Yeah you played very well... poker is a game that can have anyone second guess thereself. noone couldve folded that... i read of Barry Greenstein doing it one time, flopping a set of queens vrs a set of aces, and folding, but he didnt fold till river. better luck next year. Good game by the way.

Look at the bright side . . . you didn't have some one call you with so far the worst of it that they had to catch miracle miracle to win . . . and then they catch miracle miracle to win! Oh well . . .I guess that only happens in the online tourneys that get you there!

Hats off to you.... you made it.... and there's more to come....
My advice is to not second guess your play.... let's face it, you could have just as easily made a big score on that hand....were he to have held any big Ace or pocket K's.... so take a deep breath and "fugetaboutit" - pun intended

Dude, simply put those are the hands that send even the top pro's to the rail!!! Great Job and I hope you had a good time, we were all rooting for you!

I think you played it decently. You could have - and maybe should have - you would have had a better idea of where you stood. Tough to play either way

I truly don't think anyone would lay down that hand and especially the way it went down. Unbeliveable luck in my humble opinion is what brings down even the best. Your skill will bring you back there and perhaps we'll see you on the final table. You have the skill; best of luck to go along with that. Patrick

WTG Mike! You already know my answer, given the situation you'd do the same thing 999 times out of a 1000. cya at Dania

that is a trainwreck hand especially with an aggressive player. There is no way to get away from that situation. Unless you are dealing with a super tight player, how can you put him on AA there. Congrats on your great play to get there.

anyone who folds a set of queens there is dead money. if you flop a set of queens and worry the other guy has a set of aces, you need to start playing canasta instead. well played fugetaboutit...whether it was the last hand of the day or the first hand of the day, you played it right.

you did an awesome job and u have my respect...best of luck always....Sheee

I cant see any better way to play that hand. If that was me and i flopped a set...i wouldnt be able to sit in my chair....i guess thats why i would never make it at the WSOP... Congrats on getting there....You played in the WSOP, got a free trip, some extra cash, met some pros, and im sure a Free Tshirt...lol....WTG

Only Phil Hellmuth can dodge bullets baby!
Set over set, i've heard stories of people getting away from it.. That's where his agressiveness payed off though, had you set up to go out if the situation came up, which it did.
At least you got to play in the WSOP ME!
Good luck and see ya at the tables.

Ahhhhh arm chair poker playing....lol. With everything you said, he knows that by betting aggressively with weak to med hands, once in a while he will actually have a hand. Unfortunately you happen to pick up a set over set. Being he had position over you it was hard to get away and reraising preflop would have seen him push back anyway. Still hard to tell what he would have had. So all I can say is, well played.

well played. you can make a case for reraising preflop and then if he shoves maybe you can get away, but once you flop that Q, it's just an ugly, ugly cooler, and no, there is absolutely ZERO way to get away from that. I think you can hold your head high.

That is a tuff hand no matter what u done it was going all in. With the history behind the player U did the right thing. He just got lucky and u did not.

3bet pf to about 8K and if he pushes.......well then re-evaluate what he might be pushing with off the button based on what you've learned by playing with him all day, i.e. hands he's shown down from that position or how he's played when 3betted. as played, once you saw the flop, set over set is just bad luck

Thanks for your detailed and very honest blog. You did great to make it almost to the end of day one. The culture shock of that enormous room gets to many people in the first hour. You had a great adventure that you'll remember for life. Don't Monday morning quarterback your play. You did the best you could with the information you had. That's poker and that's the best anyone can do. Enjoy the ride, it was a thrilling one.

There so no way he is playing back at you with K,J or even K,Q, guessing he looks at you as a tight player, so If I was you after I bet the flop and get re-rasied I flat call ( or if it is like a big re-raise like 50% of my chips) might have to give him A's there. I think if he has A,Q he would just call you, and hope he is traping you with A,K, then you can check trun and check it down. In live poker and the bigger buy-in checking is not a weak play always. Online plays like to push, over pla

set over set is just bad luck for the guy holding the smaller set. There was no way to get away from that hand once you saw the flop.

3bet preflop to like 8K and if he pushes then, re-evaluate based on what you observed of his play all day. i.e. was he showing down strong hands, weak hands, bluffs when raising from the button. if you played with him at your table you should have had some feel for his range then. if he was just trying to steal the button and you 3 bet him, he would probably fold with a marginal hand and if he pushes i would think he had a big hand. with that said, as played once the flop comes, set over set

PART 1 Just unlucky, Now Iam not saying I fold the hand at all, but you could play it with out losing all your chips, there is a Big differents playing live in a big event and playing online. Now the play is right about just calling here in SB( if you raise here and he comes over the top then what?), you are out of position. Now on the flop you should make a bet to see what he dose, if you get reasied then now you have to think A,Q?? or A's the only hands he would call or raise you with?

you said in your blog that when he raised on the button you play back at him with a strong hand,and then he folds.im wondering why you didnt stick to that,this time you choose to just call and you flopped something you couldnt get away from.

God loves poker players...but likes to remind us who's boss...we've all been there...way too much...we know we've got the nuts...well almost...with only one hand that can wipe us out....as timing will do....thats the hand that comes....und usually to someone seemingly less deserving....i was happy for you when you originally won....i too am originally from Ft Lauderdale and went to Ft Lauderdale High School....an original Flying L.....so you will know what to do better next year..ill see u there

Where's AA

The odds of him holdin pocket aces there are crazy so you can't do anything about it. That's certainly must be tough to deal with. I feel for you and I am sure you will have other opportunities in the future. There are many many chances around the net that you can successfully take down to win your seat again. You now have a story for life that most can't even come close to telling.

If you made that call the rest of your life you would be ok. BUT Reraising pre-flop to get a read would of been my move. You said you were 1000 confident you had the best hand but what gave you that feeling? was it the way he acted or just his style of play/bet. ?

Amazing Mike! No way could I of gotten away from that hand.
Anyway, you did Spade Club and Ft. Lauderdale proud!!!
Awesome job! You'll be the local hero at Dania Jai Alai...

nobody gets away from that hand. Sounds like you played it as well as you could.

World series is rigged