Matters Most

Date: Tue, Nov 13, 2007 Internet

This may not make intuitive sense to everyone, but the site and type of tournaments you play has a lot more to do with consistent success than you may think. In the US, it is no coincidence that the best tournament players are consistently playing at Ultimate Bet, Stars, Full Tilt and Bodog. Granted these tournaments have strong guarantees for higher buyin tournaments, but they got there for a reason. They are great tournament sites.

What makes a great tournament site? I think there are 3 key factors; tournament structure, number of players and rebuy options. First tournament structure is critical, a good player wants an adequate level of chips and sufficiently slow structure so that they can get some play with their chips and try to build a stack while the blinds are low. Many sites on the web, like the Prima Network and others, have such fast blind increases that their tournaments are paramount to gambling. Good players do not want to simply chalk up their entry fee strictly to chance. Any tournament takes a certain amount of luck to win, but skill is more important to consistent cashing and long-term success.

Ultimate Bet and Bodog have the best structures for sites with a base level of players. Bugsy's Club has probably the best structure on the net with every tournament starting with 10,000 chips, but they have so few players that prize pools are rarely very large.

That is a good lead in for the second factor, number of players. The more players in a tournament, the bigger the prize pools. Several of the big sites have $200 buyin tournaments on the weekend with in excess of 1,000 players. Now there is a trade-off here. I like to play tournaments with between 150 and 400 players. Less than 150 and the prize pool is not large enough to make it worth the time. However, above 400 and the luck factor becomes to great a factor in getting to the final table. While both payout to 10% of entrants, most of the money is given to those at the final table. In tournaments with more than 400 players, you need more of your good hands to hold up and you need the luck to win a lot more races to make the final table.

At a site like Stars this can be a real problem, especially if you are playing in the $5-$30 size range. These tournaments almost always have more than 1,000 entrants and you will grind it out forever before making a big score. This can be so frustrating that it can lead to sloppy play or overall disappointment with the game. At Stars, I try to limit my play to the $20 and $30 rebuys or tourneys, larger buy-in tourneys and the capped size tourneys (180 SNGs and 360 max tourneys)

If you play lower denomination tourneys, I highly suggest that you look at UB. They offer a lot of lower buyin tourneys and the number of entrants is usually 100-300 people.

The third factor is rebuy offerings. One thing you will note is that good players like to play rebuy tournaments. Rebuy tournaments give a good player the best chance to win because they can start with a big stack. At most sites you can rebuy immediately to double your stack. Then if you are able catch some cards during the rebuy period, you likely will double your doubled stack, so you might have 6,000 chips (versus 1,500 in a normal tournament). Then you can addon for 2,000 more chips at the first break. So now you have 8,000 chips and the blind levels are likely in the 75/150 range. Your M is 35 (chips divided by blinds/antes) and you have a lot of room to play pots and try to build your stack. That is why good players play rebuys.

One of the little known benefits of playing rebuys at UB and Absolute Poker is that they allow a double rebuy and double addon -- which further increases the stack size to multiply the benefits discussed. If you wait until the tourney starts at UB, then when you click the rebuy option it asks if you want a single or double rebuy. If you double rebuy, you end up with 4,500 starting chips. Let's say you build that up to 7,000 chips by the first break, then you do a double add on for another 3,000 chips. Now you have 10,000 chips and UB has one of the slowest blind structures, so the blinds after the first break are still only 50/100 after the first break. Your M in that example is 66 -- that is a big stack relative to the blinds.

I love to play the $30 rebuy at UB as the prize pool is very large. Yes, I end up buying in for at least $150 but the chance of cashing is greatly increased with the stack size you can usually build during the first hour. They also have $2, $5, $10 and $20 rebuy tourneys.

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Players Beware - Cheating does Exist

Date: Mon, Oct 22, 2007 Internet

The past year has not brought a lot of good news to the online poker world. The US ban has crimped the number of sites where US players can play and has also significantly reduced the number of new players coming into the online poker world. Win rates are down and the game is just not as fun anymore.

Well over the weekend, I saw this gem about online cheating by a consultant to one of the sites which really calls into question the whole integrity of the game. I am shocked to learn that an actual employee/consultant of the sites (beside "identified pros") can actually play on their sites -- seems like a major conflict to me. But then to learn this guy hacked into their own system so that he could see everyone's hole cards is really disturbing news. This incident involves Absolute Poker, but one certainly has to wonder about the other sites also.

The industry really needs to get its act together so we can gain back the integrity of this game. Until that happens, the game is going to continue to lose players.

You can check out the article here.

Here is Absolute's response as published on www.pocketfives.com.

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Playing Where You're Comfortable

Date: Sun, Sep 23, 2007 Internet

It is tempting to chase bonus programs and rakeback programs all over the net looking for ways to supplement winnings. I know it is tempting because I have chased them; deposit bonuses, rakeback programs and even propping programs. However, if you are playing ring games it is critical to understand the type of play the site you are playing.

From my experience, understanding the type of play and flow of play take 100s of hours to analyze before you gain a comfort level. That is the big problem with chasing bonuses. When I was playing very small stakes, it made sense because the bonuses were big relative to my bankroll and the players were generally very weak at low levels.

However, at higher levels the players are generally good and this means you better know how they play before you risk your stack.

Type and flow of play includes several variables that all differ greatly from one site to the next. Some of these variables are described below:

Loose/Tight Play: I generally play 6 max NL, but I still see a wide range between sites in the % of flops an average player is seeing at each site. This has large ramifications for the strength of hands that are typically going to win. If 3-4 of 6 players are seeing the flop often, then you better have a good hands (generally trips or a str8) before you want to risk all your chips on a hand. Conversely, if flops are usually heads up with 2 players, then you can be more aggressive in bluffing and/or playing top or even 2nd pair.

Preflop Aggression: How much limping is happening at the site. If every hand is raised and narrowing the field, play tighter and you can play top pair and two pair more aggressively. However, if there is a lot of limping then it is likely a "trappy" site where people are playing lots of connectors, one gappers and flush cards. Use caution playing without the nuts at these sites. Generally it is best to wait for big nut hands to win your chips at such a site.

Payoff Ratio: If you are playing at a site and you notice that you are not ever getting paid off on your really good hands, such as trips. BEWARE. The site is likely full of very good players and you should probably move along. This is more likely at some of the newer smaller sites as many of the players they have are either prop players or players that have exhausted bonuses at all the other sites (aka, very good players).

Long story short -- I have decided I am most comfortable at one site for ring games and I like to spend most of my time there and I am more selective about the bonus programs that I will chase.

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Win in August PXF Tourney

Date: Mon, Sep 3, 2007 Internet

I have really been focused on 6 max ring games lately and have moved up a level. I had not played any tournaments for over 3 weeks, but decided to play in the August PokerXFactor tourney. Surprising I won the tourney. It was a small stakes tourney so the payday was small but the victory was sweet nonetheless.

I attribute the win to patience which is something I have really been working on with ring games. With tournaments, I have learned so much strategy over the past year from PXF and experience that I had been playing too fancy for the past several months. In this tournament, I was simply patient throughout the tournament and it paid off. That and of course -- I had great cards.

I was playing a couple of cash tables at the same time so the tournament did not become a focus for me until we were down to three tables. Earlier I just played tight solid poker.

However in the mid stages of the tournament, I ended up getting AA and KK within three hands. With AA I tripled up against two AKs to 24,000 in chips and with KK I gained 50% of my stack to about 34,000. As a result, I catapulted to second in chips.

From there, I made an effort to raise the blinds at least two times per round. Most of the time I was just taking down the blinds, but if we made it to the flop I was placing a continuation bet of at least 1/2 the pot. With this style of play, I was able to stay within the top 7 in chips down to two tables.

However, I lost almost half my stack with QQ when they ran into both AA and KK on the same hand -- ouch. So from there I had to play more patiently. I was now an average stack and I had to be careful of bigger stacks. I would push AQ, AK and any pair here hoping to double up.

I came to the final table one of the smaller stacks with about 24,000 in chips. I was patient early while to other stacks busted out. Then from the BB, I got Q9s, not a great hand but I thought I would likely call a standard raise and then push any flop without an A to try to take down the pot. Typically I would simply push reraise rather than call, but I felt a flop push would be more effective here. The flop came with a T and a J giving me a str8 draw and I immediately pushed. I was called by QJ for top pair. I caught a K on the turn and I now had about 40,000 chips.

I picked up some chips with JJ when I reraised a preflop raiser and took down the pot. Then I doubled up with AKs. An early position player made a standard raise and I pushed over the top. He made a loose call with KQo and my AK held up for the double. Now I was chipleader with 93,000 chips and six remaining players. And I was back to trying to raise once or twice per round.

However, with 5 left and 100,000 in chips I hit a big setback. I had K9 in the BB and everyone folded to the SB who limped. I raised to 3x the blinds and he called. The flop came JT5 rainbow and we both checked. The turn was a 9 and the SB, who had 46k remaining bet 36k. That is a weird bet because it left him with 9800 chips. In hindsight I should have seen that as very odd and likely a baiting type bet. But the adrenaline was flowing and I simply raised over the top all in. He called with J9 for two pair. My K9 was dominated and I was down to 36,000 chips and one of two short stacks.

I was able to steal the blinds with some weak A hands and get back up to 57,000 in chips. Then when we were 4 handed I was able to double up with 77 when I pushed and the BB called with AK -- a very standard play for both parties. The very next hand I took out a small stack with 66 against A7s and I was over 180,000 in chips against two similar sized stacks.

We played 3 handed for only 9 hands but my chips dropped to 90,000 on a bad play by me. With Q9 in the big blind, the small stack with 80,000 in chips raised from the SB. I called and the flop came JT3 with two hearts and again I had a str8 draw but this time I had the chip lead. I should have played this cautiously. The SB pushed the flop for his remaining 31,000 chips and I decided to call. He also had a st8 draw with the KQo and I was dominated. He caught when the 9 came on the river.

However 3 hands later I was able to get it all back when he made a very bad play from the BB. I was on the button with KQo and about 94,000 in chips. He had 164,000 in chips and I made a standard raise to 24,000. He pushed all in and I immediately called with my final 70,000 chips. He had J7o???? I am not sure why he would make that move since I was really in push mode anyway. I was going to call any reraise with only 70,000 chips remaining. He had no fold equity but pushed anyway.

I doubled and about 10 hands later I took out the small stack with AQ against 66.

So we started heads up play and I had 260,000 in chips and my opponent had 127,000 in chips. This was one of the weirdest heads up situations I have been involved in. We only played 5 hands but the lead went from lopsided in my favor to lopsided in my opponents favor and then back to me before I won -- all in 5 hands. We both got a lot of very good cards and it was tough for us not to get all in.

Here are the key hands:

Hand #1 - uneventful
Hand #2 - uneventful

Hand #3 - I raised his 8,000 blind to 24,000 with KQs, he reraised me to 64,000 and I called. I probably should have pushed here since he only had 71,000 left but I called. The flop came A8Q with two diamonds. Now this is tricky. His preflop reraise said he likely had an A or a pair. In his shoes, I am pushing a lot of flops here, especially since he reraised preflop. But he checked. That led me to believe he as check-raising with an A or he had a smaller pair and was going to check-fold. If I check here, he is definitely pushing the turn, so I decided to bet 32,000. He immediately pushed his remaining 71,000 in and I had to call the 40,000 for a 225,000 pot. There is just no way not to make that call. He did have the A3 and I lost the pot.

Hand #4 - Now my opponent had 272,000 in chips and I had 116,000 in chips. But I look down at QQ. My opponent makes a standard raise to 24,000 and I wait a few seconds for dramatic effect then push all in over the top. He immediately calls with A6. Not a bad play for heads up although he could have folded to wait for a better all in hand but not a bad play by any means. My Qs hold and now the chips are 234,000 me and 155,000 my opponent.

Hand #5 - I get AQo and raise to 24,000, my opponent pushes over the top and I call. He has ATo and I am hoping that my dominant hand holds up. However the flop comes 6T8 with two spades. He is now in dominant position and I am already thinking I am down to 83,000 chips. However, the turn and fifth street are both spades and I have the Q of spades for a an unlikely 4 flush win.

If you are a PXF member and would like to check out this tournament in detail, here is the link.

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Table Manners

Date: Sun, Aug 12, 2007 Internet

Since the October and the US ban on gambling related transactions both cash games and tournaments are tougher because:

-- It is harder to get money onto the sites
-- Less new players are coming into the games
-- The remaining players must be maintaining their bankrolls (for the most part)
-- Therefore better players overall

Given that, you would think most players would be very nice weak players at a table. Right? Wrong. At 2 of the last 3 cash game tables I played at, a decent player took big pots from a weak player and proceeded to lambast them in the chat box. Why? To chase away a weaker player that is willing to rebuy? Ouch that is not smart.

Not only is it an unprofitable move, but it is rude and uncomfortable for everyone at the table. Let's not forget that we are playing against other human beings, not machines, and let's practice a little common courtesy.

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Tourneys and Cash Games

Date: Tue, Jul 24, 2007 Internet

So I just cannot stay away from the excitement of tournaments. I usually play 4-6 of them early in the evening and then switch to cash games for new tables when I get down to 2 tables remaining.

This way I can still come out positive for the night even if I do not make a final table in tournaments.

There are somethings to be careful with in mixing tourneys and cash games:

1. Avoid this strategy if you are susceptible to TILT -- You are going to get bad beats in tournament play -- it is inevitable. If I play six tournaments in a night, I will likely get bad beat out of 4 of them. That is just the nature of tournaments and all the all in hands required. Tilt will lead to big money losses in cash games, so bad beats set you off then avoid mixing cash and tourney games.

2. Pay attention -- In the early and early middle stages of a tourney you can get away with not paying attention. That is a good time to play 4-6 tables at the same time. However, when you get down to the late middle and late stages of a tourney, you need to pay attention to win. You need to know your opponents tendencies. For instance, who is raising a lot preflop but laying down to reraises. That is a great target for restealing chips. Don't open so many tables that you cannot pay close attention in your late tourney tables.

3. Use two different strategies -- Remember that you are playing both cash and tourneys and they both require different strategies. You can play more fast and loose in a tourney, you need to bluff more in tourneys and you resteal more in tourneys. Don't try these strategies too often at a cash game or you will just lose chips.

Good luck at the tables this week.

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Couple of Ways to Support the Troops this 4th of July

Date: Mon, Jul 2, 2007 Internet

Whether or not you believe in the US policy against Iraq, one thing we can all agree on is the courage and valor of the young men and women serving our country in military service.

This Fourth is a great time to salute them.

There are a couple of ways that I know of to support the troops, but I am sure many of you know of others so please comment to this post with other ideas.

Here are my suggestions:

-- stop and applaude any troops you see walking through US airports. I have witnessed and participated in one of these moments and they are quite touching.

-- make a donation to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. They provide scholarships to the children of several organizations including the US Marine Corps. You can donate to them here.

-- Send a message of support to the troops at America Supports You, it is free and very simple.

-- Another charity, Givetothetroops.org, has multiple different ways to help the troops, from shopping online affinity programs to donating golf gear so our troops can unwind, check them out here.

-- [From Comment] I added it here also so that a workable link is available. Tell ABC News your favorite 4th of July memories-- or send a 4th of July greeting to loved ones overseas serving in the armed forces! We also would love you to video your local community's 4th of July celebrations and send them to us by July 5th. ABC may use the video on ABC News Now! Link here.


Godspeed for a safe and speedy return home for all of the fine men and women of our armed forces.

And a have a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend.

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Converting Back to Cash Games

Date: Wed, Jun 13, 2007 Internet

I have finally hit the wall on the variance of tournament play. While I had some real nice successes during the past 18 months, my overall bankroll did not change much at all. This is the nature of tournament play and I think very few tournament players actually have positive cashflow from tournaments.

I am mainly playing 6 max NLHE these days with fairly good success. I thought I would outline a few of the key changes in your game that you need to adapt going from tournament play to cash games.

1. Tight is Right. Tournament play dictates that you play more hands, especially late in the tournament when luck becomes more of a factor. In cash games, you maintain a much more disciplined approach throughout a session. This does not mean that you do not play suited connectors or A9 at times. I will often raise with those hands in late position to try to take the blinds.

2. AK is a Much Weaker Hand. AK is a hand to play cautiously. Yes you raise preflop and you should still reraise a raiser, but be prepared to get away from the hand that pushes or puts in a third raise against your AK. NL cash games tend to be tight affairs, especially if you are playing against a good player. There are donks that will bluff and pay off your good hands, but if a good player or a TAG player triple raises you pre or raises you on the flop when you have TPTK, you are probably toast. Don't fight to the death with this hand, save your chips for when you pick-up trips, a hidden two pair or hidden straight.

3. Most of your Win $ Come from Big Hands. Patience is the key to good NL cash game play, even at a 6 handed table. Yes you play a few more starting hands in 6 max, but generally your win rate will still come from big hands. One of the benefits of 6 max tables is that less experienced players rarely think you have a monster hand when you do. This is especially true if you often put in continuation bets. Bet and raise with your big hands because you will often get paid off. Most of my win percentage comes from trip hands with pocket pairs. I will almost always call a pre-flop raise with a pocket pair because your EV is so high when you do catch trips 11% of the time.

4. Tight Exception - Figure out the Bluffers and Call them Down. It is amazing to me how many players bluff in low and mid limit 6 max cash games. I guess it is the cowboy image of poker, but you can quickly figure out who these players are. Then you can call them down with a strong pair, raise them with two pair or better. Occassionally, you will get burned by this strategy but more often than not it will pay you off nicely.

5. Avoid Pots with Very Good Players. it is hard to avoid playing at tables with good players because there are so few seats available at a time. However, you can play those tables just avoid mixing it up with those good player unless you have a very strong hand. Really good players rarely end up with a lot of chips in the pot and a losing hand. Don't pay them off with good but not great hands like middle two pair. You are better off saving your chips for another spot.

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Funny or Die

Date: Fri, Jun 1, 2007 Internet

Laugh til your sides split.

If you have not seen Will Ferrell's "The Landlord" on Funny or Die, you have missed out.

Check it out -- You won't be disappointed!!

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Beware: Tourney Play can Destroy your Cash Game Play

Date: Sat, May 26, 2007 Internet

I used to be a good cash game player. That is how I originally built my bankroll. However, tourney play has just destroyed my ability to play cash games. I wonder how many other players are in the same boat?

I guess it comes down to patience. When I was strictly a cash game player, I would sit for hours at a time patiently waiting for big hidden hands like trips and str8s. However, as a tourney player you do not have that luxury. You need to play more hands and you need to mix it up more after the flop.

While my post flop play is much better than it used to be, I also chase far too much in ring games. In tourney play, it is often appropriate to call off chips to get to showdown where there is a chance you have the best hand. The scarcity of chips just dictates that you have to try to win more chips.

However, in ring games players really do not keep firing without very good hands. It is difficult to switch back to that mentality when you are getting rewarded in tourneys for opposite behavior.

Most good tourney players do not mix tourneys and cash and I can see why. However, now here I am stuck. I am not yet a good consistent tourney player and now I am no longer a good cash game player. Oops!

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Great Play, Marginal Result

Date: Tue, May 22, 2007 Internet

I played in a couple tourneys last night and took 7th in a $20 180 man SNG on Star, but then was also cruising in a larger tourney with about 765 players.

We were down to about 45 players and had passed the money bubble at 63. I had played the bubble and late stages well. I was raising about 2x per round and gaining chips. I was also able to increase my stack with some timely all ins against small stacks. And with 45 left I was second in chips.

I felt like I was playing as well as I have played in tourneys, both fearless but rational.

Then the following hand came up.

I have about 52k in chips and the blinds are 600/1200. In early position I get dealt AsKc and made a standard raise to 3600. A middle position player with 37.7k in chips reraises to 9600 (or 6000 more to me). Everyone folds and I call his raise. I just call because I am playing well and chipping up nicely. I am 2nd in chips and do not need to get all in without a hand. Given he had not been a reckless player and he reraised, I put him on TT or better, maybe AK but pushing or calling was more likely with AK.

The flop comes QcJhTc and I have made a straight. Now given my opponent's likely hands TT or better, there is a good chance he has made a set. If he has the set we are both getting all in no matter what. I bet half the pot into his preflop reraise hoping he raises. He pushes, I call and he has a set of Qs.

The turn comes a 5s which is good for me. But alas the river brings another 5 and I am crippled down to 12000 chips.

Shortly thereafter, I pushed with 66 in middle position and I was called by both 77 and AK. OUch and out I go in 42nd.

"Decisions over Results", I have to keep telling myself. I was very happy with my play all night but the poker gods stole one away from me there.

Tonight, I get the opportunity to play some live poker against a mixed field of weak and good players. Should be a fun change of pace.

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Couple Cool Tools for Bloggers

Date: Thu, May 3, 2007 Internet

I am going to take a little diversion from Poker to point out some of the really cool services available for bloggers to liven up their site. I know many of my readers are other bloggers, so check out some of these tools to help spice it up.

Snapshot

This site is extremely cool and every blogger should make use of it. See those cool little boxes that come up when you arrow over a hyperlink on my site -- those are from Snapshot. It is incredibly simple to use. Go to the link above and type in your websites name and answer 3 questions about customizing for your site, then the site will generate one line of code to place in you blog. They will tell you where to put it -- insert it and your site is ready to go with Snap boxes associated with each hyperlink on your site. It make surfing so much more fulfilling for your readers because they can quickly see a glimpse of the page without actually clicking through.

WidgetBox

Another very cool site for bloggers, it allows users to insert Widgets onto their site. Even if you have not heard the term widget before, you have probably used them or seen them on another site. Widgets are small little applications that you can imbed on your site (usually in the sidebar). There are widgets that allow you to show a photo gallery , provide a favorites list, display stock quotes, add little games to your site, etc.

On my site, I have a couple of widget games added for users to play when they are bored. These can increase your stickiness and add depth to your site.

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Strengths and Weaknesses

Date: Sun, Apr 29, 2007 Internet

Broke out of a bit of a funk tonight and made two final tables and the final two tables in a third -- taking 3rd in a $10 rebuy tourney on Bugsy's.

The last couple of sessions had been very frustrating because I was building big stacks in several tourneys but then losing them on risky plays during the middle stages of the tourney. It led me to really assess my game and try to determine what was happen.

The realization I came to was that my greatest strength in tourneys is also my greatest weakness later in tourneys.

I have concluded that I have a strong ability to build a big stack early in a tourney, whether a rebuy or a freezeout. I do this by taking some key risks early in tourneys and either busting or doubling. I also tend to play well after the flop to assess an opponents strength and when I spot weakness I will pounce to take the pot -- know matter what my holding.

While these strengths serve me well early and for the first couple of levels in the middle of a tourney -- they were tending to be my downfall in the later middle stages of a tourney.

Here is an example, I have built a very large stack in the middle of a tourney. blinds are 150/300 and I have about 40,000 chips. I get 66 in late middle position. An early position player makes it 3x the big blind, or 900. Now this individual had raised a couple of times in the last 10 hands and I was starting to label him as a LAG. However, he had not showed a hand and I was playing several other tables so I did not yet have a good read on him. He had about 25,000 chips.

I decide to come over the top of him, but there are a couple players to act behind me. Early in a tourney -- I will push here to get all in and see what happens. But here I should have only reraised about 3000 to 3500 chips. Instead my adrenaline was flowing and I had a big stack so I make it 9000 to go. He pushes and unfortunately I am pot committed to call. I call and he has KK. My read was AJ to AK based upon his earlier raises. I am now hammered down to 15,000 chips and while sufficient to hang on, I should have still had my stack.

Here is another example, in the UB $3 rebuy with a guaranteed $7k prize pool. We are down to 22 players and I have about 119,000 chips. The blinds are 4k/8k and I have not had cards for awhile, I have been unsuccessful in a few blind steals and have whittled down from about 145,000 in chips. I am UTG+1 with 99 and I raise to 22,000 to go (just below 3x bb). A middle position raiser raises another 27,000 and it is folded to me. Again the adrenaline was flowing and I did not take long enough to think through the situation.

There are really only two choice here, push or fold. Calling is a very bad decision (unless you plan to stop-n-go and push any flop -- then it is like pushing anyway), because if you call you will be left with 70,000 in chips (or 8x bb) and the flop will have an overcard about 50% of the time.

I ended up pushing and was up against JJ, but in hindsight if I had thought this through more thoroughly what could he have had. First, let me say that I did not have a great read on this player but he had not been out of hand so I had to assume he had a hand. What could he have had -- realistically his range is AJ - AK and TT and up. So best case I am up against a race and worst case I and dominated. Not a good place to push, unless the player was a LAG player that had been raising alot. Clear fold -- in fact in hindsight I think I should also fold TT here and JJ is about a 50/50 proposition. AK, QQ to AA are all pushes, but no 99.

The lesson: With only 22 players left and a prize structure that pays $39 to 22nd and $1,500 to first, I really need to take more time to think through the situation and really be more careful with a large or decent size stack. Here I had 97,000 chips before the raiser's additional 27,000 -- I can fold and still have 12x the bb. I had flexibility and should have looked for a better place to push from late position later.

So tonight, I still built the big stack in three tourneys but this time I played much more wisely down the stretch. I was much more cognizant of my stack and preserving it. I was an aggressive raiser, but did not call many reraises unless I had a monster.

Once it gets to all in poker, I play well. Tonight gave me confidence that I can preserve a big stack in the late middle rounds and play wisely until we get down to the bubble.

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