Guarantee: $100,000
Entries: 628
Prize Pool: $175,840
Places Paid: 63
Players Remaining: 113
Min-Cash: $668
1st Place: $36,933
Off and running and I'm sitting next to a nice Turkish girl who jams first hand with a short stack. I don't like calling with 22 so I let her live.
We go from 113 players to 90 very rapidly. I'm playing the occasional pot and keeping my stack constant. We go to 500/2500/500 and people keep dropping like flies. I'm just pacing myself for now. Lots of short stacks trying to gamble.
The lemmings are at it again. Turkish Layla just lost a chunk with 33 vs 88 on a 772 flop, when a 3 turned, and an 8 rivered. Neither wanted to give up on the flop. Lots of swingy pots going on now, but I'm staying on an even keel.
360K now at 1K/3K/6K
A guy just jammed on my raise, and showed AK when I folded like it was the Holy Grail. The shove was fine,I don't get into lessons, and of course the hand has it's place in tournaments, but I still believe it's the most misplayed and overvalued hand in Hold 'Em. Most internet kids couldn't fold AK preflop even if you showed them KK. I guess one of us is wrong.
Bubble time. Still on 370K at 1K/3K/6K.
In the money now, it was pretty quick. Now a new bunch of suicide merchants are about to get busy. A whole new crop of weirdos to avoid.
This theory was quickly proved right as a guy on my table reshoves with AQ (which in this spot was fine) and is called for a shitload of chips by a kid with... AJ who simply cant find a fold even with another player behind. The AJ makes a flush. You can't fold AJ right? It's only 106K preflop. Jesus Christ.
59 left after the break as we hit level 19 and 1K/4K/8K. I have 343K.
Up to 405K when I sandbag trip 10's against the AJ kid and let him fire the river with King high. Chipping away.
I still maintain that more bustouts occur in these things at this stage because of people spazzing out with hands they massively over value than at any other time. People simply fall in love with their cards. I try very hard not to ever fall into this trap.
52 players left after the humourless kid on my right shoves with KJ offsuit, the old guy on my left calls him virtually all-in with A5 suited, and Ace high is good to bust him. It's pretty ugly but I always like to see people with a chip on their shoulder go out even if I'd never actually say it out loud. I'm on 440K with average at 314K, and blinds at 1K/4K/8K.
I just lost some when I fired with a draw with two aces on the board, and Lee Watkinson got stubborn with the pair he'd caught and called me down. Fair enough. Suck it up and continue Kevin. Back to 320K or so with 44 players left.
Back to 370K when I bust a player who shoves short (52K) with 56. I call with AQ out of a 300K+ stack, and the flop comes 224 giving him a gutshot. The turn brings an 8 for even more outs, but luckily he misses the lot and I win with Ace high. Thank goodness for small mercies.
41 left as we prepare to hit level 21 and 2K/6K/12K.
I grit my teeth and grind a bit back to pass 400K again.
38 players left and I'm back to 420K. A couple of bigger stacks are now on the table, including a guy I busted the other day who must have rebought. I am choosing my moments and not getting too involved with the players who want to spew chips and swing 200K at a time. Right now we are in the middling area where a silly mistake ruins your chance to win.
Next break and 35 remain. Table is pretty tough and I'm still largely grinding. Average is 448K, and I've got 466, so not too shabby.
Back from break and we are now at 2K/8K/16K. One sunglasses-wearing big stack on my right just called off 155K preflop with 33, and lost. I told him that whatever the other guy has, if no cards that come out are bigger than a three he's probably in fantastic shape. I think it sailed over his head, he possibly didn't see it because he's wearing his sunglasses indoors.
One guy bets, and the other player in the pot announces all-in and pushes his stack in. It is approximately 125K, which is obvious to anyone with a degree of common sense. However the question then comes out:
"How much is it?"
From the guy sitting one foot away.
My point is, you're not folding for 128K, but calling for 124K. Use your eyes. And your brain. And don't just ask the dumb question because everyone else is also dumb enough to ask it. It's not cool. You don't get a read on someone, and just because people on TV want to do it every hand, it doesn't make you intimidating, it makes you retarded. Don't be that person. Just use your brain and 99% of the time you don't need to ask. Rant over.
455K with 30 left. Redraw at 27 which is what I'm waiting for.
Up to 3K/10K/20K. This will be the level where it all goes right or wrong.
Redraw now as we hit 27 players. Suits me just fine.
Disaster. I raise with JJ, and I get shoved on. It's borderline, but I decide this is the time to get going and build a stack. I call and he shows KK. Bad read on my part. I lose but have him covered. I drop to 165K, which could be soul destroying after all this work, if I had a soul of course.
25 left and I need to choose the moment. 170K at these blinds won't cut it.
There's a raise, and I jam with AK. I am not in love with it, but with this stack it's now a no-brainer. The guy behind me reshoves, and we both table AK. Much merriment as we chop.
The next hand I raise with KK, and the same guy jams again. This time I call and I have his QQ locked up. No horrors and I get a reprieve and am back to 445K again as we drop to 24 players.
21 left, and we are up to 4K/12K/24K. 400K sounds like a lot, but at this level that stack can drop pretty quickly.
I lose one pot blind on blind, where I flop a pair and have to bet it. He shuffles around and then moves all-in. He's not bluffing, so I fold. Now it's push and pray time.
I look down at 10 10, and a player before me open jams. I have about the same and no-one else is looking short, so I decide I have to go with it and I also jam.
A player behind me then also shoves for less. OK now I don't like it.
We go over, and the third player to shove shows AJ. OK...well played.
I flip 10 10.
The original raiser shows AA.
I end up with no help and my stack is now 2K, at 4K/12K/24K. I've seen events won from here, but many more lost. ho hum.
I actually win my all-in hand with 32 when I make two pair, but bust the following hand in 20th for $1547. Frustrating to feel I played very well and had yet another deep run, but this time I effectively lost 2 big hands with pairs to bigger pairs, the JJ vs KK, and the 10 10 vs AA. As simple as that. Not making excuses, that was just the way it went, and result aside, I'm OK with it. 20th out of 648 players.
Another update to follow shortly. I will decide what is next in the coming 24 hours. Thanks for the messages and goodwill.