I started Day 2 of the WPT Foxwoods main event with $72k at $400/$800 with a $100 ante, and a great table draw.

I recognized a couple of East Coast regulars when I saw my table draw, but only one stood out to me as a solid opponent: Clint Schafer.

Clint chopped the 2007 WSOP Circuit main event in New Orleans last year when he got heads-up with Louie Esposito. He also made a deep run in the WSOP Main Event this year, finishing 32nd for $193k.

It seemed like a great situation, and I was honestly looking forward to a day of deep-stacked poker with bad players.

However, things aren't always as they seem and I got off on the wrong foot right away. After a player opened for $2k and another called, I decided to reraise to $9k from the button with T♣ T♦.

Although I'd usually just call and take a flop in position, I decided that I didn't want to set mine when I was pretty sure I already had the best hand. Unfortunately, he four-bet to $32k total and had me well covered.

Schafer: Only solid player at table, but it didn't pay off.

I reluctantly folded, asking him not to show me A-K. So he proceeded to do exactly what I requested he not do: show me the A♣ K♦.

So I stuck a whole bunch of chips in the pot and ended up folding the best hand. I also wasn't particularly happy with my decision to three-bet in this situation in the end.

Oh well, I still had over $60k and was in a great spot to chip up at an aggressive and inexperienced table.

Unfortunately, I remained stuck in reverse after that. A majority of my pre-flop raises would get three-bet, and I got caught on a multistreet bluff one of the few times I didn't get three-bet pre-flop.

I was already down to $47k by the end of our first level of play on Day 2, going to $500/$1,000 with a $150 ante.

My stack basically hovered near that amount for the next couple of levels. I snapped off a bluff from the aggressive French guy with second pair, but kept slowly bleeding those chips away.

Either I'd get three-bet pre, raised on the flop, or even the rare call-flop-and-shove-in-my-face-on-turn ... when I obviously had my usual nothing sandwich that I was dealt all day.

It was really starting to tilt me after a few hours, to be honest. The table was filled with miserable and boring people, which just made losing chips to them suck even more.

The sicker part is that I'm pretty sure that most of the opponents who were raising my every bet actually had it. Most of them didn't seem like the type to bluff, so if I'm right it was more of the deck crapping on me than me getting pwned.

Ryan Young: Complete psycho at the table, but always welcome.

Regardless, I was not happy about it.

Thankfully they brought Ryan Young over during the $600/$1,200 with a $200 ante level. I think I've blogged about Ryan before ... he has a WSOP bracelet and some other nice finishes, and is a complete psycho at the table.

But he's one of the nicest and most entertaining people I've ever played with, and is always a welcome addition at my table.

It'd be a crime if I didn't digress for a moment to tell a great story that tells you everything you need to know about Ryan.

While deep in the $3k NL at the WSOP this year, he had gone from chip leader to the short stack of the tournament. Someone at the table knew him pretty well, and asked him where the chips went.

While he grinded out the short stack, Ryan told the following story while smiling and chuckling about it ...

"Well, David Singer showed up to my table over there. He came over with all these chips and tried to raise the button on my big blind! I looked down at the 9d-3c and said 'Screw this guy' and reraised.

Had the aces.

"Then he four-bet me, and I knew he was just making a move because he thought I was restealing. So I move all-in ... and he calls me with his two aces ..."

Not embarrassed one bit, and still having a blast after five-betting away the chip lead with a nine and a three. That is Ryan Young in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen!

Twenty percent of my tilt factor was gone as soon as I saw Ryan wander over to my table with his racks (and racks and racks ... because that's how he rolls).

It's rare that I'd want a total sicko at my table just for entertainment's sake, but Ryan's company is worth putting up with his relentlessly psychotic but tricky play. The fact that we're buddies doesn't stop us from going at it on the felt, either.

Within an hour after his arrival I found myself all-in against him. He opened to $3,600 from the cut-off at $600/$1,200 ($200), which merely means that he's still conscious and does, in fact, have two cards in his hand.

I moved in for my last $24k from the small blind with the K♥ J♥, crippled from getting pwned every time I entered a pot without the nuts. He called pretty quickly, showing A♣ Q♠. Considering it was Ryan, this was practically a cooler!

Luckily the deck realized how fair it was for Ryan to actually have a hand here, and rewarded me with a king on the turn after a low, ragged flop. He hit a meaningless queen on the river, and I doubled to a little over $50k.

I went back to my usual routine of getting three-bet and squeezed on constantly after that brief moment of the rungoodsauce being spread around. Then the French guy opened to $4,500 from early position at $800/$1,600 with a $200 ante. I three-bet to $14,500 right behind him.

It folded to a player in middle position who cold four-bet all in for about $57k total. At this point I probably would have lost my mind completely if I didn't have A♠ A♦, but I finally had what I was supposed to for once!!!

The French guy got out of the way and I obviously called. He showed Q♣ Q♦, and proceeded to runner-runner quads after I flopped a boat.

Sigh.

OK, that makes it sound slightly more disgusting than it was ... even though it is the truth. The board ran out 3♣ 3♠ 3♦ Q♥ Q♠.

Strangely reminiscent of WPT Niagara Falls ... I was left speechless (not something I'm generally known for =P). I flicked my aces at a pretty high angle across the table, but managed to keep my cool and even squeezed out a "Nice hand" to the guy.

I moved in under the gun the next hand for $4,500 total, holding A♦ K♣. The big blind tanked for a moment despite the fact that it was only $2,900 more to him, and called with J♣ 4♦.

I was already walking around the table saying good luck to the guy who had the Q♣ Q♦ and to Ryan when the flop came 4♣ T♠ 4♠. Just for fun, I hit a useless K♠ on the river to rub salt in the wound.

Sigh ...

--Matt Stout

"All In At 420"

More blogs from Matt Stout:

• WPT Foxwoods Day 1a: The Pimp Hat
• WSOP Redux and Kenna James, Prop Bet Fish
• Bellagio $5k: Saving the Rungoodsauce
• WPT Niagara Falls: NAPC