Report from Jeff "Matusow": OH8 Tournament results from Running Aces Card Room

There were 38 starters on four tables. Pay out was to 7 places which surprised me given the low number of entries. The play was pretty bad early on and several players were playing every hand until they either had massive stacks or got knocked out (usually the former than the latter) ANDd I was fairly card dead. At the end of the 1st break I had won just two 1/4 pots (splitting the low both times) and lost another one when I had every out in the world for a scoop or at least 1/2. I think in all three pots I had at least one nut flush draw and straight draw after the turn with the nut low already locked up but couldn't hit. On only one hand did I get in trouble by donking off about 400 chips when I should never have called the flop bet.We returned from break and I had only 2500 chips with blinds of 200/400. I tripled up shortly after that when I flopped a boat out of the big blind and there was no low. I slowly lost chips again but hung around through level six and made the second break. There were only 11 left and we were coming back to blinds of 800/1600 and I only had 4800 left. I work to build my stack up to around 10,000 but then doubled up a short-stack up when he hit a two outer on the river. When we broke for the final table I was down to 7200 (avg. stack was around 18k.) I paid a round of blinds, someone got knocked out, and when I was UTG and the blinds about to reach 1k/2k I picked up A244 with suited A. I raised to 3200 and an awful player called in LP. The blinds folded. I went all-in blind for my last 1600 and he called. I don't remember the exact flop but I know that after the turn I needed a 7 or 8 for a low and half the pot and an A, 4, 5 or diamond for a scoop of the 12,000 chip pot. The river was a ten of clubs and I was out in 9th place -- losing to nothing more than the donkey's 88xx with now low possibility.