When Being A Calling Station Pays

PokerStars Game #34633944073: Tournament #206545239, $3.00+$0.30 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XX (700/1400) - 2009/10/28 20:49:20 MT [2009/10/28 22:49:20 ET]
Table '206545239 8' 4-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: nerv1 (26823 in chips)
Seat 2: Mondogarage (83670 in chips)
Seat 3: Thxalot (102091 in chips)
Seat 4: ironrat317 (34156 in chips)
nerv1: posts the ante 175
Mondogarage: posts the ante 175
Thxalot: posts the ante 175
ironrat317: posts the ante 175
Mondogarage: posts small blind 700
Thxalot: posts big blind 1400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Mondogarage [Ac Qc]
ironrat317: folds
nerv1: folds
Mondogarage: raises 2800 to 4200
Thxalot: raises 7000 to 11200
Mondogarage: calls 7000
*** FLOP *** [2c Kh Kc]
Mondogarage: checks
Thxalot: bets 8800 (could be a value bet with a K, or protecting less than nut flush draw? pocket pair?)
Mondogarage: calls 8800 (why not, I do have nut flush draw)
*** TURN *** [2c Kh Kc] [3h]
Mondogarage: bets 8400 (okay, time to protect my flush draw now)
Thxalot: raises 8400 to 16800 (okay, he's gotta have a K, right?)
Mondogarage: calls 8400
*** RIVER *** [2c Kh Kc 3h] [9c] (not the nuts, but a lowercase yahtzee?)
Mondogarage: bets 7000 (trying to induce a raise here)
Thxalot: raises 53200 to 60200 (hmm...tell me he didn't play 99, plz)
Mondogarage: calls 39695 and is all-in (in for a penny, in for a pound)
Uncalled bet (13505) returned to Thxalot
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Thxalot: shows [6c 4d] (a pair of Kings) (holy CRAPTASTIC stone cold bluff)
Mondogarage: shows [Ac Qc] (a flush, Ace high) (thank you, come again!)
Mondogarage collected 167690 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 167690 | Rake 0
Board [2c Kh Kc 3h 9c]
Seat 1: nerv1 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Mondogarage (small blind) showed [Ac Qc] and won (167690) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 3: Thxalot (big blind) showed [6c 4d] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 4: ironrat317 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

That hand ended up setting me up for a really deep run in what was, I think, a 1000 player tournament. What even made this better was that at one point, a short bit before the money bubble, I was in the BB holding 52o, with less than one BB behind, when UTG raised and everyone else folded. I thought, fuck it, I got nothing left, and I'd be headsup either totally crushed, or with two live cards. So I called, and he flipped up something like AT or AJ. Flop comes A34 rainbow, and BOOM! I survived. And then thrived, big time.

Weird spot...with five tables (20 players) left, four of the top six stacks were all at the same table. All the chips. I came into that table 3rd in chips.

It was a real chance to make hay, and the tourney winner really would have been expected to come from us four.

Of course, I went out 15th, when small blind caught his OESD on the turn. (I was holding TPTK, and he waited to raise me all in until the river. Meh. Still, given the comeback, I could go away sorta happy.