live tourney results...

took 11th place out of 46. I was quite happy with my play. Very first hand of the night, I was in the small blind in the middle of a limpfest, got to complete with 77 and flopped a set! However, the flop with 6 7 9 with 2 clubs so I needed to be careful. I decided to lead right out 2/3 pot and hope to thin the field. I was successful - got only one caller.

Turn came an ace - completing no draws, and I fired again - 2/3 pot. He gave it up, but it gave me a nice start.

3 plays at the end made up the balance of the tourney for me. If any one of them goes my way I think I slingshot into the money:

With an M about 9, I raise it up to 3x with AJo at a 6 handed table. A shortstack pushes all in for exactly double that amount, giving me exactly 2-1 odds to call. Figuring his range includes lots of pairs, I call. He turns over KK - which I almost have odds to call if I know his cards (28% AJ vs KK, need 33% for 2-1 odds). No Ace on the board so I lose that one.

A weak-tight player under the gun raises it up to 2x. He has some kind of hand. A decent player on the button calls - I've seen him play some suited connectors and speculative stuff recently, even though his stack/M doesn't warrant it. I check my cards from the small blind and see AKo. I shove, roughly doubling the pot. UTG calls, button folds - classic race JJ vs. my AK, The extra money in the pot makes this a great shove even though I lose the race.

Desperation time - my M is 4, I get AT UTG and shove. Someone calls - the same player who knocked me out last month (with me holding AT) BTW - I figure I'm dead to a bigger ace, but he shows KT. YES! Then a King comes on the flop - NO! - and I'm out of the tourney.

So there it is - 3 key plays, none of which go my way, but all three of which I made the correct poker play. In AJ/KK, I called an all-in as a big dog but with the correct pot odds to do so (when you consider the entire range of hands he could be shoving). JJ/AK I'm about 45% to win but only need somewhere around 40% because of the dead money in the pot, and in the last hand I got in as a huge favorite and got 3-outed.

Made up for the loss by winning a 9 man full tilt $30 last night, so there.