wsop part v

still in the heat of action.

a couple hands pass and i'm last to act in a hand that currently has three-way action. i have (2s 7s) 2d. i like this hand because it looks low, but might go anywhere. two of the others in are obviously playing high, with an ace that may be going either way. i call a full bet.

fourth street brings me a 3. there's a bet in front of me and i raise. i want to make it look very much like i've got a 4 card running low and get any of the weaker big hands to drop. both do. the ace behind me calls, but has caught a 10. it feels like he's playing high to me.

fifth street brings a As. i want to shake the other guy off his hand. he's not catching cards for low. i bet, he calls. (here's a photo of this very moment taken by the world series folks).

almost certainly he has ace's and is underplaying afraid of my straight, or of my made low that just is going to abuse him.

sixth street brings me 9s. i'm holding (2s 7s) 2d 3h As 9s there hasn't been another spade as an up-card on the table. to the best of my knowledge, of the 37 cards left in the deck: nine are spades and almost certainly flush winners. my opponent is definitely not playing low. two 4's are left, all 5's, all 6's and three 8's -- excluding the 4s, 5s, 6s, and 8s as already having been counted, that's nine more cards that will get me lows. trips will probably be good enough here too, so the other two 2's work. so 20 of the 37 cards, barring something really freakish, will get me half or all of the pot. my over-zealousness to drive the other guy out has made me deeply committed to this hand ... still, he's been playing very weak/tight at this table and i don't feel like it was wrong -- he's thought about passing a couple of times, he just hasn't done it ... if he did, i'd have a winner.

i get my last down card. it's a 3. godDAMMIT. one of my worst possible cards. now i've got a tiny two pair. i'm almost forced to call if he bets, but not strong enough to bet if checked to. i can beat the pair of aces i'm certain he has, but i can't beat him if he has two-pair. he bets, i call. yep, he has two-pair, ace's over. and as if that wasn't enough, every down card he has is a spade.

i'm now sitting with something like 150. i need to get a hand, and i need it quickly. antes of 15 each are gonna gnaw at me and we're less than two minutes from antes going to 25 and bets being 100/200.

the announcement is made that the levels will increase on the next hand when i'm dealt (A 2) 5. there's a bet and a raise in front of me, with three players in. from the way he's fondling his chips, i can tell the guy behind me is going to call as well. three people are vying for high, super-stack is playing low. there're no exposed aces. i don't like this hand, only because i have to draw to it to make it -- we're crossing that line where you play for low at the beginning of a tourney and high at the end ... but this is three of the lowest possible starting cards i can have -- and it's true, they're inside straight, but the odds on the money are good due to all the people betting. i think, "if i drop this hand now, will my cards get better than this?" maybe not soon enough. i think i have to play this hand.

i call.

fourth street is a 7. not great, but still in the low set of possibilities and the other low guy has bricked. i check, the guy behind me bets, i call when it's my turn. still five-way action.

fifth street is a 6. i now have a low. a weak, anemic, low with what's known as a "rough 7" to be sure, but i'm the only one who mathematically can have one at this point. i have some freak runner-runner straight draws. this hand isn't great, but it's not horrific.

i push all-in. a guy behind me raises all-in and forces yet another player all-in.

seventh street is dealt with no betting between the two players who are left that have that option.

the guy who was obviously playing high has rivered a full-house. he eliminates two, namely a set of trips and an A-high flush.

mr. super stack has rivered one of only five cards left in the deck that can beat me for low and has the second lowest possible hand, a stunning A2346. he eliminates me.

i'm out.

unlike online, you don't know your exact standing, but i'd guess i was probably in the top of the bottom third. i played for three-and-a-half hours. i had one good hand (the 10's) and two hands that i may have over-pressed. i made one good play where a guy passed on a hand when he was better than i was.

in general, there were two players who i thought were considerably better than me, three that i thought played worse, and the rest were indeterminate. i was surprised, frankly, of how strong my play was, relatively speaking -- but having said that, i did lose and am out ... so it's always possible that i don't know what the hell i'm talking about.

in the next 15 minutes, because of the stakes being upped, i'd guess as many people were eliminated as in the previous three hours.

if this were a job, i'd be losing $285/hr, or $570k/yr.

so yeah, i'm glad i did it -- i wish i'd done better. studies have been done that have shown testosterone count drops in people who lose, and i believe it. my bollocks feel like they're about the size of b.b.'s.

but winning something like this is possible -- i was surprised that the overall level of play wasn't much, much higher. i can imagine studying the hell out of this game and having a chance. the hardcore pros don't pay a lot of attention because the entry fee isn't high and the prize pool isn't hefty enough to their liking ... many of the participants are like me, playing just to have been in the series ... some just think of themselves as card sharps, but haven't spent the time to look a little deeper at the game.

it does make me wonder about one other event -- there are a couple of $1k entry n/l hold 'em events in the middle of july, in-and-around the "big event." for me, that's a different event ... something i'm better at and have true dark horse possibilities ... i've never done well in a multi-table tournament of size, but i'm better in live-action than i am online and i've become a pretty damn good tournament player online.something to think about for me, for sure.

but i have wounds to lick between now and then.