Starting with 4,500 chips, not much happened during the first 2 hours of play. Entering the first 20 minute break, I had nearly the exact same number of chips that I started with. I scooped a couple small pots, but those were offset by a few losses in some other pots.
At 3:40pm (we started at noon), I was dealt pocket Q's. I proceeded to double-up to nearly 9,000 chips when another player went "all in" on a flush draw. Thankfully, my pocket Q's held up and things were suddenly looking pretty good.
The very next hand, I was delighted to find pocket Q's in my hand once again. The first player (he played very loose) immediately raised the big blind (200 chips) to 675 chips. The fourth player to act, I made the call and the biggest stack at the table (two to my left) also called. Three of us saw the flop.
It came 9-10-10. The first player immediately declared that he was "all in." I didn't believe him for an instant, so I raised "all in" myself. Unfortunately, the last player in the pot excitedly confirmed that we were both "all in" and declared that he was calling. Uh, oh!
Player #1 flipped over pocket 3's. I wasn't surprised to learn that I had him crushed. Unfortunately, my pocket Q's shrank when Player #3 flipped over 9-10. He had flopped the nut full house. Argh!
To my chagrin, I was suddenly chasing the last two Queens in the deck. Neither of them appeared on the turn or river and I was out of the tournament - just like that. Ooops!
So, just like that, I was down $1,500 for the trip. Thankfully, I found success in other games throughout the Las Vegas Strip during the weekend, and I came back to Milwaukee only down about $700. The cash poker games, in particular, were pretty kind to me.
I was able to find a photo of me playing in the WSOP. Here it is:
