Iv'e been playing poker for quite some time now and just yesterday i realized that i've never really felt what it's like to bubble out. It's either i bust out away from the bubble or make it into the money. But not yesterday.

I was invited to play at a friend's place to a two table tournament with a 600 buy-in, with 2 rebuys until the fifth level. Most of hem were new to the game so i thought i had a good chance to win some cash, event though the tournament was super turbo. (40-80, then 80-160?). True enough, the rebuy period ended without me having to rebuy and having a healthy stack. The turbo nature of the game eventually caught up with everyone except the two guys with the biggest stacks, and it was time for players to get lucky in order to win. I was one of those lucky guys when someone went all-in and i had him covered by a bit, and i called with AQ suited. Before i called, he said "i want to show my cards." to which i didnt agree. He flips over AK off and the board came A-Q-x-x-x, almost doubling me up. By this time, the average stack was about 5xBB and i was forced to push with A-9 after the big stack raised. He had KK, and no ace came to the rescue, eliminating me on the bubble.

It really drains you to bubble out. I mean, after how many hours of hard work, you go home with nothing. I won two bounties and got something back, but still, it sucks. I didnt even have the energy to play the cash game after and ended up watching the game for a few hours. They finally convinced me to play but i only did because we were 5 handed and i managed to eke out a small win to soothe my aching heart hehe.

Like i said to everyone at the start of our tournament, "I'd rather bust out in the first round than bubble out!" It's the worst thing that can happen to a poker player. Everu\yone's gotta experience it though hehe.

Next time. Watch your back!