Up to the (World Poker) Challenge
After a great year of poker in 2005, the first couple months of 2006 have been decidely disappointing. The pressure of feeling like I need to have an even better year than last — along with the pressure that’s come from watching a good friend go on a major as of late — has contributed to some bad play and lackluster results so far this year. I haven’t felt comfortable at the table, haven’t been able to get into a groove, and just haven’t been making good reads or trusting my instincts.
Well, I’m happy to report that after this past weekend, things are getting back to normal (at least I hope this is normal 
)…
On Friday, I headed to Reno with a few colleagues (and poker-playing friends) for the World Poker Challenge, a series of small- and medium-sized tournaments leading up to a World Poker Tour main event. I planned to play three medium-sized events this weekend, but the weekend started with an early bad-beat — we missed our flight out of San Jose Friday morning and ended up missing Friday’s event…
On the bright side, there was a smaller “second chance” no-limit event Friday evening that drew about 200 players, so we jumped in. Immediately, I knew things were getting better. I was making good reads, acting on my instincts, and overall just felt like I was in control of the table. I played well throughout the event, and cruised to the final table with the chip lead. It was a small tournament, so the stacks were small compared to the increasing size of the blinds and antes, and chips moved around quickly. Ultimately, I finished 5th, and took home a couple thousand dollars for the effort. But, more importantly, I felt like I was playing great poker again…
Saturday’s event wasn’t very noteworthy for me. Again, was playing well and felt good, but didn’t see many decent hands, and wasn’t able to get any momentum. But, I am happy to report that my friend and colleague, Elliot Shmukler, took 2nd in the Saturday event…
On Sunday, I played in a medium-sized no-limit event with about 220 other players. I stole some pots early, which helped me survive a set-over-set loss on the 6th hand of play; I was down to $300 in chips, but was happy to survive the encounter. I continued playing aggressively (a somewhat different style than I normally play in the early rounds of tournaments), and quickly tripled up to my original $1500 starting amount. I then hit a huge hand with pocket threes against six pre-flop callers and eventually three all-in players to scoop a $6500 pot. From there, I continued to play well, made good reads, and before I knew it, we were down to the final 18 and the money. With 11 players left, I took a pre-flop gamble with pocket fives against what I believed was big overcards (I was right, he was on AK), pushed all-in, and doubled up when he didn’t hit an ace or king.
I made the final table, second in chips. I was hoping for a big finish, but alas, it wasn’t to be. On the second hand of the final table, my AK ran into AA, and I lost about half my chips. Soon thereafter, I attempted a big bluff was TJ on a board of QT4, and got called by an opponent with Q3. It was a great call on his part, and I was out in 9th place.
A disappointing finish after playing so well, but with two final tables in three days, I’m not going to complain. I’m just happy that the pressure is now off (at least for a while), and hopefully I can get back to consistently playing my “A” game.
And congrats to Elliot on his 2nd place finish on Saturday!
March 21st, 2006 at 2:56 pm
YOU ARE THE MAN!!!