I’ve gotta give Pacific Poker some props today. Not only did they make good on the Monty with the kickback and the added prize money, they responded to an issue I had with a SnG quickly and correctly. Two nights ago, I joined a $16+1.6 SnG and immediately began having trouble with the table. The cards were dealt for the button and the screen completely froze. I managed to maneuver away from the table by clicking on the lobby where I watched my chips get blinded away. I even tried un-installing and re-installing the software… no use. After much swearing and sweating, I got back to the table about fifteen minutes in and saw a betting screen, but no cards. So I did what any self-respecting poker blogger would do… I moved the bar (and my chips) all-in. I must’ve lost because the screen popped up that said “You came in 15th in this tournament”.

Now I’m not sure what happened there, or how I beat five people without even playing a hand, but I was rather steamed. I immediately fired off an email to Pacific Poker’s customer service group complaining about the locked screen. I made it clear that I didn’t expect anything from them except for a refund of my entry. Lo and behold, this morning I received an emailed apology and my $17.60 back. It wasn’t instantaneous, but it was the proper response and was done with professionalism and customer service in mind. GOOD JOB, PACIFIC POKER!

Before I even knew their response, I went back to Pacific last night to my favorite cash cow tables. The first tournament I played, I literally didn’t play a hand for the first three rounds. My blinds were raised and/or re-raised and I was getting completely unplayable hands. Of course, that meant that I still had around 650 chips when we got down to the final table. Amazing how I could fold every single hand preflop and outlast ten other people, but that’s why I love these tables so much. My first hand at the final table was KK from MP. IIRC, the blinds were 50/100 and I made it a soft 250 and brought three callers along. The flop was three rags, nine high, and one of the blinds bet 100. I slid the bar over for all-in and got one caller. Rag-rag finished the board and more than doubled me up. Next hand was AJo. Still early position, so I limp with four others. Flop is Jxx, one of the blinds bets, I soft-call, hoping for another caller to come along, and get one. So three of us see the turn, an Ace! Blind bets 100 again (weak) and I pop all-in, figuring the blind is pot-committed, and the other guy will fold with any draw. Sure enough, the blind calls with KJ and now I’m chip-healthy after playing only two hands.

Long story short, I ended up in 2nd for a tidy little $80 payoff. I probably misplayed one or two of the heads-up hands going for fancy check-raises and allowed my opponent to outdraw me cheaply. Oh well… I sat around and watched the 49ers and Giants both spit the bit for an hour or so. God, the 49ers are going to suck bad this year. Anyway, I got bored with watching my teams collapse and went into another SnG and bubbled out in 6th. I wasn’t giving the game my full attention and probably shouldn’t have even signed up for it. Note to self: don’t sign up for a tournament just because it needs one more person.