Huge start but no cash at FTOPS VI - Event #1

Tonight I played the first FTOPS event at Full Tilt (6-handed NL, $750,000 guaranteed) and started with a huge run. In the first half hour I received KK and JJ two times and QQ one time as well as some other good startinghands. With the first KK in the 3rd hand of the game I doubled up as a maniac decided that KTo is a good hand for a raising war against an EP raiser. He was wrong ;-) The other premium hands paid off too and after that first half hour I had pushed my 3,000 chips starting stack to 9,000 being in the top 20 of the 3,676 inital starters. At the first break I was still in the top 100.

Unfortunately the streak stopped completely and I was reduced to several steals (which worked well due to my stacksize). I was also sitting on the slowest table of the tournament as we had a staller who waited for the 15-second time-out EVERY time he folded his hand. At the second break I had still a healthy stack but the dynamics at the table had changed. First two middle stacks went into a fight resulting in an elimination and the winner becoming a big stack too. After another elimination an even bigger stack came to our table and was seated next to me on my left. This reduced the so far profitable stealing opportunities.

Shortly before the third break I became shortstacked and waited for the right opportunity. That opportunity came with 55 in MP and a standard raise to 1,200 in front. I went in for 5,800 just to see another all-in behind me. The inital raiser folded and I was up against QQ. The flop brought a 5 and made me a set ... YES! But the river was a Queen ... OH NO! and I was out at 731st position of 3,676 with 439 making the money.

At least I outlasted all but one of the Full Tilt Pros (includig Andy Bloch, Eddy Scharf, Huck Seed, Erik Lindgren Rafe Furst and several others) as well as Annette_15. To bad there's no bounty for that ;-)