A Night Out

To the Grosvenor at Junction 10 for the £30 Treble-Chance Freezeout tourney. Plenty of runners and a £1000 first prize. After three hours I went out calling all-in with KQs against Ace-rag. It was half past midnight and half the field were still there, so, two hours later, I'm sure they're still playing. That's the trouble with normal tourneys - they take a long time. I don't like the two hours that are virtually wasted at the start of a rebuy tournament, and this tourney was just as bad - registration closed at 9.15 but by 11pm absolutely no-one had been knocked out. I know most people (me included) want some entertainment for their £30 but this is crazy.

Anyway, I was reasonably happy with my play. Early on a girl called Kelly won a pot with KK and the next hand I raised all-in in front of her with TT and she called. Yup, she had kings again and I used up one of my chances. Undeterred, soon after I raised with 58s, flopped the flush and showed my cards. I made the break with average chips.

Gradually things got more lively. My end of the table was quiet and full of rocks, but at the other end there was one aggressive player, who was joined by another and then another as people were moved between tables. A couple of times before the break I chickened out a bit, in situations that online I would've bet. But no damage done.

The third of the three was a very good loose player. Just after he arrived, low stacked, he pushed all-in with a gutshot, and the guy who called him wasn't best pleased when the magic card came on the river. After that Mr Loose took the table by storm - he had the gift of the gab and took full advantage. In one hand I had pocket fours and bet postflop even though I didn't connect - the girl and Mr Loose called. The I bet again and Mr Loose called again. This reminded me of a recent hand in The Open, where I'd eventually called all-in with 44 and I was right - the other guy was bluffing with an ace. But this time I just couldn't go through with it.

Anyway, I was grinding pretty well and maybe avoiding risks would've seen me into the money. Dunno. I do know that I played okay and I'm looking forward to going back soon.