Day Two Dinner

I spent most of the round trying to come up with a good name for it.  The onion round.  The baby round.  Or just simply,  the round that makes you want to cry.  Turns out that it ended up being the most interesting round alive...

K9 suited in the big blind...  called a raise,  bluffed the flop I missed,  took it down.

AJ off in good position,  I raised and got a call.  I missed the flop we both checked,  then missed the turn...  but bet it anyway to take the pot down.

AQ under the gun...  big blind calls,  I get an ace on the flop followed by a fold.

Pretty good so far,  huh?

So I'm big blind and short stack from a middle position moves all in for 17,000... about half what I have left. Everyone else folds and it's on me with AK. He's been pretty conservative,  so I'm nervous to call as I would be behind against a pocket pair...  but I call because I have to. 

He has AJ off,  I'm 72% to win!  Flop comes little,  10, J.  Really?  Unbelievable.  C'mon queen...  the turn comes...  queen!  No,  it was another ten.  But I could get a queen on the river for my straight...  river comes...  queen!  No...  but I did get a king and take the hand down.  Knocked him out and I was sitting at about 58,000!

For like two hands...

So now I'm in the big blind and seat one raises...  shocking.  I three bet with queens and we go to the flop...  A 7 3 rainbow.  An ace?  Son of a...

So he bets 4,200 on a 12,000 pot and I consider my options.  I can't win,  so I bluff...  raise to 10,000! He came back over the top and I mucked em...  lost what I just won.

Ugh.

Why?

Then Came AQ off in the small blind...  I three bet the raise and missed the flop.  But I bet it anyway and took the pot down.

Then I have A10 suited in early position and raise...  and get three bet from the small blind.  I thought about folding figuring I am either outkicked or behind a pocket pair...  but I couldn't.  Flop comes 7h, As, 10s. Top two pair...  in position...  with a spade draw on the board.  He bets and I consider raising and taking it down...  but smooth call.  Turn is 4h, now there's a heart draw in addition to the spade draw...  even though I really don't think he's chasing hearts.

So with 15,000 in the pot,  he bets 8,400... I have 31,000 left.  Do I call,  raise,  or shove?  On the one hand,  I need to extract as much money as possible. On the other, there's 23,000 in the pot I need and I will lose it if I get rivered.

So I shoved...  screw it,  I was ahead and needed the pot...  if he was going to river me,  he was going to pay for it.  He thought long and hard,  then folded. Then I paid blinds for twenty minutes and left for dinner.

58,000 even at dinner break.

For the first two levels,  I was quite conservative,  and by round three had people believing me.  So in round three,  I made many bets people folded to,  and one bad bet I had to fold,  so I think I've  reversed the opinion on me at the table...  at least with some of the more aggressive players - seats  9, 1, and 2. If I can play the next couple rounds conservative, and if I can get a big hand,  I think I can get one of them to pay me off...