West Linn, 3/10

I have been looking forward to this for quite some time. Pete, Robin, Emily and I all ponied up 15 bucks for dinner and a shot at top 3 money places. I determine to play "correctly"...no limping, either raise or fold. 56 people, I want to last.

Early on Emily and I are at the same table. She is doing really well, winning a couple hands at the showdown and a couple with timely raises. The guy to her left is pretty tight but likes to overbet 2 pair with a flush or straight. The guy to his left is a maniac and he & I take an instant dislike to each other. Most of the table is more limp & call type.

I lose a couple hands when I make proper reads and fold, but then I win a couple with nice raises and am sitting pretty. Emily is chip leader when a hand comes with a probably straight draw. Guy to her left goes all in. I figure him for the straight and fold. Emily thinks about it...and calls. With just top pair. Oops. He only had 2 pair...but she was crippled. 2 hands later she got pulled to a different table.

I finally got to put annoying guy out. I was chip leader by a small margin. People kept coming and going from our table and finally we were down to 5. I was in the big blind and with 2 callers decided to raise with 10/6 off just to see what happened. 2 callers. Flop brought a q/10/8, 2 hearts. With middle pair I bumped it 3 times the bb again (to 300). One fold, the other guy thinks about raising it...then about folding...then about raising. I figure him for the queen. He calls. 4th street brings another heart. I raise it 500. I know the only way I can win the hand is if he folds. He again goes through the raise/fold/raise conundrum. I decide if he calls I am raising regardless of the river. He calls. River comes and I raise 1000 without looking at it but he is watching the cards so does not see I have not looked. He leans back, really thinking about it. He reaches for chips...then looks at his cards...then reaches for chips...then leans back again. About that point, someone says, "After this hand we are breaking up this table." People start getting up...and then someone says, "Aren't they still in a hand?"

I look down...someone had mucked the board! I was screwed. The ONLY way I could win that hand was him folding. Then someone said, "Oh, I know which ones they were!" and pulls 5 cards back out. Only now there are only 2 hearts and there are a pair of 8s...I am dead.

Except...while I am debating what to do he folds it. And I win the hand.

I get moved to another table, almost as unpleasant as the first. Smokers to both sides. I am worried about the drive home because they are closing the on-ramps at 9 so we are going to have a heinous drive home. But I am playing well...raising at the right time, putting pressure on people, building chips. But Emily has busted out (and we were off-center due to driving issues...she still struggles with the stick), Pete has been out for a while, Robin is out, they are just standing around. I don't really feel like grinding so I start a series of semi-bluff all ins. Finally someone calls my J/8 with a J/7 and hits the 7 on the flop so I am done in about 14th place or so...maybe a slot or 2 higher.

Overall I did not like the atmosphere, the people I was at table with, and doubt I will go back to that one.