The End

I write to you from McCarron Airport, where I immediately bolted to after getting knocked out.

I will recap the hand in greater detail, but here's how it went down.

Jeff Bryan, the pro to my right, opened up and raised to $1,800. I had pocket 4's. I called the $1,800.

Everybody else folded.

The flop came off 4 (club) 7 (club) 8 (spade).

He leads out and bets $2,500.

I raise it to $7,500.

He calls.

The turn comes off 6 (spade).

He leads out and bets $25,000.

That's right $25,000.

I put him on an overpair or a flush draw with top pair. My tournament life is on the line, and I call him.

He turns over 5 (spade) 8 (club). He has the straight.

I still have some outs if the board pairs.

But, the river comes off 3 spade.

That's that.

As you can imagine, I'm incredibly disappointed. In hindsight, it should've been obvious that he hit the straight...and even if he didn't, with $30,000 chips still left, there was no reason to call. He could have had a higher set, a flush draw, or the straight. He also could have had an overpair, but I should've known better.

I really should've.

People may criticize his play with a 58 offsuit, but the reason you play 58 offsuit is to break people off with a huge pot. That's why Jeff Bryan is a pro. That's why he won $330,000 last year at the Main Event.

I see two mistakes with my play.

1. I should have raised much more than the 5k I raised after the flop. That was a big mistake. With a flush draw on the board, I should've raised more...much less the opportunity for a straight.

2. I should've laid it down...obviously. He outplayed me by overbetting...with the hopes that I'd either call with the set or bet me off the flush draw...and the overbet was there to make me think he didn't have it. It was a great play...and I completely blew it.

It's one thing to get bad beat. It's another to get outplayed. I got outplayed, and I couldn't be more disappointed in myself for allowing it to happen. If I bet $10,000 to $12,500 on the reraise post-flop, he lays his hand down. I fucked that up. And, the call was a piss poor as well.

I really apologize to everyone who had been pulling for me throughout this whole thing. I feel like I let people down. I was playing my game. I really was. And, then I just flat-out dropped the ball.

Thank you again for all the emails showing support and wishing me luck over the last week. It meant a hell of a lot. I really wish I could've brought it home for everybody.

Log-in and post your comments, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.