Turbo Success

Beginning Bankroll: $7.26

Finally, some more free time to devote to this project. And well worth it, too! This time in a NLHE turbo tourney. Here's what happened.

I entered the tournament on PokerStars (the exclusive site for this project), which had a 10-cent buy-in. Just the right price for the bankroll I'm currently dealing with. I'll cut right to the chase here: out of the 6120 entrants, I came in 39th, turning my dime into $1.06. That 96-cent profit increased my (still meager) bankroll by 13-point-something percent. Since at this point I'm happy with a ten-percent increase per day I play, I didn't need to play any more today. I know, I should keep playing when I'm winning, but I'm a bit short on sleep because of my job and too fatigued to concentrate on poker for extended periods. Besides, after I finished the tourney I took an hour-long walk to get some exercise and increase my fitness level so I can play better longer. (That's the idea, anyway.)

As for my result in this tournament, I can't say I ran over the tables at which I was seated. I still didn't get the cards for that, but with judicious play at the right times, and avoiding getting unlucky at the wrong times, I kept myself afloat well into the really-really-really high blinds. The times I went all-in, either I didn't get a call, or my hand--always the best when I did get called--held up.

I had a scare at one point when I went all-in with pocket jacks and was called by one other player with a lower pocket pair. (I forget what they were exactly, but they were something like sixes or sevens.) The flop made a set for my opponent, but the river gave me another jack to complete my set and keep me alive.

Later, when short-stacked, I went all-in with pocket fives and got called by two others, one with A-10, the other with J-6. The board stayed low and didn't pair any of my opponents' cards, 'til the river brought a six. However, that also made a straight for me, so I more than tripled up on that hand.

One of my favorite hands was the one immediately after the bubble had burst and the remaining players were guaranteed at least a 9-cent profit. I was somewhat short-stacked and was dealt American Airlines. This was the third time in the event that I had gotten the aces, and they held up each time. This time I tripled up again.

And so it went. I would get a hand just often enough to steal the blinds or double (or triple) up and stay ahead of the rapidly increasing blinds (remember, this was a turbo tourney). Eventually, though, my luck ran out.

In my final hand, I had a suited A-K (of clubs) and went all-in. I was under the gun, if I recall correctly, but was too short-stacked to worry about my position. (It's hard to say "short-stacked" when I had 109,000+ in chips, but the blinds were 30,000 and 15,000, with 3,000 antes at that point, so I had just over three big blinds left.) Only the big blind called me, and he turned over Q-J. It didn't take long to see the writing on the wall when the flop came Q-J-J. And the river was another Q, improving his full house. Oh well, that certainly is poker. (Ever notice how when you get beat when you're all-in, you get beat by overkill? I mean, the opponent who knocks you out doesn't just hit a pair, but usually gets at least 2 pair, if not a set or straight or flush--or boat. Am I right?)

That's today's story. I expect to have some more time tomorrow to compete at the virtual tables again, so check back for those results. Thanks for reading today. Drop me a line to give me some encouragement or berate me for my lousy play, and good luck at the tables.

Ending Bankroll, $8.22