Arriving at Crown for the midday Event 6: $125 No Limit Holdem, I took my seat in the main side of the tournament floor grouped with some real obvious amateur players – and with a 10,000-chip starting bank and 20-minute levels – I was hoping to exploit this.

Early on I raised to 325 holding A♣ Q♠ after three players limped in for 50. One limper plus the big blind came along, and on a A♠ 10♠ 2♠ flop the big blind checked and the limper fired out 500. I made it 1,375 to prompt a fold from the big blind and a call from the limper. I really was unsure where I sat in the hand after he called the raise; maybe he had two pair or possibly Ace-King, and when he checked the 9♦ on the turn I checked behind. The river fell a repeating deuce, and I totally missed value here when he rolled over A♦ J♠.

Now up to 12,000, that would soon rocket to 20,000 after playing a fairly sizeable pot with Aces against Ace-Queen and King-Queen on a Queen-high board. I then moved up to 24,000 after eliminating a player holding A♥ Q♥ after all the money went in preflop against his 10♠ 8♠.

I went fairly card-dead and was unable to squeeze or do anything due to the limp and stack-off happy players on the table until I found a double with Ace-King against Ace-Jack with 120 players remaining. ‘Carwash’ George Cotaidis was moved to my table, and thankfully it livened things up as I had someone to exchange friendly banter with while the cards remained . . . dead!

As the structure jumps speed up, I found myself with just eight big blinds, and pushed after finding J♥ J♣ under the gun. Carwash made the call next to speak with A♦ Q♠, and when the A♥ landed on the flop I was eliminated from the tournament in 78th/257 place.

I only had an hour break before the next tournament began and decided to grab some dinner before taking my seat in Event 8: $340 No Limit Holdem Terminator.

Every player had a $100 bounty on their hand, but with a 15,000-chip starting bank and 30-minute levels you would think it would be hard to accumulate terminator buttons in the early going . . . however the action was quick and fast.

My starting table featured Vic Champs Champion Albert Amato, The Poker Star contestant Sally Snow and Steve Topakas. So right off the bat I had something to look at (Sally obviously . . . and not Steve LOL), and people to talk too.

The play early on was terribly! Players opening to 8x and getting six callers etc. Both Albert and I just looked at each other shaking our heads. I just tried to remain tight and solid early due to the loose nature of the table, but managed to chip up to 16,900 when I called a preflop raise with A♥ 8♥ and check-raised an Ace-high flop in a multi-way pot.

It wouldn’t be until the sixth level until I found a hand after a player limped for 400 and I made it 1,500 with Q♦ Q♠. A player that had been playing very loose and seeing a lot of flops then made it 5,000 from the button to put the action back on me. I only 12,700 left in my stack and was unsure of where I sat in the hand, but felt that I was ahead most of the time. I decided to ship it in, but when he rolled over Kings, I was sick to my stomach . . . well until a Queen-ball landed on the flop . . . bad play, but a bit of luck doesn’t hurt!

Then – like most tournaments of late – I decided that peddling an eight big blind stack would be great fun, and proceeded to peddle for about three hours. Paul Rochford and Nobbi Tanaka were both moved to my table with a substantial chip stack each and played with ruthless aggression. With forty-odd players remaining a player in early position shoved all in holding Ace-Queen and I made the call from the big blind with Ace-King. We both flopped an Ace and I raked in the pot only to leave him with a single 500-denomination chip as I chipped up to 52,500 – of course someone else would take his $100 bounty with some junk hand two hands later.

An orbit later I looked down at A♦ A♠ under the gun and made it 7,500 to go with blinds at 1500-3000. Albert was the only caller, and when the 2♠ 3♥ 5♠ flop fell I thought for a little before pushing out a bet of 9,500. Albert called, and when the 6♦ landed on the turn I paused for around thirty seconds before checking. Albert pushed all in, and I quickly called to be ahead of his 10♠ 10♦. The river blanked and I had soared to 106,500 in chips.

However once we were just a table away from the money, play really began to stall. Nobbi played super aggressive and three-bet anytime I opened lightly. With just twenty-five players remaining play stalled for about ninety-minutes, and that was also timed with a dead run of cards. Now with just twenty-two players remaining – and just two spots off the money – the fellow short-stack on the table pushed all in. I had 8,000 committed in the big blind and only 30,000 or so behind and decided to make the call holding 6♦ 6♠ knowing that I would be unable to limp to the money. Unfortunately he rolled over Jacks and I was unable to catch my two-outer like earlier and exited the tournament in 22nd/213 players at the ripe old time of about 5am in the morning – all just to bubble and receive no terminator buttons!

With a Twenty20 Cricket match that day, I decided to drive back to Geelong to get some rest in my own bed.

We lost players quickly as we reached the final ten with Kane Sherwell holding a commanding lead alongside Jason Gray, Morry Edelstein and Chris Chronis.

After losing Dean McIver on one of the first hands, Sherwell would river both Edelstein and Gary Benson to the rail. Gray continued to accumulate chips, but some bad luck, lost races and unfortunate rivers saw him endure a roller-coaster of a ride.

Matt Rolfe found a three-outer to stay alive against Chronis as Mick Nolton chopped a double on the river as Chronis exited in 7th thanks to a bricked straight and flush draw. Nolton followed in the same fashion to Sherwell’s King-high as Cohen again clipped Gray with a rivered straight to his two-pair.

Albert Amato followed his one-outer earlier against Gray with a three-outer against Sherwell while Rolfe ran flush into flush to hit the rail in 5th. Cohen went next when he made the wrong read / move against Sherwell’s top-pair to see the first-time tournament player hold a near two-to-one advantage over both his opponents.

The remaining players made a deal, and soon after, Gray exited after losing a race holding Ace-King to Sherwell’s snowmen as he took a five-to-three lead into heads-up play.

That lead increased to over a seven-to-two lead before Amato started to claw his way back into the game after doubling with a pair and straight-draw to Sherwell’s straight-draw and two over’s. Sherwell continued to slip before Amato doubled well into the lead with his two-pair against Sherwell’s middle-pair.

Eventually Sherwell would commit his chips drawing dead to just two outs against Amato’s two-pair and flush-draw. No help came on the river and Albert Amato was crowned our 2009 Victorian Poker Champion!

Julian Cohen, Champion Albert Amato, Matt Rolfe, PokerNews Camera-Man Thomas Kinsman, Jason Gray, Kane Sherwell, Dean McIver, The Trophy

With us wrapping up just after midnight and noticing Mat, Joe and Brendo on a $1-2 NLH table . . . there was no way I could resist!

I profited close to $240 for the night, but it was my mega slowroll that was the toast of the night.

Mat straddled to some retarded amount and the whole table called around to me in the small blind with K♠ 3♠. I called, as did the big blind to see a flop of K♣ 3♦ 3♣ land.

I checked and Mat pushed all in for $15 and found two callers before I also made the call as the big blind passed.

The turn landed the Q♦ and I checked to the donkey who bet out $27 odd. This youngish lady called before I moved all in for a little more on top. Both called and the river of the 8♣ was checked.

The donkey turned over Q♣ J♠, only to be bested by the lady’s K♦ 4♦.

I angled my cards towards the muck to signal that I couldn’t beat either of the hands, and Mat slowly sweated out his 9♣ 4♣ for a flush. He slammed it down and stood up with his hands in the air celebrating his new-found chips. I slowly pushed my cards towards the muck before rolling them over once Mat had returned to the table to BOOM him with a slowroll!

Off to Geelong tomorrow for a couple of days before returning to Asian Vegas . . . Macau!