Day 6 - Back down to earth with a bunp...

Wow, what a difference two days and 1000 less chips makes... busted out of the $1000 Seniors World Championship, after about 3 1/2 hours. I didn't look at the screen to how many of the 1800 or so other hopefuls I had managed to beat - more of the reason why in a moment!!

Obviously the euphoria that I was feeling having cashed in a World Series of Poker Event had masked the dissapointment of getting knocked out... because I left the Rio Saturday night (Sun morning) feeling on top of the world. As I left the building this afternoon, I had the same sick feeling in my stomach that I remeber from last year.

That feeling has subsided a bit now and on reflection there were plenty of positives to come from the few hours that I sat at the table... Again I was pretty happy with my play, at the this current moment in time I think I'm playing as good as I can - I think I know where my game needs improving, but when you've gat £750 or £500 on the line it's not the time to be experimenting. I've seen some class acts at work these last few days (and it really is work for these people - not a pastime as it is for most people reading this), and I think this experience, for someone who would like to move their game to the next level, is invaluable.

O'Neil Longson

From hand one today I had a guy called O'Neil Longson at my table - I'd never heard of him but he's a 3 time bracelet winner - almost busted following a suck-out in the first level, he was down to 250 chips... when they broke our table, 3 hours later, he was the big stack at the table!! Other than the 250 chip all-in I don't think he had to show another hand... he just seemed to instinctively know when people were weak and raise them out of the pot - pure class (aside from the fact that he fell asleep at the table a couple of times??).

Men 'The Master' Nguyen

About 3/4 of the way through the second level Men 'The Master' Nguyen joined the table with a big stack of chips, sat two seats to my left this severely hampered any blind stealing I might have been considering... again it was a pleasure to watch him at work, raising every other hand, re-raisng and taking pots down. Of course a large part of it is that his reputation intimidates people. I know, as did everyone else, that he didn't have a hand every time but still they fold.

And then there was this guy... I'm fairly certain his mother and his mother-in-law are the same person!!! By the time my first table broke I had 2150 chips, I get table 1, seat 1... waaaaay over the other side of the room, I fight my way through the hoards of people star spotting in the $50k HORSE (that is so last year!), take my seat and before my chips are out of the rack there are two cards in front of me - Js8s - now young Grizzly Adams here raises it up UTG to 600 (100/200 blinds) and fold round to me... now, I think to myself, "What can an old timer like him know about poker, he's not the champion of a whole continent, he's not played a gozillian hands online - heck, I bet they don't even have that thar eelectricicity whar he's from - I just know I can outplay him after the flop"... so I call the 600. Flop is QsJh2s, cool 2nd pair and the flush draw... now our friend bets out 800 and I just know he doesn't have a made hand... I push all-in for another 750... Mr Adams has me covered by about 1k, he um's and he ah's muttering away to himself. I pick up the words "Ain't gonna get better odds than this" ... by now I know I'm ahead and figure he's probaly got a flush draw... anyway, Einstein calls and flips over Ah7h... You'll do for me Tommy, I recognise right away that I'm a 93.025% to 6.975% favourite in this hand and I'm already stacking my 4300 chips in my head... until, that is the dealer turns over runner, runner hearts to give him the flush. Bollocks!!! "Nice hand Sir" I say, in my poshest oxbridge voice, without even a hint of sarcasm, and he doesn't even look up, just starts stacking the chips. Good pot odds my ass... the pot is paying 5/1 and he's a 14/1 dog!! Still, I shouldn't take the piss really, I was pleased with my read of the situation, I think he made a bad call, it happens and you want it to happen... as they say, "be careful what you wish for".

So that was the reason for my not even bothering to look to find out where I'd finished... as I said earlier it is a gut wrenching feeling getting knocked out and I just wanted to get out of there and back to the hotel.

Hung La

Back to the real class acts, these I had the pleasure of playing with on Saturday... In seat 1 on my first table was an asian guy* who I know I've seen on the telly, but whose name escapes me - so that's not very impressive I know!

*Edit: OK, found him... Hung La, WPT Season 3 he made 2 final tables.

Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson

When that table broke I moved about 4 tables down the room and had the pleasure of Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson's company. It wasn't more than about 30 mins before this table was broken and we all move again, so I didn't get to watch him in action for very long.

Next it is table 12, seat 8... good I think, I won't have to move again tonight - once again be careful what you wish for! Seated to my right was the table chip daddy (and soon to become tourney leader) a guy called John Kranyak and boy did he play that big stack well. He went on to finish 4th in the tournament, for a cool $170,639... not bad for three day's work. He said that he also chopped the Bellagio tournament Friday night for $40k.

El Blondie

Also on this table was Dave 'El Blondie' Colclough, in seat 1, I would have introduced myself but he was pretty short stacked and didn't look to be having too good a time of it. In fact it was probably less than 10 hands when his UTG raise was re-raised by the BB to put him all-in... he called and lost with AJo vs 44.

That's it bang upto date... more when it happens.