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today i figured i would join the 10 cent 1000$ rebuy at fulltilt 3600 players i had 1.44 in my account whats a dime right well after 5 hrs i made 4.04 finishing 30th not to bad for a dime i pushed all in with A-10 on the button small blind calls kk flop comes aj10 turn came it was 8 river was queen i lose but was a fun tournement back up to 5.48 what shall i do next 2009-01-21

     As I sit here, the day after winning the 2008 Binion’s Poker Open No Limit Hold’em Event #4, I am replaying the entire day in my head. This is my first “real” tournament, although I have played a couple of smaller tournaments at casinos here in Las Vegas and some in California when I lived there. But when I first heard that the Binion’s Poker Open was approaching, I knew that I had to play in at least one of the events. I quickly got the schedule and started going through all the events and looking at the calendar to see what events I could play that wouldn’t conflict with my day job.

      The morning of the event I woke up after a great night of sleep, and I was already excited and pumped up. I put on some music (mostly my new favorite song, the Got Money remix by Jonathan Davis) as I went over some tips and knowledge that my good friend Scott Matusow gave to me, as well as tips from his Internet radio show appropriately titled The Scott Matusow Show. My main goal was to at least place in the money since this was my first real tournament. Once I reached that goal, then my next goal was to win the whole thing. I used to set my goals so high that I would get really hard on myself when I fell short. Therefore, I have taken a new approach when choosing my goals. I set a certain goal, and then once I reach that goal, I “up the ante,” so to speak, and set a new goal to reach. I highly suggest setting goals like this.

      I got my belongings together as my good friend Doug Schaefer and I were ready to head over to Binion’s to get registered for the tournament. We gave a call to our good friend Matt Downie (Doug & Matt along with Scott and myself make up Poker Euphoria) who was getting ready to meet us there along with everyone else in my cheering squad. I have to admit that it really helps having friends there supporting you. There were a couple of people who I really wanted there, but either couldn’t show up or didn’t show up at all. I really wanted my mother to be there, but she is hospitalized in California with a serious case of pancreatitis. It’s really hard for her to go long distances, so with that said I know that she was cheering for me and I am pulling for her as well. I was dedicating this tournament to her.

      As we were in the typical traffic on a Saturday afternoon here in Las Vegas, I could feel the adrenaline starting to pump into my bloodstream. Thank god I didn’t drink that energy drink before I left! Doug dropped me off in front of Binion’s so I could make sure I got registered. The time now was around 3:00 in the afternoon with the tournament starting in an hour. I got to the registration desk, and to my surprise there wasn’t a line. I was thinking, I wonder how many players have entered, being that Caesar’s Classic was going on a few miles down the road. Should I even enter? quickly ran through my head as I looked at maybe a dozen or so people sitting at the tables waiting for the tournament to start. As quickly as that thought raced through my head, I told myself, You came this far already. Don’t doubt yourself now, you can definitely win this thing, and I approached the registration booth. The entry fee was $160 for 6,000 in starting chips. After I paid the fee, I received my receipt and a card for the table and seat number that I would be starting at. I looked at my seat card and it said “Table 21 Seat 2”. WOW, I said to myself, that’s at least 200 entries. It’s going to be a decent playing field with decent payouts.

      Now my adrenaline started pumping back into my veins again. I needed to calm myself down and get composure as I didn’t want to donk out just because I couldn’t control my nerves. I already told myself that I was not going to drink at the table while playing; it just isn’t wise. I went to the main entrance to Binion’s facing Fremont Street Experience to smoke a cigarette and calm myself down. I lit my cigarette and just walked around Fremont Street. I finally decided that I would drink one beer to help take the edge off. I walked up to one of the bars that is along Fremont Street and ordered a beverage. I slowly walked back towards Binion’s. The time was now around 3:30, and I had a half hour until my big event. I stood out front of Binion’s, sipping my beer and smoking a cigarette, and I was finally getting my composure back. I started heading my way down to the poker room and tried to take a peek at the new poker room that Binion’s is building. Unfortunately, they had it sealed up pretty tight, and I was unable to get a glimpse. As I made my way to the poker room, I saw about 30 or 40 people at their seats and several people in line registering. I looked up at the tournament director screen and saw that only 94 players had registered. I thought this was very odd, simply due to the fact that I was at table 21. I then noticed that table 20 was the lowest table number being used.

      We then heard the announcement that the tournament would begin in about 5 minutes. Moments later the rest of the entries started making their way to the tables. As I took my seat, I looked at two other players at my table and introduced myself and wished them luck. I strongly believe in proper poker etiquette. A few moments later another player showed up and now we had four players at our table. I was hoping this was the case because then there would be dead money from the blinds of the missing players, thus giving me a better chance to steal the blinds, given the right situation. Then the tournament director (the staff at Binion’s is awesome) welcomed all of us and announced that entries would be allowed up through the third level. The tournament director went over the rules. They were standard TDA rules with the addition of a couple new rules. One rule was that in a multi-way pot, there is no discussion of the hands. The second rule was that in a heads up situation, discussion of the hands is permitted; however, you cannot discuss your hole cards in any way. By now a few more players showed up to our table and we now had six players.

      The cards start going in the air, as seat one at every table was the button, putting me at the small blind to start off. Seats one, three, four and five were empty, so that meant that there was going to be some dead money, so I hoped to have a few good hands to steal the dead money. I looked down at 8-2 off suit, and with one raiser I folded. A couple hands later I looked down and I had A-A on the button. My heart rate quickly shot up and I did everything in my power to not show any expression at all. I had a raise and two callers before it was my turn to act. I thought about it for a few moments. I didn’t want to shove because that would not be smart. I didn’t want to raise, so I just called. The only reason I did this was because I did not want my voice to crack at all or show any signs that I was strong. The flop came out K-K-Q. I had so many words going through my head, most of which I cannot mention in this article. The table checked around to me. I bet about 75% of the pot. I had one caller and the other two folded, which was what I wanted because I wanted to see where I stood in the hand.

      It was checked to me. Now I was thinking, this guy must have a queen, or he has a king and is setting me up. I fired again, about 1.5 times the pot. He sat there for a moment and pondered the play. He looked up at me and stared. I turned into a statue. In an awkward voice he called. The river came out a 2. Now I knew that either he had two pair or trips. He bet about two times the pot. If he had a K and I called, I was still in the tourney, but would be low stacked. I thought about it for about a minute or two. I then said “Call, hope you don’t have that king,” and showed my A-A. He quickly mucked with disgust. My pulse was really going now. As I was stacking my chips my hands got shaky from the rush. I needed something to take the edge off. The cocktail waitress came over and I asked for my favorite drink. “I’ll have a white Russian, easy cream, extra ice.” I ordered that because I wanted the extra ice to water down the drink. I wasn’t looking to get drunk or to catch a buzz. Just a little bit to ease the edge off. The next hand I looked at is 3-3. I was last to act, and we had five limpers. I raised three times the big blind (still at 25/50) to get a least a couple limpers out. I had two callers and the other three mucked. The flop came out A-3-8. The first player checked and the next player fired out about ¾ the size of the pot. I took a big sigh, then counted all the chips in the pot, then counted my chips, then looked at my cards again. I took another few moments and stared at each player. Then I started to muck my hand, stopped and raised. The first player thought for a moment (easy read on him that he had nothing) and mucked his hand. The next player stared me down and went all in (I had him covered at this point) and I called immediately. He turned over A-Q and then I showed my 3-3. The look on his face was as priceless as watching Mike Matusow or Phil Hellmuth at the poker table. I can’t remember the turn or the river, but he started to get up and walk away before the river came out. That was the first player that I knocked out.

      There was a gentleman at seat five who said “We are all here playing chess, and you are playing poker” to me. I replied, “Oh, I thought this was the chess game.” That got a big laugh at the table. Our table was a really good one to be at. Everyone (with the exception of me and one other player) was playing very tight. I came to the conclusion that I had already established a good table presence, and I was going to exploit it whenever I could. I had not bluffed yet, and everyone had seen me win pots with hands. The next hand I was dealt was 4-4. Everyone limped into the pot and I of course raised to see where I stood with my low pocket pair. The flop came out A-5-3 giving me a straight draw, but having two overcards was not settling well with me. We all checked it around and the turn came out a 6. I immediately sat up in my chair to give the impression that I made my straight. Everyone checked and I fired out two times the pot. All but one folded their hands. The river came out a 4 giving me trip 4s. The player fired out half the pot and I was thinking, What a donkey move, and I went over the top and put him all in. He folded his cards and I showed him one 4. He said, “That was good enough.”

      By now I was chip leading at the table as well as in the top five in the entire tourney and we were still in level one. Several hands later, level one was complete and we went to the second level. The second level was not nice to me, as I did not get anything that was worth playing. My big blind was always raised, and I didn’t want to call off any chips (A big thanks to Scott Matusow for some tips with regards to calling off chips). Level three came around and seat one was taken by a female player who had an average chip stack. Five or six hands later she got knocked out. We now had about five minutes left in level three and we were about to go on our first 15-minute break. Seat one was now occupied by a player who now became the chip leader at our table. He came from two tables that were getting broken up. I joined Doug & Matt outside for a smoke and to talk about the tourney. I was very happy with the game that I had been playing. Doug was worried that I was drinking the white Russians. I told him that they were weak white Russians, and that it helped take the edge off, and that I only planned on drinking the two that I had and then sticking to water as I was getting comfortable in the tourney. There were 94 players when the game started, and through level three we had a total of 124 players.

      We came back from the break and I just missed the big blind and was now on the button. The guy next to me had everyone covered in chips. I look at my hand, 8-2 of diamonds. Four players limped in, including the guy to my right. I raised three times the size of the pot. The reason for this was that I wanted to make a point to him that I was not going to back down from him. The other players all folded, with the exception of the chip leader. He called my bet and the rainbow flop came out Q-10-4. He checked and I fired out half the size of the pot to confuse him. He was confused alright, confused to the point that he called. Now I was thinking to myself, OK, I got caught. I’ll just play it out, and once he bets, I’ll think and then fold. Well the turn came out a 2. He checked it to me. I had been staring at him thought the corner of my eye. His posture wasn’t settling well with me. I put him on an ace with a middle kicker. I fired out a pot-sized bet and he folded. I showed a 2 and told him that I had another 2 for a kicker. The other players replied “Yep, we are all playing chess, and this kid is playing poker. He is in a hot seat alright.” I love that they said this because he really believed that I had 2-2. A couple hands later I pulled a bluff on the player to my right that would have made Phil Hellmuth proud (that is, if he wasn’t the one getting bluffed). I had now made the chip leader second or third short stack at the table.

      A couple hands later he was taken out by another player. I was now chip leading at the table and probably second or third overall, but it is hard to say. A few players said that I was leading but there was never an actual chip count. Levels four and five played out and I won a little bit more in chips, and watched a dozen or so other players bust out at other tables. It is now time for another 15-minute break. During each of my breaks, I called Scott to inform him of the progress, and he relayed it to all the loyal listeners of The Scott Matusow Show and members of PokerEuphoria.com. Scott always asked me, “Are you using the tips I gave you, are you reading them well, etc…” He also gave me some more tips (Sorry, I am not telling you everything. You’re going to have to tune into the show and listen for yourself for his tips; he knows what he is talking about). During the break, I met another player who was at our table, Jason (last name withheld) who is the Vice President of Communications for a minor league hockey team back east. He was a really cool guy. We talked about PokerEuphoria, and he loved the idea and the direction that we are going in. We exchanged business cards. Jason, if you’re reading this, I sent you that email. Jason really was outlasting some of the other players at our table. When he got low, he had the right hand to jam all in with and double up.

      Over time it did catch up and he was eliminated. About 10 minutes before our dinner break, I took out two other players by calling their all-ins. Each call was only about 10% of my stack, but I had great hands. I was now sitting on about 65,000 in chips with the blinds at 600/1200 with antes of 100. With less than five minutes left before dinner break, I looked at K-K. I raised and only had one caller. I put him on an ace. The flop was A-K-10. You have no idea how much I hated to see that flop (some of you know how much I didn’t like it). I checked and he checked too. The turn was useless. We both checked again, and now I was thinking he must be trapping me. The more and more I studied him, I put him on an ace for sure, but I wasn’t sure what type of kicker he had. I fired out 8,000 and he raised. Being that we were heads up, we could talk about the hand, but not our hole cards; we couldn’t even lie about our hole cards in the conversation. I literally pondered the entire hand in my head and asked for time. I figured that he had me, but at the same time, trip kings are hard to lay down. The end result was me folding and telling him that his aces were good. He flipped over A-A to confirm my read. He told me my K-K was a hard lay down. I agreed and told him that I am not just another poker player. “I can lay big hands down.” He laughed and said, “Kid, you sure are playing a great game; you are indeed a good player. I mean, look at your shirt.” He was referring to my favorite poker shirt that reads Some people work, I play poker. It is a shirt made by the WPT. Everyone at the table chuckled and agreed with him. At that point I knew that as long as I was at this table, I had established the image of a strong player who hadn’t bluffed, which I am sure was in everyone’s head. At the conclusion of that hand, there were about 10 seconds left. Sure enough, the dealer dealt the hand, and I was looking at K-Q of diamonds. I made a mid-sized raise and had one guy go all in. I had him covered, thought about it and called. He had A-J and caught an A on the turn, thus doubling up through me. That was the first hand that I actually lost, and now we were on dinner break.

      I wasn’t that hungry at this time so Doug, Matt & I just strolled around Fremont Street for the 45 minute break. We went over and they got a couple margaritas and I got a Corona (hey it was only two bucks, can’t beat that). We were all discussing the game so far and that I had a really good chance to make the money. There were only about 50 or 60 players left and the top 12 (at the time) were in the money. I wasn’t sure how I should play and was trying to figure out what I needed to do to get through the next couple of levels and let as many players bust out as possible. “I’m just going to play tight and play smart,” I said. I gave Scott a call back to give him an update like I have been doing throughout the game. Scott said, “Just keep doing what we talked about and play solid. You can do it.” He also told me that I had been on air during my calls and that everyone in the room was cheering for me. I was still in the same seat as when we started the tournament; in fact, at this point I was the only one who had not moved.

I rarely play hold'em but there was too much value being offered this morning at pokerstars to pass this up. Pokerstars put up 25k to whomever could outlast the 6 pokerstars players from the ME final table. The entry fee was only $5 and the field was relatively small for what the turnout could have been if it were in the evening for American players.

4 out of 6 were eliminated in the 1st hour and shortly into the 2nd David 'chino23' Rheem was eliminated leaving only Hasuling (Ivan Demidov).

He doubled up from 10k to 20k at 250/500 and it looked like he might go pretty deep. But with a rail full (literally the chat was spamming too quick to read at points) and comlaining that he was doing well, telling him to bust out already. He purposely started playing very loose and went up and down for a little while, before finally getting stacked for his final 3k with 430 players remaining, each getting $58 and change just for playing in a $5 mtt. Not bad...

I wish I had more HH from the tourney but I forgot to copy them as I was playing. Here is the hand I busted out with though. So close to doubling up!

PokerStars Game #21012454875: Tournament #110269486, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level XVIII (2500/5000) - 2008/10/07 19:51:05 ET
Table '110269486 107' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: SMAPLAYER (134354 in chips)
Seat 2: wiggy03 (214667 in chips)
Seat 3: Cifelo (231339 in chips)
Seat 4: AEP_no_river (172752 in chips)
Seat 5: radek0444 (88397 in chips)
Seat 7: jeffhornsby (47625 in chips)
Seat 8: GoGetsIt (80530 in chips)
Seat 9: Simka11 (150073 in chips)
SMAPLAYER: posts the ante 500
wiggy03: posts the ante 500
Cifelo: posts the ante 500
AEP_no_river: posts the ante 500
radek0444: posts the ante 500
jeffhornsby: posts the ante 500
GoGetsIt: posts the ante 500
Simka11: posts the ante 500
SMAPLAYER: posts small blind 2500
wiggy03: posts big blind 5000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to GoGetsIt [Kd Ks]
Cifelo: folds
AEP_no_river: folds
radek0444: raises 10000 to 15000
jeffhornsby: folds
GoGetsIt: raises 32654 to 47654
Simka11: folds
SMAPLAYER: folds
wiggy03: folds
radek0444: raises 40243 to 87897 and is all-in
GoGetsIt: calls 32376 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (7867) returned to radek0444
*** FLOP *** [2s 6h Qs]
*** TURN *** [2s 6h Qs] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [2s 6h Qs 3s] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
radek0444: shows [Ad Kc] (a pair of Aces)
GoGetsIt: shows [Kd Ks] (a pair of Kings)
GoGetsIt said, "MNOPXZXN"zsdkfmdsl'kgsf"
radek0444 said, "wow"
radek0444 collected 171560 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 171560 | Rake 0
Board [2s 6h Qs 3s Ac]
Seat 1: SMAPLAYER (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: wiggy03 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: Cifelo folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: AEP_no_river folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: radek0444 showed [Ad Kc] and won (171560) with a pair of Aces
Seat 7: jeffhornsby folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: GoGetsIt showed [Kd Ks] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 9: Simka11 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I busted 50th out of 4230. My partner from a contest, a year ago, on pocketfives.com took 6th place for $700 plus the bounty money. Good Job Underod. Oh well pretty happy with the free money but very disappointed in coming so close to the final table and busting out the a 2 outer on the river. Next time...