love it when a plan comes together...

It doesn't get any better than that. It took all of 24 hours for me to put and keep my new gameplan in play. I played in another $20 180 person SNG on Stars last night and took down the whole damn thing. Once again, nothing spectacular, but I played like I meant it. No more awful calls or ill timed bluffs because, "Who cares? It's only $20."

I weaved my way through the field with the help of an early double up with QQ on a J97 board after a pretty hefty preflop raise. BB bet the flop with JTo, i put him in with my overpair and it held up. After that it was really just ABC poker. Really paid attention to find the players I could target. Kept my ear out to find the guy that wouldn't fight back when I wanted to steal his blinds. Just generally played super smart poker. As a total for the tourney, I flopped one set, no full houses, I can't remember any big flushes...hit one straight to take someone out, but the hand started as a coinflip anyway (AK v. JJ).

Final table was tough. One calling station, one maniac and a couple solid players made the final table tricky. I certainly wasn't able to run it over, but I was able to make some good laydowns and flopped one big hand that definitely sealed it for me.

We're three handed and UTG folds, SB limps and I'm looking at 23o (great! third nut low :-) ) What's the prettiest flop I can ask for? Flop comes Ac 4h 5h. Bingo. Please let him have an ace. He bet out less than half the pot, I smooth called trying to sell the flush chase and praying the flush doesn't hit. Turn is a Tc and he bets quite a bit bigger. This time about 3/4 of the pot...great! He either can't let his bluff go, or he's flopped a big ace, two pair or maybe he has his own heart draw? River is an offsuit 6 and he fires another 1/2 - 2/3 pot bet...I just min raised him back which was actually about a $26k raise and he called with the quickness....Yahtzee!

I was the chip leader and never looked back. Stole blinds 2-3 hands in a row and then pick up TT in the BB, raised it up...one caller with Ac4c...flop is 2c3c8d. I put him in and he calls. Lots of outs for him, but I avoided the Stars curse, caught a set on the Turn and the river blanked him out of the tourney. Heads up lasted all of two hands. I put him in first hand with KTo and he folded...next hand I picked up the lovely AKo and put him in again. he called with AQs instantly and didn't get lucky...game over!

Winning is always nice, but it's 10x's more satisfying when you make a conscious effort to really play better...and it shows in the end! I also monied in the Limit 8/b tourney I was playing. Small cash, but I got unlucky two hands in a row or I would've been contending for a top finish.

More importantly, today is Melissa's Lasik surgery. I'm leaving work at noon to pick her up and take her. She's nervous, so I wanted to be there for her when she comes out of it. I don't know how you guys do it with the contacts and the glasses every day of your lives. I'd take the lazy way out and have the surgery as soon as possible...if that wasn't possible, I'd just wear the damn glasses. Wish us luck...

thanks guys...