So Tight, Yet Still So Far

I saw one piece of paint over the last 30 hands, and not a single pocket pair, yet managed to take a token fairly deep:



In all honesty, I never thought it was possible to play this tight and yet still make it to about the 9th payout level:



Of course, had I known it at the time, I would have played the hand 31 hands or so before my exit. Sitting on 55 on the button with about 16k (M of about 4), and a player with about 20k goes all in in middle position, and a stack of about 18k calls. I figure I've got to be way behind. So I fold. And it's an AK v AK battle, and my presto would have held on that board. If I'd have only known. Folding 55 there didn't really feel nitty, because I was either racing very slim, or way way behind.

So a few orbits later, when my BB was half my stack and it was raised, I called J9hh. The flop wasn't horrible, even when villian hit his set, when I saw two hearts and a gutshot. But no help came, and I go home. Still, I really needed this, as it was my only cash of the day of about a dozen tourneys, where I went out in a dozen pretty sick ways...and I still haven't hit another set in NLHE going on about 900 tourney hands now.

Oh yeah, the bankroll drops...