The Day The Bubble Burst

There are only two positions that tournament poker players hate finishing the most. Being the first person out and finishing on the Bubble.

Being first out isn't that bad, it might mean you can quickly jump in to the next tournament quicker, or beat the line to the bar. It's probably more embarrassing than anything. Especially if you are in a room full of people you know, or more to the point, a room full of people that know you! I know, I've been there and it's something you never live down and people tend not to let you forget.

Then there is the Bubble. This is the place poker players fear the most. Sure it doesn't mean too much if you're in a 9 player SNG, finishing 4th is more annoying than anything, but you get over it pretty quickly. But when you're in tournament with over 400 players and you've been playing for a few days, Bubbling is an agonising experience. Especially if you are playing in a tournament or series with some prestige to it.

If you have played tournament poker for any more than 10 minutes, you know what the Bubble is. If you're playing in a tournament right now, you know exactly where the Bubble is. You may be playing right now and looking to burst the Bubble. But if you're new to tournament poker or have been living with Charlie Sheen for the past few months, you might not know what the Bubble is.

Put simply the Bubble is the last place left in the tournament that does not cash. For example, if the tournament is paying out the top 20 finishers and you just finished in 21st, you are the Bubble. You are the guy that finishes almost exactly the same as the guy that bombs out in 20th, except he has more money for beer and skittles than you do!

If you have played tournament poker for a while, you're probably like me, you've Bubbled a few times (ok I tend to Bubble a lot!) and you kind of take it in your stride. A lot of the time when you Bubble, it's because you have been forced into playing your hand, because the blinds are high, you're short stacked and you have and Ace or some paint in your hand and you figure "it aint gonna get any prettier" or you're all in on a blind. Either way, you now have no control over your own destiny and have probably been called by the big stack with any two cards or someone with enough chips and a pocket pair. These times suck, but do they happen pretty often (or at least to me they seem to!).

There is no doubt Bubbling can and does suck, but put your self in the shoes of the guy who Bubbles the Main Event at the World Series, or the guy who Bubbles the Main Event at the Aussie Millions. The players in this field are playing not only for money, but a title. A title that says, right here, right now, I am the best! To some players, the money is irrelevant and the bracelet or the ring that accompanies it, is what they are truly playing for. It represents one thing, I am the best.

I think it's easy to say that poker is one of the most ego driven sports, or past times in the world. While we all like money, to be able to say you're the best, or better than someone else, just fuels those egos, and we all feed of that. Just another reason the term "shark" is so apt to our game.

I guess the reason I'm telling you all this, is so that I can tell you about my recent experience at the 888 Poker League Grand Final. If you're an 888PL player that was at Crown Casino in Melbourne during the weekend that just passed (11-13th March), then you probably already know part of my story. Or if you were following the Live reporting from Poker Network, you too may already know my story.

In case you if hadn't guessed by now, I Bubbled the Main Event at the 888 Poker League Grand Final. And as I like to do, I did it dramatic fashion, fit for a TV taping.

In a field of similar size to last year's Grand Final, we had around 450 runners, most winning their $500 ticket, via satellite games run in their local 888PL venues and a handful buying directly in. This meant a prize pool of well over $200,000. And a first prize of $56,000, the biggest first place payout in 888PL history and it was all happening in the Las Vegas room, the home of poker in Crown Casino and the home of poker in Australia.

I won't bore you with the details of my game, except to say that I played pretty solid poker for day one and day two, keeping just above the average stack for most of the tournament.

We started day two with around 145 runners, needing to knock over around 100 players to make the all important cash. I knew that I had a decent amount of chips that I wouldn't have to do anything stupid, but I was no where near the leaders.

It seemed like no time at all that we were down to around 60 players and play had tightened up a little bit. Not for me though, I was still out stealing blinds and antes and keeping my head above water.

As we approached 6pm and a break that we were getting close to, we had around 45 runners left, meaning 5 more players would have to go.

After our short break it took no time to lose 3 more players. I looked up at our tournament clock, the clock that gives me all the information that I need. With blinds at 12000/24000 with a 2000 ante, I stare down at my chips and make a rough calculation of about 30k. I am about 4 hands away from the button, I'm going to lose almost 10k in antes before I even make the Big Blind, so I'm hoping for a miracle and still needing two more people to bust before I make the min cash for $1050.

I'm in some trouble.

As I get to this point, as much as I'm trying my best to stay alive, I still have my eye on the prize, I want to be heading to the airport and have the lady at the counter tell me my bag is too heavy, so that I can reply quickly, "I know! It's because I'm carrying THIS!" as I whip out the huge glass trophy that signifies, I have won the Grand Final.

This reality gets just that little bit closer as the player to my immediate right raises, he makes the bet 38k (which now that I look at it was an illegal raise, I wonder if I have a protest here?). I peer down at my cards and squeeze a King followed rapidly by another King. Well it aint gonna get much prettier! So I ship all of my chips to the middle, everyone folds around to the initial raiser and he asks for a count. The dealer reveals to my delight, that my guess of 30k was wrong, it is in fact 41k, I'm gonna be rich! He makes the easy call for a further 3k even though I inform him, he has "fold equity"!

He rolls over AQ of diamonds. Now I know I'm the favourite here, but what I didn't know at the time was; I'm a 71.5% favourite to win this hand right here. What I also don't realise is, that while the clock says there are 42 players left, there are in fact 41 players left, we are on the Bubble, information that would have made no difference to the way I played this hand.

All attention is drawn to the table as my friend and National Operations Manager of the 888 Poker League, Garth Kay comes over to call the action.

He announces the very raggy board, it's an all low rainbow flop that helps nobody but me. With that flop my chances increase an 87.3% chance to win. While I'm happy with the flop, I am by no means comfortable with this as it all seems to be going rather slowly.

The dealer burns, then peels off the turn, another mid raggy card bricking my opponent. Meaning I am now 93.2% to win this hand. This win means, with his chips and the blinds and antes, I'm back over 110k and have some breathing space.

Garth is about to announce the river card, but away from the mic he says, "this is going to be a dirty river!" and with that the dealer lays down an Ace. He just turned it over and placed next to the turn, but that's not how I saw it. What I saw was very different and in slow motion. He tossed the card into the air and it bounced slowly on the table a couple of times with a deafening BOOM! BOOM! each time it hit the table. Very Hollywood, very dramatic. The table rumbled with each hit, before it came to a rest.

Sure, that's how I saw it, and that's how I hope they film it in the movie of my life. All I know is, as soon as I saw that Ace, my heart sunk. Immediately the winner of the pot, looked up at me with regret, he apologised. I told him not to be silly, he did the right thing and that my friends is called poker. I got my money in good and the rest was up to the poker Gods.

For the record, at that table that morning, we had 15 races, all short stacks, all behind, all won. Not one person in front before the flop won the hand, I should have been due! When you also think about it, anyone of these players could have been eliminated and this story might have been about me showing the trophy to the lady at the airport!

While I felt sick and headed straight for the bar, the thing that helped me was knowing, neither myself, or the eventual winner of the pot did anything wrong. Sure it was a tough beat, but by no means a bad beat, and I would make the same play every day of the week. So there is no moral to this story, there is no donkey player to berate, there is no bad beat to go on and on about. Just a story of a simple bloke with his eye on the prize, falling agonisingly short.

But I will end this with a little message my fiancé sent me on the morning of day 2, it simply read, "Don't Bubble!" Next time I hope she just says GOOD LUCK!