1st SNG tournament win in a long time.

I just took down a $5.50 SNG on Stars for $22.50. It feels nice to finally take down a SNG. I finally played patiently the entire tournament and picked my spots. I didn't try any of the real big bluffs taht get me into trouble, I just generally played my straight forward tight ABC poker style. Looks like it payed off. Here are a few hands.

Here I decided to slow down with AQdd in the BB. I figured with the chip lead I could either get away from the hand if I didn't hit and protect my stack or stack the guy in the pot. I'd played tight the entire tournament and checked the flop if I hadn't hit. Flopped an Ace and he way overshoved. I snap-called and found myself against 4d4c. He hit runner runner wheel cards so shit happens.
PokerStars Game #17042727941: Tournament #86356765, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2008/04/27 - 21:45:27 (ET)
Table '86356765 1' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 2: migrater man (3567 in chips)
Seat 6: vl710 (2845 in chips)
Seat 7: JUGGERKNOT7 (665 in chips)
Seat 8: DAVEREA77 (1190 in chips)
Seat 9: MpleLfMuscle (5233 in chips)
DAVEREA77: posts small blind 75
MpleLfMuscle: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MpleLfMuscle [Ad Qd]
migrater man: folds
vl710: calls 150
JUGGERKNOT7: folds
DAVEREA77: folds
MpleLfMuscle: checks
*** FLOP *** [7s Ah 2c]
MpleLfMuscle: checks
vl710: bets 2695 and is all-in
MpleLfMuscle: calls 2695
*** TURN *** [7s Ah 2c] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [7s Ah 2c 5h] [3d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MpleLfMuscle: shows [Ad Qd] (a pair of Aces)
vl710: shows [4d 4c] (a straight, Ace to Five)
vl710 collected 5765 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5765 | Rake 0
Board [7s Ah 2c 5h 3d]
Seat 2: migrater man folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: vl710 showed [4d 4c] and won (5765) with a straight, Ace to Five
Seat 7: JUGGERKNOT7 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: DAVEREA77 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: MpleLfMuscle (big blind) showed [Ad Qd] and lost with a pair of Aces

4 hands after the previous hand this hand comes up. The villain had been playing pretty oddly. It was hard to put him on a hard. I raised to 450 pre and he cold called. He hadn't re-raised all day so I wasn't sure where I was at. Flop come out As 10h 10d. He way underbets the pot with 300. I debated for a long time on what to do. I was pretty sure he didn't have a 10 based on how he had played the hand but a bigger A was a concern. I shoved and he debated...finally calling with QhQd. Not sure what he expected to beat there. Turn was a scare card but thankfully the river blanked out. Chip lead again thanks!
PokerStars Game #17042775482: Tournament #86356765, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2008/04/27 - 21:47:41 (ET)
Table '86356765 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: migrater man (3567 in chips)
Seat 6: vl710 (4950 in chips)
Seat 7: JUGGERKNOT7 (1330 in chips)
Seat 8: DAVEREA77 (1115 in chips)
Seat 9: MpleLfMuscle (2538 in chips)
JUGGERKNOT7: posts small blind 75
DAVEREA77: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MpleLfMuscle [8s Ac]
MpleLfMuscle: raises 300 to 450
migrater man: calls 450
vl710: folds
JUGGERKNOT7: folds
DAVEREA77: folds
*** FLOP *** [As Th Td]
MpleLfMuscle: checks
migrater man: bets 300
MpleLfMuscle: raises 1788 to 2088 and is all-in
migrater man: calls 1788
*** TURN *** [As Th Td] [Kh]
*** RIVER *** [As Th Td Kh] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MpleLfMuscle: shows [8s Ac] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
migrater man: shows [Qd Qh] (two pair, Queens and Tens)
MpleLfMuscle collected 5301 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5301 | Rake 0
Board [As Th Td Kh 4c]
Seat 2: migrater man showed [Qd Qh] and lost with two pair, Queens and Tens
Seat 6: vl710 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: JUGGERKNOT7 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: DAVEREA77 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: MpleLfMuscle showed [8s Ac] and won (5301) with two pair, Aces and Tens

Pretty straightforward here. I'm the tightest player left. I re-raise ou tof the SB when we're 3 handed with AhAd. Button who initally raised shoved. I snap call. AhAd > KhKs. Weeeee!
PokerStars Game #17042940021: Tournament #86356765, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/04/27 - 21:55:29 (ET)
Table '86356765 1' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 6: vl710 (6466 in chips)
Seat 7: JUGGERKNOT7 (2983 in chips)
Seat 9: MpleLfMuscle (4051 in chips)
MpleLfMuscle: posts small blind 100
vl710: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MpleLfMuscle [Ah Ad]
JUGGERKNOT7: raises 400 to 600
MpleLfMuscle: raises 800 to 1400
vl710: folds
JUGGERKNOT7: raises 1583 to 2983 and is all-in
MpleLfMuscle: calls 1583
*** FLOP *** [5c Ts 7s]
JUGGERKNOT7 said, "gg"
*** TURN *** [5c Ts 7s] [2d]
*** RIVER *** [5c Ts 7s 2d] [Qs]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MpleLfMuscle: shows [Ah Ad] (a pair of Aces)
JUGGERKNOT7: shows [Ks Kh] (a pair of Kings)
vl710 said, "nh"
MpleLfMuscle collected 6166 from pot
MpleLfMuscle said, "u2"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6166 | Rake 0
Board [5c Ts 7s 2d Qs]
Seat 6: vl710 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: JUGGERKNOT7 (button) showed [Ks Kh] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 9: MpleLfMuscle (small blind) showed [Ah Ad] and won (6166) with a pair of Aces

Pivotal heads up hand here. Villain limps on the Button for the 4th time in a row. I raised out of the BB with KcQh. Not optimal but I wanted to play big pots with this guy, he was calling almost anything. Flop came out 10d 10s 9s. Check check. Turn Jc. Good but not great card. Min bet by villain, raised up with my straight to a cold call. River 7h. Checked to me. 1800 into 3600. Called by Jc7h. Told you he called with anything...
PokerStars Game #17042966747: Tournament #86356765, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/04/27 - 21:56:46 (ET)
Table '86356765 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 6: vl710 (6666 in chips)
Seat 9: MpleLfMuscle (6834 in chips)
vl710: posts small blind 100
MpleLfMuscle: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MpleLfMuscle [Qh Kc]
vl710: calls 100
MpleLfMuscle: raises 400 to 600
vl710: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [Td Ts 9s]
MpleLfMuscle: checks
vl710: checks
*** TURN *** [Td Ts 9s] [Jc]
MpleLfMuscle: checks
vl710: bets 200
MpleLfMuscle: raises 1000 to 1200
vl710: calls 1000
*** RIVER *** [Td Ts 9s Jc] [7h]
MpleLfMuscle: bets 1800
vl710: calls 1800
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MpleLfMuscle: shows [Qh Kc] (a straight, Nine to King)
vl710: mucks hand
MpleLfMuscle collected 7200 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 7200 | Rake 0
Board [Td Ts 9s Jc 7h]
Seat 6: vl710 (button) (small blind) mucked [Jd 7d]
Seat 9: MpleLfMuscle (big blind) showed [Qh Kc] and won (7200) with a straight, Nine to King

Ended up taking it down with 73 off of all hands against his 53 off on a board of 8 7 5 rainbow. Turn and river blanked out and ship the money to me!

2nd in a $5.50 Head Up

I just took 2nd in a $5.50 head up shoot out SNG on Stars. I feel ok with how I played, I definately got lucky a couple of times, but I feel I out played everyone pretty well. I went out with trip 8s to a full house 6s full. Guy flopped a set and he disguised it. 2nd for $32...ok but not as good as the 1st for $56 would've been!

Busted in the $4.40 *sigh*

Called a raise...debatable if I should've but the chip leader raised and I was looking to double up since i was the short stack in the tournament. I flopped a gutshot straight flush draw, shoved the flop. got called and saw the worst possible hand for me. Left me drawing to 4 outs. Ugh. Another tournament with no cash...

PokerStars Game #16882193324: Tournament #85524805, $4.00+$0.40 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/04/21 - 00:26:11 (ET)
Table '85524805 7' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: wellaware12 (7735 in chips)
Seat 2: bigtat59 (4015 in chips)
Seat 3: MpleLfMuscle (2145 in chips)
Seat 4: OBXRentals (3160 in chips)
Seat 5: wickedchops (12240 in chips)
Seat 6: plunk2004 (5600 in chips)
Seat 8: Nvrquit29 (2600 in chips)
Seat 9: Team220 (7220 in chips)
bigtat59: posts small blind 100
MpleLfMuscle: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MpleLfMuscle [4s 5s]
OBXRentals: folds
wickedchops: raises 400 to 600
plunk2004: folds
Nvrquit29: folds
Team220: folds
wellaware12: folds
bigtat59: calls 500
MpleLfMuscle: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [7s Kc 3s]
bigtat59: checks
MpleLfMuscle: bets 1545 and is all-in
wickedchops: folds
bigtat59: calls 1545
*** TURN *** [7s Kc 3s] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [7s Kc 3s 8c] [8h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bigtat59: shows [Ks As] (two pair, Kings and Eights)
MpleLfMuscle: shows [4s 5s] (a pair of Eights)
bigtat59 collected 4890 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4890 | Rake 0
Board [7s Kc 3s 8c 8h]
Seat 1: wellaware12 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: bigtat59 (small blind) showed [Ks As] and won (4890) with two pair, Kings and Eights
Seat 3: MpleLfMuscle (big blind) showed [4s 5s] and lost with a pair of Eights
Seat 4: OBXRentals folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: wickedchops folded on the Flop
Seat 6: plunk2004 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Nvrquit29 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Team220 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Busted in the $2.20...

I just busted in 726th place out of 1,748 people. Here's the hand history...


PokerStars Game #16881754005: Tournament #85173053, $2.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/04/20 - 23:58:12 (ET)
Table '85173053 134' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: gatorbobrose (4000 in chips)
Seat 2: ROUNDER400 (3345 in chips)
Seat 3: jmaxsparty (3650 in chips)
Seat 4: KINGODMD (3201 in chips)
Seat 5: VIKINGVIXEN (5515 in chips)
Seat 6: maekim (5868 in chips)
Seat 7: MpleLfMuscle (1890 in chips)
Seat 8: The13thWhale (5250 in chips)
Seat 9: gilll81 (2605 in chips)
jmaxsparty: posts small blind 50
KINGODMD: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MpleLfMuscle [6h 6d]
VIKINGVIXEN: folds
maekim: folds
MpleLfMuscle: raises 300 to 400
The13thWhale: calls 400
gilll81: folds
gatorbobrose: folds
ROUNDER400: folds
jmaxsparty: folds
KINGODMD: folds
*** FLOP *** [6s 3d 7s]
MpleLfMuscle: checks
The13thWhale: bets 1800
MpleLfMuscle: calls 1490 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [6s 3d 7s] [Ah]
*** RIVER *** [6s 3d 7s Ah] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MpleLfMuscle: shows [6h 6d] (a full house, Sixes full of Threes)
The13thWhale: shows [Ac Ad] (a full house, Aces full of Threes)
The13thWhale said, "boom"
The13thWhale collected 3930 from pot
The13thWhale said, "justice"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3930 | Rake 0
Board [6s 3d 7s Ah 3h]
Seat 1: gatorbobrose folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: ROUNDER400 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: jmaxsparty (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: KINGODMD (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: VIKINGVIXEN folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: maekim folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: MpleLfMuscle showed [6h 6d] and lost with a full house, Sixes full of Threes
Seat 8: The13thWhale showed [Ac Ad] and won (3930) with a full house, Aces full of Threes
Seat 9: gilll81 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

First Poker Post!

I've been dabbling in poker after taking an extended break from poker. I played continuously over spring break and really wore out my brain poker wise. I did however make 3 final tables and win my first online tournament ever. I've been really close before but hey I finally managed to close out the deal. Oddly enough, I won a 6 person max tournament for $130.00...I suck at 6 person max...well maybe I just got lucky but I think I'm finally growing as a poker player again. Took freakin' long enough...

Anyways, I have decided to take a shot playing on PokerStars again, simply because there is a much larger volume of players on PokerStars then Full Tilt. I haven't really had my usual tournament swings on Stars...I'm actually a giant 0-7 in tournaments right now. I just haven't been able to adjust to the larger fields on Stars then on Tilt I think. As I speak I'm running alright in a $4.40 190 person Sit n Go tournament after a horrendous start on my part. I'm way below average in a $2.20 tournament with 1,748 entrants...but I'm still in it right? I've still got a shot...man that $600 first place prize would be nice...

I've also broken one of my poker commandments by playing cash games on Stars. Since I've been sucking it up in the tournaments, I had to somehow offset it since I just deposited a small amount on Stars. I've made $17.65 in a small .25/.50 limit and .10/.25 no limit session. Offsetting the loss to my bankroll by playing cash games is nice...but man I have to stop! I'll update later with how I did in my tournaments.

Obama, Voting, and the Upcoming Presidential Election

I am a political science major at the University of Oregon, so I'm going to rant a little about politics and what's bugging me about our current voting situation. Let me start off by saying that I am a moderate with a conservative influence and that I will not be voting for Hillary. I do support our President...but honestly, I generally would support any president that I voted for! I do not have issues with Democrats or any other political viewpoints.
Here's whats bugging me. On campus, and in my life, there are a seemingly huge number of people who are looking to vote for Barack Obama. Fundamentally I have a few issues with this. The first really isn't such a big deal and that is his lack of political experience. I do not think that being a senator for 4 years immediately qualifies you to lead the world's superpower. His lack of experience concerns me...what happens if we have a national crisis? Can he be counted on to lead us out of it? Second of all, I have an issue on why people are voting for him. First, he seems wishy washy on issues. I have never heard him take a firm stand on issues that matter to me. This echoes of John Kerry to me, which is what turned me off on him. Also, people are voting for him because they like him! Not such a bad thing, but are they taking the time to actually figure out what he stands for? No. Also, people are voting for him because he isn't G.W. Bush. To me this is an appalling concept. So what if he's not G.W.? What people should be looking for is how he will be different that G.W., not just the fact the he won't be a Republican in office. Overall, I'm becoming more and more disgusted with how uninformed out population is on issues and I'm becoming more and more convinced that our Presidency is a sham. Look at all our checks and balances our government has! Essentially the President's staff can run the government with our President as a figure head! Ugh.

First Post!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Nathan and I am a low stakes SNG and Multi-table tournament. I'll post here periodically and on the CP forums (PAR1AH). Hopefully people well get to know me and they can help me evolve as a poker player. I look forward to people reading!