Gray-haired poker TRs: Living the WSOP dream

MSPT Day 1: $300 Epic Stack Kickoff NLH (Part 10 of 11)
I’m on life support with less than 4 BBs (after posting BB); I get it in good with A-4 versus 9-2

Level 15
10,000/20,000/20,000

There are 40 players left, then 39.

I am in the big blind and I have to post 40,000 chips for the big blind and the big blind ante. I only have 72,000 chips behind. It folds to the small blind who has gone from a huge stack to a medium stack with some very loose, very incorrect calls. The small blind puts me all-in. I suspect he is doing this light. I have A-4 and snap call. Small blind has 9-2. I’m a fairly significant favorite, although villain has two live cards. A groan goes up from the rest of the table when the flop has a 2 in it for villain, and nothing helpful to me. An even bigger groan goes up from the rest of the table when the turn is a 9, giving villain two pairs, and I don’t even have a sweat on the river.

I’m out in 39th place just short of the money (top 36 players). I’m not sure if the rest of the table was rooting for me for whatever reason or if they simply did not like seeing 9-2 get rewarded, but their response seemed to be disappointment even though it seems to me that they should have been happy that my ouster meant they were one spot closer to the money.

I don’t regret getting it in with A-4 as played. With the blinds so massive and soon to go up yet again, I am pretty certain that trying to fold to the money was not going to work. I was going to blind out fairly quickly. On my bust out hand, I got it in good, which is all I could hope for. Sucks to get busted by 9-2, but I’d rather lose that way than get knocked out because I did something stupid.

I nearly made the money on a single bullet, which I do take (minor) pride in, but let’s be honest. There are no participation trophies given out to players who almost cash.

I did enjoy a nice rush of cards at one stage of the tournament, but going card dead for an extended period of time when the blinds were skyrocketing was just too much to overcome. Although, if my 2-1 favored bust-out hand had held up ...

The fitting end to my day came when I got back to my hotel room and checked my e-mails. Turns out that the Milwaukee, WI area where I have a strip center (which I am not selling) with two national tenants had a massive rain a couple days ago. One of the tenants just notified the management company that oversees the property that there are several leaks in the roof from the deluge of rain. Sigh. A fitting conclusion to a day in which poker and my work responsibilities did not play nice together.

MSPT Day 1: $300 Epic Stack Kickoff NLH (Part 11 of 11)
Tomorrow could be a challenge

I head back to my hotel room. I feel mentally tired from a fairly long day of play. I call Mrs. rppoker and tell her how I busted out so close to the money. “That’s terrible,” she commiserates.

After I hang up, I start working on typing up my rough draft for the trip report. I don’t get hungry until around 11:00 pm. I head downstairs to the casino burger joint. I order a cheeseburger with a bag of chips and a peach cobbler milkshake. The cheese burger is solid but unspectacular. The peach cobbler milkshake is fantastic.

I eat my burger and then go back to my room to finish the trip report draft. I finish around 1:15 am and promptly fall asleep with the laptop still on my lap (I was writing from bed).

I wake up at 5:15 am. I change into sleeping attire and I go back to sleep. It’s not that I am tired at the moment, but I know I need to get some more sleep for tomorrow. Truth be told, playing tomorrow (or actually later today) probably isn’t a great idea. I suspect I am going to be fatigued. If it were the WSOP with a full schedule ahead of me I might take the day off, but this is only a two-day trip, so I’m going to have to man up and try to play as best I can.

There's a reason why nobody cashes 100% of these things.

The "skill" in tournaments is just giving yourself a chance to get lucky. Sometimes the rush comes and sometimes it doesn't.

Would have to go back to whoever mentioned that but maybe it was misunderstood?

Its definitely either open or raise. Not bet preflop first to act.

Maybe they were thinking first to act on the flop? Which that would be a bet.

Did you / are you playing the main? That is more along the style of patience/good structure too. 40 min levels, no skipped levels.

I dont know where you live but there are a ton of tournaments upcoming in the area.

Between WSOP Circuit twice in hammond and elgin. MSPT in potawatomi and firekeepers.

Hammond area is definitely sketchy area but you just drive in and out of the casino and dont stay in the area.

Wise words.

I did not play in the MSPT Main. Too many days required. I'm trying to be conscious of two things:

1) I have a budget of what I am willing to spend on poker. That means lower end WSOP buy-ins over 12-13 days, and maybe 6-10 WSOP circuit and MSPT lower buy-ins. It's a hobby, and what I am willing to spend should reflect that.

2) I don't want to be unreasonable to Mrs. rppoker in terms of my time spent doing my hobbies. I spend four weekends away from home for Michigan football games. I spend 12-13 days at the WSOP. When it comes to WSOP circuit and MSPT tournaments I want to take a hit-and-run approach where I play in two back-to-back tournaments over two days, requiring only one night away from home.

Yes, I am aware that there is a pretty vast buffet of tournaments that are easily drivable to the locales you mentioned. I am pretty sure that MSPT East Chicago, Indiana was not a one off for me. I definitely expect to pick my spots throughout the year.

MSPT Day 1: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 1 of 13)
New day, new tournament … A former U.S. Olympian tells me, “Today, finish three places better” than I did yesterday

I start the morning by showering and shaving. I get dressed, pack up all of my stuff and head downstairs to check out of the hotel. I have the front desk store my suitcase, so I can pick it up after today’s tournament. Then I eat breakfast at the same place I ate yesterday. I get scrambled eggs and bacon. I don't eat breakfast often, but when I do eggs are involved.

I walk past the front of the casino, and it is not exactly buzzing with activity.

Next on the agenda is registering for the tournament. Once again, no line to do so. I provide my player’s card and driver’s license to the tournament staff member assisting me. She reads my birth date and year out loud for everyone to hear. I say, “I guess this means I can’t claim to be 40.” This gets a laugh from her and the other staff members standing nearby.

I have a little time before cards are in the air, so I call my real estate broker to check in and see if he needs anything from me today regarding tomorrow’s sale of an office building. We go through some little stuff, which he has already resolved this morning, and then he asks how I did in yesterday’s poker tournament. He is excited when I tell him how close I came to making the money. Then he says, “Today, finish three places better.” I respond, “Making money would be great, but I’m really in it for the competition.” He responds, “Love it.” I figured he’d like this answer. Back in the day, he represented the United States in the Winter Olympics. He knows all about competition.

Five minutes before cards are dealt, a tenant from the office building being sold tomorrow texts me a request. I am really looking forward to not having to deal with these issues any more. But in the meantime, I provide her with a response.

I hate the fact that so little time is given to make edits before the editing window closes. Sorry about the unwieldy post above.

MSPT Day 1: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 2 of 13)
Going from the second nuts on the turn to a likely bluff catcher on the river … It’s a frozen tundra inside the MSPT poker room … A poor start, but I battle back to near starting stack

Level 1
100/200/200

In today’s tournament, everyone starts with 40,000 chips. We are five-handed for a while.

The first hand I play I have 9-10. I open and get one call from a guy wearing a hat that says, “Sorry I’m late.” The flop is J-Q-2. I have an open-ended straight draw, and I bet 800. Sorry I’m Late calls. The turn is a K, and I’ve made my straight. Second nuts. I bet 2,000 and get called (I don’t know it yet, but Sorry I’m Late is very sticky). The river is a 10, meaning the board is 10-J-Q-K-2. Four to a straight. If villain has an A, he has a better straight than I do. The 10 on the river is the absolute worst card in the deck for me. I strongly suspect villain has an A. He bets 10,000, and I believe him. I fold. I am down to 35,600 chips. Not the start I hoped for.

The next hand I play, I am in the big blind, and it folds to the small blind who completes the blind. I have A-8 and I bet. The small blind calls. The flop is K-Q-3. The small blind checks, I bet and win a small pot.

Already I am aware that it is absolutely freezing in here. Yesterday everyone was complaining how hot it was when the air conditioning stopped working. Today it is an ice box, and will remain this way the entire day.

I am dealt A-2. There is a limper ahead of me. I pop it to 1,000, and I take another small pot.

I am dealt J-J, and I lose a bunch of chips to a woman in a teal top who has A-8 and “gets there.”

I win a bunch back from Ms. Teal when I have K-10 on a 10 high board, and she doesn’t believe me.

I look down at A-A, and I open the betting. I get four callers, which is both promising and potentially dangerous. The flop is 4-4-10. I bet and one player calls. The turn is a rag, I bet again and villain gets the message and folds. I have 39,800 chips and have battled back from the early setbacks to have a starting stack again.

Side note: If you are wondering why there is so little detail in this level’s hands, it is because with play five-handed, I am playing a lot of hands and it gets tough to write down much when I often get involved in the very next hand. The play was too rapid fire to take good, detailed notes.

I have been extremely active, probably the most active of anyone at the table. The cards I had made this activity defendable, but I suspect the table may believe I am all gas, no breaks, which is not my usual table image.

End of level 1: 39,300 chips.

That's interesting. May I ask which sports, and time frame we are talking about? Growing up I was very interested in winter sports and watched everything I could on TV.

(still watch occassionally these days, but nowhere near as religiously as a kid)-

Luge (doubles) 1988 Winter Olympics.

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 3 of 13)
The spooky, persistent, mathematically improbably avalanche of 4-7 starting hands … “UFC Aggro is going to be a problem”

Level 2
200/300/300

Mrs. rppoker texts me a picture of the painted walls currently being done in our house in a family wide text. She wants to know what people think. This leads to my phone buzzing a lot in my pocket over the next few minutes. Sigh.

So far there has been absolutely no table talk. Stone silent. It takes quite a while before the players engage in any chit chat.

I get dealt 4-7 three hands in a row. Kind of weird.

Four hands later I get dealt 4-7 yet again. Kind of spooky.

I have become very aware that a player in a UFC shirt to my immediate right (a slightly late arrival) has been very, very aggressive since he joined the table. The UFC Aggro flops a set of fours to decimate a player’s K-K. Now UFC Aggro has a lot of chips. I mark down in my notes, “UFC Aggro is going to be a problem.”

I am in the small blind when I get dealt 4-7 one more time. That’s five times this level. What on earth is going on here? It folds to me. I complete the blinds, and the big blind (who is wearing a New York Yankees hat) checks. The flop is the scary A-9-8. It is unlikely that either of us has an A, but I can definitely tell the story that the 8 or 9 helped me (it didn’t, but that’s my story). I bet, and Yankees folds. That’s how you play 4-7, I guess? I don’t know what the poker universe is trying to tell me with all of these 4-7 hands, but it’s clearly trying to tell me something.

End of level 2: 39,400 chips.

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 4 of 13)
When an Aggro player is also getting smashed by the deck, everyone else has trouble … I run into Q-Q and my chip stack takes a hit … I tell a tablemate I have a new nickname for him

Level 3
200/400/400

UFC Aggro busts Yankees in two pair versus two pair carnage. UFC Aggro already has heaps of chips. I am learning two things that will hold up much of the day: 1) UFC Aggro plays a ton of hands, 2) he’s not afraid to bet, bet, bet and put people to the test, and 3) he is getting absolutely smashed by the deck. Aggressive and smashed by the deck is an almost impossible combination to deal with.

Around this time, Ms. Teal is getting low on chips. There are two limps ahead of me, and I have 9-9. I raise to 2,500. Ms. Teal is still to act, and she goes all-in for 7,600. I call. She has Q-Q, and it holds up. I have 30,800 chips. All that work to get back to starting stack has again been undone.

UFC Aggro wins another massive pot when his A-5 improves to two pairs versus his opponent’s A-4 (just one pair). No matter what cards UFC Aggro plays, he seems to flop, turn or river huge.

After one hand, UFC Aggro (who has been flopping two pairs with devastating frequency), tells me he had 4-7 (there’s that combo yet again) and would have flopped two pair. I tell him I’m going to start calling him “Two Pairs.”

End of level 3: 29,800 chips.

Ah, hehe. That's a bit too obscure even for me.

Calgary 1988 did however have a great theme song (David Foster - Winter Games), which is also occasionally used as the sound track for the Bellagio Fountains.

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 5 of 13)
I am dealt my most hated hand, I bet and I get four (FOUR!!!!!) callers … The Prince of Two Pairs now shows down a flush … My real estate world picks a perfect time to need my attention … Dog of the day

Level 4
300/600/600

I am dealt 10-10 (the hand I hate the most because it historically causes me such difficulty to play), and I bet 1,500. Four people call. It feels to me as though the only person who did not call is the dealer. This is not good. Highly unlikely 10-10 flops well against this many opponents. The flop is Kd-6d-3c. A betting war breaks out, and I get out of the way. I write down in my notes, “I can’t get anything going.”

UFC Aggro, the man now also known as Two Pairs, shows some versatility in his smashed-by-the-deck skills. He does not make two pairs with Qh-10h. He makes a flush. He is a poker killing machine. He is poker Rambo. Then comes some great news. He gets moved to another table.

I am dealt 4-7 two more times this level. The poker Gods are toying with me and laughing at me is the only explanation I can come up with.

End of level 4: 24,700 chips.

We go on break.

I notice a recently sent e-mail from the person that is 50-50 partners with me in a couple of shopping centers. Before I can read the e-mail, he calls me. Apparently, he really wants to talk about something. His timing is perfect. He tells me that we have received an offer to purchase one of our shopping centers. The initial offer is promising. We discuss what our counter offer will be.

Just as I conclude this phone call, a poker service dog walks by. Of course, we always include poker service dogs in a trip report.

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 6 of 13)
I once again battle back to starting stack and this time beyond … Does making constant poker chip change as the table big stack count as cardio?

Level 5
400/800/800

Ms. Teal busted in the last hand of level 4. She has bought a second bullet, and she is seated to my immediate right in the spot vacated by UFC Aggro/Two Pairs. I will eventually come to view her as a quality, tricky, worthy adversary, but right now I am thrilled to have her instead of UFC Aggro/Two Pairs to my immediate right.

I have A-K and I get a couple of bets of value against a heavily tattooed opponent on an A-J-3-8 board. He folds to my river bet. I have 31,700.

I limp with 5-5. We go three-way to the flop, which comes 4-6-6. I bet and take it down. I have 34,500 chips.

Next, another player opens to 1,700. I have 9-9, which is a bit tricky. If I just call and don’t hit a set, it’s probably going to be difficult to navigate. I’m certainly not going to fold. I decide to hit the accelerator and raise it to 6,000. Villain folds. I have 36,200 chips.

I am dealt K-Q, and I open to 2,500. Everyone folds. I have 38,200 chips. I have battled back to almost a starting stack. Today feels like I am pushing a boulder up a mountain.

I have A-J, and I open to 2,500. I get two callers. The flop is A-7-4. I bet 4,000 and get one call. The turn is a rag, and I bet 7,000. Villain folds. I have 48,000 chips. Finally, my head is above water.

A player with a four-leaf clover hat has a huge stack. He keeps getting asked to make change for people. The dealer jokes that it’s Four-Leaf Clover’s job since he has all the chips at the table. Four-Leaf Clover asks if this counts as cardio on his part.

I am feeling good about the fact that I finally have my chip stack headed in a positive direction.

End of level 5: 47,000 chips.

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 7 of 13)
A complaint about how much the blinds just increased … My A-K versus Q-J sees the “Kryptonite card” revealed on the turn … K-K twice in three hands, and the second time the flop is bad, yet I run a three-barrel bluff

Levels 6 & 7 (I did not mark down in my notes when level 6 ended)
600/1,200/1,200
1,000/1,500/1,500

There is a limp and a call, when I look down at A-K suited. I pop it to 5,000, which is probably too small. Both opponents call. Let’s see a flop. The flop is 4-6-8 rainbow. My opponents both check. The flop completely misses my pre-flop betting range. But they have shown weakness, so I tell the story that I have a big over pair. My story is a lie, but they don’t know that. I bet 7,000 and both villains fold. I have 59,000 chips. I believe that my table image has changed. In level 1, I was involved in a lot of hands and may have been viewed as a loose cannon. Since then, I have calmed down, and I believe my table image is tight aggressive. As a result, my post flop bets are given respect even when I have missed completely.

The dealer complains about the fact that blinds have gone from 400/800/800 to 600/1,200/1,200. He asks, why skip 500/1,000/1,000? I completely agree. I understand that in order for this to be a one-day event, they have to push the blinds. But I think that they overdo this. It’s one of my only somewhat major complaints of the MSPT. Everything else is great. The dealers all are extremely competent and personable (nothing like the WSOP where on day 1s of low entry fee events, some/many – but not all -- of the dealers are new, out of their element and often seem afraid to speak). The MSPT staff is extremely helpful. Communication is great. Everyone associated with the MSPT seems genuinely invested in making it a great experience for the players. Everything runs smoothly other than room temperature (the air conditioning broke in yesterday’s tourney and it was a sauna, while today feels like we are playing in the freezing, really uncomfortable Arctic).

I am dealt K-J suited in middle position. I bet 3,000 and Sorry I’m Late calls from the big blind. The flop is K-8-4 in which the K not only hits my range, but it also hits my actual hand. Sorry I’m Late checks, I bet 3,000 and Sorry I’m Late folds. I have 61,800 chips.

I then lose a big hand to Ms. Teal. I have A-K while she has Q-J. I bet and she calls pre flop. The flop is 10-9-rag. I did not write down the betting action after the flop. The turn is a K, which gives me top pair nut kicker, while it completes Ms. Teal’s straight. It is the absolute Kryptonite card for me. Again, I don’t have the betting action but I end up losing a big pot, and my chip stack plummets down to 42,400. And I’m back near starting stack yet again. Sigh.

An early position player bets 3,000. I have K-K and pop it to 9,000. Unfortunately, he folds. I have 47,400 chips.

Two hands later I have K-K again. Four-Leaf Clover, who has a monster stack, bets 3,500. I nudge raise to 7,000, and he calls. The flop is A-7-10. He checks. I decide I am going to be playing this as though I have flopped huge (which I clearly have not, damn K-K for being an A magnet). Even if he has an A, I block A-K. Thus, even if he has A-Q, he has to worry about whether he has a kicker problem. I bet, and he calls. There is a J on the turn. I bet, he calls. Damn, am I owning myself with this ploy? The river changes nothing. I go all-in for my remaining 15,400 chips. His modus operandi throughout the day seems to be to call flop and turn bets, and then when his opponent gets worried and checks the river, Four-Leaf Clover has been betting them off their hands. At least that’s my analysis in game. Faced with my all-in bet, Four-Leaf Clover tanks. He says, “The bet is 15,400, but my hand is only worth 15,300.” I intentionally laugh (a small laugh, kind of a chuckle with a smile) to indicate comfort/strength. I never do this, but in this instance I do so to convey the image that I am very happy with the cards I possess. Since I am an older player, I believe showing calm strength will be perceived as calm strength, whereas a younger player acting this way could be viewed as showing weakness. This was an instantaneous, internal leveling war on my part. I have not shown down any bluffs like this. My image at this moment is tight, bordering on very tight. There is no way he expects me to be three-barrel bluffing all-in with only second pair. I have played this like I have the nuts. This is not me on mad-about-the-flopped-ace tilt. This is me calmly playing my table image. Plus, if I lose, I can re-enter for almost as many chips as I started the hand with. Four-Leaf Clover folds what I think might be a hand that has me beat. I’m not sure that I’ve attempted this big a bluff over three streets before. It is either lunacy or progress. I defer to LVL 2+2 members to assess. Regardless, it worked. I have 83,400 chips.

End of level 7: 79,400 chips.

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 8 of 13)
All of the Aggro players have been moved off of my table, so I open up my play

Level 8
1,000/2,000/2,000

Four-Leaf Clover gets moved to another table. All of the really active players have been moved off our table. He was the final one. I make a mental note that this may be a good time to open up my game a little bit now that the remaining players seem more passive to me.

I immediately get dealt A-7 suited UTG and open to 6,000. An unthreatening player calls. The flop is K-Q-3. I bet and get the desired fold from my opponent. I have 85,400 chips.

Soon after that I get dealt 5-5. I open to 6,000 and get two calls from the blinds. The flop is K-10-4. The blinds go check check. I bet and both opponents fold.

End of level 8: 95,400 chips (average stack size is 70,000).

We go on break. When I return from break, I see that I won the color up, so now I have 96,000 chips.

I don't wonder about these guys - middle aged, dressed in business casual, texting, emailing, and taking phone calls. I know that they're still working, working too hard, and can't really get away to play poker. I pity them, because they can't break the shackles. Not trying to throw shade; it seems like you're on the way to relative freedom.

Appropriate lyrics start around 5:25

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 9 of 13)
I again open light, this time on the button, and a new player goes all-in … an aggressive opponent from yesterday is moved to my table

Level 9
2,000/3,000/3,000

Late registration has now ended. There were 195 entrants, and 108 players remain.

It folds to me on the button, I have J-9 and I bet 6,000. There is a new player to my immediate left, and he goes all-in for 40,000. This is his first hand at the table. Too much strength shown versus my ambitious J-9, and I fold. I will eventually learn that this new player plays a style that is pure Maniac. I do not know this at the time of this hand, although I still think it’s a fold.

I am in the blinds early and often this level, and I don’t have anything playable. My chip stack stops climbing and starts to shrivel.

An aggressive player I shared a table with yesterday joins today’s table. I dubbed him Euro yesterday, although I don’t think he made much of an appearance in the trip report. He is a very active player who is not afraid to play big pots.

It is announced that 21 players will make the money.

End of level 9: 66,000 chips

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 10 of 13)
I give out another nickname to a player … King Kong versus Godzilla … I get the table’s most aggressive player to fold A-J when he would have had me dominated, and a bit later it becomes clear he does not want to play back at me when I show strength … “Just play bad, get there.”

Level 10
2,000/4,000/4,000

The player two to my left says he has been sober for eight years. The player sitting between us (the recent addition who plays a Maniac style) is drinking a Corona. The beer drinking player asks if it is exactly eight years today (given sober guy kind of brought this up out of the blue). Before he receives a response, Corona drinker says, “If it is exactly eight years, we can go get a beer to celebrate.” I tell the Corona drinker his new nickname is Bad Influence.

72 players remaining.

Euro and UFC Aggro/Two Pairs have been going crazy playing tons of hands, repeatedly betting people off their hand and have taken control of the table. They are also getting hit hard by the deck. It’s like watching King Kong versus Godzilla. I am dealt A-K and for the first time this level both of them fold pre flop. Now they stop betting?! I thought for sure they’d put chips in the middle before it was my turn to act. I go all-in for something like 50,000 and everyone remaining folds.

Next comes a hand where my table image saves me. I am dealt K-J in middle position. I go all-in again. It folds around to UFC Aggro/Two Pairs who tanks before open folding A-J. Phew. This is the first time he has shown any hint that he knows where the breaks are. My tournament is saved. I am pretty sure I am the only player at the table he backs down against with A-J.

I haven’t played a hand for a bit since the K-J versus A-J crisis was averted when UFC Aggro/Two Pairs opens the betting. I have 9-9 and go all-in. He seems to want to make the call but he grumbles that I hardly play any hands, and he folds.

Four-Leaf Clover returns to our table but his chip stack has taken a hit. Still, his return combined with UFC Aggro/Two Pairs, Euro and Bad Influence means that our table is brimming with aggressive, action players.

Euro decimates Bad Influence’s chip stack, leaving the Corona drinker with a mere 10,000 chips. This happens when Euro’s A-J runs down Bad Influence’s K-K. Under his breath Euro says, “Just play bad, get there.”

End of level 10: 94,000 chips.

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 11 of 13)
I open with K-2 on the button and get it through … 10-10 goes from my most-hated hand to momentarily beloved

Level 11
3,000/6,000/6,000

63 players remain.

I’m in the big blind. It folds to a new player who only completes the blinds. I have 9-10 off suit, and I raise it to 20,000. New Guy folds. I have 97,000 chips.

It folds to me on the button, and I have K-2. I bet 15,000 and both of the blinds fold. I must have won another hand and failed to write it down, because my notes say I now have 132,000 chips.

Euro is on fire, and he knocks out Sorry I’m late. Euro has J-J. Sorry I’m Late has K-K. All Sorry I’m Late’s chips are in the middle pre flop. Euro binks his two outer on the river, and Sorry I’m Late is Sorry He’s Busted.

There are 54 remaining.

There are 45 remaining.

I am blinding down, and only have 97,000 chips.

UFC Aggro/Two Pairs bets 20,000. It folds to me in the big blind, and I have 10-10. My most hated hand. That said, there’s only one thing to do. I go all-in. Villain has A-Q. Man he’s been dealt a ton of premium hands today. He calls. I win the coin flip. I did not think it possible that 10-10 could win me a huge pot, but that is precisely what just happened. I love 10-10. Momentarily. Pretty sure the love affair will not last. I have 191,000 chips.

Level 11 ends: 167,000 chips

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 12 of 13)
The table topic of conversation is hookers … the table thinks it is break time but the dealer brilliantly says one more hand

Level 12
4,000/8,000/8,000

Out of nowhere the table starts talking about prostitutes. An old guy who is relatively new to the table says he only used a hooker once. He thought he was about to get the green light to have sex with what he thought was a civilian. That’s when she sprung the unexpected plot twist that she was strictly pay to play. At this point he was too, to use a poker term, pot committed and he paid the toll. A couple of other somewhat new players to the table talk about their military pasts, and how when they and their fellow soldiers went on leave, hookers, massage parlors and trips to Tijuana were very much on the agenda.

Back to poker, Four-Leaf Clover busts.

Then our table breaks. I have 167,000 chips, and 36 players are remaining.

I feed the blinds once, and it appears that the end of level 12 has arrived, but the dealer at my new table says there is one more hand to be dealt. Everyone sits back down. The break clock has already started counting down, but if the dealer flips cards to us then we have to play them. I am on the button, it folds to me and I look down at A-Q. I bet 25,000, and both blinds fold. What a genius move for the dealer to deal one last hand!

End of level 12: 167,000 chips

Now we go on break.

MSPT Day 2: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH (part 13 of 13)
In my opinion, the blinds just increased too much (yes, I have a complaint) … A flurry of players bust and the money is only 7 spots away … I get a walk … Big pair versus big pair carnage

Level 13
6,000/12,000/12,000

This is another example of the blinds going up too fast. I don’t get why we go from 4,000/8,000/8,000 to 6,000/12,000/12,000. It makes way more sense to go to 5,000/10,000/10,000 instead. Jumps like this take away the nuance of play for players starting to get slightly short on chips. OK, rant over.

35 players left.

33 players left.

32 players left.

Players are busting fairly quick, but there is still some time before it will get to the money (top 21 players).

30 players remain.

I have 167,000 chips. Almost 14 big blinds.

I am in the big blind and look down at A-7 off suit. Do I want to get aggressive with this hand? I never have to make a decision. I get a walk, which is shocking. I have 173,000 chips.

28 players remaining.

Can I fold to the money if it comes to that? I’m not sure. Four tables remain, and each is seven-handed. Which means the blinds come around pretty quick. I tell myself that if the opportunity presents itself, I have to play quality hands, and let the chips fall where they may. Other than my newbie enjoyment of added Hendon Mob entries, min cashes don’t accomplish that much financially. To really accomplish something, you have to go deeper than just barely in the money. I tell myself to play to win.

In middle position I look down at J-J. On the one hand, I want to 3x my bet. If I just go 2x I run the risk of the big stacks at my newish table calling slightly light and then if a Q, K or A hit on the flop I’ve got problems. I’d hate to price K-2 suited in and then a K hits on the flop. The downside of a 3x bet is if I run into something big, I’ve kind of committed myself to the hand. I decide to go 3x with a bet of 36,000. I won’t be at all upset if I just take down the blinds, which would take a bit of pressure off my chip stack. It folds to one of the two table chip leaders. In the short time I have been at the table I have seen him frequently push people off their hands with the aggression and persuasive power of his big stack. He is glaring at me. OK, I glare back. It’s a staring contest. Finally, he looks down at his chips and puts me all-in.

Can I fold? I don’t think I can fold. I don’t think I should fold. If I fold, I will be down to 136,000 chips (11.4 big blinds). Plus, the blinds are coming my way soon. Plus, we are seven handed, so the blinds will keep coming around quickly. Plus, villain has been aggressively pushing people off of hands. He can’t have it every time. Can he? Now I think of what he can reasonably have. He could have Q-Q, K-K, A-A, which would be a big problem. But there are less combos of those three pairs than there are of A-K and A-Q. If he has A-K or A-Q, it’s a coin flip, and you have to win a coin flip sometimes late in order to make a deep run. If it’s a coin flip and I lose I will have busted near the bubble again. But if I win a coin flip, then I’ll have the chip count to be dangerous. Plus, is it possible that he might be doing this with lighter holdings such as A-J, 10-10 or 9-9? Maybe? Probably? If he does push his 3-bet range to include those hands, then the case for calling gets even stronger. Is there some percentage greater than zero that he is putting me to the test with even weaker holdings? Perhaps.

What to do? I decide to put on my big boy pants and go for it. Given the size of my chip stack, if I make an opening bet with J-J and then fold to aggression in this particular spot, then I don’t see how I ever give myself a chance to win a tournament. If I always see monsters under the bed, I am doomed as a poker player. I’m not sure if it’s the right decision or not, but I decide to call and show no fear of monsters under the bed. I push all my chips into the middle.

There were monsters under the bed.

Villain has K-K. I remind myself that all day long I have seen aggro players repeatedly suck out with J-J against over pairs. I have no such luck. I don’t hit my two outer, and I am out in 28th place, seven short of the money.

That’s two days in a row that I have run quite deep, been within a stone’s throw of the money, only to come up just short.

As I walk out of the poker room, I contemplate my MSPT near misses and settle upon a name for what has taken place …

… I’m the King of Almost.