On To Victory
I got a few powerful hands in a row. I played them aggressively and started hitting the flops. As the blinds went up the players all became more cautious. I was accumulating chips and started to get more aggressive. As I did I was winning more hands. I may have been in a zone because all of a sudden I remember someone saying, "Looks like a new chip leader. I looked down at my stack of thousand dollar chips and realized it was I. One player made another comment about me grabbing all the chips. I smiled and said I must be a "Chip Magnet." That moniker stuck with me the rest of the match. Being the chip leader wields a certain amount of power. I was able to take a lot of hands by bullying my way with raises. I did use a certain tactic. I made sure that I would occasionally show my big winning hand after everyone folded. This way they were never sure if I was bluffing or had the power to back up the bets. Now I was able to coast a little and let a few other players knock each other out. When we started the final round I was hoping to be able to outlast a few of the players to gain more of the prize money. By the time we got down to four I had only one thing on my mind. WINNING!! At this point I did not care about the prize money I did not want any deals cut. I wanted to be able to walk away with the win.
We were finally down to three players. I had six or seven times more chips than the woman who was the original chip leader had when we started the final table. Dale, the number three players was a little behind her and asked her if she wanted to chop the money for second and third. She said no way. She eventually lost to him. Now there were the two of us. Dale asked me if I wanted to make a deal I said, "No thank you." I had him by a substantial lead and I had to see this through. We battled back and forth but the cards were holding out for me. The blinds were $5,000 and $10,000.
On the final hand I posted the small blind and Dale posted the $10,000 big blind, leaving him with four thousand. I was dealt pocket eights. I called and he raised all in, and the dealer dealt the final cards. 4Q4 2 T.
He flipped over an Ace and said, "You better be able to beat this." I turned over my pocket eights. I extended my hand and said, "Nice Match." He shook it and congratulated me on my win. It's hard to describe my feelings at the end. The adrenaline rush and excitement of winning will stay with me for a long time. It is definitely one of the most memorable experiences I have had in the casinos in a long time.
I have the utmost respect for all the players that competed. I did not see one incident of poor sportsmanship. Hats off to the entire staff and dealers at Foxwoods. They run a first class tournament.
Until next time, remember:
"Luck comes and goes...Knowledge stays forever."