FLW Tour pro becomes WSOP ‘bubble boy’
It’s the spot infamously coined as the “bubble boy” – reserved for the highest-finishing player who doesn’t get paid at the World Series of Poker Main Event. And that’s where FLW Tour pro Tim McDonald stood last July in Las Vegas, 748th out of the 7,319 players registered. Had McDonald finished one place higher, he would have earned the guaranteed minimum of $19,263.
But McDonald’s story goes much deeper. After four intense days, 36 hours and approximately 500 hands of poker, the Prestonburg, Ky., native was torn. Keenly aware of his position, he knew he could play conservatively and get a check. In fact, he had passed on three or four previous hands in which his down cards were favorable.
“At that moment, I told myself I didn’t come here to win $10,000,” said McDonald, who paid $10,000 just to enter the Main Event. “I came here to make a run at it. And I decided if I got another good hand I was going to play.”
Never has the phrase “be careful what you wish for” rung truer. On the very next hand, McDonald received a pair of pocket queens. He stuck with his gut and played. But he wasn’t the only one at the table feeling confident. Another player pushed McDonald “all in” and with it went his roughly 90,000 chips.
“I knew he played the weak ace so I decided to shove all in.”
With McDonald holding a pair of queens and his opponent holding ace-two, McDonald had roughly a 3 to 2 mathematical advantage.
“Then he flopped aces full (ace-ace-two) on me. But that’s poker. Just because you have the best hand going in doesn’t mean you have the best hand after the flop. Everybody faces bad beats. You just hope to have enough to overcome them.”
What really gets McDonald is the fact that four players on different tables went “all in” shortly before him. But every one of them came out on top. Had any of them lost, McDonald would have made the cutoff.
Once it was determined that no other player busted, the floor staff walked McDonald to the stage in the center of the Amazon Room in the Rio, and Tournament Director Jack Effel introduced him to the crowd.
“It was kind of ironic the way it all played it out. But I played about as good as I can play. I always knew where I was at and I played the percentages.”
Not all was lost for McDonald. Soon after, the WSOP announced it would pay for his $10,000 buy-in to next year’s Main Event as a consolation prize. The timing of the event works perfect too as the FLW Tour takes a break between the June Kentucky Lake qualifier and the Forrest Wood Cup, held in mid-August.
“Most of the time, we’d be finishing up an FLW Tour event. But with the Main Event scheduled for July 7, this works just perfect. I’ll even be able to play two or three of the other World Series events in preparation.”
As much as McDonald enjoys tournament poker, he says it doesn’t quite compare to tournament fishing.
“I really enjoy how poker allows you to meet a diverse group of people. But it’s just not as enjoyable as being outside. In poker you’re playing for the money – fishing is more for the challenge. In fishing, you don’t just have to beat the people; you have to beat Mother Nature.
“In my opinion, tournament bass fishing is the greatest sport in the world. There is nothing else like it.”
When the physical toll becomes too much, McDonald plans to switch his focus from tournament fishing to tournament poker. But for now, he’s most concerned with next week’s FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake.
To watch McDonald’s WSOP interview, click here.