109/5506

I didn't play in the Grand VI at PokerRoom this weekend. My plan was to play the $620 WPT Qualifier and the $320 Main Draw, both of which I have tickets for. I wound up missing both of those events, so the only big event I played in was the Sunday night $215 at PokerStars. There were an incredible 5506 entrants, pushing the prize pool past $1.1 million. There were some donkeys giving chips away early on and I got off to a nice start. I was the table captain while the blinds were low, so I was only going after big pots, rather than getting too active. My QQ ran into KK, which knocked me back down to size. I built it back up, but my AA ran into trip sevens to again knock me down.

I get knocked down, but I get up again. I was rarely wanting for chips. The payout began at 549, and it was a coast to get there. I had over $100k and was in the top 20 at that point. Then disaster struck, not once, but twice. I had the big stack, so I was never threatened with elimination, but still, I was shrewdly picking spots to push my chips around. Two of my decisions were no-brainers. A $28k stack pushed all in from under the gun as I sat in third position with aces. I merely called, and two different players took a long time before they folded. I was happy with the prospective $28k infusion, up against AK offsuit. Uff da, the board brings four clubs and he takes it with a flush. Not long after, I made a minimum raise from under the gun with KK and got an all-in push from the small blind. Again I was up against Big Slick. This time it was the straight that nailed me, and suddenly, I was running with the pack.

Now the blinds are $4/$8k with a $400 ante, and I'm sitting on a dwindling stack and feeling the pressure. I've used up all my big pairs, so now comes the card dead period. Finally, I had to gamble. I stuck it all in there with QJc. I actually hit my flush, but was up against A9c and that was the end of me. I got terribly unlucky several times during this event, but it was still good for a $1431 cash. I think I'm getting the hang of this game.