My Second Time at the Final Table, World Series of Poker Style

Reaching the final table and finishing eighth in the $5,000 pot-limit hold'em event at this year's World Series of Poker was definitely the apex of my poker career … for a week. When I wrote my last column chronicling that experience, how was I to know that I would go on another run of sweet cards just one week later? Well, I did, this time in the $5,000 limit hold'em event, the same event in which I finished 32nd last year.



The opening day of this event started off rough for me. Many of the players were saying that despite the fact that the buy-in had increased, implying that the field would be tougher, the play was incredibly loose in those first few hours. I was suffering beat after beat due to drawouts, and really thought it was all over after the first four hours. Then, I went on a small rush before the dinner break and got back up to $6,000 in chips, but that was only $1,000 more than what we had started with. I headed off to grab a bite to eat, fully expecting to bust out within an hour or two of coming back.



I returned from dinner to a stellar table. Among those seated were Diego Cordovez, Thor Hansen, Isabelle Mercier, and Tony "TNT" Nasr. It was, by far, the most fun table that I had played at during the entire WSOP. We were all talking, telling stories, sharing LifeSavers, and just generally having a real good time. This is of special note because it rarely happens at these events. Of course, it lasted only two hours, because the blinds went up twice and everyone realized that we needed to be paying a little closer attention to our cards. It was extremely refreshing, though, to spend those few hours after dinner amongst "friends," and not cutthroat enemies. Of course, we ripped each other's throats out after that.



I went on a monster rush those first three and a half hours after dinner. I had worked my stack up to $27,000 and was feeling great about my play. Of course, there were some timely drawouts during that time, but hey, who's counting? I got beat back down in the 30 minutes before we finished for the night, though, and found myself staring down at $18,000. That was quite a swing in such a short period of time, and I wasn't feeling very good about it. I spoke with Bear (Barry Greenstein) and he looked at the bright side of the situation: The fact that we were quitting for the night was perfect timing for me. I was bleeding a little, and continuing play probably wouldn't have been good for my mental state. It made sense to me, so I tried not to focus on the final half-hour of the day; instead, I focused on the run that got me to where I was.



We got right back into it the next afternoon, and the action was fast and furious. Knockouts were occurring continually, and it seemed that the field was just getting tougher and tougher. At every table, I found myself feeling like a minnow in a tank full of sharks. I suffered a pretty brutal beat at around 7 p.m. that put me down to about $14,000 in chips; I had pocket aces and my opponent caught his third queen on the river to make trips with K-Q. I thought it was all over at this point. Throughout this WSOP, though, it seemed that whenever I had gotten to a dire level, a point where I sometimes would just end up throwing my discipline out the window and blow my chance, I had been able to settle down and ratchet up my level of play. I luckily somehow pulled it off one more time here.



In the final hour before we quit for the night, I locked up in a hand with Young Phan that became do-or-die for me. If I won it, I would be heading to the final table. If I lost it, I would be heading upstairs to watch a movie. I'll chronicle it here, if only for its entertainment value, and for the fact that it shows me as a rookie beyond any doubt.



I was slightly short-stacked and was in the big blind with the K 10. Young had opened with a raise from the button. I called, and was greeted with the following flop: K 7 6. This was not a bad flop for me. I checked, Young bet, I check-raised, and he just called. Now, here is where it gets interesting. The turn brought the 8, giving me top pair, the second nut-flush draw, as well as a gutshot-straight draw. I bet out and was greeted with a surprise raise from Young. I made the decision here that I was going to the final table with a good stack of chips or I wasn't going at all. Young and I locked horns and we capped it. Now, he had every reason to cap it, as I would find out after the river card. I, however, certainly did not. As I said, I think I just made the decision that I didn't want to be crippled while heading on in the tournament.



This thinking was very unsound. While many people in tournaments make this decision to throw caution to the wind, they, just as I did, aren't thinking of the chips as exactly what they are: gold. As long as you have some chips, you can continue moving further ahead. The second you realize that you are probably beat, you should stop putting your chips into the pot. They are just too valuable in tournaments. As long as you have one chip, you have a chance, as they say.



At any rate, the river delivered the 9, which gave me a 10-high straight. I was so focused on the hearts, however, that I didn't even see the straight. I checked, Young bet, and I just called. Young turned over the 5 4, showing the straight he caught on the turn. I flipped up my superior straight, and Young said, "Wow. That's all right. Everyone knows I am loose. I probably didn't have anything." Of course, this wasn't true at all, but Young was awfully cool about my bad play. At any rate, it seemed that I had blundered my way right to the final table on this hand.



Annie Duke came up to me afterward and said, "You know, Joe, you definitely should have won that hand, but there was no way it should have been ten billion chips! You sure donkeyed your way to a good position there." Ouch! I couldn't argue, though.



A few minutes later I received a text message from my dad. It read: "Annie says you just made a straight on a big hand and won some chips. She also said you are a donkey. We'll talk later." Brutal, just brutal.



On the last hand of the night, Amir Vahedi's jacks ran into my aces, and he was knocked out in 10th place. I was sad to see Amir go, as he had been, hands down, the most entertaining of any of us.



Obviously, at the end of the night, I was one of the final nine still remaining, and I was stoked to be headed to my second final table of this year's World Series. It was unbelievable.



Even though it was barely a week after my inaugural visit to the final stage, I felt much more comfortable about going there. The theme of this second trip was redemption. I felt like this was another chance to come through. All I wanted was not to play like a donkey this time. I just didn't want to give my chips away. While I did play much better than previously, I can't say that I didn't donkey it up somewhat, and I can't say that there wasn't another instance of not raising with almost unbeatable cards on the end of a hand. Well, hearts sometimes look like diamonds, don't they?



Embarrassing, just embarrassing. It should make for interesting television, though, so laugh at me when it airs on ESPN.


In some ways, this final table was far more crushing than my first one. I had pocket aces in a three-way capped pot that catapulted me into the chip lead with six players left. Then, I played two hands very poorly to give it right back. So, I really had a chance to win this event, rather than just place highly. On the other hand, I played much better than I had on my first visit to the final table. It was a mixed bag, for sure.



My final hour at the table was spent facing off against Annie. We traded blows back and forth for a while, but in the end, she sent me, along with my pocket threes, home in fifth place.



I try to comfort myself with the fact that most people don't learn to play poker at the World Series of Poker on ESPN. I'm not sure how valid this excuse is, but it's really all I have to make me feel slightly better. I just hope to improve the next time I find myself in the same situation. This year I finished eighth and then fifth, so next time I might be due for …