Light at the end of the tunnel?

I played in Dave's again this past weekend. It started out small - two tables at launch - but opened up to a 29 player donkfest by break. I again decided to go with the $20 buy and save the add-on rather than take it all up front. I also decided to narrow my hand range a bit more and to be more conscious of my position.

Things did not start well. I am at a table with four women, Data, and Dave W. It's a nit-fest from go, everyone decides to be a dirty trapper except Dave, who decides he's going to be Sir-Raise-A-Lot. I'm getting a whole lot of nothing and can't brush him back, so I sit there and fold a ton of blinds. I'm sitting with a new girl I've never met before, and she seems to be getting smacked with the deck. When it's checked to her and she's got a pair she's betting, and the rest of the table is running screaming. She seems to be pretty passive though, folding most of the time to pressure. I decide to take a run at her on a four club board, firing all three barrels at her trying to budge her. Every time I bet she winces like she's in pain, yet she calls off 2/3 of her stack with the K. Ooops. Every time I do get a hand and raise everyone folds. Finally I get JJ on the button and raise. Data calls, flop comes A-Q-6. He checks, I c-bet, he calls. Turn is a blank and he fires into me. I show JJ and fold, down another 1k. (John later said he had AQ for top two). Frustrated, I take the add-on early to keep from having to shove.

Got into a strange hand with the new girl. I get dealt AK in mid position and decide to limp for 300 (since everyone is folding to my raises). She limps on button, SB folds, BB (Dave) checks in. Flop comes 10-9-6 offsuit. Dave checks, I check, she checks. Turn is a 3. Again Dave and I check, again she checks. River is a K. I check, Dave checks, she bets 1000. This is the first time she's made a pot sized bet at anything. Dave folds and I tank. I start trying to narrow down what she button limped with that's suddenly worth 1k. I decide she doesn't have K-10 or K-9 because she's been betting pairs and wouldn't have checked it twice. Likewise I eliminate sets or 10-9. It's doubtful she limped with something stupid like 10-3, 9-3, or K-3. I narrow her down to either 7-8 or Q-J for a straight, AK like me, or K-Q or K-J. I decided I can't beat much and fold A-K face up. The table is stunned and she collects her pot. She told me at break she didn't have a straight, so I might have been good but I doubt it.

Just before break I finally get a hand and flop a set of 6's against Nicole and nearly double up. After break I come on strong. I make Broadway against Cheryl and take a nice pot, then bust short stack Pyxis with KK after she shoves with A-10 and I fade the three outer (It's a fuckin' miracle!). A few hands later I bust Data and our table breaks. I get moved to the feature table, where I stay the rest of the game. I get seated next to a new guy who makes Meat look loose and aggressive. He's literally blinding to death. Blinds are 400-800, he has 2800, and he's limping in and folding. When it gets to 600-1200, he folds a BB and SB and leaves himself with 600 in chips. He finally has no choice to be all-in in the BB with 4-7 and loses. WTF is wrong with these people?

I did play one stupid hand, called a raise from Dawn preflop with J-10 on the button. Flop comes K-9-7. She open/shoves with K5 and I call with my double gutter and turn an 8, scooping the pot and putting me up over 20k for the first time. I get into a three way pot, got JJ in the SB. Mid position limper, button makes it 4500 to go. I debate shoving, but I don't know this guy and am not sure if this is a button play or not. I decide to flat, to my surprise the BB (Jesse) flats as well. Flop comes 9-6-2. I open/shove, Jesse folds, button tanks and folds. I show the JJ and drag a monstrous pot. I did make one misstep. With 31k in front of me, I call two short stacks who were all-in with A4s. BC had J-10, Dave had AK, three 10's on the flop and BC triples up. At the final table I still had 19k. Massive clusterfuck in one hand. Cheryl open/shoves with AQ. Jack Treadway also has AQ and shoves. Dave O. tanks forever and then calls with AK. Case A on the flop and Dave has a monster stack. Got up to 35k when I busted Jesse (don't remember what I had...maybe Q's?).

Blinded off a bit and then crippled by Linda. She open/shoves with A6, I call from BB with 77. Flop 6-8-9, turn 6 of course, river a brick and I am crippled. 5 handed UTG I decide to launch my only steal attempt of the night and shove with 4/5. Dave O. snaps with 10-10 and I am out 5th.

My tighter hand selection seems to be paying off. I saved a lot of chips simply folding small pairs. Example: BC is short stacked at the 200-400 level, I am in the SB with pocket 3's. Folds to me, I show and fold the pair and he shows a decent Ace. I rabbited a quick flop and there was an A on it. I also folded any pair below 9's until the final table, where I was forced to play pairs due to the blinds and my stack.

I also took a trip to Nautica on Sunday, wow is the new building a DUMP. It's a disorganized mess. When I was there, there were 50+ names in the $1/2 list. They refused to open tables at 5pm because they needed dealers for the 7pm tournament and were short. I got on the $2/4 list (there's rarely a list for $2/4) and got a seat with a bunch of crabby old men. The guy on the end had over $400 in front of him and a VPIP of 100. He played every hand to every raise and was killing it. I left after dropping $100, just couldn't get anything going. My last hand I made the wheel and lost to Mr. 100 when he hit his gutter higher straight.

Hopefully on call is light this weekend and I can make another run at Dave's. Let's see how the new tournament strategy works out.