FT and the SFPT

After a 32 day absence, I hit the virtual felt again this morning for a 27 person SNG.  It didn't take long before the tournament was down to 18, and not much longer after that before I was put to my first big decision:

With pocket queens, I decided to slow-play and simply called the big blind.  There were two other players, and the flop came Ac/4c/Qh.  The first to act checked, and the second went all-in, putting me at risk.  I debated - they could have aces under, or a flush draw, but trip queens is a strong hand.  I decided to call, as did the other player in the hand (who was also at risk).

It ended up being a good play: the board ran out and I tripled up to over 5k.

It was down to six-handed when I made another move, doubling as the second-shortest stack when I moved in with K/J diamonds and a jack on the flop.  That too held, moving me into a solid third place (with a big gap between third and fourth).

That double was made against a player I dubbed "the pusher", who by that time was going all-in literally every hand.  It was obvious he was going to get caught, and eventually did.  The remaining five were probably as glad to see him go as I was; I know the player who knocked him out was, as he commented "about time".

Down to four-handed, I made a move again and briefly became the chip leader for a few hands.  That fact itself obviously doesn't mean much, but it did mean I was right in the thick of things. 

The short-stack was soon eliminated to make it a three-handed affair, with me in second place.  I  took a calculated risk against the player to my right, and got nailed: my club flush 9/5 under lost to his club flush, J/8 under. 

That made me the short stack by a huge margin, but then, a surprise: the player to my left made a move and was KO'd by the guy to my right.  The good: I was heads up.  The bad: he had me covered by 6:1 or better.

Time for the patented Tina Pagano All-Or-Nothing Strategy.  Before I knew it, I was running hot: K/Q diamonds led to a flush and a double, then K/J spades gave me a jack on the flop and another double.  The very next hand, I called from the big blind with pocket nines, got trips on the flop, shoved, was called, and it held.  All of a sudden, we were almost exactly even.

Things tightened up from there, and I eventually took a lead by getting more aggressive with middle pair bets resulting in folds.  My next all-in was the end: Kh/Jc, calling a push.  The other guy had 5c/6c, and it was a race, but the board ran out to trip 10s.  My king played, and that was that - my second straight 27 person win.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The 2013 SFPT season kicks off this Friday, with what (so far) is a seven person field.  If all goes well, this will be the last tournament with the old table; as Oscar and I are finalizing plans for the new table which we hope to build sometime after the Super Bowl.  Personally, I can't wait to get back to the felt - I'm riding pretty high after my Turning Stone experience, and I'm looking forward to hopefully bringing down a few titles in 2013.