Binions, 2PM

Arrival: 2:25 Buy-in:100$ Starting Chips: 10k Blinds: 50/100
Field: 75/86 players, paying top 8

Well, I started out fairly sharp and observant. Took down a few pots once I figured out who would chase draws yet fold on the turn if they missed. Before the break I made a play on a relative short stack.

Blinds were 100/200. I raised to 1000 pre-flop from MP with K9s, small blind short stack only caller (about 3.5k behind). Flop comes 899. Checked to me, I make a small bet of 600, he calls. Turn comes blank, I make another bet of 600, he calls. River is a 10, he checks to me. I tank, and try to figure out how to get his last ~2000. I bet 1100, looking like a weak steal attempt. He goes all in with 77, I snap call to knock him out.

I make a good run after break as well, getting two players to call my 2500 bet preflop when I had KJ (was making moves on the small stacks). One calls with a weak ace, the other calls with Q9, and I flop two pair. Turn comes an A, and I fade the draws.

The streak continues for a few hands. And gets even better... for me to get bent over.

Because I've been playing so many hands and hitting, the players have to make stands, right? I raise a small amount pre-flop with KK, folded to the blind, who shoves, I snap-call. He's got JJ, and a big stack, he was third in chips at my table with around 13k, and I was sitting big at 30k. Well, he hits a jack on the turn and I do not recover.

A few hands later, I raise with AK under the gun, and a late position player calls me. Flop comes 5K7, I make what I hope to seem like a defensive bet (or perhaps I checked). He shoves, I call, he turns 88. The very next card is 8, and I'm drawing dead.

Lost almost my entire stack, but made two great plays, what can you do...

After that hand I was crippled to about 5BB and unable to recover. I go out on a JT bluff against a set of aces. Doh...

"If only..." but I left feeling very confident about my plays, I was reading my table well early on, made moves at the right time, and had the best hand when all the money went in, very strongly at times.