WCOOP Event 1: $215 NLH 6-Max

The game is No Limit Hold'em Shorthanded, one of the NLH variations that offers fast paced action and the WCOOP deep structure offered plenty of play. The low $215 buy-in and the gigantic One Million Dollars guarantee ended up attracting 7500 players, yielding a $1,500,000 prize pool. This would be my first WCOOP event in 2011 and I had a great start when I built my 10k starting stack to 43k only after one hour. At that point i was either 2nd or 3rd out of over 5000 players. Over the next 2 hours the table basically had the same players, less 2-3 eliminations. I was in very good command of the table with around 70k chips while the next biggest stack a measly 10k and the rest in four figures. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that I was owning the table. And then I got moved.

I was seated on this new table to the right of this 50k stack, and the rest of the guys with less than him. I wasted no time and gave away plenty chips. In one hand, I doubled up a 17k shortstack by getting it in on a 689 flop with 7T and the guy had TJ. He peels the Q on the river to win with a better straight. I lost a few more small pots here and there and gave away a total of 25k to the table and I was down to 50k. At that point I was begging the table to not break as I want to get my chips back. Soon after I was dealt this hand:

Hole card: Red Aces. Position: CO. Blind 250/500/60

Preflop: folded to me and I raised to 1111, BB 3bet to 2400, i 4bet to 7500, BB called.

Flop: Qc Tc 2d. He checked. I checked. (To me his 4bet calling range is TT+, AK, so it was less a question of how much I can make off him than whether I'll go bust this hand. So I checked.)

Turn: Td. Bad just turned to worse. He bet 12500 into the 15000 pot and I had around 40k left. I wasn't ready to fold Aces just yet, but I was very close to. I called.

River: 6s. He checked, and I checked behind. (I think I missed a bet here, not sure.)

Showdown: I won the hand with Aces, he had AQ for top top.

I felt like I did badly by not stacking his remaining 24k. Did I play bad? Please use the comment section.

After that hand I was up to 71k, and after a few rounds my luck turned horrid when a guy called my 4betshove with AKs and flopped the nut flush. Yes that's right, I had Aces. I lost over 50% of my stack in this hand so I was down to just above 30k. An hour later, the blinds creeped up to 600/1200/150 when my stack was dwindling down to just above 25k. I decided to 3betshove KQ in the BB against a button raise, but the guy called with A9 and I lost the hand and busted out.

I busted out 1110th or so and the tournament paid top 960, but one can't be afraid to bubble if he wants to go deep, right?

Tonight will be the $320 PLO. This should be a great chance to practice my peddling skills and hopefully I'll draw a table with a few guys who's willing to gamble it up too! Gogogogogogo!