Final Table

Seventy players participated in the Wednesday no-limit Texas hold'em tournament at the Oasis Casino last night. In the first couple of rounds, I patiently waited for playable cards as I witnessed "Wild Fernando" and "Crazy Chris" knock out player after player with all-in raises with marginable holdings. The first half of the tournament allowed re-buys, so when these wild players would get beat, they'd simply purchase another re-buy. This tactic is often used by very aggressive players in an attempt to amass a mountain of chips prior to the end of the re-buy period. This type of poker anarachy often backfires and allows players with strong holdings to aquire more chips and strength than they normally would. In fact, when I called Fernando's all-in with my pocket queens, I doubled up in good shape just minutes before the end of the re-buy period.

During the second half of the contest, I maintained my patience, as players were eliminated (including "Wild Fernando' and "Crazy Chris"). With thirty players remaining, my luck changed and the hands started to come my way. I won five nice pots in a row and eliminated six players. I amassed a significant amount of chips and was the chip leader at the second table. I then lost a coin toss when my As Ks lost to pocket eights. This loss left me with a medium stack, so I still had some strength. Two more players were eliminated and I found myself at the final tabe. The table elected to chop the pot and I walked away in 8th place (positions determined by chip amount at the time) and $300 richer. All in all it was an enjoyable tournament. There were many tough competitors and I was patient, but aggressive when I should have been. At times I was sufficiently lucky to win a few coin tosses, which kept the momentum going. As I refine my game, I'm making it to more and more final tables. Whew! This game is difficult to master!!

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