Just got back from the deepstack event at the Venetian and im out, but the good news is im not bothered because apart from one poor hand i played great! Its amazing how quickly confidence can fall away out here, but its just as amazing how quickly it can come back! Looking back over the stay so far is clear to me what the problem as been, and the main problem has been adjusting to Vegas time. I kidded myself on the first full day that i was fresh and ready to go but in truth its taken a good 4-5 days for me to sort out the body clock. For someone whos been coming out here for 5 years it seems a pretty lame excuess but it is what it is! The first 2-3 years it was never really work as i was sucked in by the place. Last year was the first time i really tried to treat it in a profectional way which resulted in my first winning year out here. This year however though id come out here in great mental shape and about has physically fit as i have been in years i expected to just be able to fly right in and pick up where i left it last year.......................big mistake. In hindsigh i needed to give myself that 4-5 day settling in period before hitting the WSOP, o well lesson learnt, but as per usual for me its an exspensive one. Today was a tale of two hands. The starting stack of 12,000 chips was soon run up to 24k as i ran over a very inexperianced table, with a field of over 700 and just 40 min blinds a nice stack was a must if i really wanted to go deep. Then i play this hand, im dealt AA on the button. A very poor german player in early position limps, all fold and i make a 800 bet (blinds 100/200) he calls. the flop is k x x rainbow. Now the fella had shown he cant fold if he hits no matter the size of bet, in a previous hand hed called a $5k re-reaise on a board 6 7 8 9 Q with Q3, he won the pot! With this in mind theres no point getting cute, if hes got anything hes calling so i over bet 3,000 into the 2,300 pot- he calls. The turn is a 10. Again i put in a big bet this time 8,000 and he calls again. The river is a very ugly Q and i check behind him, he flips over KQ. Rivered in a huge pot, but such is life. To be honest the next hand i play is the one that bothers me because i shouldnt have really been in the pot. Again im on the button with 75, a tight guy in early position limps, i limp and another tight player raises to 900 in the big blind, first limper calls and i make the mistake of calling against two players who just arnt going to pay me if i hit, poor play on my part. When the flop comes 4 5 6 rainbow the mistake is compounded, i mean what do i want to hit with 75? (looking back its my cash game coming into my tourney game, in cash i can get paid a full stack, but for there tounement life a tight player will more often than not just fold) It doesnt really get much better than 4 5 6. Its checked to me and i bet out 1,500 and get one caller, im in trouble and i know it. The turn is a J and when he checks it to me i make a weak/strong bet depending on how you look at it of 2,000- i get min raises, shiiiiiiiiit! im priced in and after much thought call, though again the fold has to be the right play as this guy at the very very worst has bottom set, i miss the river and fold to his bet, a poor hand but not the worst hand ive ever played, but one that i knew had cost me big time. I was then left playing short stack poker, i finally get it in with Ah3h on a Jh10hJc board against 88 but fail to hit any of my 136 outs. The hand i played bad for sure cost me my tourney, but taken in the context of the whole game its a mistake i can live with, i know ive gone from my "D" game to my "B" game and thats one mighty leap! Im back to the Venetian tomorrow for another crack at one of these tournements and if i can just iron out that one big pot mistake i could have a chance of finally doing myself justice!