Nice Run in WBCOOP 2011 Main Event

Although I got off to a very slow start, patience paid off in the WBCOOP 2011 Main Event as I finished in 25th place out of 872 runners. Almost six hours invested to fall short of the final table, however, was disappointing.

For the first couple of hours I was not getting anywhere. Then, horror of horrors, when I was short stacked and waiting to shove, I got distracted with a home matter and inadvertently folded pocket Aces! Needless to say, my language was quite colorful and objects were flying through the air!

I lucked out when I got Q-Q in the Big Blind and had two people raise. However, the flop brought an Ace and I thought I was a goner. One of the guys raised and drove the other player out. He had A-9 and flopped two pair. But then ... a Queen on the turn and I was back in the ball game!

Other bloggers who were hovering in the good half of the leader board for much of the tournament included wolfshead and Drizztdj. I eventually was at a table with wolfshead for the better part of an hour.

I played fundamentally solid poker and only had one player upset with me. Late in the tourney I raised in early position with A-Q and faced an all-in for a good percentage of my chips. I was guessing that, at worst, I was flipping. I was playing for first place and snap called. An Ace on the flop took care of his pocket Jacks. He couldn't believe I made the call so fast. The hand helped catapult me all the way to second place. However, a semi-bluff on a nut flush draw devoured a big chunk of my new found chips. Had I binked a diamond I would have been in first and had a nice cushion. As it was, I dropped down to about 14th place where I tended to hover as the play slowed down when we got to the $215 ticket bubble.

After the bubble burst, the play got wild and crazy. I didn't have the cards or position to push, so I just waited patiently for my chance. I got it when I was dealt K-K on the button. There was three-way pre-flop action and I had hopes of tripling up and moving toward the front of the pack. However, this happened:

Awk -- out in 25th place! One guy claimed he had J-J but folded. That would have made the hand even wilder. But -- what can you do?

So ... the only 2011 WBCOOP event I went deep in was the Main Event, so I guess I can't complain. My only question is ... who the hell were most of those players?

Gasp -- Live Poker Tournament!

Today I will be playing in the first live poker tournament (not counting home games) in almost four months. It is a local charity tournament, meaning that the structure will probably suck. However the entry fee is low ($65 FOR 6,000 chips, one re-buy allowed in the first hour) and there might be some good cash game action. The last time I played cash at a charity tournament the players were pretty bad.

Speaking of live poker ... the final table of the WSOP Main Event starts at noon Las Vegas time today. If I were picking two to win, I would go with John Racener and Matthew Jarvis. No particular reason except that I liked their style on the ESPN broadcasts.

Catch you on the flip side ...