No fewer than five people stayed in for the flop. I had Q9 and the board had JT, all four of them clubs — how could I not stay in with cards like that? The other guy had J7, it eventually turned out, and having gained a pair in the flop he was feeling confident. I had 15 outs — 18 if the board didn't produce another J or 7 — and that makes odds of better than 50%. But I didn't get what I wanted, and just to add insult to injury the board produced another J on the river to make three of a kind versus nothing. And so I was out.
I made it into the top 50; my elimination message said there were 48 players left in the tournament. I had a high of $245400 and survived a whole four months more than last year. I am still sad to be out, but unlike last year when I was really annoyed to be out so soon, I don't feel hard done by: I had some good luck to go with the bad. I may even get round to writing up the last couple of months' hands at some point (like I never did last year). And it's only five months until the next one.