Stars 1.5 Million Guarantee

Haven't posted much about poker lately because of bad sessions and bad luck and nobody wants to hear another bad beat story right...? ( ;-D )

Well, I'll be brief on this, but first, I would like to thank Ellen from PA Forum for putting a satellite together in which I happened to win my seat to this prestigious event.

2500 in starting chips and 30 minute levels. Never could get out of the gates. Bluffs didn't work and when I had K-K a few times in multi-way pots, an ace would hit. I somehow make it to hour 2 and near the end of it, I'm down to 1250. Blinds are 75-150. I get those dreaded Kings again in the BB and and its folded around to the cutoff who raises to 450. I decide to just call 300 so I could possibly throw my hand away if an Ace or a scary flop came. Flop came J-8-2 rainbow. I check, she bets and I push all-in and she instantly calls and turns over 8-8 for a set. Jesus Christ how I hate pocket Kings... King on turn wow and it holds up! I steal some blinds with my then decent stack with mediocure hands and then get an AK and double threw that. I somehow get my stack to over 1400 going into the 3rd hour.

Well, that didn't last long as my KQ from the small blind took on a raise from mid position. He has a semi-low stack and I called his 3x raise. Flop comes 2-10-K. I made a mistake by check raising making me pot committed (should have led bet and fold to his raise) and he flips over 10-10 for the set and it holds. Jesus, I these kings of hell. (There was also one hand where I had KQo and the flop came 6-K-6. I bet and got raised and my opponent showed 7-6 for trips. Why didn't apply this same strategy here?!).

So now I have about 7000 in chips and 2 hands later I get an AK of spades and pot for 3x on the cutoff. I get a call from the button (who had chips but had been really tight lately) and the BB. Flop comes A-K-8 with 2 clubs. There is 2700 in the pot and I bet 1800. Only the button calls. I figured the button to have a weaker ace like A-5, A-6, A-7. No way I'd put him on 2 suited cards the way he'd been playing. Turn is a 6 of clubs. I bet and we eventually get all our chips in and he flips over 10-9 of clubs and the river doesn't improve me and go out in about 1300th out of 4495 peeps.

Fuck, I feel deflated and very shitty after hanging in and playing awful the 1st two-and-a-half hours and then playing well for about 40 mins or so to get my stack up and then to play the 2nd shittiest poker of my career (other than the 1st 5-6 hours in Day 1 of the WPT World Poker Challenge this year). For those poker junkies out there, how would you have played the AK hand I mentioned above? I mean I overbet the flop and he still called and the way he played, I don't think he would be chasing a flush and if he had a set, so be it with my top 2 their? It's time to take a break from the tourny world until I find a way to improve my luck (any1 have any ideas?) What can you do when you get your money in as the favorite and your hand doesn't hold after playing for over 3 hours (or more)?

Hope you enjoyed reading kiddies.