Well it was a great learning experience anyway.  I managed to make it 6 hrs in a field of 378 to get railed at 130 with 38 spots paying.

Small ball was a common approach but the small slow blinds are decieving.  Players where forced to steal at every oppurtunity, I have never been all in based on \”M\” concerns so many times in a tourney.  In the end with 3300 chips and blinds at 600 going to 800 I shoved with ace 10 and thankfully a player isolated with KQ.  Not a bad race but the king on the turn ended my night.

Played some of Canada\’s best, got in a few hands with those wearing championship rings.  My first 1/2 table seen me sitting across from the countries top CPT player Richard Webb…just after he busted from the rebuy.  My first instinct was to run from the 10k wad he peeled a few bills off to buy in, but then I thought \”thats what I\’m here for\” I got none of his scratch but he got none of mine, lol.

I logged some good hours playing 1/2NL.  I was stuck early but plugged away and managed a profit by the end of the weekend, helping to defer some of the tourney costs. 

Gonna take a few more home games to totally recoup the tourney cost though.  I\’ll look at it as investment in my growth as a player.  My low limit style would have always been pampered if I did\’nt try a harder game.  Why change what is working if you don\’t know it won\’t elsewhere?  I have been spoiled by opponents who make mistakes and pay me off.  Not the case at the CPT Station Classic.  Every chip had to be pryed from a players hand and many times 10 hands would be dealt before a flop was seen.

What I learned is that limping with position and great odds might be a great play at the low levels… but in a little bit bigger game those that are confident with the resteal and and squeeze plays accumulate early.

The stacks spreads where not huge.  Many players like myself had 6k while the average was 12k and the 18k stacks religiously raised 2.5 BB to pick away at blinds.

I had two exciting hands…which both ended in chops.  Fun when two players lock horns and play the same hand the same way.  Now thats an even match up.  The one hand I flopped top set against a CPT champ who was holding an overpair to the board.  We built it up and the river puts the straight on the community cards!

Can\’t wait to give it another go…1st was 50k!  Gotta bone up the small ball a bit more and the steal plays. 

The 3 days of events seen over 600k get passed around and the ring games had many players with enough large bills to choke a few donkeys.

The best story of the weekend had to be a local chip and chair victory in the 200 rebuy.  The field of 187 fed a prize pool that hit 127k with an average of 4 buys per player.  The winner of the 33k first took a huge hit from my poker friend and was left with 2500 chips at 1500/3000.  He came back to win!  My friend cashed 12th for 2400 and that ain\’t a bad days work either.

Awesome time.

Jon