Aug 24th - €20+€5 NL Hold'Em - Fitzwilliam (Dublin)

At last...a win!! In retrospect poker is a very easy game to play. After all you just have to play the cards you're dealt in a way that maximises your chances of winning. Sounds easy eh? The hand that no doubt propelled me to the final table was this...

Holding 7-7 I decided to move in in EP for around 3000 points. What I didn't realise was that there were three other players to act after me that all had the same idea. They held 6-6, 10-10 & K-K! Now in situations like this where there are 4 pairs out its a virtual guarantee that SOMEONE will hit their set. Guess what...I hit mine!!

The flop came J-2-J-7-9 and I suddenly had 12k in chips and was buzzing. The break came and went and I still had circa 12k when I get 7-7 again in MP and just flat call the blinds of 400. Three other players also came in for the minimum bet. A flop of 6h-7h-8d appeared and a player to act before me bet out 2000.

The 9-10 didn't concern me but the flush draw did so I raised it to 6k and awaited developments. The original better didn't flinch and went all-in for 10k. I called. He flipped 9h-5h for the already made straight AND the flush draw. I was hoping for a pair up! I didn't have to wait long. The 8c appeared on the turn and suddenly I was on easy street to the final table.

At the final table players dropped quite quickly and it wasn't that long before I found myself heads up with a player who had a 2-1 chip lead on me. 'Do you want to split?', I asked. 'No...we'll play on' came the reply and so we did for 5 hands!!

My opponent was definately in a hurry. He went all-in every hand so I just had to pick my spots to call. My first chance came when I held A-5 and called his all-in. He had 8h-3h (told you he was in a hurry). No 8's or 3's appeared and I then held a slight chip advantage. The next hand he was all-in again. This time I held A-7 and called. He had K-8 and once no 8 nor King had appeared on the board it was all over and I was €800 richer for a nice €715 profit.

Always nice to win!

40 Entries - 1st - Win - $893.75 (€715) Loss $0 - Acc. Total +109.14