Back In Business

My self imposed exile from playing poker ended last night and I began where I left off.

I played in the Inside Edge Poker God Freeroll and didn't do well. I was ousted by a ridiculous player who was calling with rubbish and getting lucky.

With my recent wins coming via the sit-and-go tournaments on Bet365 I decided that my next port of call would be in a $5 15 seater.

I was winning and losing hands and was in seventh position out of the remaining eight and needed to double up. The opportunity came when I was dealt a pair of jacks.

I went all-in and the chip leader called it. He turned over a pair of aces and I raised my eyes to heaven knowing what was coming next.

Or so I thought.

A jack arrived on the river card which not only saved my tournament life but it also made me tournament leader.

I decided to tighten up at that point to ensure I finished in the top three.

After an hour of play it ended up with me against the player I had beat with three jacks. We were in heads-up play for about quarter of an hour with each of us taking considerable leads and then throwing it away.

I managed to win 14,000 from the pot when I made a straight with a flush draw on the board. My rival must have thought I was bluffing with my massive bet on the river and when he called me I was wondering whether he had hit a flush and was about to rid me of the big stack I had accumulated.

His cards weren't as good as mine and the chip ratio was almost 3:1. I then needed to wrest the remaining 4,000 chips from him. My plan became easier when I was dealt a pair of aces.

I had realised that the opponent would raise me when I called playing as the small blind. I decided that - instead of playing the aces strongly - I would match his big blind bet and see if he raised me as he had done in previous hands. The player fell for my trap as he went all-in after my call.

He turned over a queen and six of hearts and nothing came out on the board to save him. I walked away with another $37.50 and a record of three consecutive wins at these kinds of games.

I think the time away did some good. I have decided that I may wait until Thursday for my next game which will be a qualifier for the Luton Christmas Cracker which will be held at the Grosvenor. Last month's issue of Poker Player had information on a freeroll tournament that gives the top five finsihers a place at the event courtesy of Blue Square Poker.