NO SOUP FOR U-E: The Kid Gets Turned Away From The Final Table... Twice... Not Nice

Remember when you were a kid and during family get-together dinners, you thought you were old enough to be at the adult's table, but alas, you were turned away? That's what I feel like right now playing poker. Stuck eating Spaghetti-O's while the adults have turkey and stuffing.

Now that I've won money on Full Tilt in the Canada Free Roll, I've been able to play in the money tournaments. In my last two tournaments, I've had respectable finishes: I finished 11th (out of 206) in a $2.25 tournament and 10th (out of 231) in a $5.50 tournament. But in multi-table tournaments, top 9 = the final table = way more money to be won. Sorry kid, you're not invited... :(

The 10th place finish got me $14.44 my biggest money finish. In the $2.25 tournament, I was above the tournament average and was 4th out of 11 at the time. But I didn't have the self discipline to fold to the super tight short stack (took on his A-A with my 8-8) and to not challenge the big stack in a tossup (My A-J vs his K-Q). Needless to say, I lost both confrontations and was eliminated way too suddenly for my liking. In the $5.50 tournament, I played way too tight at the end and ended up going all-in before I got blinded out (My A-K lost to A-A). Two different approaches, same result: no final table, no soup for me.

After the fact, I couldn't help but wonder how much more money I could have won. The jumps in prize money from 9th place to top spot are quite significant. I got around $5 for 11th place, but 1st prize was over $100. I won $14.44 for 10th place, but 1st was over $300... All I could do was watch the other surviving players play it out, wishing MY tournament was still going. Oh well, at least I know I'm within striking distance of bigger money. Now I just have to make better decisions at the end and actually WIN the bigger money!

So now, taking into account some other $1.25 tournaments I care not to mention, my current bank roll stands at $21.59, up from $12 last week. Onward and upward!