Refreshed by a short break, I came back weighing up the respective stacks and ready to make the necessary adjustments to the ever increasing blinds.

After a few hands that saw things even up as Sam lost chips to Marty Smyth, I soon faced another tricky decision, this time against the notoriously solid Marty and Ian Frazer again:

With blinds at 5k/10k Marty open raised to 24k from 3rd position and Ian came along from the SB leaving me to peer down from the BB at a juicy TT.

Marty had started the hand with around 400k, Ian with 300k and I had a stack of 215k which ironically was just a bit too much to follow my first instinct of squeeze shoving.

I figured that amount would only get called by JJ,QQ,KK,AA or AK and since both Marty and Ian hadn’t really played their hands like AK, it would be more likely to be one of the former.

What did heavily influence my decision in this hand, was Marty opening from earlyish position the very next hand after showing down a failed bluff attempt to Neil Channing with 6 4! I just felt from everything I’d watched of him in the past, he wasn’t the sort of player to now open from earlyish position again without some kind of a hand.

Another factor starting to influence my thoughts was that Ian Frazer had been very active with the 3bet, but had now chosen to flat call from the SB knowing he would be out of position in the hand at a time when, like me, he would surely prefer to get busy. Could he be inducing a squeeze with a big hand too?

The conclusion to my thoughts was that my stack could afford to set mine this hand as it was only 14k more to me in the BB, but it couldn’t afford a squeeze play, to say 80k, with a subsequent fold if Ian, or more likely Marty, came back over the top. So a call it was.

When the flop came down Kc 8c 7c and Ian checked to me, I considered firing but felt that flop was too likely to have hit Marty or Ian in a way that wouldn’t see a fold from both of them.

I checked and Marty didn’t waste any time in firing the continuation bet of 44k into 72k. Ian deliberated and then folded and I imagine he was thinking the same as me, which was Marty would rarely have nothing here and would obviously want to charge the many draws on that flop with the big hand he had represented.
So a heavy hearted fold it was, but I felt it was the right thing to do given the information provided and I was still left with a stack big enough to 3bet shove with fold equity in the following hands.

Interestingly, a few beers with Marty later that night, led to the revelation that he actually had A10, which obviously was annoying, but when I then found out Ian Frazer had held JJ I smiled to myself that actually I’d performed the great escape preflop!!

After later hearing Marty’s thought process in this hand, I also got confirmation I had been up against some of the truly great poker players in this heat and Marty had secured, with this great deception, his place in my most respected players category! He had fooled me good and proper!

A few hands later and the chips I had lost made for a far easier decision when Peter Jetten open raised to 22k from the cut off into my BB.

This late position raise was not for the first time and with the knowledge that my now short stack of 170k would have enough fold equity against his 280k I peered down with the intention of shoving with a particularly wide range.

That decision was made vastly easier as JJ stared back up at me!

Given the amount that was already in the pot and the chance of overcards hitting the flop, the slowplay was never really an option, so in they went with the hope he had a mid pair or AJ that he might light call with.
After a dwell he folded which I later found out was KJ, so a loose call there would’ve been lovely, but it was fine with the blinds so big and no risk incurred.

Another round of junk followed that injection to my stack, so using my tight image I attempted to nick the hefty blinds at my next open raise opportunity with K10 only to run into Sam again 3betting me in position with his newly doubled stack, acquired while knocking out Neil Channing in last place with AJ v A8. That was an easy fold despite his wide range here.

Back down under 200k now, I picked up my least favourite hand again, AQ this time UTG. This was no time for prejudice though and I decided I would raise with the intention of getting it allin should someone re-pop me. I raised to 24k and just got the one call from the BB, Ian again!

The flop at last fell a friendly Q 9 7 and he swiftly checked to me. I felt the stacks were good for me to continuation value bet here as he would just about have fold equity to shove, so I nervously picked up 32k to bet into the 53k. As I went to pick the chips, I clumsily dropped one of them though and I instantly became aware a tell might have formed from this.

So after placing the bet, I looked over to Ian and said ‘You obviously know i’ve got a big hand now, after stumbling on my chips!’.

This double bluff seemed to immediately get the desired response as he tanked with a definite intention of backing his read that I was bluffing, by shoving on me.

As the clock ticked and I continued to stare forward into space as if I was praying he would fold, he muttered how that speech play had nearly persuaded him to shove, but he would take the conservative route and he folded…..Grrrrrrr!

The action was now thick and fast as the structure was now in crapshoot mode at blinds of 7k/15k, which did surprise me given the deeper starting stacks. It was no surprise though when a flurry of activity saw Dan Fleysman fall next in 7th again with AJ against the the relentless Sam Tricketts AK and that was followed by a double up for Peter Jetten severely denting Marty Smyth to 115k.

James Akenhead then doubled through chip leader Sam with A10 v AK, flopping KQJ! and I couldn’t help thinking, if only I was as golden as James, because I knew there was a chance I would now have to also get it in and come from behind, something I have unfortunately failed to do throughout the last couple of years.

Before that moment would arrive, I got in a SB v BB confrontation with Sam when I called the extra 8k to 15k with 9 7 and a stack of around 180k behind.

Again I couldn’t really raise and then fold and the stack was just too big to shove (the same going for his subsequent action from the BB most probably) so a favoured limp got the desired check back, but a pretty undesirable J 5 2.

I checked and he checked behind suggesting he was weak too. When the turn brought a 6 and a gutshot straight draw for me, I felt a bet here had a good chance of taking down a much needed pot for me and so I fired 18k into the 30k pot. He called leaving me praying for the 8, but instead receiving a King on the river for my troubles.

On weighing up my stack of around 160k behind I realised at that moment, if I surrendered this pot, my 3bet shove fold equity wasn’t going to there following this hand anyway, so I might as well take the stab at this pot as I would be open shoving pretty soon whether it was with 160k OR 115k.

So despite Sam’s perplexity to call light as he had done all day, I fired what I hoped would be a convincing 45k into the 66k pot representing a 2 pair combo or meekly played Jack or King.

Yet again Sam agonised for an age and I decided a confident speech play by an unknown player would surely convince him I had him beat. ‘Its cheap to your stack’ I declared in the hope he was awake to this show of strength, but yet again he disappointed me and begrudgingly put his chips over the line for another loose call.
As I insta folded, I was distracted by Ian Frazer’s ironic shout of ‘I knew you had nothing in that previous hand’ and so I only caught a quick glimpse of Sam’s winning hand, but it looked like a bare 5 annoyingly!
If only Ian had followed what he now thought was a confirmed good instinct in that AQ hand!

So, down to 115k with blinds at 7k/15k and an average of 400k and one move was left and that was to get my chips in at the first unopened pot opportunity and hope for the best.

It wasn’t long before that opportunity arose and the J10 was plenty big enough, especially as it plays well against the big hands I would have a good chance of getting called by.

It was wholly appropriate that the player that had taken the rest of my chips, my nemesis Sam Trickett, would be the one to finish me off, as he once again called light with A7 and faded any sweat hitting the Ace on the flop and sending me to the rail in 6th place.

The dream was over, but as I shook the hands of these great remaining players I departed with no regrets and took solace in the fact my executioner extraordinaire would probably go on to win the heat and maybe even the trophy! (He did go on to win both the heat and the final, taking home the trophy and $200k!)

I returned home obviously gutted I hadn’t realised my dream, but consoled by the knowledge I hadn’t done much wrong, it just wasn’t my time.

A few days later I met Fred to update him on the last two manic weeks and he was duly encouraged by everything I had put in to it and the Summer Series title and trophy I had won.

He agreed to extend the sponsorship to a couple more GUKPT events in Brighton and Blackpool, which was great news, as I still feel there’s a life changing win in me yet!
Backed by Fred, the dream is still on……