Player's Stories

PokerPages congratulates Joe "All-in" Wahlen and Andy Tse on their victories at the TOC Warmups. We are pleased to present the stories of these final two contestants as they reflect on their experiences during the Warmup events. Needless to say, they both played superb poker, and it's a real treat to hear from them about their successes.

TOC Warmup Final Table Places List

Joe Wahlen My Account of the TOC Warm-up
By Joe "All-in" Wahlen

The first tournament I entered during Poker Pages WSOP warm-up, I was in a chip gathering mode, neglecting to notice how few players were left. I finished 11th when 10 qualified. Undeterred by my mistake, I played more and more of the tourneys, qualifying twice for Round 2 but not making Round 3. I was not to contend for the WSOP seat, but I was ecstatic when my wife, Judy (Rio Rita), got heads-up with Mark Leah (slimmouse) in the final event! She had beaten all of the great players in Round 3 except one. It was an amazing effort by a woman with not much prior tourney experience. Congrats again, Mark.

My endeavor to reach the TOC started a week after I won one of the Round 1 tourneys. I qualified again for Round 2 and had a great experience taking 2nd in Omaha hi-lo! I had about a month before the final event to practice and study. Having a good track record in the tourneys at the Kickapoo Casino in south Texas and some good finishes at Poker Pages, I felt able to compete strongly in the final event. I was familiar with many of the names of the players at the tables, having seen them at so many final tables and Round 2s, so I knew some good poker was going to be played on June 30th.

Round 3 began fine; by the third betting limit I had increased my stack by 35%. I felt patient and in-control until I got into a hand ( I can't remember the details) that crippled me. I didn't have enough chips left to bet a whole hand. I thought "That's it, I can't possibly come back.".

I got up from the computer, walked around the house, calmed down, and waited until I got two decent cards to raise the blinds. A pair of queens showed up and in went the chips. I knew I was a goner when A-10-x flopped and a K turned, but so quickly we (Judy, her son Dylan, and I) saw a J flash on the river and I was back in business. I had tripled up, so that gave me nine big bets. Later, I raised on the button with suited A4 and was called by suited AQ. I bet the flop K-10-4, was called, K turn, bet, call, and a blank on the river. I was in good shape but made a couple of marginal plays. I'm not sure they were "mistakes," but they cost me.

While we were getting down to three and four tables, I noticed stkjk99 (we were calling him Stickjack). He had acquired 10,000 chips early and he was not letting go of them. When he raised, everyone fled. I laid down a suited AJ on the button on one occasion. I did not want to get involved with him unless I had the nuts. I remember thinking that he was going to be one of the finishers, if not the winner.

I continued to play a solid game, crush the small stacks, avoid the large, until we reached the final table. Stickjack still had almost 20% of all the chips, and then he opened up his game. "Here we go!" He began raising and accumulating. I knew he was playing marginal cards, because I was, and so was everyone else. We had to.

The closer we got, the less I remember details. I was playing to win and make the right moves at the moment, but when we got to three players I remember being the short stack. I kept saying to Judy and Dylan "One of us is NOT going to Vegas." I was able to hang on until Wired Ks got eliminated. Good game, Wired Ks, it was a pleasure playing with you.

The uproar in the room was immediate and overwhelming, but I still felt in the game. I knew Stickjack was a strong player and he had me outchipped 5-1 at one point, but it felt just like the one-on-one side games at Poker Pages. I gained the lead on my opponent and didn't let up.

The very first time I got heads-up at a Kickapoo tourney, I folded a K7. Later, a far more experienced player said I should've raised it. I believe it cost me a win that day. I picked up K7 against Stickjack and raised; he went all in. I don't remember if I flopped a seven, but the river was a king. Congratulations, and Good Luck to my worthy opponent. I look forward to meeting you at the Tournament of Champions.

Many thanks to Mark and Tina for giving me and all poker players of all skill levels the opportunity to come together and play the game we love.

Thanks to you, Mark and Tina, and your hard-working staff for the opportunity to represent you and all of the players at Poker Pages at the most prestigious of poker tournaments.

Thanks to my wife and Dylan and my daughter Monica for your love and support.

Thanks and "Good hand, sir" to all of the 10th Street Card Club players who just won't respect my raises.

See you in Vegas,
Joe All-in Wahlen (it rhymes)

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Andy Tse and Debbie Stkjk99 and his TOC Warm-up
By Andy Tse

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Tina and Mark Napolitano for providing thousands of poker players the opportunity to play tournament poker online, free of monetary pressures. This gives us the chance to participate in the most prestigious TOC "Tournament Of Champions" tournament, which is to be held at The Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas on July 27th - 29th. In addition, the up-to-date information for all poker players on PokerPages is simply marvelous. Tina and Mark's efforts to bring the best to their PokerPages site, and their dedication to us poker players, is second to none. (Applause Applause)

Next, I want to congratulate Joe All-in for the spectacular win. He is one tough opponent. I got him down to almost nothing, but he came back and gobbled me up. Hopefully, Joe and I will go heads-up again at the TOC final table for a re-match.

Thanks to all of you, PokerPages tournament players. It was your participation that made the qualifying process a special challenge. It really means a lot to me to be able to win one of the two TOC seats.

The beautiful lady next to me in the photo is my sweetheart, Debbie. Without her support of my spending hours on line playing PokerPages qualifying tournaments, I would not be writing this article. Her tolerance is to be commended. THANKS, Debbie.

I came from Hong Kong when I was 18 to attend Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Hey! I have something in common with Monica Lewinsky. Upon graduation, I went into the Investment Industry. So call me if you need any "hot tips" in the stock market. My favorite hobby is tournament poker. Discovering PokerPages WarmUp tournaments has been a Godsend. I hold Greatbrit - alias Paul Wesley - completely responsible for introducing me to the site. Seriously, we can all spread the word that PokerPages is the #1 Poker Portal on the net.

As far as my experience at the TOC Warmups, it was on the Saturday afternoon of the 3rd week that I made it to round 2 of the no-limit Hold'em tournament. Then on Sunday, I squeaked in 5th under the Omaha-8 format. But now, all I can recollect is that I played hard and I did not get unlucky, i.e. no bad beats.

It was ultra exciting for me to play in round 3 on June 30th. I got up at 8 am PST and read my poker notes on limit Hold'em. I had to be mentally prepared to do battle. I knew the other 99 qualifiers had played great to get there. Not only were they going to be tough to beat, but some of them were going to be aggressive - some super aggressive - and some were going to lurk in the weeds, trap you, and snap you off. I knew I had to play my A game and I needed a bit of luck at the right time. Then, when it was down to the three of us, Joe All-in made a straight and took out WiredKs, I got that piece of luck. I thought WiredKs played awesome and could have eliminated me.

All in all, I am now preparing to tackle all of the champions at the TOC. I know it is a hard job. Well, somebody has to do it! It will be delightful for me to write my next article for PokerPages entitled The Triumph of a PokerPages Player at the TOC. Until then, see you all on the Net, and may you never get unlucky.

Andy Tse

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TOC Warmup Final Table Places

1 Joe All-in

2 stkjk99

3 WiredKs

4 budNJ

5 aces4me

6 raiderbill

7 cubfan

8 kidd

9 marocgirl