That was a very hard day for me. A day that started quite good but at the end became a long and grueling fight. As said in my last post I had a good table draw. At the start of the tournament I also got the button so everything looked well for Day 2.
And indeed it contimued this way. We lost one player per minute in the first time of the tournament. While the player count dropped to 185 my stack increased to 185k chips ;-) No huge pots (at least in relation to the blinds) but a steady increase. And for several hours I could keep my M=20 ratio and stay above average. With 105 players left I reached my high point at this time of 209k and the world looked very bright to me.
But as always, after sunshine there are some clouds looming somewere. First I started to miss my flops and then I became totally card dead for several hours. Being down to 130k with blinds already at 5k/10k (1k) wasn’t what I really wanted shortly before the money bubble. I can’t tell how many times I went all-in and prayed for not being called while my hands were only marginally playable at best. But I was able to survive until I finally got a decent hand … and got business too! With QQ in late position I was delighted to see an early position raise. My all-in was answered with a call and I won my coinflip against AK. Back up to 295k. Still trailing the average but at least some space to breath.
Unfortunately the dry run continued. At the dinnerbreak and with seven spots to the money I was down to 221k again. With blinds now at 8k/16k (2k) I was still on life support. Another pot with AK brought me back up to 280k and with two to the money it was now time enough to fold my way into the money. No Aces or Kings that would have given me a tough option, just cards easy to fold at that time of the tournament.
It was a nerve wrecking time not only for me but for many others. Playing so long and maybe leaving without nothing is something nobody likes. And some players overdid it e.g. by blaming the dealer for their bad run in a way that wasn’t appropriate. But the Montesino floor showed that they really know their job! They handled every situation very well and even don’t hesitated to give a time penalty in the crucial phase of the tournament. I really wish all tournaments would have such well working floor!
And finally the bubble bursted and I made my first ever cash in that tournament series. You can’t imagine how important this cash is for me. It was back in early 2009 when I blew a cash at the €300 side-event of that series at the Red Cow in Dublin when my downswing began. Not that it’s really connected in any way … but I missed a cash here because of mistakes I wouldn’t do today anymore. And at the same time ran into a more than 18 months dry run missing cashes an all important tournaments that I played. This was even harder as I came from highfly were I cashed (and final tabled) every big tournament I played between mid 2008 and early 2009. So yes … I am oficially happy!!!
Winning €1,000 is nice but we all wanted more now. A little while later we reached the second price stage with 36 left but it was “only” a €180 prize jump. So the goal was to reach at least 27th place for a €1,570 payout. Tough job with a stack that didn’t came forward. Everytime I got some chips the blinds ate them again very fast.
With 30 left I was forced to change the table. My first thought was “oh no … not yet” but beside the fact that our table broke shortly after anyway it was the best thing that could have happend for me. First hand I got AJs and went all-in even before I was seated completely. I must have shocked all the big stacks at this table as everyone folded instantly ;-) A few hands later another all-in and stealing the blinds (and yes, that one was definately a steal) was enough to make it past the next price jump.
My night ended with 169k in chips … officially the smallest stack on the leaderboard of the last 25. Of course I would love to make it to the last 18 and a €2k+ payout but now I don’t have to lose anything … but win everything. So I expect a maybe short but still nice day in Vienna at the Montesino!
