Final Round

So I entered the last round of the evening doing ok - right at that 63,000 I would want to be at, although I hadn't gotten a hand in an hour since I moved tables.

An hour later I had played the following hands:



Two hours without a hand - unbelievable. Right around 2 hours I did get pocket 9's, but under the gun raised and the big, big stack at the table ($225K) raised to $6,200. I had people after me, I had the blinds after me, I had the original raiser after me, and even if I called and none of them did, the big stack was going to bet the flop and if the flop had an Ace, King, or Queen, I would probably end up folding... so why waste the $6K trying to hit a set? So I folded. Perhaps too conservative? Or maybe a no brainer? What good are pocket nines anyway?

A couple hands later it's the big, big stack's blind and I get AQ off... so I raise - I haven't made a move in two hours, I've been hemorrhaging chips, and just picking up the blinds and antes would be a nice relief. But she calls. Of course she calls.

Flop comes Q, J, little with a couple diamonds - so I bet my top pair, top kicker.

She glares at me and calls. Of course she calls.

Another little one on the turn, so I bet $8,200. For me, this is like 20% of my stack. For her, it's like 3%. Anyway, she glares at me for a while and finally folds reluctantly, almost as if she thought I was bluffing. Right... because I didn't play a hand for two hours and decided to bluff on the giant stack's blind from an early position. But I picked up 7,000 and got right back to the 63,000 with an hour left - I should have no problem finishing the night above 50,000.

I almost raised QJ suited under the gun, but folded it... too conservative? Or a no brainer? I didn't need the hassle.

Another time everyone folded and small blind made a min raise. I called with K 3 suited, but missed the flop, the turn, and folded to his bet after the turn.

That's it. In the three hours since I moved to that table, those were the only hands I played... or could have played. Two hands in 3 hours... and one was just because it was me and the small blind and I had position for a min raise. One real, true hand in 3 hours.

I hate table 14.

Right up until about 20 minutes to go.

I've got about 53,000 left and if I don't play another hand (Which wouldn't be shocking), I should end up about 50,000 for tomorrow... which is perfectly fine, I'll have about 12 or 13 times around the table and have the entire first round and part of the second round to find a decent pot.

I'm in great shape.

Anyway, I'm on the button and everyone folds to me... I look down at queens.

So I raise. Big blind reraises and I call - I figure I'll see if there's an Ace or a King on the flop before putting any more in preflop.

Flop comes... 8 clubs, 3 clubs, 3 hearts. He bets 9,000 on a 15,000 pot. I raise to 24,000... no ace, no king, this is my pot. He comes back over the top and puts me all in.

Uh oh.

Suddenly I don't feel so good about my queens. I mean, he three bet me preflop and three bet me after the flop... and I was betting big and had demonstrated I was a conservative player (See: played 2 hands in 3 hours). What if he has aces?

No... he couldn't have aces.

Could he?

Well I can't fold to just thinking that he has aces...

Can I?

Let me count my remaining chips and see if I can get out of this hand...

Ugh, only about 22,000 left... if I fold, I'm in all in mode and basically shoving with anything - isn't it better to shove with my queens and the 63,000 pot?

But aces... surely he has aces.

But what else can I do? I can't be stuck with 22,000 in chips with 20 minutes left - I have 31,000 chips in there... I'm pot committed.

Besides, my queens are quite possibly good here.

So I called and flipped my queens up.

And he turned over... aces.

No, just kidding, he had tens!

TENS!!!

The turn was a ten. The river didn't save me. And in less than 30 seconds, I went from being an 88% prohibitive favorite to end the night over 100,000 in chips to out of the tournament.

Busted.

I'm not sure what to say... I want to cry... I want to vomit... I actually did a little of one already and I think I'm about due for the other.

There were some times in this tournament that I might have been able to extract more money. And certainly I pulled a couple bonehead moves I would have liked back. But all in all, I played about as well as I ever have. I was patient most of the time, I was aggressive when I needed to be, I didn't go on tilt when I went hours without a hand, I kept the ratio of my chip stack to the blinds in perspective and didn't get (too) intimidated by larger stacks... and when I had the chance, I got all my money in on a hand I win nine times out of ten.

And I lost.

I think I hate this game.

The "funny" part is that in May, I played in the Main Event of the New Orleans Circuit Event - it was the last major tournament I played in. I played well there too and got knocked out when my aces couldn't hold up against AK suited. I was 90% to win that hand too. You would think that I would actually win some of these 90% hands one of these days. I mean, statistically speaking, I should actually win about 9 out of 10 of them.

Anyway, in addition to crying and vomiting, cursing (loudly), drinking (heavily), and breaking things are now all on my list of things I want to do at 1:30 am. I wonder if the hotel/casino across the street has Woodford? I know they have table games... mmmmm... bourbon and blackjack...

At any rate, I guess that's all folks... thanks for reading and sorry I couldn't go for another day - I am actually stunned that I am not playing tomorrow - I had so many chips and there was so little time left :-)

C'est la vie...

Round Four Is No More

So I got through round four,  which was quite an interesting round...

I played AJ suited to a raise from a good position, but I missed the flop and had to fold.

I raised with KJ off from an early position,  was three bet,  and had to fold.  Down 5,000 quick.

Sidebar : I really need to reconsider my valuation of KJ, particularly from an early position.

Then it happened...  I'm big blind and watch a raise and a three bet from...  seat one.  I look down at big slick and call.  Flop comes A, K,  9 with two spades.  I check top two pair,  initial raiser checks,  and seat one bets 6,200. I call and the third guy drops. 

Turn was six of spades and I bet 12,000 on a 28,000 pot. It was actually kind of a dumb bet because I had the ace of spades and top two pair...  I should have checked to let seat one continue betting into me.  But I didn't and he folded... maybe I could have made that pot a lot bigger...  I don't know,  but it's still bothering me.

Next up,  aces in good position...  except everyone folded to me!  I raised little and got big blind to call. We both checked a weak flop...  I was hoping he would catch a pair.  The turn was weak and I bet small...  and got a call.  I tried to value bet the river,  but he folded. 

I had AQ off on the button,  but missed the flop...  then missed the turn...  then folded.  As last to act,  maybe I should have bet two overs,  but there were three other players,  so I took  a free turn.

About this time,  seat 9 crushed seat 1 for a 90,000 double up that left seat one with under fifteen.  This is great because seat nine is cocky and thinks I bluff a lot and I can set him up.  Moreover,  seat one will push all in before me,  which is obviously better than after me.

Then I'm big blind with K10 off and everyone folds to the small blind...  he calls,  I raise,  he folds,  free blinds and antes!

70,000... seat one is crippled to my right...  seat nine is setup...  I know the table...  everything is going so well...  wait...  wait what...  what's that you say?  You're breaking my table?  You're breaking my table?!!!

Yep,  I got moved to a new table with all new players three hours before the end of the night...  after I spent five hours learning my last table and developing a persona for them. 

Curses,  I hate new tables. So everyone at my new table has a lot more chips than me...  that's awesome, I'm glad I got moved here.

I moved with an hour left and 70,000 in chips.  I played the following hands after moving:

Which was fun.  63,500 at the last break and I've folded for an hour straight.

If I can end the night alive,  I will be happy.  Above 42,000 and I would head into tomorrow with a fighting chance.  Where I'm at now,  63,000 would be awesome,  and I would be ecstatic at 84,000 or above...  that would be twenty times around the table with tomorrow's round one blinds.

But first I have to get through round five of day two...

Day Two Dinner

I spent most of the round trying to come up with a good name for it.  The onion round.  The baby round.  Or just simply,  the round that makes you want to cry.  Turns out that it ended up being the most interesting round alive...

K9 suited in the big blind...  called a raise,  bluffed the flop I missed,  took it down.

AJ off in good position,  I raised and got a call.  I missed the flop we both checked,  then missed the turn...  but bet it anyway to take the pot down.

AQ under the gun...  big blind calls,  I get an ace on the flop followed by a fold.

Pretty good so far,  huh?

So I'm big blind and short stack from a middle position moves all in for 17,000... about half what I have left. Everyone else folds and it's on me with AK. He's been pretty conservative,  so I'm nervous to call as I would be behind against a pocket pair...  but I call because I have to. 

He has AJ off,  I'm 72% to win!  Flop comes little,  10, J.  Really?  Unbelievable.  C'mon queen...  the turn comes...  queen!  No,  it was another ten.  But I could get a queen on the river for my straight...  river comes...  queen!  No...  but I did get a king and take the hand down.  Knocked him out and I was sitting at about 58,000!

For like two hands...

So now I'm in the big blind and seat one raises...  shocking.  I three bet with queens and we go to the flop...  A 7 3 rainbow.  An ace?  Son of a...

So he bets 4,200 on a 12,000 pot and I consider my options.  I can't win,  so I bluff...  raise to 10,000! He came back over the top and I mucked em...  lost what I just won.

Ugh.

Why?

Then Came AQ off in the small blind...  I three bet the raise and missed the flop.  But I bet it anyway and took the pot down.

Then I have A10 suited in early position and raise...  and get three bet from the small blind.  I thought about folding figuring I am either outkicked or behind a pocket pair...  but I couldn't.  Flop comes 7h, As, 10s. Top two pair...  in position...  with a spade draw on the board.  He bets and I consider raising and taking it down...  but smooth call.  Turn is 4h, now there's a heart draw in addition to the spade draw...  even though I really don't think he's chasing hearts.

So with 15,000 in the pot,  he bets 8,400... I have 31,000 left.  Do I call,  raise,  or shove?  On the one hand,  I need to extract as much money as possible. On the other, there's 23,000 in the pot I need and I will lose it if I get rivered.

So I shoved...  screw it,  I was ahead and needed the pot...  if he was going to river me,  he was going to pay for it.  He thought long and hard,  then folded. Then I paid blinds for twenty minutes and left for dinner.

58,000 even at dinner break.

For the first two levels,  I was quite conservative,  and by round three had people believing me.  So in round three,  I made many bets people folded to,  and one bad bet I had to fold,  so I think I've  reversed the opinion on me at the table...  at least with some of the more aggressive players - seats  9, 1, and 2. If I can play the next couple rounds conservative, and if I can get a big hand,  I think I can get one of them to pay me off... 

Second Round, Second Day

Ok...  not a great round.  Could really use something good to happen.

Seat two had an ace exposed, which he says ruined his pocket aces...  so he went on tilt and doubled up seat one,  who had been relatively quiet after losing almost all his chips playing and raising every hand.

I started with AJ suited and raised from middle position,  which got two callers.  nothing on the flop and we checked around.  Turn was a fourth heart... I checked,  next guy bets,  then a call.  1,600 to chase...  but 9,600 in the pot,  so great odds with four hearts and two overs.  15 cards will win me a giant pot,  31 and not so good.  River was one of the 31 and I missed a big one.

Had KJ off in a middle position,  called a raise,  and folded to an ace on the and nothing for me.

Then it happened...  aces.  Early position.  Finally.  Nobody called and I won a whopping 1,600 in blinds and antes.

Two hands later the guy to my left doubled up with aces...  he won  18,000 with his aces.

I raised from a middle position with AJ and everyone folded. 

So with a half hour left,  I'm on the button and a middle position raises.  Seat one calls,  seat two calls,  and I raise preflop to 4,200 ... a huge raise.  Blinds fold,  raiser folds, seat one folds, seat two calls and my AQ off misses the flop. So I bet.  Which actually is the same as saying I bluffed.  He folded and I stopped the bleeding for a bit.

Then I raised with KJ off and the normally conservative big blind called.  I missed the flop but bet anyway...  he called and I checked until folding to his river bet on a board I completely missed.

I limped with K4 off from the big blind and was excited for a free flop,  but I missed it.

With about seven minutes left,  seat one knocked out seat two and he is now fully reloaded with chips for raising...  great.

Last hand of the round...  I almost skipped it because I have to go to the bathroom so bad.  But I couldn't,  so I looked at my cards under the gun...  A10 off.  So I raised and got a caller,  unfortunately.  I completely missed the flop,  which had no aces,  no tens, and three diamonds.  I looked...  no diamonds for me...  so I bet.  He called.  Turn was no help,  so I bet and he folded...  phew!

I didn't have time to count well,  but it looked like 33,000 exactly. Blinds will be 400/800/100 so I have about fifteen times around the table - more dire than when I started,  but not in the danger zone yet...  and certainly better than the 23,000 I dropped to in the middle of the round.

One And Done

Or at least,  one is done...  I survived round one.

So I don't think anyone at this table is the superstar I found online under the same name...  except seat one.

From the opening hand,  he played them all...  always raising.  He knocked out seat two on the first hand...  with four six suited that flushed on the river.  Oh,  and he plays anything - J8 off,  A5 off,  4 6 suited,  and those were just the ones I saw.  After picking up twenty to start,  he dropped a ton to...

The new seat two,  who evidently feels it is his responsibility to call or raise every move seat one makes.  He crushed seat one calling a huge bluff and now has enough chips to assert his presence with authority.  It's a rare hand that I'm not facing at least one raise.

I did have A10 off and had both blinds call.  I hit an ace on the flop and neither called my bet so I won a mini pot.

That was the first hour...

A half hour later,  seat one raised my big blind...  about the only thing surprising about that was that seat two didn't three bet...  so I did with AQ off and took his raise and my antes preflop.

That was about it until fifteen minutes left in the round and a flurry of activity.

I had 9 10 suited in the big blind and everyone called or checked so I limped in.  Flop came three unders with two hearts so I bet and won.

Then I had A6 on the button and raised...  a position raise.  I got two callers from the blinds,  but they folded to a continuation bet after the flop.

Then on the very last hand,  big slick. I raised and got three bet with a caller,  so I called and missed the flop.  We all checked it and I missed the turn that first to act bet big and I folded.  The three bet guy said he had big slick too...  no wonder i couldn't hit it.

Anyway,  32,000 at the break,  which gives me just under twenty times around the table with 300/600/75 blinds.

Going to need some of those pocket pairs,  sets,  and boats from early yesterday...

Day Two!

How exciting.

So, I start today at table 106, seat 3 with $30,750 chips and blinds at 250/500/50. At my table with me are the following players:

Taylor Paur: He has $70,000 in chips and won event #18 a couple weeks ago. His lifetime winnings between casino and online appear to be over $3M, and he has the 120th place player ranking on the year according to one website.

Well, at least I know who is going to be stealing my big blinds every round...

Lei Dai Shanghai: He has $21,550, is not from the US, and I can't find anything online. A wildcard.

Jeffrey Rydz: $30,750... now we're talking about wildcards.

Chris George: He has $34,650 and finished second in a Omaha Hi/Lo game earlier this summer. Also finished 4th in a mixed game event earlier this summer. He was 126th in this event in 2010.

Of course, there are a half dozen Chris George poker players and some aren't quite that good - none have a matching hometown with the guy to my left.

Another wildcard.

Matthew Dietrich: He has $27,400 and won a No Limit tournament in Melbourne in 2009.

Speaking of which, WSOP is having an event in Melbourne in April 2014 and I may have to go since my brother now lives in Australia and I was thinking of going in March anyway.

As long as early April isn't hunting season in Australia because I understand my brother's priorities. Anyway, Matthew is Canadian, so I don't think he should be a problem.

Donald Kelley: He has $39,975 and a couple cashes in random events, but is not as concerning as some other players (I'm talking about you seat 1).

John Corsi: He has $90,650 and is the big stack at the table... and has had some decent poker success in various tournaments.

Hal Marcus: He has $29,750 and I had trouble finding information about him. Every time I googled his name and poker, instead of getting a poker profile page like the others, I kept getting all these web pages to buy Hal Marcus poker books. Evidently Hal writes poker strategy books. That are published. And people buy. And learn from the master.

Great.

He also seems to be the maker of those little cheat sheet cards that tell you exactly when to stay, hit, double, etc. in blackjack for every scenario based on the best mathematical odds for that situation. It appears he has created, and now commercially sells, similar cards for No Limit Hold 'Em.

Great.

I wonder if he's got any extra cards for sale?

David Jun: He has $51,325 and a couple cashes in his history.

So that's my table... I'm guessing half of the stacks under $35K, which includes me, will be gone by the end of level 2. Well, out or doubled up... I would expect a lot of shoving in the first couple rounds. Maybe not right away, but certainly in the second half of the first round and into round two.

The average stack is $44K, but the median is only $34.6K, so I'm not far off from having a middle stack. I will be, however, under the gun to start.

I think I'm going to need to be more aggressive today if I want to get out of the day, but initially I plan to sit back and wait for a hand to jump on - I don't want to press early. $30K is still enough in relation to the blinds that I can wait a bit.

I'm much less nervous today than on Monday...

Day One Recap

It was an interesting day - I spent most of the day feeling invincible after increasing my stack 50% in the first three rounds and playing well... then had a miserable last four hours and gave it all back.

When I reviewed the hands I played last year and how I did, I found out that I made a lot of calls and raises based on hands I wanted to play - I was getting good odds, I had a pocket pair (Even little ones), I had a suited ace, I had suited connectors, etc. These are very fun hands to play with enormous potential to get paid off, but I didn't win very many. Also included in this should be my bluffs and position raises which are fun poker moves but don't end up paying me off very well. Also included in my poor play categorization is chasing... I'm actually pretty good about not doing it, but I always get caught up a couple times.

So this year, I wanted to not do those things... and for the most part I didn't. So I'm pretty happy about the way I played. Of course, the few times I did do those things I took big hits... and it was coupled with a stretch of bad cards.

I played 24 hands the first 3 rounds and won 15 of them (63%). I played 15 hands the last 2 rounds and won 6 of them (40%). On the day I won 21 of the 39 hands I played... with 39 hands played being  two more hands than I played last year on Day 1.

Blinds will be 250/500/50 on Wednesday - that's 1,200 around the table. I have roughly 25 times around the table in blinds. 10 is worrisome and 5 is shove on anything... so I'm doing ok on chips compared to the blinds, even if my stack will be below average. If I didn't play a single hand for the first two rounds, I would be about 6 times around the table when the third round started, which is basically betting on a miracle... so something is going to have to happen in the first four hours on day two. If it's like the first four hours of today, I'm in good shape... like the last four hours... well...

6,352 players this year - total prize pool of $59.7M. They will pay 648 places with 648th getting $19,106... first will get $8.3M. But the money won't be until Friday afternoon... there are still at least 30 more hours of poker to survive before then.

Day off on Tuesday!

Round 5 : Making Round 4 Look Like Man's Best Friend

Ok, so round 4 wasn't very good as I dropped 7,000 in chips... but at least I still had 40K. Alas, this is not the case with round 5. Early in the tournament, as I got pocket pair after pocket pair I worried that my cards may run dry later, but I was hoping to weather the storm a little better.

I started round 5 by calling a raise from the big blind with KJ off... probably not my best call. Flop came A, 5, 5 and three players checked around. Then the turn - check around. Then the river and a jack... first to act bets and I call - he had been checking his ace since the flop and my second pair on the river paid him off.

I called a raise with A10 off suit in good position - flop came A and two picture cards. I bet, he folded, I picked up a little pot.

Shortly thereafter, with about an hour and a half to go in the level and the night, I raised with AK off from a middle position... and got no callers. I won the $1,050 worth of antes. Little did I know, it would be my last pot of the evening...

Sevens... under the gun. Folded them last time, played them this time. Should have folded them again - I got a call followed by an all-in three bet. I folded and the caller showed pocket tens... I was in third. But at least I raised.

So the new guy to my right was a pro... and good. And he had my number. Every time it was my small or big blind, he raised me. And I folded. Every time. It was kind of nice for him. So I finally called one with K7 suited - it was heads up and I had position. I'm not actually supposed to play hands because of position or suited cards, but he had me on tilt a little so I did. Anyway, flop comes A, 8 hearts (Like my K 7) with a Q - I have four hearts to the nut flush and nothing else. He bets, I call - I'm not supposed to chase either, but it appears I've decided that breaking all the rules that served me so well in the first three rounds would be a good idea for the last couple. Turn is a jack... not of hearts. Now I have a straight draw with a 10 and four hearts to the nut flush... and he dumps on me - 2,500. I folded.

I raised with AQ off from a middle position and got two callers, missed the flop, and folded to a bet.

On the last hand of the night... the very last one, I got dealt A9 suited. So I raised. And got a call and an all-in three bet. I folded and the all in showed AK.

At the end of the night... $30,750 - right back where I started, with three stacks of high society. I played 12 hours and increased my chip stack by 2%.

Day two is Wednesday.

Round Four : The Round That Sucked

I hate round four...  I was doing so well.

I started with big slick in great position early,  called a three bet, and saw a flop.  Alas,  I missed...

Then it happened.  I had been playing so well,  exactly how I wanted - no calls or bets for suited connectors, because I got good odds, or because I wanted to flop a set with a pocket pair for a big hand.

So I'm in the big blind and get raised,  with two callers...  I love these odds! And I have pocket threes,  I can go for the set!  Flop came jack,  jack,  four...  and everyone checked.

The turn was a jack... I now have a full house.  It's not a good full house,  but it's a full house so I bet it...  two fold,  one call.  Then...  the river. 

A four. 

Now the board has a full house that's better than mine. 

Interestingly enough, the board having a great hand happened to me last year and the year before. Last year I folded to someone else betting a full house on the board,  the year before I bet a straight on the board and the other guy folded.

So I'm first to act and can't win...  I'm just playing the board.  So I bet...  basically a bluff,  something else I'm not supposed to be doing.  So he raises me big and I snap call...  call his pocket kings.  His jacks full of kings beat the jacks full of fours on the board that I was playing.  Goodbye 10,000 in chips,  hello on tilt...

I had KJ off I raised preflop for the antes. 

Nines that I raised from middle position and had to fold after an ace on the flop.

I had aces on the button,  but everyone except big blind folded and he was gone after the flop.

KQ suited in an early position got me a caller and a queen on the flop for a little pot.

KJ off in a middle position got three bet and I had to fold it.

KJ off under the gun got a caller and a king and a jack on the flop. The turn paired the board and the river put the third spade on the board,  so I didn't value bet the river and he checked his KQ... so I won a medium small pot instead of medium large.
That's it...  I have had one bluff,  one emotional call,  one call based on odds,  and one play of a tiny pair in eight hours... it all happened on one hand and one giant compounded mistake cost me a quarter of my stack...  what an unforgiving tournament. 

40,050 at the end of round four and I'm exhausted... 

Dinner

Well,  I made it to dinner.  Not a lot to say,  I mostly folded for two hours straight.

I had AQ off on the button,  called a raise,  and got two tens and something little.  Then I was first to act somehow...  the dealer adjusted the button and I checked and the guy to my right went all in with his last couple thousand and I folded.  Then we all argued about who had the big blind and realized the dealer screwed me...  I should have been last to act,  not first.  The result would have been the same,  so whatever...  but some of these dealers have been terrible.

I had AJ off with good position and called a raise.  Flop was king,  jack,  something.  I bet,  he called.  Turn,  I bet,  he called.  River,  I check with second pair and he bets.  I called and he mucked...  said he was chasing a straight.

Had sixes in good position and raised to take the blinds preflop.

That's it...  three hands in two hours.

Of course,  there was one hand we can call the Greg Rydz hand...  the hand that would have been.  I had pocket sevens under the gun and folded them.  Crazy?  Not a great move,  but the table was hot,  I was  indecisive, and played it safe.  Flop came queen,  jack,  seven... with three players in.  Doh...  should have flopped a set of sevens.  Winning hand was a flush on the river,  so there's actually a good chance I dodged a major bullet. 

We lost our first player thirty minutes into level three... and a second about halfway through.  They were the players to my left and right that had battled across me all day.  Of course,  the replacement on my right has a huge stack...

Anyway,  on to level four...  47,775 at dinner.

Second Verse, Same As The First

Through the second round  - phew. 

Started With KQ off and called a preflop raise.  I missed the flop,  but called a decent sized bet with two overs...  exactly the type of move I have been looking to avoid in the first couple rounds. That was my first mistake of the round and my failure was complete after missing the next card and folding.

I played KJ off from a middle position and hit a king on the flop.  It was a scary board,  but I got a jack on the river... sadly I couldn't get him to call my value bet,  so took down a medium hand...  perhaps I bet too much?

I raised from a middle position with A10 suited, but couldn't get any callers.

I had A9 off in the small blind and everyone folded so I raised big blind.  flop had an ace,  along with jack queen. I bet,  he calls.  Turn is a ten..  I hope he doesn't have a king.  I bet,  he calls.  River was six,  i bet,  he calls.  i had A9, he had A8 and a flush  draw.  chop chop.

i get eights in good position and call a raise. flop comes  4, 7, 8... i flopped a set!!! What are the chances someone has 5, 6? First to act bets 1200 and I'm thinking when the guy after me throws in his 1200. forgetting the rules of poker,  i raise to 2500 and let that guy take his bet back.  But he calls, the fourth guy folds, and the initial raiser calls.  Fourth street is a nine...  what are the chances someone is playing J10? First to act checks to me and with 9,000 chips in the pot,  i lay down a monster 6,000 chip bet. Guy to my left calls,  first to act folds. River is a five - 4 5 7 8 9 board.  I'm gutless and don't value bet the 22K pot, he checks,  and my trip eights beat his trip fours. First to act had an over pair,  so maybe i should have been less aggressive in chasing him out and i definitely should have bet the river.  Another 3,000 in chips is an extra thirty hands at the end of the night.  Second mistake this round?  Dunno, but won 13,000 in chips on that hand.

Big Slick in the small blind...  i three bet the raise and took the pot.

I got aces again in a middle position,  but nobody called my raise.

I had A3 suited in the small blind,  and called a raise,  but had to fold after the flop.

I got Big Slick again and three bet with position to take it down.

Kings again,  and got some callers... no ace,  but no calls wheni bet the flop.

48,425 at the end of the second,  but I am getting a lot of good hands and that can't last.

Lastly, the is supposedly a way to register your email address to get notified of new posts,  but i don't know if it's working. 

On  to round three,  then dinner...

Lots Of Action

So I came into the day only wanting to play premium hands...  maybe only play twelve hands all day.

I played twelve in the opening round. 

I kicked things off with a min raise one off the button with A2 suited...  which I promptly folded after the turn.

I called a preflop raise with A10 off in good position,  but folded after I missed the flop.

I raised with tens under the gun,  but didn't get any callers.

I limped with K5 off in the small blind and won my first pot against the big blind when my five hit.

I reraised with big slick and took the pot preflop. 

I played eights under the gun and had to fold.

Tens from the big blind and had to fold.

I played sixes from good position and took it down after a weak flop.

Sevens got me a little pot after a bad flop.

Lost after calling a preflop raise with AJ off and not hitting the flop.

Then came the big hands...

Aces.  I raised and got big blind to call.  Flop has two diamonds and an ace...  flopped a set of aces. He checked,  I checked.  Turn was a third diamond...  uh  oh.  He checks,  I bet two thirds the pot, he calls.  River pairs the board, I have an aces full boat.  He checks,  I bet the pot,  he calls with the case ace. It was a great hand and win,  but I only got 2200 chips with my glorious hand.

With about ten minutes left,  I got kings and three callers.  Flop comes A, 10, 7... an ace,  of course.  I'm outraged at my poor luck.  Out of anger and spite,  I bet the flop anyway...  two callers.  Of course multiple callers out of four players. My first and only bad move.  I check the turn that wasn't a king,  next guy bets,  next guy raises,  and I threw my cards down in disgust.  River was a seven and the winning hand on a HUGE pot was quad sevens...  that guy flopped a set and rivered  four of a kind.  The ace saved me.  SAVED... I would have dumped chips without that ace.

So 31,350 at first break...  I wish I had more after seven pocket pairs,  aces,  kings,  big slick,  and an aces full boat,  but hey,  I'm still alive. 

Table is ok,  guy to my left won't last,  he plays a ton of hands... but it's annoying having him to my left.  Nobody famous,  although it looks like one guy from is being sponsored by pokerstars...

Back to round two...

Vegas Baby, Vegas

Third time is the charm! This is my final year playing with the house’s money and as this could quite possibly be my last year playing in the $10,000 main event, the pressure is on for 2013 - here's to hoping I don't set any new records for shortest blogs... 

I've been out here since Thursday with Tiffany but really haven’t gotten much gambling in. I did win $60 beating Steve Wynn in War, but I gave $35 of it back playing blackjack – c’est la vie. Aria had the Bears at 10-1 to win the superbowl, and Mandalay Bay had them at 12-1, but I found them at 30-1 (And 15-1 just to win the NFC championship) at Ellis Island… that was a nice little gem of a find I thought. 

As for poker, I haven’t been playing too much and when I have played, I've been on a brutal run. I played in the Circuit Event in New Orleans in May, but had my Aces cracked with AK after missing every other hand for four hours. At the Chicago Poker Classic Main Event in February I went on tilt in the first couple hours and gave all my chips away on day one, hour two. And while I did make day two here last year, I had to hit runner runner to do it and couldn't buy a hand for most of the tournament. It was like a scene from Rounders when I went back to the Rio to register:

Just walking in here makes me queasy. The brick walls. The mopes at the tables. The musty smell. I feel like Buckner walking back into Shea.

With that said, everything else is going really well – Tiffany and I had a great time out here, I bought a new house, and I am completely checked out of work for another nine days.

Quick Vegas reviews from the past couple days:

Cosmopolitan Hotel: The hotel kind of drives me nuts, but you can’t beat a 1 bedroom with a 56^th floor balcony overlooking the Bellagio fountains.

SW Steakhouse at the Wynn: 42oz chile rubbed double ribeye for two – fantastic! Real great steakhouse with real great service.

Grand Canyon: They say it’s one of those things that actually lives up to the hype. I say those people don’t know what they’re talking about. I was underwhelmed and annoyed with the tourism and commercialization of it all.

David Copperfield: Good show, funnier than I thought. I think I could be a magician, Tiffany got me a set for my birthday and I've been practicing making a wand appear. I can do a couple card tricks too. 

Cirque Du Soleil Beatles Love: Outstanding, I highly recommend it. Absolutely great.

Ok, back to poker…

I downloaded an app called MyStack and supposedly I can make updates about my chip stack… I may try and use that if anyone wants to follow along at home. My updates would end up under Player Updates or Chip Counts here:

http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2013-world-series-of-poker/event-62-10-000-no-limit-hold-em-main-event/player-updates.htm

Of course, it shows me as busted on Saturday and I haven’t been too terribly impressed with the app so far, so I might just stick to blogging. And I may try to blog less this year since I felt a little distracted last year. Or maybe not…

Last year’s blog can be found here:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6735822529677859198#overview/src=dashboard

And here is another World Series blog if you’re interested – they got my buddy Jason Alexander to blog about his run at the WSOP. Unfortunately, he was busted out on day 1A:

http://extramustard.si.com/2013/07/06/talkin-flop-jason-alexander-reports-from-the-world-series-of-poker-main-event/?sct=hp_t2_a14&eref=sihp

While I started in Amazon Orange the last two years, I’m in Amazon Purple this year - table 420, seat 3.