So, after all that pseudo-whining in the last post, what do I go and do? Get another final table in the 180 man 4.40 SnG.

Yes.

Let's go over some things.

First, and foremost, my focus was ON from beginning until about ten minutes before I busted out 5th at the final table. My patience was there, I used proper judgement, I read players properly. I played extremely well.

Now, I did get a few good hands pre-flop early.

To start, in the 10/20, I got KK. I raised a few limpers to 100, and someone reraised me to 300. I just called, flopped trips, and got all of his chips after he led into me for about half his stack, and I put him all in for the rest. That doubled me up early to around 3100.

I got AA after that, and didn't make anything but the 10/20 blinds. Anyhow, I stayed focused, and folded hands that I should have folded. For example, I might get KJo UTG, and I would just fold it. I wasn't playing overly tight, but I did consider position more than I probably have been over the past month.

In the 50/100, I still had about the same amount of chips. I pretty much just fluctuated only slightly up and down, and I wasn't getting involved in big pots with crap. Also, I bet hard at very good hands. My image was pretty much tight, very aggressive.

At one point in the 75/150, I get AJo, and min-raise UTG. That was a weak move, but the fact is, I knew I could get off the hand. I get a caller immediately to my left, and that was the only caller. Even the BB folded. I hit a J on the flop, bet about 3/4 of the pot, and get called. I just didn't think he had me beat though. The turn was a 6, and I bet about twice what I bet last time. He folds, and I get another nice pot. My thought, though, on the flop was this...if he's calling my min-raise, he could have a smaller pair, AT, AQ, AK (although unlikely), KQ, and KT. Maybe even JT, but I think he could call at least my flop bet with. When I bet the turn huge, though, he folded. Had he called my turn bet, I would have really felt like I was in trouble. Anyhow, you trust your reads, and either go up with them, or go down.

But, you need to get lucky (at least a little) to get final tables. And, on this hand I did:

100/200, and I get AJo in MP. Two limpers, and I raise to 600. Behind me, an opponent that seemed almost overly aggressive went all in. Had I been thinking, though, I would have realized he had either JJ, or AK because low limit players are so afraid of HAVING one of those two hands. They are insecure because they've been burnt so many times by those hands (because they can't lay them down) so they go all in with them (great logic).

But, I didn't think that, and I erroneously think I am in a race that I am willing to take. Well, he has JJ, and I'm a 70-30 dog. To make a long story short, I get the A, and double up. I'm at t9060.

I pretty much hover around 11-9k for a while. I win a nice pot in the 200/400 w/ante level, and get to around 12k.

At this point, I'm kind of thinking when I'll get not only in the money, but maybe down to the final table. I'm estimating that I'll get ITM at around 300/600 w/ante. However, it was one level later.

Still in the 200/400 w/ante, I call a small stack all in, and so does someone else, and I have QJ, get the Q, and win the pot. That takes me to 16k. Against the same player, I pick up another pot with 99. He limped in, and so did I. The flop is T63, and he checks. Sure, he could be slow playing the T, or higher, but generally players are not taking that risk. I've done it, and got dogged for it, but I do it occasionally. You just don't want to give your opponents free cards though. So, on the turn is another T, and he bets 1000, and I just don't think he has a T, so I call. He checks the river, and I check it (I could have bet), and I win another pot.

I'm at 19k, and get to around 22k.

We're in the money, and we're getting more and more shorthanded (before we go to the FT).

I go down some from the blinds, and back up stealing blinds. I pushed all in a few times, one of them with a middle pair, for example, and stayed alive like that. I get AA, and raise a small stack who reraises all in, and he has J8. Well, J8 wins. No problem. I had plenty.

Okay, so I tread with stealing blinds, and we fast forward to the 600/1200 w/75 ante, and I get AKs. A bet of 3600, and call in front of me, and I go all in. They both fold, and the next hand I get A9o. We were short handed with 6 players, and a small stack at the table whom I had taken a few pots from went all in. I thought about it, but I felt that I could have a flip, or a dominating hand. My A9 held up, and I was now at 43k with 5 people at the table. I am definitely going to the FT.

I go into the FT 2nd in chips barely ahead of 3rd.

2 people go out, and I'm at 61k with 7 left. I'm the CL, and you really would think that 5th is out of the question. It's the 800/1600 and I have 61k, and I get TT.

There are 6 of us. I am 2nd to act, and I raise 3xbb. The player behind me, with 34k goes all in, and everyone else folds. I think forever. Here's what I think..

If I lose, I still have ~27k. If I win, I probably can win the whole thing because it is 5 handed, and I would have ~84k. So, what about his hand? I start to think that to go all in with as many chips as he has, it is more like a steal with a pair. I mean, why go all in over the top of a habitual stealer (me) who has shown he can fold? Why not, with your monster hand double raise me, and get me to call, then get me to put some more chips in on the flop? I felt that if he does have a very good hand, he has AK, but I felt it was more likely something like 55-99.

Well, I was right. He had 88, got an 8, and took quite a bit of my stack.

I dealt with it okay, I mean, I had some beats the past few, but I put a beat on someone just to get to where I was. It happens. I think I got over it for the most part, but then, I got in a chat argument, and that's fatal for my game. Completely fatal. I could handle live trash talking before a chat argument. And, it's so easy to take the chat off!!

I climbed back up with a lot of aggression to about 42k. I get AKs, and I raise the blinds, and get a caller (in this situation, this is probably an all in hand). We have 6 players still, and it's the 1000/2000 w/100 ante level. I get nothing, and my opponent leads into me with 10,000, and I just fold.

Then, I get Q3 against my chat partner. I flop the Q, and didn't think he had me beat, and I bet. He reraises me, but based on his past actions, I felt he was doing it with a less than stellar hand. The turn, he check raises me AGAIN!!, and I call. I just really felt that he didn't have me beat, and I was willing to show it down if there wasn't a higher card on the board. The river doesn't help, and I put him all in, and he calls. He has Q3 as well.

He says, "u must of been sweating"

I say, "not really, I didn't have to really call anything." Of course, this is not entirely true. I did have to call two check raises. TWO!

He says, "with that kicker...come on" and, looking back, he's right. The fucker check raised me twice, but I just felt he was trying to buy the pot. I wasn't entirely right, nor entirely wrong.

I say, "uh, you called the all in man." Then, "calling and raising...way different." Which, this is right, but it's slightly misleading, and I think I was doing that intentionally. I wanted to get him off his game by breaking his conversation.

He says, "don't get clever" then, "just a comment"

At this point, I decided to try to really get under his skin.

I say, "if you think that's clever, then you're obviously in trouble." I'm a dick.

He says, "no...I said don't get clever p enis" Which, when you think about it is a little funny. But, I learned techniques to get under people's skin over a lot of trial and error, and one thing you can do that really pisses people off (but in a silent way) is to say what I did next.

I say, "you need some anger management." I mostly said this because in reality he didn't seem to upset. But, by saying this, sometimes what happens is people will be like, motherfucker, I wasn't mad, but you're making me mad now bitch.

Instead, he says, "u need some manners"

I'm not really sure what he meant by that, but anyhow, I said, "so which is worse?"

He starts to show a little anger, and replies, "who cares" To me, this is when I really need to take a jab.

I say, "your wife maybe?" Now, that implies a lot. Basically, I'm saying that he needs anger management, and that his wife would really like him to get help, and I'm implying that he might just be kicking her ass. But, he comes back with a GREAT neutralizer that I frankly didn't quite know what to say.

He says, "I'm gay" I'm like, what the FUCK do I say back to that? I say, "lol, I almost believe you."

After that, we didn't say a word, and I only played 16 more hands. I basically just tried to keep stealing blinds. I wasn't really going anywhere if I didn't get involved in any big pots, I had plenty of chips, even after the TT vs. 88 hand. But, the table was SO freaking tight. I just couldn't help but think that I could be stealing even more chips than I already was. I got up to 42k again, but lost a hand calling someone down with like bottom pair. That brought me back down to 32k in the 1k/2k w/100 ante.

Finally, last hand. I'm the shortest stack. 1500/3000 w/150 ante, and I have 33480. So, I still have fold equity. I have KT and we're 5 handed, and the button (who had been raising a lot as of late) min raises (not uncommon). I go all in, and the BB has a great hand, AQ, reraises all in, and the button folds. I don't hit anything, and I'm gone.

I don't think my play was bad. The BB litterally needed a hand at least that good to call my all in, and I think my read on the button was correct. Plus, I'm not a huge dog against that hand, and if I win it, I'm back in the drivers seat to get the win.

Great tournament overall. Needed to not use the chat the way I did. That will have to be cut out for me.