So as most of you probably know I final tabled the 5k nl event at the WSOP. Needless to say I am much happier about this than my immediate bustouts in the previous tournaments I had played at the WSOP. I finished 7th and am pretty disapointed about the result but at the same time, feel like I played pretty well.

WARNING: The following may contain some excuses and even some complaining, so if you think I'm a luckbox clown who runs way too good just stop reading.

Today went like this I started off the day by picking off a bluff and getting up to about 1.45 million from my 1.1 million starting stack. After that I never had any big pots but built my stack by restealing and stealing blinds. When we got to the final 10 the blinds were at 8k 16k, unfortunately it stayed 10 handed for virtually forever as the short stacks were playing extremely tight and none of the big stacks were clashing. Finally at 15k 30k David Pham shoved 155k and I woke up on the button with two tens. Both blinds had 20 bb stacks so I shoved, the sb, a tight player, insta-called and I hated my life. Luckily for me he had AK and David had KQ, I held and was up to 2.3 million. After that it was all down hill from thee. I sustained my stack by rasing and stealing some pots, but the blinds went up to 20k 40k and it really handcuffed the play at the final table, it went from being a really deep stacked tournament to one where everyone but mysef and the chipleader had 8-30 big blinds. I raised to 100k with QJ and Liya (sorry if spelling is wrong) in the big blind shoved 405k. Normally this is an instacall for me, but she had been very tight and I felt that she had a big hand, I tanked for a while and couldn't resist the 2-1 odds I was getting and called. The other internet players at the table wondered why I took so long and thought it was an instacall, I really thought she was shoving a very tight range, even though she is capable of shoving somewhat light (by light I mean pairs and broadway hands and good aces) I felt that she was very strong both because she was playing very tight and because Thomas Keller only had about 200k and I didn't think she wanted to bust before him. Anyways, she had KK, and flopped top set. After that I was down to about 1.8 million. A few hands later I raised Q9 of clubs in the cutoff and Thomas Keller who had been nitting up hardcore shoved another 175k over my open, this one there was no way I could fold, he had AK and flopped top two pair. A few rounds later was the hand that crippled me, I really dont know how I feel about it, and may post the hand for advice later. I raised to 100k from the hijack with AJ and Brian called in the cutoff with about 1.2 million to start the hand. All I know about Brian is that he is good friends with Dipthrong (a very aggressive online player, who loves pushing preflop edges) the flop came A82 rainbow and I bet 145k, he raised to 425k. I really did not know what to put him on, I really thought it was pretty unlikely that he was bluffing, but at the same time could not think of too many hands that beat me, I was almost sure he would be happy to get all in preflop with AQ or AK, and I did not think he would call my preflop raise with A8. I thought 88 was possible but also thought that it was likely he would slowplay a set on the flop. I thought for a long time and ended up putting him in for his last 575k or so and he called with AQ. I still do not know how I feel about this hand, it seems so close to me and I am still very surprised that he did not reraise his AQ preflop. I considered all options including calling the flop, but he had nearly half his stack in the pot and I felt that calling flop and folding turn would be a mistake (I may be wrong about this). Anyways, I'm happy overall with how I played, unfortunately I used up all my run good on day 1 and 2 of the tourney and did not save any for today. Hopefully I'll get another chance at a bracelet this year.

-Isaac