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Monday, September 04, 2006 

Awesome Game, Miracle Three, and the Crocodile Hunter

Yesterday i decided that it would be worth my time to go and watch the final table of arguably the best tournament ever set-up in the RP today. Small field of 50, Big guaranteed pot, deep starting stacks of 200xBB, hour long levels (1.5hrs for final table), and excellent players all around. It's was a poker players dream scenario.

The action was pretty intense, with chip leads changing hands several times, big bluffs being pulled off (and shown), and the best thing about it was there were hardly any bad beats. A couple of hours later, the bubble finally burst and everyone stated playing more relaxed. When it was down to three, they eventually agreed to a chop and everyone got 120K each, plus 10K to the chip leader. Awesome game from everyone, including the staff who ran it. Derek, who won the million peso title, showed some class when he gave P10,000 to the staff as a tip, and the two others followed suit, making the staff jump with joy for the 30K tip hehe. Amazingly, the whole final table lasted for about 5-6 hours only. Congratulations to the finalists and of course to our very own Barb Galan who came in to the final table 8th in chips and eventually won it all. Why am i not surprised?

What a great game. It will serve as a benchmark for tournaments to come, and i hope that poker tournaments in the future will follow suit. Quality poker. Nothing gets better than that.

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So i decided to play the ring game after about a month of not playing. Fun table with regular poker buddies, but lost my first 1K when my raised AK got 2 callers and got my A but someone who called my raise with K-5 got 2 5's on the board. Left with 600, i pushed the very next hand with A-J and got called by 6-6, no love from the deck for me.

Hand of the night for me was my last hand. I was down to about 800 after a total of 2K in buy-ins, and got 3-3 UTG. limped it, got callers, MP loose player raises 200, he gets 2 callers, i decide to push my last 700+ in to at least isolate one player, but i get 4 callers! Flop was 9d-Jh-10d and i was ready to go home. Turn came Jd so the flush and straight are already there, and im already standing up to leave, when the beautiful 3 of clubs falls on the river! Wohoo! i win the 4K pot and eventually end up cashing out 3500 after playing a few more pots.

Damn it feels good to spike the river once in a while! I almost never get to experience that since i dont play that loose. I even folded Kh-Kd on a flop of Ad-5d-7d after i bet 500 on the turn and got re-raised 1500 by dirty ice cream, who showed two pair A-7 after i folded. The rabbit hunt showed a King to add insult to injusry too hehe. What a rush. Last night, i remembered why i started to play poker, and that is purely for the thrill and the rush of the game.

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Off-topic: i got news from yahoo just now that Steve Irwin, the aussie croc hunter with the TV show, died today while filming in the great barrier reef. He was killed, of all things, by a stingray that stung him on the chest. He died before the Medevac chopper arrived. I admired the guy's passion and love for his craft. He was 44.

Thanks Mav. I have to agree this was the best tournament structure and set up I have experienced in the Phils. Most impressive was the way the TD and staff ran it. They deserved every "sandaang" bill (hehe) of that 30k tip! I would like the opportunity to play more tourneys using this structure. Anyone for "monthly"? Its just such a good bet!

Congrats on spiking that river Mav! You are right...it does feel good to spike it once in a while!

Cheers!

When you pushed with the Aces and got by called by Dennis' Queens, won that monster pot and shot up to 80K in chips, i remember mentioning to nick that that was the turning point for your game. I knew you had a lock on it!

and when it was down to three, even without a chop you probly woulda taken it down anyway hehe.

Yeah gotta learn to love that river! =)

actually, forogot to mention a big hand in the cash game that really busted my first buy-in.

Had 6s-7s and played it in a limped pot. Flop: 4s-5s-7c. what a flop! even against ACES i was 65% to win! Bet, got raised to about 300, and decided to flat call. Im so ahead against anything that im actually slow playing it! I went all in on the turn, and the guy calls and shows K-5 for two pair/ no draw. River gave me nothing so i busted my stack!

Man that was a good flop haha. If he didnt hit the K on the turn...
oh well. =)

crikey... :,(

That was a turning point but i liked my 4 3 suited on the button after that and treating it like it was AA hehe. That pot took me over 100k and then I felt I had a lock on it. However when it came down to 3 players the chop was the best move I made. Game was getting quite loose and I saw potential suck outs...wanted to secure a good payout...just in case :)In the end my 9 3 off suit won the tourney....don't think I will play that hand all in ever again hehe.

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  • The best poker I've ever played has always entailed peace. A relaxed comfort. Eyes open, ears open, radar up. Absorbing my opponent's every message. Taking them as they come. Not mixing what those messages are with what I want them to be. It's like an aerial view. A view from above the myriad luck-dependent reactions of those many people who never gain such a peace. And when you gain that view, that peace - when you'd rather have the truth, no matter how disappointing, over a false hope, no matter how desirable - then you're a player. The hand you're on slips into a stream of thousands of other hands, no one of which, because of your lofty view, seems unduly important, no false fearful emotions rise within you. When you gain the peace of lofty perspective, you're a player, and when you're a player, you're free.- from "King of a Small World" by Rick Benett
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