I finished day 1 with 58,825 chips. After I won a big pot in the first hour, I basically did nothing until the last hour, when I caught a big rush.

It started when I called a CO open from the button with A4ss (1050 at 200/400/50; I have 28k and cover him but not my much). The SB with 20k or so also calls.
The flop is Q6s3s. Checks to me and I bet 2200. The small blind makes it 5500, so I think for a few seconds and put him in. After a couple minutes he finally calls with the KQ. I turn an ace (and bink a four as well, just for good measure).
Very next hand I'm stacking my chips and it folds to me with QQ; I throw out 1200. The young kid in the SB pretty quickly makes it 4200, so I grab all the orange chips I just won and stick them in the middle. He tanks like 3 minutes (he had 30k behind-- oops) before folding what he said was AhQh. I didn't realize he was so deep, or I would've picked a different raise size.

My table broke not long after that, and upon arrival at my new table with a 57k stack that covered everyone by quite a margin, I was given the run of the place. It didn't hurt that I ran super-hot; I had big hands in the spots I needed them and flopped really well. (I lost 16k on the third-to-last hand of the day with QQ < KK. But I won the last two pots, so no big deal.)

I did a lot of waiting through card-dead periods earlier in the day, so the run of the last hour or so felt like a nice reward. Now, I get two days off.

I may go into detail on some of the hands in a later post. I think some of them are worth discussing (although I didn't have any especially tough decisions), but I've been over them repeatedly already tonight and don't care to again just yet.

Day 1d - First Update

I busted 82nd in the $1500. The hands have been reported, but basically, I doubled up in a huge pot when I called a shove with an overpair on the turn, and then I gave some away steadily until I punted 2/3 to Matt Matros with the 22 < 77. I'm still debating my shove; there were a lot of factors that made it very close, and mostly I'm upset that I didn't take more time to think about them.

Since them, I've been resting some and preparing for the Main Event. I'm trying to keep my mind fresh; I was playing some stud hi/lo earlier in the week to try to grind out some money, but I gave some back in the last couple of days and realized that I had let myself get complacent with my play. It's funny what a continuous struggle that is.

I'm planning to play the Main Event on Sunday. So meantime I've been trying to keep my head clear... I've been mixing it up with rest, physical exercise, and trying to play other games to keep my poker mind sound (but to not burn out on tournaments). In less than 48 hours, my Main Event kicks off. I feel good enough about my play recently that I know I have a shot if I get the breaks. One time Mr. Dealer?

First day 2 and first cash of the series. I have 65k going into day 2 at 800/1600/200. I'm exhausted so no full writeup but more will come when it's all over and I'm rested.

Brief review of my last three live tournaments:

-I start at a very tough table in the 5k six-handed and bleed chips until the table breaks. I double up AQ > 55 the last hand before that table breaks. I take my 11k to 22k at my new table and then slowly hover and bleed away until I inevitably bust shoving the T6o with 9100 chips at 600/1200/100.
-I ran my stack up to 9k early in the 2k, then gave away a bunch of it check-shoving 77 on a 468 flop in a reraised pot. AA good. Oops. I short stacked the rest of the day until that table broke; the third hand at my new table I open shove 99 from the SB with 2200 chips at 100/200/25. A young-ish Euro calls with A2 and flops 345.
-The $1500 actually had a lot of interesting hands. I couldn't find my wallet this morning, so I showed up an hour and a half late, but I more or less short stacked until I caught a huge rush at 100/200/25 and ran it up to 17.5k, then lost it all, the last 5/6 of it or so on standard plays and/or plays where I got my money in as a large favorite.

I actually had a lot of fun at my starting table in the $2k. JaspudUF and the other two guys on our side of the table made for great conversation. We had a good time and a lot of laughs-- one of the things I really appreciate about live poker. It isn't always like that, but that's when it's really fun.

I'm gonna grind Sundays online tomorrow. I'm definitely taking a break from poker before the ME, and from tournaments after the WSOP is over, but I feel my tournament game is sharp and my edge will be biggest there tomorrow.

Remind me to post some of the hands in more detail. I don't have too many questions, but they make for fun stories.