I recently participated in the
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event at the fabulous Atlantis Resort Casino in the Bahamas. A new record for the number of players entering a
World Poker Tour event was established when 937 participated. The field was so large that 50 percent of the players played on day one and the other 50 percent played on day two. More than half of the players were eliminated during those two days, so the third day saw all of the survivors return to do battle. The structure was great, and allowed for plenty of play. We started with $20,000 in chips and 75-minute levels. The starting blinds were only $50-$100, so everyone had lots of room to maneuver. A total of 180 spots were to be paid, and that number was reached in level No. 11 on the third day. I survived the first day with $86,500 in chips. That was a new personal record for me after one day of play.
When I sat down at my starting table on day one, I knew nobody there. There was one empty seat with a stack of chips when we started. I thought, hmm, maybe Phil Hellmuth had snuck into town; however, that was not the case, as it was David Williams who showed up late. I knew that this would be an action table. David's presence would guarantee it. I also knew that I would have to go through him if I were to survive the day with a decent chip stack.
Early in the first round, I held pocket kings. Another player had made it $350 to go, I pushed it up to $850, and he called. The flop was small cards; he checked, I bet, and he folded. I had picked up a nice little pot right away, which is always good to do. A round went by in which I folded everything, and then I got a pair of tens. I raised to $350, and got called. The flop came A-X-X. I was heads up, so I led at the pot for $600, and got called. I then check-folded on the turn. If there had been more than one preflop caller, I would have checked on the flop, but I thought I could pick it up if my opponent did not have an ace. As the saying goes, I would rather give him credit than cash, so I folded when he bet on the turn.
While still at the first level, I called a $400 bet with the A
Q
before the flop. There were three of us in the pot and everybody checked on the flop. I had only a three-flush on the flop. The turn brought the K
, giving me a flush draw. I made (for me) a very loose call when the original raiser led out for $800. I thought I could win if an ace hit or if I made the flush. The only justification I had for calling this size a bet was the huge implied odds if I made my hand. Unfortunately, the small blind then raised $2,000 more, and the original bettor folded, as did I.
The next hand I played, still at the first level, was A-K. I made it $350 to go and got one caller, the big blind. The flop came A-K-10 with two diamonds. I had flopped top two pair, but had no diamonds in my hand. My opponent led into me for $500. Now, I could have taken a chance here and perhaps just called and maybe won a big pot, but this was a very dangerous flop for two pair, with both straight and flush possibilities out there. I decided to make it $1,200 and find out right there if he had a real hand or not. He thought for a while and then folded. You definitely could make a case for just calling on the flop, but I wasn't looking to gamble this early, and was happy to take the pot right there.
I played three other hands at the first level, A-Q twice and Q-Q once. Each time, I raised to $350 and took the blinds. In spite of all of these pairs and good starting hands, I wound up down $400 from my starting stack after the first level of play. That was a trifle discouraging, because you don't usually get that many good hands at one 75-minute level. So far, David Williams and I had not clashed, but that would soon change during the second level of play. Stay tuned for the saga of my battles with David in my next column. If I can win with my big pairs and avoid the many traps set by David and the other players, perhaps we can join each other soon in the winner's circle.
Tom McEvoy is a representative of PokerStars.com. He can be found playing under his own name on PokerStars, and is happy to chat when he can.
