Now I know how Phil Hellmuth felt

Here's how I started my blog post "Now I know how Tony G felt", written on December 12, 2013:

Some years ago, there was a poker show on television called "The Big Game". I never saw it when it was being aired, but have since seen some great clips from it on the PokerStars TV website. Some of the most entertaining clips involved epic clashes, both poker and verbal, between Phil Hellmuth and Tony G. They're both well-known for harsh criticism of their opponents, so when they're sitting at the same table, you can expect real fireworks. On one of the shows, Tony G was relentless in his belittling of Hellmuth. He kept repeating, over and over, "I own you!".

This time around, I know how Phil Hellmuth felt. In my short-lived appearance in the second tournament I entered last night, I lost all but 20 of my 1,500 chips to the same opponent. The 20 chips I didn't lose to him comprised my loss on the first of the five hands I played. There were no verbal clashes, but the poker clashes were sufficient for me to realize I'd been utterly owned. The funny thing is, I had a feeling after the first loss to my "owner" that I was going to lose more chips to him. I knew it would have very little to do with skill. Sometimes, there's nothing you can do, short of folding every time that player is in the hand. That's a cowardly tactic, and one I'd never adopt.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    99     138   36    22    99000
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6     5     206   60     -        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    31     485  114   239        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     9      53   15     -        0
MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       9    21     218   45    91        0

delta: $-141,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,726,648
2017 balance: $648,625
balance: $12,066,455