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 The short answer is my pair of 9's lost to KQ off suit, but I was pretty well doomed when I got to the new table. 

 Everyone was friendly during check-in and I dropped off some shirts to give away as prizes. The prizes was all donated and there was a great atmosphere in the room. Everyone there was to play in honor of a guy who had a big heart and loved poker. $50 got you 4000 worth of chips and you could re buy up until the 2nd break. The top 8 at the final table would split the cash with the next 8 getting to draw for some excellent prizes. After a teary eyed video in memory of Jeff the tourney got underway and we were off.

I had started the day with an early rebuy when I picked up pocket kings in the BB with the SB folding pre-flop. The flop came 3-7-10 rainbow and I checked in first position to see what the table did. Everyone checked to the guy who was very aggressive when he made a huge bet to steal the pot with his 10 high. I put him all-in and he showed me the A-10, which, hit on the turn, sending me for my first and only rebuy of the tourney. I would double up off him just before the break to get back what I lost and more when I put him all in with A-Q to his A-J with both of us hitting an A on the flop.

We had just been consolidated to 2 tables after about 6 hours of play. Honestly, the time seemed to fly by with breaks every hour and blinds going up every half. I had taken a few pots when I arrived at the new table when I was dealt K-Q and flopped A-J-10 to knock one guy out and was feeling good. A few hands later the short stack at the table who was next to the BB declared ALL-IN and picked up a caller. I waited for a bit before declaring all in and got him to fold after a long wait. A-A vs 8-8 and the first card up is an 8. I would not pick up an A to knock him out and he tripled up.

A few hands later with the blinds increasing I made a push pre-flop with A-9 sooted and the pocket queens on the button almost crippled me. The very next hand I was dealt pocket 7's and was thinking of making my final stand when I had 2 all-ins in front of me. I didnt' want to fold them and wouldn't have if 2 guys were both all in. I figured I would have to beat at least 3 overcards maybe 4 possibly even a higher pair. I showed them to the guy behind me before giving up on them when he said "One will hit now that you folded" I said "the story of my life" when the first card over was a 7. A King appeared and the guy who beat me with trip 8's earlier doubled up yet again.

At that point I don't' know what I was thinking, or maybe I did. I wanted to stay alive and get 1st place. The Next hand with me now about only 2x the BB I looked at J-5 off suite when I thought, well just all in with 2 cards or wait out another hand or 2 before the blinds get back? I should have just played them because the flop was J-J-3 with a 5 coming on the river. I felt pretty dumb.

With pocket 9's coming the next hand I was all in and out when a K showed up first. The Hellmuth hand would not come to my rescue this time. I was out in 11th place and won a pair of excellent Basketball tickets.

I learned a lot from my very first live tourney. There is no box that tells you what the pot size is or how many chips you and your opponents have. The action is a lot slower and I can't multi-table either. The experience is way different from the online one I play every day, but I liked it and want to play in larger ones, Preferably ones where I don't have to shuffle and deal. 

I met some great new people and had a blast so see you at next years Jeff Gayton Memorial Poker Tournament. 

Hey,
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So I just returned from the UltimateBet Cross Canada Tour here in Toronto.
The all day conference consisted of Poker cash game, Tournament and Sit n Go strategy, several Q&A Sessions and a meet and greet with Phil Hellmuth Jr and the UB Pros: KrazyKanauck, Debo34, P0ker H0 and Shawn Rice.
There was a solid turnout of about 200 people that attended this event at the Sheraton Center Hotel in downtown Toronto despite the fact that there was yet another snowstorm descending upon our city. Among the PowerPoint Slides they also discussed and played back numerous hands in both cash and SnG’s and explained in depth how position is so important. During some of their stories the pros talked about playing at the WSOP events over the years and how they can take a toll on your body as well as your mind and how you should try to keep fit and eat healthy well before you arrive to grind it out in Vegas.
During the Hand replays, members from the audience were invited to participate with feedback on their potential decisions before we would actually see how the hand played out fully. It was interesting to see how, in certain situations, an otherwise trash hand can turn into a large payoff just by playing position and reading your opponents. The touched upon Bubble play and talked in-depth about antes and blinds in tournaments.
The event, chaired by Phil and Alex Outhred was full of stories of hands won and lost, some Bad Beats and jokes, mixed in with a little trash talking, had the event moving along smoothly till it wrapped up and the pros and even Phil hung around for autographs and pictures.
Serinda Swan, the face of Absolute Poker and a GUESS model (and also a smokin hot Canadian) was on hand for most of the day, hanging out, so I managed to steal her away from her Macbook for a picture.

Overall, I found the seminar very informative and learned a bunch of new tips and tricks that I hope will improve my game.
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