So I've been playing tournaments the past couple Sundays both to try to win a seat to the main event and to gain some more tournament experience in general to prep for the WSOP. I know most people think tournaments are the devil but I've actually enjoyed playing them. That's probably because I've done fairly well in them relatively speaking, cashing something like 4/18. Certainly I'd probably have a different opinion if I was 0/18 as probably isnt too uncommon a run to have.

But it's nice to sit down on a Sunday and know that I don't really have to be on my A game at all times to do well since there are just so many recreational players that at any given time I'm almost guaranteed to be in the top 25% of players in the field which isn't always the case in a tough 3/6 lineup. Also theres something to be said for the hope of a big score... it almost takes me back to when I first started playing and every dollar won/lost was just so meaningful. At this point I've just become almost numb to the swings from cash games to the point where a big upswing is only slightly gratifying.

Contrast that to the 150 seat main event guarantee on Full Tilt yesterday. It was the last time I was shooting for a tourney seat before I was gonna break down and sell some of my action. I had busted out of the Stars tourney with AA < QQ fairly early on and busted out of the Full Tilt freeroll 33/4000 (lol freerolls only paying out top 10 spots). I don't know if I've been as happy to see a flop in a long time as when we were down to the last 300 players or so and I shoved Q7hh as a 12bb stack from the cutoff and got called by JJ from the bb and saw Qx 8h 4h on the flop. Or had my heart beat as fast as it did when we were down to the last 180 or so and my stack was dwindling so I shoved 57s sb vs bb and just praying that the bb folded which he did. Or getting a walk in the bb with 170 left locking me up with a big enough stack to just wait out the smaller ones to bust.

The prize was "only" 12k but I don't think I've ever been that excited to make 12k before and I've had a handful of 10k days from cash games. Just overall a gratifying feeling to have "won" which you don't really get playing cash. Makes me look forward to the WSOP and I just hope I can make a decent showing in the couple events I play in.

Somewhat interesting hand that I didn't play but someone else did and shows how terribad tourney players can be. About 200 players left button limps and has close to 100k which at this point is probably close to 20bb's. He's probably in the top 40 or so in chips and a fair lock to make the top 153 which pay out the prize. Fairly big stacks left in the blinds, the sb covers him and has over 200k chips and the big blind is fairly large stacked as well. The huge stack shoves from the sb and bb folds. Button doesn't even think for a second and instacalls AJs for his tournament life. I mean theres really no hand except maybe AA that you should even think about limp calling there... it's just so bad to risk your tournament life with a hand that only has probably 60-65% equity maybe vs a shoving range. SB probably thought on that level so he ended up shoving A10 and luckily for button he held. It's just mind boggling with that much money on the line people still don't have the vaguest idea that your calling off your stack range has to be so super nutted because of the risk/reward. Unfortunately after that I had to tighten up my own shoving range a great deal with this guy to act behind me because who knows what he mightve called me with. Definitely something interested though with the prize payout being the same for the top 153 that it definitely was the case where it would be correct to fold AA in a lot of spots facing a shove from a bigger stack.

Alight enough tournament talk. I'll leave you with an updated pic of the front of my house. The beautiful port a potty is still prominent and has a prominent odor as well.