Arghhhh live donkaments where am i going wrong? The last 5 £200+ comps iv played iv made day 2 of. So frustrating when the wheels fall off after all the hard work and the bloody hotel bills. Played the £300 at Walsall the other night and ill give a proper tournament report. I havent done one in ages so ill give it a shot.

Starting table was perfect, no-one i knew and just how i like it. Decided to cultivate a rocky image that worked for a long time. 7500 starting chips and 45 minute clock was lovely. No hands early doors but i dont like big hands early anyway tbh. Made two big moves, once squeezing a loose UTG opener and his buddy who flat called at 100/200 when opener made it 800 and was called before i made it 2400 on the button w Q8s. Once that got through i won a decent pot against some numpty i was sat next to. I limp the SB w 88. Flop comes 24Q rainsbow, we check it round (4-way). Turn is a 6 putting 2 flush draws out there and i bet out. This chap calls. River is a Queen and its a case of value betting him if he's decent of checking if he thinks im a moron. I decided on the levels of thinking front this guy was pretty low so i induced, he jammed, which was form more than i though, but i called obv and he mucked. Busted flush draw it is then sir. From there i was on 15k and played a huge pot an awkward pot a moment later. UTG+3 who was a decent looseish player raised to 600 and i elected to flat call w 88 again. Folded to button who is a an elderly lag who jimjams for 7k. UTG+3 folds reluctantly and it just feels like he has AK. I call, he does and now im crusing. Next level really put me in contention after i got the chip lead in a set over set coup. UTG limps (AA OR KK OBV) and i limp w 55 along with 2 others. Flop comes 235 2 spades and UTG leads, i raise, big stack raises me and UTG folds. I go into the tank for a while because this guy is oozing supreme confidence and he could have A4 so easy. Problem is i have a big stack still and blinds are only 150/300, i swear (i dont know why lol im a nit) i realistically considered passing this guy was SOOOOOOO confident when i got him talking. Never folding though tbh and in it goes, poor chap has 33 and its 40k baby. Chip leader yumyum.

Next level goes by quietly till this young chap wins a few very big pots and suddenly has 25k. I fancied taking him on tbh as soon as a decent opportunity arose. He raised to 3k from middle position and somehow he gave away that he was scared shitless. Dont know how, i think it was the speed and stupidness with which he responded to a discussion but for a smart guy it didnt make sense. I elected to call w 56s and take it off him later. Flop came down JJ7 and he led out as i expected him too. The bet was larger than i thought though, a full 6k. I cant rep a Jack versus him but i know he's weak. Call. Turn comes a 7. Now he checks and the plan all along was to bet. Betting when it Double pairs the board doesnt make sense to a thinking player and i was worried he would CR with a lot of air. I decided that the river was a place where i would most likely value bet my likely holding (im repping a pair 88-1010)and succeed in my bluff. So we check the turn. River is a deuce. He has 15k ish back and bets out 8k. Fuck! I still fancied i might get him to pass as after all its a rainbow board but didnt trust my instincts. I pussied and he showed my Q2. LOL wp sir. After that i got super busy but lost 68 to AA on a 57Q board for a 20k pot then a 25k pot w AJ v A10 and KQ. Then Ian woodley came to the table and the image was destroyed. Whe he greets me with "hello fish, you been getting away with murder on this table all night eh, ill teach you" it kind of shatters ur rocky persona. Nice guy though and enjoyed the rest of the evening. Made one mistake with 88 (again lol) when Ian raised pre, i flatted and he checked to me on a 5710 board. I checked behind like a tool but the K came on the turn and he took it. Finished the day with 25k ish.

Day 2 was a different kettle of fish, with blinds at 1k/2k 100 running ante i wasnt going to hang about and moved in twice o the trot before finding KK. I gave it some speech about how with 30k it was too much to move all-in pre and made it 8k, some xhappy said all-in and he was ul to get QQ at the time. Back up to 60k. Down to 2 tables i really fancied it, but i walked into big hands on 2 steal attempts, Being shown AK and QQ.

Then came the most critical hand of the tournament where i should really have trusted my instincts. Blinds are 1500/3000 and the Q2 player (who was a v.good player who i now respect a lot) limped on my BB from MP. (he had been limping a lot with marginal hands). The SB completed (scottish, big chips, very tricky and aggro from what id heard). I have Ad7d and check from the BB. Flop comes A102 rainbow. I lead out for 6.5k into 10k. Middle pos (MP) calls now Scotty raises to 20k. I smell a fucking great rat. I went in the tank for longer than ive ever thought about a hand. He doesnt know m8boy but guess presumes he isnt strong cos he didnt raise pre. He knows i fold all but 2 pair. And i knew it, but was worried about Joe (Q2) chap. The problem iv got is i know scotty is making a move. He is repping precisely 102. 3 of the aces are out im sure of it, with me and MP holding them, he probably had me slightly beat w A9/AJ. He doesnt play a set so fast on raised flop here with all the information he has. He probably slowplays A10 too in the immensely unlikely event he has the case ace. I ended up being too worried that MP had a bigger ace than me when fundamentally it doesnt matter. He cannot call a check raise and a push with anything less than A10. That mistake cost me dear. 2 more failed steal and we were into ram and jam territory. I wound 89 and with blinds @ 2k/4k/200A and only 35k i have a good argument for jamming, although maybe i should have paid more attention when Mr.Spenish Rock leant forward and started counting his chips. Insta called once, then again by a shorty lol. Up against AA and 55 and the flop brought a lot of hope, the 107 doorcards being super sexy. Sadly i bricked out but the damage was done earlier when i should have gone with it. Never mind. I spoke to Scotty later and he still tells me he had a set of 2's, even though someone i know saw his hand as he showed his mate (sitting behind him) and reliably informs me he had A4. Damn.
So close, no cigar.