[rageotones]

part 6

so i make it up to the tournament a few minutes before 4 and take my seat. it's ridiculously packed in there and looks a lot like a wsop event. same tables, same dealers, etc. keep in mind this is a freeroll, so i'm not too worried about the competition.

the way it works...
the first day is basically a shootout, playing down to 2 of 10 players from each table. after day 1, all the players (20% out of 2800) will combine into a new tournament that will play like a regular mtt. so i'm basically playing a satellite to get to the next day.

i'm not really too worried about anyone at my table except for an asian kid about my age that sits immediately to my left in the 10 seat. we start with t1500 in chips, and blinds are 25/50 for 20 mins. i have a lot of experience w/sng's, so i'm not too worried about the format. i start the tourney in the co, and fold 45o. flop comes 446, turn 5, and i curse myself for making the right play. asian dude steals the pot from the button after it checks around on the flop and all the way to him on the turn. no big deal.

nothing exciting happens until i'm in the bb. a couple of folds, and the 3 seat opens to 150(3xBB). 4 seat calls, button calls, sb calls, so i throw in a 100 chip with A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]7 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].

flop comes A37 or something like that. i check. 3 seat bets 200, 4 seat calls, 2 folds, and i move all in for 1350 total. 3 seat calls, and 4 seat folds, and i know exactly where i'm at. he flips over AFace which i can't really see, and i turn over my A7. turn is a K!!!!...WTF...oh wait, he has AQ not AK.... river blank, i double up early and knock out the first player.

next hand, i'm in the SB w/J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]6 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], and a few people limp. i'm about to complete when the button raises to 200(4xBB). i reluctantly fold, and one or two people call. flop comes 66X, i cringe, and action ensues. a guy check raises the button, and button calls, but folds w/only about t450 remaining on the turn. i cry b/c i'm 90% sure i could have knocked out a player or two on this hand.

later i raise a pot w/A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]Q [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], and a lady w/about 1500 calls. she checks a small board, and i go all in. she folds. easy money.

nothing important happens until the next level. with a few limpers, the crippled button moves in for t400 or so. i call w/K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in the SB, and asian dude calls in the BB. it folds to a limper who moves in over the top for t325 more, i call, and sb calls. i flop a Q, and the asian dude and i check it down. button and asian both had TT, and other all-in had Q6, and i take down a nice pot while eliminating two players.

at this point, i'm cruising along nicely, and i've developed an unspoken mutual respect with the asian dude to my left. i have already decided that it will probably come down to the asian, the 2 seat, and me in the final 3 for the two seats, and the asian guy is 2nd in chips, so i'm playing pretty tight. i'm folding a lot when it's my SB vs. his BB b/c i don't want to get into any messes. this also alows me to pick up a couple of his BB's later b/c he puts me on a hand every time i raise.

fastforward to 4 handed. it's the asian, the 2 seat who looks like bill kowar...we'll call him bill, and a lady in the 7 seat with a saints symbol thing on her shirt...we'll call her saint.

the blinds have gotten pretty big...something like 200/400/50. the next hand i remember is her open limping in the CO/UTG for about 1/3rd of her stack, i fold, SB completes, and BB checks. it checks all the way to the river, and the SB wins with 46, she shows AQ, and BB shows Q7. lollerskates. i feel bad b/c she really doesn't understand at all what she did wrong, but is just kind of bummed that she lost the hand.

anyway, she keeps getting super short stacked in the SB when it's my BB, and i have about 75% of the chips in play. so i keep having to call when she pushes after it's folded to her in the SB. i call the first one w/1 over to her pair, and she wins. i call the second time w/to middle unpaired to her over and under, and lose again. at this point she's gotten enough chips to be kind of annoying.

the third time, i tell her that i'm actually going to have to look this time vs. the last two times. she pushes again, and i look down at T3o. sigh....i'll still have a big stack if i lose, and so i tell bill and the asian dude, "i'm doing this for y'all," and make the call.

she flips over K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] vs my T [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
i whiff the flop as she hits a flush draw....crap this isn't looking good.
the turn is the beautiful 3 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] , but i still have to dodge a gazillion outs, and the river blanks out. that's pretty sick, but oh well, i was bound to win 1 of the 3.

so we're down to 3 handed, and i'm sitting with about 10k out of the 15k in play. i fold once before picking up 99 in the SB. i raise 100 less than the right amount to put bill all-in. he thinks for a minute and decides to call b/c blinds are about to go up anyway. he flips over KX with one over to my 9's.

flop is JT4 or something, turn is an 8....woohoo, open ended, not that it matters, and river is another 8.

i'm about to shake his hand before i realize that he has trip 8's for the runner runner beat. bummer. i didn't even notice. oh well. now they both have a little over 2500 and i'm still in a great spot.

the next hand, the sb pushes, and the bb calls, and i'm thinking hells yeah b/c the sb only has him covered by a bb or so. the asian dude turns over A4 and bill turns over AT. the asian guy sucks out to knock out bill, and karma does her thing once again. too bad we all couldn't advance, b/c both the guys were pretty cool, and we had a good time. i managed to not play a big pot with the asian guy the entire time, not including the one hand that we checked down.

anyway, we both get our tickets to play at 11 the next morning, and all is well.

one funny note. at one point we hear all this ruckus, and i look a couple tables over, and about 4 down, and you see this douche all up in this guys face like "hell yeahs! this ain't no kiddie game!!!" HAAAAAAAAA

ZOMG, i wish i had this on video tape. it was a cheesy freeroll where like 80% of the field was eliminated in a matter of hours. i can't imagine what it's like to play at the wsop. anyway, i'm tired, and don't feel to hot, so i head back to my room to chill for a bit. i decide to stop by subway in o'sheas for a 6" meatball sub which is fantastic as overpriced as it may be (5.70-something), and then head to my room in bally's.