Last night was, for all intents and purposes, the biggest tournament of the year for me (And for all you aspiring smartasses out there, yes I know the year only started a few days ago, and no that's not what I mean). The game consisted of Tom, Charlie, Foti, Timmy, and myself. The buy-in was $100, and it was winner take all. We started with 500 in chips, with the blinds at 1-2, and they raised every half hour. Plus, we drew for seating, which we never do anymore. So everything was in order for an awe-inspiring bloodbath.

Charlie got a new poker table that was really nice- it had the soft green felt, cup holders, and it was a pretty big oval. Seating was as follows: Timmy, me, Charlie, Foti, Tom. The tone was set early on that overbets were still the cool thing in that room. With blinds at 1-2, the standard preflop raise was 15. With so many chips, though, you could afford to take a shot here and there. The first hand that I got involved in occured on my big blind on about the 8th hand. I had 7 10 off, and saw a flop with Foti, Charlie, and Tom limping in. The flop came 7 8 10 rainbow, giving me two pair, and I bet out 15. Charlie called, as did Foti, and Tom folded. Charlie could have anything, and I was pretty sure he was drawing. He definitely didn't have me right now. I figured Foti for 8s with an overcard, and he was getting a decent price to try to improve and take a big pot. The turn was an ace, and I figured this was a decent card for me, as it didn't complete any straights, plus I figured anyone would have raised coming in with an ace, as there had been a ton of preflop raising going on, especially from Foti, who raised something like 5 out of the first 7 pots. I bet out 50, trying to drive out any draws that were lurking. Charlie folded, and then Foti raised 100. I tried to go back on my read of him. I had put him on a pair and an overcard, and if he did have something like ace 8, he had just nailed me, but again, he was raising all the time preflop. I changed my mind and decided he had something like ace 9, where he had the open-ended straight and had hit top pair. I called the raise. The river was a queen. I checked, and Foti, after thinking for a few seconds, checked also and flipped over ace ten, for a better two pair than me. Foti played this hand really well, as I hadn't expected him to have an ace in his hand when he didn't raise preflop. This hit knocked me down to about 320 to put me in a quick hole.

I hung around for a while at just over 300 when I picked up jack queen of diamonds in the small blind. It got folded around to Timmy, who raised it ten on the button. This was a weird raise, as everyone had been raising at least 15, and I figured Timmy was getting cute with kings or aces. I called it, figuring if I hit the flop I could take a big pot off of him, as Timmy will pay off most hands. The flop came 4 8 9, giving me two overcards, an inside straight draw, and a backdoor diamond draw. I checked, as did Charlie, and Timmy bet 20. I still put him on aces or kings, and I made a pretty loose call, but my implied odds were through the roof if I hit. The turn was the ten of diamonds, the perfect card for me. I had the nut straight and an open-ended straight flush, and I didn't figure there was any way Timmy could put me on it. I checked to him, and he bet 50. I raised him 100, and after shaking his head and sighing, he called. Now I was positive he had aces or kings, and he just couldn't fold them. It's worth noting that Timmy had already had aces cracked once that night due to slowplaying. The river was a queen, a card I didn't like, as it made the straight obvious, and I bet 150. Timmy shook his head, cried about his aces being cracked again, showed them to the table, then folded. I was definitely hoping for a call, but it was a huge pot to get me back on my feet.

Charlie was calling everyone's raises from any position, and his chip stack reflected it, as it kept dwindling down. He called a raise from Timmy, and when the flop came ace ten 2, they both got all their money in the middle. Charlie had ace 2, Timmy had ace ten, and Charlie was toast. Charlie said he knew Timmy had ace ten, which makes his play even better (?), but I guess that's why he was the first one out.

I took a nice pot off Foti when I had king 8 on a flop 8 9 9. I bet 15 and Foti called. The turn was an ace. I bet 25, and Foti raised me 50. I thought he was full of crap, so I called. The river was a king, giving me kings and 9s (because the 8s were counterfeited). I checked to Foti, and he bet 75. I still felt like he didn't have a damn thing, and I called him. He said, "Jack high," I showed him my hand, and took the pot. This one made me somewhat comfortable for the first time all night, putting me up to about 675.

For most of the early action, Tom and Foti had the chip lead. Now I was getting close, and Timmy was on the end of his rope. He raised preflop, then moved all-in on a flop of 10 9 4 after Tom and Foti checked to him. Tom called immediately and flipped over pocket tens for top set. Timmy had jack queen, which was really the best thing he could have had against the set, because he had 8 outs. He didn't catch, however, and he was out fourth.

Once it got three-handed, the quality of play rose exponentially. Nothing against Charlie and Timmy, but they're not really in the same league as Tom, Foti, and myself. Tom had the chip lead, and me and Foti were fine, so we got to work. I believe the blinds began at 5-10 when we got three-handed. All of us were bobbing and weaving, stealing blinds and taking stabs without any really nasty hands. This lasted at least an hour and a half, and I was up slightly from when we began three-handed play when the following hand came up: I picked up pocket queens on the button, and came in raising 40 bucks. Tom called from the big blind, and we saw a flop of jack ten 5. Tom checked, and I bet 60, which Tom called. I was pretty sure I was still good, and figured Tom for something like king queen or ace ten. The turn paired the 5. Tom checked again, and I bet 80. Tom then raised me 200, and I had some thinking to do. I went into the tank for about three minutes, and went over all the possible hands Tom could hold in my head. I ruled out trip 5s, as the only real hands he could have to play with are 5 6 or ace 5, and I couldn't see him check-calling my bet on the flop with either of those. I also couldn't see him making this move with tens of any kind. I ended up narrowing it down to either a complete bluff, in which case he may have thought I was stealing with something like ace king after I missed the flop, or either jack ten or ace jack. Both hands would give him top pair, and if there was a chance he was against queens or kings, he could still hit an ace to bust me. The raise he made seemed like a worried one, though. I thought maybe he had hit the flop intending to slowplay, and then when the 5 paired he needed to find out if his hand was good. I ended up putting him on jack ten, with the ace jack still a strong possibility. I moved all in for another 265 over his raise, and then he went into the tank. Right when he did, I knew I had him, because trips, a boat, or aces or kings would have called me pretty quickly. Finally he called, saying, "I'm calling, but I think that 5 pairing up may have fucked me." I said, "Jack ten?" Unfortunately, he thought I was stating that I had jack ten and that I slowrolled him by flipping the queens, but I really didn't intend that at all. I was just asking if he had jack ten, which he did, but he realized the miscommunication and quickly forgot about it. Seeing as he had jack ten, all I had to dodge were four outs, although that's a lot if anyone has read my past entries. The river was a complete blank, though, and I doubled up to over 1100. This also took a substantial chunk out of Tom's lead, and I think I actually took over the chip lead at this point.

I like how Tom played the hand on the flop, just check-calling with the intention of raising later, but the 5 on the turn was one of the worst things he could have seen. Now, if I had an overpair, I had landed a better two pair than him. I think I would have bet out on the turn if I was him to see where I was at. If I came over the top, you'd have to know you were beat. The check-raise still isn't an awful play, though, if you think you still have the best hand. The one part I don't like is Tom's call after I moved in on him. He said he thought I may have been bluffing, but with the amount of money in the pot, it was very unlikely that I could make that move on a stone-cold bluff and hope I didn't get called. At that point, I think it was clear I had an overpair, and even with the money in the pot, he wasn't getting good odds at all to hit a 4-outer.

After this hand, Tom looked me in the eye and said, "You're not taking me out." I didn't feel like putting a bulls-eye on my back, so I just kinda smiled at him and didn't respond. Once I got the chip lead, I changed gears a little bit and started raising a lot, taking a lot of blinds in the process. It's so liberating to have Charlie knocked out, because you know that stealing the blinds is a valid way to make money. This doesn't happen when Charlie is in the game, because he calls raises with anything, especially if they're suited. Most times that I was the small blind, I limped in, and every so often Foti would raise it, forcing me to fold my marginal hands. He made a pretty decent living off of it, too, so I made up my mind to limp with a big hand on him later if I could to really stick him.

Tom went on tilt every so slightly after the big hand against me, and he was really dropping in chips. He didn't go on tilt the way most people do, throwing chips all over with marginal holdings, but he clammed up and didn't play many pots. This wasn't a valid strategy at this point in the game, as blinds were at 10-20 and then 15-30, so if you kept losing blinds you would get whittled away rather quickly. The next big hand again occurred between Tom and I when he was the small blind and I was the big blind. He limped in, and I looked down to see jack ten, a nice hand. He had 235 left, and I considered raising all-in, as there was already 60 dollars in the pot, and it was very unlikely he would call. I decided against it, though, and checked. The flop came 5 8 10, and Tom, being first to act, moved all-in. Wow. I had top pair, but it was still an intimidating bet. Again I went into the tank. First thing I did was try to eliminate as many hands as I could. He couldn't have an overpair or a set, because he would have tried to slowplay these hands, check-raising me on the flop. He could have some kind of draw, with 6 7, 7 9, or 9 jack, but I couldn't see Tom making this move with a draw after playing his heart out for four hours. I decided he had to have second pair, as it wouldn't be good enough to slowplay, but it's a hand that if you move all-in with, the only thing that can call you is top pair, and Tom didn't really have enough money to see where he was at with feeler bet. I said out loud, "Tom, I think you've gotta have 8s with an overcard. If you do, I've got you beat, but I can easily get drawn out on." I looked at him a little longer, then said, "I think you've got king 8. I call." I flipped up my jack ten, and Tom looked at me and said, "Terr, I've always respected you as a poker player, but that was fucking insane." Then he flipped over king 8. Talk about a hell of a read- I called his hand dead-on based on one bet. Still, i had to dodge 5 outs twice. The turn was a blank, and the river was... an 8, giving Tom trips. Tom got excited and pumped his fist, rightfully so, as he would have been out without it, while I went into the other room to pace around and curse under my breath for a little while. When I got back, all I could do was smile and shake my head for the next ten minutes. The poker gods can be some sadistic tyrants sometimes. How can I not be rewarded for making a read that maybe no one else can make? I knew I couldn't dwell on it, though, because Tom and Foti were at the top of their games, and I would be dead if I didn't completely focus. I got back in the game, picked up a few pots, and we were back in business.

A big hand came up when Foti came in raising 80 on the button. Tom moved all-in for another 280, and I looked down to see pocket jacks. This was a really tough spot, because Foti hadn't been raising a lot on the button, so I gave him credit for having a hand. Tom has been known to make his stand with small pocket pairs before, so I figured I either had him crushed or was in a coin flip against something like big slick. I studied them both, and decided Foti wouldn't be calling if I moved in, so I decided to go for it. I went all-in on top of Tom's raise for 700 more or so, and Foti folded. Tom flipped the devil hand, and we had ourselves a race between two of my most hated hands. The second card off the flop gave Tom his queen, and the river gave him two pair with his ace, so he doubled up through me. WHY WON'T HE DIE??? That promise he made was coming back to haunt me.

Foti took a fair amount of chips off Tom, giving him a nice chip lead, while I was still fighting to recover from the big hand with Tom. I found myself on the small blind with 8 3 offsuit, a modest hand by any accounts, and saw a flop with Foti. It came 8 10 5, giving me mid-pair with no kicker. There was so much stealing going on that I felt a little uncomfortable that there were no police officers present, so I had to throw out a bet to see where I was, otherwise Foti would make a small bet, and I'd have to play weak-tight and call, while gaining no information, or fold, when I may have had him beat. I bet 60, and Foti raised me 75. I thought for a bit, then called, thinking that Foti wasn't that strong and I could take the pot off of him. The turn was a queen, and I checked. Foti bet 200, a pretty big bet at this stage. Of course, with the 8s, I was now sure I was beat, but I tried to figure out what he had. The bet was so big, it seemed like a protection bet, as he wanted me out of the pot. It certainly wasn't a value bet. I figured he probably had tens with a good kicker, or perhaps even two pair, but he didn't want me hitting the straight. Still, the bet seemed like Foti was a bit worried about his hand. I decided that there was no way he was calling me if I moved in on him, as it would look exactly as if I had hit my open-ended straight with the queen and was moving in with the nuts on him. I moved all-in for another 480 or so, and Foti started to study me. He set aside the chips he needed to call me, and while he did it, I just kept staring at the table while resting my head on my hand. I didn't want to give anything away. I knew that I had an image as being the tightest player at the table, even though I had been raising a lot. Whenever I had to show my hand, I had a monster, so they respected my raises. I even flashed my hand to them a couple times when I raised four straight pots after getting the devil hand twice, ace ten once, and king queen once. I also knew that if Foti called and lost, he would be in a huge hole, so he couldn't just call this as a knee-jerk reaction with a good hand. After thinking for what seemed like forever, Foti said, "I'll throw this one away," then folded. Tom said, "Smells like jack 9 to me," which would have been the nut straight. "You'll read about it later," I told him.

This pot put me back over a grand in chips, and we went to battle once again. Tom got whittled down to about 275, and after Foti limped on the button, Tom limped as well. I looked down to see 2 10 of hearts, but both of them seemed weak to me. I had taken quite a few pots by raising on the big blind after they had limped, and with the blinds at 15-30 and 90 bucks in the pot, the incentive was there to try it again. I raised it 100. Foti glared at me as if I had said something about his mother or Greece, and then he folded. He definitely wasn't happy about it. Tom stared me down, then moved in for another 115. This didn't make me happy at all, and I said it right when Tom moved in. I started calculating the pot odds I had, and found that I was getting about 435-115, or close to 4-1 on my money. The only way I could fold was if I put Tom on an overpair, and I definitely knew he wasn't that strong, because he couldn't afford to get cute with the blinds this high. As I was counting, Charlie, who was watching, was marvelling at how I was figuring out the pot odds. It's really not that difficult, but that's why Charlie's a mess at the table- he doesn't understand the numbers of it. I said to Tom, "I've got nothing, but I have to call you." I called, and he said "I do, too," which definitely made me happy. He flipped over 8 9, and amazingly, I was ahead! The flop came ace ace 4, helping no one, and the turn was a ten, meaning Tom was drawing dead going into the river. When he paired his 8, it didn't even matter, so I had finally killed the bastard and taken a big pot with the Brunson.

I really don't like Tom's play here of moving in over the top of me. Maybe he thought he had more than he did, but I don't think he thought it out enough to realize that I had to call with virtually any hand I had. Foti revealed that he had ace 3, and thought I was stealing also, so it's a good thing he folded and didn't hit his trip aces on me. Even if Tom thought I was stealing, though, 8 9 can't beat anything, and I don't know why you'd work so hard all night to put your money in with 8 9 against someone who is getting the right odds to call you. It reminds me of a hand that happened between Pete and Jonathan earlier this semester, in which Jon moved all-in on the small blind, putting Pete all-in. Pete, who was somewhat shortstacked, called with queen 9, explaining, "I thought he was just trying to bully me." That doesn't justify putting all your money in with queen high, though, because it doesn't beat anything! The same is true with Tom's hand. You know you're going to have to show down the hand to win it, so why put your money in with a hand that doesn't hold up in an all-in situation?

Nevertheless, I was happy to have taken the pot, and also a little embarrassed that they caught me with my hand in the cookie jar. Tom wasn't happy at all that I called him, but I really had to given the pot odds.

Once we got heads-up, Foti had about a 1500-1000 chip lead on me. It was now about 3:45 in the morning, and despite being very confident, I really didn't want to play this hard and this well to go home down a hundred bucks. I proposed to Foti that we make a save, with second place getting their money back, and first taking the rest. He agreed to it, so we were basically freerolling for 400 bucks. Tom said he didn't understand why Foti made the deal, considering that he had the chip lead at the time, but in one hand that could completely change, and I'm sure Foti didn't want to go home with nothing, either.

With the blinds set at 25-50, I took three out of the first four hands heads up by basically betting out on the flop and making Foti fold. Foti then started to get more aggressive, raising on the button, and raising when I limped. I needed to set the tone that I wasn't going to get pushed around heads up, and I really wanted unraised pots when I had marginal hands, so I started pushing back. I limped in with pocket 9s, and when he raised 100, I moved all-in. He folded reasonably quickly, confirming my suspicion that he had been preying on my weakness while on the big blind. The very next hand, he came in raising 100 on my big blind, and I looked down to see king queen. I moved all-in again, and this time Foti thought for a bit, then folded again. Charlie said, "Fote, he's busting your ass," and it was true- I had taken most of the early pots, and had gotten the chip count about even with my aggressive play.

With 2500 chips in play, picking up pots was vitally important, as they contained such a large percentage of the total chips in play, so this aggressive stance I had taken was paying off. I don't think we ever had a hand reach the river, as each of us was dancing around, trying to take stabs at what was out there. Foti came in raising on my big blind, 100 above the blind, which had become the standard, and I looked down to see king queen again. With the structure being what it was, this was a monster hand, one that I wouldn't mind getting all my money in with. I moved all-in again, and Foti called after thinking for a few seconds. We counted the chips, and I had him covered by 25, so if I won it was over, and if he won I would have only 25 left to his 2475. This was for all the marbles. When he called so quickly, I knew I had to be beat, but I figured it was close. I just prayed that he didn't have ace king, ace queen, aces, or kings, but I was pretty sure by his body language that his hand wasn't a monster. He flipped over ace jack, which made me quite happy, considering my cards were live and I wasn't dominated. The flop came queen rag rag, and all I had to do was dodge an ace to win all that beautiful money. The turn was a blank, and the river was a king, giving me top two pair and the title. All the money had been laid out on the table, a whole slew of 20s, and I gave Foti his 100 and took my 400.

I got one of Tom McEvoy's books for Christmas, and he had a line that made sense to me. "Against good competition, the best you can do is play your best game, make it to the end, and give yourself a chance to get lucky." In essence, you can't hope to hold the nuts every time you get heads up. If the blinds are high, you need to make it there, then push with something like king queen, and just hope the poker gods smile on you. Luckily, they smiled on me on the final hand, but I definitely feel like I earned first place, as I played top-notch poker for 6 hours against two guys who were also at the top of their games.

You can always tell when I play well, because when I finish, I'm usually in agony. The intense focus I need to maintain takes its toll on me, and I had a brutal monster headache after the tournament was done. It didn't help that it felt like it was 300 degrees in Charlie's room, nor that I was wearing a sweatshirt underneath my football jersey, but the money and knowledge that I played so well helped make me feel slightly better. After we finished, we all rode over to 7-11 to get some drinks, then I headed home. I took 3 Excedrin (I think you're only supposed to take 1), then passed out at around 6. I also had to get a rubber band for my bankroll, as it's getting obscenely large, and it barely fits where I keep it anymore.

Quote of the day: Tom-"Would you rather be feared or respected?" Terrence (after some thought)-"Respected." ... 4 hours later, after trying in vain to kill Tom. Terrence-"You know what, I change my answer, I'd rather be feared. Respected isn't getting me anywhere right now."

Terrence's bankroll: $484+$300=$784