Getting struck by lightning...

hurts even more than I thought it would. I played in the $1500 pot limit omaha event today and experienced a true roller coaster unlike anything I've ever been through before.

My first table to start off the day saw me sitting directly to the left of David "Devilfish" Ulliot and WSOP main event winner Tom McEvoy. I lost a decent sized pot early but was able to come back strong with a couple of fortuitous flops. About 5 hours into play I had an average stack and got hit by my first lightning bolt. I turned the nut straight in a 2-way pot and bet big and to my delight was called. An appearingly harmless card fell on the river and my opponent who was first to act bet the pot which frightened me because there was a pair on board so I just called and surprise surprise my opponent made a full house on the river. Going to the river of that hand my opponent had 3 cards in the deck that would've given him the best hand and unfortunately for me, one fell.

After losing that pot I was pretty shortstacked and decided I needed to get aggressive and chip up before my stack became futile. I raised and/or reraised 9 out of the next 11 hands and was able to bully my way back to a respectable chip stack. Now 8 hours into the tournament and we are down to under 100 players (545 started, top 54 get paid) and I have an above average stack. Now for the key hand of the day, I am in the small blind and 2 people limp before the button raises pot (which was just about all in for him). I look down to see AcQcQs7s and I reraise pot forcing everyone in the hand to go all in to make the call. One of the limpers who was pretty short called all in and so did the button. Limper has AKxx and button has J10s10h7. Flop comes 9 high with 2 clubs giving me the nut flush draw, turn is blank. At this point the only cards that can beat me are a K (which would allow limper to win but I would still profit from the pot b/c of the chips I would be winning from button) or the 10 of diamonds which would give the button a set, the other 10 in the deck would give me the flush. The river is the lightning bolt that I will never forget, the 10 of diamonds. This hand cripples me and I bust a few hands later in 74th place.

If I had won that hand I would've been in the top 10, basically guaranteed a payout, and poised to make a serious run at making the final table. The defeat was really crushing because of the way I went out and the timing (although not my goal, making the money in my first ever WSOP event would've felt great). Obviously there are positives to take from this experience but right now it feels like shit. One sidenote Devilfish is a really fun guy to play with and just a great guy, after our first table got busted up he kept on checking on me to see how I was doing and it was sincerely appreciated.

I'm undecided as of right now if I will play in the $15oo no-limit holdem event tommorrow. Other notable pros I sat with today include John Juanda, Mickey Appleman, Ralph Perry, Eskimo Clark, David Plastik, James Van Alstyne, and Steve Zolotow.