Saturday, October 3rd, 2009: The Full Tilt Espana Series - Barcelona Event, Day 2 (Afternoon)
Techno-dancing until 6am would probably not be considered ideal preparation for an 11-hour day of poker but while my friends Rob, Suzanne, Mark, Shaunta and Malcolm had all come over to support me in the tourney, they had also come to have fun in one of the trendiest European cities. Countless glasses of Cava and at least half a dozen Sambucas the night before meant that my head was not in great condition when I took my seat at 3pm on Saturday for Day 2. Having said that, I was happy to have had the Friday off to unwind while the Day 1Bers went at it.
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Exactly 100 of the 200 starters remained and a quick glance at the chip-count put me around 65th. That was all to change, however, as I went on an almighty heater for the first three hours.

Hand 3 - Day 2, Blinds 500/1000/100, 31K
I raised to 2600 in early position with AK suited. The Small Blind (A charming Englishman by the name of Trevor or 'Tricky-Trev' with whom I played the entirety of Day 1) re-raised to 8K. From what I'd seen, he was pretty snug but I'm not in the habit of laying down AK in this spot. I shoved and he insta-called, flipping up KK. An ace in the window came to my rescue and apologising to Trev, I raked in a 64K pot.

Hand 4 - Day 2, Blinds 500/1000/100, 71K
The button raised and I looked down at AK. I re-raised to 8500 and, after some deliberation, he called. The flop came AJ8 and I weak-lead for 8000 into the 18500 pot. He went all-in for 31K more and praying he didn't have AJ, A8 or a set, I called. My jaw dropped when he showed A5. No miracle 3-outer and I was sitting pretty with 120K!

Hand 5 - Day 2, Blinds 600/1200/100, 136K
The Hijack (a young loose-aggressive Englishman I would later discover is an online beast called ‘EMSBas’ against whom I play regularly) raised to 3000 and I called with the JQ of diamonds. The flop came J-6-8 with 2 diamonds, he checked, I bet 7K and he called. The turn came a black 2, he checked, I bet 20K and he tanked before shipping all-in for another 60K. Even though I knew his line could well be a set, I insta-called as I had made up my mind to bet big on the turn so as to give myself the correct odds to call against his range if he pushed. He grimaced, turning over J9. No miracle 2-outer and I was the new chip-leader. Boom!
 


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