there goes my virginity
I am on Saturday´s final table in the main event of the World Poker Showdown Costa Rica 2006! Imagine that. First real accomplishment in my short poker life in terms of larger buy-in tournaments, and no matter how many other big tournaments and poker stars you can find on the gambling firmament, this might be a small step for you guys out there, but a huge one for me.
It was a roller coaster ride during most of the day, I went from 4th place and $41,000 down to less than $20,000, and then up again, then down again. A lot of tight play at the tables with a bunch of uncalled raises before the flop. If you would limp in there would be a good chance either a short stack or one of the larger ones would pound on you right away, so no loose preflop play, you had to pick your spots, your opponents and thirdly and less importantly(!) - your hands.
The craziest hand happened when we were down to 24 players, and I had been knocked down to around $24,000. Having not seen a hand, and having been pounded on for a while, I decided to raise on the button, bluffing with 64h. In the small blind was one of the best players in the field, Jordan Davenport, and in the big blind Leo, a loose and aggressive player, so it was a bit risky. I caught a tell out of the corner of my eye, that Davenport was on a punishing mission when he rereaised me to a total of $5,000. Having raised to $2,000 preflop, and having position on him, I decided to call with the aim of taking the pot from him on the flop or maybe even get lucky and get a straight or a flush (draw). Leo folds.
Flop comes QQ9, 2 hearts. Jordan bets $6,000, and I start thinking. Now there s so much money in the pot, and I am so short stacked that I think it is time for my all-in move, so I push in all my chips, and he startles. Now he goes in the think tank. After a couple of minutes he calls (goddammit!!) and flips over 93 of spades!! The entire table burst out in surprise and awe, after expecting a couple of premiuim hands. I would say I would have preferred a laydown, and I really think he should have laid it down, but I was happy to see the ace of hearts on the river, bringing me back in the tournament and taking a huge dent in Jordan´s stack.
We went down to 2 tables, and I was surprised and happy to see a couple of real fish at the table, it was only a question of time before they would lose all their chips to one of the better players. Luckily I got my part of it, and despite being down to $21,000 when the blinds and antes combined added up to a whopping $6,900 I managed to climb back again.
10 players were eventually seated at the final table, and we all decided to chip in $300 each for the bubble boy. An older gentleman from Venezuela who had donated a significant amount of chips to me on the previous table told me he was just happy to make it so far, and his play at the final tabkle was indeed coherent with that attitude. He paid me off when I had AK, and the last hand of the night he called an all-in form the chip leader holding nothing but an overcard. Day 2 don, 9 players meet again tomorrow Saturday at 7 p.m.
Now here is a funny thing: The chip leader´s name is Henrik Allin from Sweden, so when you read the live updates on http://www.acrpoker.com/liveFeed/wpscostarica.php?v=61 don´t think I was given a new nickname. He is in seat 1 with $186,000, I am in seat 2 with $79,000. Average is around $67,000 and I think I am in forth or third position.
Wish me luck, it could be anywhere between $8,000 and $61,000 sometime late Saturday or Sunday morning.
It was a roller coaster ride during most of the day, I went from 4th place and $41,000 down to less than $20,000, and then up again, then down again. A lot of tight play at the tables with a bunch of uncalled raises before the flop. If you would limp in there would be a good chance either a short stack or one of the larger ones would pound on you right away, so no loose preflop play, you had to pick your spots, your opponents and thirdly and less importantly(!) - your hands.
The craziest hand happened when we were down to 24 players, and I had been knocked down to around $24,000. Having not seen a hand, and having been pounded on for a while, I decided to raise on the button, bluffing with 64h. In the small blind was one of the best players in the field, Jordan Davenport, and in the big blind Leo, a loose and aggressive player, so it was a bit risky. I caught a tell out of the corner of my eye, that Davenport was on a punishing mission when he rereaised me to a total of $5,000. Having raised to $2,000 preflop, and having position on him, I decided to call with the aim of taking the pot from him on the flop or maybe even get lucky and get a straight or a flush (draw). Leo folds.
Flop comes QQ9, 2 hearts. Jordan bets $6,000, and I start thinking. Now there s so much money in the pot, and I am so short stacked that I think it is time for my all-in move, so I push in all my chips, and he startles. Now he goes in the think tank. After a couple of minutes he calls (goddammit!!) and flips over 93 of spades!! The entire table burst out in surprise and awe, after expecting a couple of premiuim hands. I would say I would have preferred a laydown, and I really think he should have laid it down, but I was happy to see the ace of hearts on the river, bringing me back in the tournament and taking a huge dent in Jordan´s stack.
We went down to 2 tables, and I was surprised and happy to see a couple of real fish at the table, it was only a question of time before they would lose all their chips to one of the better players. Luckily I got my part of it, and despite being down to $21,000 when the blinds and antes combined added up to a whopping $6,900 I managed to climb back again.
10 players were eventually seated at the final table, and we all decided to chip in $300 each for the bubble boy. An older gentleman from Venezuela who had donated a significant amount of chips to me on the previous table told me he was just happy to make it so far, and his play at the final tabkle was indeed coherent with that attitude. He paid me off when I had AK, and the last hand of the night he called an all-in form the chip leader holding nothing but an overcard. Day 2 don, 9 players meet again tomorrow Saturday at 7 p.m.
Now here is a funny thing: The chip leader´s name is Henrik Allin from Sweden, so when you read the live updates on http://www.acrpoker.com/liveFeed/wpscostarica.php?v=61 don´t think I was given a new nickname. He is in seat 1 with $186,000, I am in seat 2 with $79,000. Average is around $67,000 and I think I am in forth or third position.
Wish me luck, it could be anywhere between $8,000 and $61,000 sometime late Saturday or Sunday morning.
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