So, that"s it. What a rush! I thought I had a chance of winning but, having got close before, I thought it might never happen. I always find these APAT tournaments an incredible experience, irrespective of the result. It"s great to catch up with the guys who have become good friends although we are spread all over the place and just meet occasionally. Then there is the controlled excitement of the game; the chance of going deep; just soaking up the occasion; the sheer unfairness of some outcomes where people"s tournaments get destroyed by bad luck; the craziness of some of the side-games; the degeneracy.
To Don, Alan, David, Barrie, Perry, Colin, Darren, Dougal - I know how you feel. Also regular deep-finishers like Graham, Ken & Suzanne. It is wonderful and horrible to get so close and then miss out. At the beginning you would be delighted to get to the FT, but when you do, it"s like a kick in the stomach when you get knocked out. One of the features of APAT is the way people take this situation so cheerfully despite having spent two days playing exceptionally well to get so far and then going card-dead / getting unlucky or whatever at a crucial time. I saw people leaving the FT with good humour but I felt for you cos I"ve been there, replaying exit hands and other hands that could have gone differently for ages afterwards. At least I don"t have to do that this time.
It was a strangely calm tournament for me. Although a few things didn"t go to plan, I was never in deep trouble apart from at the start of the FT. I was all-in 3 times in the whole event, in good shape each time, but only called and had to race for my life once. I never got lucky but, crucially, I never got unlucky either. My most vulnerable point was on the first hand of the FT when I was down to 93k, second-last of the 9, having been beaten up by Alan Lake not long before. With BB at 8k, Perry Garland raised to 20k UTG with 150k behind. I had QQ and reraised all-in, which he snapped with AK. My tournament could have finished right there on the 1st hand, but I got through and with the blinds & antes, I now had slightly over 200k and was right back in the game.
There were so many great players but for me, Alan Lake was the stand-out player of the tournament, while Perry was a revelation. I think Alan"s game is often misunderstood. All through the FT (in fact since part-way through Day 1), I thought he was the most likely winner. My tournament was dominated by these two players - I was nearly always on a table with one of them. These ultra-aggressive players can be difficult to contain as they run over the table but I enjoy the excitement (and entertainment) of playing against them. On Day 2, I was moved to sit in between them - Perry on my right, Alan on my left. Fanbloodytastic - the seat from hell! It didn"t go well. I played a couple of hands badly and Alan punished me for it but I managed to hang on til the FT, when seats were redrawn.
After my double-up, some general mayhem followed, usually involving Alan and/or Perry. The most extreme moment was when, both holding big stacks, Perry raised, Alan reraised, Perry shoved, Alan called and both showed K7. Darren"s poker-face slipped while exclaiming "What?" and nearly swallowing his tongue. Hats off to him though for analysing the situation and having the guts to follow through with a high-risk high-reward strategy of his own. It didn"t pay off this time but could have been dramatically successful. Down to 5, I was in mid-position when I unexpectedly (especially to me) knocked out Barrie & then David in quick succession and suddenly I had the chip lead, though there was little between the 3 of us. Leigh came to the FT and asked me to slow down cos they were struggling to keep up with the interviews! I felt bad for Barrie who had played aggressively previously but went card-dead on the FT. David, on the other hand, had done really well to finish where he did from starting the FT with just 7 BBs. Next thing I knew, Alan & Don were all-in against each other and Alan was unlucky to go out third.
HU for an hour against Don wasn"t easy but I felt totally in the zone and we were still having a good time even at that stage. Halfway through, Don asked me if I had a plastic bag in case he had to take the Cup home on the Tube, which I think is representative of the atmosphere in which the whole tournament and FT was played. The last hand was a coin-flip that I was happy to take. When I bet the flop and Don reraised all-in it was very likely that he had hit or had a PP but I believed my K-high flush draw plus two high cards gave me 15 outs (9xhearts, 3xK, 3xJ) against Don"s probable AT, KT, 99, 88, etc, which would make me 54-55% favourite. I didn"t put him on QQ, but if I knew his hand I may have called anyway with 12 outs as I would be a small 46/54 underdog but would still be chip-leader if I lost. The Turn increased my outs to 14, with the 2 remaining
becoming my cards rather than his and then it was over. A slight outdraw, but more of a coin-flip. It was a strange feeling - playing & focusing, on and on and then kazoom. I was ready to continue playing, but there was no game. Presentation, photos, interview, talk to eveyone and then I just felt ready to sleep right there in the casino.
What can you say about the organization? Flawless as always on the part of APAT and flawless as not always on the part of the venue. You can really see the difference at the best cardrooms. Top-class dealing throughout from very experienced & friendly dealers, good food, efficient & unobtrusive chipping-up towards the end, all reflecting good organization.
A shout-out to everyone watching the streaming - thanks for the support and thanks to Duffs putting it on the big screen - that must have been surreal. Also the guys who stayed to rail live. And thanks for all the messages of support on here during the event and since. Also the texts and private messages. Finally Des, Rich & Leigh - back of the net once again.
Amazing. Can"t believe it!
