"THIS IS IT!"

AKTOR TAKES THE STAGE AT THE 2008 WORLD SERIES OF POKER AND SERVES NOTICE THAT RED HOT POKER TOUR MEMBERS ARE READY FOR THE BIG TIME.

"When the dust settled on the Red Hot Poker Tour's tenth Tournament of Champions, three players - Osman Soubra, Bob Clemmer, and Sal Villaluz - had won entry into the a $1500 World Series of Poker event. But they weren't the only Red Hotter's going to Vegas on a freeroll. The night before, Gary Biggar beat out a table full of regional leaderboard champions to get his own seat to the big dance. With four skilled east division players ready to rumble, it was almost inevitable that one of them would go deep for a big score."

What follows is Gary's account of how he became the first of what will eventually be many Red Hot Poker Tour prize winners to cash - and cash big! - in a major poker tournament.

Here's how it ended:

I pushed all my chips in with pocket queens and got called by Ac6c. My opponent flopped the nut flush and I was suddenly out... and financially $36,000 richer! (Less of course the IRS's cut and staff gratuity)

Two-thousand six-hundred and ninety-three players forked over $1500 to play event #52 of the 2008 World Series of Poker. Of those 2693 players I finished 10th!

Suh–weet!

So... Where do I begin? How about with my card protector: a domino. At the Red Hot Poker Tour Regional Championship I used the 8-8 domino and pocket 8's were the winning hand that got me to the WSOP. Fate? Who knows? Anyhow, this time through I brought the 5-5 for no specific reason. Many times, while idly spinning the domino, I was asked about its significance. Having to fabricate a story I went down the sympathy route. The actor in me took over and I went for something along the lines of, "I have 5 children, they bought me a domino gift set for Fathers Day saying the 5-5 was for luck and to remind me of them." It was total BS, I've got to admit. Who knows if it bought a sympathy FOLD, or a needed CALL at the right time? On the flipside, I never revealed to anyone that I am an actor, feeling it would bring unwanted action.

On Day 1, Kenna James was at my table, sitting in the 4 seat while I was in seat 1. I managed to outplay him, and got a hold of some early chips. As I made my deep run later in the tournament, and after Andys Bloch and Black made the rounds, Kenna was the last pro to stop at the rail and check in on the action. Seeing me still alive, I was surprised when he recognized me, winked, and shot me a thumbs-up! Unfortunately, as day 1 trudged on with its quick structure, I was having a tough time staying ahead of the blinds. I ended Day 1 with 11,500 chips in 206th place, well behind the chipleader's 230,000. Still, I was alive, and looking to thrive.

It was the wee hours of the morning, and I decided to walk the 30 minutes back to Harrah's from the Rio to unwind, and to get some exercise which would hopefully help me sleep deeply. It worked very well indeed.

To start Day 2, I walked back to the Rio around 1pm, to better wake up and get my head focused. It also helped get my body alert and my blood flowing, even though I knew that with such a small stack I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I was not long for the game. Wow did things change in a hurry.

On the second hand of the day, with antes at 200 and the blinds at 1000/2000, I looked down at my hole cards and stalled. That brief moment of hesitation prompted the man in seat 4 - event #10 bracelet winner Farzad Rouhani from Iran - to read my mind. "IS THIS IT?" he yelled, sensing what I had planned. When I looked up, we somehow connected with a smile. In fact, I had already decided that, with my suited A8 ("The Dead Man's Hand") and only 11,300 back, THIS was indeed IT. And with that I shoved all-in.

Farzad in the big blind said to me, "That is the best 7-high move you are going to get away with against me all day". And then he folded. Suddenly I had 16,500 in chips and 3 hands later I found AhQh. Again I stalled, and with action folded around to me, I latched onto the new catch phrase and said again, "THIS IS IT!" Everyone folded to the big blind who stalled himself. He counted his 70,000 chips, and pondered a call, visibly aching to see my cards. He went into a self-induced rage of confusion (or something) and he kept repeating, "Do I want to see them?" over and over again. He called and slammed his A-10 down... and cursed himself when I showed the AQ. And BAM, I was up over 35,000 chips and things got better as the day inched on.

Some mighty huge stacks fell by the wayside, each excusing their blow-up with identical points of view. Something along the lines of, "Only the top 3 spots are worth playing for." I felt that was arrogant and surely the cause of their downfall. One guy floored me when during a break I overheard heard him say, "I think I am the most notable guy left." Nobody seemed to recognize him that I could tell. After the break I was moved to his table and on his right. His vanity was well worth earmarking, because he played like a donkey after that. It didn't take me long to double through him with AQ when he called with 99 and I hit the queen. Seventy-nine thousand times two, right there. YES!

He went on to double up another guy for 110,000. Then, tilted and steaming, he raised a reraiser from 45,000 to 145,000, and, after getting a fold, he yelped out, "MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE HAND", before shooting his 8-6 offsuit across the table. No one was impressed. In Red Hot circles, this hand is known as "The Kooze". Need I say more?

This run of wackiness ended after he lost another huge pot, not showing after an all-in bet on the river. His 400,000 in chips were gone in less than an hour, since I first took my seat at his table. My 79,000 stack, in the meantime, had grown to 110,000. Nice.

There were LOTS of other chip dumps that happened. I kept telling myself, "They are doing it wrong... keep doing what you are doing, AKTOR", referring to my online name, "because it is working." It is oddly sad to see the depression wash over a player when a huge stack washes away, and the regret that is evident in them.

With all the chips flying around me, I was, surprisingly, not overwhelmed at all by the entire experience. Instead, I felt calm, cool, and collected. I drew upon Banjo's shared experiences of his WPT event, and then re-read James Reinhart's shared one-pager of hints and tips. It was very reassuring having the voices of Red Hot Poker Tour supporters in my head with me. While the crowds had thinned into the night, there was no physical Red Hot Poker Tour cheering section on the rail, but it somehow alleviated the pressure. As much as I thought it might be nice to have some people rooting me on, I was convinced that it was better that there were none. Perhaps I just cannot admit to myself, "Gary you have no friends!" OK, there. I said it. Sad, I know. Twenty-six hours of play time with no friends at my side, who else am I going to chat with? Certainly not my opponents. Not about the hands I was or was not playing. My daughter bought me a journal to keep notes in, and this was how I filled my break times; documenting my feelings, recent hand, player behaviours, table observations and strategies.

At one point, I think I may even have told myself, "I can do this!" I then sent that voice away, and tried to focus only on the immediate hand in front me. "The future is NOW," I kept telling myself, "stay here and now."

This led to another big hand of note. Folded to me, and before I could act, The Russian Czar on my left asked me, "Is this it?" I sensed he wanted me to shove. So I shoved. Before my fingertips had fully grabbed my stack, he called and slammed down his KQ. I completed my shove, counted out 293,000, and then wished him good luck as I turned over my AK.

Like a dagger, he hit his queen on the flop, and I was suddenly behind. Staying positive, I advised him that the Ace was a God, only to be disappointed by the 7d on the turn. And I repeated to him, and the entire room with much encouragement, that "THE ACE IS A GOD!" And sure enough the Ace of hearts made an appearance. I then excitedly released a boisterous, "THIS IS IT!!!"

Next came the biggest hand of note before that one that busted me out. I found pocket threes, and called a preflop raise of 2.5 times the big blind. The flop came down 2-3-K, but all diamonds. I flopped a set and bet out 150,000. My opponent pushed all-in and I called. He rolled over Q9, both of diamonds, and I need to pair the board to win. Didn't happen and I lost 379,000 chips. I lost only 2 hands the entire day. Both times I was against a flush, and both times to the same guy - established pro David Daneshgar who would go on to take down the bracelet and $635,000. Good on him.

So that's a wrap, I guess. Other fleeting memories come to mind. I busted Mimi Tran. I sat beside Vanessa Rousso for half a hand before she busted (no pun intended). I wound up busting out when the 3000 ante matched our original tournament starting stacks. I started Day 2 at Table 6, seat 1, got moved to table 4, seat 1, back to table 6 (but seat 6 this time), then, as we redrew for the final dozen players, right back to where I started: Table 6, seat 1. What goes around comes around, I guess...

I learned a helluva lot this week. I had an incredible 2-day run. On behalf of all of Team Canada who got this incredible opportunity, I want to thank Party Poker, the sponsor, and the Red Hot Poker Tour. I hope I can do it again soon!

And I hope that the level of the bar I have set will be surpassed by another Red Hot player. Whether I get another chance to shine, or if somebody else gets a chance to live their dream, let's all rejoice on that day again... and soon! And together we can cheer them on with a rousing, "THIS IS IT!"