Anatomy of a Tournament - A Grand Exit From the Festa al Lago Tournament

I should've brought a snack to the poker table with me when I played the $2,600 buy-in no-limit hold'em event at Bellagio's annual Festa al Lago tournament to cut down on the hunger pangs I would have to endure until 9 p.m. Other than the lateness of the dinner hour, I can think of no casino that treats poker players any better than Director of Poker Operations Doug Dalton, Tournament Director Jack McClelland, and their staff. (Tip: In my opinion, Bellagio has the best buffet in Vegas, and tournament players are comped!)

Forty-two stalwart souls were still in the hunt and I had $30,000 in chips at the beginning of the eighth round of play. With the blinds at $600-$1,200 and $100 antes, I got involved with a blind hand. Terry Fleischer, a very aggressive player, had come to my table with a ton of chips, and was playing lots of hands, often making small preflop raises or just limping in. On this hand, he limped in from late position, and – sitting in the small blind with the 9 5 – I decided to call $600 more to see a cheap flop. This was a marginal decision, at best. (I distinctly recall suffering hunger pangs when I did it!)

I flopped nothing and it got checked around. On the turn, I picked up a flush draw and fired in $3,000 to try to steal the pot with a semibluff. Terry called. I missed everything on the river and checked to Terry, who bet. As I folded, he flashed pocket aces, which he had slow-played. "That was very sneaky of him," I chalked up in my mind. It was dangerous, too, as the random blind hands could have outdrawn his aces, and if a diamond had hit on the river, my flush would have wiped out his pocket rockets. I raised four other times during this level – with A-J, the A 7, both in position, K-K, and Q-Q. Each time, I won only the antes and blinds, finishing the round with $23,300 in chips.

With 30 players still in the tournament, we finally were released to the buffet to enjoy our hard-earned free dinner. The top 18 players would be in the money, with more than $200,000 for first place. I thought I was very much in the hunt, even with a below-average stack. I was playing well and, except for the 9 5 hand, hadn't gotten myself into too much trouble. We returned at 10:15 p.m. for the ninth round, which began with $200 antes and blinds of $800-$1,600.

I knew I had to make a move with or without a big hand (remember the omelet theory), and hoped my timing would be right. Our table was sevenhanded and Terry Fleischer again limped into the pot. I was in the big blind with A-8 offsuit and made it $8,000 to go. He folded. After a few more rounds of the button, I decided it was time to pick up another pot and raised from late position with the K 8. Everyone folded, and I picked up enough chips to last through another round.

About halfway through the ninth round, we redrew for seats at the final three tables. On the very last hand of the round when we were down to 22 players, I had $23,900 in chips. Having a short stack, I decided to gamble by raising with pocket deuces when I was the first player into the pot. The other six players deferred to me by folding, and I was able to add their blinds and antes to my stack just as the 10th round was about to start.

The ante rose to $300 and the blinds grew to $1,000-$2,000. If I survived this round, I would be in the money. For the next 30 minutes, I was not dealt one playable hand. The best hand I looked at in that half-hour was the A 4 under the gun. During this card drought, we were playing hand for hand with 19 players left, three of whom had shorter chip stacks than mine.

At another table, the big blind had only $400 in chips left in front of him. His opponent made a flush on the river and bet enough to put the blind all in if he called. And if he folded, he would have to post the $400 in the small blind the next hand. The blind also had made a flush and was about to call the bet all in when his opponent with the bigger flush turned his hand over prematurely. Seeing that he was beaten, the blind folded and saved his $400.

If you think this story is a shade ugly, hold on – it gets worse. He posted his $400 in the small blind and won the pot when he hit a gutshot straight on the river with an 8-7 offsuit. A few hands later, he won when he went all in with Q-10 offsuit from middle position. While he was making a comeback, my stack was dwindling down to around $12,000 – and now he had more chips than I had! Then, another short stack went all in at the third shorthanded table and survived when he paired a king on the river – and suddenly I was the shortest stack in the tournament!

After posting the blinds, I was down to $9,200 in chips. The action had been passed around to me in the cutoff seat, where I found the Q J. That's not my favorite hand, but I thought to myself, "It's now or never!" I moved all in. The button and small blind passed, but the big blind woke up with A-Q. The flop came A-K-X. "Send me a 10!" I secretly begged the poker gods. My key card didn't save me this time, and I was out in 19th place. I believe I was destined to finish on the bubble, considering the unusual turn of events that occurred at the other table with just 19 players left. If you are looking for justice, don't play poker.

After giving it my all and playing my heart out for almost 10 full rounds of play, I had nothing to show for my efforts – and have only one thing left to say: "Argh!" I restrained myself from kicking my chair on the way out the door (well, maybe I gave it just a little nudge), and at least Jack McClelland wasn't around at that moment to make one of his "Mr. McEvoy is now on the rail signing autographs" comments. Of course, even Jack sometimes has a heart; I'll bet he would've let me off the hook this time.