Running good, TLB, & WSOP

Hey all. You're undoubtedly on the edge of your seat after I left you hanging in my last post, wondering if our hero would ever win at poker again. The title obviously gives it away as a lot of you prboably knew anyways, so let's get back to the story. I finished my last course at the end of March and decided that to celebrate I would take a run at the weekly tournament leader board on Stars. The winner gets his picture on the main page of the Stars software for a week and a heads-up match against a Team Pokerstars player for $1000. I really had no reason to think I had any chance, but I didn't do too badly: TLB Report.

The rest of April went ok, but I kept falling just short of the big prize. In the span of about 3 weeks I busted with 2 tables left 5 times, all in tournaments with between 5K-15K for first. And then came May. It started with me taking my first shot at the $650 WSOP satellite on Sunday (through an $80 satellite). I was hanging in there on a fairly short stack and then pushed AKs into AA 8 from the bubble. However, I was so close I knew I could make it with a little more luck next time, and in general the level of competition was surprisingly poor. The structure of the tournament gives you the time you need to wait for a hand and take advantage of these players as well. Many times I'd flop a set and double through a surprisingly weak hand (for like 50-100 times the blind). Being so close again just motivated me further. I was determined to breakthrough soon, and in a big way.

It started with a $55 PL Holdem victory for $1450. Then I won 2 $20 180 man tourneys and a $55 limit holdem tournament, and there was a 3rd in a $100 NL Holdem tournament. But the biggest day of all was 2 Sundays after my original shot at the WSOP satellite. I was deep in the $215 500K Guaranteed tournament on Party, but my other table had me more excited. I had built a monster stack in the $650 Sunday WSOP satellite, and was more or less in position to coast to a main event seat. I busted 41st on Party for for $1400 or so, but I was hardly upset. There was an hour or 2 left in the tournament but it was all but guaranteed. I was going to Vegas to play in the WSOP. Ifinished the tournament off in grand style as chip leader after busting the bubble player. Since then I've continued to run well and put up some nice scores, bankroll still on the rise. Hopefully things will stay that way until, I dunno, at least a couple weeks into August.

Mike