Just missed winning a seat to WSOP

At my local club every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we have tournaments with part of the 200.00 entry fee going towards a WSOP play off game. You had to win one of these tourneys to get an entry into the WSOP playoff. Starting chips in the playoff game are 10,000 chips. If you win another one of the weekly build up tourneys and of course already have a seat, you get the cash prize of course for that tourney and, another 5,000 chips, second 2,500. and third on just what tourney cash pays. I stared the playoff tourney with 17,500 chips and only 7 players started with more. Total players in playoff game was 60.

First seat $13500.00
Second seat $ 3000.00
Third seat $ 1000.00

Three players left and I'm still in it. QQ preflop I went allin on the gun with about 150k, was happy with 12k in blinds and 3k ante, but was called by huge stack with A9o. If I win this hand I would be close to huge stack and have a fair chance, to take it all. Of course he spiked the A on flop. All that work out the fn window.

Man, that is a tough hand to lose there, Quads. Don't get too down on yourself though, sounds like you outplayed everyone there. Great Job finishing 3rd out of 60 players. At least you still got the 1 Grand. Use it wisely..

I know the feeling of coming so close.

When I was still playing on Paradise I was in a WSOP qualifier $25 buy in and found myself with a massive chip lead with 11 left. only one seat

I had roughly 150K in chips if I recall...and 2nd place had 90K...the rest of them were essentially short stacks hovering in the 20-40K range. The only guy that could hurt me was the 2nd place guy so I was staying away from him and hammering the shorties.

I catch 10/9os in the sb and complete the blind into the 2nd place guy...he mini raises me and I just call.

The flop is 6/8/7 with 2 hearts...BING....I check and he leads out quickly for a pot sized bet....I repop him about 1/2 of his stack and he instantly shoves....I had to call obv and to my horror he has the nut flush draw....and yes ...spikes the river...that cripples me down to 60K

The very next hand I catch 10/10 on the button and there is an early position caller....I raise it up to 20K (blinds were 3/6K if I recall) and I get 2 callers....flop is K/Q/A lol so I have to dump it.

(sigh) a few hands later I shove pre flop with A/K suited and the guy who hit his flush on me calls with 2/2 and it holds.

That was really hard to be that close and to come up short. Oh well...I'll make it to the main event one of these days

I feel your pain quads. Here is a little recap of my missed trip to vegas: $5,000 trip for first, $100 bucks for second. Barf.

Bad luck AG!! Barf indeed, but well done on even being in the position to win such a Vegas trip.

Have some Christmas cheer for your next chance ...........

I'm feeling alot of pain in this whole thread. Quads, Ripptyde and AG( I read your link AG), those are all 3 incredible stories of bad luck in a combination of both live and on-line play. There is 1 common thing in all 3 stories: the fact that each of those tournaments, lost in poor luck circumstances, was going to award only 1 seat.

Although just about every event in poker is heavily tilted toward 1st place, there are usually other options, like deals, that can be considered and kind of offset the luck factor in a regular tourney when its down to last 3 players. Not to mention that usually, although there is a heavy difference between 1st, 2nd and 3rd, still coming making the top 3 is very rewarding in $, where instead tourneys that only offer 1 seat to an event usually have miserable 2nd and 3rd place prizes. Just look at the last SM for an example of this. 3rd place made 111k, which although is 200k less than 1st place, its still a nice chunk of change.

These tournies that only offer 1 seat like the ones you guys were in, represent a nice opportunity at a not expensive price, but can be, intuitively, a real heart-breaker. Having to necessarily win it increases the luck factor because it will force you to play in a different way at times, or makes your opponent do stupid stuff that at times gets rewarded like happened in Ripptyde's case. Because of the format people tend to play draws in that fashion more often than normally, just hoping to get lucky, again because its either 1st or nothing with no huge prize increase finishing 11th or 2nd, so they are more inclined to take the big risk and not fold, hurting you in the process if they get lucky. In any other tourney he probably folds to your check/raise on the flop even with nut flush draw, since he has a nice stack and can certainly make it deeper, rather than putting it all on the line on a draw, although some people would do it anyway, but you get the idea I'm sure.

I hope all 3 of you have better luck the next time.

Yeah for sure, i too hope you all get the chance again only next time you are the victors.
Good luck.

Unlucky Quads, nothing much you could do there apart from pray for that ace not to come.
Gl in the future!

OmG, i just couldnt live with finishing 2nd there. Unlucky alien.

I still think about it from time to time; quite haunting really. I thought for sure I was going to win with a 3:1 chip lead going into hu, and I felt I was the better player as well.

In the story they say I called his all in (which is true), but there was another betting round in there where either he check raised the flop and I reraised then he shoved, OR he bet out on the flop, I raised, then he shoved and I called. One of those (can't recall, but I think the latter).

As pointed out, there is usually some kind of cushion to the blow of not winning in the form of decent 2nd place money. Not here though, and that's what makes it so painful. I don't think a deal was possible in this case, as the rules for the contest were pretty well covered with "no substitutions, non tranferable, etc." type language.

that sucks, but hey, that's a life and poker, lol