It seemed like this was going to be the weekend of third place finishes. Friday evening, I played in a CheckRayz tournament at Kiwi. CheckRayz tournaments are always good - great, challenging players who are tough, tough, tough. Unfortunately, Gary812 got a commanding chip lead toward the end. He is difficult to take on at any stage, but deadly when he can push people around with a mountain of chips. I went out third, but sure wished I could have at least made it to heads up with Gary. I am getting more confident in my end-of-game skills, and would have liked to have taken on Gary812, who is a great player.

The Saturday Online Players Tournament at Poker.com was a victory I really wanted. Having won only one OPT tourney and finshing second a few times, I was gunning for the bling! I could have tried sliding into second place, but I thought I saw the opportunity to catch the leader, Philman61. After the flop, I had top pair (Aces) with a Jack kicker. I was pretty sure that Philman61 had an ace, but I thought I would take him on the kicker. He called my all in, only to show A-Q. So much for the bling.

Sunday, I was fortunate to win a CardsChat tournament. Again, this group of players is very tough. Key play - I went all in with A-9 of Spades, thinking that no one would call. Someone with a pocker pair called, and I was lucky to catch an Ace to win the pot with top pair. In heads up, I went all in with Ace-rag. Got called, and won when my Ace was paired. I guess that sometimes the poker gods do take a liking to you!

Oh yeah - there were a couple of forgettable tournaments over the weekend, but hey - I'll concentrate on the good showings.