Ouch...there...and then GONE!

Is there anything worse in poker or when you play online poker than bubbling? And by bubbling...I don't mean 3 or 4 from the money. I mean...freaking 28th place when their paying 27!

I got to taste that warm, feces-flavored broth swirl around in my mouth last night around midnight...til I couldn't stand it anymore, skipped a SNG try...and just came home, logged onto XBox360, fired up Iron Man and started blasting helicopters, fighter planes and tanks into smithereens.

Yesterday was starting to look like I was finally going to break through. Everything was going smoothly. All my hands were holding. My calls were good ones. My 3-bets were well timed and successful in taking down big pots without seeing turns or rivers....or sometimes even flops. I even got a guy to lay down AJ on a Jack high flop...and me holding KK. That was a switch from things so far this week.

But then three critical plays killed me. The first was the worst. I had 55k in chips at 1k/2k and this new guy comes to our table with a butt load of chips. He immediately raises to 10k on the button to my BB. The SB...sporting only 14,500 SMOOTH calls the 10k! I look at KQd. Damn. Correct play? Shove! Wrong play? Fold. So what do I do? I flat. Retard. Flop comes Ad6h9c.....lovely. SB goes all in...for peanuts. And me, like a dumbass, folds. Old man says "Well, I really don't have anything....but I have to call." Great. He has 33. All in guy has J8d. WTF? yeah! Annnnnd the board goes 10-j....maknig me a straight...giving the all in a pair of Jacks for the triple up....and I let a 40k pot go the other way.

On the next hand...shortstack goes all in...and in the SB with K10d I decide to boot it. BB calls with 88. And is up against AJ. Nothing hits the board...but guess what hits the river? A king. Of course. ShIT!

Then...running out of time and chips...and one from the money....I probably could have sat there and let my 15k blind down to nothing and sneak out of there with my $600 for cashing after 11 hours...but I wanted to try and pick up a round of blinds and antes..which by this point were 7200. Or 50% of my stack. Do that two or three times and I am right back in okay shape. So I move in with KJd. For 15k. I get called by the button AND the BB....so I am looking at a possible triple up to about 55k.

The dealer flops me TWO diamonds....NICE! Then turns me a KING! Oh hell yeah!!!! But then on the river...she puts the Ace of hearts....oh no! You just KNOW when you've been gutted...and I knew...and sure enough....one of the guys turns over A5 off. OMFG!

I will say this. The other players at the table and even the other three...all knew I had bubbled, and they showed enough respect not to all start clapping and cheering once they knew they were in the money. Now I don't know if thats because I had talked about how tacky and uncool I think it is to cheer once the bubble bursts, much earlier...or if they were just genuinely showing some class. Maybe a little of both...because I sure wasnt talking to ALL four of the tables in the tourney. So at least that was ....well, appreciated.

I really took this one pretty bad...since the week had been going so awful...and things were just looking so good...it just felt like my train was back on the tracks. I had a couple of really nice tables with solid players, good personalities...and good dealers. It was shaping up to FINALLY be a good day in 2011. And then splat!

That is just another example of what makes this game SO freaking difficult, mentally.

Then...I come home...stay up with Squirrel for awhile, and then never really got to sleep. Not sure if its because of all the angst I have at not cashing...or because today is a $1k buyin that I really need to make a score in...or if it was because my dogs are getting ridiculous about crowding me in the bed. Probably a little bit of all those things.

I've been meeting a lot of new players this week. More than a handful have that one-liner waiting for me:

"Hey, are you Monkey? That.....Monkey? Yeah, I've heard about you, heard about your blog....."

When they don't elaborate, I'm guessing they are leaving out the parts they have heard and discussed that they think WON'T be a good idea to throw at me while sitting at my table. Hey...I don't know...the ones of you who REALLY know me, you all know my deal. And I won't say I dont CARE about the ones who don't....as I didn't USED to...but now I am starting to care somewhat what the detractors think. I am trying real hard to leave a good impression with everyone.

OH SHIT! Almost forgot....THE CRITICAL hand that made me want to puke. In fact...this is really the hand that pretty much cost me the tournament.

I was starting to chip up pretty well, and quite frankly, was having my way with the table. Blinds were 1500/3000 and I had around 45k. The chipleader limps UTG+1...which he had been doing a LOT of. A guy with around 28k limps in with him. And the button limps...with the SB completing...and notice 18k in the pot...then look down at suited ace four. Oh baby...if ever there was a situation calling for an open stuff and 35% addition to my stack. I don't waste any time...I ship it all in. First guy folds....then the second guy hems and haws....says "Oh...I might not get anything this good again, and I'm a shortstack (HUH>>>> after the hand he was claiming he only had 6 BB's left! On what planet? 1500/3000 and he had 28k...by my count thats 9, almost 10 BB's) so I guess I'll call. The other two fold...he turns over KQ off suit!

I look at his cards...and just wince.

"Wow, man....really? KQoff? For your tournament? Wow."

So what does the dealer do? Oh he just puts a flush on the board for him...and instead of getting me well over 80k...it crippled me to 18k.

Those are just the situations in late tournament play that can turn a day of playing well and making good calls and good folds and having decent players do the same....that just KILL YOU at crunch time. And it really, really blows!

During the tourney....somewhere around the dinner break, Gene D from our site is sitting in middle position. This old guy...who I predicted earlier would donk off all his ill-gotten chips early in the action...pullls some bullshit move where he pretends to think he put out a purple $500 chip with three black chips...for a raise of $800...when in actuality he put a $5k chip out there with it...then played that stupid act that we have all seen the angle-shooter pull before. Yeah yeah sir....we all believe you. Well, I am pretty observant of all players actions and I knew from watching him that it was no mistake.

Well, Gene D wakes up with KK. Nice...and ships all in for exactly 5k more. Nice time for a double up for Gene, who'd been very patient all day and kind of just running into a lot of bad luck. So peckerface is forced to call and turns over QQ. Yeah...mmmhmmm...accident. About the time the guy on my right tells me he folded a Q...a damn 1-outer Queen hit the flop. I really felt bad for Gene. I would later bust that old clown...when, after raising to 750 (at 150/300) from cutoff, and getting a call from this lady on the button, he gives me this body language that tells me he is stealing and goes all in for like 7000. I re-jam...lady folds...and I tell him I'm pretty sure he was squeeze stealing......to which he responds

"yes, its a nice call....good call...." and turns over 26s. Yeah great...I'm way ahead...but what else is new? Then he flops two spades and I just start to sink in my chair...but somehow it holds...and that jackal was ousted.

That happening...and my 10's holding against AK...and then later calling this guy's desperation shove with A3s and waking up with KK in the BB...only to have him flop a flush draw AND straight draw...and have THAT ONE hold....really had me believing that yesterday was going to finally be a good day. And then it was all finished.

Man I hate this game sometimes.

It's 11:05am....I have to go to the bank...to get some more money. Ouch! And then hit the gym for a quick workout. Guess I'll see you guys at the Beau...where I will try, try again to get into the winners circle.

Oh and by the way...the trophies we are playing for this week? They are really freaking cool...and you have no idea how bad I want one of those suckers! Yeah...and uh...a bundle of cash would be nice too!

One more thing...if you are tipped off to my blog here...and start reading it as a newbie...and decide you want to Facebook friend request me...please just do me this ONE favor...when you send me the request...include a quick little message on (a) how I know you (b) who you are and (c) that you read my blog or something. I'm not the guy who just clicks on ACCEPT for every Tom, Dick and Harry that fires me off a request. Make sense???

Catch you on the felt!

MONKEY