Bubbly Fun

Okay, so technically I wasn't the bubble; I went out 7th; but I had a really good feeling when there were ten people left.

Then I looked and saw the chip count.

I just couldn't seem to get a foothold in the crucial final table stages and here's why.

A new player, Ro, had a mountain of chips and decided she was going to play every hand.

After watching her in a few hands, I quickly surmised that Ro was a fishy calling station who had luck-boxed her way into her chips. This was bad news. It meant she wouldn't respect any of my raises, which would have to be uncomfortably big for me anyway - and she was unlikely to lay down to any aggression.

Because she now had over 18K, and I had about 8K, I was literally unable to get involved in a hand unless I was ready to gamble for all of my chips. A crap situation.

Timmytimmy had some stones though, and gave Ro a good run for her money. He was the only player building a stack before luck finally caught up with him.

On the opposite side of the spectrum was Cali, who had also found himself with more chips than he knew what to do with. I knew I didn't have to worry about him. He would passively fold unless he had a piece. If he fired and I had zip, I'd just go away with minimal damage. If he did have a piece and I had a monster, I would still get paid.

Ro on the other hand, with her mountain of chips didn't even understand the value (yes, there is a small amount of value in this) of folding to the money. Nor did she grasp the power that she had to bust players. She routinely "value bet" into short stacks, instead of just putting them all in. I still don't understand why players short change themselves this way.

I took a wild guess that she would spew off her chips before it got to the money. My read was right on - as she did just that.

But before this happened, I took my leave.

As the blinds escalated, I had to suck it up and push when I felt the time was right. Three times I took the plunge and was successful at stealing the healthy blinds and antes. The fourth time I did it, I got called by a pair of tens. My king high failed to improve and I was on the rail.

I think if luck had been with me I had a real shot at taking it down. Especially after Ro imploded in Scotty Nguyen (Main Event 2007) fashion.

The best player remaining, Sven, had all the moves and tools, he just ran into better hands against SSB who mounted an impressive comeback from a faulty internet connection and a tiny stack to take the whole thing down.

After all of my low finishes this season, I felt some solace in a statistic that the league moderator Nacl released last weekend. I sit (or rather sat until last night) at the very top of the list of the percentage of all time cashes in the league, over 34%!

If I look at it this way, the way I'm supposed to, as a LONG game of poker: I'm having a great run! And if I start cashing again regularly, there is no way I won't bust this league!

All Time Cash %

% name
40.0% Dan P. (I DON'T INCLUDE DAN P. BECAUSE HE DOESN'T PLAY ANYMORE, AFTER ONLY PLAYING A HALF DOZEN TOURNAMENTS!)
34.0% Chris M.
33.3% Chris R.
33.3% Willie F.
32.0% Noah S.
31.3% Yano R.
30.0% Dustin N.
30.0% Marleena R.
29.4% Allen Q.
29.4% Tohn S.
27.8% Jake L.
27.7% Timmy Y.
27.3% Dan S-R
26.3% Scott C.
25.6% Chris L.
25.0% Jason H.
22.2% Max E.
21.7% Joe F.
20.0% Gary N.
19.2% Phil D.
16.7% Rick J.
16.7% Steve F.
14.3% Joe M.
14.3% Sam R.
13.8% Jake R.
13.3% Sam B.
11.1% Al B.
4.8% Dan L.
0.0% Bruce C.
0.0% Dave W.
0.0% Jay F.
0.0% John M.
0.0% Marc F.