Terrance 'TJ' Reid is PokerOrg’s Live Events Manager and a passionate poker player. He earned his biggest score to date in December – finishing 4th in the WSOP Super Main Event for $3 million.
For all the memorable deep runs I've had throughout my career, there's one venue that gets the best of me every time I step inside: the PokerGO Studio. I've played two events there, both $5Ks, and didn't make it out of Level 1 in either. I've flushed the studio toilets more times than I've scooped a pot there.
So, when the Last Chance series was announced, I was hopeful to get the small but proverbial monkey off my back. With six straight days of $10K events, it'd be a good time to find some success there.
Although I've never cashed there, my scores in the $10K WSOP Main Event and the $25K Super Main Event both count toward the PGT Leaderboard, so I'm ironically only one or two cashes away from securing a spot in the upcoming $1M Championship Freeroll.
My first day played out just like my previous visits there.
An unsurprisingly tough table
The Last Chance series boasts a small field of Vegas crushers playing a $10K series, so there are no easy tables. With about 40 people registered at the start of play, we set up seven-handed at all tables, with five of those seats filled at mine. On my direct left are Patrick Leonard and James Collopy. About 15 minutes in, Michael Berk moves between them from another table, and he would end up being the death of me.
My early exit courtesy of Michael Berk
Battling five-handed early, I had won a few hands and lost a few hands, hovering around the starting stack, but sitting at about 95K when this hand started.
At 500/1K/1K, I raise the button to 3K with 
. Leonard calls in the small blind before Berk raises to 13K from the big blind. I decide to call in position, Leonard folds, and we go heads-up to a flop of 
, giving me top pair. Berk bets 14K, and I call.
- Pot 58K - Turn:
I drill trips on the turn. I expect Berk to check this card frequently, and he does. With lots of draws on board and me having one of the strongest hands I'll have, I go for value by betting 22K. He check-raises all in and has me slightly covered.
With 46K behind, I don't love calling it off. Even though I have such a strong hand, it's really only a bluff catcher here, and I can't find too many bluffs. I do call, and I see the bad news. Berk shows that he three-bet with 
and flopped the straight. The 
falls on the river, and it sends me packing.
Stick to the game plan
I came into the series planning to fire one bullet per day, and I’m sticking to it. It's always tempting to jump right back in after being eliminated early, but sticking with a series game plan is essential to success.
I'll be back in there for Event #2 and the rest of the week.
