Fantasy Poker Freeroll

Fantasy Poker Freeroll

If you are looking for a freeroll with a very strong likelihood of cashing, you might want to check out FullTilt’s Fantasy Poker League.  For just about each event of the WSOP you pick a team of 15 players, 5 A, 5B and 5C.  You get 3x points for A, 2x for B and x for C, where X is that players prize money for the tournament.  Top 500 fantasy players in each event win an entry into a freeroll with a $1000 prize pool.  Top 20 in that freeroll also get an entry into another freeroll for a seat at the 2007 WSOP ME.

Now, I was a particularly skilled fantasy player for event 14, which Allen Cunningham won for my A team, earning me a spot in tonight’s freeroll.

I normally loathe freerolls because the #participants/prize pool ratio means I have an expected value of about 3 cents with at least 5 hours worth of play to claim it.  This is different.  Since you don’t actively enroll in it I don’t think very many people even knew they play.  There was no email notification or anything that I am aware of.  I think about 200 out of the 500 showed up.  At least one table had all no shows, which was rather comical to watch.

My table had 4 players and 5 dummies, but the live players were all to my immediate left, which meant I was out of position all the time, and had very few steal opportunities.  None the less, I made to the first break  with a little over 4K in chips.  

Unfortunately for me, I had to take a break for about an hour so I could pick up my wife from work.  I hoped that I had enough chips left to survive the blinds and sneak into the money.  Maybe I’d even have enough to fight my way back and win some decent cash.

When I arrived back still had almost 3K in chips and blinds were at about 100/200 with a 25 ante.  I’m 72nd out of the remaining 80 players.  54 pay.  First hand I get JQ and push all in thinking to myself how amusing it would be to get rush home, play one hand and bust out.  Everyone folds and I’m ready to take over.  

After a few orbits of folding garbage, I then proceed to go on a rush with a series of high pocket pairs and perfect flops.  I even flop two pair in a multiway pot with the big blind special.  

Then I’m dealt pocket cowboys and get one caller to my 4xBB raise.  I’m already counting my chips, just praying I don’t see an ace on the flop.  I don’t. The flop is KQ7 rainbow and I have the nuts. And he puts me all in.  I think I would have done one of those Hellmuth insta call before your opponent can get his chips in and jump and down looking clever for making a fool out of my opponent things, but I was really confused as to what he might have.  I rechecked the board to make sure he couldn’t have anything, and sure enough, I still had the nuts.  

I call, and he turns over JT.  Oh shit I think.  This has bad news written all over it.  Sure enough a nine on the river gives him the straight and I go out in 72nd place.  I guess there is some honor in that.

It wasn’t really a bad move on his part.  It was some sort semi-bluff and he had a fair amount of outs, so what are you gonna do?  I had an uphill battle anyways.

One thing that does piss me off, is that it seems like every time I am in a tournament lately some assclown at the table has 30 friends railbirding him, and they decide to use the poker chat window as their personal IM client.  Occasionally its amusing, but I really don’t need to read about how great your next semester of school is going to be, or how you are about to do you first beer bong, or how your double dates have gone with that blonde chick.  Especially when none of you are playing at my damn table.

Yeah I know, I could turn chat off, but sometimes the bickering between other players amuses me, so I like to leave it on.  So anyway, moral of the store is, you can sit out for the second hour of this tournament and still come in the top 15% of the field.  Go sign up for fantasy poker.  Or wait.  Don’t.  I need to qualify for some more free tourneys and I don’t need you getting in my way.

Its actually probably good that I busted out when I did, because there are still 55 people in, and its starting to get near my bedtime.   The last thing I need is to not get enough sleep so I could win $3 in a stupid tournament.