Going for it

Working on the FTOPS... I continued with several attempts at getting into a satellite to the final by way of cheap satellites (counting the buyin in points or dollars). Almost, but not quite. More final tables but by then the blinds are so high (Turbo tournaments) that there isn't much play anymore, what brought me to the final table, just "all in or fold".

The worst of my bad beats was: Dealt AA in very first hand. And a player before me goes all in, yesss! Insta-call. But a player after me also calls, that worsens the odds. All in-guy has 44. I AA and last one QQ. OK, not too shabby. Flop and turn nothing special regarding draws. River Q and a split last place.

An interesting one: Everybody played carefully after the flop AA4, and I river a flush. Hopefully someone has a naked Ace or a pocket pair? Hell no, opponent slowplayed A4! I'm down to a third of the starting stack but I manage to turn it around (don't give up until it's over, a poker tournament is generally a zero sum game) up to finishing in third place. Of course another bad beat. 88 short stacked all in before the flop and the one caller has AQ, classic coin flip situation with overcards vs pair. Flop 9x9, good, good. Turn K, liking it, liking it. River another K making my two pair a counterfeit. My hand is then KK998 and opponent's KK99A. Any other cards than K, A or Q on the river would've kept me in the tournament. But you only remember the losses in great detail. My AJ against AK preflop and riverring a J soon fade from memory.

So, now I'm tired of trying to subsatellite into the Main Event. So my plan is this: To heck with trying to get in cheap. I've made it far in many of these tournaments.

The buy-in for the main event is $500. There are satellites for $100, meaning that one in five goes on from the satellite. So I'm gunning for the big satellite with many participants. You could play very passively and reach the top 20%. Strategy and tactics. There are many other tables where players can get knocked out, whereas if you play a five- or sixhanded Sit'n'Go where the winner goes on, you can't make any mistakes. So the big satellite it is. Wish me luck.

Oh, by the way. At the flea market this morning, I found and bought a Laughing Buddha figurine. Quoting from the Wikipedia link: "One belief surrounding the figure of Budai in popular folklore is that if a person is to rub his belly, it brings forth wealth, good luck, and prosperity."

I'm covering my bases with a Bible quote as well:

A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Proverbs 10:4

It even has more "oomph" in the King James version.

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.