Like most people I watched some nobody named Chris Moneymaker win the World Series of Poker. Unlike most people, I had been watching the World Series of Poker since it's days at Binions when guys like Amarillo Slim, Doyle Brunson, Stu Unger and a young Johnny Chan were in their heyday. Edward Norton in Rounders was not my introduction into the "sport." That being said, I had never been in a tournament, but when I got my first invite, I jumped at the opportunity.
My first tournament was a fundraiser. A five table shootout. Eight men started at each table and played until there was one winner who would get their $100 back. Then the five single table winners would play until there was one winner and the winner would receive $1000. I dominated my single table and actually was the player who knocked out all seven of my opponents. We sat down at the final table and within about twenty hands it was down to three of us. I was second in chips and laid back while the chi leader bullied the other guy into 3rd place. Now, with an aggressive opponent, I knew I just needed to get lucky. I caught a pair of Jacks on the first hand post flop and went all in. He called with an Ace high and I doubled up, but still had less than half the chips. We went back and forth, trading blinds, until I got lucky and took over the chip lead. It wasn't two hands later he went all in with a small pair and I called him with A-J suited. I caught an Jack on the flop and he could only win with trips, which I caught on the turn, clinching victory. First tournament in, up $1000.
I then started playing in a weekly tournament which was nine guys, who would play two single table tournaments. It was $50 buy-in with payouts of $250-150-50. We actually kept track and after about eight weeks, I was up about $1100. The game eventually grew to about 14 guys and went on for a few months. Then we heard about a tournament in Yonkers with about 70 guys. Eight of us went and paid the $100 buy in. This tournament was a little different in that you could re buy for a half stack for $50. There was one interesting wrinkle. You could pay for the extra half stack to start the tourney. So I did the obvious thing and bought $1500 in chips. When I sat down, only one other player had done this. We dominated and soon, there were only three tables of nine left and I had about $15,000 in chips. I coasted into the final table and sat down with $18,000, the chips leader with $30,000 and the other seven had an average of about $6000. It was pretty funny, because of the 70 people involved about 62 of them knew each other and then there were the eight of us, five of who made the final table. The top five got paid and unfortunately two of my friends missed the cut, one who I knocked out. I was fortunate, I made it to the final two. I went in a severe chip leader to one of the cockiest assholes on the planet, but he got very quiet when I flopped a straight and slow played it to death, while he raised and raised. Within five hands I had won the tournament and $3400. By the end of the year, I had been playing Texas Hold'em nearly every week for 16 months and was up roughly $6000. The following year, in weekly $100 and $50 games, I managed to stay ahead about $3500 and the third year about $2200, thought I had limited my play to once a week. The fourth year I was only playing once a month and the level of play in this tournament was pretty low. I won money, but it wasn't much and for the year I was up a few hundred. My love for the game was deeply affected, because i knew the game was no loner a game of skill, but one of luck.
One night, with no interest in playing, I got talked into a game. I sat down and opened a beer. The cards came around and someone made a ridiculous opening raise. $10,000 in chips, the blinds $25-50 and this person makes it $1000. The person next to me makes it $3000. I look at my cards and see KK. I immediately think they both have A-K and figure I'm about a 75% to win, but know if no ace come on the flop, I'm almost golden. I make it $6000 and the first guy folds and the second goes all-in. Of course, he has aces and knocked me out the first hand. I got up and left. That was April, 2008 I believe. The last time I played poker in a tournament. I can honestly say, I have no desire at all to play poker.
I won way more than I ever imagined and it actually paid for a lot of things. I played in other big tournaments and I've won other big prizes, but the game takes an incredible mental toll on you when you play it the way I did. I started to realize that what I loved about the game was that it wasn't a game of chance, but a true test of skill. When I started sitting down with guys who didn't understand the complexities of the game, it became a game of luck and that's when I became disinterested. I will admit, I played one game since...with six good players. I won.
My first tournament was a fundraiser. A five table shootout. Eight men started at each table and played until there was one winner who would get their $100 back. Then the five single table winners would play until there was one winner and the winner would receive $1000. I dominated my single table and actually was the player who knocked out all seven of my opponents. We sat down at the final table and within about twenty hands it was down to three of us. I was second in chips and laid back while the chi leader bullied the other guy into 3rd place. Now, with an aggressive opponent, I knew I just needed to get lucky. I caught a pair of Jacks on the first hand post flop and went all in. He called with an Ace high and I doubled up, but still had less than half the chips. We went back and forth, trading blinds, until I got lucky and took over the chip lead. It wasn't two hands later he went all in with a small pair and I called him with A-J suited. I caught an Jack on the flop and he could only win with trips, which I caught on the turn, clinching victory. First tournament in, up $1000.
I then started playing in a weekly tournament which was nine guys, who would play two single table tournaments. It was $50 buy-in with payouts of $250-150-50. We actually kept track and after about eight weeks, I was up about $1100. The game eventually grew to about 14 guys and went on for a few months. Then we heard about a tournament in Yonkers with about 70 guys. Eight of us went and paid the $100 buy in. This tournament was a little different in that you could re buy for a half stack for $50. There was one interesting wrinkle. You could pay for the extra half stack to start the tourney. So I did the obvious thing and bought $1500 in chips. When I sat down, only one other player had done this. We dominated and soon, there were only three tables of nine left and I had about $15,000 in chips. I coasted into the final table and sat down with $18,000, the chips leader with $30,000 and the other seven had an average of about $6000. It was pretty funny, because of the 70 people involved about 62 of them knew each other and then there were the eight of us, five of who made the final table. The top five got paid and unfortunately two of my friends missed the cut, one who I knocked out. I was fortunate, I made it to the final two. I went in a severe chip leader to one of the cockiest assholes on the planet, but he got very quiet when I flopped a straight and slow played it to death, while he raised and raised. Within five hands I had won the tournament and $3400. By the end of the year, I had been playing Texas Hold'em nearly every week for 16 months and was up roughly $6000. The following year, in weekly $100 and $50 games, I managed to stay ahead about $3500 and the third year about $2200, thought I had limited my play to once a week. The fourth year I was only playing once a month and the level of play in this tournament was pretty low. I won money, but it wasn't much and for the year I was up a few hundred. My love for the game was deeply affected, because i knew the game was no loner a game of skill, but one of luck.
One night, with no interest in playing, I got talked into a game. I sat down and opened a beer. The cards came around and someone made a ridiculous opening raise. $10,000 in chips, the blinds $25-50 and this person makes it $1000. The person next to me makes it $3000. I look at my cards and see KK. I immediately think they both have A-K and figure I'm about a 75% to win, but know if no ace come on the flop, I'm almost golden. I make it $6000 and the first guy folds and the second goes all-in. Of course, he has aces and knocked me out the first hand. I got up and left. That was April, 2008 I believe. The last time I played poker in a tournament. I can honestly say, I have no desire at all to play poker.
I won way more than I ever imagined and it actually paid for a lot of things. I played in other big tournaments and I've won other big prizes, but the game takes an incredible mental toll on you when you play it the way I did. I started to realize that what I loved about the game was that it wasn't a game of chance, but a true test of skill. When I started sitting down with guys who didn't understand the complexities of the game, it became a game of luck and that's when I became disinterested. I will admit, I played one game since...with six good players. I won.
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