Right upfront: it wasn't quite enough for a bracelet, unfortunately. But I wasn't far from winning my first one. It went like this: I took part in event #12, a 1,500 dollar limit Hold'em tournament that 883 players bought in to.
My first day didn't go that well, I was downright swamped with bad beats. I lost four times against two outs and twice against four outs and as if that wasn't enough already, two levels before the end I also lost my aces in the hole. So no hint of luck.
Nonetheless I managed to finish the first day with a roughly average stack, which was also no doubt due to the number of bad players that took part in this tournament and that, in turn, was due to the comparatively low buy-in of 1,500 dollars. Many German-speaking players are of the opinion that you can get to a bracelet more easily in the tournaments with large buy-ins and a small number of participants. However I see it differently because at those tournaments you only play against the best and most successful players, whereas, in my opinion, at tournaments with small buy-ins there's a lot of dead money…
But back to day two of my tournament. The table drawing didn't mean well for me and so Erick Lindgren, among some of the other most successful players, sat at my table. All the players at this table were hoping it would be disbanded soon or that they would get the first seat change. So the table wasn't that special, this way I at least spared myself the bad beats and could continuously build up my stack, in spite of the difficult table. On the side, I had the chance to get to know Erick Lindgren a little better. He's really a very nice guy that has stayed very normal and is always up for a joke.
I was able to end day 2 with an above-average chip count, but on day 3 everything started going terribly. In a blind battle, I raised with a pair of tens at the small blind and was called at the big blind. The flop came with A♣-T♠-3♥, I played it and got raised. I make a re-raise and am called. A king of hearts came at the turn, I made a bet, got a raise again, re-raise and then raised again. Since the blinds were already so high at this point I didn't raise back again. It was clear to me that I wasn't playing against a set of aces or a set of kings, so my opponent could either have a set of threes or even a straight. Since my chip count, like I said, didn't allow another re-raise, I decided for a call. The seven came at the river, I check, called and lose against J-Q. Not a good start for me on this third day of playing but I kept my nerves and played very well, in my opinion, and made good calls and built my stack up again. And then came the revenge: the player that I had lost to before raised UTG, everyone passes up to me and I call at the big blind with 9-9. The flop brings A-9-8, we both check and the turn brings a queen. Now I check-raise my opponent and he calls. A four comes at the river, I make a bet and my opponent raises me. At that moment I remember the game before and decide not to re-raise, since in a limit tournament, I prefer to get one bet less than to lose two of them. In this case however, I would have been able to get another bet out of it, since my opponent had a pair of 8s.
Slowly, the players in the tournament became fewer and fewer and then it came – after seven years I finally got to a final table at the WSOP again. I had reached my goal. From this point on, placement didn't matter to me anymore; I just wanted to win that bracelet!
Erick Lindgren was the first player that had to leave the final table. He was very short and lost against my king with 9-7. But afterwards my game was also over. I lost all my games, just didn't have a shot anymore and then suddenly, I was the short stack at the table. Nonetheless I fought on, struggled through round after round, but the blinds got relentlessly higher and then it came to the following situation: the most aggressive player at the final table up to this point raised to 30k in UTG+2 with 8k/15k blinds. I had K-J and went all-in with 19k, called the big blind. With that there was a side pot of 22k. The flop brings Q-3-5, both players check. At the turn comes the 10♣ and with that my hope that I could still win this hand also returns. Again, both players check. At the river the threes pair, the first player checks and the aggressive player makes a bet. The big blind folds and, to be on the safe side, I stood up already. As my opponent revealed his cards I took my seat again because he showed me 7-8♠, and with that my king held out high. The player then said he passed A-J in the big blind. If that's true then I was really lucky, since this move brought me two places ahead.
I went through this situation a few more times in my head afterwards. Is it better to win a side pot of 22k or to take a good player out of the tournament? I came to the conclusion that it's better to take a good player out of the table, especially in the case of an aggressive player, since the 22k was just 6 percent of his stack.
Back to the tournament. So I won the main pot of 60k and was able to build my stack up to 200k again. After two other players were eliminated, I had the two short stacks on my right side and the big stack to my left. Then I played a game with Q-9, at a flop of 5-8-Q and lost against Q-J.
My all-in game was not especially spectacular. Ultimately, I had to admit defeat with A-J against 9-7.
By and large I am very content with my performance, but it's no big secret that no poker player is really very happy with their placement after being eliminated, unless they leave the table as the winner. What really counts is first place, especially at the WSOP, where a bracelet is at stake too. Nonetheless I see my placement in a very positive light and having been at this final table is going to give me a lot of energy for the rest of the WSOP. Tomorrow it continues with a 1,500 dollar pot limit Omaha tournament.
I hope I can report more good things to you soon. Until then I wish you all the best.
Your Markus Golser
