Queens

I had forgotten about my love hate relationship with queens until last night.  Playing in the packed Legion tournament (dealing table 2), I played fairly loose at first since it was a "limpfest" on most hands.  Could not catch a flop.  I raised with AQ and got one loose caller.  Flop is good with A/2/K, she bets $500, I raise to $1000, she calls.  Turn pairs the 2, she bets 1000.....I think for a moment and fold face up.  Now down to half my starting chip stack, I pick up A/9 in early position.  I raise, AK calls and another player calls.  Flop is A/9/x with 2 diamonds, I go all-in AK calls and I double up to starting chips.  Good.

Now I pick up Q/Q and raise with A/10 calling.  Flop is Q/5/x and I check.  He bets 200, call.  Turn is another 5, check, bet $200, call.  River is an ace, check, he bets $600, I check raise all-in, he tanks then calls....courtesy double up, thank you.

I get QQ once again, winning a small pot.  Then manage to lose half my stack when an aggressive loose player open shoves with 8/6 and I call with AQ.  He hits his 8.

Later, on the final table I do my usual "card dead on the final table" routine.  Super short stacked and on the bubble I get QQ yet again.  Unfortunately for me another very bad player has 10/10 and only 2000 more than me.  Also, the big blind is one of the loosest player in poker history and is a big stack.  (Blinds at 1,000/2000, I have 4,000, bad player has 6,000).  I go all-in, and like the ignorant player he is (had to be told several times not to take his cards off table...rookie!!!), simply calls with his 10's rather than re-shoving to isolate me.  That prices the big blind in with 8/10 offsuit....at least in his mind getting 5/1 on his money vs. 3/1 if the other player had shoved.  Flop looks good to me, which shows how unlucky you can be......8/8/5.  The 10's are drawing to one out, I am drawing to 2 and I lose with the best starting hand.  A few chips more and I am back in it to win it as the BB would have folded to a bigger raise.  I collect my bubble money, the other player takes 6th place for $79 and I go home as sadder but wiser man.

Couple of side notes:  I shoved once, blind vs. blind on final table, no call.  Two other times, wanted to shove but pre-shoved before me and did not have a calling hand.  Both times I had weak suited aces, one shover showed A/3 suited (I had A/4 suited), the other had A/7, I again had A/4 suited.

Unluckiest play I saw at FT was a shove by a great player with 4/4, called by A/K and A/K.  3 spades on the flop, he had the only spade.  The AK's were drawing to combined 2 outs since A spades or K of spades completes his flush.  They hit the non-spade king on the river.