...is tough to do at the same place with the same players, but embolded by my 5th place finish last Friday, decided to give it another shot the next night in my favorite MTT over at Four Aces.
Going to advance over to level 7, since it's been pretty much a boring, yet steady, run so far to get up to 35K in chips...75% more than starting stack at the break. Double-up against big stack at the table after getting the standard "Flop a set, get paid off by guy holding pair of aces and either top kicker or 2nd pair" that you see a lot, then promptly lose 50K when my A-K call of an all-in vs A-Q loses to a queen on the turn.
Blinds up to 2K/4K, and at 14K I open-shove with K-Q UTG, get 2 callers. Queen on the flop holds up, and feeling really lucky after no one has a club on a four-flush board, and we merge down to 2 tables with 45K in chips. Card-dead for remainder of this and next level, and at second we're looking pretty anemic at 35K - with 5K/10K blinds, doh!
Tell a player I talk with a lot during the break that I'm lucky in that I'm on the button to start, so I have a few hands before I absolutely have to shove. 4 hands into the next level, J-J works for me to steal the blinds. The next hand, A-10 is good for a 50K shove, and the blinds fold again...great, almost double up without showing a card. 2 hands later in the BB, the SB shoves for 50K, and K-Q looks good...and in fact, is good when SB shows K-8. No one pairs up or improves, and I get a knockout. Guess you could say the plan worked.
On the button 2 hands later, the biggest hand of the night takes place. UTG open-shoves for 65K, and after folded around to me, I look down to see A-Q. Figuring that I'm probably in a great spot here, and in a coin-flip, at worst, I shove my last 110K in the middle. BB goes in tank for a bit, then calls for most of his chips. UTG shows 9-9, BB shows 10-10, so I'm, in effect, in a coin-flip for 275K here...even if I lose this hand and go out, a great spot to be in here...and I do something I rarely do - get out of my seat and stand up.
Ace on the flop brings an audible "YES!" out of me, and I clap the hands a few times as blanks come on the turn and river, and all of a sudden I'm factor in this damn thing. We lose 2 players in the next 2 hands, and off to a final table we go!
Paying 7 - no chop, again, for the short-stacks (doesn't make me upset), and we get down to that 7 in short-order. Blinded down to about 210K or so, and make (arguably) first major mistake of the night - 3-bet all-in with A-10 after UTG (loose player) raised to 50K - when UTG snap-calls with A-J. No help to me, and down to 60K...ugh!
Time to grind some more, and find a spot with K-10 to shove (BB in 2 hands - blinds just up to 15K/30K). 10-5 in BB attempts to donate...and King on flop looks great, but the runner-runner straight makes a chopped-pot. Better to be alive than not, I guess. 8-8 looks great UTG the next hand, and when it's folded around, more chips to me.
Linger around a bit more - and get a bustout with K-4 vs 2-2, of all hands. Next hand, bustout another player with my 9-9 holds up against A-J, and down to 4 players. At this point, all 4 of us have between 300K and 400K in chips, and another player proposes a 4-way chop of 340 each. While I'm amenable to a chop, I proposed everyone giving up $15 and playing it out with the $60 going to the winner. The other 3 like that idea, and off we go to get down to one winner.
One player and I end up taking small pot after small pot, before busting out the other players to get heads up. Blinds at 30K/60K now, and each of us sits with fairly even stacks. First hand of HU, I smooth-call a PFR with Q-Q, then watch my opponent open-shove after a Jack-high flop hits. Pretty much snap-call, and watch him turn over K-J - dodge a jack and a king, and leaves my opponent with 50K in chips...and in BB next hand.
The vaunted monster of 7-5 is good enough for a call, and (HA!) is dominating my opponent's 7-3. 5 on the flop is good enough, and an actual outright win is mine!
Don't get me wrong, chopping for first place money is always a good thing...but being the last man standing is even sweeter!
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