Big Comeback-Chip and a Chair!!

The other night I was goofing around watching TV with the wife when I remembered that every Monday is the $5k guarantee $75 Omaha Hi-Lo (limit) on Full Tilt at 8:45. So it was like 8:40 and I thought it would be good to play since I don't get a chance to play a lot of tournament limit Hi-Lo (mostly play pot limit on-line). So I jumped in and here we go...

Was basically pretty stagnant for the first 45 mins or so and then all of the sudden I got a good rush of cards and picked up a lot of chips right before the first break. Was up around 6k (starting stack=3k) and actually ran that up to around 9k at one point. Then I lost two huge pots in a row at 200/400. In the first I A3JT in the BB and there were 3 or 4 limpers. I checked and flop came JT4 rainbow. I led and got raised by a monkey. I reraised and he called. Turn was a 6d putting a four flush out there. I again led. Monkey raised, I reraised and he capped. River was probably the worst card in the deck, 9d. Any low and I have a good shot at low. As it is I now can not beat a flush and a straight that just got there. Really not much I can beat so I have to check call. Next hand I lost in a similar fashion and all of the sudden I was down to 126 chips. Less than the 200BB. Not good. So I was basically ready to stick it in with any A-low hand.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?4317961

SO that was a start. Couple hands later I stuck it in with trash and low and behold...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?4317967

Then I got lucky...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?4317970

Couple hands later this guy makes a strange fold...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?4317982

Next I pushed off the villain with a pretty weak holding on the turn...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?4317998

Finally I had a beautiful spike on the turn...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?4318005

Another good one a few mins later for 3/4 of the pot...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?4318011

So now we have over 7k in chips and can play a bit. I ran that up to 22k pretty quickly and with ~30 left I was actally top 5 in chips where I would stay for the rest of the tournament. I was able to abuse the cash bubble pretty aggressively (12 paid of the original ~110 players) and picked upa lot of chips at the expense of the medium stacks.

At the final table there was one player who was a psycho aggressive bomber and was basically just drawing out with his shit holdings. But he was busting people left and right. Before long we were 3 handed and the one dude had about 2/3 of the chips in play (preston0505). I had no experience with him but it seemed like he was just a kamakaze that was getting pretty lucky. If either I or the other guy (USVI_Jimbo) could scoop him once we would be right back in it. Unfortunately Jimbo was the one who scooped him and I was pretty even in chips with preston when the final blow came.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?4318035

So my play here looks pretty spewy but I was up against a real maniac. Sometimes against guys like that you have to go with your hand and keep betting. The turn and river are just brutal cards for me. The turn particularly kills my shot at the low and puts so many scare cards out on the river. Suddenly a flush draw, multiple str8 draws and better lows are now in play. But 3 handed this deep against a spewtard I need to play my 2 pair and stronger hands like this. Obviously the flush hits the river and I get scooped. In this case he was stronger than I had expected but even monkeys have a hand some time. That left me severely crippled obviously and I was out a few hands later in 3rd for approx. $1k. Not bad considering I was all the way down to 126 chips at one point.

Also playing a good bit of Hi-Lo cash games on line. That same night as above I won abt $1,500 playing 10/20 and 15/30 limit Hi-lo. Did give about $600 of that back over the last few nights however as the winds of variance starting blowing against me. But I am ready for Vegas and the last 4-6 weeks have been a big bankroll boost. I think I am ready for a nice score if the cards are kind.