FTOPS Event #1 Summary
FTOPS VI kicked off on Wednesday, November 7th with its $216 Short Handed No Limit Hold’em event. Over 3500 people entered the event with a guaranteed prize pool of $750,000, 432 places would be paid and nearly $150,000 would go to the winner. The event was hosted by high stakes cash game pro Brad Booth.
Many professionals entered the event, but not many faired well. In fact, out of the nearly 30 Full Tilt sponsored pros who entered, none cashed. The best of the bunch was Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, who received 658th place, still a ways away from the money. Of the well known online tournament pros, apestyles, ranked 3rd on pocketfives.com, busted out in 41st place, for merely $1,725. With only one more pro in his way, amateur blur5f6 took down the top prize. The results were as follows.
1)blur5f6 – $146,287.50
2) demonchild724 – $90,750
3) TiltaMents – $62,250
4) Lbisponger9 – $47,625
5) anzell – $33,750
6) FatalError – $22,875
FatalErrorInterview
John “FatalError” Aguiar started poker during his freshman year of college with a $30 deposit. In only a few years he was playing some of the highest buy in cash games online was consider one of the best short stackers of the $5,000 buy in full ring games. However, Aguiar doesn’t short stack anymore, as he feels as it is an unethical exploit of the games. Although, he does appreciate what it did for him.“It saved my bankroll and funded my move to Vegas.” Aguiar told me. “And it turned me into a really killer tournament player.” Three months ago Aguiar decided to ditch cash games and move to tournaments; shortstacking made it an easy transition, as did being friends with great online tournament pro’s like Shaun Deeb. A few weeks ago I talked to him about his final table of Event #1 of FTOPS VI.
ISF: Going into the tournament, what was your outlook and feelings about it? Did you feel the specific format was to your advantage? Did you feel like you had a good shot at winning?
JA: Yeah I’m definitely very +EV versus a large field like that, and Full Tilt also has great structures.
JA: I’d been running horrible for a long time though so I wasn’t exactly at my peak confidence wise…but, donkaments are all luck though, right?
ISF: Lol
ISF: Did you have a different strategy going in then say some other tournaments?
JA: Not really, I don’t really think about strategy before I sit down
ISF: Alright take me through a brief summary of your tournament, your feelings also.
JA: Well I ran very hot in the first hour, I think I flopped 5 sets. I didn’t really have any tough decisions in the first few hours, if I remember right I ran up a top 10 stack and then stagnated through the money and went on a tear with about 20 left to get to the chip lead 9 handed
but there was a long FT bubble with 7 people, my table was 4 handed and I was opening every pot
right before the bubble burst I lost a 2mil+ chip pot with a pair and GSFD on the turn
ISF: Full Tilt Poker Game #4106366238: FTOPS Event #1 (30641969), Table 269 – 25000/50000 Ante 6000 – No Limit Hold’em – 5:06:04 ET – 2007/11/08
Seat 3: anzell (1,737,434)
Seat 4: Lbisponger9 (938,788)
Seat 5: demonchild724 (1,124,730)
Seat 6: FatalError (1,532,495)
anzell antes 6,000
Lbisponger9 antes 6,000
demonchild724 antes 6,000
FatalError antes 6,000
anzell posts the small blind of 25,000
Lbisponger9 posts the big blind of 50,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
demonchild724 folds
FatalError raises to 125,420
anzell folds
Lbisponger9 calls 75,420
*** FLOP *** [3h Kh Ac]
Lbisponger9 checks
FatalError checks
*** TURN *** [3h Kh Ac] [Tc]
Lbisponger9 bets 299,840
FatalError has 15 seconds left to act
demonchild724: come on
FatalError raises to 599,680
Lbisponger9 raises to 807,368, and is all in
FatalError calls 207,688
Lbisponger9 shows [Jh Qs]
FatalError shows [3c Qc]
*** RIVER *** [3h Kh Ac Tc] [7h]
Lbisponger9 shows a straight, Ace high
FatalError shows a pair of Threes
Lbisponger9 wins the pot (1,914,576) with a straight, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,914,576 | Rake 0
Board: [3h Kh Ac Tc 7h]
Seat 3: anzell (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Lbisponger9 (big blind) showed [Jh Qs] and won (1,914,576) with a straight, Ace high
Seat 5: demonchild724 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: FatalError (button) showed [3c Qc] and lost with a pair of Threes
JA: Yeah, definitely not a standard hand
ISF: What was your thought process?
JA: Well I’m opening any 2 preflop because the table is letting me run them over
on the flop I think LBI’s range is heavily polarized to 2 cards 9 or higher or maybe a suited ace I think he’s shoving pairs PF so I check behind for pot control and turn the big draw
ISF: Right, the flop seems standard
JA: And he makes a huge lead, I’m not folding this draw here with my stack
so it’s between call and raise
ISF: And you thought there was fold equity
JA: Yes, unfortunately he ended up having the top of his range
JA: And I think his pot sized bet is terrible
ISF: Why do you think his bet was terrible?
JA: Too big unless he’s trying to induce a bluff shove which I don’t think this player was capable of
ISF: So then after that you sort of limped along to the final table?
JA: No I stayed active, shoved over some opens, but the bubble broke quickly after
ISF: So your at the final table…. what are you thinking? Do you like your chances?
JA: I had tiltaments to my left who had taken over the chip lead and been playing very good agro so I basically drew the worst seat but I also have a PF shoving stack and I’m not playing to move up in pay
ISF: Even though I’m sure this money wasn’t that big to you, did you call any family or friends to come rail?
JA: well there were a ton of 2p2ers on the rail but, I hadn’t been at the final table long enough to tell anyone. Plus it was late
ISF: So how long was it till you busted?
JA: 4-5 hands
ISF: Damn!
JA: Very first hand at FT was an all in AK vs. 88 shortstack had 88 flop A river 8 and 4 hands later I think I stop and go’ed tiltaments
JA: Might have been a few more hands I’m not sure
ISF: When you busted out, did you think tiltaments was going to win?
JA: He was the only good player left with a lot of chips so he was the clear favorite
ISF: I know you weren’t at the FT for too long, but what did you think of blur5f6 the winner?
JA: I’m not quite sure who even won though, after I busted full tilt had a “fatal error” and paused the event
ISF: Lol
JA: LBI was the only person at the FT I had played much with everyone else, all I knew was what others had told me they had no real cashes and were unknowns
ISF: So you busted out… are you disappointed? Or are you feeling content with a 20k score?
JA: well normally I’d have a few days to be miserable, but I had the Foxwoods main even in a few hrs so I just went to sleep. Obviously disappointed though, I had a lot of equity with 8 left
ISF: But you did well at Foxwoods the next day right?
JA: actually day 1 was very meh
JA: I turned 30k into 40k
ISF: But then you did better day 2?
JA: No
ISF: So it took a few days!
JA: Josh Arieh ruined my life all day
ISF: Tell me the story
JA: He picked me when I sat down and called every single one of my opens for 8 and a half hours played back at me on every flop and then shoved over my open when I had AK I snap and he has AA
ISF: Wow, but you were still in it?
JA: So I was down to like 12k, and that was the beginning of my 3+ days of shortstacking… that woulda been I think 400-800 level
JA: I wouldn’t have over 30bb again until somewhere around 6000-12000
ISF: Brutal
JA: Eh, I had fun with it
JA: Which I think it what kept me alive for days
Fatal busted out in 17th place for about $45,000.
ISF: So how many more FTOPS events are you planning on playing?
JA: I’ll play both Sundays
JA: And the 2500 tomorrow will be kind of a game time decision
ISF: Well good luck in the rest of FTOPS
JA: Sure, thanks
JA: Wafflecrush