Jon Bryan

Well, yesterday was just an incredible day of poker.

The day started well – halving the taxi fare by sharing it with “Pistol Pete”, who was also in the WSOP for the first time. He had almost twice as many chips as me, and we wished each other good luck as we arrived at “The Rio” for 12 hours of poker.

I cannot begin to describe how I felt in the morning at 11.30a.m. just half an hour before “shuffle up and deal” was called. I was so nervous, anxious, and going through thousands of emotions. Having made it through day one, and with all the casualties from Day 2A, could I really get any further? I messaged a few people, and Steve in particular calmed us down restating a few basics of poker – take it easy and just sit back and fold a few hands. Good advice, but wait ‘til you hear how the first hand panned out.

Well, with that advice, I sat down in seat 10 at Table 96 and found out that I would have the dealer button in front of me. I opened the envelope full of the chips that I had sealed the other night and set them up in front of me. It’s strange having so many chips in front of you, and I looked around and saw that (apart from someone called Mikael Thuritz in seat 2 who had 86,050) most others had between 10,000 and 20,000. Maybe I could do ok here on this table, but it does put you off when cameras are constantly taking photos of one guy in particular at the table and various people are saying hello and chatting to him. No idea who he was. Turns out he'd never heard of me either.

So, the first hand of the day, and I am dealt a King and a Queen – both of clubs and it is folded around to me on the dealer button. With the blinds at 250 and 500 and the ante at 50, I make it 1700 total to play. There is 1250 in the pot before any cards are dealt. The big blind is Mikael (above) and he looked to mean business with a huge pile of chips, and he must have been in the top 30 or so of the 1700 in the room. I since find out that he was second in the 2005 London Open http://www.cardplayer.com/players/results/Mikael_Thuritz/19929 The guy in the small blind folds and Mikael calls, without a care for the chips he throws in the pot.

The flop comes Jack-Nine-Four and two of them are diamonds. He checks and I bet 2500. He smooth calls again, just chucking them in the pot. The turn (fourth card) is the ten of clubs. I now have a straight but I don’t want to show I’m beating him. He checks and I do to. The final card is the Ace of Spades and he checks again. I bet 5000 after a few seconds. By checking on the fourth card (the turn) and betting on the fifth and final (the river), I wanted it to look like I was bluffing at the pot on the end. The truth is, with a straight, I had the best possible hand available, given those on the table. He moves all in, trying to bully me, knowing I wouldn’t want to go out on the first hand of the second day. I look again at my cards to make sure I still have a King and a Queen and I announce call. He throws his hand into the muck and I show mine. I’m up to over 60,000 in chips after less than 5 minutes.

“Well I thought you were bluffing as well”, says the guy on my right from the Isle of Wight.

A few hands later and I’m in the big blind with pocket threes and there’s a raise. The button calls and so do I. The raise was 1000 more, so I’m getting the odds to call. The flop is King-9-7 all clubs and all three of us check. The turn is 3h and we all check again. When the river is 9s I bet 4000 but get no callers. I show the full house to keep up my table image, but they broke the table up soon afterwards. As they broke our table up, there was one spot available on the featured table (which will appear on ESPN), but I didn’t get it. I would have been up there sitting with Daniel Negreanu. Maybe it’s good that I wasn’t….

Anyway, I find myself sitting to the left of another guy from the UK. He says he’s from Manchester, UK. When I tell him I’m from England as well, he says Rochdale, Littleborough (to be precise). We have a bit crack on about Rochdale (my mate Brendan lives there who I shared a flat with at Poly) and we talk about having to tell Americans the largest City near to where we live, otherwise they just say “What part of London is that?”

I look good moving onto this table with around 65,000 in chips and I am clearly the big stack. I do very little for the first few hands, but then after a flat call early on, I look down and find pocket tens. I make it 2500 to go. I’m also on the button. The big blind moves in and there’s a fold and then it’s back to me. It’s for 20,000 more and I am very tempted. I eventually throw my hand away. I end the first level of the day with 56,800 in chips after two hours of play – an hour and a half at this new table.

After the break the guy from Rochdale is out and we wish each other all the best. His King-Queen losing to Jacks.

The next level is not so good for me. After an aggressive player bets 2000 early in the hand, I look down and see Ace-Queen (both diamonds). I haven’t seen the hands he plays yet, but I make it 7000 total. He re-raises me all-in for 20,000 more. I fold, a little annoyed at having lost that many chips.

I steal blinds and antes without ever seeing a flop, always betting 2200. “Twenty-two works for you”, the guy to my left says. “Don’t make it twenty-one or twenty-three, it’ll not work”.

Just before the next break, the same aggressive player makes it 2000 to play and two of us call. The big blind moves all-in. It’s only another 2475. The aggressive player makes it 9000 total. One fold and I think I have to throw my pocket eights away. The big blind shows ace-five hearts and the aggressive player King-Queen offsuit. The board helps no-one and I would have won the hand if I’d played. I’m just annoyed with the re-raise when we could have knocked a player out.

Not a good level and I finish on 45,100 chips. But I did win the chip race!

Level 3 of the day (Level 9 overall) started well for me. I raise with Ace-Queen and re-raise with Ace-King, getting some blinds, antes and bets into my stack. Again, I make the decision to show both as advertising, but as they break the table up soon afterwards, it doesn’t matter.

There was time for the poor sod next to me to go all in before the flop with pocket Aces and get called by Queens. I guess some of you know what’s going to happen. A Queen comes on the flop.

I’m quite pleased to be moved to a new table, and I would be here for the next four and a half hours. When I sit down, the dealer welcomes me to the table and says something like “We don’t have flops at this table I’m afraid, sir”. OK, it’s that sort of table.

In all the time that I’m there, there is only once no raise before the flop. And when that happened, some guy says “I didn’t know we could limp. Hey, I want to limp.” It’s quite a jovial table at times, and we only lose two players all the time I’m there (and that was in the first hour).

Being the unknown new guy again, I raise some of the blinds and get up to just under 50,000.

Then, a raise from the button makes it 2400 and I look down at Ace-Seven of clubs so I make it 6000 total. He thinks……..and calls. The flop is King-Queen-Seven and they’re all hearts. It couldn’t be a worse flop for me and I check. He bets 3000 and I fold – showing my Ace.

He shows me the deuce of hearts and then one player asks the dealer to show the other. There is some discussion about this and a floor-manager is called over. He states that the rule is that if you show one you are entitled to see them both. The other card is the Ace of hearts.

Soon after, the hand of the tournament for me (but I was only watching). A Spanish guy with “Poker Stars” all over him had just doubled his stack when he had gone all in with Kings and a guy had made a bad call all in with Ace-Queen. A new guy comes in with about 60,000 in chips and when the Spanish guy raises, he calls from the button, puts his shades on, and then does some amazing chip tricks while he waits for the dealer.

The flop is Jack-7-5 and the Spanish guy bets 4500. Chip-trick guy calls and the turn is a 6. Spanish guy checks and chip-trick bets 10,000. A re-raise all in and then a call. The Spanish guy turns over pocket sixes. Chip-trick has pocket sevens. No-one can believe it. Chip-trick says “no one-outer dealer”. The river is a six.

This was an incredible hand and there was howls and screams from the table attracting the attention of players and the media. Chip-trick didn’t say a word and was very cool about losing it, with no complaints at all. Fair play to him.

It’s just before dinner and it is announced that the 2004 WSOP Champion has been knocked out. It’s Greg Raymer, and he gets applause and acknowledgement from the other players. Or maybe we’re just glad that he’s out!

I meet the Kays during the 90 minute dinner break. There are 3 hours to go, but I only have 37,500 chips. Each round (every ten hands) at the next level will cost me 3,500. I am very anxious and I know that I haven’t made any really bad plays, but that I’ll have to do something soon to survive.

I think the Kays are worried for me, and I leave them early to wash my face and to try and mentally prepare.

I get my chips up to 50,000 when I make two re-raises on separate hands before the flop – taking it down there and then.

In a critical pot, a guy two before the dealer button makes it 3700. I am in the big blind and I look down and see pocket tens. I make it 10,000 total. After a long pause – he eventually calls. The flop comes with two clubs King-9-4 and he moves all in for 16,000. I think for ages, but eventually fold. I’m down to just over 30K.

This is a strange level. Survival and no risk seems the top priority and there were not as many all ins as I thought there would be. I finish the level with 42,800 in chips and there’s just one hour to go.

A quick “good luck” kiss and hug from Kay before the final hour, and both Kays come in to watch. Everyone wants to make it to Friday and get through this hour. Nobody makes any quick decisions and players are slow to put their antes in and look at their cards. I outplay a guy in position after the flop and get up to 50,000 in chips. The blinds are 600-1200 and antes are 200. There is 3800 in the pot before the cards are dealt.

With 25 minutes to go, the 4th player to act – John, a fellow Paradise Poker player and qualifier – raises it to 3200. The next guy folds and I look down at pocket Queens. I make it 10,000 total. Everyone folds and John moves all in. I ask the dealer to count it down. It’s 19,500 more. If I call and lose, I only have 8500 left. If I call and win, I'm set up nicely for Friday.

John had stood up after going all in, and then everyone else at the table (one-by-one) stands up as I think about it for ages. I'm looking at him, working out the hand and how it’s been played so far. I look at the pot and mentally count it down. We haven’t seen the flop yet and I count my stack down and look at how much is in the middle again. I also check out the time left tonight.

Three tables away by the ropes on the sidelines, the two Kays are worried - watching me and trying to see what's going on.

Only me and the dealer are still sitting down at the table and there is a lot of tension around our table. No noise. Just tension.

After at least 5 minutes, I throw it away. Lots of exhaling by everyone. “Good lay-down” John says to me. I told him I had Queens and he shows the table his Aces.

Pretty much everyone at the table congratulates me on my fold. I’m still in it, and there’s around 17 minutes at this level left to play.

You are entitled to call for a clock and give that player only one minute to make their decision. There is a lot of discussion and laughter about the fact that no-one would have called for a clock, as everyone wants the time to run down to get through day two.

A short time later, and I’m through to day three. Only 24,800 in chips, but I’m still alive!

There is applause around the room and I shake hands with the guys around me. We'll all be on different tables on Friday and we wish each other good luck.

Thanks to all for your support :-D

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Best wishes to all.

Jonny Check Raise