Level 15 Ante 500 Blinds 2500-5000 My stack 136,000 Average stack 80,000
Bob Jarrett has often pointed out to me that the first twenty or thirty minutes after the supper break are often wild. And… they were. Players sit through supper with their pals who are on the rail and get filled up with all kinds of advice … some good and some bad. Derek, two seats on my right, got some excellent advice from Brad Booth. In the first hand back there is a raise and he blind calls in the big blind getting 2-1 odds. The raiser has AJ and Derek has Q-3 which draws out. Three hands later there is a raiser and Derek moves in. He gets called by the raiser who shows KT??? Derek doubles through again. And three hands later he double through again with AA. His stack went from 26,000 to 220,000 in six hands. And, it was started along that path because of Brad’s good advice about calling blind in the BB and then the bizarre call of his re-raise with KT? The lesson is… relax after the dinner break and see which way the wind is blowing.

The table has also changed remarkably. As players have been replaced we are now in a situation that 7 of the 9 players are above average stack. There are some unpleasant confrontations in the offing. Then, phew, the table breaks.

Hand 8 – Rare on this day… I am right about something.
My first hand at a new table. It is folded to the SB who limps in. I have Q-5o and decide to take it right there. I raise another 15000 and he calls… oops. The flop is 7-7-5. He bets out. I was puzzled. Again, my instant read was that this player was now the type to bet out a set. He was a stylish older gentleman. As I am pondering I suddenly note that his breathing has taken a leap. He has suppressed his nervousness for twenty seconds or so but now he is sucking air. This is often a sign of a bluff… he holds his breath but can only do it for so long. I call. The turn is a ten. He moves in. I stuck with my bluff read and called again. He showed 9-8 and failed to draw out. Phew.

With 7 minutes left in level 15 there are 83 players left and we go hand for hand. They eventually stop the clock (hand for hand with 9 tables in action takes a long time). With a couple of minutes left in the level we hit 80 player and make a payday.

Level 16 Ante 600 Blinds 3000-6000 My stack 199,000 Average stack 100,000

Hand 9 – The beginning of an interesting series of hands
I make is 15000 UTG with 6-6. A middle position player moves all-in for 90K leaving me with a 75000 chip call. Marginal too be sure. But, this particular player was moving in A LOT. I felt that he was out of line. And, I called. I figured he would have two overcards but I was easily getting the odds. And, I figured I would still have lots of chips if I lost. I was right… he had A-9o. Sadly, on a flop of A-A-9 I was drawing a little thin.

Hand 10 – Almost the end of the line for crazy A-9 guy.
I raise in late/middle position with Q-Ts. Crazy A-9 guy is the big blind. He calls. The flop is K-Q-7. He checks, I bet, he moves in (has me covered). I call. He has T-8 and is on the felt. I busted him a few hands later when he moved his VERY short stack in against my big blind and my AJ beat his 5-3.

Hand 11 – Timing… it’s all timing
UTG moves in for 90K. I call with A-K hearts. No other callers. He has J-9 hearts. I win. This takes me to about 360,000

Level 17 Ante 800 Blinds 4000-8000 My stack 360,000 Average stack 127,000
Staring around this level I went COMPLETELY card dead and never saw much from here until the end of the tournament.
Hand 12 – One of my better hands of the day
I raise UTG with 5-5 to 22,000. A middle position player who is a slightly bigger stack than me raises. But, I was watching him as he looked at his cards. He wasn’t happy. He had previously commented that we needed to avoid each other and it told me that he was not comfortable coming into a potentially HUGE pot with his hand. I was pretty certain that he did not have A-A or K-K. The flop was Q-8-4. I bet out 90,000 and he folded. He claims A-K and asks me if I had A-Q. Yup. That’s what I had.

I make a note that I am feeling good. I am seeing a lot of information and I am playing well.

Hand 13 – Chipping up Gavin Smith
Gavin raises my big-blind to 23,000. I call with K-6s. The flop is T-6-4. This looks like a flop that he will bluff at if he missed so I check. He moves in and I call. He shows A-T which holds up. Takes me to about 300,000.

Level 18 Ante 1000 Blinds 5000-10000 My stack 335,000 Average stack 163,000
Hand 14 – Avoiding getting pot committed
I have JJ in the big blind. It is raised to 35000. I considered making it 100,000 but if my opponent moved in I would be pot committed (he had a total of 180,000). I didn’t want to put 180,000 at risk so I called. Flop was A-x-x. I checked and folded.

Hand 15 – I am an idiot
I raise in middle position with 8-7s. Not, in itself, a bad play except that I failed to countdown the big blind. He is pot committed and forced to call. Ugh. What a rookie mistake.

Two of the big stacks got to war pre-flop. A-A v. Q-Q. The queens go runner-runner double gutter for a straight to bust the aces. This makes him a HUGE stack.

Hand 16 – Grinding my chips away
The SB raises. I call with 9-7s. He moves in on the flop. I fold. I think I was, however, playing a phase of weak poker and I ground my stack down from 400,000 to 250,000.

There is a lot of dead money in the pot. I resolve to make one steal per lap to keep on the curve. I do manage to keep my stack in the 200K to 280K range for the remainder of my tournament.

Level 19 Ante 1500 Blinds 7,500-15000 My stack 250,000 Average stack 210,000

With 6 minutes left in this level we are at 30 players. My table breaks. It puts Gavin on my left. That’s bad. But he took a huge hit in the last hand before the break and wasn’t armed for battle which is good.

Hand 17 – Phew
There is one limper. I make it 80K in the cutoff with 2-2. All fold. The limper was, I think, in over his head was I had seen him limp a couple of hands. Limp when weak and raise when strong.

Level 120Ante 2000 Blinds 10,000-20,000 My stack 220,000 Average stack 266,000

First time in the tournament I have slipped below average stack.

Hand 18 – IGHN
I am in the BB. It is folded to the SB who makes is 80,000. I move all-in 270,000 with T-T. Sadly he has K-K. The flop is K-7-4, all spades (I do not have one). So, I a 989-1 to win (quad tens) or have a running flush for a chop. Neither arrive and I go bust.

Could I have played T-T differently? Maybe. I could have raised to 150,000. Then if he comes over the top I would have a call of 120,000 into a pot of 438,000. At those odds I think I would have called anyway and gone for the suckout.

The aftermath
I spent 4 hours in the lobby bar eating pizza, drinking Shiraz, with Bob, Teri, and Buddy Ashmore. Those four hours, as much as anything, are why I play poker. We had such a good time. Upon hearing Teri say, “Not surprisingly, he has to appear in court…” tears actually rolled down my cheeks. Funny. Good times. Poker trips are A LOT more fun when you travel with people of like minds. Thank you, Jarretts, for hanging around sorry I could turn your 5% into a flat screen. Join Team Canuck and you are welcome to share the laughs.

My next poker trip will probably be Regina in March. FastWilly and turniptruck probably attending.