Fate and some KO's

Yesterday I got into a somewhat lengty discussion on the differences in fun factor/monetary rewards between MTT's, SNG's, and cash games. The quick version is that SNG's are the easiest/most boring way to go from a little knowledge with a bankroll. MTT's have the most dead money and the most fun, but have the highest variance as you really don't make money until you hit that big score. Cash games have the steadiest money, but also the best players, you never get that big score, and aren't as fun.

So, I get home and am promptly reminded that my fiance and our two oldest children were off for horseback riding lessons. So it's just me and the baby. Oh, and the baby hasn't taken a nap all day and just finished eating. So I sit down to watch a CR video and rock Dom to sleep, and low and behold, they kicked off a new MTT series where DamnRinger is going to build a roll from $50 playing MTT's. I start watching it and he loads up on $3 KO tourneys, which I have always thought were incredably soft, so I am excited. When Dom falls asleep, I take this as a sign. The're turbo's. I am alone, and the baby is asleep. How can this not be a sign that I need to fire up some turbo KO's? I can't play cash (I yell to much).

So I fire up 4 tourneys while I watch the rest of the video and hold the sleeping baby. If you aren't a parent, then you might not know, but babies have a really bad habit of waking up cranky if you set them down while sleeping, and I have no intention of messing with the baby gods and tempting fate (who is on my side, right?) by putting the baby in his rocker. I tile the tables. 3 of them are going along with nothing happening. On the fourth someone shoves when I have AA. I call and they show Q6. Fate is loving me! A short while later I see an open raise to my KK on the table where I doubled up. I raise, they call, the flop is mono Q high and I have the K high redraw. They shove and I snap it of thinking I am going to to have a big stack so I can steal! They show AQ with the redraw (CRAP), and the turn is an A. Damn. Back to a starting stack on all 4 tables.

Now, the blinds are starging to get a bit high, so I am looking for good spots. No one is folding pre-flop, or post flop really, so I am looking for showdown hands. I have 14BB's on my first table, and there is a limper and a shortie shove and I have AKs. No way I am going to find a better spot than this. A chance at some dead money and a KO. I shove, and the original limper calls. So, as long as I beat the original limper, I am going to come out ahead, and if I beat both it will be close to a triple up and a decent stack. They turn over 77 (original limper) and TT, so I am flipping. And a beautiful K hits on the flop. Like I said, fate is with me tonight. I got this one in the bag. The turn is a 7. Down to 3.

A short while later, I get AQ and open from MP. The flop is A high, so I c-bet and the BB shoves on me. I snippity snap and get called by A5. I'm dancing a little jig. Fate LOVES me. This fool is drawing to running 5's or running Diamond's. Shit. I hate diamonds. Really. Hate. Diamonds. Down to 2.

So now I have two tables where I am shortish and I have 1 knock out. But fate is on my side. The signs are there. Just keep looking for good spots. I have 64s on the button and it folds to me. Down to 6BB's on this table, so shove it is. I get snapped off by K7, but the flop bring is 448, so I double up! Fate loves me and I now have a decent stack on one table. Then I have TT in the big blind. A tightish player opens from MP. I flat with the intention of shoving any flop without an A or KQJ. I figure a stop and go is a little better than a flip (cause this player is tight, right?) The flop? T63. Yeah, Fate loves me. Pot size bet left, so no need to make a move. MP shoves, and I snap it off. A6. So, as long as it isn't running Aces or spades, I am good. Shit. I hate spades. REALLY. HATE. SPADES. Down to 1. Fate, why do you taunt me so?

Now I am down to 1 table, and this table just sucks. I haven't had a hand yet. I stole the blinds once so far, but I am seriously short, 4BB's, and I have one aggro donk on my left and one on my right. Both have monster stacks and are calling absurdly light. I have 2 KO's so far and have 3 hands till the blinds cripple me. So there went half a buy in. I am looking for any reason what so ever to get my money in. And the aggro donk on my right folds. I have 22. Yeah, that would be enough of a reason for me. The other aggro donk folds. HOLY CRAP! I have a shot at stealing the blinds. LOL, yeah right. I get cold called by someone with 12 BB's. GOD DAMN IT! At least shove and protect my hand! Nah, the SB shoves over the top and 12BB calls. They turn over TT and QQ. Well, I am out. I never suck out, so there is half a buy in wasted. Fate. We need to have a talk. I flop a 2. Whatever. The turn will be a Q or T. No? Well, then the river. No. Really? No? I just sucked out? I am to awe struck to do a happy dance (which is probably good because I would wake the baby). Fate, you with me now, or is this just more torture?

I now have a small stack, but enough to get to the final table (and cash). I'm not going to play anything unless I have a clear edge. So I am now in Kurt's Zen fold pay attention mode. Folding away. Down to 15 players. Fold, fold. 14. J3 in the BB, so getting ready for zen fold, but it gets limped and is a 3 way pot. J53 with 2 diamonds. I lead for pot and get a caller. Turn is a diamond. I really hate diamonds, but my hand is to strong to consider folding this short. So I shove and hope. And get called. Hope dies a little. Villan turns over A5 with no redraw, so as long as I can avoid a 5 outer, I am going to have a medium stack! Holy crap, I have a medium stack and another KO! Come one fate. Work with me! Now I have a good stack, but both aggro donks have me covered and there are a bunch of shorties. So back to zen folding mode. Then it happens. 25 minutes till break. And Dom wakes up.

For those of you who don't have kids, let me give you a little baby education. You see, when a baby takes a nap after eating, they pee. Now, when they wake up they have a wet diaper, are groggy, and really don't know what they want. Now, Moms will tell you that you need to change the daiper right away (ya know, avoid diaper rash and keep the baby comfortable/happy) and Dads will tell you that when Mom is around. the truth is that most times the diaper isn't full, and they baby is OK if for some reason you can't change their diaper right away, but they'll be a little more cranky than usual (I love you honey!). Which means that Dom is now playing one of his favorite games. Daddy stand and bounce.

So now I am in Daddy stand and bounce Kurt's zen fold pay attention mode. I never realized how hard it was to hit a mouse button in my life. 13. Go hurry up break. 12. Oh, great, he's hungry to. 11. Fate, I no longer like you. You can kiss my arse. 10. 86s in the BB. 3BB stack shoves. Getting ready for Zen fold baby bounce. Everyone else folds. I am getting close to 3 to 1, and if I loose it won't hurt my chip position. Yeah, I called with 8 high. Such a nit! Is that an 8? Why yes it is. Do I hold? Why yes I do. Not only did I just make the final table, but I got another KO, and we will be rearanging the tables, which is GREAT for me, cause my spot SUCKS BALLS!

Now, we get to the final table, and the two aggro donks have 45K and 55K. Another player, who is decently tight, has 40K. There are 3 shorties and 2 other mid stacks. So, Aggro donk with the big stack? Yeah, he is seated to my right again. And to my left? Shortie and Aggro donk 2. So my table dynamic hasn't improved much. The 3 shorties mean zen fold mode for me, and it would be criminal for me to get knocked out without a BIG edge with such big pay jumps. I need 6th to break even, and I can easily fold to that. Shorty out. Then the 4th place stack decides to try outplaying aggro donk on my right. Yeah, he did just call your open with T8o, and yes, he did hit second pair. And yes, he did just call you down. And yes, you did just get knocked out with 15BB's while 2 players have 3. Thank you for the pay bump. The other shorties fall, along with the other mid stack.

We are now down to 4 players. Aggro donk on my right has 110K. Aggro donk on my left has 80K. Tighty has 65K, and I have 30K. The plus side? I can now punish the aggro donks, don't have to worry about chip position, and Fate is on my side! The bad new? I am the shorty, and Dom is now out of graggy cranky mode and into I wanna wiggle and play mode. At this point a funny thing happens. I start playing back. Tighty starts playing back. Aggro donks are now slowly bleading off chips as we aren't letting them min raise or limp steal any more and their not adjusting. Then a miricle happens. Aggro donk on my right disconnects in the middle of a big pot with Tighty. Super ninja diaper change mode on! As I race to get the diaper changed with Dom thinking this is fun play time (STOP SQUIRMING DAMN YOU!) I stop and think. Why is it that aggro donk type players all of the sudden loose their connection when they get played back at, then magically reappear when they have been forced to fold, only to come back on before the next hand gets to them and auto folds, then tell the other player how lucky they were for said disconnection?

So I now have bought some time, and we have 5 minutes till break. I build my stack up a bit, and it's break time. Dom gets snapped into his rocker, and I am OFF! Bottle ready, check. Set Dom up with bottle propped in his mouth so he can feed himself, check (did I mention I love you honey?). 2 minutes left. Bathroom, check. Drink, (cause I am a little thirtsy after 25 minutes of Daddy stand and bounce Kurt's zen fold pay attention game). Back with 30 seconds to spare. Dom is happy. And I get to sit down and actually be comfortable playing. Fate, you did that just to torment me, right? My first final table in forever, and you made damn good and sure I was way to preoccupied to enjoy it. But now it's on bitches. No more nit clinic. I got mad skillz. LOL, yeah right, as if skill really matters this deep in a Turbo. Balls baby, I got balls. And those do matter.

Me and tighty go to work bleeding the aggro donks. I am doing it shoveing pre-flop as I have 12BB's and restealing rocks. Tighty is bleading them post flop. We both build up slowly, and then I get 33 in the SB. 2 folds and I shove. I get called by AQs and win, dropping Aggro donk on my right to 8BB's and now have enough chips to play post flop. Tighty is playing a little to tight against me, so I can steal some of his blinds now. He three bets a little, but mostly leaves me alone. Aggro donk on my right got tight when he lost his stack, and we bled him out. Aggro donk on my left is now the target for me and tighty with 3 players to go, and he still has the chip lead! Well, had. Now he is the shorty. Now he is gone. It's me and tighty. He has a 2 to one chip lead. Now, I can honestly say I am glad that Tighty made it. Yeah, it would be much easier to beat aggro donk, but Tighty has my respect. He played a damn good final table. We go back and forth. At first he opens up a bit more than I suspect he would, then I adjust and play back. We get in with AT vs 77 and my 7's hold. So now I have the chip lead. 2 hands later I get it in with KQ vs. KJ. He hits a J, and then runner runner flush, just cause fate thinks its funny to remind me. Thanks fate. Really appreciate it. A few hands later I get it in with K2 against KQ, and lose. Can't really complain though. I got 6 KO's and second place, along with 2KO's in my other tourneys. Make $35. Overall, I say that was a good night. I still think it's funny that I found good situations in 3 tourneys and lost. I got it in bad in 1 and won. It was a blast though. So much more fun than cash.

I am now off to buy fate a present. I'm thinking something totally useless for her. Magic 8 ball? Yeah, that's about right.