Winnar! Part 1 of 3

I promised Sugar Bear that I'd make homemade white pizza and chicken cutlets for dinner Saturday night, but was thinking about hitting Seabrook for the 7pm tourney.  So dinner was gonna have to be early.

He loved the white pizza, "Except for Nana's pizza, this is the best pizza I've ever had."  It's hard to go wrong with olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, a bit of a cream sauce and three different kinds of cheese.  It might've been too good cuz the bastard didn't eat his chicken.  :) 

I got to Seabrook about 7:10 but was still in time for the first hand. Whew... 32 peeps.  $100 buyin, no rebuy, 9k in starting chips with 3 itm.  My goal was to be at 13K at the first break.

I liked my table immediately.  I was in the 10 seat. Seats 7, 8 & 9 were in every hand.  At one point the guy in seat 9 turned to me and said "You don't play many hands do you?"   Not as many as you!  Seat 3 was uber aggressive and I got some chips from him when I checked tptk, he raised and I hit him with a big reraise.  He folded and I showed.  Soon after seat 9 raised big in first position and I smooth called with AA.

Flop was 9 high rainbow.  :)  He bet 1,000 and I raised to 3K and he jammed all in.  Trips?????  I have to call here and see I'm up against QQ.  Bye seat 9!!!  Nice enough guy.  He stayed and railed me for the entire game.  He said he was very glad I didn't donk off his chips.

After I took out seat 9, then I took out seat 8 and seat 7.  In that order!!!

A few hands later I have A-10 sooted crubs and make a standard raise.  Seat 8 reraises me.  I played with him last week and he's a decent player.  I'm thinking I'm behind but I have all these chips so I call.  Flop was Ah, K & J of clubs!  Nice flop!  I make a decent bet to see where I am and he jams all in.

Darn it!!!  His all in is a little over 10K.  I know he has better than top pair 10 kicker, but man I have so many outs!  Flush draws, straight draws, and the royal flush draw.  I take my time and think about it for quite a while.  10k is just too much......I show the table my hand after a few minutes of thinking so they know I'm not just wasting time.   I finally call.  The whole table, including the dealer tells me that's an instacall.  I disagree.  Half my chips on a draw, albeit alot of draws, is not an instacall.

Seat 8 turns over K-K for trip Kings.  Ut oh!

Turn is a crub and I make my nut flush.  Seat 8 starts praying for the board to pair, but NOPE.  gg Seat 8!

Seat 7 is a shortie and when he jams all in on my BB, I call him with 5-6 crubs.  I'm liking crubs!  I hit my 5 and send him packing.  The whole table starts calling me the terminator and I tell Seat 6 that I'm working in order so he's next.  :)  He's a really good player and tells me he's gonna get me.  He does win a hand against me when he has J-J and I call a preflop raise with 6-6.  The flop missed me so I folded and he showed me his J-J.  I go into the break with about 35K.

Our table breaks up so Seat 6 and I go our separate ways.  He tells me he knows I'll be bringing that big stack to the final table and he'll see me there.  He was right.  :)

I hold onto that stack and maintain it until I double up this old guy.  Guy's a shortie and raises my BB.  I have K-J and I call.  Flop is K-x-x.  I check cuz I'm tricky and he jams all in.  I call!  He turns over 9-9.  ha!  But the river as a 9 and I double him up.  Grrrrrr 2 outer!

I make the chips up when I get A-A.  A guy raises and someone  else and I call. Flop is 2-2-6.  Raiser jams all in and I jam all in behind him.  3rd guy thinks a looooooooong time and folds snowmen.  I'm up against K-K.  Yay!  Turn is an 8.  Doh!  The guy with pocket 8s, who folded his over pair looks sick, but damn, he did the right thing.  I take out the other guy and we're headed to the final table.

The old man I doubled up is to my left.  I get my chips back but it's a much smaller stack than what I gave him.  I'm the big stack and the guy from seat 6 is here.  My biggest competition is an asian guy to my right.  He seems to reraise everytime I raise and I've been giving him chips.  Not alot mind you, but the blinds are big so it ain't a little either.  Until I play J-7 sooted.  I hit a straight on the turn and started checking.  He bet and I called.  River is a 3rd diamond.  Dammit!  I check as there's a ton of chips in there anyway and he bets 25K.  I like my straight so I call.  He mucks his hand before I even turn over mine and all of a sudden he's a little short.  :)

Now the deals start.  We are down to 5 peeps and we agree to take 130 off of first, $70 off of second and pay 4th and 5th their buy in back.  We're itm!!!  Soon 5th is out and we are down to 4.

We play 4 handed for over an hour.  The asian guy and the seat 6 guy keep trading short stack status but no one is getting knocked out.  They keep wanting to make a 4 way chop but I am holding out.  I'm the big stack and it ain't happening.  I'm playing strong and smart today and I like my odds.  Then seat 6 comes up with a different idea.  "Young Lady, why don't we take another $100 off of first and pay 4th $200?"  Um....NO!!!  "Old Man, first place is mine and we ain't chopping it up further!"

He's a really nice guy and starts laughing and takes off his hat to show his bald head.  He tells me that even though he's bald, he's not that old.  I tell him that I ain't that young.

We keep playing and playing till seat 6 (old man) comes up with another idea.  He says "You have about 40k more than 2nd place.  How about we chop 4 ways but we give you an extra $100, you're the declared winner, and that'll leave an extra $110 on the table as the dealer's tip."

Hmmmmm I like this idea.  I get an extra $100 and I don't have to tip the dealer from my win.  Tip would've been $40 at least.  I take the deal.  Wooot!!!!  Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! I got $700 after playing for 4 1/2 hrs.  Not too shabbay at all.

Part 2 to come.

Play smart.

Josie