Chip and a chair

Jenna and I headed to the Gilpin for the 3pm, $70 freeze-out. Everything going fine until just after the first break, 2 pair runs into a set and I'm crippled down to 500. Blinds are sitting at 300-600 and I have the small blind posted and 200 behind. The tide begins to turn when there are 4 limpers and I quad up with trip 5s. So now I sit with 2k and quad up again rivering the nut flush against the guy that bet into a dry side pot...A little breathing room with 8k, not nearly comfortable, but still better than being felted and things could be looking up. So I pay a round of blinds and sit around 6.5k and in the cutoff with aces, get 2 callers and aces hold and now I sit with over 22k, just about average stack and a huge comeback in the works. Tourney progresses and from 50 starting players, there are 14 or so and a super aggressive guy sits down with a decent stack and spews off about 25k in chips to me and I'm feeling confident looking good at making the final table.

Final table hits and with 500,000 chips in play, blinds are 2000-4000 and jumping to 4000-8000 very quickly. I'm sitting average in chips, but needed to steal a round of blinds each orbit to avoid dropping into more desperation. We lose a few and agree to pay the bubble their buy in back and then it we lose 6th place. A few hands after break I win a huge race when my TT holds up against AQd and I'm now sitting at 158,000. One more huge hand that I am not involved in, guy that had the AQ and another guy are short and both push all in and get called by BB. BB has AK, short stacks have A9 and AT, ten hits the flop, then king on the turn and we are now at 3. After some short negotiating and paying blinds that got to 8000-16000 and not getting much to attempt a steal, we agree to a 3 way chop. Chip leader takes 880 and other player and I take 700 each. I'm beyond ecstatic seeing that I was down to 500 chips and survived all the way back to cash and then make and agree to a nice chop. I heard all the stories that you can do it from the short stack early, and all I needed was some nice timing for hands and having them hold up. GL to all who go play tomorrow, Jenna's heading up there so be kind and she'll gladly take any chip donations from you.

Nice!! Nothing like the old "chip and a chair" routine.

I had the exact opposite results as you did. Last Thursday, played the same $70 3:00 tournament. Started with 5 tables and I lose half my stack on the first hand I play (AK v 55) when I turn two pair and my opponent flops a set. Proceed to go on a tear and end the first break with 40k in chips. Next break only 25k in chips. Third break leaves me with 12k in chips to where I final table and bust out in 10th.

Well played sir!

Awesome recovery! Even if you don't end up 1st in those situations, just running deep after being crippled is always a good feeling. I was using your run as inspiration to me yesterday in a JokerStars HORSE tourney where I was as low as 91 chips midway in the first hour, only to claw my back going out 13th of 400.

Your recovery is to be especially commended, and not panicking when going short is always a nice achievement.