Early Birthday Present

Two days from now, I will be 22 years old. That means I have to be grown up within 3 years. Gotta look for a wife, have kids, get a job, buy a house, the works. So I better enjoy the next 3 years for all they're worth :)

Last night, I gave myself an early birthday present by winning the 15k guaranteed $30 rebuy for ~$4300. I actually had a chance to win the TLB, making a deep run in the 10k as well, but I busted out just short of the final table. I believe a top 5 finish would have given me the win. Oh well, I was certainly happy with last night.

I neared the money as a short stack, but picked up some good hands at the right spots, doubling up with AQ vs AJ and KK vs 77. The field was surprisingly weak for the 15k, which was a pleasant surprise. I got away 3 betting light in a few spots, and even saw a guy fold and show AK to one of my 3 bet shove. I got my first huge suckout of the tournament when my QQ beat AA 4 handed (although I would have still had 100k had I lost, instead I was up to 190k). When we got HU, I was down 2:1 in chips. The HU battle lasted a long time. My opponent was very loose aggressive. Lately, I have been trying to play to my opponent's style, rather than trying to impose my own. I generally am the LAG one, but last night I played TAG, carefully picking spots to 3bet and calling to see cheap flops rather than raising every button. I played a KJoffsuit about as bad as I could have played it and lost all but 100k of my stack. Down 6.5 to 1, I was lucky to pick up KK and double vs j10. We went back and forth for a while until I picked up 99 and 3bet his 28k raise to 82k. He shoved 365k and I called. He tabled k10 and I won the race. A couple hands later, I raised to 30k with A8, he shoved 200k. I felt that he was simply frustrated at this point, so I made the call. He showed 77. Things didn't look good until the river brought an 8 and I took the tournament down. It was awesome to run as well as I did (Won 3 big flips and even an 80/20!!)

This tournament presented a bit of a dilemna for me. Early in the HU match, my opponent got disconnected. I waited for him to get back and we continued playing. However, he got disconnected again later (when I was a bit shorter stacked) and I picked up about 4 sets of blinds while he was sitting out. Had it been a player that I knew personally, I would have had no problem waiting for him. And I always wait the first time it happens. But, I realize that waiting for someone to get reconnected costs me potential blinds, and even worse, time, which all translates to money. If I wait, we play less hands and the blinds go up faster, limiting play and having to rely more on good cards/luck. So, what do ya'll think you would do? Would you wait for him to get back a 2nd time, or would you pick up the free blinds as fast as you could?