To read Part I, please click here
To read Part II, please click here
A few more players dropped out and Paul King (left) joins our table, Paul doesn’t play too many hands but when he does he normally has the goods. The first pot I saw him play was against John Hewston, Paul raised on the button and John flat-called on the big blind. Flop came rags, John checked and Paul put in a healthy pot-sized bet, which John called. The Turn was another rag and John check-called another big bet from Paul. The River brought another rag and Paul went all-in. John dwells up for a while but eventually calls, showing 4-4. Paul showed Pocket Kings leading to John losing about half his stack.
Nothing too spectacular happened in the next couple of hours apart from John doubling up another player called Brian Medley, twice. The next hand I get involved with is against Brian who is now one of the chip leaders with about 80k. I have about 40k and make a raise under the gun to 6k - the blinds are 1/2k at this point.
Brian makes up the big blind and we see a Queen high flop. Brian now bets out 10k into a 13k pot, but I make a bad read here because I re-raise and move all-in for another 34k. Brian quickly calls and turns over K-Q, bad news as I don’t have the Kings as outs that I thought I would have. Luckily for me an Ace hits on the River and I double up getting fortunate for the first time in two days of play.
I am now amongst the chip leaders again and decide that its time to push on so that I'm in good shape for the final table, I want to win this thing not just scrape into the money. The next hand I play is when John Hewston raises under the gun and I wake up with K-K in the big blind. I call and John turns over J-8. My Kings hold up and we lose another player. I like John Hewston but I am not sad to see him go as he is a very good player.
Soon we are down to two tables of four and, as it's a 7-handed final, it's bubble time. I start making a lot of small preflop raises as everyone locks up trying to make the final and, sure enough, I don’t get played back at. As the tournament director calls 'Final Table', I have managed to build up to a commanding chip lead of 149,500 chips.
After a short break, we take our seats at the final table made up of my friend and mentor Micky Wernick, Brian Medley, a couple of young aggressive players, a local rock and Paul King. Rather than sit back and wait for players to knock themselves out I decide to stay aggressive in position and continue to build my stack to over 200,000, partly thanks to eliminating the first of the young aggressive players, Lee Edwards, who moved all in on my big blind for about 30k. I looked down and found 8-8, which held up against his K-Ts.
I can tell that some of the remaining players are getting frustrated at my constant small raises and sense that the better players will play back at me soon. With the blinds at 2/4k, I make another raise with A-To. It's passed around to Brian Medley who moves all-in from the big blind, he has about 80k in total and I pass my hand face up to try and get a little more respect for my raises.
During the next two hours we lose another couple of players including Micky Wernick, who I managed to river a flush against whilst in the big blind, phew, another great player gone. We’re four handed and I have a monstrous 300k, about half the chips in play.
A couple of the players left are constantly going on about a deal and, after losing a couple of 50-50 races, I'm back down to about 200k. As chip leader I decide to chop some of the money, telling the others that the only deal on offer is to leave £4k to play for with me taking £20k. This would then leave them with £48k to split as they wished.
They agreed to take £16k each, and we play on. My thinking behind the deal was that I had guaranteed myself more than the £19k second place prize but not been too greedy, leaving the trophy and 4k still to play for. I also felt that I still had the beating of the others as I was playing some of my best poker for a long time.
Shortly after making the deal Paul King and one of the local guys appear to be changing gears, and it's not long before I re-raise Paul King all-in after he raised my big blind - Paul calls with 5-5, I show A-J and spike an Ace on the Flop.
Three handed now and I am still chip leader with 350k, the other 2 remaining local guys have 160k and 140k. Soon after Paul’s exit, Olabode 'buddy' Ayegun (the younger of the two locals), got taken out by his friend Brian Medley (right) and we are heads up.
I have a chip lead of about 3/2 and am confident that I can use this to my advantage as Brian seems to be playing pretty straight forward poker, betting when he hits and folding when he misses.
Just as I am preparing for a long heads up session, we both enter a non-dangerous looking hand. With a rainbow flop of 9-5-3, I have 9-2o and check my top pair. With the blinds now at 10/20k, Brian bets 40k into a 30k pot. So, to see where I was at in the hand, I minimum-raise to 80k.
I really don’t like my kicker here and hope Brian can lay his hand down. When he then re-raises all-in I am put to the test. I dwell up big time here because I really think that I may be behind to a better kicker. As I am counting up my chips I notice that Brian really didn’t look too comfortable at the thought of me calling him, this tell was what finally made me call and Brian turned over 5-2o. I had made a great read and all the chips were in the middle with me being about a 9/1 favourite to win. A harmless Turn and a River secured my biggest win to date.
Since January I have felt that my first major win was only a heartbeat away - myself and my travelling poker buddy, Paul Barker, had spoken about this many times during the last few months. It may be difficult for some to understand that extreme happiness was not my first emotion after taking this victory, but the one and only overwhelming emotion that came over me was one of relief. When you put as much pressure on yourself to reach the highest standards as I do it was like all that tension had released.
After the photo’s and TV interview, the presentation was made, so probably 20 minutes had passed before I got chance to celebrate with my wife. That’s when the happiness and real emotions kicked in and we held each other whilst both sharing a little cry.
Many thanks to everyone at Bolton Grosvenor, Blue square and everyone on blonde for your good wishes.
Steve ' Card Shark' Read