anomaly16

Just back from the casino finishing 8th just out of the money :( Its my 2nd attempt at this event and 2nd final table so pretty pleased with how I played even if there was no payout this time.

As usual the play was pretty terrible early on. I ended up dealing and gave myself QQ, KK (hitting another K on flop) and AT (2 pairs on the flop) each winning a decent pot. I made a good fold of AK to AA without losing too much and reached the break with 9.7k chips. After the break I made another 2k then our table was broken up as the original 53 players went down to 30. A few hands into the new table (blinds 300-600) I'm dealt AA in late position. A shortstack ahead of me goes all-in for 1300. I managed to mess up my raise to 2000 and its taken as a call - button and SB join the pot. The flop comes AK8 all clubs... SB goes all-in for another 3000. I raise all-in and the button calls (obviously with flush!). Turn is a blank but I'm saved with a 2nd K on the river for the nut full house :) I can't even remember what the other 2 had. My stack dwindles down from 22k to 16.1k before we reach the final table.

Starting the final table I'm in 8th chip position... money for 6th and above. In the first couple of rounds I won 2 sets of blinds uncontested. I then get TT and made a decent raise and a stack shorter than me goes all-in. I'm committed and have to call to see his AA which holds up leaving me with 3 blinds (6.1k). I waited patiently but had to make a stand with Q9d in 1st position which is met by AQ on the BB and despite the Q on the flop its all over.

So, I didn't make any bad mistakes. In retrospect I probably should have played more aggressively after my AA win and tried to build a more comfortable position for the final table. I'll have to shed some of my instinct for plain survival at that stage of a tournament and make the most of any tight table image I've built.

Net loss : -£41 (-initial buyin - 2 rebuys - addon)