GRINDING IT OUT FOR 2ND PLACE

Yessir:
Yesterday, as previously mentioned, I attended the 3rd annual Gunther/Miles poker tournament in Guilderland. There ended up being 45 players, none of 'em bums, and there was some good competition.

The first competition was against the weather. We were supposed to begin around 4:00 and break for food around 6:00. Unfortunately, at 4:00 a super nasty looking bank of storm clouds rolled in and they decided to eat first, in case it got really windy (bad for an outdoor card game), and play after the storm passed. So, we got our food, and sat down at the card tables, underneath the huge tent (with 3 large steel poles) and ate while the rain fell like it does in Florida and the lightening crashed all around the surrounding woods. Nothing bad to report there. The storm passed in about a half an hour, by which time we were done with the food and the cards were in the air (being dealt).

Extreme Justin was the first of our group to bust out, as he kept an aggressive style even though he wasn't getting good cards. We have a different philosophy in our styles. I don't believe you can push aggressiveness unless you're getting cards, have won some pots, and have established a reputation. Many guys try to play aggressive in any condition, hoping to make a big hit. But oftentimes it ends up that you play very loose, even sloppy, and no one's afraid to call your bluffs. I believe you also have to know when to get away from a hand. Many people feel that once you've put a significant amount of money into a pot that you're "pot committed," and thus call every bet down to the end. If I know, or feel, I'm beat, I'll fold like a house of cards, no pun intended.

Don V.K. was next to bust out. Don's problem was he just couldn't catch any cards. This happens sometimes. It's happened to me enough times that I can see it coming an hour before it happens. I seem to know in my bones when it's not going to be my day at the card table. So, Don and Justin left the party by 7:30.

THINGS PROGRESS FOR dOTcOM
Meanwhile, our friend Chris DotCom was amassing a huge stack of chips and I think he may have been the tournament leader at one point. Chuck, the E.o.D. and I were hanging on by the skin of our teeth and Roy the G.B. King was holding his own. Just before the mid-way break, Chuck got into a pot that he didn't feel he could win at the end. He already had most of his stack in the pot, but felt he was probably beat if he went All-In. So he folded, and of course, never found out if the guy was bluffing or not. Chuck exited shortly after the break.

It was around this time that we got down to 4 tables and I started to get moved around as they consolidated. I changed tables 4 times, back and forth between 2 tables. Each time I moved I was starting to win a little, then I'd get moved, start to lose, go All-In and win, start coming back and then get moved again. But I kept grinding along and staying alive. Roy, however, was not so lucky. I think he started to have a bad run with no decent cards, like Don, and was soon out after the game broke down to 3 tables (maybe 2).

TURNING POINT #1
It was at this point, with 2 tables left, that I called an All-In bet with a guy while playing at a table with tourney-leader Chris. Unfortunately, Chris was involved in the hand also. I paired my Ace on the River (last card) and went All-In. Chris, unbeknownst to me, was also holding an Ace. When I went All-In, Chris says, "Dude, I've got you beat. Why are you doing this? Why don't you just Check all the way?" I shrugged my shoulders. Chris was nice enough to lay down his cards, and I won the hand over the other guys, staying alive in the tournament.

This is for Chris: Thank you, Chris, for letting me stay in the tournament. I know you ended up being jerked over this cause of where we ended up at the end of the tourney. But in truth, I would have folded for you in the same situation, and I REALLY appreciate you letting me stay in. You asked me for payment (like a tip) after I got paid, for helping me. This will have to be your payment. A public notice of Thanks. I hope in some way that you can bounce back from this, in time for next year's Gunther/Miles tourney.

As some of the better Gunther/Miles players got eliminated, I kept grinding away. I never accumulated many chips, but got the cards when I needed them to stay alive. We finally broke down to a Final Table of 9 players. Since they were paying the Top 8 spots, no one wanted to be the first out. Places 4-8 got their original Buy-In ($80) back. Besides Chris's large stack at the Final Table, another guy sat down with a large amount of chips. I don't remember his name. For the sake of the story, we'll call him The Mountain because he had this mountain of chips that he refused to stack. He just left them all piled up. I was able to win a couple of decent sized hands, then decided it was time to tighten up like a rectum. Unless I was getting a fairly premium hand, I folded. A couple of people got eliminated and I turned to Roy, who was watching from behind, and said, "I'm gonna show you how to Back-In to the money."

My theory here is to play very conservative, especially when you have a low number of chips and let the bigger stacks fight it out and eliminate each other. Anything marginal, card-wise, and I folded. And sure enough, it started to happen. At one point, Chris got a large portion of his stack devastated by The Mountain. Soon, the were only 5 players left, The Mountain, Jim, the Soccer Coach, Dot Com, this 55-ish year old woman named Candy, and myself. At this point the large stacks were The Mountian and Candy. I was still the short stack.

But as I predicted, the other players started to work on each other as I lurked from the shadows, hoping against hope that I could hold on and maybe catch a 3rd place finish. Shortly thereafter, Chris got beat again (maybe on a River card, I'm not sure) and was gone in 5th Place. Jim, the Soccer Coach, went All-In at one point and when the River card came up, he had thought he'd lost and was out. but I realized that the board held the best hand and Jim and The Mountian ended up splitting the pot. I knew, however, that Jim's time was coming. Soon after, I believe Candy took Jim out in 4th Place, and then there was 3. I turned to Roy and said, "That's how you Back-In to the money." He knows, believe me, he's done it himself. I noticed that The Mountain was playing every pot. He was also catching cards on the Turn and River, like Jamie Gold in 2006 at the World Series of Poker Main Event. I mean, this guy was living with the angels. I figured that Candy would get antsy and get all of her money in against The Mountian. It wasn't long till she had surrendered all of her chips to him and we were down to 2 players! Candy took home $210 for her 3rd Place finish.

Can you believe it? Am I a Master of Patience, or what? Now it's down to me and The Mountian. He's got me by a count of, like $110,000 to $10,000. No way I'm coming back from this, right? I mean, now I can't just hang around. Now it's all or nothing. I wait a couple of hands, get something to play, go All-In and win a few.

TURNING POINT #2
We're now at, like, $85,000 to $35,000, and I decide to push the action on a draw. Meaning I've got a makable hand, but I need help. Unfortunately, I can't get this guy to fold. He just keeps Calling every bet. So I go All-In and he calls. I can't remember the exact cards he had, but he turns over his hand, which gives him 2-pair. I have a King/6 in my hand (suited) and 4-ways to a Spade Flush. I either need a King, a Spade, or a 6 on the River to win. The bet was $32,400. The Mountian had already Called my bet. He was the leader. Then like magic, the 6 drops on the River and everyone starts cheering and High-5'ing me, as I now have the chip lead, like, $75,000 to $45,000.

Now Roy, Chuck and Chris are punching me and back-slapping me, and things are looking good. At this point, Sue and Joe Gunther and Nico Miles come out of the house carrying all the makings for fajitas for 50 people. I hadn't eaten in a while and the food is smelling good.

Anyway, now I have the chip lead, and things are looking good. I know how to push the advantage and close out a tourney, having won enough of them online. Unfortunately, the cards didn't go my way and with a pair of pocket 10's I go All-In. There's a pair of 6's on the Board after the Flop. Of course, The Mountain turns over a 6 and I know I'm gonna need Big Luck again, to escape. Not this time, fella. No more 10's and the night was over. A 2nd straight 2nd Place finish for Len Lazarus, the Assassin, and $600. The Mountain took home around $1300 and a nice gold bracelet.

I think The Mountian's name was Chris (?) His last name was Ryan. My head was so full that it all started to blur and I had to leave. You know, like, after taking a Final Exam in high school, your head is still full of all the knowledge, but you're just spent mentally and you go through the rest of the next hour or so on Auto-Pilot. That's what happened to me. I had to leave (Chris, Roy and Chuck were leaving and I was too jumpy to sit around). I relaxed after driving my car around for about 30 minutes and was able to go home and go to bed.

I want to send a Big Thank You out to Joe and Sue Gunther and tournament Director Nico Miles for, again, running a First-Class event. There were no controversies and after wondering if there were going to be any casualties during the storm, everyone had a great time. Thanks to everyone involved, it was a blast. Of course I wouldn't be this long-winded or gushing if I had busted out when Justin did. I guess everything is relative.

I provided the greatest example of Grinding and Luck to get to second place. Homage should be paid to the Master. I know you're all proud of me, as I am proud of DotCom for his play. This makes everyone RIGHT. Like, LEN IS RIGHT.

Have a great week.
I am,
Len Tollerton