After two weeks off - the first time in like 3 years that I missed two weeks of poker in a row - we were back at my house. Short handed, it was a flip flop tournament where I also pulled it out after getting the rust off.

6. Me (rebuy)
5. Dave
4. Charlie
3. John
2. Johnny
- Me
1. Ryan

After losing a big hand with AQ, where Dave rivered two pair, Charlie got his money back when K10 made a straight against AK. Dave then flopped a set of Aces, checked it, John bet on the turn, Dave reraised all in and John called with a flush and straight draw. The straight came and John raked a monster pot.

I hold J10 in a small community pot. Flop comes 10,5,10. Johnny bets 400, everyone folds and I call. An A comes on the turn. I move all in and he calls with Q10. I’m outkicked and out of the tournament.

Then some of the flip flopping began. Charlie doubled up through Dave, Ryan doubles up through me and Dave’s QQ gets beat but Johnny’s AK. I end up doubling back up through Ryan when we both hit a pair of Queens but my Jack beats his 9.

Now with chips in front of me, I’m feeling good. So when John raises 3x the big blind and I see 67 suited, I decide to call. Usually, I never do this. But there are four players and I have chips. Flop comes 345. Wow. Now this is my kind of poker, flop the nuts and sit it out. There’s nothing more fun. I check the flop, of course, and he bets 1200. I call. Another club on the turn gives me a flush draw to do with my made hand and I check again. He bets 1200 and I raise all in. He calls with a flush draw and a a pair of 4’s. He made the preflop raise with 64. His outs don’t come and the once big stack is murdered. He went out soon after, to me of course.

Johnny gets busted when with a flop of 456 he and Ryan are both all in, Ryan with AA and and Johnny with 10,10. So then its me vs. Ryan and I have a monster stack. Things are going smoothly until with a board of KQ108, I hold 94, one of my favorite junk hands. For a second I think I have a straight (I don’t) but I bet like I do. Ryan thinks for a while and calls. River comes an 8 and Ryan says “I don’t have top pair.” I don’t know what that means but I figure the 8 doesn’t help him and if he doesnt have top pair, I’m going to pretend like I do. I move all in. He calls and holds A8. The river minted him and I lose about 80% of my stack.

After that, it wasn’t long before I was done. Then I lost $50 playing cash but I’d rather not talk about that.

Last week, I was in Tampa. This week, I’ll be in Syracuse. So I’ve missed out on poker. Don’t fret, I’ll be back Sept. 26.

While away, this happened.

9. John (rebuy)
8. Mike (rebuy)
7. Jason C (rebuy)
6. Ryan
5. Charelie
4. Dave
3. Jason
- Mike
- John

Funny is getting called for all your chips with Q8 or 72 suited. Shawn made both of those calls tonight. One panned out, the other didn’t, but after one of the most long and drawn out tournaments in recent memory, the newlywed (congrats, sir) took it down.

8. Me (rebuy)
7. Ryan (rebuy)
6. Jason
- Me
5. Mike C
4. Paul
- Ryan
3. Charlie
2. Jim
1. Shawn

Right off the bat, Mike C - Shawn’s older brother, wins two hung hands, first off myself and then Ryan. Ryan and I went to Foxwoods on Monday so maybe we were pokered out, but we each lost big on the first two hands and ended up being the first two out. Go figured. However, my bust out was warranted.

In a small raised pot, I have A8s and the flop comes A23. There’s a check from Jason, a bet and call before I move all in for the chips that Mike didn’t just take. Jason reraises all in and everyone else folds. He has 45 for the wheel straight and I’m in deep crap. A spade on the turn gives me a flush draw but another fails to comes on the river and I went out soon after.

Ryan then went out when three players were all in on the flop. With a board of A3x with two clubs, Ryan moves all in, Jason calls as does Paul. Jason has AK clubs for the nut draw and top top, Paul has A2 for top bottom and Ryan walked into a minefield withJ10. Remember, Ryan didn’t have alot of chips. A 2 on the turn gives Paul two pair and another two makes him a full house, knocking out Ryan and cripping Jason. He then doubled up through Shawn though and I won a big pot, doubling through Jason with AK vs. A10. He was out a little bit after.

Charlie moves all in for 2200, I reraise all in to isolate with KQ and he flips AJ. I hit a Q on the flops but he rivers an A for a nice double up. I’m down to 1300. But I move all in with AQ to survive and then triple up when I move all in preflop with 55, hit a set and am sitting pretty. However, when the blinds reached 400-800, I found myself on the button with 54h. It was only the blinds so I decided to move all in, bluffing and steal. It felt like a good spot. Small blind folds but Shawn, looks down and calls. Call about 5000 chips with Q8d. Granted he had a ton of chips at this point, but I was stunned. After my cards didn’t improve and I was busted yet again, I asked him why he called. He said he was suited, he was live, he had the chips so he would “take his chances.” It worked out.

After Mike was busted by Ryan, Charlie doubled up huge through Ryan when Ryan again played J10 for most of his chips preflop. After that win, Ryan makes a preflop raise of 2400, Charlie reraises to 4800, Paul calls all in, Ryan moves all in and Charlie calls. It’s Q8 for Paul, JJ for Ryan and AA for Charlie. The aces hold and Charlie bumps off the two two 2006 players of the year in one hand.

Then, Charlie makes a huge preflop raise and Shawn decides to call. The flop is blanks, Charlie raises and Shawn folds. He flips 72, “I called because it’s funny.” He said. Yeah. Very funny, you just lost thousands of chips. However, he would soon be the one who laughed last.

But not before an even funnier hand. Charlie had made an average call with K6 on a previous hand, which I looked at, and when asked about it, he lied and said he had 62. As he said that, he peered down at his cards and saw 62. So he called from the small blind and saw a cheap flop. It came A66. He checked, Shawn bet 2000, Jim folded and Charlie calls. The turn brings an Ace. Charlie checks, Shawn bets 2000 and Charlie calls. River brings a J. Charlie moves all in for his last 6000 chips and Shawn is very confused. Shawn is holding K7c, which was the nut flush draw on the flop but right now is just two pair with the top kicker. Not a bad hand at all, but he knows Charlie could have a 6 or an A. After a long time, Shawn makes a good fold.

Jim then doubles up through Charlie with that pesky Q8 again (against JJ no less) and then Shawn gets alot of his chips back when he makes a semi bluff with a gutshot and Shawn calls with AJ. After that, Shawn finally got Charlie back and sent him packing.

Heads up, right off the bat, they’re both all in but Jim’s A3 holds up against Shawns QJ and its a 22,000 chip pot. Jim has the lead But Shawn doubles through Jim, and then after we raised the blinds to a heafy 2000-4000, it was only a matter of time before Shawn took it all down, laughing all the way to the bank.