WCOOP Event #26 - A True Rollercoaster

Adrenaline was pumping in our veins as we had finally cruised inside the top 200 of a field that started 10 hours ago with 9795 players. The prize pool stood pretty at 1.96 million with 1st a cool 274k in change. For the Standard Bull crew, this was destiny.

We've been nearing the glory of a huge score for some time now. Zack came up with a 27th place finish in the massive MiniFtops field with 1st close to 40k, I had lost a stack to a sick cooler in the 750k nearing the money with a top 30 stack, and Nick and Josh had come in the top 200 of the Sunday Million just a week before. Everything had built up to this moment. We had an above average stack, we were playing great, and we had one goal on our minds, a huge earned score.

It's easy to talk about where you are in a tournament once you're deep, but getting there in a major tournament is much easier said than done. Not only do you have to play pure for over 10 hours, but you have to run like Dustin Givens aka hotfire... So how'd we get there?

With Jonathan Rash run good at the wheel, we doubled in the 2nd hour with AA on QQ. Almost immediately after we lost a small pot KK < ATs but it didn't phase our grind. Once we had run up a decent stack by flopping a set and getting paid, it was time for our first pure bink of the tournament.

We raised up the A4s in mid position and gboro moved in for 15 bigs right behind us. Although personally I'm not a huge fan of the play, Rashoid decided he's moving in with worse a good percentage of the time and given our odds to call, we decided to pay. He had KK but everyone knows that 1 over is all you need. We found an Ace on the flop and rivered the nut flush for good measure. Our stack was building rapidly.

We continued our patient grind and always maintained 100 bigs or more. The structure was very slow and quite deep so it allowed for a lot of play. Our edge was glorious and it was paying off as we continued to make hands. In our biggest hand of the early stages, we called a UTG raise with TT and took the flop 3 handed. K 4 K was the flop and the raiser fired around 3/5ths of the pot. We were content to call one and re-eval on the turn when we turned the godsent miracle. T. "Did you say you had tens?" I asked from across the room unable to comprehend the fact that someone can run good enough to turn a set... Our villian checked to us and we checked back to ensure maximum value on the river. His stack was small enough that if he bet river we could still easily get it all. The river completed a flush draw and put a seemingly meaningless 2 of spades on the board. To our excitement, he led into us for 3/4ths pot with barely more than a minraise behind. We moved in and he tanked for a few seconds before calling with 22, a rivered boat.

What a rush and what a payoff card. We were running like hot fire and loving it. We had almost 300k in chips and were entering the money with a top 20 stack. "They aren't even going to make us work for it" We said. "They're just gonna let us cruise on in."

As if the doomswitcher on stars heard what we said (and yes, there is one of those), PokerStars was content to make us grind again as we lost KK to A9 for half our stack in a preflop bvb leveling war. We were back on the grind, and hard too. Not content with a laughable $500 cash, we were in it for the long haul. With only 140k in chips (still above average), we couldn't coast any longer. We raised up the button with AJ and the BB moved in for 22 blinds. After making sure that he was a winning player, Rash snapped off the all in and he showed K9 for the resteal. Although flopping a king, the doomswitch man let us ejaculate all over a warming Ace on the river.

The very next hand we looked down at AK of clubs, the rush was on. A raise ahead of us we put in a 3 bet and called off the shove. He showed QQ and held and we were back down to 200k just like that.

By now we were into the top 180 of the field with still a slightly above average stack. We decided with only 35 or so blinds, that we couldn't be as aggressive as we had been in the earlier stages. We let ourselves blind off a little waiting for a hand to double and finally make a deep deep run for a 6 figure score. We chipped down to about 177k when the most dramatic hand of the tournament took place.

The cutoff raised it up and we 3 bet the button with Kings (the dream spot). The small blind folded and the big blind who happened to be a whale, moved in for 400k. The cutoff folded and Rash instantly hit the call button and took off sprinting out of the room slamming the door behind him. "I can't watch" He said, "I won't do it." The big blind showed AQ and I was left alone in the room to sweat on my laptop. 2 6 8 flop. Bingo, we had finally dodged an Ace in the door. Two more pure streets of bricks and we're going to win this thing. Before I could even begin to relax about the satisfactory flop that left us all in as a huge favorite with 150 players to go, the Ace of clubs hit the turn and we were all but out. With only two outs to go the wind was emptied from my sails and a 4 hit the river securing our elimination.

I don't know how many of you have had shots at 6 figure prize pools this deep in a major tournament but I can tell you personally its the worst feeling in the world to lose that chance. It reminds me of Mike Matusow crying after his elimination in last years WSOP Main Event. With a field that large, you only get so many shots in a lifetime to take it down. Getting so close and not punching through is one of the most disheartening things in the world. Sure there were still 150 people left and so much can happen in that time, but if we win our hand, we have an above average stack and a chance. In general, we usually play much lower than $215 buyins, so this made it hurt that much more. I don't know how long it'll be till we're that deep in another major tournament because of our lack of volume.

It's only 1 day later so I'm still in a little bit of depression about the beat. Rash somehow didn't throw anything but he's hurting inside. Zack, although having the biggest piece of the buyin, doesn't seem to care that much but he hates money anyway so it's not that big of a surprise.

Someday we're gonna fade that ace harder than anyone has ever faded a card in their life... Until then...FML.

Mazin