V: Today's Tom Sawyer

Starting balance: $178.84

Ok, I highly doubt I am a modern warrior with a mean, mean stride, but I have been riding my little rush here and so far so good.

But first, a word on luck:

I know, I. K.N.O.W., that luck is the supposed enemy of the poker player. All of our efforts are aimed at minimizing it, neutralizing it, wrassling it to the ground and hog-tying it in a manner that would do the LAPD mighty proud. I know we should follow a Von Neuman/RAND Corporation-approved minimax strategy so that we can suck the very marrow from our good handls while staying in the game when the other guy flops a stealthy set of 5's. And so when we discuss our wins, we measure the role that luck plays in our game by negative yardstick; a lucky win is somehow a tarnished win, stained with an asterisk. But the fact also remains that no one -- not Doyle Brunson, not Phil Helmuth, and most certainly not Chris Moneymaker -- ever won the WSOP (or any tourney for that matter) without some luck. And more to the point, can't those of us who feel congenitally unlucky actually take a moment to savor this reversal in our fortunes, this relenting of the cosmic Judge. We shouldn't make luck a cornerstone of our careers, but there should certainly be a place in our hearts for a wild rumpus when it's our turn as river-rats.

I bring this up because I won a $5 one-table SNG thanks to two very lucky hands: Going all in shorthanded with AJc against a Chronic Blind Stealer (CBS) who shows KK, only to river an A and knock him out. Down to three handed, so in the money, I have K5h and again reraise and go all-in against another CBS (seriously, raising five out of every six hands). However, I picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue, and he shows AdQh. Um. However, he too goes home when the board gives me A-2-3-4 for a straight to my 5 (how that A must have burned!). That gave me enough of a crushing chip advantage that even I couldn't squander it, and I took first place.

(Oh -- this was also my first stab at multi-tabling. I had $10 at a .05/.10 NLHE game during the tournament, and managed to parlay it into $31 on a nice little run of cards before quitting).

Interestingly, though, the hand that got me into the game was not a lucky one but a purely positional bluff. It's just two of us in the hand, and I've made a 3xBB raise with AJos; he calls and the flop came 6 7 8 rainbow. I bet the pot amount, and he smooth calls. Daddy no like. Turn comes a 9. Bet pot again, representing the straight. He waits, thinks, sadly, sadly, folds. Daddy like. This put me in 2d place at the time.

Then another one-table SNG: $6, NLHE turbo, six seated. Six seated only seems to aggravate the gambling that is already inherent in turbo, and so this was a bit crazy. I started out strong, nearly knocking out one of the players on the third hand with AA; he called my 5x BB raise with KQos and called my all-in reraise when the board came KJx. A tasty and satisfying start.

Then, some 12-15 rag-hands later, and I have AQ down. UTG, I raise again 5xBB, to 300 chips. All fold except one caller. Flop comes 8h 9h 2s. I set him essentially all in, and he calls. Turn comes a 5, and he's made his straight and taken 1/2 my chips. Humbling, but also instructive: there is limitless donkeydom in these games, and esp. in turbo folks will call all-ins with with only draws. Again, I wish I had such faith that Jesus really really loves me.

Later on, down to 3 players and I am short stacked at about 1200 with the blinds at100/200. I get KJs down, raise to about 600, same guy calls me. Flop come 2s 5s 7h. I go all-in on a Mail Mary, he calls with his set of 7's. Turn comes a spade, no pairs on board, and I am sweetly doubled up. I know that I overvalue it, but I can't help it: I love catching when I am chasing the chasers, and I love poker irony of any kind. Without more details of interest to anyone, I eventually accumulated a nice chip advantage that I used to bully them around, and again took first.

I am mindful of Khun D's admonition that I have to pay closer attention to cash management, and actually did so, you might note, in today's second session. I have 45 minutes til dinner, and will see what the cash games might yield.

Ending balance: $235.97