So I played two tournaments this weekend and felt like either one could have been the one. I’ve made an adjustment to my earlier stated strategy in that I decided not to take many risks in the early stages of the tournament. They just don’t pay off.

I still play a lot of hands in the early game while the blinds are small and I’m still learning how to capitalize on big hands. When my hand seems overwhelmingly stronger than an opponent’s hand, it is very difficult to get as much from them as I can.

On Friday, I ended up in 56th place. On Sunday, I ended up in 205th place.

Here’s a brief recap of Friday’s tournament. Basically, I had an average to low stack throughout and fought tooth and nail until the end. It was quite fun trying to stay alive. Normally I hate being in that position, but I think it was a good learning experience on being patient even when backed into a corner.

198/387 $7,235
209/355 $6,440
205/313 $6,715
179/266 $8,040
178/223 $6,790
137/212 $10,740
136/180 $10,660
135/165 $9,010
115/143 $10,210
65/139 $24,120 (won this with AJ top pair vs QJ all in)
73/108 $18,495
60/95 $24,995
62/77 $14,295
54/69 $17,095
56/59 $5,845 (blinds were very large so I went all in on KQ)
56

On Sunday, I got ahead in chips but lost on what I thought were reasonable hands. Perhaps if someone wants to comment on them to let me know how you think I should have played them differently.

145/461 $11,025
77/346 $17,230
145/219 $10,134 (lost several thousand after betting the pot after the river with KK55 and lost to 10-A straight)
(Then lost the remainder of my stack AAQQ to a flush draw on the river)
205

Here’s the two big losing hands from Sunday.

Full Tilt Poker Game #8368935845: $100 Freeroll (63559025), Table 9 – 200/400 Ante 50 – No Limit Hold’em – 1:39:09 ET – 2008/10/06
Seat 1: gleidsonds (59,852)
Seat 2: splash it (59,033)
Seat 3: Brian50 (24,851)
Seat 4: girish133 (15,140)
Seat 5: mvpmike1973 (4,520)
Seat 6: radishes (26,356)
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (5,128)
Seat 8: foxynana (13,000)
Seat 9: trum1172 (8,897)
gleidsonds antes 50
splash it antes 50
Brian50 antes 50
girish133 antes 50
mvpmike1973 antes 50
radishes antes 50
kjfootball5 antes 50
foxynana antes 50
trum1172 antes 50
Brian50 posts the small blind of 200
girish133 posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [5h Kc]
mvpmike1973 folds
radishes folds
kjfootball5 calls 400
foxynana calls 400
trum1172 has 15 seconds left to act
trum1172 folds
gleidsonds calls 400
splash it calls 400
Brian50 folds
girish133 checks
*** FLOP *** [Jh 5c 3s]
girish133 checks
kjfootball5 checks
foxynana checks
gleidsonds checks
splash it checks
*** TURN *** [Jh 5c 3s] [Th]
girish133 has 15 seconds left to act
girish133 bets 400
kjfootball5 calls 400
foxynana calls 400
gleidsonds calls 400
splash it calls 400
*** RIVER *** [Jh 5c 3s Th] [Kd]
girish133 has 15 seconds left to act
girish133 bets 4,650
kjfootball5 calls 4,278, and is all in
foxynana folds
gleidsonds calls 4,650
splash it folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
girish133 shows [5h Kc] two pair, Kings and Fives
gleidsonds mucks
girish133 wins the side pot (744) with two pair, Kings and Fives
kjfootball5 shows [Qd Ah] a straight, Ace high
kjfootball5 wins the main pot (17,484) with a straight, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 18,228 Main pot 17,484. Side pot 744. | Rake 0
Board: [Jh 5c 3s Th Kd]
Seat 1: gleidsonds mucked [9d Kh] – a pair of Kings
Seat 2: splash it (button) folded on the River
Seat 3: Brian50 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: girish133 (big blind) showed [5h Kc] and won (744) with two pair, Kings and Fives
Seat 5: mvpmike1973 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: radishes folded before the Flop
Seat 7: kjfootball5 showed [Qd Ah] and won (17,484) with
Seat 8: foxynana folded on the River
Seat 9: trum1172 folded before the Flop

Full Tilt Poker Game #8368991278: $100 Freeroll (63559025), Table 9 – 200/400 Ante 50 – No Limit Hold’em – 1:45:25 ET – 2008/10/06
Seat 1: gleidsonds (52,552)
Seat 2: splash it (60,783)
Seat 3: Brian50 (14,804)
Seat 4: girish133 (10,584)
Seat 5: ufo-research (9,716)
Seat 6: radishes (24,906)
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (16,684)
Seat 8: JimJen (40,736)
Seat 9: trum1172 (24,564)
gleidsonds antes 50
splash it antes 50
Brian50 antes 50
girish133 antes 50
ufo-research antes 50
radishes antes 50
kjfootball5 antes 50
trum1172 antes 50
trum1172 posts the small blind of 200
gleidsonds posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to girish133 [Qh As]
splash it folds
Brian50 has 15 seconds left to act
Brian50 calls 400
girish133 calls 400
ufo-research folds
radishes raises to 1,600
kjfootball5 folds
trum1172 folds
gleidsonds folds
Brian50 calls 1,200
girish133 calls 1,200
*** FLOP *** [Qc 7c Ac]
Brian50 has 15 seconds left to act
Brian50 bets 2,800
girish133 raises to 8,934, and is all in
radishes folds
Brian50 calls 6,134
girish133 shows [Qh As]
Brian50 shows [Tc Ad]
*** TURN *** [Qc 7c Ac] [8s]
*** RIVER *** [Qc 7c Ac 8s] [2c]
girish133 shows two pair, Aces and Queens
Brian50 shows a flush, Ace high
Brian50 wins the pot (23,668) with a flush, Ace high
girish133 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 23,668 | Rake 0
Board: [Qc 7c Ac 8s 2c]
Seat 1: gleidsonds (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: splash it folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Brian50 showed [Tc Ad] and won (23,668) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 4: girish133 showed [Qh As] and lost with two pair, Aces and Queens
Seat 5: ufo-research folded before the Flop
Seat 6: radishes folded on the Flop
Seat 7: kjfootball5 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: JimJen is sitting out
Seat 9: trum1172 (small blind) folded before the Flop