It all started with a hope and a dream of playing. But make no mistake, he, like many others, carries self-doubt and nervousness about whether or not they can compete at a higher level.
All he wanted was the opportunity. That opportunity came when I needed a last minute partner for the FPN Step-In-The-Ring Tag Team Championship.
I reached out to the members of the Misfits Poker League and Keith responded with the hopes that I still needed a partner. As luck would have it, I hadn't been able to find a partner, so Keith and I made it official...we were partners.
Our adventure in the tag team tournament began by both of us playing tight for the first three levels. After that we both opened up our game and were able to chip up to 50k at second break. This is when things got interesting. Keith ran 50k up to nearly 70k before running card dead and dropping half the stack back to 31.5k. I stepped in and promptly went card dead as well, losing a couple of key hands, dropping us down to mere fumes of 11k in chips at the second break. With 30ish teams remaining and only 11k, our chance of making the final table of nine was slim to none. Keith sat down and with three key wins with pocket three's, pocket five's, and pocket nine's was able to revive our chances getting us a stack of 60-70k in chips with 27 players reamaining. Needless to say Keith was running hot, stayed in, and was able to manage our stack all the way to the final table where we finished in 9th place and qualified for a seat in the FPN Step-In-The-Ring Championship Event with a double starting stack of 20k in chips. What happened next was what some folks might call a miracle, but for Keith, it was just the chance that he was looking for.
Keith continued his hot streak and managed to quietly run up his chip stack over the course of the main event. The entire Misfits family was sweating for the remaining players as they got closer to the money, which happened to be the top 36 players of a total of 384 entrants.
The Misfits Poker League was proud to have two players make the money. Irfan Mohammed was able to ladder up and finish in 26th place and Keith Wahl kept his run alive by making another final table of nine and competing for the National Championship. Keith showed nothing but heart and determination in his effort. Please remember that Keith didn't have a seat to the main event, until the last possible chance at the tag team event the night before. He grinded it out and turned a $100 buy-in into a $1100 payout over the course of 18 hours of tournament poker. That's right, Keith finished in fifth place, earning himself $1000 and the respect of the Misfits Family.
That payday and more importantly the tournament experience on the felt, is was gave Keith the confidence to play the Gladiator Tournament at the 2024 World Series of Poker.
Once again, Keith has stated that all he ever wanted was the opportunity. Needless to say, he got it and took full advantage of it. They say it takes skill and a little bit of luck to win or cash in poker tournaments. I say it takes skill, luck, and the desire to grow your game. Keith had all three of those things in spades, and it paid off.
The lesson here is: It doesn't matter if you think your good or not, what matters is putting in the time on the felt at our nightly Misfits events. That experience will become invaluable as you begin to play in tournaments throughout the Las Vegas valley, including the FPN promotional championships, like the ones that Keith used to qualify and cash in. You can do it! Join us!
To Keith, you earned this! Have fun and run good.
To all the Misfits that are playing at the 2024 WSOP, best of luck and run good!
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