7.30.2009

WSOP day 2b & Dream Team Poker

Sadly this is my first day 2 in a no limit event at the World Series.

Sadly I have a starting stack.

Sadly there's traffic out in front of the Rio.

Sadly, I'm very happy to still be in after being card dead on the first day.

I get to my seat around 12:10pm and the tourney still hasn't started. Nice!

First hand of the tourney I look down at AQ and raise it to 1500. Or so I think. I look down and it's only 1100. Feck!

Big blind calls and I miss the flop. He picks it up on the turn. Lame.

When I'm the big blind it's folded to small blind, who've I've already pegged as a douche bag, insta raises to 1500.

I look down at AT and reraise to 4500. He moves in. Gagh!

He can be on nothing pretty easy here because I should fold this pretty easy. I fold telling him "I'll catch him later."

Good line huh?

Down to 26K.

An orbit later the older lady in seat 6, just after losing a big hand, makes it 3000 to go with blinds at 250/500. That's a little aggressive.

I look down at KK and move in. She's got about 7000 behind. So she's pretty much committed to calling. If she understands what that means.

She does call and shows AQ. Kings hold up and I scoop the pot.

Up to 40K. High point!

Brasilia Room. Table 210 Seat 8.

Table draw:
Seat 1: RYWG
Seat 2: RWG aka The Mustache. Holy moley this guy put Magnum PI to shame.
Seat 3: RAG that looks like Tetsuo from Akira. Tetsuo!!!!!!
Seat 4: RWG
Seat 5: RWG that may or may not be Kenny Powers brother.
Seat 6: RWOL... Oops busto. Ok it's a RWG... Busto. Now it's a Euro.
Seat 7: ROWG aka, Douche Bag
Seat 8: JDN
Seat 9: RAC Random Asian Chick. I can guarantee that she's a Commerce player.

18K at first break. Yes. 18k.

I stopped taking notes at this point because I was on life tilt. I could not win a hand. It was brutal.

The first of two hands that did me in was a hand against the Euro in seat 6. I could tell from the beginning that he had a very weak concept of preflop betting when he bet 4000 in middle position with blinds at 250/500.

He showed the table jacks and said he hated playing that hand.

Naturally a few orbits later he makes a 4x bet preflop and I call with TT.

The flop is a queen high and he checks. I check.

The turn is a blank and he bets out and I call.

The river is an ace. He bets out again but something about his movement and the bet amount is just fishy. I think he put in a pot sized bet and it just seemed like he wanted to buy the pot at that point.

I consider just shoving in and taking my chances. I've seen him open muck hands on the turn and if he thinks he's beat, he'll toss is away.

The only problem is that I don't really have enough chips to convince myself that he can fold. It would be barely more than a min raise.

But I then convince myself that I might actually have the best hand. The small (for him) preflop bet makes me think he's got a medium pair.

I tank it for several minutes.

I finally call, he says "nice hand" and flips over jacks.

I just shake my head and muck the hand.

I've got 6000.

I work it up to 9000 before that last hand before dinner break. I'm on the big blind and the Euro is on the button. Its folded to him and he makes a standard 3x raise to 1900. I look down at Q9 and make the call.

The flop is K 7 8. He checks out of turn. I shove. He calls with K7. Blank blank. I'm out.

That was so painful. It wasn't even fun. I should have sold my lammers when I won the satellite.


Dream Team Poker

I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet.

I got Gavin Smith and Matt Keikoan on my team. I gotta good team. Right?

Both of them bust by the 3rd level. I'm playing like a maniac. I love it.

I crack aces twice and have 45K at second break.

I make a last long bet with Matt Savage for a round of golf. He's got 20K.

I crack aces again with a bluff.

I have 90K at 3rd break.

Joe Stapleton and I wander around the main event, inside the ropes, while drinking beer. Stapes gets kicked out first. I tell Gavin he's a bad teammate for busting so quick.

My chip count does this:

90k

55K

25K

2K

10K

28K

0K

Two orbits and I'm out.

I hate the Rio and I'm never coming back.

7.08.2009

WSOP Main Event

I pull a mini Hellmuth and arrive 20 minutes to little fanfare or notice. None actually.

I get to my table, find my seat, the 6 seat and look down to see Court Harrington in seat 7. Oh what the fucking hell?

Not only do I actually know someone at my table, who's a good player, he's sitting right next to me. Bah!

Amazon Room Table 97 Seat 6.


30,000 in starting chips and 2 hour levels.

What the he'll am I going to do with 2 hour levels? My style is much more suited to turbo satellites and 20 minute level.

Who am I kidding? I don't have a style.

In the first level I lose 1500 to the possible Euro to my right when he has JJ vs my TT on a K 8 K 6 K board.

A couple of orbits later I donate 3500 to the kid in seat 1 but I'm not mad. I called the river to see his hand and made sure my read was correct and to really make sure that his tell was what I thought it was.

It was. I'm awesome.

Table draw:
Seat 1: RYWG with a serious tell. Really. It's like a book.
Seat 2: ROWG
Seat 3: RYWG
Seat 4: ROWG possible Euro, maybe Canadian but he has no clue what's going on.
Seat 5: RWG and another possible Euro. Haven't really heard him talk.
Seat 6: JDN
Seat 7: Courtney Tyrell Harrington. Yes that is his real name.
Seat 8: RWG and a possible Mormon. Heard him tell Court that he was from Utah. I always assume the worst.
Seat 9: RYWG and another possible Euro. He's got a tight white shirt on.

25,500 on break. Time for the stampede.

Highlight from the hall stampede was watching Joe Stapleton pick up to of the Hellmuth models and take them to lunch. The man's got talent.

In the second level I win a nice pot from the ROWG in seat 2 with AT on a Ks Ad 8s Ts 3h board. Sweet!

A little while later I raise it up with Td Th and get called by the Mormon in seat 8. The flop comes down 7s Js 3d. I bet 800. He calls.

The turn is the 4s. I check, he bets 1500. Yeah right donkey. I call.

The river is a 7h. Check check. Tens are goot! Ship it.

Back up to 30K.

For the rest of the level I just fold. I'm pretty sure the deck doesn't have any face cards in it.

I'm changing my nickname to JD "No Paint" N.

29K at 2nd break.

Hallway highlight:
There's a Sapphire Girl (aka a stripper) walking around in her bikini with her arm in a sling. I don't know why but it's kinda hot.

First hand back from break I pick up 88 and win the pot on the turn to get up over 30K. High point!!

The maybe Euro limps from the 9 seat, seat 1 limps, I limp from the small and Court raises to 1800.

Lame Court! Lame!!

Seat 9 folds and he turns out not to be a Euro. Seat 1 calls and fucks up my plan of folding. Gawd... I call.

The flop falls 9 2 3. I check. Court bets 2300. Seat 1 folds and I think for a moment. I can't really put him on anything other than a strong ace. I call.

The turn is a 2. I check and Court verbally checks. I hadn't heard him do that before. Somethings fishy.

I decide that I'm betting the river unless it's a face card or ace, a blank if you will.

It's an 8. I bet 3350. Court tanks it. Looking at his cards a couple if times before folding.

I muck my 55.

He pretty much let me take the pot by checking on the turn and on the river I could represent a set of 3s. He's a good enough player to recognize what I was doing. If there were a weaker player, I might get a call.

Up to 37K.

I lose 8000 to the Mormon when he flops a set to my over pair. I got rid of the hand after I 3 bet him on the flop and he moved in for, for way more than I had. Fuck.

24K with 30 minutes to dinner.

Mean while Court flops back to back top sets with AA and QQ and gets not much action.

Finally! I hit a set and get action. I flop a set of 7s in a 4 way pot and get paid off from the kid in seat 1. Finally motherfuckers!!1!! Finally!

Back up to 30K.

$29,500 at dinner. Off to dinner over at the Palms with Katkin, LA Mike, Warren and Lara. As foreseen, I eat too many chips before the burrito arrives.

I spend level 4 in food coma. So I write nothing and remember very little.

I played AK strong a couple of times and folded preflop once. No sets and no pairs. I get up to 35K and drop down to 23K.

Then I bust a short stack with A7 vs his KJ and get up to 28,500.

Last break of the night I have 28,425.

Our table breaks, thank fucking gawd, right after break and I get moved to Blue 13 seat 6.

As I sit down I can already tell that this table is a train wreck. I'm filling the seat of the only person to bust off this table today.

Highlights include a guy in seat 1 that may or may not have swine flu.

A semi hot chick in seat 2 that's wearing mermaid poker. Cleavage is a go!!!

There's a bald guy in seat 4 that looks like the bald guy from original The Hill Have Eyes.

A creepy little Euro that's looks like he was in that first Hostel movie.

To cap off the table we have a Midwest middle aged house wife that looks like she's wearing her bowling shirt.

So it's more or less like a 2am Binions tournament.

Yes!

Thank gawd for head phones. The bald moron won't shut up about how he never gets any hands.

I have to bluff to win a hand for the rest of the night. I also get rid of an over pair on a T high flop. Poker sucks.

I've gone 3 whole tournament days with only getting aces once and flopping only two sets. I am so due. Playing again on Wednesday.

JDN