On April 7th I played in my first poker tournament, which was a satellite for the World Series of Poker held at Harrah’s, Atlantic City. It was a great experience for someone who has not played that much Texas Holdem. Before I entered the room, I ran into Russ Diaz who was also signed up for the tournament. After a short while I was seated at the same table as Russ and had the opportunity to watch his play.

Congratulations to Russ Diaz for making it into the final round of the satellite. It was a pleasure to watch a skilled player such as Russ. His play on the last hand, that got him into the finals, was played masterfully. I will let him tell you how it was played, if he wishes to. I must say, however, that a lot of skilled players that I talked to afterwards complimented him on his play, and especially the final hand.

Now to my last hand………………… I had not been getting any “good” cards after the first break, when I was dealt pocket Kings. A player in front of me went all in, and I did not figure him for pocket Aces, so I went all in for about $53,000. The player that followed me also went all in. Player 1 turned over an A-Q, I had the K-K, and the last player had A-6. If I won this hand, I would have been left with enough chips to get me way up in the standings. But……………….. the river got me . You guessed it………………..an ACE.

I was pleased with finishing 29th, out of 80 for my first tournament, and just may have to enter another tournament.