Congratulations to Mr. Kent Del Rosario for winning the Filipino Poker Tour Perfect 10.
It definitely was one of the best coverage done by the Red Mango production team, the official production company for the Filipino Poker Tour. Sadly in a way, I was not part of this very animated production as I chose to play in the tournament instead.
Needless to say, I got flak, questioning looks and the very telling shaking of the head when I busted out on Day1a. Being chip leader for most of the day, most people wondered what happened to my wonderful stack especially since I busted out 1 hour and a half away from Day2. Comments and advice from friends came pouring in from “you should’ve sat out” to “you overplayed your hands” to “you were playing turbo in a regular game”.
Of all the comments, overplaying my hand was the most on the dot. Actually, I believe I only overplayed my 88s. But what the hey, the guy had J9os with a bloody King on the board. I was button and pre-flop raiser. What I should’ve remembered is that this guy would play all the way to the river as long as he hits his bottom meow pair. But that was still fine because I recovered what I lost with 88s full over 22s in the next hand.
What eventually killed me was KKs vs. A-10os. Once again, I raised pre-flop, A-10 obviously called heads up and hit his 10 on the flop. He pushes, I call and he gets two pair on the turn.
I just love poker.
But then again, when that happened I was the running joke of the field because of one extremely lucky hand. “Karma!” they said. My friends from Bad players would love this story as it reinforces my tag name of gut-shot girl.
Listen to this – limped pot. I had A-2os. Flop went 4-A-9. I led out and got one caller, a player whose game I knew. Turn was a 3. Once again, I led out with 2/3 the pot and he goes all-in. What the hell was I thinking? He could have had A-10, or A-3. But then, I was thinking, A-10 and above he would have pushed pre-flop. Could it be A-3?
This hand occurred after I made a donkey call and lost my chip lead. I could honestly say I was on semi-tilt mode. I called an all-in that could have crippled my still more than average stack. He turned over his cards and showed a set of 9s. Surprisingly, he started threatening the dealer with burning the dealer’s house as I was shouting “Give me a five!”
What the hey was he worried about? I had 4 bloody outs! In response to this violence, I threatened the dealer that I’ll run over him if he didn’t give me my measly outs. Cameras all over, tournament director allowing the savage threats to fly in the air, heckling and laughter from friends heard all over the floor. Then TD Bryan Malantic on the mic went, “Dealer, the river… is…. A FIVE!!!!!!” Hahaha.
Oh my god, I just love poker.
Going back to the main event, another staff member of Red Mango Productions made it all the way to the final table. Congratulations to Mr. Dell Ty, and yes I will listen to your advice next time.
In the final table, with 6 people left, there was a housewife named Danna. The production crew was rooting for her as it would have made good tv. A housewife, who initially didn’t want to play, becoming the champion of the FPT would have been a nice story. But then her last hand was a bit questionable and open to discussion. Kent, chip leader, went all-in pre-flop. After patiently folding every single hand which made her reach 6th place, she called the all-in with Q9os. The audience was shocked when she turned over her cards and there was an audible, “Huh?” from the spectators. When asked, she just answered that she felt that Kent was going to make a play and that she felt she was ahead. Kent had 5-6 of clubs and hit his 5. Still…..she waited that long, might as well wait for a premium hand, right?
What other highlights did the tournament have? Well… Dell Ty destroyed one of the lights jumping for joy, Alex Pagulayan was escorted out of the floor, and it was Neil Arce’s birthday.
Also, I would like to congratulate all my poker buddies who made it in the money (namely, Brick, Alloy, Charlie, and Mark). Do I hear balato anywhere?
A non-poker friend of mine told me that I should have just chosen to work instead of play…..
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
