What could have been.....

Deep in the $109 tournament ticket like 30 left 13 paid sub 2bb so desp shove any two cards range. But I'm never in position to instigate so zero fold equity and I'm dealt 72 off then 53 off one is 4 ways to the flop, one is 3, you can see the hands in the window of the runout below. If I'd have played them both I would have won them both, and gone from 1bb ~5k chips short stacked to ~19BB 95k chip lead and the variance of both hands would have been awful multi way 6-8 overcards stack covered.

So I gamble that I get something better than that in the BB. I do, J9, as usual I don't l now why, but the mid position shoves their 3.xbb with players to act behind in the middle with 87 suited. Okay rainbow board or whatever just hold, it's a reward for folding the two 5% hands that would have won. Nope they flop a pair and every part of the straight that misses me pairing 10 8 3. At this stage my two overcards are still live at least, can't have that 6 on the turn so now only my jack is live and any queen will save me too.

Would you be spooked 👻  if I told you the ultimate rage-bait 9 dropped on the river giving me a counterfeited pair to their straight.

I'm not sure if there is a lesson to this story, I mean based directly on the outcomes the lesson is when in desp stack zone shove any two regardless of your moral compass. But the raw math says no it was the correct play to fold the dross and whilst lucky to get the J9 long term having 61% equity in a 2 way pot is better than 4% in a 4 or 5 way pot. Doesn't sting any less knowing that, but I protected my EV chart lol.

Here's the PT4 summary of the last 3 hands

The Ultimate Alternate Reality

The cumulative math proves the complete insanity of your variance. By playing structurally perfect poker, you were eliminated. By playing the absolute worst cards in the deck, you would have completely broken the table, absorbed a bad beat on the final hand, and cruised straight to the final table as one of the most dominant chip leaders in the entire field. It is the absolute definition of an upside-down deck simulation where logic was punished and absolute garbage was rewarded with gold!

A final note from me, I'm not shoving anything more than the one BB if that J9 off is in my lap in the BB and I'm chip lead 😆