Morning all, its update time. Played 2 Sng's and 2 MTT's last night. 1st Sng $10 buy-in. I approached this SnG attempting to try a new style of play, ultra aggressvie once down to 5 players, in the hope of accumulating a mass of chips which would out me at an advantage once it wen heads up. I played tight early as ever, and picked up small pot after small pot, with a mix of plays. Once down to 5 however i had already highlighted who was tight enough to bluff. I raised every time in the cutoff or button 4 rounds in a row, and won the blinds every time. I then won another round of blinds from the button and decided i now had enough chips to drop down a gear, so i showed my 7,10o in the hope of getting action when i next raised with a legit hand. Very next hand i find AKs. I raise 3*BB, and BB goes all-in for another 3*BB. I call and he flips 22. Would he have called if i hadnt just shown the bluff? Anyways, his 22 holds, but im still a big chip leader. We get down to 4, and im about a joint chip leader with 6k. I raise UTG with AJs and the BB goes all-in for another 2k. I call and he flips 33, i win..down to 3. I switch back into aggressive mode as i know they are trying to get in the money, and i want to win :). I steal, steal again, then Raise with AJo on the button. BB has about 3/4 of my stack and goes all-in. Normally a lay-down but i think he's fighting back with inferior goods as he's pissed off with my steals. I call, he flips A,10. Of course a 10 comes on the turn and im crippled. Now i could wait here but clock says blinds going up in about 3 mins so i know i have to move as i only have 6*BB. I wait 2 hands and find 88. Someone raises my BB- bet they enjoyed that, i go all in and they flip AQ. A flops im out, big deal. Got my money in as a favourite twice, and lost twice.......its called gambling for a reason ;) I can honestly say i think that table was relieved to see the back of me. Raising people allthetime puts them under immense pressure and forces them to make mistakes in the heat of battle. I fucking loved it. 1st MTT. $8 with about 250 runners. I played good for a few hands, made some moves, then did something idiotic. With QQ UTG i raise 4*BB. BB was a fishy player. All fold and he calls. I should mention he has a huge stack. Flop comes AK3. Ok, now against anyone else iv ever played against in my life who knew how to play poker this hand is dead to 1 overcard, let alone 2. I check, he sets me all-in. Yuk- i should throw it away, but it looks like such a HUGE raise it might well be a bluff. I call (stupid twat i am) and he shows A,2 off. Yes i added him to my Ultimate Buddy list Straight Away. Fuck that ranks as a wank play. Ok 2nd SnG $15 and i decided to play my conventional ultra-tight game until i get into the money. Obv tight means i will still be stealing when the blinds get high :) I played well, and i can i point out here and now the QQ is NOT a genuine reraising hand. when 7 handed i get Aces round the back. UTG bets 3*BB, 1 limper, i raise to 8*BB, He thinks then goes all-in. The best he can hope for is that i have AK or AQ. Its a situation where i will only call if im beating him right. I call, win, no skill involved but hey, who gives a toss. When down to 4 i open up and begin the most fun part of the tournament, playing ultra-aggressive, re-raising the blind stealer- there was only 1 on this table, and generally letting it be known that i was the top dog here. I raise the BB (short-stack) , he goes all-in for about 1BB more, i call with K,7 and he shows Q,10. I win and he has the audacity to say "lucky". Excuse me mate, but a) you were a dog to my King. b) you allowed yourself to be literally robbed blind, and by the time you realised too late, you made a stand when you didnt have enough chips to push me off the pot odds. Cest la vie. down to 3. Blind structure and chip status mean i dont need to play a hand and can wait to get heads up. I get heads up against the 1 player who has my number. Button raises ensue, tit for tat between us. I lose a big pot with 66 all-in pre flop and double up his AJ. He raises my button for the upteenth time and i find A,7o. I decide to push as he is good enough to slow play and big hand knowing that i will come out betting on the flop if i hit anything. So i slide all-in. Bad move, he has A,9, im a dominated dog and lose. Still 2nd aint too bad and after playing god knows how many SnG's right now i reckon i can get in the top 3 at least 50% of the time. Its not that im any good, its just that the opposition is SOOOO bad. 2nd MTT of the evening, $3 entry for fun while im simultaneously reading a poker book and watching despo housewives.......guess i should keep quiet about that. I know what i have to do here and thats just wait for a premium and get paid by a mug. 3rd hand AA. Guy UTG pushes all-in, another calls, and another. OMG. I just know im gonna get outdrawn but i have to call. they flip, AK,AK,KK. Ok now i am a Monstrous favourite, and take down a huge pot. and i guess each and every player can justify their plays. Possibly in a big,big tournie i could lay down the AK call. 1st player is a guy i know who plays for fun and to him AKs looks like an ordnance survey map of his house detailing a vast oil reserve underneath the downstairs bathroom $$. I then proceed to hit flop after flop. A5h flop comes 3 hearts. Im utg, 1 player raises, 1 goes all-in and im there with the lovely dilemna of should i call with the absolute nuts. both have top pair top kicker (AK) and im there thinking, if you raise pre-flop, i wouldnt have played this shit. Ah well, turn comes a brick and they are drawing dead. no hands for a while but im in a good position so wait patiently. Aha, 10,10 in late position. UTG raises 4*BB, a healthy portion of his stack, probably AK,or QQ,JJ as he's got a little note next to his name that says will mix it up and limp/raise with monsters depending on position. 2 medium stacks call his raise. I call also. Bingo! A,10,7. Now this is where position is your best ally and you can really reap the rewards of patience, discipline and betting skill. Utg goes all-in, 1 caller, 1 folder. A,7 are clubs, but he is good and knows he's not getting the proper odds or a flush draw after Utg goes ai for a little under the pot. I put him on AQ with the Q clubs. So i decide to give him a little more rope. Turn comes Q. He checks, i bet 1/2 the pot, he goes all in and turns over two sevens for bottom set. Original raiser has AK and im sitting pretty when a brick rivers. That was HUGE pot that set me up for the rest of the tournie. Bubble approaches and i decide to be an asshole and raise every set of blinds i can in the last 3 positions with any 2 cards, as i can afford to. I win a ton more before overplaying AJ and doubling up a shorties AK. No bother, i still continue, and win when i flop 222 against BB's AA. He tried to trap me and then fell through his own pitfall and landed on his shit covered stakes. Serves the cocky git right :) Im looking good now, blinds are high, im a huge stack, then i change gear. I literally turn the engine off for about 10 minutes. The reason, my younger brother (17) has set off the intruder panic button and we have the police on their way to our house coupled with the most deafening alarm you will ever hear in your life. Im the only 1 in the house with a modicum of how to handle the situation so i give the security firm a bell, they check it out, give me a code, ring the police and the alarm goes off. I get back to my lappy and "suprise suprise" im at the final table. I get there just in time to see the small blind raise my big blind while im disconnected. My chip status is now much diminished, but it lloks as if these folks have never made it to the final table before EVER. Im in 9th position and let them go at it hammer and tongs. J,9o all-in against KJ call. Soon enough we are down to 4 and I HAVENT SEEN A FLOP. I went all-in to steal the blinds with 7,5s on the button once and that was it. I get dealt 77. I go all-in against chip leader with 60k against his 300k. He types something a bout getting a price (blinds are 15k) and calls with 9,3 off. My sevens hold. Next hand i play is AQs again with chip leader in BB. I go all-in he flips K,10o and hits the flop. He then types "sorry" which i hate but i win $70 or something. I dont mind, i beat AA with 22 in a biggish pot that gave me the chips i needed to steal my way to the final table. All in all a nice evening playing poker, albeit annoying about the alarm. Ill give you the tip of the day later, im off to lunch