And Finally

It's been a long time since my last post. It also feels like a long time since I was last in Las Vegas, although it was less than 6 months ago.

Likewise, it feels like an eternity since I won my seat to go to Vegas for the 2008 WSOP. That was back in early February just a few days after I had resigned from my job. So, at the time, it was an immensely symbolic win.

A few days after the victory, I played in and won the first game in the Gutshot Forum League.

That league has now run its course, and today is the final. The league was a series of weekly MTTs scoring points towards a monthly winner. The 10 monthly winners line up today to play a single table for a winner-takes-all prize of a trip to the WSOP 2009.

I had a strong record in the league - winning 6 of my 30 appearances (more than any other player) and scoring the most points overall.

In the final we have other players who were stalwarts throughout the series (like "Ron Burgundy" and "Sweet Baby Jane"). Both of these players are very well known posters on the forum although in the latter case, no one actually knows who s/he really is.

Also in the game tonight we have some relative newcomers like "lostuzos", who only started participating in the league at the 11th hour but blitzed the November qualification, and "Hofzinser" who likewise came late to the league but took it somewhat by storm once he was involved.

Unlike "lostuzos" (who won his place by a convincing margin), Hofzinser sneaked in by the narrowest of margins imaginable - a single point separated him from the next-placed runner and only 5 points separated the top 4 ! (307-306-305-302).

However, it's a totally level playing field again tonight although I feel a certain "right" to win the final on the basis of my record from start to finish. Of course, it doesn't work like that !

I'm hoping that I'll get the right feel for the game tonight. I'm sure whoever wins it will have to survive a few all-too-exciting all-in moments especially when we get to the heads-up stage. Having said that, it will be far from a crapshoot - we have 10,000 chips and a 15-minute clock which is a very deep structure.

In truth, something a bit more rapid-fire would probably suit me better, but it's the same for everyone !