The STTs I enter depends on my bankroll. I play the lowest for which I have 10 times the entry at whichever site I'm playing. Hopefully by the time I earn enough to move up a tier, I've also gained enough experience to be able to compete at that level, but if not, I just drop back a tier when I've lost a few and fallen back down below the threshold. Currently I'm playing $20 STTs on Paradise Poker and £10 on William Hill. Normally, I play 4 tourneys a day and I play 2 at once (seems optimum for me). This takes typically 1 hour in the morning, another in the late evening although quite often I'll just play in the evening. Today's morning session saw me record a 3rd on Will Hill. This was a pretty bog standard affair. I played competently without really getting going or having any outstanding chances. I had an awful lot of luck with 3 left but all it was doing was keeping me alive in between being whacked by the blinds. On Paradise Poker I slipped out in 7th. Didn't get the breaks. The last hand was a foolish one when short-stacked. I've noticed a tendency recently to be a little too impatient. Must remember the "chip and a chair" principle! Tonight, I picked up a 5th over on Paradise Poker. I played OK for the most part but played a couple of hands badly. Well, maybe 3. 1. Got no bites for a large AA raise from early position. I'm still not sure the best way to play this hand. Over on Paradise Poker the play is aggressive and my feeling is that you will regularly get an all-in (as I did later with KK), but it is only a feeling. I really need to start keeping detailed notes. I favour getting their chips in before the flop as after it's difficult to get action unless they've hit a hand or draw that beats you. I do need to look more carefully at this though. 2. Playing JQ in late position, I hit top pair J on the flop. Small raise from the small blind. I trebled it and he called. A rag on the turn. He checked then called. River was a King. As well as the overcard, there was a slightly unlikely straight on the board to 9Q. It was an easy decision to check and he did indeed have the straight. Something's not right about this hand. But I 'm really not sure how I could have played it better (by which I mean I can see several options but not sure which is the better of them. That I didn't play it well is not in question.) 3. The worst hand was KQ from late position. Board gave 2 Kings on the turn. The same guy who had me with the straight was in on this hand and betting strong, re-raising after checking. I hesitated for a long while then called. Turn was a rag. He bet out. Again, I paused for a long time. I put him on KA and yet I still called. The problem here was wishful, and not hard enough, thinking. I had info on this guy from earlier hands and the way he bet the hand (strong but not excessive bet on the river following my long hesitation on the turn; calling the raise from JJ small blind from early position) made it fairly easy to put him on KA or FH. Worst of all, I actually read him correctly and yet still called. Ultimately, it may have made little difference as I was put out on a coinflip AQs vs 99 which I would have played anyway, but it's still a mistake that I should not be making. Last tourney was on WH which I won. There's really not a lot to say about this. It was one of those tight affairs that still has several players left in the very late stages. There were still 5 of us there with the blinds at 300/600, and 3 of us on 1500-2000 chips. There is little point raising as you'll be so committed to the pot you're pretty much going to be betting the flop regardless so it's just a succession of all-ins. I was fortunate enough to get the better of these exchanges and end heads-up with a slight lead. I guess I deserve a pat on the back for how I played from here, aggressively browbeating my opponent down to a weak position (but then I had reasonable cards with which to do so...it's not as if I was bluffing him with 27 or anything) From an 83/17 advantage I was able to reasonably call (and luckily win) his last gasp all-in with 9 10 vs my 7 8. Really there was very little between the top 5 and we could easily have all swapped positions. I think I was due a little luck late on in a tourney though! The win puts me back into the £20 entry bracket, with the opportunity to play at least 2 before dropping back down. I've played several of these already and haven't found the standard to be beyond me so hopefully this time I'll be able to register an early result and stay in this bracket permanently.

Source: My poker whinges