I'm definitely not getting my money's worth while playing in the World Series. Lasted about 30 minutes today and I got to the table 5 minutes late because mine wasn't in the regular tournament area.
Because the field is so large they put some tables in other areas. What they fail to do is put up any signs telling you where tables that aren't in the main area are. I knew my table wouldn't be in the main area because of the table number I had so I went to the first backup area (I actually thought there was only one back up area)... nope not there. I ask a guy and it's on the other end of the casino. Thanks for putting up a sign somewhere guys. So I have to walk all the back past the place where I came in to get to my table.
So I get to my table and raise the first hand with AJo and get called by the BB. Flop comes T9x and he check calls a bet, we both check the turn, and I call a small river bet when a J hits and he shows KQ for the straight.
Few hands later I make a big call with J9 on a Q96 A Q board when I thought a guy was floating me on the Q high flop and then he bet on the turn and river only to see that he went runner runner flush with T8. I then get knocked out when I limp and shove over a raise with 88 and lose to AK.
Don't really think I can play any of my hands differently. On the J9 hand I had such a strong feeling that the guy didn't have a Q or an A and that he was on a complete draw. I knew I was chopping if he had a 9 but I really felt he had a hand like JT or maybe KJ. He just got lucky to go runner runner for the flush and there's no way I can put him on that. One of these times they are going to miss their runner runners and their gutshot straight draws and I'm going to get a big stack... I'm just hoping that time comes soon.
I would like to play the $5k 6max next week but I'm gonna have to run pretty good before then to feel comfortable taking a shot in it. I'll probably play some $500 satellites at the Rio over the next two days and see if I can't win one or two and then take my shot.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
WSOP Event #38 $1500 NL Holdem
No more craps for now... back to my 'real job' I guess. Playing in my first full ring WSOP event tomorrow. It's event 38 and looks like it will easily get over 2000 people and I wouldn't be surprised to see it get over 2500 people. Tourney starts a 12pm pst and the first day won't be over until 2am pst. I'll be sure to put up a quick blog whenever I'm done playing for the day.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
New Career
Played golf with Eric today at a beautiful course out here in Vegas call the Painted Desert. All the courses here are about 1/3 their normal price if you tee off in the afternoon because they have such a hard time getting people to play midday with how hot it gets here. It was about 95 when we started the round and got up to about 105 and stayed there for most of it. It's a really dry heat here compared to the high humidity we get in Wisconsin. I shot a 96 which is pretty high for me but considering we finished off 10 beers each during the round I'd say that's not bad.
We each went back and took a 3 hour nap after our round and decided to meet up at the Bellagio at 8pm for their $1k tournament. I ended up busting about 2 hours in and Eric busted about 10 minutes after I did. We've each played a ton of poker the past few days, him live, and me online, so we figured we play some table games and get free drinks. We were looking for a good craps table and decided to head over to the Palms casino since they would probably have some lower stakes than the Bellagio. When we got there though the only craps that was running was a $15 minimum and the table was full. So we settled for some $10 minimum blackjack. We each bought in for $200 and I ran mine up to $600 while Eric blew through his.
The casino then opened up another craps table at a $10 minimum, which is exactly what we were looking for, so we left the blackjack tables and started to roll the dice. We probably rolled craps for over five hours and when four in the morning hit we were each up about $4.5k. There were five ridiculous rolls throughout the night, two each by Eric and I, and we each pushed our bets during all of them. So after having such a great run I've decided that craps is much easier to beat then poker and I'm switching careers. I figure my arm may get a little sore but that's a small price to pay in my opinion. I figure at this rate the Maloofs will have to sell me the Kings by the end of June to cover all the craps winnings I'll take off of them.
We each went back and took a 3 hour nap after our round and decided to meet up at the Bellagio at 8pm for their $1k tournament. I ended up busting about 2 hours in and Eric busted about 10 minutes after I did. We've each played a ton of poker the past few days, him live, and me online, so we figured we play some table games and get free drinks. We were looking for a good craps table and decided to head over to the Palms casino since they would probably have some lower stakes than the Bellagio. When we got there though the only craps that was running was a $15 minimum and the table was full. So we settled for some $10 minimum blackjack. We each bought in for $200 and I ran mine up to $600 while Eric blew through his.
The casino then opened up another craps table at a $10 minimum, which is exactly what we were looking for, so we left the blackjack tables and started to roll the dice. We probably rolled craps for over five hours and when four in the morning hit we were each up about $4.5k. There were five ridiculous rolls throughout the night, two each by Eric and I, and we each pushed our bets during all of them. So after having such a great run I've decided that craps is much easier to beat then poker and I'm switching careers. I figure my arm may get a little sore but that's a small price to pay in my opinion. I figure at this rate the Maloofs will have to sell me the Kings by the end of June to cover all the craps winnings I'll take off of them.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Back to Back Nights
Won a $33 rebuy tournament on Full Tilt today. I got really deep in a lot of tournaments today and was lucky enough to take this one down. Feels great to be on a heater... maybe I can get this kind of stuff going in the WSOP now.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Owning Full Tilt on Mondays
Last Monday it was 4th in their $1k tourney for a $17k profit. This Monday I won a $75 tournament with 435 players in it. First place paid out $7.5k. I came into the final table in 5th or 6th place in chips but lost about 1/3 my stack really early and had to play the rest of the final table as one of the shorter stacks. I doubled up once we got 3 handed though and was able to really take advantage of the other two players weaknesses.
Nice to win a tournament after having such a disappointing day in the WSOP event.
Gut Shot
Was back in Madison over the past weekend for my buddies bachelor party which was a blast. Got back in Sunday night and had to go out with Justin for a few drinks because he took 3rd in a $2k WSOP event and made over a quarter million.
I was really excited for the $2500 6max event today. That faded quickly though when I only lasted 8 hands. I got a bad table draw and had Robert Mizrahi, the Grinder's brother, to my direct left. I knew he would be aggressive and wouldn't have minded having him on my right but to have him to my direct left wasn't good.
Second hand of the tourney I'm in the small blind, Robert in the big blind, it folds to me and I make it 175 at 25/50 blinds and 5k starting stacks with AJo. Robert obviously calls and the flop comes AT8r giving me top pair and I continuation bet 225 and Robert calls. Turn is a 9 and I check call a 500 bet to keep the pot small as I don't want to play a huge pot with just one pair or get blown off the straight draw I've picked up. River is another 9 and I check and he fires out 1100 and I take a few seconds and call and he shows me 67 for a turned gutshot straight. I say 'nice turn' and muck.
Eighth hand of the tourney I'm on the button, cutoff limps, and I look down to see the hand we all wait for, AA and make it 250 to go. Both the blinds fold and the cutoff calls. The flop comes AQ6r and the cutoff check/calls a 325 bet from me. Turn is a 9 and the cutoff checkcalls a 700 bet leaving me with about 1400 left to the river. A king rolls off on the river and the cutoff immediately puts me all in. I make the call and he shows me JTo for the rivered straight.
So in both big pots I played I flopped the other guys drawing dead to a gutshot and both times they got there. Really don't think I can play it any different. I thought I may have been able to fold to Robert's river bet but seeing the 67 means he was definitely going to make a play on me regardless of whether or not he hit his hand.
So it's back to grinding again for a bit. Not sure what my next tourney will be but I'll probably look to play another no limit event soon.
I was really excited for the $2500 6max event today. That faded quickly though when I only lasted 8 hands. I got a bad table draw and had Robert Mizrahi, the Grinder's brother, to my direct left. I knew he would be aggressive and wouldn't have minded having him on my right but to have him to my direct left wasn't good.
Second hand of the tourney I'm in the small blind, Robert in the big blind, it folds to me and I make it 175 at 25/50 blinds and 5k starting stacks with AJo. Robert obviously calls and the flop comes AT8r giving me top pair and I continuation bet 225 and Robert calls. Turn is a 9 and I check call a 500 bet to keep the pot small as I don't want to play a huge pot with just one pair or get blown off the straight draw I've picked up. River is another 9 and I check and he fires out 1100 and I take a few seconds and call and he shows me 67 for a turned gutshot straight. I say 'nice turn' and muck.
Eighth hand of the tourney I'm on the button, cutoff limps, and I look down to see the hand we all wait for, AA and make it 250 to go. Both the blinds fold and the cutoff calls. The flop comes AQ6r and the cutoff check/calls a 325 bet from me. Turn is a 9 and the cutoff checkcalls a 700 bet leaving me with about 1400 left to the river. A king rolls off on the river and the cutoff immediately puts me all in. I make the call and he shows me JTo for the rivered straight.
So in both big pots I played I flopped the other guys drawing dead to a gutshot and both times they got there. Really don't think I can play it any different. I thought I may have been able to fold to Robert's river bet but seeing the 67 means he was definitely going to make a play on me regardless of whether or not he hit his hand.
So it's back to grinding again for a bit. Not sure what my next tourney will be but I'll probably look to play another no limit event soon.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Finally!!!
About time I ended this downswing I've been on in tournaments. Played a whole bunch of satellites to the $1k tournament that Full Tilt runs every Monday. I ended up winning my seat, which is good because I probably spent $850 getting it. I was close to winning another seat two other times which would have gotten me an extra $1k in cash but I came up short. On Stars if you win a seat you don't have to play in the tournament but on Full Tilt you have to play your first one and then you get cash for any seats after that.
The tournament started out really well and it seemed like people were just giving me their chips early on. I got a few hands in a row and went from an average stack to a really big stack. I had a guy check raise me all-in when I had top set and he had a straight draw to get my first big double up. I then went on a run and got AK a few times against some weaker hands. I also had a big hand where I had 96 in the big blind and got a free look at the flop to see 965 for flopped top two pair. I led out and got called in two spots. The turn brought another 6 giving me a full house and I check raised the other two guys all-in and one called with TT and he failed to hit his two outer. This game me around a 12k stack and put me top 5 with about 150 people left.
My stack floated between 10k and 15k all the way down to about 30 people where I started to get a little short despite not really having my stack move much. The money bubble was at 27 and with about 29 left I had to make a big call with AT when the button who had me covered shoved and showed A9. I hit a ten on the flop and dodged his turned straight draw to double up to about 20k. Just after the money bubble burst I picked up KK in the big blind and a player in the CO who had been super aggressive open shoved for 40k and I quickly called and my kings held up against his 77.
I ended up sitting at about 40k then all the way to the final table. When the final table started I was 8th in chips out of the 9 players. One guy busted early on and with 8 left I picked up pocket tens. The chip leader raised and I shoved all-in over his raise and was instantly called by the guy on my left. I was hoping he'd flip AK and we would be racing but he had KK and I was way behind. I got lucky and spiked a T on the turn to double up and move up to 3rd or 4th in chips.
There were a few more quick bustouts and we got down to 4 handed fast. I floated between 2nd and 3rd in chips while we were 4 handed. In my bustout hand I raised with KTs and the big blind cold called and the flop came down QTT with two diamonds. He led into me and I raised him with my trips figuring I had to be way ahead and he either had a straight draw, a flush draw, straight and flush draw, or just a bare queen. He reshoved over my raise and I called to see QJs. He hit his 2 outer queen on the turn though and I was out. The pot would have tied me up with the chip leader and the other two would have been really short.
I sold some of my action toward the end of the tournament when there was about 17 left and I had an average stack. So while 4th paid out about 23k I got just under 17k. It was a good deal at the time and if I hadn't gotten lucky with my tens it would have been a great deal for me. It's nice to finally get a big score and while it was really disappointing not to have that hand hold but I was really happy.
There's a really good chance I'll be playing the $2500 6max event this Monday now. It's one of the events where the final table will be televised on ESPN so it should get a big and soft field.
The tournament started out really well and it seemed like people were just giving me their chips early on. I got a few hands in a row and went from an average stack to a really big stack. I had a guy check raise me all-in when I had top set and he had a straight draw to get my first big double up. I then went on a run and got AK a few times against some weaker hands. I also had a big hand where I had 96 in the big blind and got a free look at the flop to see 965 for flopped top two pair. I led out and got called in two spots. The turn brought another 6 giving me a full house and I check raised the other two guys all-in and one called with TT and he failed to hit his two outer. This game me around a 12k stack and put me top 5 with about 150 people left.
My stack floated between 10k and 15k all the way down to about 30 people where I started to get a little short despite not really having my stack move much. The money bubble was at 27 and with about 29 left I had to make a big call with AT when the button who had me covered shoved and showed A9. I hit a ten on the flop and dodged his turned straight draw to double up to about 20k. Just after the money bubble burst I picked up KK in the big blind and a player in the CO who had been super aggressive open shoved for 40k and I quickly called and my kings held up against his 77.
I ended up sitting at about 40k then all the way to the final table. When the final table started I was 8th in chips out of the 9 players. One guy busted early on and with 8 left I picked up pocket tens. The chip leader raised and I shoved all-in over his raise and was instantly called by the guy on my left. I was hoping he'd flip AK and we would be racing but he had KK and I was way behind. I got lucky and spiked a T on the turn to double up and move up to 3rd or 4th in chips.
There were a few more quick bustouts and we got down to 4 handed fast. I floated between 2nd and 3rd in chips while we were 4 handed. In my bustout hand I raised with KTs and the big blind cold called and the flop came down QTT with two diamonds. He led into me and I raised him with my trips figuring I had to be way ahead and he either had a straight draw, a flush draw, straight and flush draw, or just a bare queen. He reshoved over my raise and I called to see QJs. He hit his 2 outer queen on the turn though and I was out. The pot would have tied me up with the chip leader and the other two would have been really short.
I sold some of my action toward the end of the tournament when there was about 17 left and I had an average stack. So while 4th paid out about 23k I got just under 17k. It was a good deal at the time and if I hadn't gotten lucky with my tens it would have been a great deal for me. It's nice to finally get a big score and while it was really disappointing not to have that hand hold but I was really happy.
There's a really good chance I'll be playing the $2500 6max event this Monday now. It's one of the events where the final table will be televised on ESPN so it should get a big and soft field.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Upcoming Schedule
Didn't play too many tourneys on Sunday. I had a decent cash in the Sunday Million but couldn't really get too much going at any point in time. Gonna be playing a lot of cash games again this week and will probably play at home tonight and then at the Rio a few days during the week.
Justin, the only roommate not here yet, flies in tomorrow in the afternoon. I fly back to Wisconsin for a buddy's bachelor party this weekend. I fly out just before midnight on Thursday and then return Sunday afternoon.
Cash games have still been going really well for me this month and I'm up a good amount. Hopefully I can continue the run and if I'm up enough this week I'm looking to play the $2500 6max event next Monday in the WSOP.
Justin, the only roommate not here yet, flies in tomorrow in the afternoon. I fly back to Wisconsin for a buddy's bachelor party this weekend. I fly out just before midnight on Thursday and then return Sunday afternoon.
Cash games have still been going really well for me this month and I'm up a good amount. Hopefully I can continue the run and if I'm up enough this week I'm looking to play the $2500 6max event next Monday in the WSOP.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Short Stacking
Wasn't able to get much going in the 1500 today. We started with 3k chips and my high point was just over 4.5k. My first table was a pretty good draw as there were 3 bad players and 2 players who were over playing their hands, especially their draws, but had a good aggressive style working for them.
Our first table broke just before the end of the third level and my new table had 4 big stacks to my left and one short stack to my right. It seemed like the 4 bigger stacks were playing pretty solid poker and the short stack was the tightest of them even after he doubled up once so my position was pretty bad.
I shoved in on the bigger stacks twice after they raised my BB and I looked down to a decent ace and they folded each time allowing me to chip up my stack to my high mark of 4.5k. After about 4 rotations there the following sequence happened.
Raised Ad4d from the CO and got called by the button and check folded on a 789r flop. Next hand I raised AQo from the HJ and got called by the button, small blind, and big blind. The flop came 743r and I wasn't able to make a continuation bet again as it was another horrible flop for my hand and I didn't have the chips to spare so the flop checked around. The turn was an offsuit 2 and the small blind fired out a half pot sized bet, everyone folded and he showed 22 for a turned set. Next hand I picked up AK UTG and fired out the same bet as the last two hands and got a good laugh from the dealer and the table as it was my third hand in a row raising the same amount. It folded to the BB who chipped in a call and we checked a A63r flop since I figured he was way behind and I wanted him to catch up a bit. The turn was a 2 that put 2 spades on the board and the BB check/folded to my bet.
Two hands later UTG raised 4x and I looked down at AKo again and moved allin figuring I was at worst a coinflip and he might even call with AQ, AJ, ATs as this was the third time in the last few rotations I had moved in on him. He called and flipped QQ though and the board bricked out knocking me out toward the end of the 4th level.
Was a little frustrating to not get any hands though. My best hands were JJ twice and AQs once at my first table and I had to fold one of my JJs after getting 3 bet preflop and then missing the flop. Most of my other hands weren't even worth seeing a flop with which was rather frustrating during the early levels. I picked up a few big aces at my second table but most of my other hands were complete rags.
I was happy with my play though considering my complete lack of cards. I made a few moves and used my tighter image well to pick up chips where I could. Back to grinding the cash games again now though for a while. Not sure what my next tournament will be.
Our first table broke just before the end of the third level and my new table had 4 big stacks to my left and one short stack to my right. It seemed like the 4 bigger stacks were playing pretty solid poker and the short stack was the tightest of them even after he doubled up once so my position was pretty bad.
I shoved in on the bigger stacks twice after they raised my BB and I looked down to a decent ace and they folded each time allowing me to chip up my stack to my high mark of 4.5k. After about 4 rotations there the following sequence happened.
Raised Ad4d from the CO and got called by the button and check folded on a 789r flop. Next hand I raised AQo from the HJ and got called by the button, small blind, and big blind. The flop came 743r and I wasn't able to make a continuation bet again as it was another horrible flop for my hand and I didn't have the chips to spare so the flop checked around. The turn was an offsuit 2 and the small blind fired out a half pot sized bet, everyone folded and he showed 22 for a turned set. Next hand I picked up AK UTG and fired out the same bet as the last two hands and got a good laugh from the dealer and the table as it was my third hand in a row raising the same amount. It folded to the BB who chipped in a call and we checked a A63r flop since I figured he was way behind and I wanted him to catch up a bit. The turn was a 2 that put 2 spades on the board and the BB check/folded to my bet.
Two hands later UTG raised 4x and I looked down at AKo again and moved allin figuring I was at worst a coinflip and he might even call with AQ, AJ, ATs as this was the third time in the last few rotations I had moved in on him. He called and flipped QQ though and the board bricked out knocking me out toward the end of the 4th level.
Was a little frustrating to not get any hands though. My best hands were JJ twice and AQs once at my first table and I had to fold one of my JJs after getting 3 bet preflop and then missing the flop. Most of my other hands weren't even worth seeing a flop with which was rather frustrating during the early levels. I picked up a few big aces at my second table but most of my other hands were complete rags.
I was happy with my play though considering my complete lack of cards. I made a few moves and used my tighter image well to pick up chips where I could. Back to grinding the cash games again now though for a while. Not sure what my next tournament will be.
Good Day
Went with the other three roommates today to the Rio. They all played the $2k buyin event today but non of them had any success and they busted before the money. I played $2/5nl while we were there and had a nice day finishing up about $850. Was nice to run pretty good for once. I got paid off on most of the sets I flopped and only lost two of the bigger pots I played.
We then came back to the place and jumped in the hot tube and the pool for an hour or so. After that I jumped online and played some more $1/2nl and finished up about $700. I started out up and then made one bad call with a straight and lost to a flush that caused me to get down a buyin early but when I started to make hands I got paid off almost every time.
I really wanted to play the $1500 6max event tomorrow at the WSOP and I told myself if I won enough to cover the buyin today I'd play it so tomorrow I'll be playing in my first WSOP event. I'll make sure to put some updates up either after I'm done playing tomorrow or after I bust.
We then came back to the place and jumped in the hot tube and the pool for an hour or so. After that I jumped online and played some more $1/2nl and finished up about $700. I started out up and then made one bad call with a straight and lost to a flush that caused me to get down a buyin early but when I started to make hands I got paid off almost every time.
I really wanted to play the $1500 6max event tomorrow at the WSOP and I told myself if I won enough to cover the buyin today I'd play it so tomorrow I'll be playing in my first WSOP event. I'll make sure to put some updates up either after I'm done playing tomorrow or after I bust.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Half Way
Been playing a lot lately working my way through the 20k hands at 1/2nl. I'm currently 10k hands in and I've been running and playing pretty good. The play at 1/2nl is definitely a lot weaker than at 2/4-5/10nl and it's been a nice change of pace.
I played the $550 deep stack event at the Venetian on Saturday after we got in and didn't cash but it was a good tournament and I felt I played really well just went card dead and couldn't get any momentum at the end. I also played a little live 2/5nl and the play was pretty bad. I ended up down a little though after getting coolered in a few hands.
Eric took 10th in the WSOP $1500 event that started on Saturday and was a little disappointed to not make the final 9 and get on TV.
I get my place tomorrow and am excited to move into it and get my own room there after crashing on the couch at Eric's place the past few nights. Justin won't get in until the 12th but the other 3 roommates will be flying in tomorrow. Also looks like there is a good chance I'll be back on the weekend of the 16th for Terpstra's bachelor party. I'll probably only fly out for one or two days though so that I can get back since I'm looking to try and play the $2500 6max event on the 18th.
I played the $550 deep stack event at the Venetian on Saturday after we got in and didn't cash but it was a good tournament and I felt I played really well just went card dead and couldn't get any momentum at the end. I also played a little live 2/5nl and the play was pretty bad. I ended up down a little though after getting coolered in a few hands.
Eric took 10th in the WSOP $1500 event that started on Saturday and was a little disappointed to not make the final 9 and get on TV.
I get my place tomorrow and am excited to move into it and get my own room there after crashing on the couch at Eric's place the past few nights. Justin won't get in until the 12th but the other 3 roommates will be flying in tomorrow. Also looks like there is a good chance I'll be back on the weekend of the 16th for Terpstra's bachelor party. I'll probably only fly out for one or two days though so that I can get back since I'm looking to try and play the $2500 6max event on the 18th.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Road Trip
We left Madison at 3:20am on May 31st and got to Vegas at 8:00pm on June 1st. Overall it was about a little over 24 hours on the road. I drove out with Eric 'basebaldy' Baldwin who's another internet pro who plays only tournaments. He had just won $89k in the Stars new $1k buyin Super Tuesday tournament.
We were able to fly most of the way whenever on the freeways using Eric's radar detector. We did get busted in Nebraska though when Eric got lasered doing 13 over but the cop dropped it to 10 over and the ticket was only $69, which was pretty laughable.
The first day we drove for about 14 hours to get to Denver where we caught the Rockies game at Coors field. They lost to the Cardinals and while I had heard good things about the stadium I really wasn't very impressed. The stadium was pretty boring and there really wasn't anything special or interesting about it. Also, the fans didn't get into the game too much and it felt like there were more Cardinal fans there then Rockies fans.
We finished the drive to Vegas the next day, June 1st. The first two hours after we left Denver were amazing. The view while driving down through the Rockies was just ridiculous. I didn't have my camera out but if I go back the same way I'll make sure to stop at a few of the view points and snap some. When we finally go to Vegas we picked up two cases of beer, found the house Eric and some of his buddies are staying at, and then just relaxed as we were both pretty tired after the long drive.
I'll put another update up later today about our first day in Vegas. I get my place in two days on the 5th so I'm rooming at Eric's place until then.
We were able to fly most of the way whenever on the freeways using Eric's radar detector. We did get busted in Nebraska though when Eric got lasered doing 13 over but the cop dropped it to 10 over and the ticket was only $69, which was pretty laughable.
The first day we drove for about 14 hours to get to Denver where we caught the Rockies game at Coors field. They lost to the Cardinals and while I had heard good things about the stadium I really wasn't very impressed. The stadium was pretty boring and there really wasn't anything special or interesting about it. Also, the fans didn't get into the game too much and it felt like there were more Cardinal fans there then Rockies fans.
We finished the drive to Vegas the next day, June 1st. The first two hours after we left Denver were amazing. The view while driving down through the Rockies was just ridiculous. I didn't have my camera out but if I go back the same way I'll make sure to stop at a few of the view points and snap some. When we finally go to Vegas we picked up two cases of beer, found the house Eric and some of his buddies are staying at, and then just relaxed as we were both pretty tired after the long drive.
I'll put another update up later today about our first day in Vegas. I get my place in two days on the 5th so I'm rooming at Eric's place until then.
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