One Dollar Entry for $5000 Friday Night

Level 1-3: Kept an even keel. Was up $500 on AA, and a flush caught on the river. I am slightly over average.

Level 4: Got some good cards. Trips. I had Q high and A high, and got called to the river with both. I even had the guys jump in to see my cards. I am now up to $4500.

Level 5: Switched tables. Got KK and got trips on it. Bet it up. Got 1 caller. Ended at $4800. Now back down to $4400 on 55, and some other misses. Blinds are 75/150. Average stack is $2294. High is 8K! 119 left. Top ten get the qualifier and 11-13 get like $10.

Level 6: Blinds are 150/300. No action yet. Playing solid and getting enough cards to stay near the middle of the pack. Folded K2s to a raise. Fours spades on the flop. Red. Red .. and .. Red. Saved alot of money. Can not beleive Q-10 is raising, but maybe I am too passive? 101 left. 12:26AM. The time sucks since I have been up 3 nights in a row to 3AM and worked 19 hours yesterday. Folded A-8. Not interested in going in on anything less than 20 in blackjack right this minute. That might change in a little bit. Only 99 left. A milestone? Have not played a hand this round. Sweet. Two large stacks are beating each other up! One stack just went up to 11K!
Get me off this table!!!! KJ beat K6 and I folded K7. Ouch. I told you all, 20 or above in BJ. Blinded down to $4110. Average stack is 3K. I am still in the right area for now. Only 91 left. People are falling like flies. Q-10 in the BB. Folded to me. Only win this round so far.

Level 7: Bet KQ up. AA got a pair of 8's on the board and I am dead. Down to 2K.
Aggresion is not always good? Bah! I should have won that!!!! GRRRR!!! I should have slowed down when the 8's showed up too. I did slow down. But it was 2 BB to the river.

AQ suited. Lets see if this does anything besides kick me out of the tourney. Ok. Won $600 on that one. $2385. That last hand pissed me off, but I am not on tilt yet. heh. Deep breaths. I notice sometimes when I have the nuts I forget to see what is going on around me. I need to be more careful before I raise someone. I knew he had Pocket Rockets and I barely even looked to see the 8's until the river. Then I am like... whoooahhhh what am I doing!

"The Hammer" should I play it. Probably. But I cannot afford the fighters. Crappy flop for 27. What a surprise. Only seventy five people left out of the original 270.

Q7 suited. Was going to play but got raised. Flop sucked for it anyway. I have suited connectors. I have a good feeling about these. 7 and 8 of spades. I had four to a straight but nothing happened. I probably could have stolen it. I just got four flush draw cards in a row. Passed on all of them. Not chasing it right now.

Raise A-9. Crappy flop. I have to fold. Win a small pot with K9 suited. Take someone out. Down to $1400 on a straight draw. It was my blind so no choice. I think I am in trouble. I might be able to get back in it with a good hand. I need to figure out what to do. There are 65 people left and I need to make some money with 200/400 blinds. Damn 8's!!!

My A8 buddy just lost a huge pot. Ha! Does not mean anything if I do not get some chips and stay in longer than him.

Level 8: 300 and 600!!! Damn! I am out in like a few rounds if I do not get cards.
Waiting for a few good cards and I am going to play them and hope for the best. The blind is almost to me. I feel its weight. K4 clubs. Raised. I have a caller! Out of the tourney. I am 60th place and pissed off. Beat by AJ. Damn! Nobody made a single card.

*** UPDATE: Finally found someone on Empire who reads me. Shout out to lich52! He played a decent game of 25NL. Our table had several maniacs to start. I got my stack up to $50 with him there. After taking a big pot from the Maniac, I told him the story about the guy on tilt who I baited into calling me by raising exactly what he had. A couple hands later I get trip Ks and bet 7.01 which is everything he had left. He pauses. Thinks and then calls me. I think he had the J. Another J came on the river giving me the boat just to rub it in.