Last night we had game two in the poker week from Hades, and my good fortune continues.  Twenty people sat down for a $40 buy in game, and by the end for me, I finished in 4th placed and cashed in my third consecutive tournament.  That's a 1st, 2nd and 4th in my last three.  I'm quite happy with the results.

Last night was a little different, because I was trying a different strategy.  I was aggressive early, which is not exactly my trademark.  But it paid off, and I got to the final table near the lead in chips, if not with the outright lead. 

Things slowed down from there though, and I really wasn't able to make any big moves.  One of the other players, a known agressive person, kept the pressure on, but honestly, it is difficult to take a stand against him when I was constantly looking down at 2-3 offsuit in my hand. 

I did manage to get all in against the eventual winner when he was down, after I flopped a pair of Jacks....but he called me and rivered an Ace to win the hand.  Critical in chips from that point, I was simply trying to hold on. 

One hand changed the course of the game for someone though, and totally impressed me.  After the loss of most of my chips, I was big blind with 6,000 chips left, and the blinds were 2500/5000.  The other two players folded, leaving me and a very short stacked small blind.  He could have easily put me all in, as it was only 1,000 chips more, and I would have surely called with any two cards.  He had 10-6 though, and after thinking about it for a long time, he folded to me, giving me 8,500.  He was heavily criticized for not playing the hand....but a look at my cards revealed K-K.  Instead of losing almost all of his chips to me, he lost only the minimum. 

And 8 hands later, after doubling up in most of them, he was the chip leader at the table, and I was out in 4th.  I've never given this guy much credit, but he made a fantastic decision.

No poker the next three days (except for on www.spadeclub.com), so there won't be many updates.  But there might be a lesson or two in the meantime, so keep tuning in.