Fail, and it wasn't even epic.

I did horribly in the Championship. I didn't win. I didn't make it to the final table. I didn't play to the best of my ability.

But, Dave and Tom were awesome for funding my caffeine need before the tournament. Thanks, gents!


In the first four hands of the tournament, I played well and I won the pots. In another hand, I won against Sean with two pair, Queen/Jack, and he re-raised before the flop. He's a really good player, he even said "Queen jack is good, Katie." I was totally called out. But that's cool, cause I won the pot. La diii da!


After a few players busted, and the blinds started going up, I found myself in a hand with Dave and Sean. Dave raised to 700, I called his 700, and then Sean raised all-in. Dave called. My immediate reaction and instinct was to fold. I had Ace/King of clubs. But after a thought and second-guessing myself, I thought I couldn't let it go. So, I called.

The cards were flipped, and Sean had pocket queens. Dave had Ace/King also. My immediate thought was "Oh, shit. What have I done?!"  Generally, Ace/King has a small percentage of winning versus a high pocket pair like Queens. The only chance I had of even getting a piece of this pot was if an ace or king came out on the board. That way, Dave and I would split the pot, which would be great for me, since I was the short stack who was all-in.

No aces came. No kings came. Sean won the pot, and Dave still had chips. I was knocked out.

I feel so stupid for ignoring my instinct, which is good, and nearly always right. One second of doubt was enough for me to go against my better judgment. I KNEW to listen to my instinct. I KNEW, going into this tournament, that I HAD to pay attention to that. I had to follow my gut, and I knew that. Instead, I disregarded it. I disregarded everything I had taught myself, I disregarded everything I knew, in a split-second of doubt that ended up costing me my tournament life.

I did not achieve my goal. I did not win. And yes, I cried.