FT Woes

I decided to play my first MTTs last night since Goa, the Betfair $50k and the Cryptologic £40k guaranteed tournies. In the BF tourney I played good, solid stuff, nothing out of the ordinary but never looked like not making the final table, which I duly did. 7 left, blinds at 2/4k matey UTG with 50k raises to 10k. I jam in the BB with A8d for about the same as I know he hasn't got much of anything with such a pathetic raise, he thinks for 5 seconds and calls with JTc. So, 7th for $1750. The clown went on to win, and scoop $15k. Tilt.

At the same time I'd been playing the £40k with not much interest as it was early on and basically just played good hands and never limped into pots. Had two early double ups and was in the top 2 at level 2, where I remained until the FT as I completely dominated the field. Whenever this happens I am a dead cert not to win as it proved. I lost with TT to KQ on a ATx board, then called an SB jam with KT, he had T7o. I called it to Benno before the cards were dealt, "he's jamming, I'm calling and getting raped". Self-fulfilling prophecies, eh. This was really frustrating as I had a big stack at the time, and if I win these pots, I eliminate two players, it's short handed and I'm strong odds-on to win. Swings are so important, even the small ones as they can totally change the dynamic of a game.

Final 4 and I get the chip lead, a bluff goes wrong but I'm still looking strong. Raise UTG to 24k at 4.8k with AT.. SB villain who only had one move all tourney (all-in jam/resteal) for 75k-ish with KQo (let's not dissect this and talk about how this is such an awful move), ten on flop, queen on turn and he stays alive for the 8th or 9th time. Next hand, QQ vs AK, he boats up. GG WP. £3000 prize money, should've been £10k (at least it wasn't for $250k like Goa), same old story.

Alright, so I made £4000 on the day but ignoring the financial success it really is irritating this continues to occur on final tables for me. My hands never hold up and my gimmick seems to be that I lose every crucial race. In that sense, my confidence is very low when I get all-in. When I'm playing poker and not bingo, everything's all good. One thing's for sure, sometime, at some point, I'll FT somewhere and completely destroy my opponents, where and when that will be, who knows..

In lieu of this I've decided to pull out of the Irish Open. I really can't be bothered shelling out 5k Euro only to have a big stick shoved up my arse at a critical moment to cost me 500k or whatever, I just can't handle such a disappointment currently. Add to the fact I've STILL not received my prize money from Goa, I am tightening the purse strings. I'll probably play the UKPT in Manchester, and take a rest before the WSOP main event. Back to the daily grind for me.

Regards,
JPK