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skeeter1114 · Message Board Junkie Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 1687

Ok, so I thought the story had to be in this thread. Apparently not. Ignore all posts I had prior to this.

maxfoxim · Flush Joined: 14 Dec 2007 Posts: 133 Location: Cologne

Losing with best Full House possible against quads on the river two times on one day.

craigo6x · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:14 pm Post subject: Me, the WPT, FTP and Pokerroom

Many of you know what happened and participated in the thread, but here's the story, start to finish:

In the winter of '05, Super Bowl Sunday to be exact, I won my first live poker tourney and cashed for $2,750.00. I was hooked. I had played small cash games when I went to Atlantic City, but never had the thrill of such an event.

I played some more tournaments, with little success, some small cashes, some late KO's, but nothing big.

In the summer of '05, a buddy of mine who owns a title company wanted to thank me for business i had given him. We decided on heading down to AC for a Thursday night so I could play the Trop $10K guarantee. We got down there, checked in and went for dinner at Carmine's. We had an unbelievable meal, and I rolled away from the table to register for the tourney starting in 20 minutes.

I got to the cage to learn the tourney had sold out. Man was I dejected. I was there for the tourney and got shut out. I ambled over to a cash table and proceeded to win about $500 for the night, but my desire to play a tourney was not satisfied.

The next morning I told my buddy I heard the Borgata had a noon tournament so we headed over. I went to the cage and paid the $500 entry fee. What the heck, I won it the night before. I got my table assignment and sat down. Three hands into the tournament, the TD announces the prizes as 4 seats to the WPT Borgata open in September and $9,500 for 5th place.

I hadn't seen any signs indicating this was a satellite tourney and was now more than upset as I was just coming back from vacation the week before and could never get another week off if needed. Although i own my own my business, I couldn't see taking two weeks off so close to each other. Then I realized I had no shot any way so just play.

As the blinds rose I was moved to a table with two monster stacks and was seated between them. My stack was not much bigger than we started with and I realized I was nearing the end. As the BB reached me I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the TD moving me to another table. What luck. From there I flopped 4 sets, and before I knew it I was headed to the final table as the chip leader. Needless to say I ended up winning one of the 4 seats. All my angst at being unable to play was laid aside as I danced around with my buddy, called my wife and generally let all my poker buddies know of my good fortune. My wife and my associate really stepped up to the plate and made it very easy for me to take the second week. Now hopefully I would need the whole week.

Cut to September 2005. I arrive at the tourney and find I'm seated with Noli Francisco, Bill Gazes and Mimi Tran to my immediate left and Goung Do at the table as well. To my right was Luke Chung, an unknown who finished 11th in the WS ME when Gold won. After Francisco was knocked out, Phil Ivey took his seat.

Well I was happy to be there and soon found out that Bill Gazes was going to make it a fun day. We spent the day together as I survived Day 1, and in the process got to talking to a player in middle position who happened to be a colleague from Virginia. During the day a dispute arose at an adjoining table about the following statement "I call, all in." While the players argued, Gazes started riffing on it, and we all enjoyed a laugh over it.

The following morning I ran into the colleague outside the tourney room and we sat for 1/2 hour talking and eating breakfast. I was stoked because I was starting day 2 at a table of unknowns. Well i was crippled early when I bricked on a royal gutshot with 2 overs to middle pair and my exit on day 2 was swift and uneventful. I left, upset that it could end so abruptly.

That fall, I joined Pokerroom, the only site I knew that was Mac compatible. I became an active member of the forum, and made many friends, some of whom have since moved over here. I played constantly live and online, and had some success, but kept the stakes small. Enter Bill Frist and the threat to national security, Online Poker. Pokerroom pussed out and booted American players. What was an American with a Mac to do? I found out Full Tilt was Mac compatible and made my first deposit.

I also joined the forum here, and tried to become involved as I had at Pokerroom. There were issues early on, I made some friends and probably some enemies, c'est la vie. But then I came across this thread:

http://pokerforums.fulltiltpoker.com/viewtopic.php?t=19416&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Starting around Page 5 I mention the comment from the adjoining table "I call all-in". A few pages letter, Otto410, a member here, starts asking me about the circumstances and we finally realize we were the two lawyers seated at the same table with Bill Gazes who became friends during the event.

It was a series of fortunate events that led me to find Otto410. At the time a number of jokes were made, but everyone seemed to enjoy the unexpected reunion.

I hope you all enjoy this story.

GoldenDomer9 · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:08 pm Post subject:

My submission can be found below. It was my goal to condense some of the thoughts I have floating around in my head into a fairly quick, readable format. Hopefully it worked out as such.

http://pokerforums.fulltiltpoker.com/viewtopic.php?t=52935

StevieWard · Message Board Junkie Joined: 12 Jul 2007 Posts: 1164

g_420man · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:36 pm Post subject:

http://pokerforums.fulltiltpoker.com/viewtopic.php?t=52757

Honest_Rob · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 10:04 pm Post subject:

http://pokerforums.fulltiltpoker.com/viewtopic.php?p=473660#473660

bizarroquinn · Royal Flush Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 546

I was playing late at night at the Mirage a few years ago.

This was a 3-6 game, the NL craze hadn't hit the strip yet.

I've seen people react to bad beats before but this one takes the cake.

We're playing a pot with lots of action preflop. This table was mild, everyone limping and not much preflop raising.

A hand comes up with it capped between 5 players. It's clear that lots of big pocket pairs are out. The guy with AK flops the straight on a rainbow flop and caps the betting each round, everyone calls the whole way.

We have a huge pot for a 3-6 game. Close to $200 when the river is dealt, the river pairs the board and is also the third flush card.

Tons of action, I think it was close to another $125 in the post just on the river. Finally the hands come down, our first raiser has AK for the nut straight, another player has QQ for queens full and someone else held an 89 for the lower flopped straight. The last player to turn over their cards. backed into a straight flush. The guy with the straight flush slow rolls everyone and the guy with AK just loses it. He's pissed, but the next hand begins as he's mumbling to himself.....as the next hand is dealt we notice his hands are clenched really really tightly and he starts like foaming at the mouth literally....I look over and I'm like "are you ok man?" and he's just making incoherent noises at this point and he picks up a chip and tries to eat it. The blinds were at the other side of the table and the dealer was asking me to call or fold, and I was like "hold up, this guys needs some medical attention". The guy basically passes out and is spazzing on the floor, the Mirage security and medical staff are one the scene probably within a minute. Apparently the guy had a full blown seizure triggered by the bad beat. After a about 20 minutes the guy came back to the game, and the pit boss explained to us while the medical staff was with the guy that he has seizures and has told the pit boss about them and they know him well. It was crazy, I'd never seen a bad beat do that to someone. But the Mirage medical staff was amazing and 30 minutes later the game was back to normal, including the gentleman who took the beat.

Pete D · Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 6:33 am Post subject:

May 3, 2031� I have so much to tell you about what has happened in the poker world the past 23 years. I�m not sure where to begin.

Well, let me start by saying online poker is thriving and is better than ever. The online game nearly disintegrated in 2011 when bots, account sharing and multi-accounting became rampant. The face of the game changed shortly after when a thimble-like device was introduced to the world. Connected via a USB port, it can verify a person�s identity over the web� and it virtually eliminated identity theft across the internet.

In 2016, Full Tilt and PokerStars joined forces. Now called FT Stars, it�s the best site on the planet. There were some hiccups at first, but they did a nice job of combining the best of both to create a fabulous online experience.

But what I want to really tell you about is my experience at the 2030 Main Event. With a $25k buy-in and a tad more than 40,000 entrants, the prize pool was a whopping $1 Billion. First place money was a cool $120M.

A lot has changed since 2008� because of the huge number of entrants, Harrah�s made an agreement with FT Stars to have the �first round� played online. It consisted of a single table (9-person) elimination tourney. The winners of the 9-person tourneys advanced to Vegas. This made a lot of sense to the players overseas since they�d now be making the long flight to Vegas after knowing they were guaranteed a profit.

Oddly, I ran into two old-time forumers in my first round tourney� mzbuns and gonefshing. I got to heads up against buns and put an awful bad beat on her when I hit runner runner to make a straight with AJ against her AK.

On to Vegas I went to face the other 4,500 �in the money� entrants. Oh, one other thing� clay chips are no longer used in these big tourneys. In 2013, several �teams� were caught passing chips to their �mates� during the breaks. Since then, electronic chips are used just like they�re used online� every player is dealt real cards, like normal, but players make bets by using a touch screen in front of them at the table. This also eliminated the �who didn�t ante?� debates. That reminds me, wait until you see the confrontation that Friedman and Lisandro get into at the 2014 WSOP!

Back to the tourney� my string of luck continued and I flopped sets, straights and boats more often than I whiffed. I even turned quads twice and made my way to the final table. Joining me there were:

Mattias Lederer (Howard�s son)� this kid is tough. He�s got his Dad�s poise, Gus Hansen�s unpredictability and Negreanu�s reading ability.
Gabe Kaplan� the oldest ever to make a WSOP final table� still sharp at 86!
Sarah Robinson� better known to you as girlypro, looking to become only the second woman to win the ME.
Cady Shak� Beth and Dan�s daughter.
Melissa Goodman... aka cubbies760... turns out she really was a woman!

The other three were relative unknowns (like me). Gabe and I were the big stacks at the table. He had $260M, I had $220M and the others had between $30M and $80M. On the very first hand, it gets folded around to me in the small blind and I pick up pocket jacks. I raise it up 3x the BB to $6M. Gabe, in the big blind, re-raises to $20M. Not wanting to go nuts on the first hand, I just call. The flop comes AJJ� bingo. I do my best, �That flop scares me� look and check. Gabe checks behind. The turn is a deuce. I check again. Gabe bets out $10M� a suspiciously small bet. I call. The river is an ace. I put out a $50M bet, figuring I�ll at least get called if he has an ace in his hand, maybe he�ll even come over the top�. and he does� �I�m all-in�, Gabe says with confidence. I came within a split second of making the call, but hesitated and thought about it for a minute.

Now, there�s one more tidbit that I haven�t told you about. Back in 2019, they allowed players at the final table to enter an isolation booth for 5 minutes and call whoever they wanted to get advice on an all-in decision. It was done for ratings and worked out well as it has made for some interesting television.

I decided to use my �phone a friend� lifeline and my first call was to the one and only, Phil Hellmuth. I met Phil at a Main Event party the night before. All of the past Main Event winners were there� Chan, Raymer, Antonius, Greenway, etc. Anyway, I asked Phil if I could add him to my call list and he said, �Sure� for a 2% cut of your winnings.� Geez, this guy is worth a gazillion dollars and he�s asking for a cut. Well, I figured it would be a good investment, so I agreed. After telling Phil about my situation, he says, �Who is this? Pete who? You suck, I should be at that final table, not you. I�m Phil (edited by moderator) Hellmuth and I have 27 bracelets.� Thanks Phil� maybe next time. I could swear I heard him jingle those damn things too when he said twenty-seven.

My next call was to Will Ferrell. Will became an avid poker player after doing a film with Don Cheadle and Matt Damon in 2012. I met Will at the 2024 WSOP and we became casual friends. Anyway, I wanted to call Will not only for his poker skill, but for his calming influence. So I tell Will my situation. After a long pause, he says, �Dear lord baby Jesus, we hope that you�ll be able to use your baby Jesus powers to give Pete the ability to make the right decision.� You gotta love Will, but his comedic timing was really poor this time.

I only had time for one last call and it was to an old buddy of mine back home� he said, �Are you crazy? Why are you even contemplating a fold? You gotta call. End of story.�

Well, he�s right� that is the end of the story� for now�. tune in 22 years from now to see how this final table unfolds.

TilterRick · Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 3:33 pm Post subject:

I have read some great stories, and it's going to be tough to decide on the Top 3. There is still about 9 hours left in the contest (from now), and I will announce the winners and prizes in a few days.

bogiegolf50 · Banned Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 264

[quote="TilterRick"] There is still about 9 hours left in the contest (from now)

About a year ago, I didn't save it, in 4 straight hands, I hit 3 straight flushes, 2 were flopped.

steve 15968 · High Card Joined: 04 May 2008 Posts: 1

Recently came across these forums and i thought this to be an appropriate place to post some beat stories that that you may find entertaining.

The first one i heard is from another player on full tilt in the limit holdem section (i think $10/ $20 were the blinds). This player was dealt 66 but was taken to 5 bets by another player who had kk. The flop on this particular hand was 66x (don't know what x was). Nevertheless, the turn and river were both kings to give the oponent better quads. Our storeyteller indicated they lost over $1000 in this hand (rememeber it was limit).

Here in Australia the choice of casinos offering poker games are quite limited and indeed the game has only existed here for the last 2 years. Riding the back of popularity was the introduction of pub poker. As free buy in these tournements attract many novice players.

Like any poker venue bad beat stories are rife. On one partiular day i went with my mate and an aggrement was mad that if one of us busted the other would shove until they had a sizable stack (1500 was the intiallotment and our agreement was for 10000). i had about 3300 when my mate busted but i shoved out of turn on K2 and when i was corrected and allowed to fold as i couldn't raise i didn't want to play it. I would have floped 2 pair there. At this time i made shore the table was aware of my pact. The following hand i wait my turn and shove blind. I get called by a guy who had exactly the same as me. He has 66, i flip JJ and they hold. i have close to 8000 at this point - but not 10000. The next hand i am utg and get dealt KK. I make a big production of trying to indicate how mediocre my hand is including reminding myself of the pact; i shove. I get snap called by the next caller along; he had AcQc. The first card is the Kc then Qd and Tc the turn is Jc and the river Ah (KcQdTcJcAh board). i end up playing the board strait and losing to the royal. i was dirty at that hand but the next hand i still have 5000 on the bb and in an ironic turn of events that same guy has KK and he limp calls my shove with T6 - i lose that 1.

Another day another tournement and i get the table with a bunch of new guys who are doing a very good job of acting drunk without actually been drunk. The first reasnable hand i get is AK in the SB. One of the new guys limps first then a call the button calls i raise to 3 bets figuring them to be call stations and the BB and button fold the other call including the original limper. The flop is KKQ -rainbow. i 3 bet again and only new guy limper calls. turn A. i bet the same and this guy flat calls. river is an 8 and i shove and he calls showing me the only hand that could beat mine AA.

Hope you found some of that eneterating and i also hope that something better than the internet or the Aussie millions can happen can happen to poker in Australia.

Flying_Kiwi · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 4:30 pm Post subject:

I sure **** this one up. I had a story all typed up in Word and was going to post it today, but I misread the date in the title and thought it closed on the 5th.

Honest_Rob · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject:

Flying_Kiwi · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 5:43 pm Post subject:

You make it too easy.

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