Event# 10 ($1050 NL Hold 'em) Recap

WCOOP event #10 started with 2458 players and a first prize close to a half a million dollars. There isn't a whole lot to say about how this tournament went.

I got dealt KK twice in he first 10 minutes and won only the blinds both times.
By the second break I'd been dealt 154 hands and only won 4 pots that were more than the blinds.

Shortly into the 5th level, with blinds of 100/200 I got dealt 55 in the small blind. The first player to act made the minumim raise to 400 and got called by the second player to act. I also called, as did the big blind. The flop came down J 8 5 (giving me three 5's)and I checked hoping someone would bet. The initial raiser bet 1200 into the 1600 chip pot. After starting the torunament with 5000 chips I had 3600 when the hand started and 3200 left. My only goal here was to get the maximum number of chips in the pot. I decided to just call in the hopes that the player who had been in the big blind would also call the bet. But he folded. The turn was a 6 and I checked hoping my opponent would bet again. I also wanted to give him a chance to connect with a hand like AK or AQ or make any kind of hand that he would call me with on the river. The river was not a great card - a 7 - meaning if he had a 9 or a 3 in his hand (which I didn't think was likely) he'd have a straight. I figured if I checked again I might get him to bluff with a weak hand, and I didn't think there was much he could have with which he'd call a significant bet. So I checked, he bet 2000 and I called. When the hands got turned over he showed me 99 for a 9 high straight. I was eliminated from the tournament and couldn't help wondering if he would have folded if I'd raised on the flop or moved all in on the turn.

This tournament sucked.