Venetian DSE $600 Day 1B

Back on the horse today to have a crack at the Venetian $600 after a dour and depressing few days. None of this affects the poker for me one bit, poker's just well... poker. However waking up today to find out I've a parking ticket to fight from 5000 miles away is just the cherry on the cake for me lately. No point going into details because everyone has their own crap, and it doesn't make great reading if someone's rattling on about their life being unfair/no-one understands etc. To me its kind of like the inevitable bad run that comes along in poker. You simply have to grit your teeth, do the right things, hope it passes, and that things will turn, situations improve, the right people come into your life and stay with you and enrich things, or the wrong ones just leave you alone if they've nothing nice or positive to offer...

Anyway :o)

Bought in nice and early today. Always good to be sat for the first hand. Kick off in 10 mins.

OK start, and 15k quickly becomes 17k. A few familiar faces on the table and I'm talking nice and early to try to get things loosened up appropriately.

At 50/100 I make it 425 with AQ, my neighbour makes it 4000. I jokingly take his pulse by touching his wrist, and everyone laughs. He says "please don't touch me" in a voice that has overtones of "I've got a car full of firearms in the parking lot". I folded and gave him a sweet smile. Could be a long day.

First hand today a girl busted out with a set vs the nut flush draw that turned. When one player was recounting the story to his buddy who wandered over, the important part seemed to be not that the girl busted with a set, but more that she was really hot. Poker players and their priorities lol.

Back to starting stack just coming up on the start of level 3. 98/93 currently with players still filtering in. Most of my table seem to generally know their way around so right now I'm not trying to get too clever with anything.

First break and I'm on 13k. 103/118.

Back from the break, my two red Kings just got smashed to bits on an ace high all club flop. Luckily I was unconventional in my approach, so it cost me 900 chips instead of around 7000. On we plod.

20 min left in level 5 and I'm just around average still. No heroics. 93/133 left and my table line-up is pretty much unchanged.

Level 6 and I'm a bit frustrated. Lost with QQ vs A9, and JJ vs 66. Down to 11k. Keep it going.

Just back from break at 300/600/75, and things appear to be looking up. I find 88 in the big blind just as UTG raises. I feel pretty sure that even though it's an early position raise he's not strong at all and is just trying to bully me. Of course sometimes reads are wrong but I go with it and reraise, I get called. The 3 7 10 flop doesn't look bad for me but I decide to check raise as I think he'll fire again with a sub standard hand. He bets 2k after I check and I then shovel in 8500 or so. He looks crestfallen, sigh dwells and calls, tabling Q10 offsuit.

That's my $600 done after 7 levels. Not over the moon even though my read I felt was right. Next. I likely won't re-enter this for another $600 but never say never, I'll sleep on it for now.