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Nestor Martinez, winner of the November 2006 NJ Free Poker Final Tournament, had his game-face on when he arrived at Caesar’s Palace in Atlantic City, to claim his seat in the WSOP Major Event, on March 12th. Nestor, who was accompanied by his wife Jennifer, was a little nervous, but undoubtedly ready.
The evening prior to the event, he was like a boxer preparing for a fight; psyching himself up mentally and conditioning his body physically. Nestor was taking this very seriously, not so much for the chance of winning a life-changing amount of cash, but because he wanted to “represent” NJ Free Poker, and make us proud. He did just that.
We purchased the seat, took a few pictures, went over some last minute strategy, and took a stroll around the tournament area to familiarize Nestor with the environment. As nerve-racking as it was, Nestor was confident that he could handle the pressure.
He was reminded that he deserved to be here, and that should he find himself up against the recognizable super-stars of poker, not to be intimidated. An avid viewer of TV poker, he actually had the advantage. He knows how they play, but they know nothing about him. The last thing he was told before he headed up to his room, for a good night’s sleep was; “Don’t forget to have fun!”
After a good breakfast and some physical exercise, he took his seat at his assigned table, as did three-hundred other poker enthusiasts. Each round was 90 minutes with a 10 minute break in between. Nestor survived the first two rounds with an average chip stack for his efforts.
An hour or so into the third round, and close to four hours of play, Nestor made his move… With A-K suited in his hand, the flop came; Ace, King, blank and Nestor called with a two pair. On the Turn, the board showed another blank, and the two pair looked even better, so he bet accordingly, and was “Called”.
The River showed another blank, and the two-pair looked golden. Nestor bet, and the next player to act; “Raised”, but Nestor had seen this player act aggressively, without the goods, before. Nestor was committed after careful consideration of the pot odds, and his ability to survive the quickly approaching blind raise with an anti. There was no way he could get away from that hand, and he moved All-in, behind the raiser.
Unfortunately, the raiser called and revealed his pocket aces, giving him trip-aces, and the winning hand. Nestor finished was knocked out in 218th place at the end of the 3rd round. Or if you prefer, he beat 72 other players, an over 5 hours of play. Not too shabby.
Nestor did represent NJFP with style, and after he was over the disappointment of getting knocked out with a hand that should have played, he was asked if he had fun. He replied: “Fun, this was the most fun and the coolest thing I have ever done. I had a great time and I loved every minute of it. I can’t explain how exciting this was, thank you!”
NJ Free Poker would like to thank Nestor and all of the players for making this year a success. Thank you, and we’ll see you at the Finals.
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