#007 - “Some Sick Humans Here” - FTOPS #1 Update

It’s Break no. 3 at the first FTOPS event. Mike Matusow is still in the hunt. There are 387 players left (306 will be paid). The chip average is 14,899. Huck Seed is making a run with over 18,000. Z is hanging in with 17,000+. Erik Seidel is four spots from the bottom, with 3,920. All the other pros are safely tucked in their beds, dreaming of future FTOPS, no doubt.

And what dreams may come? Right after I wrote that Mike had his game face - game avatar? - on, he dropped 8,000 chips.

That’s when he hopped aboard the rollercoaster. He doubled up to 24,000 when he called the cut-off’s 1,000 raise on the button with K-Q. AFter a flop of K-T-6, the raiser bet the pot. MIke called. After a 3 on the turn, the raiser pushed all-in for 7,500. Mike called. The raiser was on a stone-death-wish bluff with 7-5o. That’s when Mike typed in one of his first sentiments of the night, immortalized in this headline.

There were dozens of people chatting in his room. Looking for a hand result, I had to scroll through scores of lines from observers, some in all caps, some chat in red, some in blue. It was like reading a ransom note.

Matusow jumped to 38,000 when the player under the gun moved in for 3,000 and Mike, in the big blind, called with K-J. The raiser had T-9, Mike caught a king on the flop, and that was it. He was back on the first page of the leaderboard.

On the next hand, he had J-J and was against K-Q. They got it all in after a K-J-3 flop. This boosted him to 46,000, second place.

Going into the break, I noticed Mike in 4th place. Someone named “grizizel” in second. Could it be? … Nah.