Feeling the Poker Flame Creeping Back

Last night we went out to eat at a Chinese Restaurant out of town after we did some grocery shopping.  When we got back I noticed that the neighbor had finished mowing our yard.  I had started the night before.  It was very nice of him, but I was concerned as he has been running a high blood pressure and probably should not have gone out of his way to help us like that.

He hasn't mowed in a lot of years and mowed his yard a couple times in the last few weeks.  I think he really enjoys it.  He has done some work to my lawn mower lately as well. 

After we got settled in for the evening I loaded several tournaments.  I didn't have a burning desire to play, but I figured I might as well give it a try. 

Once again I called an all in with the best starting hand to lose and get knocked out of a 5.50 game.  I re-entered which I usually don't do.  The very next hand I had 99 and went all in myself to get called by a K2.  What, a K2 for 3/4 of your stack.  How do they not call when I have an AA or a KK?  How are they still in the game close to an hour in.  He catches his K of course and I do not re-enter again.  I'm a little bit disgusted at this point

I considered calling it a night but I found 4 tournaments I could get into still.  There was a 5.50 deep stack turbo with over 300 registered, a 2.20 knockout, a freeroll, and a 3.30 badugi tournament.

I started out well in all of them and realized I was going to have a late night of poker.  The freeeroll was the first loss as I was playing kinda crazy in that.  The rest of the games kept going for the next couple hours.  I had 7 knockouts in the 2.20 game and ended up going out just inside the money bubble when I had AK and called all in against a super aggressive player.  His 93o held.  I had a large enough stack that I did not need to call him.  It should have been free chips and a trip to the final table.  Instead the donktard strikes again.

In the 5.50 game I held in the top 10 for most of the tournament until we got close to the money bubble.  The blinds were going up ridiculously fast and soon I was in all in or fold mode.  I finally got a hand to push with, AJ, unfortunately the blind woke up with KK.  He spiked an additional K on the flop.  The turn gave me a flush opportunity but the river said "BRICK".  I had gotten to the second pay stage for 11.00.  I needed a good run in at that point to have a chance to make any kind of money at this tournament.

In the badugi tournament, I hovered in the top 4 until there were 8 of us left.  Top 4 got paid.  First was looking pretty nice.  With 8 left I went all in against a player drawing 2 with a 10 high badugi.  He was making that call whether he was still drawing or not.  This time he had that miracle draw and stood the next 2 draws with a 9 high badugi.  That put me down with the short stacks.  Not long after I had a J high badugi and went all in and stood all three draws against another player that stood all 3 draws.  He had a J high badugi as well with a better 2nd low.

At the end of the night, I was exactly break even for the night.  Try again next time.

I have a few wishes that would help me to make more money.  I wish the payout structures were better on carbon.  I wish they would eliminate the re-entry.  If people want to re-enter they should play a rebuy tournament.  I wish there were more better structured tournaments.  I wish there were a few more entrants in the well structured events.  I wish they would mimick poker stars.

If I play a little bigger, it opens up quite a few better structured tournaments, with a little larger field.  Some of those are not re-entry and even the ones that are, people are not re-entering as often, or playing it like a rebuy tournament.  I will just have to live with the payout structures and make the final tables more often.

I feel a little bit less burned out with a couple semi-deep runs.  Now I feel like I need to get back to those final tables.  That's what gets me fired up.  The thought of reaching those final tables.