Small Cash in FTOPS Event # 8

What better thing to do on Valentine's Day than to satellite into an FTOPS tournament and then cash, huh?

Actually, the celebration of Valentine's Day started yesterday afternoon as 4/5 of the lightning clan went to see The Wolfman at a late afternoon showing. The verdict: tied 2-2. Mom and Dad both liked the movie but the teenagers did not. It must be a generational thing.

Today my wife fixed a great turkey breast dinner. So ... even though knowing that I might be putting myself at great personal risk -- being Valentine's Day and all -- I felt the good karma flowing and decided to use a $26 token to try to satellite into today's FTOPS Event #8. I settled on one that guaranteed 20 seats, figuring that my best bet would be one that might attract a bigger crowd. This one ended up with 322 runners and 59 players who would win seats. As the bubble came nearer and nearer I used my best roaching skills to qualify. Ding!

In FTOPS Event #8 I was never anywhere near the leaders. Heck, some guys tripled up in the first few minutes. I didn't have that luxury. However, I played disciplined poker and did not make some of the loose calls like I have in the past that caused my to bleed chips.

Once I made it past the bubble, I hoped that I could at least hit the next level of payouts. I did do that before I finally petered out. Final result: 845 out of 8,758 runners. I didn't have any nasty suckouts and no one put any terrible beats on me. Unfortunately, I ran into a two-hour period where I got almost no cards at all, which was very frustrating.

At least I still have the evening to spend with my wife and family. It should be a good night -- unless the moon is full.

Even a man who is pure in heart
And says his prayers by night
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
And the autumn moon is bright