WSOP Main Event (2009)
Mark L. - "slocan"
Mark L. - "slocan" - with his chip stack
I arrived at the tournament a few days early to relax and soak in the atmosphere – I watched pros like Doyle Brunson and Andy Black playing at the tables and had a chance to walk around Poker Palooza. I purchased a card protector off a man coming out of a toilet with the words "Flush" on it. When I came across Marcel "Flying Dutchman" Luske, I had him sign the back of my card protector, writing "GL" for good luck. I also saw Annie Duke signing magazines so I asked her to sign mine and even took a picture with her!
I entered the tournament on Day 1D – they had a record amount of entries that day and ended up having to turn people away! I got some advice from another player to only play premium hands so by following that advice I barely got to play any hands, but I was able to stay in the game. I started out with 30,000 chips and by the end of the day I was up to 78,000 after ten hours, playing five levels at two hours a level. We got a 90-minute dinner break and a few 20-minute breaks throughout the long 13-hour day.
On Day 2B, John Juanda sat down at my table. I noticed that he was starting out with about the same amount of chips as me and by the end of the day he had already busted out and I ended up with 141,000 chips. Beating out a professional poker player really gave my ego a boost!
Day 3, I ended up back at the tables with everyone else that had survived the first four days. Whenever one of the nine players busted, Jeff Shulman, editor of Cardplayer, would sit down to take his place. I noticed he came in with less chips than I: 140,000 to my 160,000 chips. Playing against him during one hand I went in big blind. He raised. I had a pair of jacks, which wasn’t bad, so I called him three times the big blind. At the flop came ace, ten and four. Shulman, the first to act, checked. He ended up raising me and I started thinking he might have a better hand me. At the turn I took a gamble… I went all in! After waiting a minute or two he ended up folding. He turned to me and said, "If you went all in before the flop, you would have had most of my chips." He had two kings and he figured I had aces! After that I said to him, "Actually, you had me beat!" That was the hand that I would have gotten really crippled on, but I won!
Sitting at my last table with me was Darren Moon and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson! Five minutes before suppertime Chris went all in with all face cards at the flop. He waited three minutes and ended up calling the bet. He got crippled with two pair and was out the first hour after the supper break. That day I had started with 220,000 chips and with five minutes left in day four I was down to 85,000 chips, which was below average. On one hand I had an ace and a 6 of diamonds, suited, which wasn’t a great hand but I pushed all in anyway. The other player, having more chips than me, called with an ace of hearts, and a 7 of hearts. He assumed I was going all in to steal the blinds. Out came a 7 on the flop and with nothing else I could use that marked the end of my journey. I finished in 417th place and I’m happy because I believe I played well.
Another exciting part of the tournament were the breaks! I saw Peter Eastgate, the 2008 WSOP Champion, and a few other poker stars including movie star Lou Diamond Phillips! I told him I loved his movie "La Bamba" and we began talking about Vancouver, where I am from. It was quite an experience to meet poker stars and movie stars alike!
Phil Hellmuth and Mike Sexton busted out of the tournament before me, so playing in the WSOP was a surreal and unbelievable experience for me as a poker player as well.
I’ve played on other poker sites, but I’ve never won like I had on the Club! I love the opportunities to win seats at many of the big tournaments. I would recommend this Club to anyone!
My advice to future poker tournament players is to eat well, get lots of sleep, and play only premium hands!
