Welcome Return

I flipped open the laptop with much trepidation last night, although feeling a bit more refreshed and (admittedly blind-faith) positive about poker. I thought I'd give an MTT or Sit-n-Go a go, and, on the basis of this (how I played and fared), would make the call on whether to go for it in the Betfred Ladies Poker Tour in Maidenhead on Saturday.

I was fortunate enough to find a 53-entry tourny; perfect size compared to Saturday's likely field, albeit with much quicker blinds and much shorter starting stack.

PKR has had a bit of a makeover recently; some of which I like (such as the chip graphs for all the players in the tournament and the 'bet half the pot' button, saving my brain from having to enter into any mathematical exercise, and saving me from my eternal struggle with the bet 'slider' without the benefit of mouse) - but some which seems to be a bit too much, like when Tony Hart used to have a really nice painting in front of him, but didn't know when to stop fiddling and then ruined it trying to be too clever.

Anyway, a couple of bluffs early doors got through, while everyone was still a bit cagey, but then I managed to lose a third of my stack when my ace hit on the river, completing my top 2 pair (AQ), only to realise the girl did have what I thought she did (a pair of 10s which had completed their set on the flop and housed on the turn when the 2nd 8 hit the board). I am going to take a positive that I was at least thinking about what she probably had and what she'd have called/checked with. I'd like to think if the A hadn't come on the end, and I only had the 2 pairs Qs and 8s with an A kicker, I'd have laid them down on that board with that kind of bet on the end, but if I'm honest with myself, I can't be 100% sure.

Then I went on a bit of a downward spiral just as the blinds and antes started to make a difference, not only to my stack but also to how people were playing.
I am not proud of this of course, but I actually managed to get down to $195 at one point and was all in blind in the big blind (with 7-2), just billgerantly and desperately clinging on and not just giving it up, throwing them in with J-4.
Happily, my 7-2 hit a 2 and another 2 on the turn and river, to suck out 3 other players, giving me some breathing space. I also somehow managed a walk the next time the big blind came round, which I wasn't going to pass up either.

Having built the stack back up again and with one massive swing hand where my Queens held up, I could then afford to pick on shorter stacks around me with big raises pre-flop or chunky C-bets, to pick up some lucrative blinds and antes, giving me more than enough to keep my head above water, while others got silly or had to push and pray.

I finally finished 5th of 53, relieved more than anything, but also rather chuffed with myself for actually managing to combine playing really rather thoughtfully and positively, yet aggressively enough when necessary, and equally properly stubbornly.

So that'll be a trip to Berkshire on Saturday then.