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August 7, 2006
Post Game Wrapup
I'm back home and glad to be here. I woke up Sunday morning, wasted an hour dealing with the buffoons who run the Rio's front desk for the third time in five days (they make the people in charge of the poker room look competent, and that's not easy to do), and then called Continental and asked them to get me on the next flight available. I had just enough time to visit In 'N Out Burger and get to the airport before my 4 pm departure.
I was pretty bummed that I didn't finish higher in the World Series and just wanted to get as far away from it as possible. Everyone has been calling/emailing to congratulate me, and I don't feel as if I've done anything congratulatable (that's not a word but should be). I know people who don't play a lot can't understand the agony of defeat and mean well. I remember I once read this poker book where, in the beginning, the author was all ecstatic because he outlasted about half of the field in that tournament. I promptly put the book down and never touched it again because I realized that I just couldn't relate to anyone who thinks that anything short of a huge payday is a success.
On the whole though I'm glad for the experience. I played well for the 30+ hours I lasted. I had a good run for two days in a tournament where you need a good run for nine. I played my best game the whole way through, better than all but a relative handful are even capable of, made few plays I think were mistakes, and in the end just couldn't catch a break. That's tournament poker I guess.
I also had a lot of fun. It's always easy to enjoy a few days in Vegas, but it's even easier when you know you just finished a day of the biggest tournament in the history of poker with a tremendous stack. With the exception of my last 24 hours this was my most enjoyable yet of many wonderful Vegas trips.
And, as Bill Chen told me when I talked to him after the break on day 3 when I had about 60k in chips and had just hit the money, if I knew before the tournament started that I was going to make it that far with 30 big blinds I would have bought in. Hell, I would have paid $30,000 for that and it would have been a bargain.
And I did make some money on the WSOP overall. Not much, but some. It's better than none, eh?
Posted by themaroon at August 7, 2006 3:06 PM
Comments
Couldn't agree more with the entire post. It's hard for most who aren't serious in poker to understand why I'd be bummed with cashing for 30k, but in all honesty I probably won't have a better chance for a huge payday in the next 10 years.
Posted by: andy at August 7, 2006 7:09 PM
I think much of the disconnect comes from the fact that 30k seems like a lot more to average Joe than it does to someone who has won and lost that much in a week on multiple occasions.
Posted by: Matthew Maroon at August 8, 2006 3:07 AM
Nice finish, Matt. You must be very pleased.
JK!
Actually, it must be a bitch to do so well just to hit a bad run. But, even for a player as skilled as you, making the final table is a hell of a long shot. Good luck in the future.
Posted by: seed at August 8, 2006 10:32 AM