Nine card nothing: 2005 WSOP Event #12, $2000 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys

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Lionfish and Devilfish

I was looking forward to playing my favorite game, pot-limit Omaha, in today's tournament. They started more than a half-hour late because at the last minute they figured out they couldn't do the rebuys with cash because it would interfere with the Government's right to know the details of all cash transactions so they made us line up and buy chips in advance. There were 212 entrants and I drew table seven, seat six. Seat eight was Roy "The Boy" Brindley; seat two was Chou Giang, sporting a "Doyle's Room" Stetson about nine gallons too big for his head; the rest of the table were thankfully unfamiliar faces, especially considering the table behind me had Daniel Negreanu, Robert Williamson III, and Layne "Back to Back" Flack – a guaranteed wild ride. I bought in for $6000, with a rebuy necessary when I flopped top set against Roy the Boy's Straight, and chipped up to 7500 by the first break after winning several nice pots.

 

Then they broke our happy table and moved me to 129/8, with the very tricky and aggressive David "Devilfish" Ulliott on my left in seat nine. Thor Hansen was in seat six and Jeff Rine in seat seven, both good Omaha players. I didn't play many pots and decided to add on for another $4000 at the end of the rebuy period.

 

Dave "El Blondie" Colclough came into seat one and Mel Judah seat four. I found Ace-Ace-Eight-Four with no suits on the small blind and with a raise and a call from two short stacks I decided to reraise the pot and get it in good, hopefully isolating one of them or taking the pot down right there. The original raiser went all in, as did the other player, but a Spade Flush came and I lost the pot., bringing me down to 7100.

 

Huck Seed came into seat five and when Thor busted, Andrew Miller took his spot, so the table wasn't getting any easier. I picked up Ace-Ace with a suit and reraised Andrew Miller in position. The flop came all Hearts, Ace high, and he check-folded to my top set. Andrew busted later on a bad beat and was replaced by the very aggressive John Kabbaj, to whom I had given far too much respect last time I played him in Tunica. With every pot being raised and not getting many good starting hands or hitting flops when I did, I was down to 6025 at the next break.

 

Pete Moore came into seat four and when Huck busted, Mickey Appleman took seat five. Pete quickly busted and Russ Hamilton took seat four. This was a tough table! I won a small pot and was up to 6400 at the dinner break.

 

I was sick of the Rio buffet so I drove to the Mirage and ate at theirs, washed down by an iced tea.

 

With the blinds up to 200/400, I didn't have much elbow room and I saw a few flops and missed. Down to 1100, I won blinds twice with preflop raises but the third time, under the gun with a suited Ace-Queen, John Kabbaj made an inexplicable call with rags from the small blind and made Jacks and Sixes to bust me. I was out 53^rd.