I won a sit & go qualifer earlier this week for tonight's $100 + 9 Piece of the Pro tourney on Full Tilt (see banner on right). I began with $2,000 in chips, and quickly started adding to them. Two key hands...first I raised on the button w/KJh, called by the big blind. Flop came Qh-J-Th, which gave me middle pair and straight/flush/royal draws. I bet the pot & was quickly called. Turn was another J, I made a modest bet and flat called again (hmmm). River brought my buddy Jack the 4th, I bet half the pot and was called by AK...sorry!

A while later I picked up KK and raised, short stack to my left went all in and I gladly called. He showed QQ and didn't improve...$5,700 by the first break, I'll take it! Unfortunately, that's as good as it got for me.

Early in the second hour, I got to see a free flop from the BB w/Q9s. Flop was 10s-9-7s, I bet the pot and was called. Turn and river were blanks...I bet both cards (weakly, maybe 1/3 pot each time...my only real blunder so far) and called down by K9...yak. A couple orbits later, again in the BB, the SB and I see a flop, I have J5. Board read J-J-K, we both checked. Turn was A, he made a smallish bet and I min-raised him, he called. I'm thinking good, he liked the Bullet. River was 7, he bet about $1,000 and I gladly called...and he flipped over J7!!!! That one hurttttt, brought me back down under $3,000.

At the $120/240 level (with $25 antes), I decided it's time to start getting aggressive. I made my first attempt of the tourney to steal the blinds in late position w/Q5d, but the BB put me all-in and I had to fold. Next two hands were AJc and AKs, both times I pushed and both times got no action...but now I was back up to $2,500 and had a little bit of breathing room...or not. Dealt 55 on the button with a couple limps before me, so I decided to push it all in and hopefully pick up the pot or get called by a couple of big cards...well, I got called all right, but by the UTG limper w/KK. Bye bye me, I'm out 150th or so out of 450+....but I feel I played decent poker, so I'll be able to sleep tonight...