Royal Poker Tour - Again

This was my 5th trip to Hanoi this year. I know I said I want to give MTTs a rest but because I won some Vietnam Dong in my last trip, I took it as an omen to return and play. My friend had helped me transfer 50m into my balance at Royal, and my plan was not to go above that amount. 

My first 9-figure score

I fired a bullet each in the Kick off and Mini main without making the money, it cost me 17.6m in total. So of the 50m I had 32.4m left. There were two events left that I wanted to play in. The Championship (22m) and the Main (27.5m) Unless I cash in the Championship with one bullet, otherwise that would be the end of my series. I skipped flight A to give myself more rest, flights B&C because I was conducting a federation event, planning to fire in 1D. However it rained quite heavily on the morning of 1D, and at the same time I was invited by a friend to attend an up class event at a one-star Michelin restaurant. So Main event it is then.

From a starting stack of 50k I bled down to 17k and grinded my way up to 11m+ at one point. Close to the end of day 2 I made some good plays, one I deviated from a standard calling range because I saw a clear tell on a top player's arm that helped me remove most of his top ranges. But I also made a couple of bad mistakes including the last hand of the day. My stamina is better than before, but still not optimal, especially after 12-13 hours of intense play. But somehow, thank God I made the final table.

This was my 4th career main event final table, and although not the highest paying FT I ever played in, but was one of the highest. But I entered it playing with no fear, adjusted to the passiveness of the table, tried to dominate the table but at times failed. I came to the FT with one goal, make myself proud, and I certainly did. A key hand was losing JJ to QT all in pre. Even though it wasn't a huge pot, it would be a turning point as the floodgates would open with 7 left and I would be a massive chip leader at that point. The guy went on to finish 3rd. Then with a huge ICM spot, I had AK vs a Korean ego player with JJ but we couldn't win that flip. JJ probably shouldn't have been in there, or at least not an all in, but the player just wasn't ICM aware enough. Winning that hand would have meant another player out with me holding 40% of the remaining chips. Alas it wasn't to be, and he ended up winning the event. 

Eating clean in Hanoi

I finished 6th for a decent bounce towards the right direction for a change, and a boost of confidence. I can't helping thinking another 2-3 pay jumps would make such a difference. But I have no complaints, learned a lot in the process and still a decent payout despite my many mistakes. Happy to have made a decent ROI for my most loyal backers. Off to the next adventure, hope the run good never ends.