Binger places, I'm 80:1 for the main event

Today I took the day off from play to explore Melbourne and watch Michael Binger, a good friend, play the final table from yesterdays bounty event. Before I get to the action of the final table I would like to say that Melbourne is a great city. The people are very friendly, it is easy to get around by tram, and it is beautiful. Towards the end of the afternoon we went to the Aquarium which was fantastic. The best part is they have a dive in their main tank with sharks, rays and all kinds of fish. You get to don SCUBA gear and spend an hour under water. I think there will be a group of us going on Tuesday.

Before I get to Michael Bingers play at the final table, I would like to mention David Kruger. David and I seem to be at the same table in every tournament and cash game we have played so far. He is a 19 year old from Oklahoma who has exceptional cash game and tournament skills. He finished 4th today in the bounty event and got a little unlucky on his last hand. David had KQ and Marlon, 10 J . The flop came K 7 6, and then A turn and Q on the river. David collected better than 41k and from what I've seen has more to come.

Michael Binger began heads up play with about 360k in chip compared to over 1.2 million for Marlon. In what could only be described as a battle, Michael outplayed the chip leader and chipped up for quite a while but the cards turned ice cold and as the blinds increased Michael started to lose ground. His brother Nick, John Murphy, Clonie Gowen and myself where there routing him on, but in the end Marlon caught a lot of big hands and although Michael made some good lay downs, he eventually couldn't overcome his opponents monsterious chip advantage coupled with a good dose of luck . His 2nd place finish was a great accomplishment with 374 players, or runners as the Aussie's say, beginning the event in what was the toughest field so far.

The other event of the day is the PLO rebuy which began with over 60 runners. The final table which is still going as I write this had several notables including Lee Watkinson and Mike Sexton. I played next to Mike in the main event of the Bellagio 5 Diamond and got to know him at the Borgata. I found him to be formidable and of course Lee is always tough.

Michael Binger took a group of us out to dinner at the sushi restaurant in the hotel to celebrate. It's a funny thing, although Michael played great and his 2nd place finish was an achievement, I am sure he was somewhat disappointed in not winning. In any event, no matter how will you play, only one person goes home truly satisfied. What a set up for disappointment the tourament circuit is.

I received an interesting piece of information today. There are several online sites that give odds and take bets on individual poker players for the main event here at Aussie Millions. One of those sites paddypower.com lists 7 favorites at 80:1. I was surprised to find my name as one of the favorites along with Ivey, Hanson , Antonious, Mortenson, Cunningham, and Negreanu. I will do my best to help those who bet on me collect. Tomorrow I will be playing a mixed event, limit holdem, omaha high and omaha high low.

The Oracle