Many recaps (but short)

I'm sick. And I hate being sick. And, what's worse, I'm not sick enough to call in sick to work! I have a running nose and an oncoming cold, but I can't take the day off tomorrow. In fact, I have to be in super early, which means I'd better finish this up quick.

We had an Omaha game on Friday which I was really really looking forward to. The game was attendended by many good people and even Carol's friend E, who doesn't play but was game to look over my shoulder and figure out how this damn game worked while she quaffed a bottle of wine. From a distraction point of view, you shouldn't have a pretty girl looking over your shoulder while you play. It might throw off your game....

I had the monster pot of the night when I had 88 in my hand and the flop came 78T with two clubs. I led out and the betting got capped! Turns out that Tony had flopped a set of Tens, and two other people had flopped the nut straight! The turn is the most beautiful 8c in the world. It made me quads, Tony the nut boat and at least one person a high flush. More betting on the turn, although I didn't raise it up. The river was a high card, which put out the low draws and then I started betting it up. Tony, to his credit, didn't re-raise me. DQB!!! The pot had about $200 in it and I felt huge. But then, owing to certain pretty distractions (and my own stupid lack of concentration), I started playing every hand I had. Hey, 78T2 is a good hand, right? I mean the 78 are suited connectors!!! :-( By the end of the night, I had bought in for another $150 and cashed out for a crappy $60 for a net $210 loss. Yeesh that's bad. To be fair though, I lost at least two big pots on sucky 3 outers. For instance, PP, the ruckbox, called my raise when I had K5 in my hand and the flop came 55K. Paul, with KT and two rags, calls and sees the turn come with a Ten, giving him top two. Again, he calls my bet. The river is a King! I lead out, he raises and I'm all in with my last bet. He shows his higher runner runner boat and crushes my spirit. You hear that Paulie! You beat the fight out of me when you stay in with one pair on the flop in Omaha!!!

Sunday was the "second chance" tournament for the league. I was playing pretty well until I flopped two pair against Wendy's top pair, 9 kicker. When I led out on the flop and she min-raised me, I min-raised back, stupidly. She called and the turn made a flush AND straight draw! So when she checked to me, I checked and the river was a 9! She checked, I checked and her rivered two pair won, taking half my stack with it. I finally went down short stacked when I had AQ. I raised and Mary, to my immediate left, raised to 2000, which was just short of all in to me. Before I could call, Scott moved all in! Now I know he has me crushed, most likely, but I have no choice but to call. Mary, amazingly, also moves all in for more than I have! She has AJ and Scott has KK. In spite of being a 3-1 favorite, or higher, he wins. :-) He was already a big chip stack, but this put him up huge. He played fantastically well, finally going heads up with Wendy. Wendy, who had an online tournament starting at 6PM, offered to chop at the beginning of every single hand, with Scott rebuffing all advances. Finally, Scott had the upper hand with KQ vs. Wendy's all in Qc7c, but Wendy lucked out with the flush and pulled nearly even. Faced with the prospect of at least another 30 minutes of this, Scott finally agreed to split the money evenly. Wendy and Scott played the tourney together and managed to cash in the bottom rung out of 3300 players! Good job! They play well together online.

Tonight was a two tourney night. I played what I though was pretty good poker but I'll never live down the suckout I gave to Wendy. She was a shortish stack, though not short, and when I pushed with AJ and she went over the top all in for about twice what I bet, I felt obligated to call. I felt she would make that play with any two decent cards and I was only completely dominated by 5 hands. She had one of them, of course, showing AK, but a Jack flopped and I was able to stack her. That put me at a nice stack which I was able to ride all the way to the bubble boy spot where Eugene, a new player, got it all in against me. I had A9 and I thought he was making a move since he had just shown AJ one hand earlier. But I was dead wrong and he had AK. Once again, I pulled the suckout out of my hat and felted him in bubble position. This put me out front as the chipleader, but only barely. It was Drama, Alceste and myself in the money round and we decided on a cowardly 3 way money chop with me taking first place in the rankings. (YAY). The second tourney I couldn't play because I accidentally overbooked it, but Lisa, who took my spot, ended up chopping with Thomas with Drama taking first.

I'm signing off now. Sorry I couldn't go into more detail but I have to blow my sickly nose...