Super Tuesday and Going back to NC

I played the full day of tournaments yesterday without any real good results. I played a decent bit of 25/50 PLO and 40/80 7 game mix in between. The 7 game mix is my new favorite thing to do online. It combines HORSE with PLO and NLH. I am competent to good at all the games, so whatever edge I give up in some of the limit games I feel I can recoup in the PLO and NLH.
In the 1K on stars I doubled up at the beginning of the 2nd hour to have around 6K in chips when this hand went down. I was just moved to this table and the hand was against 2 guys I did not recognize. UTG raised to 505 (blinds 100/200 no ante). The SB called and I had the 32ss in the BB. Normally I would call every time in this spot, but the 1k is a very tough field and I lose equity trying to play this hand against great competition. But since I did not know who the other 2 were and they both had me covered I decided to go with it. The flop was Jd4d3h giving me bottom pair and not much more. To my suprise it checked around. This is a extremely tough flop to slow play if you are the original raiser. The SB could have been looking to C'raise, but I still felt my hand was good. My plan was to lead almost any turn if the SB checked to me. The turn was the 2h putting two flush draws out there and giving me bottom two pair. SB checked and I bet 900 into a pot of 1500, leaving me 4900 behind. The original raiser called, and I assumed he picked up a flush draw and a gutter straight draw, something like AQhh. The SB then pushed all in. The pot now had effectively 8900 in it and 4900 to call with a person behind. My initial read was to fold but I had a hard time putting the SB on a hand that would check that board twice. If he had a made hand he has to be sure someone will bet in order to protect his hand. I was thinking he had a very strong hand like J10hh, so I made the call. Another problem with the call is that I am giving UTG equity to go with his hand if he thinks he has 12 outs. He tanked forever and found a fold. The SB had AA meaning I had to fade a A,J and 4. I did and won a nice pot. I dont really like playing AA that way against good opponents. He put him self in a very tough spot out of position. After missing his opportunity to c'raise the flop he felt he didnt want to led with so many scare cards out there, but leading had to be right unless you are certain AA are still good. Anyway, I feel like im ramblin...I ended up with a huge stack then lost 2 massive coin flips back to back to allow me to squeak into the money and not much more.

I will going to Greensboro, NC tommorrow for a wedding. Jamborie and Brandon and two very good friends and will be looking foward to the weekend.

Justin "robert07" Young

Weekend

Thursday I woke up and was very anxious about a charity tournament that I was hosting. I say I was hosting, but there were plenty of bigger names there. I showed up a hour early to help out however I could. Lisa Wheeler had everything looking good. All I had to do was sign a couple things for prizes and for poker fans. The buy in was $220 with $30 rebuys for the first hour. I pushed all in about 15 times never having the best of it. I was in for 700ish and minimum chips going into the 2nd hour. I ran my stack up pretty nicely as I got paid off with all my big hands. I eneded up making the final table, but ran my QQ into QJdd for a chip lead stack. I was actually mad at first, but it didnt take long to forget about it. The tourny raised over 11K and saw the likes of Eric Baldwin, Elky, Lisa Hamilton, Cody Slaubaugh, Pam Brunson, Chainsaw, Lacey Jones, Lee Watkinson, Marsha Waggoner, and Chip and Karina Jett. In addition a bunch of cash game regulars came out to lend there support. Thank you Paul, Tom, Tony, Mitch, Teddy and anyone else I didnt see or am forgeting. On top of all that they had a silent auction. Of which there was a bat signed by the entire 2004 Boston Red Sox up for grabs. I won it on a steal and will be displaying it proudly in my game room.
On Friday and Saturday I did my best to make a dent into my to do list. Though I didnt get all I wanted to done, it felt good to start.
Sunday was the online slate for me. The early tournys saw me squeak into the money in some spots but no real FT sweats. In the later half I made a run in the 100r on PS only to see my biggish stack crushed by QQ vs my AK. My last sweat was the FT mulligan. I never had a bunch of chips, but always seemed to win a flip when I got down under 15BB. At the final table my 99 destroyed KK with a 9 on the river giving me a decent stack down the stretch. I had 3/4 of the chips when I got heads up against a guy who was playing pretty nitty. I began to pressure him with a lot of preflop betting. With this style I would expect me to get it in bad a lot, but some how I had him all in with the following hands A7 vs A3, 22 vs AK, and A5 vs A10. The A7 vs A3 was the worst one. The flop came 865 almost assuring there would be no chop and giving me plenty of nut redraws. Somehow a blank and a 3 hit the board. I ended up getting it in with A7 vs his Q5 for about 30% of the chips in play. But the board was 952QA giving him two pair. It was still a nice score, but getting beat when you feel you have a huge edge is never fun.

Justin "robert07" Young

1st Week of Rest

Now with the tournaments out of town I am able to relax and attempt to take care of some of the things I have been putting off. On Monday I took Eric to go pick up his car at the amazing sushi place we went to on Friday night. We of course stopped in and had lunch there. As it turns out it is just as good sober as it is with a pint of scotch in front of you. I had to do and interview for Channel 3 Sports to promote a poker charity event afterwards. The nice ladies from the Homestead met me there and we did a quick 5 minute interview with Kevin West. I watched it later and it came off pretty good. The tournament is today and I am hopeful for a large turnout. After the interview I planned a celebration night for my Brawl belt. Eric and Mary met Morgan and I for dinner and the italian restaurant in the M. After dinner Cody and Kessler met us for drinks and gambling. The women had to go home around 1030, but the rest of us tried to drink enough to counteract what we were losing in gambling. I feel like we came close, but we were all close to broke by the end of the night. The next day I had to get up and pay off the ticket I got a month ago. I was still a bit drunk when I got up so I ride there wasnt that bad, as I was singing and laughing at myself most the way, but the wait in line or the ride in the hot sun sobered me up enough to be extremely hungover. I got Arby's and slept/laid on the couch the rest of the day. Wednesday I went in to the Bellagio to put in a session and to spread the word about the charity tournament. I stopped around 330 with one fun hand of note. After two limpers I made it 100 (playing 10/20) from middle position with AJss. The BB and both limpers called. The flop was Kh7h5d. Everyone checked to me and I bet 300. The BB called and the rest folded. He was a component player who saw me play very solid up to this point. I thought he either had a draw or KQ/KJ. The turn was a 5c. He checked and I bet 660. He thought for a while and called. I still wasnt sure if he was drawing or not, so I didnt know what I was rooting for. The river was the 3h. He led 700 into a 2300 pot. It screamed blocker bet, I just had to determine if I could make him let a king go. I decided to go for it and made it 2700. He tanked a long time, but let it go. I won a small amount on the day and needed to pick up my niece who was in town for one night before going back to Wyoming.

Justin "robert07" Young

Weekend Fun

Morgan and I ran some errands on Saturday and finally got to hang out a little bit together. With the WSOP, Bellagio Cup, and family in town we havent seen each other that much. I was also able to do some things I have been putting off, like starting to make plans for Aruba. I have never been, but I hear its just the nut. Saturday night we went out to eat with Mary and Eric down by Green Valley Ranch. Afterwards we played at the arcade and went to see "Public Enimies". The movie had its problems with story, but the acting and directing were top notch. Not that anyone cares, but I give it a 6.5 out of 10. Eric and I proceeded to drink and watch the super cell in our backyards till 230am. I got up earlier than I intended to play the full Sunday slate online. The day started off really slow as I lost an above avg stack close to the money in 3 tournys. I did manage to make 2 final tables, the Sunday Brawl and the 200 on UB. I ended up going 1st and 4th respectfully. It was by far the best Sunday I have ever had. The Brawl was more than triple my biggest online score. Once we were three handed the play slowed down a bit as everyone that was left was playing very well. Heads up play was a bit different as my opponent tightened up and I was able to be the aggresor in most of the pots. I won small pot after small pot till I had a 8 to 1 chip lead. I ripped in his 11BB with K9o and he called with Ace rag. I won the flip and the belt.

Justin "robert07" Young

Busted from Bellagio Cup

I had about 18BB coming into the day, but felt confident that I would keep myselft afloat until I found a favorable spot to double up. Adam and Phil Hellmuth were on my right and David Levi was two to my left, so the opportunities were going to be there to 3 bet shove and to steal from my button. I 3 bet all in twice against Phil's SB raise once with K6o and the other with Q10ss. He gave a nice 30 second speech before folding both times and I already knew we might get into it a little bit. I have met Phil away from the table before and he was the nicest guy, but my biggest pet pieve is people who berate and talk down to other players. So without attacking him or his game and snuck in some comments directed towards him. He let me know he did not appreciate it and decided to stop talking to me. I am sure there are plenty of less mature ways he could have handled it, but the silent treatment was fine by me. Adam proceeded to bust him when he flopped a set and turned quads against Phil's top pair top kicker. Adam played the hand beautifully, but Phil played it pretty poor. After check calling the flop, Adam led the turn. Phil for some reason elected to min raise, which I dont hate as long as he had a plan as do what to do after that. Adam put him the rest of the way in (which was only 20% of the pot), Phil tanked for five minutes and called. I chipped up enough to have 20BB going into 1500/3000, which was my goal. I just open pushed from UTG with AKo and got no callers, but I also knew that my BB was extremely vaulnerable after winning a pot. I expected a couple spots to raise my BB light. Steve Gross was one of the people, and he did raise. A guy to his left 3 bet him and I began to wonder if it was because he noticed the same thing I did. I decided A10s or better or 66 or better was going to go all in, thinking I would be ahead of both their ranges. I looked down at KK and could not believe how lucky I was to get it in with such and big hand in this spot. The 3 better of course called, but he happened to have AA, meh. The board ran out J109102 and I was out the door 75thish.
I proceeded to play and bust the 500 event that started at two and then played some blackjack until Morgan and Todd came for dinner. We had a great time hanging out, but I was a little relieved not have poker or guests for a while.
On Friday Morgan and I met up with Adam, Katz, Shannon, Jesse, Mary and Base for a 51's game and some sushi afterwards at Kai. It was the best sushi I have ever had and it was not expensive at all. We had a real fun night, but those of us that lived 40 minutes away opted for a cab ride back as opposed to a night of craps and scotch. Hopefully we will have time to do something similar before everyone leaves town.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 2 Bellagio Cup

Day 2 was similar to day 1, I was card dead and couldn't ever get anything going. I hung around my starting stack by raising a lot pre flop, but the table starting taking flops with me with better hands. I tried a bluff for 40% of my stack when a nit led into me when I raised pre. He snap shoved and I kept my 25K for a better spot. I doubled up shortly after with QQ vs Amak's 88. After a few more pots I was around 75K when I raised UTG with 107hh. I got 4 callers and the flop was 8d6h6d. We all checked around and the 9h hit the turn giving me the str8 and a flush draw. I led 40% pot looking to get raised. Devilfish called and the river was the Qc. I thought there was a good chance he would bluff at it if he missed so I decided to check call. He put a huge bet out there and I insta called. He turned up 66 for quads. I guess I am freerollin, but the hand cut me in half and I had 35K going into the last level. I probably went all in ten times the last level with everything from 75dd to QQ. I was never called once, but every time I got above 30BB I would open and get 3 bet. I am heading into tommorrow with 40K. Something will have to happen soon, but anything can happen.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 1 Bellagio Cup

Day 1 for the Bellagio Cup allows me to play more of a cash game style which is generally good against tournament players. After a massive redraw we started 30 minutes late. I had Toto, Hoyt, David Chui, Jim Hanna, and Charder at my table. I got paid on two big streets with bottom set to start the day, but level two found me missing all kinds of draws. I flopped a double gutter and turned a flush draw against Hoyt and missed, I missed a pair and a str8 draw against a fish that would pay me off big, not to mention your every day flush and straight draws. I was down to 45K after level two. I managed to to chip up to starting stack by staying aggressive over the next two levels. The last level was a tough one. UTG I raised with QQ (this after getting 3 bet the previous 3 times I opened) Jim Hanna 3 bet to 4800 leaving him 33K behind. I could just turn it into a set mine, but there is too good a chance I have the best hand. If I three bet I am not getting played with unless he has AA or KK. It is a tough spot with the position and the stack sizes. I decided to 4 bet fold, which I still dont know if it is right. I made it 13200 and he insta ripped the rest. I mucked despite getting better than two to one. Shortly there after I 3 bet with AKo only to have a nit 4 bet. I laid it down and all of a sudden I had less that 35K. I called a raise with QJcc from the button. The flop was K96 rainbow (with one club). He c'betted and I decided to float. The turn was the 10h giving me the nuts. He bet the turn which he generally does not do without a decent hand. I was in a tough spot to call or to raise. If I raise he has to have two pair or better to call, but if I just call there are so many cards that could come where he could check fold. I got greedy and went ahead with a raise looking to double up. He snap mucked and I felt like I missed out on a huge oppurtunity. I ended the day with just over 45K which is good for 55BBs.
My brother-in-law is in town and on my day off we were able to go hiking, swimming, go to a movie, go out to dinner, and even squeeze in some games of pool and yahtzee. It was a relaxing day off and I am sorry to see him go tonite. Hopefully my mind will be focused for the restart today at noon.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 3 WSOP Recap

I looked up my table the night before and was pleased to only find one tough player. There were two others that had a handful of results, but I was very happy with the draw. The first hand I played I called a raise with 87hh from the BB. The flop was Q73 rainbow. I check called a pot sized bet against a older man from South Africa. I had absolutely no idea how he played, but he had just a few thousand less than me to start the hand. The turn was a 8c completing a rainbow. I checked and he bet 8500 (about 2/3 pot). I made it 23500 and he tanked for 20 seconds before announcing raise. He min raised it 15K more. Not having played with him before I elected the less dangerous route and just called with intentions of leading the river. I led 32K after a brick hit and he called quickly and tabled KK like it was the nuts. I showed my two pair and he went into a tirade about how his big hands always gets cracked. If I coulda heard this speech earlier I woulda put it all in and watched him beat me in the pot. After that I was the table leader, I raised about 1/3 of the time and quietly built my stack to over 300K. Mark Testler (sp??) raised UTG and I called in position with 5d4d. The flop was 1072 with two diamonds. He bet 8k into a 10k pot, and I called. The turn was a 5s. He now bet 14k into a 26K pot which seemed wierd, but I knew he was good enough to bet smaller to induce a semi bluff from me for his last 55K. So elected to call not knowing where I was. The river was a 6s. He tanked for 5 seconds and put it all in. My instinct was to call, because usually in those spots a made hand will check or put a blocker bet out there to induce a bluff from a missed draw. The only way a ship is right is if he had 89, a set or complete air. It was by far my longest tank of the series. The reasons to fold was that the field was soft enough where there was little reason to take marginal chances and in addition Mark knew fact that too. So after 5+ minutes I folded and he snap shows KQo for absolutely nothing. It was the second time that I ignored my first read and talked myself into a bad decision (KK vs AA). To make matters worse they broke our table the next hand. I moved to a table where I did not know anyone. The kid to my left was opening every pot and was quite successful, so I began to open half the time it opened to me. The kid constantly reraised me. I 4 bet with KK once and saw 3-4 flops by flatting out of position. He was definately a thorn in my side. I decided I would open from early position more given that it is tougher to 3 bet with so many behind. So I raised UTG with J4cc and a medium stack called from the button and the BB (who was literally so worried about making the money that he asked the floor if he could ask me not to collect the antes for my side of the table, because it would take an extra 5 seconds for the dealers to do it, the extra time would mean less hands.... blah blah blah.) who 3 bet to 16K. The original raise was to 6100, so it looked to me that he had a hand like AK, QQ, or JJ where he was just trying to find out where he was. So I went with my instinct and tried to tell him, I reraised to 55K. Button folded and you could tell he was sick. He had another 70K behind the 16K. He tanked forever, looking over at the clock and how many people were left. He finally announced all in and I beat him in the pot for fun. He almost threw up, until I showed my hand. Then he was genuinelly (sp??) mad at me. He stormed away from the table, even though the board didnt even give me a sweat. Going into the last level I had 200K playing 1500/3000. I was of course looking for a spot to trap the aggro kid and I got it. A decent nit opened from late and I smooth called with AQcc from the cutoff with intentions of inducing a squeeze from aggro kid. Aggro kid fell into the trap and made it 28K. First guy folded and accidently flipped his cards up (99). I was even happier seeing that, so now even if he had a small pair I had all my outs. I reraised the pot up to 93K. He quickly announced all in and I called. He tabled KK. I was so confident that I was going to win I did not even start to pack up. The flop was J107 giving me a gut shot to go with a live ace. The turn was a 9 giving me an open ender. But the dealer must have messed up because a 2 hit the river and I was out like that. Putting in 65bb with AQ seems like a marginal spot, but I dont mind it considering the kid behind me. But Eric rationalized it other way and said that I could have easily survived the next 30 minutes and got a redraw for day 4 where I most likely would have gotten a better seat. It is sound advice, and makes me hate the play now.

I will write a recap of Day 1 Bellagio Cup Main Event soon.

Justin "robert07" Young

Out of WSOP Main Event

I will do a hand break down of the days' events tommorrow, but I figured I'd let everyone know I didnt slump into a depression from bubbling another WSOP main. I tried to set up a squeeze situation for a supper aggro kid on my direct left when I just flatted a raise with AQcc. The kid I was setting up had KK. I am playing the Bellagio Main Event today. The days are pretty short so I hope to just make it through with slightly better than starting stack.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 2 WSOP

I loved my day 2 draw. There were two players capable of bluffing more than one street and the rest were just looking to play ABC style poker. I began opening and C betting much more than I usually do. I was able to chip up with out much headache. I raised on the button with 3d2d and the SB 3 bet me. It was the first time he had done so all day so I put him on a huge hand. I called and the flop was Ad7c7h. He bet like 1/3 pot. I felt like he had AK or a hand I could easily get to lay down, so I called. Turn was the Jd, actually giving me a flush draw. He checked and I bet 1/3 pot thinking he has to lay down everything but AK. He did and I of course showed the bluff. I was on the right side of a cooler with middle set vs top and bottom on a J52 board. The pot put me around 140K when our table broke. The new table had Chris "bushman" on my left which I didnt like, but it looked like a fun table. There were a bunch of nits and a few guys that would bluff with no real plan. I knew it would have more volitility, but I also knew I could end up with 300K if things went right. A guy who I had pegged as the 2nd biggest nit at the table opened to 2200 at 400/800. I looked down at KK and made it 6500. A fishy guy decides to flat from the SB and the nit insta makes it 22200. I know I am supposed to fold. I was already fine with being wrong, but then the what ifs started. And I began to talk myself into it. So I ended up making a horrific raise all in. Fish folded and the nit of course had AA. I flopped a flush draw, but I got what I deserved when AA held up and I was down to 65K. I followed it up with turning a flopped set into a bluff for no reason and falling under 50K. I took the break to reorganize my thoughts and layout the plan for the last level. I still had just under 50BB and was essentially freaking out over nothing. I made a couple of semi bluffs against stacks I felt really wanted to make day 3 and then I busted a short stack with 1010 vs QJhh to put me over 90K. Then I raised to 2500 with A4hh from the cutoff and both blinds called. The flop was 10h8h6c. The SB, who was the biggest nit at the table bet full pot 8K. BB folded and I had a decision. I felt like he had A10, JJ, or even QQ in this spot leaving me 9 to 12 outs. I also felt like he would lay down A10 and JJ if I raised and represented a huge over pair. So I made it 25K total. He quickly moved all in for another 15K making it over a 85K pot. He turned over 88 for middle set, and my hopeful 12 outer turned into a 8 outer with him having the redraw. The 7h hit the turn and now I had to fade. The river was a black Q and I was up over 130K. With the newly found stack and a table full of guys looking to make day 3, I opened my game up. I opened about 1/3 of the time and managed to push my stack near 150K without even seeing a flop. Day 3 is Friday and I will be doing research on my table tonite.

Justin "robert07" Young

Morgan's Bday

We had an absolute blast yesterday for Morgan's birthday. Morgan and I went to the grocery strore to get what we thought would be way too much food. We got beef terriaki (sp?), salmon, hamburgers, potato salad, fries, zucchini, asparagus, and I made a huge batch of guacamole. Shannon, Katz, Chuck, Jesse, and Nate all showed up around 230. We drank by the pool coming up with random prop bets of which Jesse was the big loser. Cody and his brother Shaun came over and we decided to go to the park and play croquet. We all had to hop a fence, but we got to a very nice baseball field in order to play. Katz, Morgan and I were the only team not to win, but I blame it on there being no croquet in New Jersey. We came back to the house where Mary and Renee met us. I proceeded to cook for everyone. I actually did not have any of the food so I dont know how good it was, but it was all gone outside of a piece of salmon and 1/4 of a zucchini. We went on to finally use our fire pit and make smores. All in all it was a terrific day. I am sure we will be well rested for today's day 2 of the WSOP.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 1 WSOP

The day started out pretty poor for me, on the fifth hand I raised a limped pot out of the blinds with AQdd. The flop was AA3 with two hearts. I bet out 25% pot only to have the SB raise big to 2500. I thought a three bet was correct instead of just calling him down. So I made it 7200. He eventually ripped and I laid down AQ. It is a very margainal spot and in this tourny there is no reason to stick it in. I lost a combo draw soon after that to put me down below 15K (starting stack 30K). At the very end of the level I got paid of on three streets with a set of fives. The pot put me over 27K. A younger kid raised in middle and I called with 7c4c. The SB a middle aged man 3 bet the pot. With everyone so deep I call a lot of 3 bets with suited connecters. Especially when it coming from the blinds and from a player without the capability of doing it light. His range is so polarized that I would be ok with calling it with almost any 2 cards under a 9. The flop was J82 all clubs and the SB led half pot. I raised tiny hoping he would think he had fold equity if he pushed. He did, but it didnt matter as he had top set and we were getting it in no matter what. My hand held and the pot put me over 55K. I continued to call 3 bets for the rest of the night. My success was margainal, but the whole reason I do is for hands like this one. It allows you to built chips in a hurry and it also puts a little bit of fear into the average poker player knowing I will do it with any two cards. I picked up my aggression towards the end of the night and managed to chip up to 76,300 without much resistance. Day 2 is Wednesday.
Today is Morgan's Bday so I will be at her beck and call for the remainder of the day. She deserves to have some fun after putting up with me for the last 6 weeks.

Justin "robert07" Young

Bellagio Prelims and Fourth of July Weekend

Morgan and I decided to stay on the stip over 4th of July weekend. We both enjoy the fireworks, but the traffic and the crowds are unbearable. I played the Bellagio 1500 on the day we checked in and despite feeling and playing pretty well I was caught in a couple bad hands to end my day. I raised with 76ss from middle, button and BB called. Flop was K75 with two spades. I bet about half pot, looking for a raise so I could 3 bet rip. The button just called and the 8d hit the turn giving me an open ender to go along with my pair and flush draw. I bet enough to pot committ myself if he shoved, and he did. He showed KK for top set. The river somehow missed me and I was down to 25BB. I really like how the guy with KK played his hand, not that it matters too much with what I had. But even if I had air I woulda fired the turn, meaning he woulda got max value from his hand. The very next hand I raised some limpers with AKdd. UTG raised enough to put me in and he showed QQ. I lost the race. We meet up with Katz, Michelle, Shannon, and Chuck for dinner at the Wynn. Dinner was very good and I managed to dodge the flip for the check. We continued to have drinks till bed time.
On the fourth I opted out of the Rehab experience due to a small cold and little desire to sit in the sun all day. I played the Bellagio, after a lovely brunch with Morgan. It didnt last long, as I called in a multi way raised pot with 2c3c. The flop was great 4s5s6d. I c'raised enough to pot committ myself in this already large pot. I was hoping to convey a combo draw and get action from an overpair. I did just that as JsJh got it in with me. The man with the JJ stormed off thinking he was drawing dead, but the Qs hit the turn then the 8s gave him the winning flush. He had me covered and I was out the door. I still dont know if he ever came back to see his chipstack. I proceeded to put in a cash game session till dinner time. We went over to a cookout at Zach, Marco, and Evan's place. Everyone was pretty hammered so we said our hellos and good byes inside of a hour. Traffic was horrible getting back to the strip, but we did get to see the fireworks pretty well from the car. Morgan and I played BJ and roulette the rest of the night for some free drinks. We ended the night with room service and a good night sleep.
My main event is today. We will be playing 5 two hour levels. Updates coming tom.

Justin "robert07" Young

5K Shorthanded

The field somehow ballooned to over 900 people for this 5K event. I am excited for any shorthanded event, but 1st place was getting over 1M. My table was suprisingly soft and despite getting bluffed out of a huge pot and being down to 9K (starting stack 15K) early, I ended up with about 30K at the first break. My table got progressively worse as the weaker players started to bust. I could never really get above 35K despite feeling like I was playing well. After 2nd break I started to 3 bet the medium stacks a bunch to get up to about 33K, then I opened with AKo UTG. The SB just ripped 33BB (19K) and I of course called. He showed 99 and he won the race without a sweat. I doubled up shortly after with AJ on a AJ8 board vs J8 to put me about where I was. Then I raised UTG with 88 and "Jesus" called me out of the BB. The flop was 1098 and he checked. I bet 60% pot and he raised 3x. I was scared that I was beat on that baord, but there was no other line I could take that made sense, so I shoved. He called quickly and showed 1010 for a bigger set. I needed the 8d, but only got a tease as the 9d hit the river.
My niece is in town, so I wont be playing much poker till Friday.

Justin "robert07" Young