It's June 16, 2013, and I am the first to arrive at my table for the 30th event of 2013 World Series of Poker season. It's the second year in a row I have gone to the WSOP by winning a seat in a $1,000 event.
One year prior, I popped my WSOP cherry by being eliminated just five hours after sitting down at the table. I was timid and unable to do much other than hope to get some good cards.
With the blinds at $100-$200, I looked down at A-J and pushed my $2,000 chips in and hoped I'd be able to steal the blinds. However, the big blind quickly called and flipped over pocket Kings and my first WSOP run was over before it really started.
But, 2013 was going to be different.
Sitting at the table ready for the tourney to start, I slowly sipped my first beer to help take the edge off. I wasn't going to wait for the cards to come again. I was going to play poker.
And, it worked for most of the first four levels.
In less than an hour, I had made some hands and stole some blinds en route to growing my stack to nearly $6,000 chips. After another level, I was close to $10,000 chips. Things were going well and I was having fun with everyone at the table.
Then, shortly before dinner break, Chino Rheem sat down. Just two seats to the right of me.
The same Chino Rheem with three World Poker Tour titles. The same Chino Rheem I had been following on Twitter.
Chino was the only player at the table who had more chips than me and he was using them to take control right after he sat down. I wasn't looking to tangle with him, however, if given the opportunity, I wanted to at least have an opportunity to tell the story of when I played a hand with Chino.
On the last hand before the dinner break and the blinds $100-$200, I was the small blind and Chino raised to $600 while under the gun. After everyone else folded, I looked at my cards and saw K-J of spades. My first thought was to fold and go to dinner with a nice chip stack.
However, I called and the big blind quickly folded. It was just Chino and I going to the flop.
I hit my King on the flop and quickly checked to Chino. As quickly as I checked, Chino slid $1,300 chips into the middle. Looking at him, I was worried about him having A-K, Kings or even Aces. However, something told me to call and I matched his bet and pushed it in next to his.
The turn came and it was a Jack. Bingo.
I checked again and waited for Chino to do whatever Chino was going to do. What he did was push all his chips in, putting my tournament life in jeopardy if I called.
I thought for a minute and then said to Chino:
"If you got me, you got me. If I lose, at least I can say I was knocked out by Chino Rheem. I call."
I flipped my cards over and waited for him to do the same. Instead, he just looked at my cards and said, "You might as well have the nuts." He then turned over pockets Queens.
I doubled up through Chino Rheem and had over $20,000 chips going into dinner break. Me, the physical education teacher from a small town north of Los Angeles, just beat a top pro in a hand at a WSOP event.
Pretty freaking cool.
I ended up cashing and finishing 174th out of 2,108 participants.
That's what makes poker great.
A guy like Chris Moneymaker can win the 2003 Main Event after winning a seat online, and a guy like me who can only play a WSOP event when he wins a seat into it can have a chance to play with the best players in the world. In what other game or sport in the world can that happen?
The answer is... it can't.
I am in no way claiming to be better than Chino, or that anyone who wins a seat into the main event will win the whole thing. Even Chino had outs in my hand with him. He hits a Queen and I am out.
Poker doesn't discriminate, it doesn't care who you are, or what you do. The fact is, each and everyone who sits down at a table has outs.
We all have outs.
