Final Table - $10,000 Main Event

Ok, so the final table started at 2:00pm with a ton of energy in the room - some people were there since 10:00am to get in line to get a seat. After a folding a couple rounds, a hand came up where Richard Lee raised the BB 3x one from the cutoff and I re-raised on the button with A,Q 2.5x. He called and the flop came rags. We both checked and the turn was a king. He didn't think long before announcing all-in and I folded - I have absolutely no clue what he had, lol. I tried to see a couple cheap flops with suited connectors and small pairs, but quickly siphoned off a couple mil and now I was down to 4mil or so. A much needed break came and I went back to the table focused and ready to go. A hand came up where Richard Lee raised one from the cutoff again, and Eric Friedberg called and I decided to come over the top with any two because it looked to me like he had decided to raise with any two himself. The steal worked and actually had a decent T8s :) I went a little card dead for a while and was blinded down to 3mil when it was folded to me on the button and I looked down at A,J. I didn't want Binger to make a liberal call now that he has more chips and take the pot away from me if I don't hit. So I decided to go all-in for a fairly large overbet of the pot and he ended up calling with A,9. My hand held up, and now I was up to 6mil. A while later, I opened for 700k in early position with Q,Q and Doug Kim made it 2.1mil in middle position. He had been fairly active at the table, and decided to go with it, shoving for approximately 5mil more, which would put him all-in as well. He thought for a long time before folding and now I was at 9 mil. A few rounds later I opened with Q,Q again and this time Doug called me on the button. The flop was a picture perfect 2, 2, 4 or something thereabouts and I weakly bet around half the pot. He thought for a bit and decided to move it with 9,9 and I insta-called. Winning this pot put me up to around 13mil with a ton of momentum. Shortly after, playing six handed now, Allen raised UTG 3x and Richard Lee called. I thought Allen had been raising a little too much and decided to re-raise with any two, which happened to be a J7o. The steal ended up working after Allen quickly folding and Richard giving me the look of death. Over the next 22 hands I either raised, or was somehow involved in 19 of them, quickly changing my style to that of a maniac and acquiring a fair amount of chips. Then a hand came up where I raised Binger's BB 3x from the cutoff with K,Q and he thought for a while before shoving all-in for 6mil (5mil more to me). I thought for a while and decided to call for a few reasons. First, he could easily be on a complete steal, and I might have the best hand - afterall, I've become the table maniac and we are playing six handed and he can't keep blinding to death. He has the perfect stack to make a move here and I'll fold most hands....or so he thinks, lol. Also, I thought he might have a hand like T,T or J,J which would be fine with me, considering I already have 1mil invested in the pot. Furthermore, he might have a hand he thinks is best, but still not that powerfull, like an A,J or A,T. Another thing that factored into my call was the intangible aspects of the situation. If I call here, even if I lose, no one is going to make a move on me because I've shown that I'll call a large all-in with a K,Q. I didn't want to fold and for people to think that I would continue folding to re-raises. Anyway, he ended up having the worst possible hand I could see - K,K and I lost the pot and was now down to 11mil. A little later I picked up KTs in middle position and raised Jamie's BB and he called. Flop came Kd, Jd, x and I bet half the pot. He re-raised huge and I decided to go with it and went all-in for the rest of my 9.5k. He quickly called with A,K and things weren't looking too hot. However, the turn brought a ten and quickly turned the tide. The river bricked and now I was at an all-time high of around 19mil. This was the one hand I regreted at the final table because Jamie either had a draw or better than a K,T. This means that either he has me dominated, or I'm a slight favorite - either way it's not good. For the next bit I decided to open-limp into more pots on the button with less than premium hands because it was working perfectly. I was routinely limping, Allen would limp or fold and Binger would check. Then they would check to me and I'd bet very small and they both would fold. This happened on numerous occasions and I decided to keep doing it until it failed, which it did eventually. After a break we came back to the table and Rhett Butler went all-in UTG with a short stack. I really thought he was getting desperate and his range would be fairly large, so I called with 8,8 and lost the coin flip against his A,T. This one hurt because I lost not only the 10mil pot, but more importantly, the momentum. A while later, Allen raised my BB 3x and Jamie called in the SB. I looked down at K,Q and thought about re-raising, but this would mean I would have to go all-in based on stack sizes. If he called, I would be in a world of hurt, and decided to just wait and try to flop a hand (we are playing four handed at this point). Flop came Ah, Jh, 9h and we all checked. At this point I didn't think Allen would slow play, especially considering how loose Jamie is and at this point in the tournament the risk isn't worth the reward. The turn came another 9 and at this point I bet 1mil into the 3mil pot - thinking either my king high was good, or a small pair might fold. Allen raised me to 3.5mil and I was getting ready to fold the hand and give it up, but then I started thinking about the situation a little more. I thought his bet seemed like it was intended to get me to fold, and wasn't a huge hand. The only possible decent hand it could be is a flopped flush, but even then why risk so much? Either he would fold his flopped flush if I moved all-in, or call, but either way, why put in the extra large raise? He could save money if he was intending to fold, or price me in if he wanted to get it all-in. Also, I decided it couldn't be a full house because a) he most certainly would have bet the flop, and b) he would want me in the pot on the turn. Therefore the only hand I was somewhat worried about was the A,Kh, but even then I thought he would flat call on the turn. If he had a 9, this bet would make sense, but I thought a nine would almost certainly have to fold if I moved all-in, so that is what I ended up deciding to do. He quickly folded his Th,T and the momentum was back in my favor. After Allen was taken out by Jamie, we were three handed - Binger and I with approximately 11mil each and Jamie with the rest. A few rounds into the 3-way bout, a hand came up where Jamie limped on the button and I limped in the SB with 87s. Binger raised from the BB and Jamie called and I called. Flop came T,6s,5s and I thought for a while about what to do. My first thought was to check-raise all-in, but then I needed to make sure I would have some fold equity if I checked. I ultimately decided that if I checked, Binger would either check and Jamie would bet and I could go all-in, or Binger would bet, but would have enough to possibly fold if I went all-in. So I elected to check-raise all-in rather than lead out all-in (I wouldn't just bet, because if someone went all-in I'd have to call and I like to put people all-in rather than call all-in). Binger bet 3.5mil, leaving himself with around 6mil, and the plan was working exactly as I had hoped. I even got ready to move all-in, but then Jamie suddenly went all-in and now I was in quite the dilemma. The way Jamie went all-in so quickly really made it look like he had a draw of some sorts, most likely a flush draw, possibly with a pair of tens as well. If I called, Binger would almost certainly have to fold, as an overcall all-in by me would be the sign of a monster at this stage in the tournament. The only hands we wouldn't fold would be a set or a flush draw himself. Therefore, because I thought Binger was going to fold, and I put Jamie on a flush draw, the decision seemed pretty easy that I should fold because I'd be drawing to just an open ender and he'd have re-draws. I folded and Binger called with an A,T and Jamie showed a horrifying 4,3. I was right that he was on a draw, but I was wrong about which draw. Had I seen the hands face up it would have been an easy call, but obviously hind sight is 20/20. Thankfully the turn brought a 7 and Binger was drawing dead, thus making it head-up between Jamie and I. The first hand head up Jamie limped on the button and I raised in the BB with A,J and he folded and I showed. A couple hands later I raised on the button with A,7s and he called. Flop came fairly normal with two spades. He checked, I bet half the pot and he called. Turn was another spade and he now bet into me and I quickly called with nothing. I did this because he was trying to represent a turned flush, but what he forgot to think about was the fact that I knew he'd raise me on the flop with a flush draw. The turn came another spade, giving me the 7 high flush and he bet large again. I talked with him a little bit, trying to get him to give me information and ultimately decided to call and he mucked. A couple hands later he limped into the pot on the button and I raised with T,T. He called and the flop came Q,8h,5h. He checked and I bet weakly again hoping he'd come over the top and I could go all-in. However, I made a mistake - had I gone through the dollar amounts more indepth I would have realized that he couldn't raise and fold if I went all-in, he'd either have to raise me all-in, fold, or possibly call. Either way, the plan was flawed - I should have bet large, trying to make it look like I was bluffing. Anyway, the end result would have been the same, as he went all-in with Q,9 and I called. I thought his range would be very large here...anywhere from a pair of queens, to middle pair, to a draw, to a complete bluff. His actions at the table ultimately led me to believe he was on a draw, and, though I didn't like it, I thought I needed to gamble with him to get ahold of some chips and make it a real game. Even though I didn't get the title, I was still extremely excited with my accomplishment, and thought Jamie played an excellent final table. Though most people don't like his demeanor at the table, he is a really nice guy if you get to know him.

Day 7 - $10,000 Main Event

Ok, final three tables and the two short stacks exit after less than a round of play. I'm in push mode now, with my stack equivalent to approximately five orbits. After folding a while, a hand comes up where Rhett Butler raised my BB 3x and Prahlad Friedman called, Fred Goldberg thought for a while, then decided to fold his pocket sixes on the button, and I quickly went all-in with Q,Q. Rhett folded and Prahlad called with AQs. I doubled up and the process repeated - me patiently waiting for either another big hand or a good spot to put the money in. After folding a while, I was down pretty low again and decided to move all-in with a 73s in the SB after it folded to me and Jamie was in the BB. He showed me an ace, then decided to fold, as it was by no means a small raise to him. A while later I picked up K,K in the BB and Allen Cunningham raised in mid-position and I moved all-in for not much more. His A,Q failed to suck out, and I got back up to 2mil. I had a very tight table image at this point - so far the only hands I've shown have been K,K and Q,Q. Then a hand came up where I picked up A,K UTG and raised 3x, got called by Rhett in middle position, then William Thorson went all-in in the BB for a huge overbet of the pot. At this point I'm torn, I can't see how he could do this with A,A or K,K, so at worst I'm a coin flip. However, the fact that I also didn't think he would do that with A,Q or A,J coupled with the fact that I didn't want to play a coin flip for my tournament life, made the decision a pretty clear fold. A few rounds later, Jeff Lisandro limps UTG and three other people limp. I'm in the BB with K,K and decide to shove for a huge overbet of the pot. He doesn't think long before calling with J,J and I double up to 4mil! Shortly after, I catch a fortunate break and got moved to the other table (two remaining) and both tables are playing short handed. At the new table I'm one of the big stacks, ironically, and over the course of the next hour or so double my stack without playing a single all-in pot. I raised many pots and took a lot of them down preflop, or with a continuation bet on the flop. One interesting hand came up where I raised in mid position with A9o and Michael Binger called in the BB with 8,8. The flop came Qh,Th,T and I bet after he checked. He called and the turn came an offsuit queen. Now he bet into me about half the pot and I quickly called. The river brought a rag and he bet into me pretty large on the river, and I decided to make the call and take down a monster pot right before dinner, putting me at over 8mil. After the dinner break things did not go well, as Richard Lee felt the need to become the new sheriff and kept coming over the top of me preflop and forcing me to fold. I never had a hand that could play an all-in pot with him and dwindled back down to 4mil over the course of the next hour or so. The tables combined with ten players remaining, and now we are waiting for one more to bust. Eric Friedberg was to my right and was raising just about every single time it was folded to him, and this time was no different. Folds to him in the cutoff and he raised 3x and I was going to come over the top with any two, which happened to be a 7,6 and he quickly folded. A pot like this may not seem like a big deal, but with that much money out there and the risk of someone waking up with a hand behind me, believe me, it was tought to do. After a few rounds of folding, Jamie Gold raised my BB in mid position and I looked down at an A3s and decided to come over the top. He quickly called and the flop came J, 9, 8 and we both checked. The turn was a 7 and we both checked again. The river was a ten and we both checked again and split the pot. The funny thing was, he had T,T and turned the straight, haha. When I turned my hand over, he was shocked that I came over the top of him with such a weak hand, but I wanted to send the message to people, that I wouldn't just keep folding my BB to a raise because it seemed like it was getting raised every single round for the last two days. A while later I picked up 5,5 in early position and raised 3x and got called by Jamie on the button. Flop came Ks, T, 5s and my continuation bet was called. Turn was a Q, and now I checked, he bet half my remaining stack, and I moved all-in. He was forced to call drawing dead with K8s, and now I was back up to 8mil. Over the course of the next five hours or so I stole the blinds enough to break even, but there were no other really interesting hands, and we ended the day with nine left, and I was in fifth position with around 8mil.

Day 6 - $10,000 Main Event

Ok, so I started the day with 2mil in chips and blinds at 15k/30k/5k and Mr. Gold to my left. It ended up being a fairly short day, playing from 60 down to 27 people. I wasn't picking up many hands, and had a very tight table image as I was being blinded away. Then a hand came up where UTG tight guy raised to 100k and I look down at Q,Q in the cutoff and decide to flat call. Gold calls behind me on the button, as does the BB. Flop came K,4,4 and UTG checks, I check, Gold bets 300k and everyone folds. He then flips over AKs. A while later, with the blinds now at 20k/40k/5k, UTG loose guy makes it 120k and the button - who was making a lot of opens, but not many re-raises preflop - makes it 350k. I'm in the BB with AKo and a 1.1mil stack and think for a while about what to do. In retrospect I should have just folded, but instead I opted to call and hopefully get it head up with the button and shove on any flop. I thought UTG would either fold or go all-in (in which case I would fold, because he'd have to have A,A or K,K to do that) because of his stack size. I also thought there was no value in going all-in because I thought the button re-raiser would have to call with any hand he would re-raise UTG with because of the odds he'd be getting, and I didn't want to play *hopefully* a coin flip for my whole stack at that point. Instead what happened was UTG called and now I had to hit. Flop came Qs,7s,3 and we all checked. Turn was an offsuit T, I checked and UTG goes all-in for about 700k and the button and I fold. Now I'm down to 700k as the day comes to an end with 27 remaining. Average at this point was 3.3mil and I'm in 26th place...not looking great, but I'm still in it, and that's all that matters.