Fitz End of Month Game

I decided to play the Fitz end of month despite being undecided for most of the day, but the fact that I wanted to play even though I knew I probably shouldn't, decided it.

I was seated in Seat 1, Table 6 for the first few hours and the table was grand, a few familiar faces, a few decent Northern lads and a few random types. I won the first 2 pots for very small amounts, flopping a set of 4's in the first hand and raising and picking up the blinds only in the second hand with AQo. I wasn't doing an awful lot at this stage and the biggest pot I won before the break was when I raised with AQo to 425 at the 50-100 level with 2 limpers. All folded to the second limper who called. Flop comes Q54 with 2 diamonds, and there is a bet of 500 into me. The other guy in this pot is one of my favourite players to take chips off as he talks a good game - regularly - but doesn't play one. I raised him to 1750 and he called. Turn comes T, no flush on board and he checks. I duly go all in for about 2700, and he thinks and folds after a bit saying that he had a queen. That was a perfect example of how to leak away over 2k with a poor holding out of position.

Anyhow, I pick up a few more small pots before the break, mostly due to a lot of the tight play at the table, so at the break I have 7700. Not bad but not great. I have still not shown down a hand at this point. After the break I start of steady enough, winning a couple more small pots and I am around the 7.5k mark still when I decide to get creative with a call (100/200) with Q6d in the cutoff. BB checks his option (despite looking like raising at one point). Flop comes AdQs3d. Perfect thinks I. Obviously so did other players!!!! The BB bet 450, an EP limper raised to 1550 and it comes back to me. I have a few options here -

1. Fold - Not something I was considering really. Why else did I call if not to see a flop like that?
2. Call - The cautious me wanted to do this. The old me would have.
3. Raise - This is a better option in a more deepstacked situation. Raising here would pot commit anyhow.
4. Push - This is really the obvious one, and of course the one I went for.

So I pushed for a total of about 7.5k and the BB got out of the way quickly enough. The first raiser though had a good think and after a couple of minutes got the clock called on him (not by me I must add). He got the 30 second warning, the 15 second warning, the 10 second warning, the countdown from 5, and in true McGyver fashion he waited unti l second before making the fold. He showed what he folded and it was AJh. Didn't seem like the hand to go into the tank over to be honest, but there you go. He had about 9k back after his bet so it would have been for 2/3 of his remaining stack.

So I toddled along winning small pots and get to peak of 13k when I was moved table, and there were a few more faces on this table I was familiar with. The crucial hand on this table came when I had 88 UTG and decided to raise. This was after a couple of rounds of the table when I think I had played precisely 1 hand, and that was a battle of the blinds, which was split between myself and Reggie. Blinds 400-800 I raise to 2300 UTG. Kevin Fitzpatrick goes all in for 4500 and then another guy who was at my table all night before it broke, went all in for 5800. Folded back to me and I make the call after a small deliberation. I was happy when the showed AJ for Kevin, and AK for the other guy. Happy that was until the turn brought an A, and no help on the river meant I was back to around 6.5k. I worked my way back to around 10k with a few pushes and then t the 800-1500 level with the blinds approaching fast, UTG minraised and it came to me with KQs. Now I know this is a poor hand in a raised pot, but this guy was the type of player who minraises with a middling Ace because he 'thinks he should'.

I pushed anyhow, happy to either push him off it (calling was over 60% of his stack) or take an uneven race against Ax. I had less than 7BB and it was my BB in about 3 hands. He called with AT anyhow, ad neither of us connected so I was gone in around 24th.

Ah well. I thought I played well and considering I only got 3 pp's (44 twice, 88) and didn't see AK at all all night, I thought I did ok. I was disappointed though not to get further. Another night I would have folded the KQ and tried to pick a better spot, but there were a few shortish stacks so the chances of getting into a pot under favourable circumstances weren't great. I am going to miss the scalps tonight anyhow, and it will only be the 7th time this year I have not played on a Friday night. Maybe I should look for a life. I have only played on Saturday night 8 times though, so that isn't as damning a statistic.

Adios 'til next time.