The World Series of Poker Main Event final table is coming up in a couple of days. I’m jealous. Most things in, around, and about poker I take in stride as well as anyone. I credit most of my success to my ability to see the long view: what is really important and what has the most impact, and then focus on those things while not getting caught up in the minutia. Part of that for me was finding my place in cash games where I can pick the game and, more importantly, my opponents.

My first real introduction to poker was the tournament format; that fit my personal background of playing strategy games and I immediately took to it. Cash game play was more of a conscious and deliberate choice and I have grown to enjoy them, but they didn’t have the initial draw that tournament poker did for me.

All of that is to say that the World Series of Poker Main Event is a huge deal to me on both fronts. Obviously, it offers a chance at life-changing money through huge prizes and increased opportunities from the exposure that can be gained by going deep in the event. Along with the financial incentive, the WSOP Main Event is also the pinnacle of tournament poker; it is just fun.

The kicker this year: I had a shot. We all go into the Main Event thinking this will be the year, but we know the realistic odds of going deep are pretty thin. But, at dinner break this year, I had 1.1 million in chips with around 400 players left and felt great. I knew there were still 400 people and a long, long way to go, but compared to the 6,000+ that started, having to overcome a field of 400 didn’t seem nearly as daunting.

Then, four hours later, it all came to a crashing halt. I could have played a little differently maybe, but there were no huge mistakes or blowups; I just lost. I handled it well in the moment and was not nearly as struck by it as I was the first year I played the Main Event and busted not too far short of the bubble.

Honestly, after getting back home and into my normal swing of things, I didn’t think much more about it until I saw part of the episode with Anton Morgenstern (pictured) where he started as the chip leader and lost pot after pot. When I was really doing well on Day 4, going from 400,000 up to 1.1 million, I did much of it against Morgenstern. He is a strong, aggressive player, but in the moment, I had position on him and a significant chip advantage. I picked up a few tendencies and felt really comfortable against him even though he was obviously a dangerous opponent. Check out PocketFives’ episode recap.

Nothing changed other than a table break taking me away from that table. We can all look back at what could have been different, but it felt like had that table not broken, I would have continued to prosper and gone into Day 5 in strong position instead of hitting a slippery downward slope in the last hours of Day 4 to put me on a plane back to North Carolina.

I am realistic enough to know I could have busted within minutes of getting back even if my table hadn’t broken or I could have moved to the new table and ran hot as fire and ended up with a huge stack. Had I won a simple coin flip on my bust-out hand, I would have been back around my peak and still in great shape, but hindsight makes it feel like the table break was part of what got me. Seeing Morgenstern miss out on a great chance to make a WSOP Main Event final table makes me feel for him, but I also think it could have been me and how much fun it would have been to have been in his spot with the chip lead and a strong shot at making the final table.

Tournament poker is fun, but it can also be frustrating and tedious at times. There is nothing like a deep run in a major event to get the adrenaline flowing and remind a player of what it is they love about tournament poker.

For me, I am envious of the nine guys left in the WSOP Main Event, the 2013 WSOP November Nine, more so this year than ever before, mostly because this was the first year where I felt like I had a legitimate shot even if it was still a long one. JC Tran (pictured) has been a friend of mine for years and a player I have great respect for. I’m looking forward to watching him play at this final table, but there will definitely be a few tinges of jealousy as I’m watching from afar.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities for poker media businesses. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.

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