The Poker Quest Satellite of Champions - Part III

With the Poker Quest Satellite of Champions down to the final three players, I was the clear chip leader in the battle for a seat in the $250,000 buy-in main event. My two worthy opponents, Layne Flack and Thor Hansen, were about even in chips. You've heard of beads of sweat breaking out on someone's forehead. Well, my brain was drenched in perspiration at the prospect of winning a seat in poker's biggest buy-in tournament in history.



We all traded pots for a while, and then Thor, not for the first time, got all of his money in on a coin-flip hand against Layne: pocket eights for Layne, A-Q offsuit for Thor. Thor knew that when Layne made a big all-in reraise against him, he probably had the worst hand, but the pot had grown very big and he felt committed. Since he had won a couple of races earlier, he took his chances. The stakes were high: The player who won the pot would take over the chip lead from me. When Layne's pocket eights held up, Thor was down to just a few chips, which he had to post in the big blind on the next hand. In that hand, I called from the button with a marginal hand, as did Layne. We checked the hand down, I won, and Thor was out.



Now the fun began! I had busted five players and crippled one player, and Layne had busted the other two players, so it was fitting that we got heads up. With more than 60 percent of the chips, Layne quickly ground me down to having about 30 percent of the chips. I knew that he would take a very aggressive approach, and I decided that trying to outmuscle him was not the right approach. I played what appeared to be a very passive game, by taking as many cheap flops as I could, looking to trap him – but it wasn't working. I knew I had to do something different.



The blinds were now $1,000-$2,000 and I looked down at 6-5 offsuit on the button. I called the additional $1,000, and Layne fired out a $6,000 raise. This time I knew that, win or lose, I had to put the brakes on his aggressiveness. I immediately moved all in. He thought for what seemed like two minutes before he finally folded. I turned over the 6-5 to show him my bluff in an attempt to throw him off his game. Desperate men do desperate deeds. I am not as tight a tournament player as some people think, and I figured I could use my conservative image to run a bluff when necessary. That pot kept me in the hunt.



Then I played a key pot that gave me the lead. I made a small raise from the button with A-7 offsuit. The flop came 7-4-3 of mixed suits. Layne made a modest bet and I moved all in. He called immediately. I thought that maybe I had run into an overpair, but Layne turned over 5-4 offsuit. He had flopped a pair with a gutshot-straight draw, while I had made top pair, top kicker. I guess he thought I was bluffing again, or that he had enough outs to justify a call. Since I could go broke on this hand but he couldn't, he gambled. That was not the first time, nor will it be the last time, in his illustrious poker career that he has been known to take a chance. My hand held up and I now had the lead. I kept chipping away, and soon he was down to about $30,000 in chips, and I had around $220,000.



But, being the great player that he is, Layne has no quit in him. He started to grind his way back, and had close to $70,000 in chips when the following hand took place. With the blinds at $1,500-$3,000, I limped in from the button with the 9 8. Layne raised an additional $9,000 and I called. The flop came 9-7-6, giving me top pair and an open-end straight draw. I knew I was going to put Layne all in on this hand. He bet, and I raised him all in. He called immediately and turned over A-9, top pair with top kicker. But even though he had me out-kicked, I could still hit two pair or make my straight. If I lost, we were going to be close to even in chips again – which was not the situation I wanted! The turn card was a 5 – I had drawn out! With Layne drawing dead to a tie, it was all but over. I can't tell you what a great feeling it was to beat this tough lineup and overcome a 2-to-1 chip deficit against Layne. Was I lucky? You bet I was, but I played what was dealt to me to the best of my ability, and was rewarded for my perseverance.



In addition to winning the $250,000 seat for next January's tournament, I was awarded a Jay Strongwater limited-edition trophy – the most beautiful trophy I have ever seen, much less owned. It is a work of art. This was certainly a pretty good day's work and a thrill to be playing with such an outstanding group of poker celebrities. A special thanks goes to Poker Quest CEO Jason Augustine for inviting me, his Chief Operating Officer Angelo Halkias for being so kind and gracious, Mel Judah for calling and telling me to get to the casino fast, Kathy Liebert for putting in a good word for me, and especially my esteemed writing partner T.J. Cloutier, who recommended me to Jason.



Let's hope that the thrill of victory comes to you before the agony of defeat, so that we can meet each other soon in the winner's circle.

Tom McEvoy is a representative of PokerStars.com and the voice of Pro Play. You can find out more about Pro Play at www.mypokerbiz.com.