APL update

Well, in my post at the end of 2008 I said that I would be going back to the APL State Finals next quarter but I have fallen just short of achieving that.

I didn't play that many games again this quarter, instead choosing to play more online. The two APL venues I played were Hotel Broadway on Monday night and my usual Shafston Hotel on Thursday night.

I started well at Broadway with a 2nd place finish in the 2nd week of the venue. After that, I made top 16 a couple of times but couldn't get back to the final table and score the big points. In the final month of the quarter I stopped playing when I was no longer in contention.

Shafston I got off to a slow start struggling to put any good performances on the board against the English language students and players who had a few too many drinks. Shafston is such a tough field because of the larger numbers and "colourful" characters that play the game. In the 3rd and 4th weeks I finish top 16, just off the final table the 4th week being an agonising bubble. I then found a bit of form (and of course luck) making two final tables in a row finishing 6th and 4th. This put me back in contention for the venue, needing to finish top 3 to make it to States. I had two poor results in the following weeks and a final table 5th in the last game of the quarter wasn't enough to get it done.

I finished in 6th place for the quarter at the Shafston, basically one win out of 3rd place. So close! Congratulations to my friends Jasmine and Ellen who came first and second respectively. Ellen, sorry for knocking you out of contention in the last game. :-)

The Top 10 Big Event Bad Beats

I dropped by PokerNews this morning to see what was happening and came across the following article that I thought was worth sharing. We've all had our fair share of bad beats, but here are the most historic. Click on the title below to read the full story.

The PokerNews Top 10: The Top 10 Big Event Bad Beats | PokerNews.com

Everyone has a bad beat story. Let's face it, everyone has a hundred. These bad beats, though, are the worst of the worst, the most bone-rattling, soul-crushing, and even history-changing beats ever dealt in the game of poker. Out of all the stories out there, these ten stand out in terms of severity, significance, and consequences. Take a look at our Top 10 Bad Beats.

10. Aaron Kanter vs. Greg Raymer, 2005 WSOP Main Event

With only 25 players remaining, Greg Raymer was trying to do the unthinkable—win back to back, massive-field WSOP Main Events — before being dealt a beat so crushing it might have made a lesser man leave the game forever. Dealt , Raymer made a standard opening raise and was called by Aaron Kanter, who held . The flop came down 6-5-3 rainbow and Raymer made a half-pot continuation bet. Kanter called. The on the turn put two hearts on the board and Raymer bet 330,000—again, about half the pot. Kanter raised to 900,000 and Raymer set him in for the 700,000 he had behind. Kanter called with only the flush draw but caught lightning in a bottle when the hit the river. Raymer's stack was decimated and Kanter doubled up. Had Raymer won that hand, he would have taken the chip lead. Instead, he was eliminated a short time later in 25th place.

9. John D'Agostino vs. Hoyt Corkins, 2004 U.S. Poker Championships

Both Hoyt Corkins and John D'Agostino were sitting on healthy stacks of 616,000 and 615,000, respectively, with six players remaining in the $10,000 Main Event of the U.S. Poker Championships. Though D'Agostino had arrived at the final table with an overwhelming chip lead, he had already suffered a few beats to more than halve his stack. With the action folded around to Corkins in the small blind, he made a bit of a wild move, moving in for his entire stack with . D'Agostino found two black tens in the big blind and called almost immediately, giving a little fist-pump when he saw Corkins' cards.

The flop, however, came down a disastrous (for D'Agostino) , making Corkins trips.

"I don't know how John D'Agostino didn't just kick the table over — that is stunning!" said ESPN's Norman Chad on the TV commentary.

To add even more insult to injury, the hit the turn, making Corkins quads and leaving D'Agostino drawing stone dead. It took a few tries to get the correct count on Corkins' and D'Agostino's stacks and when all was said and done, D'Agostino was left with a single, red 1,000-denomination chip. So utterly punch-drunk not only by that beat but the series of beats that had taken him from top of the pack to all but out, D'Agostino let out his frustration by shoving his chips toward Corkins, knocking most of the stacks down in the process. Hey, a man can only take so much.

LAPT Punta del Este

Its been AGES since my last blog, I know but I'll try and make up for that over this weekend.

In the meantime, congratulations to Assassinato (AKA Alex Fitzgerald, pictured below) for cashing in the LAPT event in Punta del Este. I'm a fan of Alex from his blog and have followed his progress for a little while now. He's struggled to do well in live events and I'm sure he'll be disappointed to not have gone further but it was a solid showing nonetheless in a field of 327. Hopefully this performance will give him the confidence to even better in his upcoming live tournaments.

Click on the title below to see a quick interview with Alex (before he busted) and read about the rest of the LAPT event.

LAPT Punta del Este: Level 15 live updates - PokerStars Poker Blog

Last update 5:01pm

5:01pm--Alex Fitzgerald and Edson Esquio eliminated back to back ($7,220)

Lisandro Gallo may get us to a final table before dinner. He knocked out both Alex Fitzgerald and Edson Esquio back to back in the lat hands before the break.

Alex Fitzgerald was short and in need of a double-up. Folded to him in the cut-off, he got it in with Jd-8d. Unfortunately for him, Lisandro Gallo woke up with big slick. The board blanked out and Fitzgerald exited in 32nd place.