Like the title said this is a very old tournament report. If not interested, then Skip!

1. Preface
===============
I've been an online player for about 3 years now. My biggest
tournaments I usually play in are 150 dollars. I played in casinos rarely
and just ring games. Winning entry into a 10K event is quite a leap for me.
I have no illusions about my chances. I know that I am missing LIVE
tournament experience.

But this trip gets me to be on the other side of the looking glass. I have
watched all the tournaments that have been on TV in the last few years and
to just be able to meet some of these players and have a chance to play at
the same table would be fabulous. The only time I can remember meeting a TV
star was when I was 5 and saw Ray Rainer in a restaurant. And these poker
players are TV stars to me...

2. Flight out (November 12)
==============================
My Wife (Martha) and I fly out of O'Hare on the 9pm flight. We took
a late flight so the Mother-in-Law won't have to baby-sit as long with are
two kids. The flight is uneventful until we see the SNOW on landing. I guess
Hartford has got over two inches of snow and its still coming down. We get
to drive across Connecticut in a Blizzard!! After much stress we make it to
our Hotel around 3am. I'm think to myself; "Yep, I guess these means I'm
going to be playing today for sure!"

3. Day 1 (Saturday, November 13)
====================================
Got to casino around 10:10 to check in. I find out I'm playing on
Sunday! Woo Hoo! Later that evening I have found out I have beaten out ~230
people just by the flip of a coin. Can't come in dead last now!
As I'm turning around from the registration desk, right behind me 5
feet away is TJ Cloutier! I start pointing and telling Martha what I see.
She tells me to calm down. "Didn't you say you expected to see these guys at
this tournament?" I nod in agreement but the reality of it makes it too
exciting for me. So we leave to go back to the car and figure out what to do
with the rest of the day. As we are leaving, Phil Helmuth passes us by. I
start to freak out again! My wife and I decide its OK for me to be this way
and we head downstairs to the ballroom where the event will start in about
an hour so I can continue to gawk at some of the pros getting ready to play
today.

So I proceed to see/identify Humberto Brenes, Doyle Bruson, Shawn
Rice, TJ and Phil again and Amarillo Slim. I get up the guts to go shake
hands with Doyle Brunson and TJ. Later Tomorrow I will continue this idol
worship. Please excuse me if this bothers you, but this makes this trip
worth it to me.

When the tourney started, my wife and I went sightseeing in the town
of Mystic and then went out for a dinner and movie. The Big day will soon
arrive!

(OK here is where I start to talk about poker; I might not have all the
hands exactly as they were, but it is as close as I can remember and the
ones that stand out in my memory)

4. Day 2 (Level 1 - Blinds 25/50)
====================================
I take my seat about 15 minutes early and so far have had no more
"famous people" sightings. Maybe I'm playing in the online player half of
the tourney. The players start to fill in and play begins. Hmmm.. Seat 1 and
Seat 9 both look very familiar. The sign in sheet is still out. I
surreptitiously look at it and confirm my suspicions. Seat 1 is Mike Laing
and Seat 9 is Joe Awada (with his bracelet right there on his wrist). Most
people would be thinking "Seat Change Please!" but this is what I want. LIVE
THE DREAM! Side note: I was also debating whether I wanted to wear
sunglasses while I played. Once I saw Joe right across from me, those
sunglasses flew to my face.

So the lineup looks like:
Seat 1: Mike Laing (ML)
Seat 2: See every flop guy (SEFG)
Seat 3 and 4: Young Sunglasses TAGS (YS1 and YS2)
Seat 5: Paul - Local Guy (Weak Tite)
Seat 6: Me
Seat 7: Troy - Young Aggressive with cool shirt "May the flop be with
you".
Seat 8: Unlucky Guy (UG)
Seat 9: Joe Awada (JA)

Notable hands:

In the first 15 minutes: I get AA in SB. There are 5 callers. I raise to
600. I do not want to go out this early! I want everyone out! And out they
go.

UTG + 1 I Limp with AsQs. There is a raise by UG and then a reraise by SEFG.
I judiciously fold as it gets reraised by UG. UG wins it showing QQ and I am
glad I was not caught in the middle.

A9o 1 off the button. Steal raise to take the blinds. Yes that's right! I
just stole Joe Awada's big blind. I'm the man!

I'm in the small blind and SEFG calls and I complete with A3o. Mike Laing
later commented that SEFG saw the first 24 out of 25 hands of the
tournament. He is already down to less that 5K but I don't like his limp
here. (I think he is looking for action). The Flop comes Ah3sxh. I check and
Troy checks and SEFG checks. The turn is heart. Dang! It's checked all
around again. The river comes another heart! And I don't have any. SEFG
mini-bets and is called by Troy who wins it with the 6 or hearts. I played
that hand very badly.

10 minutes left in the first round and I get JJ in middle late position.
It's folded around to me and I raise to 150. Joe calls on the button and
SEFG who is in the BB pushes all in! Its only ~2200 to me. I think for a bit
and immediately know I don't what Joe in this hand. I reraise to 4400. This
is a large chunk of my stack. I pray Joe folds! He does and SEFG turns over
Ako. It's a coin flip. The cards are all under 10 and I win and bust my
first player out! WHOO-HOO. After the hand Joes says, "If you just call, I
go all in". He says he had 77 and if I would have let him in he would have
filled an inside straight! Whew...

Ended the level and 11.6K

5 Level 2 - Blinds 50/100
=======================
We get a ten minute break between rounds. I head off to the bathroom. I seem
to be suffering from "dry mouth syndrome" and have been drinking water
constantly for the last hour. The bathroom is right next to the banquet hall
and there is a line out the door! Reminds me of a cubs game. I guess
everyone else seems to be suffering from the same affliction that I do. OK,
back to the game.

SEFG has been replaced by New York Guy (NYG). I don't know if its the seat
or what, but this guy is almost as loose as SEFG but seems to be racking up
the chips pretty nicely.

I have 47o in the BB. 4 callers and Paul completes (SB). I think this is a
great time to get some chips and raise to 600. Folded around to Paul
reraises to 2000. Uh oh! I can't think of one reason he would slowplay a
hand in that position with 4 callers unless he already knew I was going to
raise. I let it go of course. During the course of the tournament I was
rather lucky/unlucky that most of SB/BB hand were junk and did not require
much a decision on how to play them.

I on the button with 56d and it is folded around to me and I just call. SB
folds and Joe checks. Flop comes 7c6s2d. Joe bets out for 600. He hit a
piece of this flop. Without much thought, I reraise to 1800. Joe folds.
Yeah! I just reraised Joe Awada. I'm the man!

I have 9h9d in the SB. Joe raises to 400 and NYG, Me and Troy call. Flop
comes 9c10h5c. This is one of those nice flops but scary with the flush and
straight draw out there. I bet out the pot immediately and everyone folds.
Nice pot that I don't mine just taking right there. For some reason I even
show my trips to let everyone know I'm not bluffing from that position.
(Like I did earlier in the BB).

End of the level I get JJ UTG + 2. Hey I could get use to this at the end of
each level. I Just call and there are 4 callers. Flop comes J and two rags.
I check and it gets checked around. (I hate when I can't get any takers).
The turn is another rag. I bet half the pot and everyone folds. No
takers....

Ended the level at 14.7K


6 Level 3 - Blinds 100/20
======================
During the break, I wander out of the banquet hall and see Annie Duke
signing autographs. This is Great! My friend Jim from work knows nothing
about poker but saw Annie on Letterman. So I walk up to her and ask her for
the autograph for my him Jim. I realize that Howard Lederer is right next to
her so I feel obligated to get his autograph too. I never know what to do
with autographs. Also was wandering around the buffet table and saw Dan
Harrington pass by. That guy has had an amazing couple of years! I get back
to my table and while waiting for everyone else to return I notice a guy is
laying down on the floor blocking our table. People have to step over him to
get to their seats. I didn't expect to see that! (I think he was having some
kind of back issues...).

Breaks over and I proceed to go card dead. Fold, Fold, Fold and more Folds.
Luckily I have my stack built up a little so I can weather this run of
cards. Troy right next to me has built up his stack pretty well with some
good aggression and the cards hitting him pretty good. He must be around 30K
and UG next to Troy is pretty healthy also. UG guys end is near though. On
off the button UG raises 3x and NYG calls. Flop comes K910. UG makes a pot
sized bet and NYG calls. Turn is a blank and UG raises again. Both end up
all in and UG shows KK and NYG shows JQ. OW! UG is out a few hands later and
replaced by Super Loose Aggressive Guy. (SLAG).

I get AQ utg and just Troy calls. Flop is A105. I bet the 600 and Troy calls
and BB folds. The Turn is an A. I bet 2200 and Troy folds. I should have
slowed down on the turn or tried to checkraise but Troy seemed to know when
to raise or check at the right time.

Ended the Level at ~15K


7 Level 4 blinds 100/200 ante 25
==========================
It's break again and I see Phil Helmuth at his table eating some
lunch/dinner. I decide to say hello and introduce myself since I know his
college roommate. I go over and tell him about this connection. All he says
is "tell him I said hi". OK, so much for that connection. Felt a little cold
shoulder. But hey he's eating in the middle of a tourney, so I can't
complain. Also saw a real movie star. James Woods just passed me on the way
to the bathroom! This tourney is so cool!

Our table breaks up at 4:30 and I move to a new table. Joe Awada is right
next to me and I get to talk with him a little more. He is a really nice
guy. He also manages to double up about twice in the next 10 minutes against
some really loose action. He was shortstacked coming to this table. I didn't
get any hands at this table and was moved shortly after sitting down.

My next table is in the center of the room. Right in front of it is a table
with Phil Helmuth, Scotty Nguwen and Doyle Brunson. I sit down in seat 5 and
look for anyone famous I know. Well lookee here. In seat 4 is Freddy Deeb.
And I recognize the face is seat 7 but I can't think who it is. A few
minutes later during a hand, I ask seat seven; "I recognize you, but I don't
know your name". He says "Hi, I'm Chip!". "Oh. As in Chip Jett?" He nods
yes. Oh great! Now I know what it means to be between a rock and a hard
place.

The lineup is a follows:
Seat1 : Asian Guy (AG) - Swear I saw him on last years WSOP and commentary
was "HE IS TIGHT!"
Seat2 : English Guy (EG)
Seat3: I'm giving up guy (IGUG)
Seat4: Freddy Deeb (FD)
Seat5: Me
Seat6: Jeff C (JC)
Seat7: Chip Jett (CJ)
Seat8: Unlucky Guy 2 (UG2)
Seat9: Obsessive Compulsive Guy (OCG)

Here is my first big mistake in the game. I'm UTG with 1010. I limp and UG2
raises to 800. OCG raises all in to 2200. I just sat down so I have no read
on either player. I think a little bit and decide I will call because I have
no idea what the UG2 has. I throw my chips out there without saying
anything. The dealer says raise to 4400. OOPS! How the heck did I do that?
Luckily the UG2 folds after some muttering. OCG turns over JJ and I lose
that race. UG2 says he had AQ and the flop had a Q so he would of beat me.
(On reflection letting OCG back in the game is going to cost me and UG2
later).

OCG built himself up nicely after this win and eventually busts UG2 (AA) Vs
OCG quad 6's. One funny thing about OCG. I notice him constantly checking
the backs of the cards for marks. It's a little strange. During one hand, he
folded but kept his cards to keep checking them for god knows what...

End of Level 4 - 17K

8 Level 5 - 150/300 ante 50

Its dinner break and my wife is waiting for me. Off to the Hard Rock Cafe
for a 90 minute dinner break. I need it. I got a headache. After dinner and
some aspirin I'm back at it.

Get 22 in middle position and raise it up to 1200. JC calls and flop comes
As10c6h. I bet 2200 and JC folds. Aggression pays!

Here is my BIG DUMB MISTAKE hand. OCG raises to 900 and I'm in the BB with
Q8o. He has raised my BB the last 3 times in a row. Its time to defend! I
reraise to 3300. OCG ponders for about a minute and then calls. The flop
comes Ac5c7d. Here's where I decide to fire another barrel. I check and OCG
bets 1500. I pause and then reraise another 5K! (What the heck am I
doing!!?. (I don't mind bluffing but the check is WEAK!). OCG ponders for
about an eternity before deciding what to do. I realized while he is doing
this, I am giving off a billion different signs that I am weak. I think a
giant neon sign is blinking behind me with the logo "HE IS BLUFFING! HE HAS
NOTHING!". OCG even mumbles, "What are you doing?". Good question. I am
asking that same thing to myself. He calls. I am done with this hand. I
check again he bets 3K and I fold. I Just lost half my stack on the world's
worst bluff. The breakl has gone off during this hand and the round is over
and I am shellshocked! I sit there during the whole break pondering what
just happened and how I will ever recover.

End of Level 5 - ~9K

9 Level 6 200-400 ante 75

OK. Time to regroup. I am still in it and need to play a tad more cautiously
then I have been. I might be able to squeak it out till the end of the night
if I get lucky. But the end is only two hands away....

I'm on the button and look down at AsAc. Yes, that's right. The best hand in
the best position. Plus the added bonus of black Aces. That's way cooler
than any other combination of aces. Now I just need some action and I will
be right back in this game. It's folded around to Freddy Deeb. He raises to
1600. Great! I reraise up to 5000 hoping to get a call. Freddy is at ~30K.
He does one better. He asks how much I have left and reraises me all in and
I call of course. He flips over AdKh. All right! I'm a HUGE favorite! The
flop comes KdQs4d. OK. Still good. Unfortunately the rest comes runner,
runner diamonds and I'm toast.

Believe it or not, I am not disappointed. I got busted out going in with the
best hand and got to play/meet with some top pros. I finished around ~180th
for the day.


Thanks for reading


p.s. - I later went on pokerpages to look up how Freddy Deeb did with my
money. I couldn't find him in the standings anywhere. So either he is under
a pseudonym or that was his identical brother. Maybe that means I never
busted out in the tourney? Cool!