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2006

Trip Report

by "Big Matt" Ivester
My apologies to everyone I busted out on Sunday. I have no idea how I did anywhere near that well -- this was my first Stud tourney, and ended up being my first real-life final table (I've cashed at a couple of the weekly tourneys at Foxwoods, but never made it to the final table). Especially since I got whacked three times by rolled-up trips at the final table (including on the last hand, where my illustrious opponent picked up JJ(J) and neither my straight nor flush draws came through after I went all-in on fifth street).

Rob "Suddenly" Catlett interjects:
"Illustrious?"
I'd think "sick card catching prick" to be more accurate.
I do recall that I "only" had rolled up sevens, not jacks in the last hand though. I earlier had rolled up jacks to bust Harkness, which I think he appreciated greatly considering the invaluable trinket he gifted me. I "only" rolled up twice at the final table, but since I rolled up on the hand that led to the final table, and busted two others at the final table by getting all in on 3rd street with concealed kings and aces... well... it got a bit out of control.
Then again 10K/20K stud with only like 190K total chips on the table isn't exactly a recipe for order and decorum....

I was less successful in the other tournaments -- 7Stud/8 was killer for me in the HOE event (that, and not catching many good hands in the Holdem and Omaha segments), and I got knocked out of it by Nick Matros making a full house on 7th street to beat my flush (he also KOed Russ Fox in the same hand). NLHE was even worse -- I administered a nasty self-beat (there's a moral here, so I feel like I can tell the story). With 500/1000 blinds, and about 25ish players left, I'm third to act preflop with a stack of about $24K. UTG and the next player folded, I made it $4000 to go with JTos. The next player moves all-in and it's folded back to me. I somehow end up thinking I have more chips than I really do, or that his bet is smaller than it really is, or something (I thought I'd still have about $15K afterwards, but I really only had him covered by $8K - a big difference!). QQ versus JT, outcome not so good. The blinds go up to 1000/2000 a couple minutes later, and I get knocked out shortly in 24th when I go all-in with 88 and the SB turns up JJ. Learned an invaluable lesson: double-check the size of your stack *and* the bet when you're going to make a big call! Hey, at least I got to knock out Joan (and a few other folks, but the pocket bass was just priceless).
I had a great time this weekend, as did my dad ("Doomster"), who enjoyed himself despite not playing a hand of poker all weekend! He's just learning, and felt a little intimidated... I'll try to get him to Foxwoods for some practice. I met a lot of fun people, came out WAY ahead between the tournament and ring game action (despite never getting into the pink chip game, sadly), and just generally had a good time. I don't know if I'll be able to make it to BARGE, but I should be at FARGO this fall if at all possible, and I can't wait. Thanks a million,
--"Big" Matt (Ivester)
'Matthias99' on PP, PS, and Paradise (mostly on Paradise).
PS: for struggling through my story, you get a shot at a bad beat (story) jackpot! When I got home, I found $15 in Taj slot machine payout tickets in my pocket, which are only good for 90 days according to the fine print on the back. I probably won't be back in AC before then, so they're no good to me. The most entertaining (and/or pitiful) bad beat story from this weekend wins them.