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FTOPS Event #6 – No Limit Hold’em, 6-Max to the Max!

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The end is near for the first Full Tilt Online Poker Series, but the action was heating up with a No Limit 6-handed Hold’em tournament. Over 818 players entered into Event #6, competing for a $163,600 prize pool as well as the coveted custom FTOPS Gold Jersey. After six hours of play, we were down to the final table.

The chip leader going in to the final table was iMsoLucky0, a well known internet pro with numerous tournament cashes, online and live. With four cashes in the 2006 WSOP, including one in the $2,500 Short Handed NLHE event, iMsoLucky0 was the odds-on favorite entering the final table, but that’s not to say it would be easy.

Leveroni was second in chips, and had position on iMsoLucky0. Leveroni got here by winning a heads-up battle with Full Tilt regular cracknaces in a 6-man Satellite, and the Sit & Go specialist was in his comfort zone at a final table.

Third in chips was sevindewey, winner of a $24+$2 Avatar Race to gain entry into every FTOPS Event. Sevindewey had already cashed in the first FTOPS event and was primed to make a big score.

Pimpin_pens was at his second FTOPS final table, after a 7th place finish in the Limit Hold’em Event. Already guaranteed to improve on that finish, pimpin_pens was looking for an FTOPS Title. He was one of the shorter stacks at the table, along with mikeypiez and jeslilolme, but with blinds at 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante, everyone still had some breathing room:

Seat 1: iMsoLucky0 (821,546)
Seat 2: Leveroni (526,372)
Seat 3: mikeypiez (294,188)
Seat 4: jeslilolme (156,986)
Seat 5: pimpin_pens (223,210)
Seat 6: sevindewey (431,698)

After several hands of blind stealing, jeslilolme was the first player to get all-in. With the blinds up to 6,000/12,000, iMsoLucky0 raised to 30,000 from under the gun. jeslilolme decided to push all-in for 155,000 with KJs. iMsoLucky0, with plenty of chips to spare, made the call with pocket 6s. jeslilolme hit a jack hit on the turn to double up, while iMsoLucky took a small hit.

A few hands later, jeslilolme was at it again. Pimpin_pens made it 32,000 from under the gun with AQ. jeslilolme called in his big blind with AJ. The 8 J K flop was checked by both players, but the ace on the turn was not. Pimpin_pens bet 48,000 and Jeslilome check raised all-in. Pimpin_pens was covered, but called his last 156,000, in need of a T, Q or K on the river. He spiked a King on the river to counterfeit jeslilolme‘s two pair, and pimpin_pens won a 490,000 pot with his queen kicker.

jeslilolme was down to 95,000 and in big trouble. He managed to stay alive for another round, doubling up off iMsoLucky0 for the 2nd time in less than five minutes when his K8 outdrew iMsoLucky0‘s AT, and that was just the beginning. Proving to be iMsoLucky0‘s personal kryptonite, jeslilolme‘s AJ sucked out on iMsoLucky0‘s big slick after the two players got all-in pre-flop again. iMsoLucky0‘s chip lead was now completely gone and the table was now fairly even. Thanks to a run of bad luck for iMsoLucky0, it was anyone’s game:

Seat 1: iMsoLucky0 (497,274)
Seat 2: Leveroni (487,372)
Seat 3: mikeypiez (264,188)
Seat 4: jeslilolme (286,548)
Seat 5: pimpin_pens (564,920)
Seat 6: sevindewey (353,698)

The game was progressing slowly as players stole blinds and waited for the opportunity to make a big play. Pimpin_pens slowly increased his chip stack, stealing blinds and a picking up a big pot off mikeypiez. The blinds were at 8,000/16,000 when iMsoLucky0 got caught stealing and lost a colossal pot.

Sevindewey raised to 68,000 from the button and iMsoLucky0 attempted to push him out of the hand, raising all-in from his blind with a meager QT. Sevindewey must have sensed tilt, and made a spectacular call with KQ and raking in a 647,000 pot. iMsoLucky0 went from chip leader to short stack in less than 20 minutes of final table action. However, he would not be the first player eliminated.

Mikeypiez hovered around the 200,000 mark for most of the table, but made his move raising all-in from the button with A8 after sevindewey had limped under the gun. Mikeypiez risked his whole stack to try and take the pot down, but he fell into a well planned trap. sevindewey had switched gears and limped with AK. He quickly called the all-in, and became the chip leader while eliminating Mikeypiez in 6th place. Mikeypiez did leave the table $7,362 richer.

Seat 1: iMsoLucky0 (215,576)
Seat 2: Leveroni (431,372)
Seat 4: jeslilolme (180,548)
Seat 5: pimpin_pens (732,920)
Seat 6: sevindewey (893,584)

iMsoLucky0 continued to get unlucky at this final table, getting knocked out by an attempted blind steal from sevindewey. From the button, sevindewey raised to 158,000. iMsoLucky0 pushed all-in for a small raise with KJ from the small blind and was in great shape when he caught sevindewey with K4. The board came 9 K 4 8 2 and iMsoLucky0 was shocked to go out in 5th place with a little over $10,000 in earnings. He lost several big pots where he was a favorite to win, but he also got caught making a big move to contribute to his downfall. Either way, it surely won’t be the last time we see iMsoLucky0 at a final table.

Leveroni was quietly chugging along and maintaining his 400,000 stack as play continued. pimpin_pens was also in good shape at 600,000, but sevindewey was in a comfortable chip lead with 1.2 million, which was about half the chips on the table.

jeslilolme was aggressive with his final 200,000 chips and continued to dodge bullets. In a three man pot, jeslilolme pushed all-in with 8-10 on ten high flop. Unfortunately for him, Leveroni had JT and jeslilolme was in trouble yet again, but with all the suckouts so far at this final table, nobody was surprised to see a miracle 8 on the river. Suddenly, jeslilolme and Leveroni had traded chip positions.

Leveroni stayed alive and began to rebuild his stack, picking off blinds and managing to avoid getting put all-in. The table was tame for a few rounds when pimpin_pens and sevindewey went to war.

With the blinds at 10,000/20,000, pimpin_pens raised to 65,000 from the small blind with AJ. Sevindewey woke up with pocket queens in the big blind, and made a small re-raise to 110,000. After pimpin_pens made the call, and was way ahead after the flop came Ad 3d 9s. Both players checked, and Sevindewey checked behind. Another ace came on the turn, and pimpin_pens made another sneaky check, getting sevindewey to bet 100,000. Pimpin_pens raised to 280,000, and his slowplay worked perfectly. sevindewey refused to put him on an ace, and he pushed all-in. No queen hit the river, and Pimpin_pens won a 1.25 million pot.

Both players were active in the next hand as well. Holding pocket Jacks on a 6c 5d 4c flop, pimpin_pens bet 100,000 into a 130,000 pot. Sevindewey raised to 200,000 and pimpin_pens pushed all-in. sevindewey was forced to fold, and it appeared his good reads early on were letting him down now. Two hands later, pimpin_pens went for the kill.

Sevindewey opened for 80,000 under the gun and was raised all-in by pimpin_pens. Refusing to be beaten three times in a row, sevindewey made a questionable call for his last 270,000 with KJo. Pimpin_pens had the goods once again, flipping over AK, which held for another large pot. Sevindewey was eliminated in 4th place, taking home almost $14,000. Pimpin_pens was in dominant chip position with over 6 times the chips of his other competitors. The game seemed over, but as the 4th and 5th place finishers saw, having the chip lead is no guarantee of success:

Seat 2: Leveroni (280,824)
Seat 4: jeslilolme (255,096)
Seat 5: pimpin_pens (1,918,080)

Pimpin_pens played a lot of hands, betting small but often, and often laying down when jeslilome pushed all-in over the top. Figuring that he didn’t have to gamble, pimpin_pens waited for solid hands so as not to double his opponents up. jeslilolme was looking to accumulate chips, and he raised to 50,000 from the button with A2. Leveroni defended his big blind holding just 25, putting jeslilolme on a button steal and planning to make a move later in the hand. Leveroni check raised all-in, but the pot had been built enough that jeslilolme was forced to call his last 172,000 with the weak ace. Leveroni was drawing nearly dead, and after the hand was down to 72,000. Leveroni needed a series of miracles to get back into contention.

Leveroni started well, getting dealt AJ and A8 over the next two hands to double up twice, putting him back over 280,000. It was nothing spectacular, but it gave him enough chips to wait for another ace to push with.

Leveroni managed to steal a few blinds and jeslilolme lost a few small pots to pimpin_pens as play continued. Leveroni managed to pass jeslilolme in the chip standings after five minutes of being the short stack, as Leveroni sat with about 325,000 in chips while jeslilolme had lost about half his chips, down to only 270,000. jeslilolme woke up with AQ on the button and moved all-in, but found himself behind in the hand after Leveroni made the call with 88. Leveroni‘s comeback came to an end when jeslilolme hit a Queen on the turn, and once again Leveroni was below 80,000 in chips.

Showing more resilience, Leveroni yet again managed to double up twice, but with significantly worse hands this time. He hit trip jacks with JT against pimpin_pens KQ and managed to stay alive with 56 when jeslilolme called with pocket deuces. He was still short, but anything was possible:

Seat 2: Leveroni (204,792)
Seat 4: jeslilolme (369,032)
Seat 5: pimpin_pens (1,880,176)

The blinds were still at 12,000/24,000 with a 3,000 ante when Leveroni and jeslilolme got all-in together once again. Leveroni pushed all-in from the button with As 8d and got re-raised all-in by jeslilolme, holding Ah Qs. The board gave jeslilolme a pair of queens, but amazingly, four diamonds hit giving Leveroni a diamond flush to take the pot. Leveroni improved his position to 400,000 and jeslilolme dropped down to 150,000.

jeslilolme started to fight back, taking down several blinds and increasing his chips to 230,000. With blinds at 15,000/30,000, the hand of the final table occurred when Leveroni opted to limp in position with 9T of clubs. jeslilolme called for 15,000 and pimpin_pens checked his option. The flop of Jc Ks 6c was checked around. The short stacked jeslilolme pushed all-in for 200k on the 7s turn. Pimpin_pens, holding a K6 for 2 pair, smooth called, building a big enough pot for Leveroni to call with a flush draw and double-gutshot straight draw. The 8d on the river gave Leveroni the nuts, but it was pimpin_pens who was first to act, and he pushed all-in with his two pair. Leveroni called his last 180,000, and took down the massive 1.1 million pot. jeslilolme mucked his hand and collected his $18,000 prize for 3rd place, and after being below 100,000 in chips twice, Leveroni was now almost dead even with pimpin_pens.

Leveroni chipped away at pimpin_pens during the heads up match, and he picked up several small pots on the river when pimpin_pens checked them down out of position. Leveroni surged ahead in the chip count and flashed several bluffs as pimpin_pens continued to lay down to Leveroni‘s modest bets. After a few minutes of play, pimpin_pens was in trouble. Leveroni had worked his stack up to 1.6 million with very little competition from pimpin_pens, now down to 800,000.

Tired of being pushed around, pimpin_pens made his stand shortly after the blinds had increased to 20,000/40,000. Knowing that Leveroni would play aggressive, pimpin_pens decided to trap with A8, a decent heads up hand. Pimpin_pens limped on the button, and was promptly raised by Leveroni to 130,000. pimpin_pens came over the top with a 360,000 bet and Leveroni decided to push. Pimpin_pens made the call and saw he was a slight favorite against Leveroni‘s KQ. The JJ9 flop gave Leveroni more outs, and a ten on the river sealed the win to complete an improbable final table victory. In the span of 20 minutes, Leveroni managed to take his last 72,000 and capture all 2.5 million chips in play.

In another exciting FTOPS final table, having the chip lead was a death wish, and the resilient short stack Leveroni showed why in tournament poker, one should never quit.

Pimpin_pens played a superb final table, but fell just short. He added another $24,000 to his FTOPS winnings, and established himself as another tournament player to watch out for on Full Tilt.

Leveroni won a well deserved $38,446 and a custom Full Tilt gold jersey, as well as the memory of a fantastic final table experience, the come-from-behind win. Congratulations to all six players at the FTOPS Event #6 Final Table:

1. Leveroni $38,446
2. pimpin_pens $24,131
3. jeslilolme $17,996
4. sevindewey $13,906
5. iMsoLucky0 $10,634
6. mikeypiez $7,362

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