I’ve been a regular and frequent transatlantic flier for many years, but this is the first time I ever used a laptop on a plane!

However two hours to run to Singapore from Melbourne have prompted me to reflect on my eight days at the Aussie Millions. I played in five tournaments and have nothing to show for it. Worse, I never got a look in. I won one and a half pots in four hours in the HORSE (HORSE is a mixed game tournament comprising Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Seven Stud Hi/Lo). The A$1,000 rebuy cost me seven rebuys, two initial, two on the last hand of the rebuys when my QQ was cracked by AK and three add-ons, only for my KK on the button to run into AA.

I started well in the main event and had a great table with three easy spots on my right and 1995 World Champ Dan Harrington on my left (a top geezer! Check out his interview on Boylesports poker blog). I had increased my starting stack of 20k by 50% with little or no risk when one of the easy spots got busted by Action Dan (Harrington’s ironic nickname). He was replaced by a young French guy (YFG) with around 25k and I licked my lips as the French have a certain reputation. He duly obliged by raising every other pot and reraising/three betting liberally. This was good for me because I could sit tight and wait for an opportunity rather than having to make the action to get chips. Just before the dinner break my opportunity came. YFG raised in second position and the Irish guy between us called his raise. I looked down at 44. I call to try and “flop a set” (ie to hit another 4 on the flop) and win a big pot against the aggressive YFG. Everyone else folds and Glory Be! the flop comes down a beautiful K94 all different suits. Now I’m hoping he has AA or AK and I can either “stack him” (win all his chips) or at least get a big bunch of them. He bets out 1,500 the Irishman folds and I raise to around 4,500. I’m hoping this will put him off the scent as I would probably just call with 99 or 44. Without much thought he makes it around 12k to go. Now I think I’ve got him. He can’t fold now so I push all my chips in. Unfortunately, it was only when he nearly beat me into the pot that it occurred to me that he might have KK….surely not? I wait three months to flop a set in a tournament and then I flop the underset to someone who’s raising every pot… painful. The very next hand I found TT and shoved my remaining 4k or so into the pot, a big overbet. I was nearly sick on the table when Seat 1 called with Aces. I was halfway to the roof to find a good jumping spot when the flop came T high and they called me back… phew. A few hands later I was on the button and found JQ clubs…I was on a rush. I raised and the very aggressive Greek chap who had just arrived at our table reraised me all in. I called and managed to outdraw his A9 to get back up to 16k. Dinner would taste better!!

But that was it. After dinner I was card dead and with the blinds starting to get meaningful and the antes kicking in I dwindled back down to a stack size where I needed to double up or get out. The poker gods chose the latter.

The Coach and I played the team event on the Wednesday (which gives you a clue as to his fate because that was Day 2 of the main event). I hadn’t played a team event before. You had to take it in turns to play levels. My contribution was to play ZERO pots in the two levels I sat down for. In the 30 or so hands I was dealt at least half of them had a 2 and half the others had a 3. AGGGHHH!

Surely things would change in the $1k Freeze out on the Thursday? Unfortunately not. Again I failed to win a single hand in four hours of poker. The final blow was being called by a nutter with a mountain of chips on a KJ8 board after I’d raised in early position having barely put a chip in the pot for an hour. His calling monster? - 82. Unfortunately it was winning and held up.

I spent the not inconsiderable downtime between tournaments watching the pros show down Aces and Kings with wanton regularity and flop sets for fun. They made flushes after reraising all-in on semi bluffs and spiked two pairs when up against aces. Perhaps this is why they’re pros. I think I’ll just grate my fingers in February instead of playing poker tournaments… it’ll be less painful.

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