Remember,
remember the fifth of November. This has nothing to do with the gunpowder plot
of 1605. No this was the day in 2023 that I played the Sunday Million, the most
famous weekly online poker tournament. Over ten thousand players, no doubt
including plenty of pros, playing/battling for the $1 million dollar prize
pool. Not only did I play, but I played well, enjoyed it and landed my largest
haul since my return to poker. What a result!
Rewind a
couple of weeks before the tournament, I had absolutely no plans to play it. However,
via a series of satellite qualifiers, initially using a free 50 cent entry I
built this up to $1.50, then $10, then the $109 required for bigger
tournaments. I could have used it for the chance to win entry to some of the
Pokerstars regional live tournaments in the UK. I have never played live though
so realising that I could use my token to play the Sunday Million and also
seeing that the following Sunday worked well for me in terms of timing and
family commitments, a plan was made to play. I was also very attracted to the
fact the Sunday Million is now a progressive bounty tournament, meaning that
even if I didn’t make the final 15% of players to cash I had a chance of
winning at least $25 for any player I knocked out.
The early
stages of the tournament went well, especially given I am not used to playing
so deep, with 50,000 chips initially and thus plenty of room to manoeuvre.
Quite soon I hit a significant hand, my Jacks catching another Jack on the flop
against Aces. My opponent could not let them go as I pressed my advantage and
so I had an early double up and the boost of a $25 knockout. A perfect start
for an inexperienced player at this level. It meant I had a lot more chips than
most and I had already achieved one of my goals, to turn my entry into real
cash. The next few hours I progressed cautiously but confidently in the right
moments and managed to build up my stack, keeping above the average and taking
out another couple of players. There were only a couple of small setbacks where
I tried but failed to take out a couple of short stacked players.
As we closed
in on the bubble I did tighten up a little as we neared a massive personal
poker objective – to cash in the Sunday Million. In truth I have only played
twice before and had never really come close to cashing so I was thrilled at
this growing realisation. Not only that I had a competitive stack. More
importantly, I was playing well, relaxed and enjoying myself, determined to
press on once the bubble burst. Despite the presence of more experienced high
level players this is ultimately the same game for all and at times I can play
it well. Having played for four or five hours I made the final 1500 or so
players and cashed for $87.48. I had a workable stack and had already made a
further $193.75 in knockout bonuses. Having already achieved my initial goals
and more my new aim now was to push on try to qualify for day two of the
tournament. At around 2am UK time the game is paused and the final c150 players
return at 6pm Monday to fight for the big cash prizes. At this point I got aces
for the first time and was able to achieve a significant double up. I now had
around 900,000 chips and was in the top one hundred players!
Unfortunately,
that would be my peak position. The blinds were now starting to get much bigger
and I had less wiggle room. Soon the game was largely all-in or fold which
simplifies things a little but also makes you more dependent on getting good
cards. Better, more experienced players than me would not need them and simply
pick spots to push or put pressure on others. I survived a bit longer winning a
99 v AJ race but soon after my 77 lost to AQ and I was out in 301st
place (out of 10262), an hour or so too early to make day two. I got a further
$129.92 for my finishing position giving me over $400 in total plus a massive
boost to my poker confidence. My bankroll is now over $1600 and I will try more
concertedly to qualify for the big one again. In the results e-mail Pokerstars
send they always say we hope you had fun. Most importantly, I really did. I am looking
forward to the next one.
Take care
Jason
(Kartajana)
