For the past few years, I’ve been trying in vain to qualify for the World Series of Poker main event. I’ve played a few mtts to no avail. However my main avenue of attack has been the WSOP Steps on Party Poker. These are perhaps the most convenient way for someone like me who does not always have the time to play for hours on end in an online satellite. For those unfamiliar with the WSOP Steps format on Party Poker, there are 5 steps, you can join in at what ever level you choose. Step 1 the cheapest level is $10 and Step 5 the most expensive is $1400. It works sort of like a poker snakes and ladders. Depending on the step, if you finish in the top 2 or 3 positions you move up, the bottom few positions you drop out, and in the middle you might stay as you are or drop down 1 or 2 levels.

I typically start at step 3 or step 4. In 2005 I reached the final step once, and in 2006 I reached it twice. However I did not have so many opportunities to play these WSOP steps then, one of the reasons for this, is that many of the step 4 and step 5 games were kicking off in the US evening time, by that time I’m long asleep. This year though the final step though it seems to be kicking off just once a week, normally over the weekend, it’s happening at European times . My first final step appearance this year was back in March and I finished a disappointing 8th. Then D-Day Sunday 15th April 2007, I log onto the pc on the Sunday morning, then at about 12 p.m. I decided to have a check on the steps situation in party poker. To my great surprise I noticed that a step 5 is nearly full. As this event only kicks off once a week or so and even then I’m not always around to play it, though it’s a large enough chunk of my bankroll, I decide to hell with it I’m going for it.

It’s always easy to praise or indeed criticise yourself too much after an event goes well or on the flip side poorly. But I really felt I got about every decision right in this particular tourney, it was one of my in the zone times. Early on in the tournament I wasn’t really getting anywhere, any hand I got, someone else on the table by their betting was telling me their hand was better and at times I made some big but I think judicious folds. I had a very loose Canadian guy on my left which made the game tricky for me. He was basically getting involved with many sort of hands. Cold calling raises with hands like A7o, KT etc. Anyway he was hitting some flops hard and busted out a couple of guys.

Then a pivotal hand occurred, I look down to the pleasing site of AA. Blinds are 100/200, my stack is a not great 1,510 from a starting stack of 2000. The short stack to my immediate right raises 710 and is all-in. Now I don’t want to scare the Canadian guy off and I know he likes to call and bet on the flop if he senses weakness. So I flat call, sure enough the Canadian calls quickly enough, the blinds fold. The flop comes all medium cards. I check to the Canadian and sure enough he does his little bet. At this stage I think it’s definitely time to pull the trigger. There’s enough in the pot and there’s every chance the Canadian will call for just the 600 more, which of course he does. He has just KdJd overcards, pretty much the type of hand from his previous plays, that I would have expected him to be there with. The turn gave him a flush draw but thankfully there’s no suckout on the river. I now start to think this could well be my day after all. I have the 2nd biggest stack on the table. Game On.

From there on in, I’m bobbing and weaving. Eventually it’s just me and the Canadian guy. I’m in the tasty position of having almost 3 to 1 chip lead over him. I’m in the Big Blind with J4o, any sort of decent raise and I fold this without a second thought. But the guy has a habit of making min raises with hands like Axo and I will hardly ever fold to a minimum raise, if someone is foolish enough to give me the odds to play and try and hit a flop, I will normally take that, especially as I can make a guess of what type of hand he might have. So when he min raises, I call with my J4o. The flop comes a tasty A J 4. I reckon mr.C has got Ax so I decide to take a chance and give him some rope, sure enough he bets the flop. Resisting the urge to play safe and raise, I just call. I check back the turn again, praying he continues to take the bait. Sure enough he bets again, now I pull the trigger and check raise him all-in, so much of his chips are now in the pot that it’s almost impossible for him to fold and he doesn’t. Sure enough he has A5o and thankfully the river misses his hand. I stare at the screen almost in disbelief as it says I have won the tournament and then it sinks in and I’m hollering in delight. I’m going to Vegas baby!