Outplayed

I finished in twenty-seventh place in a $5 tournament that consisted of over one thousand players last night.

I was awarded £39.93 for the placing. I was slightly disappointed as I had a feeling I could have went further but a bluff I made was called and it ended my night.

That one play was the worst I played all night, though.

There were two hands I played last night that I will never forget as it showed how mature I have become in the short time I have been paying poker.

Both hands involved me holding AA in the hole.

There was an all-in before I was to act. I was sitting in middle position so I thought it wold be best if I called it in the hope of luring more players into the pot.

No one else called the bet so it was just me and him. He turned over a pair of tens and another ten came out on the flop.

Luck was on my side as the community cards were full of spades so we both split the pot with a shared flush.

A number of hands later the same player made an all-in move again. I had aces - this time he had to lose.

As I was the small blind I had a choice to make. I either called the all-in or moved all-in myself. I still wanted to get as much out of the hand as I could and the opponent in the big blind had yet to make his call.

I thought it would be best if I moved all-in as well. The big blind would either fold with nothing or remember that I called with aces so would discount me having a good pair and make a call with whatever he had.

He was holding a pair of eights, the other player had an ace and a queen. Both players exited the game after I won the hand.