June 13th - £20+£2 NL Hold'Em - Grosvenor (Victoria)

I cant really say if I've ever 'thrown a game' before. Many times I've decided to give up on things long before the final table and then gone 'all-in' in the hope of either doubling up or going home but to actually throw away a game when you're heads up and there's £300 difference in prize money between 1st & 2nd is a new one on me.

Tonight was the £20 NL game down at the Victoria Club in W.London. With me working down in S.W London these days its a straightforward enough jaunt straight from work and as the games here start at 7.45pm theres a good chance the game can wrap up by midnight which is just as well as my last train home is 12.10am (can you see where this is going yet?)

Anyway what with the world cup and all there were only 32 runners but after all the rebuys & add-ons etc (just an add-on for me) we were playing for a prize pool of £1620 and I was sitting ok on 6k in chips! Blinds went to 20 mins and people fell like flies. With only 81k in chips in play you only needed to be on 10k to be a chip monster at the final table but of course you had to get there first!

Blinds got to 400-800 when I attempted to start nicking the blinds. Trouble was I kept finding the person to my immediate left (a very nice young lady) with a big hand. My first attempt at a 'nick' came when, in LP, I got K-8. I raised to 2k and the young lady flat called. Flop was Q-6-6. I checked and immediately she went all-in. Of course I passed. She flipped A-Q and the rest of the table berated her for not going all-in pre-flop and taking the pot there and then as she undoubtedly would have done. She confessed that this was not her style preferring to hit something, on the flop, before committing her chips. This tactic was to prove her downfall...

Several hands later and I'm on the SB with Kc-2h. Again the play is passed around and I once again decide to 'nick' the blinds and so again I raise the pot to 2000. Again the young lady, to my left, flat calls. The flop is Kh-6h-9c. I check, she pushes all-in and I, as the non-believer, calls. She flips Kd-Qd and I'm in a bit of bother. What comes next though is a bit of back luck on her part. The turn brings the 10h and the river the 7h giving me an unlikely flush (my 2h wins it). No doubt had she have gone all-in pre-flop she'd have won it there and then!!

From there on to the final table was a cakewalk and I get to the paydirt with over 20k in chips. The time is 10.45pm and all is well with the world!

With several short stacks at the table its not long before there are only 3 of us left. Its 11.25pm and I HAVE to be out of the casino by 11.55pm!

With 3 left and no deals to be done we had to play it out. At 11.40pm the 3rd player goes out and we're now heads up! Will the guy do a deal...no!!! We're pretty much equal on chips and I cannot find a hand to go all-in with. Its 11.50pm now and I announce I must leave and I'll be going all-in from now on, blind, till I get called. Win or bust!!

So I'm all-in next hand and he calls. He flips Q-9 I flip 7-4. Flop is 7-6-4 (whoopee), 8 (uh oh), 10 (shite!..he makes a straight!).

And so there you have it...I make £290 for 2nd place and my train home.

Entries -> 35 - Place -> 2nd - Win -> £248 ($459) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$13177