PartyPoker Million III - Part III

Things were pretty awesome. I was back on a cruise ship, and back at another World Poker Tour final table, giving myself a chance to make up for what went wrong in my last attempt at victory on the WPT.

There were some serious obstacles for me, though, as the chip leader (Chris Hinchcliffe) had a huge chip lead with $1.5 million. Of course, that wasn't the only obstacle. The rest of the field was a veritable who's who of poker.

My good buddy Erick Lindgren, hot off a WPT win in Aruba, was also ahead of me in chips. Who was behind me? No slouches whatsoever: Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, and Steve Zolotow.

My position at the table seemed great. I mean, I had Barry Greenstein to my immediate right, and the chip leader two to my right. Of course, that also left me extremely vulnerable to Erick, who had position on me (he was seated to my immediate left).

It's debatable whether position is more important in limit hold'em or its cousin no-limit hold'em; there are valid arguments for both. On this day, though, with this crowd, position would prove to be an extremely important factor.

Right off the bat, things were really clicking for me. I took advantage of some early tight play by Erick, Steve Z., and Scotty by staying aggressive from late position, while at the same time three-betting Barry rather consistently.

That helped me climb steadily, but my goal going into the final table was to go after the chip leader, as he was (almost by default) the most inexperienced player at the table.

If you read my last column, you know that en route to the final table, I called Chris Hinchcliffe with Q-6 high on the river. That hand was so key in so many ways. It gave me a significant psychological advantage over Chris, and I was going to do everything I could to be a thorn in his side.

Things couldn't have gone any better. I got lucky and was able to grab some chips from Chris. Within about 45 minutes of play, I'd taken over the chip lead with about $1.7 million, and it really looked and felt like smooth sailing from there.

When the limits were raised, though, I took a few unlucky hits against Erick, weakening my lead while creating a contender in "E-DOG." In other words, it was double trouble. When we were down to four players, the stage was all but set. Steve Z. was hanging on by a thread, which forced Chris to simply make sure he outlasted Steve.

Not long thereafter, it was E-DOG with $1.9 million versus my stack, which was also $1.9 million! It was a fantasy scenario. E-DOG and I had had many conversations envisioning the dream scenario – and here it was: tête-a-tête, mano a mano for the title, baby!

As excited as I was, the situation was slightly bittersweet. After I destroyed Erick and embarrassed him publicly, I would feel for the guy, honestly. Of course, if you asked Erick, I'm pretty sure he'd simply say, "I just want to crush him!"

The first three pots, I won with no contest. On the fourth hand, Erick leveled me with a three-outer on the river to take the lead. From there, I was playing catch-up. I was staying aggressive, for sure, but now I had to be a little more cautious as my stack dwindled.

I think the following hand is the one that broke my back for good: Erick raised from the button (which he did quite often, obviously), and I decided to get aggressive. I three-bet with the A 8, which is a play I rarely make in this situation. This hand doesn't play very well after the flop, but since I'd gotten so short on chips, I decided I'd go with it on virtually any flop. The flop came K 9 3.

I bet out, desperately hoping that E-DOG would give it up. He did not. He immediately raised me, and I was absolutely certain that he'd hit the flop. The question was, how did he hit it?

Considering the stack situation, I believed Erick could have any of the following hands: a pair of kings, a pair of nines, a pair of threes, or a pocket pair.

Those hands had me beat. The problem was, I also knew Erick could just as easily have raised me with any flush draw, J-10, Q-10, or Q-J.

In a typical situation, I'd call here and see what developed on the turn. The problem was, if I called, I'd be left with a little less than two big bets on the turn.

I went into the tank. Hmm … I could get lucky and still catch an ace or runner-runner clubs. But then there was that pesky 9. Had the 9 been a 7, I would have had an easier decision. Sigh. I finally folded, hoping to fight back with the few chips I had left.

Later, Erick told me he had a draw, the J 6 (which was later confirmed when the show aired).

Knowing that, I obviously would have folded. Erick did something when he raised me on the flop that screamed of strength. I'm not sure if it was a reverse tell or not, but my instincts told me to beware.

Well, my comeback never materialized, and Erick "E-DOG" Lindgren won his second WPT event in season two. Also, Erick's two firsts and a fifth in season two beat me out of the WPT Player of the Year award (my second, third, and seventh were good for runner-up).

On the brighter side of things, Erick lives just down the street from me, so I don't have to go too far to get my revenge!

Of course, I don't much like going over to his place anymore. That million-dollar check and PartyPoker Million III trophy beautifully displayed on his mantel make me want to ralph! Me a sore loser? Nah.

Daniel can be reached through his website: www.fullcontactpoker.com.