WCOOP is over

20. September 2005 | Category: 50outs

WCOOP is over. It was a fantastic series with huge fields and pricepools. Pokerstars states their series was the biggest ever online and the third biggest this year live & online combined! Wow. While we did not play the main event we took action the PLO $500 and the LHE $1000 events on friday and saturday. Results were frustrating, again.

Friday we had a family meeting scheduled at 6 pm and had a few hours drive so I packed my laptop because Katja was planned to play the $500 omaha pot-limit tournament. I did not liked to play as my omaha skills are far from sharp but Katja is playing omaha only since weeks and studying everything in our not-to-small poker library about the game. We got her registered before we even left home in case we would be late turning on the laptop. As things go, the family dinner was great but late. I remembered Katja twice about the tournament before finally at 9 picking up the laptop and firing up pokerstars. Katja stepped by for a second, apologized and said she would not be able to play as she can’t leave her family alone right now “to play poker”, I gotta play. Sigh. Ok, I didn’t refuse as I am an action junkie also as you might know already :-).

Ahh as a sidenote to this let me tell you that I played the $5000 Limit Omaha High/Low WSOP event in 2004 – having NEVER played omaha high/low before. I was up some bucks and the following days event was that event and being busted out of the day’s event I was looking for action so I said to Katja and my friends: “I am gonna play the 5k omaha h/l event tomorrow. Anybody knows how to play?”. After laughing their butts of everybody told me that I am crazy and that they have no clue about that game. I decided to jump right in, bought into a $500 omaha h/l satellite and sent Katja buying a book. When she returned to my satellite table 5 players were already busted (2 by me) and I had finally time to ask her: “Honey, please browse the book quickly and tell me for what starting hands to look for!”. The table’s remaining players watched in disbelieve and I guess they thought I am making a play or joke on them. Whatever, I got 2nd in that satellite, refusing a deal myself (outch). I took the book and went to the pool. I also studied it about 4 hours at night, barley getting annother 5 hours sleep before the tournament started. I was ready!

The tournament had about 90 players as I remember it now and I got a table with Layne Flack to my right and Alan Cunningham two to my left along with some other well-known pro players. I played tight and conversative but having trouble figuring out who has what on every showdown. I guess nobody noticed anything except that I was paying quite a lot of attention, lol. Layne Flack in seat #1 was playing like crazy, going to war about every hand withsome notable in seat #10 and joking about it. He played the reckless style he is famous for. That is, until he played against me! Within 10 minutes I played two major hands against him, both times winning high and low. The second busted him out of the tournament. It was about the third or fourth level and the field was still big. I had chips now. I missed some good opportunties by playing way to tight (yes, me, playing to tight, good old days). When the field was down to about 50 players I had what I figured average chips, 9000. I lost a very big pot (typical amateur mistake, going for high only with full-house and loosing to quads) when I busted Allan Cunningham with AA23 double suited, making high and low again. That was feeling very nice as Allan had kicked me out from my only WSOP final table so far in the 2001’s 5k stud event in 9th place. Not really even with Allan but I liked it anyway! Sadly, that was the last pot I won, after that I either got cold decked or misplayed my hands so I lasted until about 30 players were left. But good result given the circumstances and competition I guess.

Back to the WCOOP’s omaha event. Katja left me alone and I played – for 5 minutes. In the second orbit I found AAJT with JT of hearts in the BB. One player in MP raised, all folded, I re-raised, he called. Flop came T62, with 62 of hearts. I made a pot-sized bet, he raised. I thought about trip tens but decided I got to take that risk as he would play AA and KK the same way. I re-raised, he called. Turn is the A of hearts! I made my flush and had a strong backdraw to a full-house. I went all-in, he called, having me covered by 10 chips. Cards were opened – he had KK83, with K3 of – hearts! The river was a 4 of hearts, not helping me. Out after a few minutes. Not funny. Katja looked at me when I returned to the dinner but I shrugged my shoulders. What could I say? We had an argument about the whole thing later that night which was not funny, but solved the next day (puhhh). My actual holding was never discussed so I guess Katja reads about it here also for the first time.

Saturday was the Limit Holdem $1000 event, but earlier I played the $300 NLHE tournament. Nothing for me when my money went in holding AKs against AJo but could not hold up. The big limit event had three stages for me: 1 hour desperation, 3 hour domination and 30 minutes doom. I got low on chips early, made a nice comeback, was in the top 20 for some hours and then everything went wrong in just a few keyhands just when the blinds started to make a difference. The result reflects nothing but those catastrophic hands, 415th out of 686.

Sunday was the big event which we decided to not play. When the event finally got underway I regretted this – I mean nearly 1,500 players and over 3,7 million pricepool! Wrong decision. When I woke up early the next morning to leave for Stuttgart only 200 players remainded – ActionJeff and crazyplayer (Barry Greenstein) being in the top 10! With mixed feelings and envy I travelled (“How do these guys do it, again and again?”) to Stuttgart, honestly being relieved when none of the two made the final table (sorry guys). When I watched the top three later making a deal leaving over 500k to each of them I was very envious again – damn, why not me? As Frank said calmly: “Well, you didn’t play…”. Arghhh.