After over a month of planning and excitement, I finally had my chance to play in the Heartland Poker Tour this past Sunday night. I've been able to reflect on my experience and get a little sleep, so now it's time to recap the event and my performance.
Before I get into my recap, I need to tell you all THANK YOU! Your support has been tremendous and I read every one of your comments cheering me on.
I loaded up my backpack with food and made the two-hour drive from Central Illinois to East Chicago, which is actually in Indiana. I walked in the Ameristar East Chicago Casino through a cloud of smoke like I was a football player coming out of the tunnel in a stadium through fog and fireworks. In most states, smoking has been banned indoors, but not in Indiana.
I made my way through the chain smokers and a sea of sadness scattered through the slot machines to find the main ballroom upstairs. I pulled out my $200 and new players reward card (because you can't just register for a tournament, you have to sign up for a rewards card too), and registered with 45 minutes to spare.
There were two tournaments going on at the time, so I peaked at each while trying to calm my mind down. I wanted to win money during this tournament, but more than that, I didn't want to embarrass myself.
As I sat on a bench to make a phone call, a man sat one-inch away from me bobbing back and forth with his hand near my jeans and staring straight at me. This had the feeling of a very interesting night indeed. I got up immediately and walked away, and he didn't seem too surprised or offended.
With about 10 minutes to go before the start of the tournament, I took my seat at table 11. My heart began to sink as the players filled in the table around me and began talking with each other. "Yeah, Bob won this tournament last year and finished 6th in the same event in St. Charles," the player in seat 9 informed me. After a few short conversations I realized that my table was loaded with talent, and at least 4 semi-pro or pro poker players. One of those players (Bob aka Robert Chow) is 5th all-time in the Heartland Poker Tour standings for players cashing in tournaments.
Well, if you have to beat the best to win, then I was in the right place. The tournament director explained the rules and gave the command to "shuffle up and deal."
The tournament was a 7-game mix with H.O.R.S.E., no-limit hold'em and pot-limit omaha, and each player was given 12,000 in chips to start. I was surprised and a little worried when I heard that we would start the tournament with no-limit hold'em. My last live tournament (2010) ended in me being the first player out after losing with pocket aces against a player who went all-in with fives, then hitting a third five on the turn.
The Tournament Begins
The cards were dealt and I was first to act. I looked down, expecting to see something like 95 offsuit, and there was AK looking back at me. I wanted to fold a few hands to get the feel for the table, but you have to play AK. I raised (blinds were 50 -- 100) to 400, and the player in seat 9 made the call. The flop came 4A7, which is about as good of a flop as you can get. I raised 600, and the player on the button quickly called. On the turn (the fourth card dealt), a 10 hit the board. At this point, I decided to not inflate the pot but feel out my opponent, so I checked. This isn't the best move here since it shows weakness, but I didn't want to go home after the first hand.
My opponent bet 400, a bet I absolutely had to call. On the river, a 3 was dealt, giving me a pair of aces with a king kicker. I checked, and the player on the button raised 1,100. After thinking about it for a minute, I figured our hands were close, and that my opponent could have AJ or AQ. I made the call, and he turned over A10 -- two pair. One hand into the tournament and I was already down 25% of my original chip stack.
Thinking back on the hand, I likely saved a lot of my chips by checking on the turn or river. I do wish I could've made the fold on the river, but without information on the player, it's hard to know if he's bluffing, overbetting a decent hand, or holding a monster.
It's Time to Bluff
The blinds began to rise fast, and I was feeling pressure to win a hand and break my slump. After playing the other six games, we were back to no-limit hold'em. I was in the big blind, and I looked down at KQ of clubs, a very playable hand. Bob (the poker pro) raised from seat 1 (I was in seat 5) to 1,100, a pretty large raise, but this was a good situation to defend my big blind and see if I could catch something with my KQ. I called. The flop came 10J5 giving me an open-ended straight draw. Bob bet 1,100, and after considering my options, I called. The turn is a 6, Bob checks, and I decide to check behind him. Praying for an ace or nine for a straight, an 8 came on the river, giving me nothing. Bob checked again.
What in the world should I do? I know my KQ isn't a good hand in this posiiton, but maybe I could represent a set (three of a kind). I bet a little over 2,400, which was more than half of my remaining stack. Bob thinks about it, stares me down, and makes the call with ace-high! I tried to bluff a pro and I got my butt kicked.
The Comeback
At this point, I felt like my tournament was pretty much over. I still had a few chips and a chair, but not much else. After using a few hundred for blinds and antes, I won a small hand to put me back over 2,000 in chips. After 100 minutes of playing, I had my first win!
A few hands later, we began playing omaha hi-low, my favorite game. The blinds were 200-400 and I had just under 2,000 in chips again. In the big blind, I was dealt 9752, which is not a good hand at all, but playable under the right circumstances.
There was one caller and a raise to my right. I groaned and called the raise. The flop came A49, giving me a decent shot at the low pot. After another raise, I called, and an 8 came which completed the low. Another raise put me all-in, so I called and started praying for a good card on the river. Luckily, a 6 came on the river, giving me a 5-9 straight, and I scooped the pot, winning both the high and low hands. I now had 4,900 in chips, and a little bit of confidence.
About 20 minutes later, we were now on pot-limit omaha and I had to do something quickly or my tournament would be over. With one raiser and three callers, I looked down at my hand to see AQAA with one suit (two cards of the same suit which is a good hand to hit a flush with). Now having three aces in a hand is not desirable because you can only use two of your cards towards the high hand. However, i didn't have a lot of options here. I pushed all-in. The player to my left, who is extremely aggressive, pushed all-in over the top in an attempt to isolate the action and kick the other players out of the hand. His plan worked, and it was him and I heads-up. With his K765, I was a massive favorite, and my hand held up to win!
I'm in the game now baby! With around 12,000 in chips now, I had a tiny bit of breathing room and I won a few small hands. A new aggressive player joined the table, and I watched him win a big pot with a flush, playing 82 out of position, calling a raise with such a bad hand.
The blinds were 500-1,000 and we were now back on no-limit hold'em, a game I was not having any luck with. On the button, I was dealt A9 offsuit. Everyone folded around to me, so I felt that this was a great time to make a raise. I raised to 2,500, and surprisingly, both the SB and BB called the bet. The flop came 9A2 with two diamonds, and my heart began to race. What a flop! Both players checked, and I put out a bet of 4,000. The aggressive player called, and an 8 of hearts came on the turn. After another check, I knew that this was the time to make a move. With just under 12,000 left, I pushed all-in.
I swear that the other players could hear my heart beating. I stared at a spot on the wall to not give away any tells as the aggressive player began to ask me questions. "Do you wear contacts?" I have no clue why he asked that question, but he did. "Either you have a monster hand or nothing at all," he continued. "Alright, I call." I turn over my two pair and look over as he flips over 58 of diamonds, giving him a pair of eights and a flush draw. "Don't do it to me dealer," I said as I closed my eyes and hoped to avoid a diamond. The final card was a 9 of hearts, and I had won an absolute monster of a pot!
"Wow, you went from 2,000 to 40,000, great comeback," said Bob from seat 1. It felt good to have a pro recognize my comeback. I was now relaxed, and very excited.
The tournament went on and on through several breaks and the blinds continued to rise. I lost a 30K pot in razz, after starting off the hand perfectly with A345. The hand would've put me in the top few players left in the tournament. I was down under 17,000 in chips, which was a small stack of chips considering the blinds.
After 5-6 hours, we finally got a look at how many players were left and how many would be paid out. From a total of 75 players, which included individuals who bought back in several times, only 9 would be paid. I know it would be tough to cash, but still possible if I could make another comeback.
Down to around 12,000 in chips with blinds at 3,000 - 6,000, I was dealt 99 in the BB and everyone folded around to me. I pushed all-in, and the player in the BB thought about it for half of a second and called. He looked kind of pained, but I believe that was because he knew he had me and felt a little bad because I ran into him at the wrong time. He flipped over 1010. I laughed but was not upset at all. The board ran out as it should have with no 9's, and I was knocked out of the tournament in 17th place.
Players all went to shake my hand or give my fist bumps, which was cool because they were not offering this to other players. I was joiking with them, asking them questions, and being my usual friendly self at the table. After all, you can make friends even when you're competing against others.
I was damn proud of my 17th place finish. After sitting down at the toughest table in the room, I outlasted every single player at my original table, including Bob. After nearly 7 hours of poker, I was done without winning any money, but I held my head high and was really, really happy to have done so well and represent Scorum in the process.
I was asked a couple of times about my shirt, and I explained a little bit about Scorum and why they should check it out. I don't think I was able to recruit a large base of new users to our wonderful place here, but I do know that at least a couple of hundred people saw it and several might give it a try. You have to show up to have a chance at winning, right?
That's the end of my poker adventure. Thanks again for your support! I will try to play in another event soon if I can, and will keep you all updated.
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