All In Against Negreanu.

My WSOP experience, part 2...

I forgot to tell you about the grumpy bearded dude (GBD) who sat down between me a Seamus midway through level one. Until this point, Seamus had been the "table captain" but this dour young guy with over-sized headphones sat down and started attacking every hand. He seemed to take it as a personal affront if anyone dared enter a pot with him, and if he lost a hand he would shake his head in such a way as to  make it clear his opponent just got lucky. In short GBD was an asshole.

Alright, now that I got us up to speed...

The break was coming to an end and the players were sitting back down. I had just returned to good ol' table 343 when somebody started shouting, "Alright! Let's do some gambling! We're gonna play some poker today! Whaddya say!" I looked up an there, getting ready to take the seat vacated by Melancholy Boy, was Daniel Negreanu. "Let's play!"

Negreanu and GBD seem to know each other well, so GBD is probably some top level player too. They both go into a long discussion about the WSOP and how it's gone downhill. It was great to be a fly on the wall and hear how the top level guys were grumpy because there were so many events in the WSOP now, and how it was just designed to make money but that the prestige of the tournament had suffered. Negreanu, like GBD, was playing a lot of pots and fairly aggressively. Seamus tried to play back at him once but lost a pretty big hand.

When we got to Pot Limit Omaha, I was in the big blind with Ad Kd 4d 4s. The extra diamond was actually a bad thing, but on the whole this is a pretty good hand in my limited knowledge. It folded to Daniel, who raised three times the big blind. With my heart in my throat I called. GBD called too. The flop came Qc 4c 9h. I had a set, which unless someone had a bigger set, was the best hand possible at this point. I reasoned I should bet big and take it down here rather than let one of these guys draw out on me. No way am I giving Daniel Negreanu and his GBD asshole buddy a free look at the turn. So I bet the pot. GBD thinks for a few seconds...and goes all in. Negreanu folds.

Shit. Shit Shit.

I have to think. The only hands I'm behind right now are QQ and 99, but something tells me GBD doesn't have those.The good news is I have GBD covered by about 3,000, so even if I lose I'm still alive, although badly hurt. I call, flip over my hand, and GBD flips over his: Jc Ac 9h 8h. I'm ahead, but he has four to the flush and other outs too - like a runner runner straight. But I am the favourite. I have some top level pro all in at the WSOP and I am the favourite to win. I feel elated! This is the best!

Then a club hits on the turn, and GBD has hit flush. All the elation dies in a heartbeat. I need the board to pair on the river to win with a full house, but that doesn't happen. I'm down to just under 3,000 now. It doesn't look good.

I have to take a chance and the next opportunity to do so happens in a hand of Omaha Hi-Low, in which I tangle with Daniel Negreanu - one of the best players in the world at this particular game. We both are going for the low hand but I'm needing some luck. I get lucky on the turn when I hit a 2-6 straight, an insurance policy that might give me the high half. If I river an ace for the wheel I'll probably scoop both high and low and be right back in this. But that doesn't happen. As we split the pot Daniel seems a bit disappointed but shrugs it off. "Pleasure doing business with you," he says.

Then the floorman comes up behind me and tells me I'm being moved to another table...

TO BE CONTINUED...