Bittersweet Goodbye

I want to start off by apologizing to my readers for the big gap since my last post.

As you all know I love to post and share with everyone what is going on. There has been some behind-the-scenes stuff going on that has prevented that.

The last couple of months have been action packed though, that's for sure. Coming off of the win to start the year at Borgata, I cashed in the main event out there as well.

I may be more proud of what happened in that tournament than any other to date. I built a great stack over the course of Day 1, sharing the felt with Frank Vizza for the entire day.

We both ran our stacks up pretty nicely, and maybe it was coincidence or maybe it was just one of those things that I think all poker players need to do a bit more of.

We pretty much avoided each other all day, realizing that this is going to be a four-day tournament and there are eight better spots to pick at the table than battle it out with in my mind the best player at the table in Frank.

It's hard as a poker player to sometimes swallow your pride and just stay away from certain players. Not in fear of being outplayed, just simply realizing it doesn't make any sense to go at it with this person at this particular time.

Better to pick your spots than battle it out with a player like Frank Vizza for no reason.

The more tournaments I play, however, the more I see two GREAT players clash in the early stages of a big tournament, and someone will always lose that battle and find themselves on the rail earlier than they anticipated.

Anyway, on to Day 2, where things were smooth sailing for basically the entire day. UNTIL the dreaded extra level was added to thin the field a bit more going into Day 3.

The structure for this tournament was so super-sick that at the end of Day 2 we weren't even really close to the money. That is what 50k in chips and every single level of play included in the structure not missing a beat can do for a tournament, REALLY let you play for 3 days.

I took a couple of brutal beats in the last hour of play and was completely crippled, getting knocked down to around 30k when I was floating over the 200k mark for most of the day.

I was ready to just send in the chips with 20 mins to go in the level but I decided it would be best for me to get through the day, regroup and come back fighting the next day. I folded a couple K-J type hands and weak aces and avoided elimination.

Going into Day 3 I was 169 out of 172 and my friend Al Riccobono was 171 out of 172. Long story short, we both cashed and I got it in good for a 600k pot with 80 to go and lost to a runner-runner straight.

After Borgata, I bricked some Venetian events, went out to L.A. and cashed the first $1k tourney I played. With three tables to go and a really long bubble, I began to feel sick.

I got food poisoning and still managed to hang on long enough to cash while excusing myself from the table every so often to, uh, well you get the point. It was ugly.

Getting sick really threw me for a loop, and I was excited to get home and rest up. Most recently I final-tabled the WSOP Circuit main event at Caesars in Atlantic City.

I took seventh along with accolades from many people that I have a great deal of respect for in this game. I am solidifying my place in the poker world and showing that I belong, and I am doing it in every way possible.

I had no chips in this tournament from about Level 3 on. To see people who had huge stacks just continue to drop, and for myself to continue to pick the right spots to move my few chips around and stay alive, felt great.

Hungrier than ever.

I put myself in a position to win the tournament, which is all you could really ask for. I lost a race with JJ for an above-average stack with seven to go, and I'm convinced especially by the way things played out at the final table that if my jacks hold there I win the tournament.

I am hungrier than ever to get out there and play, and I only see good things ahead.

I want to thank PokerListings.com for giving me a chance to share my past six months with all of you, and I appreciate all of the e-mails. I encourage you guys to keep them coming at JYoungpoker@hotmail.com.

I will be continuing my blog over at PokerPages.com and I hope that you will continue to follow me on my journey there. Thanks again for everything.

-JY

• Fast-Forwarding Through the Hard Times
• Full Life Tilt Volume 1
• Slow-Rolled ... Plus Bloggers Gone Wild
• Beast of a Table at Worst Place in the World