Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Table 154 - a battle with a World Champion

Table 154 was up against the walkway so there were lots of people behind me when I got to my seat. I also found Greg Raymer, the 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion, sitting at my table when I arrived. I was in seat 9, and Greg was in seat 4. After arriving here we went on a break where we found that we were down to 279 players. When we came back we were going to be playing "round-for-round" play. When you get near the cashing bubble you have to play in a way so that players cannot stall to try and make it to the money. In the past they have played hand-for-hand, but that took too long as everyone had to wait until one hand was played until the next hand could be played. With the round-for-round format you play once around the table and then stop until everyone has finished their round. If enough players have been knocked out then they stop the round-for-round play and play continues normally. If not, then everyone does another round. This continues until the cash bubble has been burst.

I had 5800 in chips and the blinds were 400-800 with a 100 ante. This didn't give me too many options, and I certainly didn't want to go broke before cashing. During the first, and only, round of round-for-round play I ended up being all in twice and had what amounted to an all in decision against Greg Raymer.

When we got back from the break I was under the gun and found AK offsuit. Knowing that I would have to pay blinds on my next two hands I decided to move all in, just praying that everyone would be afraid of losing chips this close to cashing. No one called and I won myself and extra set of blinds and antes. I folded my BB, but then came what really probably amounts to my best tournament hand.

I was in the small blind. Greg Raymer, who was in early position, decided to raise to 2200. Everyone folded to me. I looked down and found Ac Qd. Normally I would play this hand in a heartbeat, but this is completely different. Raymer put on his funky sunglasses that are one of his staples and he and I started a staredown that lasted about 2 minutes. During the staredown I was thinking about my options and doing my math on the pot. If I move all in it's only for 4400 chips on top of Raymer's raise. This would also mean that Raymer would have to call 4400 to see about a 14200 pot. Now I know Raymer is smart enough to do that math, and those types of odds are going to be good for almost any hand. Add to the fact that he raised from mid-early position and not late position, which probably means he's not doing an outright steal, and that means he's going to call. Now, do I want to put my tournament life on the line with AQ when I know that he's going to call? I may have the lead, but I didn't think so. The staredown seemed to go on forever. I eventually showed the railbirds behind me my hand and let the hand go. Raymer asked me if I would feel better if I knew what he had. He showed me pocket Ts, making me feel better. Had it not been a decision for all my chips just prior to the cash bubble I would have called. Even if he had shown me AJ or worse I would have been OK with my decision.

It all became worthwhile on the next hand when I was on the button. Everyone folded to me, and I found AKoffsuit. This time it's a no brainer. I only have to beat the blinds, one of whom has fewer chips than me. I moved all in and the big blind called with A2offsuit. A King came off on the flop along with a pair of fours, and when the turn came five and the river came King my full house sent the big blind packing.

Let me tell you, being that close to the bubble and having to make those decisions isn't easy. Even when you feel confident you have the best hand there is always the chance that your opponent(s) could outdraw you.

After the first round of round-for-round play 14 players were eliminated and the bubble had burst. We were now in the money!! Woo Hoo! Now it's time to play to accumulate chips. Unfortunately, the cards were no longer cooperating with me. As blinds and antes passed I was getting whittled down again. Then finally, with blinds at 600-1200 with a 200 ante I met my fate. With 6000 chips left and being in the big blind, a player in later position raised to 2400, the minimum raise. I looked down and found J-8offsuit. Obviously this isn't a good hand, but the blinds add up to 1800 and the antes are 2000. With the raise of 2400, and my being forced to post 1200 moving all in was the play. The player would have the correct pot odds to call, but he could fold. If he calls the pot would be about 14200. He thought about it and called with As Td. The flop came:

J-4-4

giving me the lead. The turn came:

A

crushing me. The river didn't help, and I was eliminated in 188th place, cashing for $3,410. All in all a great time. I can now officially say that I have career earnings in the WSOP. Personally, seeing how the tournament runs I realize how tough it is to cash. For Dan and I to both get there is really something.

Be sure to follow Dan Nemec on cardplayer.com's website as they do live updates in blog format on their website!!

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