Day 3 Part 3- Final Table
Here we are. The final 9. Guaranteed at least $300 off my $150 buy in. Potentially able to win $3100. This day could be huge. I've already outlasted 72 other players. If I could somehow find a way to beat through 8 more people I would be three grand richer. Let's do this.
Chipcounts are going to be hard to recall and they fluctuated much as the table went on. Crucial data that I can recall:
I'm sitting in seat 3
At this juncture, I would estimate that I am probably 5th in chips
Anthony Rapp is sitting directly to my right in Seat 2.
An absolutely NUTS Asian (Crazian) is sitting next to me in Seat 4. His only moves include fold or All In. It's SUPER annoying.
Seat 5 houses an older woman with a fairly substantial stack.
Old Fat Fuck (OFF) is sitting down in Seat 8 with a healthy stack.
The Indian Girl was sitting in seat 6.
I can recall three hands early on. All three of them I picked up AJ. All three of them I was the first raiser preflop and the first two I took down the antes and blinds without any content. The third time the OFF repopped me and I meekly threw my hand away. After this I went absolutely DEAD. I also watched KK get it all in preflop against KK and split. And the same thing happen with AK v AK not once, but TWICE. It was getting ridiculous. Then, as usual a young Jersey Shore resembling chach busted in 9th to Anthony Rapp and the older lady knocked out the guy in Celtics jersey in Seat 1. All the while I was getting ante'd to death. Like seriously to death. I couldn't make any moves with Q5, T6, T2, 42, 96, J3, J4, etc. It was getting ridiculous. I was WAY past the danger zone but I wanted to be sure that when I got it in I was a favorite. That mentality eventually switched to "make sure it's live" when, due to antes, I was forced down to, no joke, 4 blinds. I looked at my UTG hand and said "This is it" to myself. I looked down and squeezed out Qd and......2c. I couldn't do it. I'd have to wait one more hand to the BB. My BB comes and I look down at J2 after a button raise. Once again...it just doesn't feel right and my hand is absolute garbage. I opt to wait one more hand. It folds to Anthony Rapp and he button pops 4x the blind. My SB hand is J9d and I get all my chips in the middle instantly. Finally a hand that not only has flush possibility, but also straight possibility! It's SOMETHING and it's probably live. The BB folds and Rapp turns over A9. I recall going "Awww dude....you've got me CRUSHED. Come on!" I stand up and take the final last sip of my cranberry juice and walk around. I walk back toward the table right in time to see a J high flop come out and Anthony Rapp roll his eyes. It came running 3's on the turn and river and I was fortunate enough to double up. I was shocked and astounded and at this point had that gut feeling that it was my time. Now I have around 8.5 blinds. Let's fucking do this.
Very next hand on my button Anthony Rapp raises once again from the cutoff. I look down at 44. Without hesitation I move my stack in again and he goes "Again? Come on" and eventually calls, flipping over AQ off. In my head I'm thinking that this is the second race of the tournament. If I can win two races I can win some change. Let's DO this. I recall yelling "COME ON BABY! COME ON BABY! COME ON BABY! IM A FAVORITE LETS DO THIS!". Hey, I'll take being even the slightest favorite any day. Anyway, the flop came down J53 and I literally SCREAMED "YEEEAAAAAAAAH" and did the most giant fist pump off all time. Then regained my composure and said "It's not over It's not over, gotta dodge two more. Come onnnn.." And just like that another blank hit the turn. My heart was pounding so hard I was certain everyone in the entire poker room could hear it. I couldn't believe it. I was one card away from being back in this thing and a serious contender for the top prize. And then bam, there it was. The most unnecessary card I've ever hit in my life, the 4h to give me a set at the river. Two hands in a row and I doubled up on both of them. Here we go.
I finally was able to start playing position and my streak of going completely card dead was over. However blinds and antes were climbing quite rapidly. One more person who I don't even remember ended up busting and we were six handed at the break. Old Woman suggested we chop 6 ways. We were all roughly even in chips at this point and we'd all be able to walk away with $1200. I was INTO this deal and would love to take that profit and run. We had been playing so long that everyone was into this deal. I sincerely thought I was going to walk away with 1200 in Venetian casino chips until the OFF at the end of the table looked up and said "I play to win." What a piece of shit. The only person not willing to chop is the chode sitting down there in his Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses. Sigh. The game goes on.
The old woman busts leaving us 5 handed. I'm certain she was pissed that her suggestion for the chop didn't go through and she ended up leaving with nothing close to $1200. I then suggested we do the 5 handed chop and everyone agreed again except for OFF. When anyone tried to talk to him and persuade he would just sit there and stare into space pretending like we didn't exist. I think he was taking the term "Poker Face" too literally. Anywho, the next hand occurred when the Indian chick moved all in preflop and OFF called. It folded to my BB and I saw 55. I asked for the count and it was only about 1/5 of my chips. Play was moving fast so I decided to make the call here. The flop came down AK5 rainbow. BINGO BANGO LET'S GO GO. OFF even opened with a bet to me. In retrospect I probably should have smooth called but I figured that board had to hit him and maybe it hit him big enough (AK) to risk his chips too as we were about even. I replied with "All in" and he mucked and showed T9. I recall saying "What?" wondering why he was dry bluffing but whatever. Play is horrible. I don't care. The Indian girl had AT and was way behind. She didn't improve and I busted her in 5th place. There was a suggestion for a chop once again and OFF didn't go for it.
When the next bust out occurred I wasn't even paying attention to be honest. I was ordering another cranberry juice when I heard the Crazian next to me say "I'm all in", but it didn't really phase me because that was the only play he was making all night. I was surprised when I heard Anthony Rapp say "Call! I've got the four" and I turned around to see a AJ44 board and Anthony Rapp turn up K4. Crazian tabled A9 and said GG and got up and walked away. Although I hated him I shook his hand and asked what he had during a certain hand that I didn't chronicle here. He told me he had a T and that beat my 66 in the hole so I was going into the final 3 with the confidence that I made a fantastic lay down.
The final 3. This is where things sadly got ugly. The payout was (about) as follows:
1st- 3100
2nd- 2200
3rd- 1300
We could have each taken roughly 2200, or second place money with a chop. Once again OFF said "I play to win" and I made it my motto to make this guy eat his words. Anthony Rapp was also clearly frustrated and would talk under his breath obscenities about the guy. Rapp was seat 2, I was seat 3, and OFF was down at the other end of the table, so he probably couldn't hear unless his hearing aid was turned up.
I tried to make two steals from the get-go to no avail. Then came a hand where Rapp folded his button and I looked down at KQ in the SB. I raised and OFF shoved. I thought for a moment and then called. I was right about having the best hand as he flipped up 76 off suit. BAM! Finally, time for this fuckstick to eat his words. I was so excited that I could hardly form a sentence when the flop came down 764. Fuck. So I doubled him up and we continued playing.
Two hands later OFF limped on the button and Rapp raised from the SB. I looked down at KQ off and this time felt something rough in my stomach. I had this suspicion that OFF was limping with something good. Whatever it was inside of me made me do it and I mucked. OFF instamucked after me and I loudly proclaimed "DAMMIT!". Rapp, having bonded a little bit showed me his KJ and I was even more frustrated. I couldn't believe I laid that down and now didn't know what to do. Oh well. Gain composure. Double up. Let's go.
One revolution later OFF limps on the button again and Rapp completes from the SB. I squeeze out Q9 offsuit and check my option. The flop falls QJ5 with two spades. Rapp checks and I shove my whole stack in super fast Phil Hellmuth style. OFF quickly announces "Call" and I think "Fuck. He limped with QJ. God dammit". While it returns to Rapp and he folds, I flip it up and say "Queen-nine". OFF flips up 97s without saying a word. "Aww he's got the spades. That's a gutsy call for over half your stack man. Okay come on baby. No spade, 9 outs is all he's got. Let's do this!" However, misfortune fell upon me as the Ks appeared on the turn, thus making me drawing dead. I shook hands with Rapp and said "You're the best player at this table, bust this fucker". He chuckled and as I walked away OFF stood up to shake my hand. I think in my cloud of fury I shook his hand quite quickly and sped away to the desk to collect my $1310. I tipped the dealers $25, being greedy this time around and honestly not knowing what a dealer tip is supposed to be. Anyway, I took my $1285 to the cage and guarded it with my life. I cashed it and met my Mom, Grandma, and Kevin for dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe in the Venetian. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and just sat there, absolutely drained. I had been playing for a little over 8 hours straight with no food and fueled only by Panda Express. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I recall scarfing down my food and leaving the meal immediately after to return upstairs where I took a 45 minute shower and tried to regain my footing in the real world.
This exciting adventure was followed by me treating Kevin to drinks over at Bill's and us enjoying a little celebratory karaoke. We sang "Bye, Bye, Bye" by N*SYNC because it's the perfect song for my vocal range and we brought the house down. We were the only musically talented people within at least 10 performers and people appreciated that and cheered. It was a fantastic way to end the night and I remember sleeping like a baby. Still visions of cards danced in my dreams. I couldn't wait for Day 4 to begin!
Chipcounts are going to be hard to recall and they fluctuated much as the table went on. Crucial data that I can recall:
I'm sitting in seat 3
At this juncture, I would estimate that I am probably 5th in chips
Anthony Rapp is sitting directly to my right in Seat 2.
An absolutely NUTS Asian (Crazian) is sitting next to me in Seat 4. His only moves include fold or All In. It's SUPER annoying.
Seat 5 houses an older woman with a fairly substantial stack.
Old Fat Fuck (OFF) is sitting down in Seat 8 with a healthy stack.
The Indian Girl was sitting in seat 6.
I can recall three hands early on. All three of them I picked up AJ. All three of them I was the first raiser preflop and the first two I took down the antes and blinds without any content. The third time the OFF repopped me and I meekly threw my hand away. After this I went absolutely DEAD. I also watched KK get it all in preflop against KK and split. And the same thing happen with AK v AK not once, but TWICE. It was getting ridiculous. Then, as usual a young Jersey Shore resembling chach busted in 9th to Anthony Rapp and the older lady knocked out the guy in Celtics jersey in Seat 1. All the while I was getting ante'd to death. Like seriously to death. I couldn't make any moves with Q5, T6, T2, 42, 96, J3, J4, etc. It was getting ridiculous. I was WAY past the danger zone but I wanted to be sure that when I got it in I was a favorite. That mentality eventually switched to "make sure it's live" when, due to antes, I was forced down to, no joke, 4 blinds. I looked at my UTG hand and said "This is it" to myself. I looked down and squeezed out Qd and......2c. I couldn't do it. I'd have to wait one more hand to the BB. My BB comes and I look down at J2 after a button raise. Once again...it just doesn't feel right and my hand is absolute garbage. I opt to wait one more hand. It folds to Anthony Rapp and he button pops 4x the blind. My SB hand is J9d and I get all my chips in the middle instantly. Finally a hand that not only has flush possibility, but also straight possibility! It's SOMETHING and it's probably live. The BB folds and Rapp turns over A9. I recall going "Awww dude....you've got me CRUSHED. Come on!" I stand up and take the final last sip of my cranberry juice and walk around. I walk back toward the table right in time to see a J high flop come out and Anthony Rapp roll his eyes. It came running 3's on the turn and river and I was fortunate enough to double up. I was shocked and astounded and at this point had that gut feeling that it was my time. Now I have around 8.5 blinds. Let's fucking do this.
Very next hand on my button Anthony Rapp raises once again from the cutoff. I look down at 44. Without hesitation I move my stack in again and he goes "Again? Come on" and eventually calls, flipping over AQ off. In my head I'm thinking that this is the second race of the tournament. If I can win two races I can win some change. Let's DO this. I recall yelling "COME ON BABY! COME ON BABY! COME ON BABY! IM A FAVORITE LETS DO THIS!". Hey, I'll take being even the slightest favorite any day. Anyway, the flop came down J53 and I literally SCREAMED "YEEEAAAAAAAAH" and did the most giant fist pump off all time. Then regained my composure and said "It's not over It's not over, gotta dodge two more. Come onnnn.." And just like that another blank hit the turn. My heart was pounding so hard I was certain everyone in the entire poker room could hear it. I couldn't believe it. I was one card away from being back in this thing and a serious contender for the top prize. And then bam, there it was. The most unnecessary card I've ever hit in my life, the 4h to give me a set at the river. Two hands in a row and I doubled up on both of them. Here we go.
I finally was able to start playing position and my streak of going completely card dead was over. However blinds and antes were climbing quite rapidly. One more person who I don't even remember ended up busting and we were six handed at the break. Old Woman suggested we chop 6 ways. We were all roughly even in chips at this point and we'd all be able to walk away with $1200. I was INTO this deal and would love to take that profit and run. We had been playing so long that everyone was into this deal. I sincerely thought I was going to walk away with 1200 in Venetian casino chips until the OFF at the end of the table looked up and said "I play to win." What a piece of shit. The only person not willing to chop is the chode sitting down there in his Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses. Sigh. The game goes on.
The old woman busts leaving us 5 handed. I'm certain she was pissed that her suggestion for the chop didn't go through and she ended up leaving with nothing close to $1200. I then suggested we do the 5 handed chop and everyone agreed again except for OFF. When anyone tried to talk to him and persuade he would just sit there and stare into space pretending like we didn't exist. I think he was taking the term "Poker Face" too literally. Anywho, the next hand occurred when the Indian chick moved all in preflop and OFF called. It folded to my BB and I saw 55. I asked for the count and it was only about 1/5 of my chips. Play was moving fast so I decided to make the call here. The flop came down AK5 rainbow. BINGO BANGO LET'S GO GO. OFF even opened with a bet to me. In retrospect I probably should have smooth called but I figured that board had to hit him and maybe it hit him big enough (AK) to risk his chips too as we were about even. I replied with "All in" and he mucked and showed T9. I recall saying "What?" wondering why he was dry bluffing but whatever. Play is horrible. I don't care. The Indian girl had AT and was way behind. She didn't improve and I busted her in 5th place. There was a suggestion for a chop once again and OFF didn't go for it.
When the next bust out occurred I wasn't even paying attention to be honest. I was ordering another cranberry juice when I heard the Crazian next to me say "I'm all in", but it didn't really phase me because that was the only play he was making all night. I was surprised when I heard Anthony Rapp say "Call! I've got the four" and I turned around to see a AJ44 board and Anthony Rapp turn up K4. Crazian tabled A9 and said GG and got up and walked away. Although I hated him I shook his hand and asked what he had during a certain hand that I didn't chronicle here. He told me he had a T and that beat my 66 in the hole so I was going into the final 3 with the confidence that I made a fantastic lay down.
The final 3. This is where things sadly got ugly. The payout was (about) as follows:
1st- 3100
2nd- 2200
3rd- 1300
We could have each taken roughly 2200, or second place money with a chop. Once again OFF said "I play to win" and I made it my motto to make this guy eat his words. Anthony Rapp was also clearly frustrated and would talk under his breath obscenities about the guy. Rapp was seat 2, I was seat 3, and OFF was down at the other end of the table, so he probably couldn't hear unless his hearing aid was turned up.
I tried to make two steals from the get-go to no avail. Then came a hand where Rapp folded his button and I looked down at KQ in the SB. I raised and OFF shoved. I thought for a moment and then called. I was right about having the best hand as he flipped up 76 off suit. BAM! Finally, time for this fuckstick to eat his words. I was so excited that I could hardly form a sentence when the flop came down 764. Fuck. So I doubled him up and we continued playing.
Two hands later OFF limped on the button and Rapp raised from the SB. I looked down at KQ off and this time felt something rough in my stomach. I had this suspicion that OFF was limping with something good. Whatever it was inside of me made me do it and I mucked. OFF instamucked after me and I loudly proclaimed "DAMMIT!". Rapp, having bonded a little bit showed me his KJ and I was even more frustrated. I couldn't believe I laid that down and now didn't know what to do. Oh well. Gain composure. Double up. Let's go.
One revolution later OFF limps on the button again and Rapp completes from the SB. I squeeze out Q9 offsuit and check my option. The flop falls QJ5 with two spades. Rapp checks and I shove my whole stack in super fast Phil Hellmuth style. OFF quickly announces "Call" and I think "Fuck. He limped with QJ. God dammit". While it returns to Rapp and he folds, I flip it up and say "Queen-nine". OFF flips up 97s without saying a word. "Aww he's got the spades. That's a gutsy call for over half your stack man. Okay come on baby. No spade, 9 outs is all he's got. Let's do this!" However, misfortune fell upon me as the Ks appeared on the turn, thus making me drawing dead. I shook hands with Rapp and said "You're the best player at this table, bust this fucker". He chuckled and as I walked away OFF stood up to shake my hand. I think in my cloud of fury I shook his hand quite quickly and sped away to the desk to collect my $1310. I tipped the dealers $25, being greedy this time around and honestly not knowing what a dealer tip is supposed to be. Anyway, I took my $1285 to the cage and guarded it with my life. I cashed it and met my Mom, Grandma, and Kevin for dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe in the Venetian. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and just sat there, absolutely drained. I had been playing for a little over 8 hours straight with no food and fueled only by Panda Express. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I recall scarfing down my food and leaving the meal immediately after to return upstairs where I took a 45 minute shower and tried to regain my footing in the real world.
This exciting adventure was followed by me treating Kevin to drinks over at Bill's and us enjoying a little celebratory karaoke. We sang "Bye, Bye, Bye" by N*SYNC because it's the perfect song for my vocal range and we brought the house down. We were the only musically talented people within at least 10 performers and people appreciated that and cheered. It was a fantastic way to end the night and I remember sleeping like a baby. Still visions of cards danced in my dreams. I couldn't wait for Day 4 to begin!