I play good

Too bad it wasn't for money.

http://www.thevalleypokertour.com/

Start with 1100 chips and 10/20 blinds against 80 dooooonkeys and if you're lucky enough you make it to heads up 3 hours later with blinds at 4000/8000. Fun fun. Got a trophy so that's nice.

I went in thinking I'd play a lot more aggressively than I usually do early on. In the 1st level I got Q10 of clubs so I limped. 5 limpers until the crazy agressive SB makes it 120 to go. I call. In the past I would've trashed the hand immediately but these guys have a rather large tendency to play almost any two cards and to get very passive postflop if they don't hit. One guy calls besides me and flop comes 2 4 8 and it's check check check. Turn is a 7 and I bet out 250. Fold and SB thinks about it and folds A 10 face up. I told him I had 3 5 but he was sure I had hit something.

Big hand a couple of orbits later. Same SB had just over bet the 75 chip pot by 500 with QQ. Everybody folded and I laughed my butt off. That's the level of play here. I guess he doesn't like queens. Next hand I get KK. 4 limpers of 50 each and I raise it to 200. 1st limper calls. Next pushes for 850 (A2 sooooted). Crazy SB guy pushes for 1400 ( a little more than me) (QJo), I push and other guy calls all in for his last 1100 (JJ). Board bricks out and suddenly I have a huge stack - over 4500.

I picked up QQ a few orbits later and won a decent sized pot after the flop. Raised with AQo UTG 3X the blinds and bet out when an ace came and took down a nice pot. Huge hand was 77 raised 3X the blinds UTG (didn't really like my play here) but flop came KK10 and I bet the pot and 1st dude pushes for 500 more. There was at least 3000 in the pot already but then the big stack to my right called as well. I thought he might have a 10 but I called. checked the turn and felt much better about my hand so I bet 1000 on the river and he called with AJ. Other guy had QJ so I had over 10,000 chips. My high was 12,300 before the final table.

Down to 10 players and the final table bubble we're playing 5 handed. Q9 in the BB and I have 11,000 in chips. UTG +1 limps for 2000, SB folds. BTW play really tightens up in these things when you get under 25 left. Flop 8, 3, 2 and I push my last 11k. If I lose this I'm down to 1 chip on the SB all in next hand. This girl looks like she's gonna fold but can't make up her mind. She agonizes for a good 2 or 3 minutes while the table - except for me obviously - tries to talk her into calling. What a horrible feeling. Here I was with an average chip stack if I just fold to the final table and I'm about to be taken out if she calls (assuming I miss a queen or nine). She eventually calls and I flip over my cards and the table says 'see we told you'. She has K8 for top pair. Apparently she was concerned because there were 2 clubs and she just knew another one would come and I was on the flush draw. Whatever.

9 on the turn and I hit the final table with 21k in chips. A set of 8s took 2 players out and pumped my stack up over 40k with blinds at 2/4. There's about 90k chips in play in total and there's 5 or 6 left. I pushed a couple of times to take down the blinds and then we're suddenly down to 3 handed. I'm still the chip leader when this hand comes up.

I push on the button with KJo. SB calls with QJ and BB insta-calls with 88. AQ8 on the flop and I'm way behind but the SB will be going out. I start chanting 10! 10! 10! and it comes on the turn. The table goes crazy and I start chanting 'don't pair the board' but another ace comes on the river. Almost.

So I was down to 27kish. At that point I had lost 3 allins at the final table to the guy I'm heads up with. I got the chip lead back by going all-in with 103o on a Jxx10 board after the BB put chips in the pot on the turn. He quickly mucked. The final hand I had A2 and called his allin. He had KJ. An ace on the turn sealed the deal.