Finally!!!

The win that eluded me. Feels great even though I would have preferred a few more zeroes on that prize. And even though it's only a STT rather than an MTT (and not to mention a silly high variance game in No-Limit Omaha). But I'm playing for the thrill of victory here, not the money so it is so great to get that monkey off my back.  

Thought it was going to be an early night for me actually. Very first hand I am in the SB with A♥K♥J♦T♣ and complete. With 4 players in a flop of 6♣5♣5♥ gets checked around and I figure I'm done with the hand. Turn Q♥, checked around again and the 6♥ completes a flush on the river. I check, a MP player bets 80 (the size of the pot), and button calls. No way I could overcall with only a flush here I thought, so I folded. MP had 9♥9♣5♠2♦ and button had A♦J♥9♠4♣. Are you fucking kidding me? 

But that wasn't even the worst of it. Very next hand A♠9♣Q♠Q♣ OTB, I limp behind the CO, SB raises to 100, BB and limper call so I call to close the action. Flop 8♣5♣4♣ giving me the 3rd nuts. Checked to CO who makes a weak-ass bet of 20 into 400, I raise to 460. CO calls! Turn 8♦ and he insta-shoves on me for 840. Sigh. Despite his loose call in the last hand I really can't find a call here so I fold.

Found myself down to 850 when I was 2nd to act now with A♦A♣Q♠4♠. Our friend right of us limped (he was playing every hand just about), I raised to 280 so I could either take it down here or at least thin the field and make my flop decision easy. Player to my direct left calls, CO calls for his last 250 putting him all in, SB calls, and UTG calls! The flop does come about as good as one could ask for in this game with naked aces short of improving, Q♦8♣2♥. Checked to me and I shove for my final 570, SB calls. Other two players drop. My hand actually holds up against the all-in player's A♠Q♣J♣5♦, and the SB's K♠K♦J♦9♥ with a 2♣ and 8♠ turn and river respectively.

That gets me to over 2500 and a few orbits later make it to the end of the rebuy period. Lost a bit of that to blind money as I didn't get a hand worth playing so took the add-on and had 4255 in chips. 7 players left at this point, 10 had entered total (although we never broke up into 2 tables, a late entrant came in after a player busted).

i won an uncontested pot and had 4755 with 50/100 blinds and got A♠Q♠T♦8♦ in the SB. Limped pot with everyone except the button playing. Flop 9♦7♠2♣. I check (hate being OOP in this game) and the player 3 off the button bets 100 in to 600. CO calls, I call, SB calls, BB folds. 8♠ on the turn giving me a flush draw now. I check, BB now bets 1000 for a full-pot bet, and the MP player who originally bet the flop calls. I'm getting 3:1 so I made kind of a loose call. Straight outs probably weren't live and the river bricked with a K♣ anyway. I check/folded with the other player folding to his shove so didn't get to see what he had.

So that hurt me a bit but a few hands later the two big stacks collide with each other; the player on my right that had been running really g00t somehow thought K♠4♠5♣2♣ was good on a 9♣6♦4♦3♦ board when he min-bet 150 into 825 and got raised to 675. Just decided to raise big from there and call a shove. Of course the other player had A♦9♦9♠6♣ and had him dead to rights.

While this was amusing, it was pretty bad for me since the player that won that pot and now had a pretty big chip lead was on my direct left with 5 remaining at this point. With 3605 in chips and 75/150 blinds I pick up J♦T♦9♥5♦ in the BB and check with everyone except the chip leader playing this hand. Flop T♥9♣8♣ giving me two-pair and the straight draw.  SB checks, I bet 650 into 600 which was enough to put the button (who had 645) all-in. The button did call, as did the SB. Turn 7♥. With only 10 in the side pot I elect to check-behind after SB checks. River 9s and he bets 2545 into me. I check to make sure I have the boat and figure if he had 10s full the whole time so be it. I shove, and he calls and shows Q♠J♥3♦2♣ which cripples him as he only had 150 more than me to start the hand. Should have spoken up earlier buddy. The all-in player had A♥K♠J♠8♦.

Down to the bubble now and while the short stack did manage 1 double-up, he busted the 2nd time he was all-in and I make it to the money again. Because of my big pot I am 2nd in chips with the big stack still belonging to the player on my left and the player on his left having the shorter stack. Both of them collide in a hand withe the board being J♥9♦2♥3♥K♦ on the river. The big stack bets pot (2200) and the other player merely called the bet, losing with Q♥J♦J♠9♣ to the big stack's flush (8♥7♥5♠2♣). So instead of going to heads-up the short stack has 580 left after posting the BB the next hand. I'm on the button and open limp K♠K♣T♣2♦ figuring we'll get him to shove. SB folds and he does shove and I call. He had 8♠4♦3♦3♠. Flop A♠K♥9♣. Turn 3♥, river 3♣. Why not just runner-runner quads to stay in the tournament?

Next time OTB I had Q♥J♣9♥7♥ and I raise to 500 with blinds at 100/200. SB folds, BB shoves for 1660 total and I figure I gotta gamble with him again here. Maybe it's my turn to get lucky. He had the goods, A♠A♣K♦7♦ and the 2♦8♠9♣8♣Q♣ board did not provide me the help I needed. So couldn't get rid of this guy and a short while later the big stack actually disconnects and ends up auto-folding every hand. I do steal his blind a few times but still have to contend with the other player and he's almost caught up to me in chips when a hand comes up.

Have A♦K♠T♥7♣ in the BB with 200/400 blinds and a 50 ante. He limps, I check. Flop K♥Q♦4♦. He bets 800 into 950 and with position, top pair, and a gutshot I take one off. Turn 8♣ and he only bets 400 into 1750, easy call this time (although maybe could have considered raising here). River is my money card, J♣. He bets 400 again, I raise to 2000 and he calls and loses with K♦9♥6♣4♣. That takes a good chunk out of him. He busts a few hands later when the big stack (who had been reconnected) busts him with K♦Q♦Q♥8♠ on a J♠9♦6♦A♣4♠ board against J♦T♠8♥2♦.

Going into heads up I was at close to a 3:1 chip deficit but got some good cards and was able to pull even with him. Back and forth we went for awhile but with blinds at 400/800-75 I picked up A♠K♦Q♣J♣ in the BB. limped and I checked. Flop came A♣6♦3♥ and I decide to get a little sneaky and check. He checks back. Turn 8♥ and I check again. He bets pot and I shove. A little bit of a risky move as he could have easily had something here, but he folded. That hand put me at about a 3:1 chip lead and we had our 5 minute break right after that hand.

We went back and forth for four hands and I got A♥A♦5♦Q♠ in the BB. He min-raised to 1600 and I decided to just shove right there knowing I was ahead and since he rarely raised preflop I expected a call, which I got with 9♥9♣7♥7♠. Flop comes almost gin for him, T♥8♦7♦ but still had a flush draw going. Hit it on the turn with the Q♦, but the Q♥ on the river gave him the boat and now he had the chip lead.

Got it back a few hands later when I had A♦J♥9♣4♣ in the BB once again. Blinds now up to 500/100-100. He min-raised to 2k, I called. Flop A♣T♣7♥. I check/called 2500. Turn 9♠. Check-check. River 7s, and we check it down but I took an important 6200 pot. He mucked K♦8♦8♠3♥ so just taking a complete shot on the flop. Continue to have a see-saw type of match and I am in the BB once again with K♠7♠7♦3♣. He completes, I check. Flop. A♠Q♠9♠ giving me the nuts. I bet 1100, he raises to 5500 and I shove hoping to end it right there. But he folds, blah. Still puts me at ~20k to ~8k advantage.

A few hands later get A♠9♦9♦T♥ in the BB, he raises to 3200 and I call and then shove a J♣T♦6♥ flop desperate to end it right there. He called with K♥K♣8♦5♣ and the 5♦ and 8♣ turn and river provided no help to me. Maybe too ambitious there. That puts us back to even but 3 hands later I'm OTB and get A♦K♦K♠4♥. I complete as I'm ok with playing this in position for a small pot, but he raises to 3200 so now I just shove for my final 12k and change. He actually had me covered by ~2500 at this point, so I was the one at risk. Still, I figured to have the best hand in this spot so had to gamble. He had A♥J♠9♠5♥ and the board ran out 8♠3♦2♥5♠7♥ which was good enough for my kings to hold up and give me what is now my biggest chip lead of heads-up.

Very next hand we get the rest of the money in, I had Q♠5♠T♥8♣ vs his J♣T♦5♦7♥. Flop comes A♦K♣4♣, turn 2♦, and river A♠ to seal the deal. Fun game.