Ok you little monkies.

My bankroll steadily rising we are now looking at a total of $73.88.

This is great news and very encouraging. I am winning the 6 handed tables (or at least cashing) more often than not. I spent about $15 the other night whilst tired playing multi table turbos. These for me represent way less value than the 6 seaters. In a 6 seater turbo i can sit and wait through the first few levels if i don't catch any cards. This allows the possibility of other players busting each other or enables me to catch people making mistakes. With the multi tables it just seems that my good hands have less chance of holding up in a full ring situation and other people seem to acquire much larger stacks faster, allowing them the "bully" moves.

I won that money back and a bit more coming 7th in a $4.40, 180 man tourney on Stars. I was very low at one point and tripled up when my shove from late position in an unopened pot was called and raised in the blinds. I was saying my goodbyes when i saw this action. I had Q7 of clubs, the sb had pocket 10's and the bb had AK spades. The flop came ace high with 2 clubs and i caught the third on the river. The very next hand i picked up aces and doubled up again to put me near the head of the field. Through good cards and funky moves i stayed there. I tangled with the chip leader who seemed to want to play every pot with me but i decimated his stack putting me in the lead. At the final table my 88 lost to 44 after he open shoved all in with a huge stack on the button. I knew it was a weak play and called - he flopped a 4. He made the same play again later and i called again with AQ spades and he showed pocket 9's. I was down to 10k. My final hand was against the most aggressive player at the table who had raised or was in almost every hand. Anyway i reraised all in with 99 and was called by his Kings which held.

Hey ho. I know that in normal circumstances i would have finished higher and was all in all very happy with my play.

Oh yeah. I was just thinking how i got short in the first place. I called a raise in the bb after the cutoff had raised and the button called w KJ diamonds. Flop all diamonds - 7 high. The original raiser moves all in the button calls - i move all in - he calls the tiny remainder. Turn 8 river 7. the original raiser mucks and the button shows 78 clubs for runner runner full house. Great play. I love the way these people can over value their flopped low pairs. He could be up against over prs, sets, straights and flushes but no! He thinks his 7, no kicker has got to be good.

Another thing i noticed was play by other big stacks. Say they raise a pot for 3 times the bb say to 1800 and a short stack moves all in for 8k, that is not, i don't think an auto call with any pair. 55 for example. I watched a guy in successive hands - raise call all in with 55 and lose to AK - raise and call an all in with AQ and lose to AK - raise - get reraised - then HE reraises - puts the other guy all in who eventually calls with 1010 - our guy loses with 66. stack?? decimated. I think someone said he lost 43k in those 3 hands. This is obviously an extreme example but some of the play was just hilarious.

I must admit it feels good to sit and laugh at this play aware of mistakes being made. I am basically sick of feeling knowledgeable about the game and not winning. I have taken measures to improve it and things are looking, and feeling pretty goooood