Iggy wins the Monty!

This is comparable to Byron Nelson winning the Byron Nelson Golf Tournament or maybe more like Bing Crosby winning the Crosby....

I busted out (to Iggy) in 18th place. I had AKs, so I was all-in at the right time, but it was the wrong place because Iggy called with QJs (and my suit, no less, making me a 2-1 favorite) and the board hit KQQJx for his boat. I may have out-thought myself because I was in BB and Iggy raised from SB. I made a modest raise. Why a modest raise? Because I WANTED him to push me all-in... I thought I had him. Damn Karma anyway...

I saw 116 hands and put money in 43 times, more than I typically do, but I was getting some good hands. Problem was that our first table was horribly tight and those good hands were winning blinds and not much more. We didn't even see a RIVER until 20 hands in. In one four-hand stretch I had QQ twice and AK once, and only won the blinds when I raised.

I got my first scalp on hand 52 (NemoD) with, what else, the Hilton Sisters. After I raised from MP to 250 with 1925 chips, he pumped all-in with his 1600 stack. I thought a moment, figured him for Ax or a smaller pair (AA or KK he might have smooth called) and called. Pacific Poker's incredibly FUBAR all-in mechanism upchucked the cards 6-3-J-8-3 and mucked his cards before I even saw what he had.

After that, I pretty much played by the numbers, since the table was so tight. Maybe this was a bad move, because right about then, the cards dried up for me. I won exactly ONE of my last 50 hands (not counting everyone folding to BB), and that one was KK when I went all-in with the shortstack at the table, hit my set, and doubled up on... hdouble. Just a few hands later, I made my final ill-fated push with AKs.

Thanks again to Iggy for setting this up (although a proper host would expand the prize pool to, say, the top 18 or so) and to Pacific for... um... kinda hosting it... um, once they got their shit together. Of course, since Iggy won this one, this means that he is still responsible for setting up the NEXT ONE! I'll be there and looking to crack that final table. Hey, I made the top quarter, so I'm pretty satisfied with my finish.... this time.

::Edit::: After the Monty, I decided to try a $16 20-seater at Pacific. I saw VARoad of the Poker Roadtrip at the other table. Sadly he busted in 11th. Me? I won the damn thing. So, my luck at those 20-seaters continues...