Event 52 Part 1

It is now July 2 and the countdown to the Big Show continues. There is only one more scheduled tune-up event for me before the Big Show: Event #52 NLH 1000 with rebuys. I played in a similar event during my last trip and made it inside 200 players and finished around 150th, would this be the tournament be first cash of the series? I start the morning off with a light breakfast and was able to get a decent 6 hours worth of sleep. Hey, for me 6 hours is good! My buddy Jay wishes me good luck in the morning and I head to the tournament arena prepared for the long haul armed with a backpack full of snacks, water, ipod, and all of the essentials that you would need to keep you focused. I sit down at table 39 and I see a familiar face, Michael Watson aka "Sir Watts", a well known on-line poker pro and also another online pro was seated as well. Immediately I go into the tank and remeber how Sir Watts plays as we have played at the same table in one of the earlier events this month. We start out with 2000 in chips and can rebuy at any point during the 1st 2 hours if your stack is below 2000. Let me say that the 1st 2 hours we had a very loose player in Seat 8 that rebought for 13 times (13,000) in entry fees. Our table thanked him tremendously for his contributions. After the end of level two (each level is an hour long), my chip stack was at 10,075. Sir Watts had a sick run of cards at our table and was constantly busting the two players to my left with pocket aces. Twice the two players had kings or queens and Watts had Aces. During these first two levels, I played tight and aggressive and was able to win a few healthy sized pots in two hands to pad my chip stack. The first hand that I won, I was dealt pocket Queens and limped in from the button. In the first two hours, players at the table were going all-in pre-flop because it was a rebuy event and if they were knocked-out then they could rebuy their way back into the tournament. The big blind reraised to 500, which was 8xs my bet and immediately, I went all in for 3200. The big blind debated for 30 seconds, looked at me and I was in my usual pose (very nonchalant, if you have played with me then you know that I don't give away much in the manner of expression). After 30 seconds, he called and I put him on either 10s or Jacks and he had Jacks. My 3 to 1 favorite holds up and my stack is up to 6900. During level two, I am dealt pocket Kings and I am in the small blind and I limp in and the big blind raises me 5xs my bet. I sit there and stare at the big blind and announce reraise "All in" for 6500. He immediately calls and flips over queens. Yes, my hand holds up and the stack grows to 12,000. The next 3 levels, not much happens as the rebuy period is over and players are beginning to play more solid poker and my chip stack is at roughly 8,800.

It is now level 5 and the announcer announces that over half of the field has been knocked out already. We started out with nearly 1100 player but with over 2700 rebuys for a field of basically 3,800 if you count the rebuys. Pro Barry Greenstein (robinhood of poker) is seated to my immediate left and adds a bit of excitement of to the table. During the next 1 1/2 hours, Barry bets and players fold. I manage to win a few big hands off of Barry without having to show my cards. If you want to know what I had, ask the felt and let me know when it answers you! My chip stack is now over 14,000 and my confidence is growing. After level 8, our table is broken up and I shake Barry's hand and wish him good luck. I look into the crowd and see a few of my Denver buddies cheering me on. Thanks guys for coming out to support me. I am moved to a new table and it is a tough table. Two seats to my left is Eric "E-Dog" Lindgren, to my left is an aggressive poker player from St.Petersburg, Russia and Pro JC Tran, and 2006 WSOP Finalist Michael Binger. My chip stack is currently at 8,000 and all eyes are on my short stack. What would happen in the next two hours is nothing short of magical.

This would be my toughest table to date and I would play toe to toe with the big boys. I am able to win/steal/bet my way to quite a few big pots during these two levels. First big hand, I raise to 3xs the big blind, which is 1200 with pocket 3s and the big blind reraises all in for 5000 which would leave me severely short-stacked. I insta-call with my 3s and he flips over A-9 and my 3s hold up, increasing my chip stack to over 11,000. There is a big buzz in the air as we are down to inside 25 tables and we are seated very close to the fans. A big chatter is growing as many fans are out to see the pros and there I am seated in the middle of the table with them. I look into the stands and see my Denver friends talking to a group of other fans about me as they are pointing to me. By night's end, I had a new legion of fans. It is now level 9 and blinds are 600 and 1,200 with antes at 100. The growing antes and blinds force all players to play. Every orbit/10 hands now costs you 2800 and can whittle your chip stack if you don't play. I am able to win a few small uncontested pots and maintain my chip stack at around 12,000. During the past level, I have limped into a few pots, been reraised and have folded. I am dealt pocket Kings in the small blind and am raised by the "Mad Russian" to my right. Immediately I look into the crowd and go into the tank debating on what I should do. The crowd is silent and I announce reraise "All-In" for 10,000 even. This hand takes forever as I have my elbows folded and hundreds of eyeballs staring at me including the Mad Russian's. I do not want to call the clock on him and am secretly hoping that one of the pros will call it and after a few minutes, E-Dog comes to my rescue and calls "floor, clock". Immediately a floor person comes over and tells the Russian that he has one minute followed by a 10 second countdown to act before his hand is declared dead. The floor person's attempt to communicate this is futile as the player speaks limited English and I speak to the Russian in Russian "1 minute or your hand is dead!" and he comprehends. The crowd is in awe at what is happening as the table is silent and The Russian and I are staring down each other. He uses the entire minute and just before the countdown is over, he shoves his chips to call me down and has A9x. I sit there and think no freaking Ace, let my hand holdup! My hand holds up and I pump my fist in excitement and let out a yes! I never show excitement but I was clearly excited about this hand as my chip stack grew to over 35,000 and now I was a force to be reckoned with for this tournament. I looked up at the leader board and stands to see that I was in the top 50 with under 200 players remaining.

I walked over to my buddies/fans in the stands and they said to me, you've made a few bold moves in the last 30 minutes and I agreed with them. Thanks, E-Dog for coming to the rescue and calling clock. We may not know each other real, real well but he is a class act and it was an honor to be playing at such a high-caliber table. It is now past midnight and we are now down to 150 players and this tournament pays out to 99 places , with 99th paying over 4,000 and 1st place is over 760,000. I only paid the initial entry fee of 1000 and did not rebuy in this event. Check back next time to see how deep I am able to advance in this tournament and also the mad bluff that I played on a fellow player not involving a hand and here's one hint: it was the Mad Russian that a pro and I bluffed or altered the story to about how long an event was and was key in setting up the big showdown previously mentioned.

Getting Ready for the Big Time!
Chewey