GukPT Main Event Day 1a 12 November 2009

Ok so it’s the start of the biggest day of my poker life! I get up having slept well and I don’t feel nervous at all which is a good sign. As usual I take my time and do everything slowly and then set off for the ‘G’. I arrive early and manage to park in the car park and wander into the card room and chat to a few off the local guys who, like me, have been living in the place all week!

I manage to grab a word with Brian Clarke (Weebrick) who won this event last year, I am grateful for his advice over the last couple of weeks together with the support from other far more experienced players from the local circuit. Brian asked whether I am nervous and I reply that I am a little by now buy only slightly, he assures me this is good as it will help me focus. Brian’s story inspired me last year and I secretly set myself a goal of one day playing a large tour event such as the GukPT this time last year, so here I am living the dream!

1.50pm all the players are called into the Card Room and I find myself sitting at the same table as Michael Greco, Simon Wolf and several other ‘faces’. Within 20 minutes of the start of the tournament they break our table and I move to Table 3, this is the same table I have busted out of all my previous events this year! During the first level (1 hour clock) I pick up lots of playable hands and attempt to play these however I am out of position and get run all over by other players, that’s what you get when playing out of position! On this table is Adam ‘Clarkatroid’ Clark who as many of you will know is a very strong local player, he raises and I see A,Q, (in position) and this leaves me with only 6,500 chips from my original starting stack of 10,000 and Adam calls. The flop comes Ace high with no flush or straight cards. Adam bets 1200 and I re-raise to 2500, Adam re-raises me putting me ‘All-In’. After careful consideration I fold and show A,Q. Adam later told me he was holding A,K but does not show, was it a good fold?, I’ll never know but I am determined that I will put my chips in not call them off!

The long 1 hour break comes and goes and I have been card dead for the whole of this session and I am basically on life support at 4,000 (chip average in excess of 20,000). I am feeling a little low but this is due to not having cards, I am a little cross at myself for getting involved out of position. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF POSITION! I know I am now in the situation of playing one move poker, fold or all-in, ok this is not a major worry as I am not scared of pushing however through this week I have lost all my 50/50 races!

About 20 minutes in from the break I find 7,7 on my high blind, there are 3 limpers so I stick it ‘All-In’ and get called by one player who shows 2 over cards… off to the races we go! Second card on the flop ‘7’ on a non flushing / straightening board I win my first 50/50 of the week! But still only have 8,000ish chips and the anti’s have now started, I know from experience that these can cripple a short stack. I manage to maintain my chips however all the time as players are being knocked out I am slipping further and further behind the chip average until I find 10,10 in position, there has been a raise from an earlier player and once more I go ‘All-In’. The other players get out of the way and the original raiser calls and turns over A,J. first card out Jack!, followed by King and Queen, the turn brings an eight so I have the gut shot straight draw plus it takes his Ace out of the reckoning as this card would give me the top straight, without realizing it I call out for the Ace saying “give him his Ace”, the river its an ACE! I’ve won another 50/50, the percentages are balancing themselves out over the week. For the first time since the tournament started I have more chips that the 10,000 starting stack! (11,000) Despite this the average stack is still in excess of 24,000 chips so whilst I now have chips to play I need to continue to make progress as the anti’s are continuing to rise with the blinds.

My final table move sees me join one of the chip leaders Alan McLean, other players include Mark Livesey (AWOP qualifier) and Dave ‘El Blondie’ Colclough. Sadly Mark crashes out when he pushes with 7,7 and runs into Alan McLean’s 8,8. This is the key period of play for me as I am now determined to make Day 2 having failed to do this on my previous attempts.



KEY PERIOD

There is less than 2 hour play to go and at last I hit hand after hand, more importantly I start to pick up premium pairs, I take out one of the other short stacks when he fails to find an Ace against my Q,Q ( double’s me through to 24,000), I then re-raise Dave Colclough off a hand leaving him short stacked when I find 10,10 and he folds pre-flop. A succession of suited A,K & AA,QQ in position follow and I take down pot after pot uncontested. Thereby slowly building on my stack and getting me up to average chips. Its my Big Blind and another player pushes ‘All-In’ the players fold to me and I find Ace, Ace. I snap call and the cards go on the backs, the flop comes A,Q, rag, followed by the case Ace on the turn giving me quad Aces! More importantly it also takes my chip stack to in excess if 47,000. Players continue to exit and the main sound in the card room is the call from dealers of ‘lost one’.

Play ends for the day at the end of level 9 ( 9 hours of poker) and a chip count is carried out by the Tournament director, my closing stack is 49,100. A very satisfying day’s poker and I can look forward to day 2 on Saturday. I am rather surprised to find out that I am 5th in chips!

End of Day 1a Chip Counts

Player - Chips

Gerald David - 100,775

Benjamin Vinson - 77,675

Kyriacos Dionysiou - 77,275

Michael Fletcher - 59,300

John Hare - 49,100

Wasim Akhtar - 47,925

Christopher Odonnell - 47,325

Allan Mclean - 46,025

Andrew Seden - 44,350

Michael Taylor - 41,400

Michael Wernick - 40,625

Ganesh Rao - 40,050

Charles Denton - 37,975

Simon Wolf - 37,000

James Keys - 35,850

David Lea - 33,775

Shane Hellyer - 28,050

Adam Clarke - 27,075

Paul Leckey - 25,425

Iwan Jones - 24,875

Paul Gardener - 22,700

Keith Geary - 22,600

Gavin Powell - 21,400

Simon Cawley - 21,075

David Dring - 18,975

Priyan Demel - 18,575

Michael Greco - 18,475

Darren Hickman - 18,050

Reyaaz Mulla - 16,475

Raphael White - 13,350

John Cameron - 12,250

Allan Barnacle - 11,300