Main Event, Day Three

I didn't have a whole lot of fun on Day 3. The bright spots and big pots were few and far between. I got caught red-handed on two steals and one particularly expensive resteal. I do give myself kudos for continuing my larcenous ways after that, particularly on following up a big blind re-raise with a spadeless A 9 offsuit with a confident healthy flop bet on a Ks Js 10s board. Also, right before the dinner break, I raised in late position with K 10, got called by the big blind, checked back a A J 2 flop, and then when he led into a 6 on the turn, re-raised him all in on a stone cold bluff. (He folded instantly; a call knocks me out of the tournament unless a Queen comes on the river.)

When it comes to bluffing, a smallish raise frequently looks stronger than a larger or all-in raise. I used this to my advantage late in the day, raising an active player from 6000 to 15000 leaving myself 20 behing instead of moving all in. I'm convinced this made the difference; with just Kh Jh I was certainly glad of a fold.

All in all, it was a grim day, watching bigger stacks joust for huge pots and spending most of the day with a smaller stack than I started with while the average stack went from 84,000 to 175,000. I was fortunate and thrilled to end on a good note, moving from 35,000 to 75,000 in the last hour.