"LET SAIGONS BE BYGONES/DONTCHA BLOW THIS WORLD IN TWO/WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO WITHOLD/SERVICE TO YOU..." Kinky Friedman

First the disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here to quote the Master Himself: "...are totally FUCKED and are not necessarily the views of anyone...(anything else?)...YEAH, DON'T DO DRUGS." Also, as an addition from Kelso(an owner of stock in both ALTRIA and RJ REYNOLDS), please don't smoke cigarettes (at all, and especially NOT IN FRONT OF YOUR CHILDREN).

Now onto the relevance of the Kinky Friedman quotation up top, having not quite accomplished Kelso's alleged goal, but having gotten awful close and having gotten away with it so far, what exactly does Dick Cheney do to get his rocks off now? Kelso thinks it's nuclear war. And Kelso is scared.

Bird-shot and friends is not a subject unknown to Kelso. When Kelso was about 8 years old, he and a friend were farting around with a Daisy air-rifle. One thing led to another and irritated at the friends' teasing of Kelso's sister's nasal voice, Kelso potted his friend in the outer ear with the rifle. A little piece of shot lodged in the ear. Kelso was arrested and was released to the custody of his parents. The family of Kelso's friend did not press charges. Kelso's parents confisciated the air-rifle. Kelso wrote his friend of long letter of apology, mowed a couple of lawns to earn enough money to buy his friend a brand-new Battling Tops set, visited his friend in the hospital. And that was that. Bygones were bygones and we remained friends until class pressure sent Kelso to a top 50 college and the friend into the Steamfitters' Union. Wherever you are, DC -- what an irony, same initials as Dick Cheney! -- godspeed and you know that's hard to write because Kelso is not a beliver.

Is it possible for a set of Battling Tops or Rock-'Em-Sock-Em-Robots to settle all this and keep Dick Cheney out of Cloud-Cuckoo-Land? But there goes Kelso thinking like a Liberal again. Kelso does a lot of business with "Movement" Conservatives who NEVER get into an argument with Kelso over politics because they know they will not get the argument (imagine said with whiny voice) "...maybe now Cheney will understand what it's like to be a solider in Iraq...." Kelso's guys know they'll get imaginative, hateful virtriol and respect him for it because they know that's how one wins arguments among friends and in the bold politic. Any Democrats out there reading?

The last of the poker commentary from the successful WPT leg this year's investment with Our Man From Athens follow. Please excuse brevity of Kelso's own musings because he is -- technically speaking -- still on vacation. One pre-postscript note on David's reports. Kelso hopes that those of you who are poker-inclined understand why other than the filthy-lucre, Kelso thinks so highly of Athens. He is an emerging player who has the three attributes that cannot be taught: (1) Fearlessless (2) Table -presence (3) No Ego. As Kelso has said before, most poker writers in books and perioidicals (with the clear exception of Doyle Brunson, of course, act as though they have the world by the balls and have never lost a hand. David never does that. In his reports to his backs he puts us up-close-and-personal and we read the mistakes along with the good play, and while Kelso has not discussed the David Experience with the other backers, Kelso KNOWS that David's thoroughness and honesty in reporting his results have made Kelso a better player.

Kelso's Nuts love ya'll. A nod to David, of course.

FINISH IT UP, ATHENS (nb: Floppers, David's postings in order, earlier first):

Greetings from Albequerque New Mexico. I am driving to LA. I should arrive Monday night. I will play one or two of the Holdem events between Tuesday and Saturday. On Saturday is a tournament I am really looking forward to. It is limit holdem 1500 buy in with rebuys. There is a gaurenteed prize pool of 1 million. This has become the biggest limit holdem tournament in the world. I feel really sharp at limit from the thousands of hands I have played live and online in the last 6-7 years. I had a nice result in the Party Poker 200$ tournament today. 26th out of 2765 players. Now that my travel plans are pretty set I can give you estimated expenses. I have been able to get great hotel rates on this trip. Tunica was 49$ plus tax. For LA, I got a recommendation from my friend Peter about Dynasty Suites. Its 15 minutes from the Commerce Casino and their weekly rate works out to only 49$ per nite plus tax. This is superb for LA. The Wyndham and the Crown Plaza by the casino are both over 100$ per night. My best guess is Hotel totals will be 2200$ to 2400$ for about 40 nights and gas will be 700$ to 900$ for 6000 miles. Total expenses around 3100$. I will make sure to rest up from the drive and will send out a report after my first LA event which should be Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks, David

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Hi, Today was my 1st event. I got into LA late monday night. I woke up in time on tuesday to play the 1500 Pot Limit Holdem with 1 rebuy. I was still a little tired from the trip. I called the casino and they only had 25 entries with one hour to go ( they wound up with 90 players and 44 rebuys). I felt they would not have many entries ( Pot limit is not nearly as popular as no limit right now ) and decided to take the day off and get rested up. It is a shame to me that other games are suffering greatly while NLH explodes. I enjoy the other games, for example Pot limit requires much more skill than No limit. Taking away the move all-in aspect lets a skillful player manipulate their table more effectively. So I played today. The buy in was 1580 and we had 3000 chips with 1 hour levels. The field looked to be around 300 players. The first 8 hands or so I folded just observing the action. My table did not seem too tough. Most were tight with a couple players being active. I raised to 75 on the button with Ad8d. The big blind called. I flopped 2 diamonds bet 100 and took it down. Three hands later I had A8 and saw the players behind me getting ready to fold. I raised to 75 the blinds called. Flop A73. I bet 150 and they folded. Two hands later I had QQ in 2nd position. The first player made it 100. I decided to just call because QQ would be tough to play for a 3rd raise. This is pretty normal play for me with QQ vs a legitimate raise before the antes kick in. Two others called. Flop was AsQsJh. He bet 200 and I just called. The other players folded. I gave my opponent AK as most likely with JJ, AA, and AQ also possible. Turn was Tc. He checked quickly. I still had him on AK and thought he was checking the nuts. I had no facial read as he was right next to me and wearing a ballcap. A free card was not too troubling and did not want to face a raise that could prevent me from filling up so I checked too. River was Th. He bet 400 quickly. My first thought was if he had AA ( the only hand besides TT that beat me) 400 was too big a bet. So I took a minute to decide if I wanted to raise and how much. I could call the 400 and not risk losing a big pot if he had AA. But, I wanted to get some value for my hand and I was likely to get called by AK and raised by JJ or AT. I made it 1000. He instantly went all-in. Now I had to call 1900 to win 3700. I felt I needed to call because he could be raising with hands I could beat. He could have JJ, AT, or even AK ( not too likely to reraise but who knows ). I called and he showed AA. Wow, a very quick 20 minute exit. In reflecting on the hand I am unsure if I made the correct play. On one hand I could have just called the 400 and not played a big pot. But, In order to win a tournament you must acquire chips, and I felt it would have been weak to not try to get value from such a good hand. I also did not think the hand could bust me if he had AA. I thought he would have made a small raise ( that is what I would do ) but I was mistaken. I think once I raised it was correct to call the all-in with 2-1 odds and hands I could beat. Oh, well I am not too upset. Hands like that happen sometimes, that is the volitility of poker. Since this hand was not too fun to read about, let me give you one I played Sunday that I am very proud of. Pokerstars 200$ tourney. I had AhKh in the small blind. The button limped for 20 and I made it 100. The big blind called and the button called. I started the hand with 2400 and the button 2350. Flop Tc3c8h. I bet 200. The button made it 400. I was not crazy about my hand but the price was great with two overcards and backdoor flush and straight draws. Turn 9h. I felt if I checked he would bet enough to give me a bad price on my draw. Now here is where I liked my thinking. I know this tournament has a very fast structure and getting a big chipstack is almost a must. I did not want to check-fold and only have 1900 to work with. So I decided to move all-in for 1900 into the 1100 pot. I was willing to accept a call as I still had at least a 25% chance to win. I was looking at the big picture of the tournament and applied maximum pressure with outs. He folded. I am very happy with this play. It is one I may not have made 6 months ago. With the study and thought I have put into tournaments I have realized how strong the advantages are in having a big chipstack. This is due to the top heavy nature of the prize pools in most tournaments. I had four outcomes. Check-fold for 1900 in chips. Move in and he folds for 3000 in chips. Move in and he calls and I lose and I'm out. Or move in he calls and I win for 5000 in chips. I decided that big picture, moving in was the best play. Tomorrow is 2500 Limit Holdem, Friday 2500 NLH and, Saturday the 1 Million 1500 LH with rebuys. I'll be keeping you posted. Thanks, David

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Hi, I got to the Commerce Casino today at 3 prepared to play in the 2500 Limit Holdem event. When I walked in the tournament room I noticed it was kinda empty. I asked how many entries there were so far, I was told 48. Wow, I had planned to play, but putting up 2500 for mabye 50k for first did not seem like too good of a gamble. The 2500 would yield about 4k instead of the usual 5k to 10k ( Yield depending on field size and weakness of the opponents)So I was unsure of what to do. I called a couple of my sponsors to get their opinions. They seemed to be supportive of whatever I wanted to do. One issue was that if I played today, because of less than 100 entries it would be a one day tournament. This could impact me playing in tomorrow's 2500 NLH, which figured to have a lot bigger prize pool. I finally decided to look at it this way. If it was my money and not the sponsor's what would I do? I would invest the 2500 in a better spot and not play. So I did not enter. I hope everyone is happy with my decision. I have already signed up for tomorrow's 2500 NLH and Saturday's 1500 LH with rebuys and 1 Million guarantee. Thanks, David
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Well so far sunny LA has rained on me. I have played two tournaments and won two pots. I was well rested and ready for todays 2500 NLH with a field of 270 players. We started with 5k in chips and 25-50 blinds. I miss having the 25-25 blind level, it gives a lot of opportunities to mix it up. The first hand I limped with 44 and the player to my left made it 400. I asked him "why so much" jokingly and folded. I quickly concluded he was a tight player without the courage to play complex pots. I folded a bunch of junk hands for the next 20-30 minutes and limped once with 6hTh on the button and flopped nothing. I played the 9hTh in late position with 1 limper. In a 4 way pot they all checked to me on the flop and I bet 150 with nothing and took it down. A few hands later Allen Cunningham raised from early position to 150 and got 1 caller. I was in the big blind with Kc3c and took a flop. Flop KdKs6d. I checked Allen bet 300 which seemed a little big if he had a king. The other player folded and I thought I should go ahead and raise. Allen would know I hit the flop by calling, and why give a free card to a hand like JJ. I made it 800 and he called. Turn was the Ac. This did not worry me as he either had me beat already or it gave him a 2nd best hand. The problem was It complicated my reading of his hand. I decided to check ( I think this was a mistake, betting would have given me a much clearer picture of where I stood ). He bet 900. After some deliberation I called. River 9d completing the flush draw. I took 20 seconds or so to act representing the flush before checking. The hesitation worked and he checked KQ. I lost and was down to 2800. A while later I had AT on the button and one limper who I put on a weak hand. I made it 300 and he called. Flop AhQdJs. He checked and I decided to check behind him. My reasoning was I either had him badly beaten or he he had some of that dangerous flop. I wanted to keep the pot small and have a free shot at the king for the nuts. Turn Jd. He asked me how much I had left and I said about 2500. He bet 600. I thought I had him beat so I called. River was 3d completing the backdoor flush. He bet 1200 and I called. He showed Ad8d for the flush. Ouch, I wish I had played this one differently. I was right with my reads though, and he got very lucky. Now I was down to 700. I had 44 two off the button and decided I'd rather limp and try to flop a set than go for the 75 in blinds which would not help my chip position much. The tight player to my left made it 250 and I folded. Two hands later I raised to 150 with the As9s and the button made it 650. I mucked and he showed AA, good fold. Now I'm at 400 and the blinds went to 50-100. I had KsJs two off the button and raised to 300. The small blind called. We put the last 100 in and he showed AA. Nothing helpful and I was out. I'm not real thrilled with the two major pots I played today. The 2nd one was not played too badly, as at least my read was right. I did hate giving a free card. If I thought I had him beat on the turn I could have raised. The first pot with the Kc3c I set a trap for myself. I played a bad hand out of position against a good player. I can learn from this mistake. If I am going to spot a good player position, I should at least play a hand that can build into a hand I can play with confidence post-flop. I went to Santa Monica tonight and bought some CD's and saw a movie to unwind. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's tourney. It is 1500 Limit Holdem with multiple rebuys and One Million Guaranteed. I will take all the rebuys allowed ( I can rebuy when I sit down, and any time I fall below the starting chips of 2500, plus a double add-on at the end of 3 levels) and I like my chances. Thanks, David
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What a long and wild day. I just got home from 12 grueling hours. I am still alive with 40k in chips ( slightly above average) and about 60 players left. We return at 7 PM tomorrow and play to conclusion. They had 420 entries and lots of rebuys for a prize pool of around 1.8 Million. There will be 27 places paid with 8k for 27th and First place is over half a million. Here is my journey. I had a challenging table today. We had 5 of our original 10 players survive the day. Seat 1 was initally a weak player but he went broke before the end of rebuys ( 3 hours). Seat 2 was an older man who was obviously a high limit pro. Seat 3 was a solid kinda snug player. Seat 4 was Paul Darden. Paul defended his blind every time and was the most active player at the table. Seat 5 was a tight player who had the goods when he made a move. Seat 6 was an Armenian man who I thought was a weak loose spot but he proved to have multiple gears. Seat 7 was a loose oriental who I busted 8 hours in and was repaced by a pro. Seat 8 was a tight weak player and was replaced by the Grinder's ( Mike Mizrachi's) brother. I was in seat 9. Seat ten was a young pro who plays quite a bit like I do. In ten levels I played 52 hands ( I have started jotting down the hands I play on the structure sheet to help me remember ). We started with 2500 in chips and you are allowed to rebuy ( 1500$ for 2500 chips ) when you are at 2500 or below and take a single or double add-on at the end of 3 one hour levels. The limits started at 50-100. I rebought when I sat down. I raised with Qd8d the first hand with 3-4 players not seated yet. Paul Darden defended his blind and bet out on a flop I missed. I folded. 15 minutes in I raised with A7 and the armenian player defended. Flop AA3. he check raised me. I called him all the way down and he showed KQ. He had also made some other loose plays. I won a pot with AA in the small blind vs the big blind. I played the 9dTd and I do not recall the outcome. Level 2 was 100-200. I played a number of hands with no wins: A3, 66, A5, QQ. I was down to 2625 and was prepared to rebuy. I picked up KK on the button and Paul raised. I 3 bet he called. He check raised a Q high flop. I reraised he called. I bet the turn and he called. River A. He checked I bet he called. I won. Now I had 4500. I won a nice pot with 88 that held up as an overpair. Level 3 was 150-300. I made a nice play with Ac4c in the small blind. The armenian made a steal raise and the oriental called. In this spot Ac4c was not bad. Flop 5d4d5h. I checked the armenian bet the oriental called I checkraised. They both called. I bet the turn Jc. The armenain was the only caller. river 9c. I bet for value figuring to get paid off by ace hi and that is what happened. I was up to 8k. I lost pots with 88, AcJc, KJ. Down to 6k. I limped in late position with Qs9s. It got raised and I called 4 way. Flop was 4c5c6s. Bet and 1 caller. I made a bad call. Turn Qd. Bet by a new player in the 1 seat and the armenian raised. I thought for a while and called. I paid off a bet on the river and the armenian showed a set of 4's. I finished the level with 5050 and took the double add-on to get to 10050. I invested 6080$. Level 4 saw a transformation by the armenian although it took me a while to spot it. Limits were 200-400. He did not add on although he had taken one rebuy and he had caught a few hands for 20k in chips. I split a pot with the oriental. I had AKc and he had AK also flop was three clubs but I missed my freeroll. I cannot recall any interesting hands and I bounced back and forth from 8k to 11k. I played TT, 8cTc ( flopped a pair and a straight draw in a big pot but missed), Ks7s, KdJd, Jd7d, QT. I tried to isolate on the armenian with QT and he showed me a hand. I recatagorized him as a player who wanted to be loose but could play solid for long stretches. Paul was very hot getting to 40k in chips. Level 5 was 300-600 and I continued to tread water. I played KT, 89( a steal attempt), 44, TT, AQ, 55. I did win a pot with QsTs from the big blind when I flopped a queen. I ended the level with 10200 and we had a 45 minute break for dinner. I had a stiff neck so I got a 20 minute massage at the table which was wonderful and invigorating. I ate a small plate of fruit to keep my stomache from rumbling. I hate to eat dinner while playing. It drastically slows my thinking. I was totally card dead after the break. I only played two hands in level 6, AJ and I Played a KJ vs Paul. I raised he 3 bet from the button I called. Flop was QdTd3s. I checkraised and he reraised. He is very agressive and I gave him AK AJ or a hand. I called and I planned to bet out unless a diamond fell. Turn was 7d. I checked he checked. River 4c. I felt sure he would call with Ace high so I checked he showed 99. In retrospect I could have 4 bet the flop and bet the turn and won, but that was high risk and I had no clear read on his hand. I went 30 minutes into levels 7 ( 600-1200 ) playing only 1 hand AJ and won the blinds. By now I had a tight image and a short stack of 4500. I called a steal raise by the armenian with Ad3d in the big blind. Flop was QsQh9s and I checkfolded. The limit went to level 8 800-1600. I won the blinds with AhTh and lost a pot with TT. I was down to 2600. I had a song come on my MP3 player ( I( use the Oakley Thumps ) that I love. It is called "Can't Hold us Down" by Christina Aguilera. I got QQ and reraised Paul and got all-in vs his KT. I won and was back 8k. I stole a pot with 6c7c. I flopped a flushdraw and bet the flop and turn taking it down. I won a pot with AK. I was up to 18k. The limits went to level 9 1000-2000. I raised in first position with A9. My reasoning was I had been tight and had not raised Ist in in hours if at all. The Armeninan 3 bet me from the button I called. Flop AK8. I was in a tough spot. If I lead to find out if my hand is good, his action will not give me accurate information. I decided to play it as cheap as possible just check calling. I got an indication ( Tell) after I called the turn that he was strong. He showed AK. Bad play on my part. This pot took 35% of my chips and I should have checkfolded the flop. The very next hand I Picked up AdAc in the big blind. Perfect, I could represent that I was steaming. The young pro to my left raised and they all folded. I just called. Flop was 3h5d6h. I check raised, he called. Turn was 7h. I bet he called. River 9d. I took a minute to look at my chips and saw that I only had 6500 left. I felt a value bet here, which would be the play in a cash game, was wrong. If I win the pot I'm ok in chips but if I get raised (by 88 or 99?) and I call I only have 2k left. I checked he bet 2k I called and he showed 44 for the straight. I was very proud of my check here saving me 2k. Ouch, I was down to 4500. I got Qs9s on the button. I raised to 2k and the big blind called. He bet on a flop of Kc5c3h. I folded to save my last 2k. I raised with AT and the blinds both called my all-in. They were the oder pro and the tight solid in seats 2 and 3 and I knew they respected me and wanted me gone. I made a pair of Tens ( I think my ace hi was good) and tripled up to 6k. A few hands later I got AQ and flopped a Q and won a nice pot to get to 11k. Now we went to level ten 1500-3000 the last level of the night. About ten minutes in I ran to the bathroom. I got back just in time to see QQ. I raised and won the blinds. The next hand I had QQ again. I raised. Seat 1 called ( a loose oriental who was on tilt) seat 2 called and the button, who was the tight player who had the goods, made it three bets for 4500. Wow. I took my time to make this decision. If I 4 bet it they will all call and I'll have most of my chips in the pot. I just called for 2 reasons. I wanted to preserve chips to protect my hand post-flop and also I could get away cheaper if an ace came. Flop was 356. I thought about leading out for 1500 but I figured they would all call ( if not raise ). I hoped the button would bet and I could checkraise for maximum pressure. They all checked. Uh Oh. I could just see a free ace coming off. Turn 8. I bet 3k. The two callers folded and the button called. River 5. I was 99% he had AK. I bet my last 1500 and after much deliberation ( he knew I had it) he called. I won a huge pot to get to over 20k. Paul Darden's loose ways got to him and he busted out. I raised twice with AQ and won a small pot and a medium pot. I raised with A5 on a steal. The button, the older pro in seat 2, 3 bet me. He had not 3bet all day with out a very good hand. I folded preflop, which raised a few eyebrows. This almost never happens in limit poker. I did not want to play a bad hand out of position vs a good player. I like my fold a lot and it indicates I am playing really well. I raised one round later with Kc9c and the same player called. Flop AcTc3s. I bet he called. Turn 7d. I bet he looked down and saw he only had 4500 left and folded. Perhaps If I had pumped him up the other pot he would have been able to call here. I raised with Jd9d and the armenian 3 bet me from the small blind and then bet the flop dark???. I felt he was acting. Flop Td3s4s. I called, partially with my draw ( backdoor) but mostly with my read of him. Turn Js. He bet 3k. I thought I had the best hand but he would not fold and I chose to keep the pot small and perhaps induce a bluff. Also, He had fooled me before and he could have a huge hand. River 9c. he bet and I just called. He mucked his hand. I folded K2s from the small blind the last hand of the night and finished with 40k. I am very pleased. I fought hard at a tough table and only made a few mistakes in ten hours of play. I hung tough with a short stack two different times and came through with a good chip position. I had a little dinner at 4 AM. Salmon ( brain food ). I had a nice converstion with the young pro to my left. He plays 4-8 games of limit holdem online at the same time on party poker just like I do. We bounced ideas off each other and I enjoyed his company and learned a few things. Wow this was a long recap ( 2 hours to write ). I'm gonna shower and crash. I will give them my best tomorrow and hopefully come away with a big prize. Root me home. Thanks, David
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I have some good news. We made a deal in the tournament when down to 4 players. I recieved 216,650 in prize money. I will write a full recap in the next couple days. A rough estimate is that a 10% sponsor will get their 4500$ investment back and a profit of 8700$ plus I still have the 10k championship which starts Thursday. Thanks, David
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I was eliminated early in level 3 today. I feel like I played well. To be honest, I am a little relieved to be done with tournaments for a while. I hate having to worry about my sleep schedule and the travel is a bitch. I am happy that I accomplished most of my goals on this trip. I was able to make a nice score ( 174k ) profit for myself and my sponsors. I cashed in 5 out of 15 events with a legit chance to win in each of those 5 cashes. I'm going to hang out here in LA over the weekend and head back Monday. I am taking a check from the Commerce Casino home so everyones funds are safe. It will take a week for the Check to clear my bank at home, and then I will issue checks to all sponsors shortly after. I am estimating that a 10% sponsor will get 4500 returned and 8700 profit. I am not sure what the rest of the year holds. It is to our benefit to play more tournaments this year because of the tax burden from such a big win. But, I don't want to be on the road all the time. I Will for sure be in Vegas for the entire WSOP and playing most of the events. I will stay loyal to the people who have been behind me, and those of you who have backed me in the past will have first rights to any future backing. I expect the WSOP package to be between 60-70k. Thanks for supporting me, and I'm glad I could make us all some $. Here is today's recap. I had some frustration with signing up for the 10k event. I won a seat a couple weeks ago through Pokerstars. I prefer to sign up early for a few reasons. I stand a much better chance of staying at the same table for the entire first day. Since my best poker skill is reading opponents this is huge for me. Also, I do not like waiting in the long lines on the day of the tournament. Lastly, If I should need to sleep in, missing the first hour or two is not the end of the world. So, because of waiting on Pokerstars I was not able to sign up before yesterday. So I went to the Commerce last night to get my buy-in and sign up. I had to sign an agreement to wear Pokerstars apparal at the WPT final table with no compensation. I am ok with this because I knew those were the rules when I played to win a seat. But, In the future I would be less inclined to try to win a seat online because it restricts any endorsement deals I could get. When I went to sign up at 8:30 PM they told me registration was closed until 10AM the next day. I was VERY upset. I knew the sleep schedule I was on would keep me from getting up early. Last night I went to sleep around 830am and got 5 hours of sleep. Not Ideal, but I felt ok when I got up. I stood in line for about 1/2 hour and got signed up at 3;20. Our table only had 3 players when the tournament started and you are required to have 5 to begin dealing. So we missed the first 20 minutes of level 1 before we started. Again, not ideal but I was not going to let the little stuff keep me from playing my best poker. We had 692 entries with 2.3 Million for 1st and 45 places paid. I think the payout was a little too top heavy with 36% for 1st and 18% for 2nd. We started with 20k in chips 25-50 blinds and 90 minute levels. An excellent structure. I played 10 hands in level 1 A9, 44, 88, 66, JcQc, A9, KQ,QT, TT( folded preflop to a 250 raise from a tight player who had position) and 33. Most of the pots were small at our table and I ended the level with 21k. I played a ton of hands ( 17 )during level 2of 50-100 blinds. As8s,As2s,58,33,QQ,KsQs, AQ,TcJc,TT,99,22,Ad9d,KsTs,Ac4c,79,QhJh. The Queens were a key hand. I was on the button. A fairly active player made it 400 and another player called. I thought of just calling and after reflecting on it I think I should have just called. There were no antes and I did not want to set myself up for a reraise from AA KK or AK. I would have had position and a lot of deception by just calling. Anyway I made it 2200. The first player called the other folded. Flop 6hd8d. He checked and I bet 3500. he quickly made it 8k. I took my time with this one. I felt it was unlikely he had AA or KK. He could have JJ,TT,99, a set, or AdKd. I decided I could not call because I would face a big bet on the turn and only a Queen would look good to me. It was move in or fold. I decided I could find a better spot and folded. Know what he had ?? QQ lol. So, I was down to 14k. I won a bunch of little pots to get back to 18k at the 2nd break. One hand I liked was Ad9d. Robert Turner ( an agressive Pot Limit Omaha player ) raised to 200 a tight player to my right called and I called with position. The button called and also one of the blinds. Flop 9s4s4c. The player to my right bet 800. I called unsure if my hand was good but knowing my call represented a lot of strength. The rest folded. Turn Jh. He bet 2k. I knew his bet was saying "go away please". I ruled out the flush draw and figure he had a nine like me or TT. I knew he could not stand a raise because he was afraid of a 4. I raised the amount I would if I had a 4 and made it 5k. He folded. After the 2nd brak the blinds were 100-200. We only had 4 players at the table so i raised to 525 with 89. The button a tight player called. Flop Qs9s8s. I bet 600. he called. I gave him a hand like AsJc. Turn was Qc. I bet 1100. I figured I'd charge him to draw and if he raised I'd know I was beaten. He called. River Kh. I checked. He bet 2k? Hmm, I took a while to decide and had the clock called on me. He did not seem to be the type to value bet here and I went with my read and called. He showed Kd9d. I was down to 14k. A hand or two later I raised to 525 with AQ. The button who was the player with QQ when I had QQ earlier called. He had called raises cold all day long. The small blind Robert Turner called. the big blind called ( he was a tight player ). Pot was 2100. Flop KhTc7c. They checked to me. I felt the button would also check( that was his pattern). I did not want to bet into that coordinated board with 3 opponents and I could catch a free straight with a J. I checked. The button checked. Turn 8s. They checked again. I checked. The button bet 2500? I felt he was just trying to pick up the pot. Why would he check the dangerous flop with 3 opponents? Robert folded and the big blind called. I had the big blind on a King with possibly a T or a flush draw. I saw an opportunity for a move here. The big blind was not willing to put in 10k in this spot and a big raise would give a flush draw only 2-1 which is a bad price. I raised 11,350 more all-in. The button called quickly. Uh Oh. I guess he made a set of Eights on the turn. The Big blind folded. I figured I'd have to catch a J. The button turned over 8c9c. I was right about him trying to pick up the pot but he decided his draw was too big to fold. At least now I could catch a J,Q, or A that was not a club. River 3d. Oh Well, I am okay with going out like this. You will not win a tournament without some risk, and I trusted my read, and made the play I thought was best. I will be writing up the 216K win final day in the near future. I know that will be a fun recap and I want to write it when I am fresh. Thanks, David
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