Woot, well I finally broke the unlucky streak! Here's how it went...

After losing that last $5 SnG I was getting pretty low, combined with losing a bunch of $1 SnGs and tourneys I wasn't too pleased with my profit lately. Anyway, this was my first real slide (they're expected but still hated) and I was down to $36.90. I decided I would use $5.50 of that on an SnG and $1.20 on an MTT. If I lost both I'd sit on my $30 BR til I got my money and was able to bump up my BR. Didn't have to!

I know I shouldn't be playing the $5 SnGs but for me they are just SO much more beatable than the $1 games. I've said it before, I'll say it again - I can't wait til I can play these regularily.

Signed up for the $5 and off I went, was getting bad cards for a while and just decided to sit around and wait a bit while others got knocked out. There was this one guy that was SO reckless and a complete moron, just wish I was the one to take him out. I did take some chips to somewhat get me going, around level 3 I got AKs from BB, reckless calls SB and I raise 3xBB, flop comes JQK rainbow. He's pretty damn reckless so I push, hoping for a loose call and boom, that's what I got; he flips over QT and I pick up 1000 chips up to 2200.

After losing a small pot to a short-stack (my AJo to his Q4o), we eventually got 4-handed and it was me (2300), SS (2200), reckless idiot (3000), CL (6000). I was basically forced to sit and do nothing due to the reckless play going on ahead of me (directly to my right) and eventually I was lucky enough to watch 2nd SS push with 77, get called by AQs by CL and lose to the flush. We were 3-handed but I was hugely short-stacked at 1500 versus 3000 and 9000.

At first I'm hoping the reckless kid will knock himself out, he almost does a few times but then I decide I want to play for 1st/2nd (my best finish has been 3rd) and I start to make some moves. My big one came with the stacks at about me (2000), reckless (4000), CL (7500). I picked up A6o on BB, reckless in SB min-raises me and I call; flop is 79A and he bets about the pot, I figure I need to make a move and he usually overbets with trash on the flop so I push and he flips over J9. Turn is scary, an 8, but river is a 2 and I double up.

It's funny, this reckless guy was entertaining to watch. If he picked up a premium hand like KK preflop, even in first couple of levels, he'd raise like 15xBB and obviously get no callers. But on the flop, with premium he would min-bet while with trash he'd overbet. Strange stuff. Anyway, a few hands later he pushed with TT on a flop of 678 with 2 diamonds, CL flips over KT of diamonds and hits his flush; down to two.

At the start of the heads up I was down quite a bit, about 4000 to 9500 but wanted to be as agressive as possible. I raised almost every SB, raised BB if I had a decent hand, etc. I basically did a good job of slowly moving myself up but eventually cost myself a few chips on a board of 458; I'm holding A4 and I check-raise to steal, he pushes and I fold while he shows pocket 7's. Back to where we started but I eventually made a big hand. I get JJ in the small blind and min-raise as usual. Flop comes 46T rainbow, I push hoping he hit something and he did, calling with JT. My pockets J's hold up and I'm CL about 7500-5500. A few hands later I get 9c3c in BB, he calls and I check to see flop which comes 5cJsAc. He bets 1/2 the pot and I call, which brings my flush with 5c. I check, trapping and hoping he hasn't made a FH, and river brings a rag. I bet the pot, he calls and I win with flush.

This led up to the final hand where I saw my luck finally work out. I'm in SB, dealt KK and min-raise, he pushes and I call quick hoping it's anything but AA and he flips over 99. For once my hand holds up and I take 1st!

That $22, $17 in profit, was great to see after my recent streak and I was very pleased with how I played in the later stages of the SnG.

So far my $5 SnG record is:

Played: 4
ITM: 3
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 2

I know it's not enough to really see that as anything special, but it still gives me some confidence. The $5 SnGs are what I want to be playing, and seeing myself do well now only gives me more confidence that I'll be able to see some profits down the road. Alright, I'm off for now, maybe I'll do that MTT later, maybe not.