Scott Cook bowed of this year's WSOP Main Event in 40th place. By his own admission, he allowed 'tilt' to get the better of him over the course of a two hour period on day 7 when his stack plunged from a healthy 4 million to 1.5 million. However, there were numerous mitigating factors for Scott's uncharacteristic bout of tilt; the pressure of the lights and cameras on the feature table, a mouthy opponent in the form of Jeff Schulman, the fact that he hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep in over a week. Scott was put through the ringer both physically and psychologically for 55 hours of poker and there is not many of us who would go that long without making a mistake.
Scott's run was characterised by selective aggression, risk aversion and patience. He did not bulldoze his way through the 6500 man field, relying on lady luck to double up time and time again. Instead, he tip-toed through the minefield of players, dodging marginal situations, trusting is reads and raking in small pot after small pot. Along the way, he encountered and took chips off many of the world's best players. He made thin value bets and induced bluffs from Bertrand Grospelier, Phil Ivey and Joe Hachem.
Scott's secret was how he controlled the size of pots, understanding brilliantly when to keep it small and when to inflate. He was measured, thoughtful and deliberate and at no point did he get out of line, chase a draw at the wrong price or make a reckless bluff. His tweeter-style updates on the badbeatspoker.net site allowed his friends to enjoy his experience vicariously but it also serves as a diary of his progress and an insight into his composed mindset. With the exception of the last couple of hours, Scott truly was in the zone and it is for the 53 hours of near perfect play that his run should be remembered.
Scott takes away a cheque $170,000, a prize that I imagine looks better now in the cold light of day than it did immediately after busting. It isn't $8.5 million but it is by far his biggest poker achievement to date. I know he feels like it was an opportunity lost but that is only because he is extraordinarily self-critical. A diligent student of the game, he analyses his own performance with a phenomenal amount of honesty. "I got so close", he'll say. That is true Scott but you also went so far. I hope that in the days to come, he will begin to realise just how great an achievement this was and take a moment out from the inevitable post-mortem and hand-analyses to afford himself a well-deserved pat on the back.
Congratulations Scott. Your story is an inspiration to us all.
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