I run good

No really I do :-). 2007 has got off to a very good start!! Its only 5 days old and already I've pocketed $10k in winnings. On Jan 2nd I finished 2nd in the Stars $20 rebuy for $7.3k and yesterday I finished 2nd in Stars $10 rebuy for $2.7k. If only I could play HU :-(.

The $20 rebuy with 550 runners was a bit of an afterthought. I'd just been donked with AK v AJ in the Crypto £8k in a pot for the chip lead with 16 left so I went and watched a bit of the cricket thinking my poker playing was done for the night, however at 1.50am I decided to go and play the $100k GTD and $20 rebuy on Stars. I lasted about 20mins in the $100k when I 3-bet allin on the turn with a open-ended straight flush draw..the other guy was never passing his full house :-). At that point I was pissed off and ready to give up on the $20 rebuy but instead I decided to start hammering the allin button and managed to build up a healthy stack before losing it all in a 40k pot with QQ v KK 5mins before the end of rebuys. I did the double rebuy and won a pot and with my top up I was on 7k. Below average but whenever I finish the rebuy with a lot of chips I donk them off quickly so I wasn't overly concerned.

I battled away for a couple of hours slowly building my stack but seeing no hands when I decided to call a re-raise all in with JTs for no reason other than I was bored (it was for 10k of my 25k stack). That left me short again and it was a case of allin or fold. I don't really remember any big hands but I must have accumulated chips somehow. My table was very passive (either that or they were shit scared to reraise me after seeing me call with J high :-)) and I was able to get virtually every raise through uncontested.

When we reached the final three tables I decided it was time to waken myself up when I looked at the $12k payout for winning. So I went and made two cups of coffee and zoned myself in. With 11 remaining I was one of the chip leaders and cruising with 465k when a sick hand came up. Blinds 10k/20k and I make it 80k on the button. BB thinks for an age before pushing for 300k. I pass AK almost never and I wasn't passing now, the re-raiser was one of the more active players at the table and I felt his pushing range there included Ax and possibly KQ, KJ as well as any pair and possibly even air. I call and he flips 99 and holds. I'd just lost a race a couple of hands previously with A9s v a shortstacks 55 so I thought my old habit of losing the races that really matter was coming back to haunt me.

I'm down to 165k and two hands later I find AQ and jam, the guy who has just done me with 99 insta calls with KK but I flop trips Queens and its game on again. Thankfully it wasn't my table which was broken when we went to FT as the player to my left was very passive and folded her BB to my raise every time. She didn't just fold, she did it quickly :-). I was still relatively short for most of the FT and eventually I had to make a stand with 66 with 6 left, I re-raise allin knowing that I'm getting a call but I was happy to race as I was down to 7BBs at the time he calls with AQ and one time I hold. I then hit a rush as the chip leader doubles me with AK v AQ and AK v AJ twice in quick succesion.

The next key hand I had was 3-handed when I lost a race with QJ0 v shortstacks 55. I win that I go HU with a 2-1 chip lead and I'd have fancied my chances of closing it out from there. As it happens the other guy eventually accounted for the shortstack and I had a 3-1 deficit when I got to HU and I eventually got it allin with A2 v A7 and 7 on flop sealed my fate.

In the $10 rebuy with 450runners again I failed to get a decent stack during the rebuy period and I compounded that by forgetting to addon and thus ended up with a paltry 4400. I never really had a stack worthy of the name at any point and after losing a couple of pots I was left with only 11k with blinds at 800/1600. I get K4o utg and push (can't let blinds pass through). Its folded to the BB who is playing only 9k, he calls with 88 and I lose. This leaves me with just under 2k as we go on a break (blinds 1k/2k on the restart). I've basically given up and i'm busy reading forums when the table pops up and I've got T7o in my BB and I'm up against A8. I hit my 7 to double up and next hand its folded to my in SB with J7o, I push and BB calls with KT and I hit my J and I'm now back to where I was before. The very next hand I'm on the button and have JJ, theres a raise before me and I push allin and get called by 77 and I hold and now have 26k :-). Golden!!

From that point on I led a charmed life. I've never won so many races in my life and managed to build a proper stack by the time we were down to 2 tables. I continued to run good on the FT and we were down to 3 handed when the shortstack starts mumbling something about a deal. I'm chip leader at the time and have no interest. He then jams on my BB and I call with A8s, he has QJs and hits. Very next hand he jams again and I hold QQ and beat him into the pot. I hold and now have a 2-1 chip lead HU. I was very confident of winning here but I blew it :-(. I didn't play particularly well HU and although I hit nothing at all I made a couple of dodgy calls/plays and allowed him to gain the initiative. He then had the 2-1 lead and the final hand was a bit of a sickener. I flop and open ended straight draw and check raise the flop which he calls. Turn gives me my straight and I lead and he jams, I call and he turns over the straight with the flush draw and hit on the river :-(.

All in all it has been a decent start to 2007. I'm feeling confident and playing well and shrugging off the beats (always easier to do after a nice result). Hopefully this continues in the coming months :-)