Posted by Padilla 4:21 PM
IAG just misses final table at 'All-In for ALS'

In what was announced as the largest charity poker tournament in the country, the 3rd annual 'All-in for ALS' tourney was another worthwhile event.

From its infancy a few years ago, when the tournament of less than 200 took place in about 5 hours of play at break-neck speed, the event has grown to nearly 400 players, very generous sponsors, and a re-buy structure that allows players to go "All-in for ALS" at a moments notice during the first 5 levels.

A few interesting notes about this tournament:
1. A tradition has started that even before the cards are dealt on hand #1, people will toss their baggie full of 10,000 tournament chips into the pot, knowing that only one will win, and the others will have to rebuy, effectively donating nearly $300 per table right off the bat.
2. There were 88 prizes, but the final 20 (of the greatest value) were handed out in a draft format. It was correctly presumed that the winner of the event would take the $10,000 Entry Fee into the 2007 WSOP Main Event. Though it took a while, the 2nd place finisher "correctly" chose the 42" Plasma TV. However, instead of the (2) First Class Airline Tickets, or even a Suite for 16 people at Reliant Park for the upcoming Monster Jam, the #3 item chosen was valued as the #16 item. A Lance Berkman autographed first baseman's glove listed went ahead of 13 other prizes to #3. Who knows, maybe that's a steal for a piece of future Hall of Fame memorabilia.

On to the fun.......

1. I was not advised of the "all-in on hand #1" charitable act prior to arrival, and though I brought some extra cash to play around with, I didn't bring enough to waste an entire re-buy. So I decided to at least wait until I saw my hand, and if was half-decent, I'd go with it, seeing as that others were going in blind. I'm UTG and I get A-Q suited. Seconds later, I have 50,000 in chips.
2. 2nd hand.......big blind.............J-J.........all-in-for-ALS...........60,000 in chips.
3. 3rd hand...To test the humor level, I don't complete the small blind. Nobody laughs.
4. I'm ready to gamble, but get a bad feeling when I see 6 players in a raised flop and 3 to the river on a lot of hands. I wait for drawing hands, but I've gone cold. Seriously though, I have 600 big blinds, do I need to bluff to get to 601.5 big blinds?
5. Disaster strikes when last year's champ is moved 3 to my left even before the rebuy period is over, and he has chips too. So much for pushing around the table when the blinds went up. Then they move John Granato to the table, and he's playing fast, and has chips. The 3 of us are all 2 spots apart.
6. Within an hour or 2, both of those guys are busted and I'm watching the other players get healthy while chipping up into the 130K area.
7. Blinds blinds blinds...as charity tournaments go, they'll even skip levels to finish a tourney, so things are getting faster and faster, and the dealers are getting slower and slower, counting antes and all-ins on nearly every hand. My "M" is down to 12.
8. I get moved and am no longer Chief Big Stack. I avoid trouble for a while noticing that this table has callers as well. Imagine that.
9. I have no thoughts of losing the entire table when I get AA in 2nd position and raise the 8000 blind to 20,000. Didn't really expect 3 callers though (one all-in), but oh well. With over 80K in the pot, I push my last 89K in post-flop. I get 1 caller and another all-in. I avoid disaster and am pushing 300K just as they announce "we're in the prizes". Did I really get AA on the bubble....again? (wow, just thought of that as I'm typing)
10. 80,70,60...I move a few times and get to table #2, so I'm not moving again until I'm out or at the final table.
11. Blinds are now a blur, there is no "m", it's only whether or not you can get the table to fold to your all-in. A few people have 6 bb's, but that's about to be slashed when the blinds double.
12. I start watching the prize list, cuz I don't want to get stuck with a year's supply of sweet tomatoes. I fold K-8 suited when we're on that prize, at #21.
13. By folding that hand, I have to play K-4 for my life, and I win to see another orbit.
14. Nada. No face, no ace.
15. I recall the draft format and I decide to blind down to get a better draft choice...unless I get a hand.
16. I push my last 35,000 in when I get AK suited, but I'm not even completing the small blind, or matching the total amount of the antes. Luckily, nobody else played because the 2 big stacks were in the blinds.

Alas, the big blind hits a straight on the river holding 3-5, and I'm out in 16th place.

My prize?
I managed to get a hold of the 7th most valued prize with the #16 pick, as they were ranked by dollar amount.
Luxury box at an Astros game, parking, food, beverages...for 4 people.

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