FULL TILT POKER BLOG

#020 – FTOPS #3 – Final Update

Posted by Editor | Filed under FTOPS, Huckleberry Seed

The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Seed

When I left you last night, Seed was hanging on with below-average chips, maneuvering his stack, and avoiding showdowns. I spent an evening with Huck and Ted Forrest talking about Razz last summer, and Huck’s main message was this:

Don’t play hands when you can steal.

At one point, he talked about hypothetically throwing away A-2-3 in Razz against a raise and re-raise when at a table where he could steal with impunity. (Ted Forrest wisecracked, “I guess I’m not as good a Razz player as you. I don’t think I could throw away A-2-3.”)

I’m sure Huck would have the same message for hold ‘em. When he finally showed down a hand, about a half hour after I wrote the previous update, it was quads. In the big blind, Seed had Jc-Js. When an even shorter stack in late position moved all-in for 21,000, naturally he called. That player had Ad-Td and was behind, even more so after a board of 3d-Jh-9h-6h-Jd.

Seed also mentioned – he doesn’t chat much but occasionally would respond to something the hundreds of railbirds were typing, usually “lol” – that he has been sober for eight months. Although plenty of people on the rail came through as expected with comments like “in a row?” and “better start drinking again”, everyone who considers Huckleberry Seed a talented, charismatic-though-enigmatic presence in poker is rooting for his continued success.

Big Hands vs. Big Draws vs. Big Bets – When You Have Big Stacks

Around Midnight EST, ThisComesLast took a huge chip lead. Already among the leaders with 230,000, he got into a hand with NiceChips, who was also among the leaders with 191,000. With blinds of 1,400-2,800 and antes of 350, ThisComesLast, two off the button, raised to 8,200. NiceChips, in the big blind, called. The flop was 2s-7s-9c. After ThisComesLast bet 16,800, NiceChips check-raised to 50,400. ThisComesLast moved all-in to make it 221,000. NiceChips called his last 132,000.

ThisComesLast had a big overpair, K-K. NiceChips had Ad-7d for second pair. He didn’t improve and was eliminated. ThisComesLast now had 454,000 in chips. Second had 243,000, and only one other player was over 200,000.

Just ten hands later, ThisComesLast lost most of those chips. The beneficiary was PearlJammed, an excellent online tournament player who I’ve tangled unsuccessfully with many times, most recently in the January Leaderboard Freeroll earlier on Sunday. It was hard, if not impossible, for ThisComesLast to get away, as PearlJammed demonstrated the plays you can make in a deep-stack tournament, as well as the willingness to gamble necessary to succeed.

Blinds were 1,700-3,400, with antes of 400. ThisComesLast (Qd-Qh) raised to 8,800. PearlJammed re-raised to 26,800 (Js-9s). ThisComesLast called. The flop came 8s-9c-3s.

ThisComesLast checked his overpair. PearlJammed, with top pair, an overcard, and a flush draw, bet 38,500. ThisComesLast came over the top, moving all-in for 426,000. PearlJammed called with his last 153,000.

PearlJammed had 14 outs, making it almost a dead heat. After the ten of clubs on the turn, the four of spades on the river made PearlJammed a flush, taking his total to 445,152. ThisComesLast fell to 234,000, and lost 80,000 on the next two hands, raising with Q-6 on one of them.

As the field continued to narrow, ThisComesLast righted the ship. At the 1:45 AM EST break, there were just 24 players left. PearlJammed was fourth in chips, ThisComesLast was in the middle of the pack, and Huck Seed was hanging on in twentieth.

The Finish

Seed eventually finished in fifteenth place, earning $6,116 for his effort, which was actually more than two of his four 2006 World Series cashes and only a few hundred dollars less than his third. It was his second time in the money in this series of FTOPS and both times he was the last Full Tilt pro in the field.

By 2:20 AM EST when the field consisted of just 10 players, it was clear that the event structure was going to allow a lot of play. It took more than two hours to finish. PearlJammed finished 10th twenty minutes later, followed a half dozen hands later by ThisComesLast.

ThisComesLast went out on a hand similar to the one where he lost so many chips to PearlJammed, but worse because he caught Mikry mtl bullying him and Mikry drew out. He had K-K against Mikry mtl’s Ah-9h. They got all the chips in after a flop of 6d-8h-Qd, and Mikry made a running flush with Qh-Jh. This also gave Mikry the chip lead with 2.1 million and eight players remaining.

There was rarely more than one player at the final table with fewer than 20 big blinds. Amid the clamoring for the players to work out a deal – I know some of this came from players but with a busy, chattering rail, I don’t know how many players were agitating for it – Mike Matusow made an appearance to try to get someone at Full Tilt involved. Nothing was resolved, though the diversion gave dozens on the rail a chance to insult Mike Matusow, so it helped make their night.

In the end, it was heads up between DontBluffMePLZZ and Don Guzzo, the PLZZ having a huge chip advantage. PLZZ won it with 4-4 against the Don’s As-Ks. The final words of the 2,755-player tournament were the same as in every big Full Tilt event, and they came from a forgettable but ever-present member of the rail:

“Can someone give me five bucks.”

Here is how they finished at the final table:

1. DontBluffMePLZZ – $151,249.50
2. Don Guzzo – $92,568.00
3. mickry mtl – $60,334.50
4. tsarrast – $47,937.00
5. mrRosen – $36,366.00
6. terhahn – $26,200.05
7. Hummer141 – $19,340.10
8. B1317 – $15,207.60
9. ThisComesLast – $11,571.00

My Consolation Prize

Of slightly less importance except to me, I won the $30,000 Guarantee Six-Handed tournament last night. The Poker Gods made up for sending me out of FTOPS #3 short of the money with a set by giving me A-A and K-K repeatedly, and even giving me a royal flush with seven players to go.

I maintain, with some important exceptions that, over the long haul, it is skill that gets players into the money but luck that governs their results once they get there. As much as I’d like to claim I am superior to my opponents at picking when the player in late position is bluffing all-in with 4-2, it’s a lot easier to follow that hunch when you have K-K than T-7. Last night, I was always the guy with K-K (except when I had A-A).

As for my plans for the money, I have two alternate answers:

1. “Play poker.”

2. “Put it with the rest.”

What’s Coming:

Tonight’s FTOP #4 will be a treat – PLO with rebuys for the first hour. Lee Watkinson, who I don’t really know, is the host. I thought I’d follow two particular players, both women of course.

The first will be Clonie Gowen, because more Clonie seems to lead to more readers. Actually, PLO is one of her favorite games, and she has played a lot of hours outside the limelight in cash PLO games. If I get time, maybe I’ll tell the story about when I played Clonie in PLO.

The second will be a non-Full Tilt Pro I just picked out at random. Miss Lulu. It will be interesting to see how everyone performs in this event, which tends to be pretty intimidating to the non-pros, because PLO requires a lot of gamble and, with the rebuys, potentially a big cash outlay (despite the initial $100 entry). I figured since I was looking in on Clonie, I’d pick another woman in the field. I still haven’t decided whether I’ll play myself, and I figure maybe you’re getting tired of hearing about my exploits. (Besides, I might want to keep my PLO failures to myself. At least with hold ‘em, I can ACT like I have a game.)

Normally, I wouldn’t put a non-pro under the microscope from the start, but I have a hunch Miss Lulu can handle it. Just a feeling.

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