This is a steam post.....

Full Tilt Poker Game #8216924919: The Fifty-Fifty (61686870), Table 104 - 6000/12000 Ante 1500 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:29:43 ET - 2008/09/25
Seat 1: SHIP_it_toO_ME (146,390)
Seat 2: eb226 (218,027)
Seat 3: Stipe (137,290)
Seat 4: kice32 (148,735)
Seat 5: SAFETY SCHMEET (195,040)
Seat 6: theonewith24 (301,912)
Seat 7: MUMIN (138,022)
Seat 8: eLquA (623,608)
Seat 9: ranji (198,976)
SHIP_it_toO_ME antes 1,500
eb226 antes 1,500
Stipe antes 1,500
kice32 antes 1,500
SAFETY SCHMEET antes 1,500
theonewith24 antes 1,500
MUMIN antes 1,500
eLquA antes 1,500
ranji antes 1,500
Stipe posts the small blind of 6,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 12,000
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kice32 [Td Ac]

ACE 10 for those of you counting at home

SAFETY SCHMEET folds
theonewith24 folds
MUMIN folds
eLquA folds
ranji folds
SHIP_it_toO_ME folds
eb226 raises to 216,527, and is all in
Stipe folds
kice32 calls 135,235, and is all in
eb226 shows [9c 7c]

NINE SEVEN SUITED, IF YOU REVERSE IT 7 9 THAT'S MY BIRTHDAY, HOW CAN I LOSE TO MY OWN BIRTHDAY?

kice32 shows [Td Ac]
Uncalled bet of 69,292 returned to eb226
*** FLOP *** [5d 6s 4h]
*** TURN *** [5d 6s 4h] [3c]

And I was controlling my emotions so well on the night.
*** RIVER *** [5d 6s 4h 3c] [9d]
eb226 shows a straight, Seven high
kice32 shows Ace Ten high
eb226 wins the pot (313,970) with a straight, Seven high
kice32 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 313,970 | Rake 0
Board: [5d 6s 4h 3c 9d]
Seat 1: SHIP_it_toO_ME folded before the Flop
Seat 2: eb226 (button) showed [9c 7c] and won (313,970) with a straight, Seven high
Seat 3: Stipe (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: kice32 (big blind) showed [Td Ac] and lost with Ace Ten high
Seat 5: SAFETY SCHMEET folded before the Flop
Seat 6: theonewith24 folded before the Flop
Seat 7: MUMIN folded before the Flop
Seat 8: eLquA folded before the Flop
Seat 9: ranji folded before the Flop

This really sums up the last few months in a nutshell. I get deep in some tournaments where I have to be the favorite. I've played twice as many tournaments as any player. I have a higher ROI than any other player. I come in short fighting my way from some great plays. Granted I got lucky at times with KK vs AA, but seriously, I don't want $800. Knock me out 3 hours earlier so I don't have to deal with this garbage every tournament.

On a more serious note, the hardest part about playing poker as a professional and not one that has already achieved the status of the few out there is having to deal with these types of beats. With $10,000 to first place, I essentially salvage the last few months. With the chip stack I win in this 60/40, I can't ever see myself winning less than $4000 (3rd place). So in essence, I took a $3200 beat. Now I know I deal with these numbers all the time, but $3200 still means something to me. In the life of a player sustaining their bankroll on mostly tournaments, cashes like these build confidence. They also give me a chance to extend my bankroll a little more in tournaments coming up like the Bellagio and Caesar's where the six figure cashes are only 200-300 players away as opposed to 3,000-5,000 as online. Now, I know that I have run above expectation in big tournaments earlier in the year. I outright won a big Sunday tournament and a 100 rebuy and another big Saturday tournament. In fact, the amount of times I placed first was probably a little off. I think I should average around 3rd-4th in any given final table. So by the same token, these last place (9th) finishes in tournaments where I outlast over a thousand people suck.


On a good note, at least I'm not the Cleveland Browns.