© July 3, 2008
By Daniel Cox
Editor, The Poker Insider

Las Vegas – If you are a poker player who believes in numerology (or just superstitious like most of us), this is the story for you. It all started on July 2^nd, (2+7=9) at the 12 Noon $225 (2+2+5=9) buy-in during the Caesar’s Palace Mega Stack Tournament. There were 590 of us that started this event. I was seated in Seat 9 on, you guessed it, Table 45. Every player has a story where a card or cards can seem to do no wrong. Doyle Brunson won back to back World Series of Poker World Championships with the 10 – 2. T.J. Cloutier had the Jack – 9 of Spades named after him after coming from behind to avoid elimination in three tournaments in one year.

For me on that day in July, the cards that seemed to do know wrong were 9’s. With breaks every two hours, this two day tournament was going to go until 2:00 AM on the first day, for a long day. We started the tournament with 7,500 in chips. I had been card dead for nearly two hours. The only hand I had hit during that time was pocket 9’s that I had to fold after limping in, since a huge over bet from late position scared me off. Right before the first two hour break I again picked up pocket nines. With the bet re-raised up to 1,000, I only had 5,000 left, so I called. The flop was 7 – 9 – 9. Seat 8 checked, I checked and Seat 10 raised 2,000. Seat 8 called with her remaining 1,700 and I called the 2,000. I checked down on the turn and since a dangerous looking Queen showed, Seat 10 also checked. With a small card coming on the river I felt no matter what size of my bet it was either going to get a call or a fold, so I put my last 2,500 into the pot. Seat 10 folded, and I showed the pocket 9’s, Seat 8 mucked and Seat 10 said he had pocket 10s, and thought I had hit a Queen on the turn. I picked up a pot that gave me 15,000 chips as we went on break.

Two more rounds passed and we were approaching the second break. I had again been card dead, picking up a few pots and holding steady just under the 15,000 chip mark. I again held pocket 9’s, this time it was the two red ones. The betting had gotten a little heated pre-flop between Seat 1, Ian Holman, a professional player from the United Kingdom another player and I that left 10,000 in the pot and Ian and I heads-up. A flop of the 7 of Diamonds, the 7 of Clubs and another low club (possibly the 6). A confident 20K (to me it appeared over confident) All In from even put me into the tank for several minutes. With a little chat between us, I put Ian on a spade draw, with a possible low pair, so I called the bet. When I turned over my 9’s for two pair, I was worried when I saw his 4 and 5 of clubs for the flush draw. A red King on the turn made feel a little better, but when I saw the club hit on the river I cringed, uttered a slight curse and started to get up until the person in Seat 10 pointed out that it was a 9 of Clubs, giving me the Full House that topped his Flush. So again, right before a break I doubled up.

My only decent hand in the next two hours was again the pocket 9’s, this time a Club and a Heart. Seat 8 had been very aggressive since arriving, not always having the best hands, bit playing them strong. I called a three times the Big Blind pre-flop and again called a small raise with the 6 and 8 of Clubs and a 6 of Hearts on the flop. When the 10 of clubs gave me Straight, Flush and Boat draws (with 17 outs), I called the small raise. With a Queen of Diamonds hitting on the river, Seat 8 insta-raised All In. I went into the tank for several minutes trying to figure out what the player could be holding. His bets did not make sense, but he had been wild since sitting down. Having more chips than he did, I finally called. Without even seeing my cards he mucked his and left the table. I had to show the pocket 9’s, since they had been a topic of conversation. Two hands before the dinner break I was short stacked with less than 10,000 chips. I looked at the Ace and 9 of Clubs and went All In. Only the chip leader called with the King and Queen of Hearts. Laughing that it was the luck of the 9, nothing hit the board to hurt me and I doubled up to 22,000 chips.

On the last hand before the Dinner Break, I again saw an Ace – 9. Little did I know it was the death toll for my numerically superior 9’s. The third player to occupy Seat 8 went All In with his last 2,300 chips. I raised it to 4,600 to isolate him and the rest of the table folded. A chuckle went up as I showed the Ace - 9 against his King – 10 and again when a 9 paired on the flop (along with a Jack). I actually stopped watching the hand while packing up for dinner as a Queen hit on the turn and the Jack on the river to give him a Straight, keeping me from knocking out all three people to occupy Seat 8, since the table broke two hands after returning from dinner.

After Dinner my stack dropped as low as 7,000 chips before topping out at just under 50,000 an hour and fifteen minutes after the dinner break. We were down to between 66 and 69 (that now unwanted nine) people, with 54 cashing out. I have never been one to sit back and try and make the bubble. I play to win, which often leaves me on the bubble or a place or two off of it. My wife teasingly calls me “Bubble Boy.” So when I saw a pair of Jacks in the hole, I knew it was going to be my double up or out hand. I had gotten a pretty good read on the table chip leader, so when he bet 10,000 pre-flop on blinds of 1,000 – 2,000 and 400 antes, I pushed my last 46,000 chips to the center. I stared toward his chip stack, controlling my breathing and hoping for him to call with a lower pair. He had the unsuited Ace - Queen instead, so the race was on. The flop tore me up as the Queen hit, along with a 10 and a small blank. I was down to six outs, either a Jack for trips, or one of the four remaining Kings for a straight. Just to rub salt in the already bloody wound, a third Queen hit on the river. So 10 ½ hours after the start of the tournament, I was gone, coming so very close to cashing.