the omaha/8 tourney starts promptly at one second after noon. we have three full tables. there is a guarantee of $1000, but with all the re-buys, i doubt if the house ever has to pony up. everyone starts with T500, and the blinds start at 5 and 10, and go up every 15 minutes. it's a "fast action" tourney. i buy-in for $5 + 5 and play. there are already two or three re-buys in the first level! in the second level, i hold ah ad 6s 9s. i raise. several callers. flop is ks jc 7s. i bet, and there's lot of action. i suspect that i'm i trouble. turn pairs the seven, and i bet my aces up. on the end, i learn that i'm in third place to sevens full of jacks and jacks full of sevens! "rebuy!" they're going to pay four places.
by the time we get to the final rebuy ($25 add-on for T2000) at the break, i'm the chip leader with T3400. i decide not to do the add-on. there's a prize pool of about $1300 or $1400. i get to the final table (8 players). i have an average stack; one player is on the bubble; two players have small stacks; big stack is to my left. one woman (one of the small stacks) wants to do a $50 save around the table. i'm the only one who says no. you see, there was this guy at the table (the guy on the bubble) whom i know from atlantic city. about four months ago, i was playing 5/10 omaha/8 with this guy. on the river, i faced all four of my cards, and announced: second nut low. he waits until the others muck, and spreads, announcing a seven-high straight. i look at all my cards, and realize that i, too, have a seven- high straight. i say so. this guy looks at me, curses, and bitches that i slow-rolled him. i'd already had enough of this guy's behavior, so i stacked and racked. later that day, a nearby floorman *and* the dealer at the table told me (remember, i'm well-liked at the tropicana) that one of this guy's buddies told him after i left the table that i had faced all my cards and didn't slow roll. i've played with this guy several times since, and i'm still waiting for the apology....
so, when i see this guy was on the bubble....i ain't a-gonna agree to give him any money..... };)
we're down to six-handed. i now have a small stack, but i'm in 4th place. i am under the gun with a a j j rainbow. i don't know how to play this hand in this spot, so i throw it away. as it happened, an all-in player had a king; flopped a king, and made three of 'em on the turn.
i get past the blinds, but i'm still a small stack, and the remaining six (including the guy from the tropicana) agree to a $50 save for all. hey! i'm only in for my original $10 plus one $15 rebuy! i've already made money! we're still at six players. i'm the short stack. here's the last hand: guy from jersey is all-in on the big blind. i raise all-in with a pair of aces and another low card. little blind calls all-in. flop is two high cards and one little card....turn is a high card...and the river is an ace, making me trips. two aces were enough, and i knock out two players to get down to four players.
we're all about equal stacks, and we agree to a four-way chop. :)
we all get paid a total of $319 each, and i convince the others (it didn't take much) to contribute $30 each to the dealers.
i couldn't wait to get back to the room to write this one up! :)
a few closing notes: i thought that the tourney was very well-run! the dealers dealt the tourney tables as part of their regular string, and, as i've said earlier, dealers in this room are pretty good. i'd like to make a special note of shift supervisor bruce diamond, who did a terrific job as tournament director.
stay tuned!
tiger