Champion of Champions

Yesterday was a great day of poker triumph for me. The weekly American Legion tournament awards points for your finishes, 6 points for a 1st, 5 points for 2nd, etc. The top 20 point earners for the quarter get to play in the "Tournament of Champions". I just missed with 5 points, but was the #1 alternate. Yesterday morning I got a call telling me that there was a cancellation and I was in!!! The last time I qualified was a disaster. The very first hand (yes the 1st hand), I had pocket 4's. I put in a small raise, got a couple of callers. The flop was 4-6-6, a full house for me. I bet the pot and was check raised by a blind. I re-raised all-in and Carl, the re-raiser, said " I don't think you have aces". I replied, "Don't call me if you like pizza". They were serving pizza at the break in 45 minutes. Anyway, he calls and shows pocket K's....wayyyy behind, however the next card is another 6, so he makes 6's full of k's to beat my 4's full of 6's. OUCH/Double OUCH.

So, with that experience in mind, at this TOC I arrive fashionably late, after the 1st hand has been dealt. I played pretty well, got some great hands (and great flops) and managed to double up before the break....so that is what pizza tastes like! I went a little card dead for a while but made the final table with below average chips. I won a couple of hands and was back in contention until running up against slow played trip 6's going all in. I ended up the short stack at the table with 7 players left. Two players went out on one hand which got me into the money, which is always my first goal, other than survival. I then got a little hot, doubling up thru a big stack, and watching another player get knocked out. I then doubled up thru the second chip leader and went into 2nd place. As always, I proposed a "deal" for chopping up the money, but no interest. Two hands later, the short stack raises 4,000 out of the blind (which he had been doing a lot, as a steal, I suspected). I called with J/Q and watched the flop come J/Q/3. He checks, I go all-in and he calls with....pocket Aces! Wow. I would have done the same thing with just the queen or Jack, putting him on Ace/anything. The board failed to produce another ace, or pair the board with something other that a jack or queen and he was eliminated. The other guy, Gary, and I agreed to each take $500 and play for the rest, $260. The very next hand I have 2/10 (the Doyle Brunson, he won 2 back-to-back world championships with that hand), and the flop is 4/4/10. I go all in, am called with 6/K (was he just tired?), and my 10's hold up! Sweet! After tipping the dealers $80 and buying drinks for the players, $40, I register a $620 net win (no buy-in).

Now I just have to hope that the same thing doesn't happen to me that happened to "Old Jim". I come home, reeking of smoke, putting all my clothes on the landing and taking a hot shower. I give Helene $100 as a reward for putting up with my poker, and to assure that the money doesn't re-enter the gambling world. Life is good.