As a Malaysian poker player, I cannot miss our own home ground poker tournament series. This is the 3rd series in Malaysia and due to scheduling clashes, I have only played one of their events (first series main event) So this time around I was determined to play the entire series to have the full experience.
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| No complaints |
If you've read my blog regularly, you'll know every year I set some resolutions and this year I wanted to cash $150,000+ and get 2 more trophies. It's already August so I really need to push if I want to hit that target. So I had a goal of 3 final tables (including 1 trophy) for this series. I prayed for it, I studied for it, I prepared myself mentally and emotionally for it...
And boy did we have a bad start. First event the Malaysia Open I fired 3 bullets to no avail. To make matters worse, I lost a bunch on cash games the next day and crashed out of the second event after 3 bad beats. Not going to bore you guys with bad beat hand histories, but I do honestly feel I have been running below EV for a while. By now I am -10k after just two days and feeling dejected and disappointed.
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| Poker Dream arranged free buffet everyday, but this was nice too |
Here comes the turning point. I believe reflection and self critique is very important for a poker player to grow. I took the time to look back and see what I've done and how I can do it better. Firstly I settled a monetary dispute I had with an ex-employer. Then I changed my mindset. Players worse that yourself do not owe you anything. Just because you think you are better than them doesn't mean you deserve to win. You just have to play the best you can and let the cards speak for themselves. You are not entitled to win because of your experience and skill. Thirdly I still have some outstanding donations to make because of my 10% pledge, and even though I was -10k for the series, I gave to those that needed it more than I.
The next day although relatively card dead, I crushed the cash games for a 6k profit. My biggest pots were won with T2, QT and JJ. Then I fired another 3 bullets in the Deepstack, with the last one finally sticking and ended up finishing 3rd. I was down to 11k and ran QQ into AA but spiked a beautiful queen. Then top two pairs held against an overpair and flush draw in a 3 way massive all in pot. On day two my jacks cracked queens. When it was 7 handed, I just sat there as the chip leader took out 3 players very quickly, and I took out another one with AJ vs 44 and suddenly I jumped from a 17k payday to 47k. Took a stand for a massive pot with KQ vs A8 but lost to eventual winner who played a very good tourney.
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| Cash game is a good confidence and bankroll booster |
Feeling much better about myself and my results, I entered the 20k High Roller the next day. I sold 58% of this event and swapped 5%, but I managed another 3rd place finish. It was probably the most star-studded event I have ever played, from Triton champs, Red dragon champ, WSOP bracelet winners, overall crushers in the field. I had two key hands, one I ran TT into AA and turned a ten against a very nice guy and friend. Prior to that I folded QQ on a J high rainbow turn vs KK but I did make a couple of mistakes probably from the nerves of playing against all these guys. When it got down to 5 handed, it was little old me vs Webster Lim, Danny Tang, Vincent Li and Anson Ewe. Super happy to finish 3rd and to make money for my investors.
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| Thank God for the many "walls" I built this series |
Gunning for my 3rd final table and still missing a trophy, I fired 3 bullets in the main but it wasn't to be. Shout out to crusher Ben Loo for taking it down. Probably the most consistent, best part-time player that I know. So my final shot was the 11k High Roller Mystery Bounty. This was fast and furious as players were trying to build a big stack quickly. I had a smooth day 1 but day 2 didn't go my way. Finished 10th without any bounties for a small cash, barely missing my 3rd final table of the series but wasn't too disappointed. Final hand A6 < 87 < KQ triple up spot but couldn't hold.
Thank you Poker Dream for a packed event, great food for free, tonnes of action players and overall great hospitality and friendship. Overall I had a good series, vaulting me closer to my 150k target, 2 decent shots at a trophy. I grew as a poker player, as a human being, as a networker, as a Christian, and I feel like this was my turning point of my career. Quite a few people came up to me and said hi, telling me they follow my blog, Instagram or Facebook, or they recognized Mr. Gorilla. Thanks for your kind support, photos, well wishes. Thanks for many friends who came and railed me during my deep runs. Still can't break my 3 ITM per series ceiling, and shout out also to Clarence Wong who had 4 ITMs in his first ever poker series. Watch this space guys, my time is here, let's go!
