Bleh...Pwnd in the Step 6

I finally played my Step 6 ticket on Poker Stars, but unfortunately the results were not so good. It was a 12-player tourney which started out with 2 tables of 6. I think I got a little bit of a crappy table draw as just through observation of the other table it seemed like play there was worse. In any case, through the first few levels, I was fairly active, opening often in late position as I normally would at a 6-handed table. I got re-raised a couple of times and had to fold. A couple of other times I re-raised other players' opens and got folds. In general I thought the play was pretty solid.

The first interesting hand I had came when I raised UTG with 88 and got called by the big blind. The flop came 554 with two diamonds and my c-bet got check-raised. Definitely not a great spot, but folding there is way too weak. On the other hand, not much reason to raise. I called and the turn came an offsuit deuce, a pretty big blank. The big blind checked. There was about 1700 chips in the pot, and a little bit more in the big blind's stack. It's pretty close between betting and checking there, I think. I'd like to price out a flush or straight draw if he has it...it's possible he'd fold TT/99. Even if he has random overs, I don't want to give him a free river. But it's also possible he has QQ or a boat and I don't want to stack myself. I ended up deciding on a check. The river came a non-diamond 3, giving a wheel to any hand with an A. He checked again and again I had a close decision, as it's tough for him to call a river shove with an overpair that's better than mine, and I don't think he'd check a boat or rivered straight to me. Finally I checked it back and he showed KQo, so I won that one, getting my stack up to 3750 or so from the starting stack of 3000.

A couple of orbits later, one player had already been eliminated. With blinds at 50/100, I opened to 275 with 99 from the CO, with my stack at around 3200. It folded to the big blind, with a stack about the size of mine, who re-raised to 800. This guy hadn't 3-b me yet, but he had 3-b I think three times at the table thus far. I had folded to a three-bet three times already. It's a pretty thin spot. I could force him to call off more than 2k more, so I certainly think I have fold equity if he is weak. I'd think his calling range is JJ+, AK snap-calling, TT, AQ probably timing down a bit and flipping a coin. The question is how wide his 3-betting range is. With over 1000 chips in the middle already and 33% vs. the snap-calling range, I don't have to be getting a fold that often to show a profit on a shove. I don't think calling is really a viable option 30 bbs deep. If I thought the table was full of donkeys that I could beat handily playing small pots, I would fold, but I decided here I had to go with it...so I shoved and got instacalled by the nuts ROR. I'm still not sure what I think of the play though. 99 is a little bit light to shove with that early. But if I'm folding 99 to a re-raise when I open from the cutoff it's just insanely exploitable as 99 is towards the very top end of my range for opening from that position. Oh well. The guy who stacked me went on to bubble the tourney so...eff that guy ROR.

So anyway, no Vegas for me this year. Thank God. Now I can avoid arr this tourney gheyness and get back to the cash game grind.

-BRUECHIPS