Increase Your Stack by 2100%, in Four Hands!!!

twss - Whitmore Lake – November 29, 2009 – as told by Ryan “Pingsticks” W.

“I’m going to tell this story from my perspective, having already been knocked out of this tournament midway and having to sweat my ride home for the remainder of the game.

A little insight into what happened leading up to quite possibly the most sick and unlikely run I’ve ever seen during end-game tournament poker: 56 players bought in for $20 and received 8,000 in chips – pretty standard freeze-out tournament. Top five would get paid ($350; $220; $150; $100; $75).

Just before the first break, Brian “Allinduces” H. (Premier Poker Lounge Manager) chipped all the way up to 50k in chips, when the chip average was about 15k. It would be safe to say he was chip-leader at this point. Play resumes, and before you know it, Brian loses a few good-sized pots seeing his stack dwindle down to around 20k. No big deal, right? That’s poker.

Fast-forward: 9 players made the final table with a chip average of about 50k. Having hung around long enough to make it, Brian drew seat 3 (BB) with 14k in chips. Blinds are 3,000/6,000 at this point, and everyone is essentially in push-mode. Given how volatile this game can be, and how demanding this structure is at the end, sometimes you can just fold your way into the money.

It would be correct to say that Brian was going against his belief in the “M” strategy (which I also highly believe in), but I’m not writing this to spite his going against this strategy, or to say that he is a luck-box (Brian is an exceptional player with a knowledgeable outlook on the game). What you are about to read is one of the most unlikely sequences I have ever witnessed.

*First hand in the BB: 3s4s
- A raise, a call, a re-raise, and Brian reluctantly folds.
- One player is knocked out.
- Board wouldn’t have helped, down to 8k in chips. Still in.

*Second hand in the SB: 6-2off
- More raising, calling, pushing, and Brian folds again.
- Another player is knocked out.
- Board once again wouldn’t have helped, down to 5k in chips. Still in.

*Brian folds around until his next BB
- Another player is knocked out during this orbit.
- Down to 6 players – money bubble.
- KEY POINT: Brian asks for a “pay the bubble” and is denied.

(Insane sequence of four hands – chip average is 75k)

*Brian holds Kd7d, and is all-in with 5k in the BB (which is actually 6k)
- UTG raises with Qd5d (not sure why) to isolate. Folds around.
- Brian’s hand holds up, and he now has 13k in chips.
- OK. I’ve seen this before. Then this happens…

*Brian holds AsAc in the SB (3k)
- EP limps, folds around and Brian goes all-in for 13k total.
- BB (who just doubled him up) calls with K-8off. EP folds.
- Brian flips his aces over, and the BB moans “seriously?”
- Aces hold, and Brian now has 32k in chips. Good timing, right?

*Brian holds Q-Q on the button
- EP limps, Hi-Jack raises it up to 20k with 10-10.
- Brian goes all-in for 32k total, folds around to Hi-Jack.
- He calls. Brian flips over his queens.
- We now have a crowd of about 20 people watching.
- Everyone is in shock, the queens hold, and Brian now has over 70k! Wow!

*Brian holds K-K in the cutoff
- MP limps, Hi-Jack raises it up to 20k.
- Brian pauses, then goes all-in for 70k+. Folds around to original raiser.
- Raiser says, “Man, you really have a monster again?”
- He eventually folds, saying he had J-J. Everyone is waiting…
- Brian flips over his kings, and everyone lets out a sigh of “WTF?”
- Brian now has 105k in chips, and is by-far the chip leader.
- KEY POINT #2: All players now agree to pay the bubble!

*The next hand, Brian holds 10-7off
- Folds around to him, and he folds, much to the chagrin of the crowd.
- In the four consecutive hands before this one, Brian has increased his stack from 5,000 in chips to 105,000 in chips – a whopping 2100%! Remarkable.

Talk about the old saying “a chip and a chair” actually coming true.

Brian rallied all the way to the end, knocking out players and facing a tough opponent heads-up, eventually settling for second place. When considering the dramatic turn of events that occurred, second place is not too shabby at all. Way to go, Brian!”