FTPA freeroll

Today's freeroll is what I get for acing the Sit and Learn test from the Full Tilt Poker Academy. This one is a $5K event with 2173 runners and the top 540 cashing. The upside is that a flat payout schedule makes it easier to cash but the amount is pretty small (as in a $5 min cash) and stays small throughout the long tail. Undaunted, I jumped in to see what damage I could do.

Got a great kickstart when I rasied to 3xBB, or T90, in the first blind level with KdQd. Flop is 9d3d7d and I stack 4d8d.

Pot it with AA, get one caller. Flop is 955, I lead for pot he shoves and I call, he has TT.

Raise with JJ, get shoved on by a short stack. I call, he shows 88 and I eliminate him.

Not sure if I was getting too cocky or not but I take on a re-raise from the short stack with TT and pay off QQ.

So I'm cruising along and find the field thinning while sitting on a pretty healthy stack. As long as I don't do anything stupid I will have absolutely no problem coasting into the money. I then start wondering how deep I want to try to go. The bubble bursts at the top 540 for $5. The next stop is at 360 for $6.25 so I'd have to slog through way more players just to get another $1.25. I consider just sitting out and getting blinded off but as we pass through the money bubble the eliminations happen at a furious rate as everyone who was nursing a short stack now is just shoving with ATC.

Before I know it we're closing in fast on 360 and I can see by the player list that there are a considerable amount of players who have only a few blinds of chips left. So I decide to go for it. I just stick to my style and pass through the next tier. About now I'm wondering if it is feasible to make some real money. I'm above the average chip stack and I have just as much reason to make it to the final table as the next guy. I'm pretty conservative but I realize that I need to make some moves if I want to grow my stack to stay competitive. So I shove with any premium hand, JJ+, AK, and AQ depending on circumstances. The blinds are getting up there and steals are not trivial amounts. I have a spotless record but I get a bad feeling about shoving with AJ against a guy I have covered. He calls and shows AA which cuts my stack down quite a bit. But I pick up some legit hands and shove about 4 out of 6 hands in a row and build it back to respectable in quick order. I manage to wait for good hands and get paid for them with one bad suckout along the way my QJ vs KK which ran out ATx x K to win in ugly fashion. I sail past the 180 mark, the 90 mark and crack the 45 player mark which is worth $12.50. If I can get to two tables the payout is $17.50 and final table payouts range from $25 to $400. My stack is strong and I'm bringing my A game after a slight lapse in concentration. I pick up KK, shove, get called by a short stack holding 22 and genius big stack overcalls with 44 which sets up on the flop and sends me home with $12.50 in my pocket.

Not a bad weekend for freerolls. My cashier balance has hit a new all time high of $290.26 thanks to three cashes. Though I shouldn't expect the same performance each month I see no reason why I can't at least qualify for the same three freerolls each month so I'll at least give myself the chance to roll up more cashes 12 times a year.