6:17pm -- By far the worse part of a tournament, the stalling has begun by the smaller stacks. Thankfully at my table nearly everyone has over T10K chips.
6:14pm -- Home stretch for the first set of SCOOP bucks is coming up as I slip under par for the first time since my double double back in the first hour. Still healthy at T13,875 but an angry wife may change my ability to sit on the laptop any longer.
6:09pm -- Ok trying to do the blogger exacta of Twittering while live blogging is making this tough but manageable. Still hoping the wife offers steak or some wine soon. T13,875 with 220 left
6:07pm -- The last of the dead stacks are finally having their corpse being peeled away from the their chairs as the money bubble fast approaches. Holding at T14,175 with blinds up to 150/300
6:02pm -- Raise on the second hand back from the break and get the table to fold around T14,325
5:58pm -- Adult beverage #2 is consumed as we have 269 players remaining and 153 of us will take away at least $11 in SCOOP cash
5:53pm -- Flop a wrap straight draw with [Kc] [Td] [9s] [5d] and it gets there on the turn but one the big stacks does not pay off my value bet on the river. Regardless the 4,000 chip pot gets me to T14,000 as the break is here to give me time to hug the kids.
5:47pm -- With par at ~9,300 my stack of T12,000 is looking good and Granite City's yummy hops and barley will have to wait for another time until I enter the land of bad decisions against the two big stacks. Blinds at 125/250 with 319 players remaining.
5:41pm -- Big blind special hit a set of deuces, turn the underboat while calling a scary pot bet from the big stack and my deuces full of aces turns out to be good as we jump into five digit territory T11,060 and blinds moving up to 100/200 with about 400 players remaining.
5:35pm -- Not sure if my sudden ability to fold some middling connector hands is the way to the promise land of the final table and those juicy $215 SCOOP buy-ins but so far its working as I haven't moved up or moved back but rather just doing the electric slide with my chips T6,005. What the electric slide looks like shown below:
5:31pm -- for those with 20,000 FPPs sitting around you may want to check out today's VIP special from PokerStars' January store special. $285 bonus is 20% off today.
5:28pm -- another club flush, this time flopped from the small blind and we'll take another minor chip up to T6,005 with blinds at 75/150 and 639 players remaining.
5:25pm -- Well lookie here, its a club flush! Ok, just a minor chip up but I'll take it T5,375 with blinds moving up shortly.
5:20pm -- Pressure from the big stacks is coming out as TomDowd and John_Galt are imposing their stacks on the table and with my crappy position I'm left in passive mode again. Hope and wait are not two things I do well. T4,775 blinds at 60/120
5:15pm -- Snag some blind vs. blind action and get to T5,495 but whiff against the chip leader with [As][6s][Jc][Tc] and go back to Go and do not collect $200. T5,195 blinds up to 60/120.
5:07pm -- Flop top set and bet into two limpers? They fold. Try to bluff? Get called by third pair. T5,645 blinds move up to 50/100. Get [7s] [As] [Ac] [3c] on the button and raise getting one of the big stacks to call. Flop [6d] [7h] [Qd] bet 700 and get check-raised, had to let it go fearing the uber-draw. T5,195
5:03pm -- After playing about six straight hands, the fold button finally came back into play as two big stacks will need to contend with each other and hopefully leave me alone to fold in peace, until I have the nuts of course. T5,945 blinds at 40/80
5:00pm -- Only $20?!?! Just grabbed a frequent player mailing from the local Treasure Island casino and they're offering 20 bucks for me to lavish their slot machines with my hard(ly) earned poker bucks. It's getting recycled.
4:53pm -- More good luck from the land of positions. A super stack of T23,000 just plopped down on the button. Lock down mode looks to be the play. Down to T6,185 as we head to the first break.
4:47pm -- Table change and once again the big stack is on my left holding nearly T10,000 chips after showing down a couple of strong hands and winning at showdown. May need to revert to tighter play as the blinds move up once again to 40/80.
4:40pm -- DOUBLE UP!! and DOUBLE UP!! first hand [Jd] [9d] [Ks] [Qd] caught a jack on the flop, a gutter ball straight draw on the turn, and hit the nut straight on the river against a bluffer's caught ass-end of the straight and T3,455 was shipped my way. Five hands later get a very strong [Ad] [Ah] [Qh] [Ks] raise with one caller. Flop comes out [Kh] [2h] [6d] 150 chips is called, [Js] on the turn and we both shove, he caught two pair and an open-ender with [2s] [Qs] [Jh] [Th], but the [Qc] on the river gives me the higher two pair and we're solvent again at T6,315 with 30/60 blinds.
4:35pm -- Need to revert to level one thinking, too many bluffs at tight boards is killing my stack and that dinner at the restaurant is looking more feasible than a SCOOP ticket at this point. T1,865 with blinds at 25/50
4:30pm -- Ugh, this guy is really pinning me down. No chances to bluff as I'm unable to call his re-raises after I bluff at a [9d] [Th] [8c] board. Down to T2,040
4:27pm -- Chip leader at the table is turning very aggressive and unfortunately is on my immediate left down to T2,500 after whiffing on a connector hand and can't call his/her POT POT POT POT bets.
4:24pm -- Folding [Ah][6h][2d][4c] my PLO8 heart weeps a little inside, no really big pots at the new table yet.
4:18pm -- Limp in with [Td] [Jh] [Ad] [8d] and the flop is very nice [Ks] [9h] [7c]. Bet of 90 is called in two places whiff on the [3d] turn and fold to a pot bet when the [Kd] hits the river. Booooo for missed wrap draws! T2,800
4:14pm -- I feel should have something to drink, as its been 15 whole minutes and I still have not busted! I think the Captain is calling. T3,120
4:10pm -- Miss out a huge hand when AAXX goes up against AAXX all-in preflop and my decent connecting [9s] [Qd] [8c] [Jd] would have nailed quads. Folding = bad
4:05pm -- First big hand [7s] [As] [Qd] [Ac] flop a flush draw, slowly increasing bets on the turn and river the flush but it also pairs the board. A 300 chip "value" bet is called and the flush is good. Up to 3,140
4:03pm -- While I certainly play more Omaha than Hold Em' (yes a rare breed, stop starring) Omaha Hi is something I've only recently dipped a toe into.
4:00pm -- And.... we're off. By folding I set the tone for many more aggressive folds.
3:53pm -- Even if I do bust early, I still win by going to me second favorite restaurant Granite City for some microbrew and a peppercorn cheeseburger the size of my three year old daughter.
3:45pm -- 1,563 bloggers in this event gonna need some good music...
Oh, this is Omaha HI? Well hopefully the bicycle straight will be good. Note to self: do not chase low draws
3:35pm -- Fox Sports will not be announcing today's World Blogger Championship of Online Poker but I am! Well, as long as I'm in the running and not throwing my laptop from that flush draw getting there. I'll be back at 4:00pm (this is in Central Time) to give this first person live blogging a shot.
3:30pm --
Howie: Honestly there's no one that can touch Drizztdj today?!?! His skillz and toughness will bring himself either the title or a humiliating early defeat
Jimmy: How does my hair look today?
Terry: I LIKE THE WAY THIS GUY THROWS THE FOOTBALL! We're talking about Brett Favre right?
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