Aww.. it's been a little while.
I have started to record some video's and will record more, and see what I can do about posting - I know I mentioned that earlier.
So Vegas! aww yes, good ol Vegas. So I took a week off work and went to Vegas for my birthday (May 29th) and to try out my first WSOP Event - Event #3 $1,000 NL.
So we get to Vegas late Thursday night, and basically just crash out (or so I tried, but didn't sleep very well).. was 1am or so and I don't want to do much partying at all as it's a "business first" sort of trip... Ok, so who's we? Heather, Kahleena, and myself - two lesbian ex-girlfriends (I'm not gonna go into too much of why or what happened, but regardless of what your thinking if you oddly happen to be in this same spot - DO NOT COME TO VEGAS WITH TWO EX-GF's of any sort :)).
Ok, so next day, have breakfast and head up to the RIO for some satellites. They have 65$, 125$, 3xx and 5xx satellites. I jump in a 125$ as it looks like it will begin soon, and I don't want to risk a lot on my first attempt, etc.. Feel out the field first.. Guy to my right draws dealer button, and I start in SB with JJ first hand. I call UTG's raise which is to 125 from 25/25 blinds. A large raise from an under the gun player is a little bit scary, especially without feeling out the table dynamics, and how other games here have been running, I give him credit for a standard/strong raising hand, but still like my jacks enough to call and see the flop. The flop comes out disconnected rags, and I bet out fairly strong 250.. I should know this, lol, but I believe our starting stacks were 1k. UTG Raiser pushes all-in, but something doesn't feel right, and I feel I'm already commited, or otherwise at least it's first hand and I can jump in another - It really just 'felt' like he was on a bluff here. If he was really strong with Aces or Kings, I think he's calling here more often... So I thought for a little bit and called, and he fails to connect with his AK and I double up.
Continue a standard tight/aggressive SNG style, battling back and fourth with one other guy to my left that picks up his aggression when we get down to 4-way play... I raise all in on him one hand SB vs BB w/around 12bb, and he calls me with A8 I believe and spikes his 8 or rag... he had around 8-9BB so I'm very short at this point, and push all in my next hand on the button, and blinds fold. I push all in the next hand again, and it's folded, and the more aggressive guy shows me an Ace that he folded which I'm thinking I would of probably called.
Now I go through my blinds, and I think I get walked, or folded too if I remember correctly in the BB and give up my SB. Now in the button I have 98 suited, a little more chips, but still feel a bit short, and this is a 'winner-take-all' event, so I push yet again and get called by the only other person playing fairly aggressively and they show AJ and were off to the races.. A 10-6-x flop gives me some extra outs as I think 7 in my head and watch the 7 hit the turn w/a little love from the poker gods. Now a few hands later I'm back to chip lead and knock out the shortest guy in fourth.
The other aggressive guy takes steals our blinds, and then gets in a confrontation with current third place guy and ends up knocking him out. Now were heads up I have about 6k he has a little over 4k, and I ended up agreeing to chop, since he was a fairly good player and there's a lot more luck involved now. The prize pool is two 500$ chips, and 120$. I agree as long as gives me the extra cash.. he says some comment about me trying to cheat him, and I say that looks more than fair to me being that I have about 2k more chips, and he agrees and ask if he could at least keep the extra 20$ and I agree.. If he wanted an even chop I would of definitely played.. I talked to him a bit, and that's all he was doing was playing the satellites for extra money.
For some reason I decide to leave after this instead of playing some more.. My sort of subconscious objective was just to make enough for my 1k buyin the next day (and this wasn't but.. oh well)... So I end up at a cash game at the Bellagio (a girl from high school I knew mentioned on facebook that she worked here as a hostess now, and suggested I look for her..) .. I make about 180$ in NL a cash game after about an hour or so and due to previously mentioned girl drama, and other factors, opt to leave... I had a nice conversation about a particular hand we played, where I flopped top set with Jacks and check raised preflop (which shows almost too much strength, but I put the player on an overpair.. he thought for a long while and folded, and he said to me that he thought I maybe had top pair at the most but he thought I was pretty weak.. I talked about how I thought he was very strong, and so was basically just trying to start a raising war off the bat.. the board did also have a flush draw, and a possible straight draw, but I didn't think he was likely drawing to the straight -- either way there was a bit of defense in the play too. He was a good player so he could of got tricky with some semi-suited connector, etc.. I think I flat called his reraise of another player preflop if I remember correctly and check raised the flop when I hit top set..
So far so good. Now I go and try and get some sleep, and I think I don't sleep very good again with the event coming up the next day. I start off at a table which I'm only at for about 10 min. I do play a couple hands (something like AQ in late position - hit a queen, and get no further action when I cbet flop) and 88 which I raised from mid/late position, button calls, and I check/call the 10-9-5ish flop, turn is a brick, I'm a little uncomfortable with either decision, but don't wanna give up chips early, so I check/fold when he bets almost pot on the blank turn.
Next table I'm at for the rest of the day (from like 12:20pm to 2am). To my right is a good asian player who seems to be good friends with John Phan as they chat several times across the tables (john's sitting directly behind us)... Were both playing a pretty similar game, but he chips up a bit more than me.. I'm sort of just staying above average, playing tight/aggressive, coming in very little, and just trying to find good spots w/big hands or in position etc.. Another player across the table is racking up a nice stack being very aggressive, but then slows down when he gets more actions/more calls after an hour or so of him probably tripling up through well-timed and frequent aggression being in most pots. Fortunately I win the majority of my confrontations with him, calling him down looser than average definitely... He loses quite a bit back after the whole table begins to adjust, and then he slows down and builds up (but a bit more slowly this time).
It's getting closer to the end of the day, and I'm sort of just floating along with an average stack probably now... I do lose one hand (I can't remember the exact details unfortunately) and am left with around 20 BB. I decide I need to find a good 3bet all in spot soon, to build up a little and maintain a healthy stack.. when..
I look down at A6suited and when it's folded all the way around to good asian guy to my right who makes a standard raise. I decide he's been getting a little too aggressive lately although he's generally fairly solid/tight, and although I think there's other tighter/worse players less likely to call 3bets, I decide his range is pretty wide, while he's only calling me with a very thin range, and go for the resteal all in of course wanting to see a fold. He unfortunately doesn't oblige me and does think for a bit and then calls with QQ, ouch - but I flop an inside draw, and now have 7 outs w/the Aces and 8's I believe interestingly enough, and hit the beautiful Ace on the turn, and think Barry just got it all wrong w/the river. I apologize to the guy as I take his chips, but that's poker.. I know he's not calling me there with almost anything less, while is range is very wide, and I needed chips, so made the move and it worked out..
So now my image is probably a little tarnished, but I'm back to my solid tight aggressive play.. The same asian guy does build back up quite a bit which is fortunate for me as I end up taking him out with Kings about an hour later. Actually he does lose some chips back, and has around 10 bigs or so and I believe just raises all in pre, and I decide to just call just in case anyone wants to get frisky and try to isolate, etc.. nobody else joins us and he turns AQ, and my Kings hold up..
I manage to build up some more chips, until Troy comes to our table and takes the place of a guy to my left.. By this time it's later, and I notice the board says something like 450 out of 3900 people left, and I ask someone -- there's only that many people left? and they say yes.. I'm still a little confused whether that's for both days or just today, and I figure out later as the 3900 keeps climbing that that's entrants for both days.. our day1 had 2701 players.
So back to Troy. A good player that I talk to a bit after we get in a hand confrontation or two. He keeps check of my chipstack and others.. He 3 bets me just over minimum several times towards the end of the night which is very annoying being that It feels like I really need a big hand to continue as the blinds are getting up there w/me having somewhere around 25.. and I'll be out of position the rest of the hand.. One time I have AK, and SB who's a good tight/solid player with a lot of chips also calls. I like this spot to just push, but at the same time it's my first event, and these are like the two biggest stacks at the table and although I'm going for first definitely, I don't want to go home just before the money at the end of the night.. Flop is Queen high, and SB checks, I decide to check although I could of fired out a bet.. This was the 2nd time he 3bet me. If it was the third I probably would have figuring his range was wide. This time, I thought one of the two Very likely had a Queen in their range if not pocket queens, etc.. but revisiting I like a bet here. I just thought SB could be trapping too. Troy bets a little under half pot and we both fold.
They announce 4 hands left before the end of the night and I'm in SB I believe.. Anyways I fold two hands and then get kings again. This guy that is fairly new to the table, came in sat down and got a massage, and like quadrupled up while getting the massage on several all in confrontations and big pots raises two spots to my right. This is another spot that I reflected on later, and played non-optimally. Kings of course is an awesome hand. Subconsciously thinking I'll be in the money soon, and want to ensure I'm in day two, I make the defensive aggressive move of pushing all in. The guy thinks for awhile so I know he has a pretty big hand.. I'm thinking 99's-Jacks or AJ/AQ and folds. If I replayed this I would of made a standard 3bet, or smaller 3bet.. looking to get maximum value. I believe I had around 25 BB's. The very next and last hand of the night I get KQs in the cutoff and raise when it's folded to me, a newer but player who seemed to good/aggressive in the BB w/a similar stack reraised me all in, and I folded.
Saturday night / Sunday (day 1b of tourney) --
So I get sunday off. Saturday night ITS MY BIRTHDAY! and I'm in Vegas, and I'm sticking around for Day 2 of my first WSOP event, while having the next day off, so naturally I wanna party at least a little! but the one girl I'm with is still grumpy, and the other one is tired too, they had both been drinking and smoking (the green stuff) throughout the day and wanted to crash.. So I said f that, and went out on my own and got a drink.. I get one drink in my hotel and hit the streets.. Catch up with two drunk girls trying to direct traffic w/the long colorful vegas souvenir drinking cups who look like fun and ask one for a smoke (I smoked much more than usual on this particular trip being as I don't really smoke any more unless I'm drinking around other smokers, but mainly just needed something to open with and wasn't drunk enough yet to just say anything comfortably..) She ask me if I have a light, eh.. basically I stroll with them for a little while and find it's ones 21st birthday. We come to some short ugly looking dude and a big tall dude both wearing HUGE party beads w/colorful balls, and the girls start touching and rubbing them saying "oh my god I love your balls" lol.. and ask if they can have it.. I'm surprised they turn him down when he offers to give it away for a flash.. I offer to flash, but get no takers.. the girl thinks about it for a bit lifting her shirt up half way but doesn't.. Some 21st bday jeez. lol.. Anyways another couple of girls come up wanting to touch his balls! and I think to myself I definitely need to find a pair.. Anyways.. were talking, and there saying something about getting a little tired... they go into the bathroom, and come out and decide there going back to their room, so whatever, I get a drink in the MGM right there, and come out next to some dude that slightly stumbles up the stairs with a full cup.
I start up a conversation with this guy as were walking the same way and he seems alright aside from being pretty drunk.. He's a 22 year old firefighter, talking about how he lost all his buddies somewhere, and was trying to get back to his room. I'm telling him about the WSOP and what not and he says his firefighter friends play on pokerstars all the time at work, but he doesn't know poker well himself. Anyways.. Were both walking back in the direction of where he's going to the monte carlo, and see a few girls on the way and offer if he wants to see if we can't meet w/a couple..
I'm feeling good myself.. confident.. He says yea, but right away starts talking about how vegas isn't like the movies, you can't really just hook up with girls here, and kinda starts being a burden, and I'm already rethinking my asking him to join.. Of course your not gonna have any fun if you don't think you are heh.. So we walk by a couple girls, and I say hello and kind of smile to one group while were walking by and one looks back and smiles, but there walking the opposite way.. We get across the bridge and he and I see a black girl a little off, and he says oh damn check out that girl.. and I notice she's black.. and well has a nice body. He apparently didn't notice that yet, as we get closer when he says something like, "oh nevermind, she's black... what I was looking at?".. lol I keep quiet, but I'm like oh great..
Anyways this guy starts talking about how crappy the strip clubs are in vegas, and then goes on to tell me about how he went to one that was supposedly the best (I actually haven't been to a vegas strip club myself) but he was so disappointed in it yet, lol and then goes on to tell me about how he dropped 900$ there lol while there was like only 1 or 2 girls worth a dance at all. Anyways while he's saying this some black dude in a tux with cards, gives us some strip joint cards and ask us if we'd like to get a limo ride there.. Sounds kinda awkward to me for a min, anyways.. the guy's doing all the talking and wants to go, but I'm just not really feeling it. So we don't.. and go in the Monte Carlo.. Really I'm just kinda thinking about how I can ditch him now, but eh.. So anyways I'm starting to talk about how I'm really getting kinda tired (lol when I met him I had told him I was ready to party, that I just started drinking, etc..) .. but we see two ok-pretty girls at the bar, one definitely cuter than the other, and he says he'll follow my lead, so I do just that..
I actually go up to the girl that I'm not interested in first, and talk to her.. I can't remember what I said, I think one was playing poker at the bar on the electronic machines, and I asked how she was doing.. and started talking about just playing in the WSOP event.. Anyways, I introduced the other dude who's name I forget now, and slipped over next to the other girl while he proceeded to talk to her.. We all talked, and had a drink together for awhile.. about 40 min to an hour or so.. and during that time, lol they wanted to test my poker skills.. THe girl I was talking to carried a deck in her purse.. So here I am saying, well one hand could lead virtually anywhere, but she deals me aces, and I'm thinking .. did you just base-deal this, I'm like.. she carries a deck in her purse.. lol.. and told her you know your cheating for me.. she acts innocent, and I don't know.. we see a flop of like 5-6-10, and we pretend to get it all in with me and her friend, who has 5-6.. lol and she wins are imaginary all in. Lol. I just wonder if it's setup, but she continues to acts innocent, so who knows...
They start talking about going up to their room while were both kind of walking with them. They're staying at the newer Aria hotel. The other dude looks like he's falling asleep walking and decides to walk back to his room. I'm feeling a little bit awkward now, while still walking with them, and they're going back to their room and I say something like, do you guys mind me walking with you still or? and they kind of shrug like ok, whatever.. So we go through Aria, looks pretty nice, chatting a bit still, get lost a little in there then all the way up their elevators, and all the way up to their room when they say alright Rich! thanks for walking us up, have a good night. boo! lol. I let them go, and trek back to my room.. Anyways gonna skip some of all this and get back to the poker as I got wrap this up.
So I basically don't sleep at all that night or like an hour (I think it was close to 7am when I got back to my room, and sort of slept an hour or so)
The next day I have a drink or so in the morning, get into an argument w/the one girl telling me and the other girl to get the f away from her when we were all calm talking about a pool party for a bit. She had some other girl rubbing her back while she was playing blackjack that she met who was their with her boyfriend, and she starts telling her bf that she likes his girl heh and try's to rub it in the other girls face a bit (who she was upset because of a new gf that she was talking to on the phone during the trip.. bleh.. trying to not talk much about all that..) So anyways.. after taking a lot of verbal abuse, me and the other girl head out on our own to our own pool party (she was getting in the MGM wet republic which I wanted to check out but not worth all that drama..) We end up at planet hollywood, I pay a small cover, she gets in for free, and looks to be a pretty nice array of hot looking girls here still, and so we head out to find a spot at one pool, and there is none, so we goto the other pool, and there is none (there's plenty in between, but we look more towards the pool) ..
So we go get drinks, and then come back and find a nice spot in the middle that just opened up of one of the pools.. Ok I'm skipping this right. Basically we had fun, got very drunk, invited to bachelor party w/a group of people (my black toes from basketball - long story killed my game a bit) kahleena met a lot of girls there, and took pictures w/3 black girls, danced with some other girls, and by the end of the day, we jumped in the other pools hot tub w/two girls sitting next to eachother, I grabbed one and put her on my lap while kahleena was already making out with the other.. lol.. anyways one left, and the other started being a bitch after awhile so we talked crap back to her and left back to the other pool.. two cute girls, I liked the one more on the left were sitting at the pool.. She sat next to the one on the right and I sat next to the one on the left and we both started up a conversation.. Other people came over and they were all talking a lot about the upcoming Lakers/Boston game (kahleena being a very big celtics fan..).. Anyways the girl I was sitting next to started talking about wanting to go get a bottle in her room, which I was down for but everyone else kind of got distracted about the whole basketball thing and was really into it and I don't know.. she finally just left after everyone kept talking about that..
Day 2! - w/2009 player of the year
Anyways, I started to think finally.. WTF am I doing? It's my first WSOP event and I've been doing pretty well so far, have an above average stack with like 12% of the field left. I bought some sleeping pills and with the help of that and herb, I passed out nicely until 9ish am finally getting some good sleep, and felt a little better... Other girl was still very moody and so me and kahleena went and got breakfast together, and I read a little bit of a Game Theory book there (I read a bit of the end of PearlJammer's, Rizen's and Apestyles 2nd book the night before, and that morning..
So I get to the tournament a little late actually right in time for my big blind, and do I get a better spot this time? No! get seated directly to the right of 2009 player of the year Eric Baldwin. Great lol. Funny thing is, I don't recognize him at all even after he tells me his name -- the player to my right acts shocked, and says 2009 player of the year, you don't recognize him??? lol.. I've been playing so much online, and although I used to frequently pickup card players (magazine) it's really been AWHILE since I've even looked at one (I actually kept intending to stop by a casino and pick on up the prior month or so but never did). That same player I find out recently took down a big sunday online tournament and although he looks to be just under 10 bb's here and just pushed his last hand all in and got it folded.
So first hand I get involved in with Eric is before I realize he's well himself is I raise just before cutoff with pocket 7's. He thinks for a bit and calls behind (first hand I've raised so far). We get it heads up and the flop is QhJh2x and I think for a bit and fire a continuation bet (this is actually a bad flop for a continuation bet, but even though I don't know he's player of the year, I did pick up that he's a strong player - and as such I think he may call me with quite a range in late position here.) He calls my continuation bet which I hate, cause I feel I have to give up the hand (although I think he could be doing this to take it away on the turn figuring I'm continuation betting most hands). The turn is a beautiful 7! Gin! .. Now.. I stop and think for awhile. If I check-raise, it's basically to where I might as well check raise all in - I figure it prob looks more suspicious if I check raise small, and anyways there's plenty of draws on the board. Now I start thinking more about the draws. QhJh and think a lot of the time he has a creative type hand here.. suited or semi-suited connector. I think he has a queen or jack enough too and with a queen he'll call another bet.. with a jack maybe also.. not sure what he's picking up by my thinking. Finally I decide to just bet, and sort of drop an extra chip in as I'm betting.. and bet about 2/3s of the pot.. He thinks for awhile, and fakie shifts a stack of chips in a couple of times, I try to slightly act nervous, etc.. but finally he folds, and rethinking, I wish I would of check-raised all in and got a little more value. Not sure what he had, but I think he's betting almost anything if I check. I just would of hated to see check check followed by a heart, or worse yet a heart/straight connecting card... So I take down the pot none-the-less.
Next hand I raise.. is I think 66 in late position and this time he thinks for awhile again and opts to make a good size 3-bet, and this time I can't call and toss my hand. I like his philosophy of just focusing on each individual hand rather than the long term results...
So anyways, a big hand at this table that I probably double up on.. I have AA (my first of the tourney), and what looks to be a good player in UTG raises, then right behind him an older guy that just showed 3 hands after raises in the last 6 hands or so (AK, KK, and JJ) reraises behind him, it's folded around to me with Aces... I think a squeeze would be beautiful here, but I don't think the first guy's reraising much at all to the guy who has shown only premium hands and last said ok he's now only playing aces or kings... I still think for awhile, and reraise from 6k (I think the reraise was minimum raise.) to 16k.. while I'm thinking (I was in a conversation prior, which continued fluently while I looked at my cards w/one of the guys next to me..) I say something along the lines of your that big again?.. and stop and think for awhile longer.. posturing.. and finally say I raise fairly aggressively and make it 16k. UTG guy folds, and old/tight guy looks flustered (I still have more chips than him..) and thinks for awhile, and finally say alright I'm all in, and obviously I snap call, and double up over his Kings.
A little while later I get reseated to another table, and kinda awkward positioning again -- all the mid/shorter stacks are in a kind of difficult position to pick on w/out getting in trouble from the other two bigger stacks along with me..
Ok I gotta go so make the end short unfortunately..
This cute serious (absence of a better word) looking asian girl w/her hoodie hood up, and an interesting flower/lotus tattoo up her neck is the big stack sitting across the table from me. I'm in seat one and she's in seat four or five.. seat 8 I believe doubles up over someone and picks up his aggression, while the girl doesn't play much and nor do I although I want too, I just can't find good spots, and am pretty card dead.. . Anyways She steals my blind once, and hard to call when she's in early position.. again she raises, but a little larger than normal and I have JJ... rethinking this now.. I think I gave her a little too much credit, but she basically put me at a decision for all my chips.. The awkward "normal" 3x raise to 6k from early position kinda made me think she had something that strong, but that she kind of wanted to protect, but that's common thinking, so who knows really.. I still put her on a very strong range, and just called with my jacks from SB. The flop came 5-8-10 and I bet 7500 (just over half pot - I could of bet stronger perhaps.. or check/called might of been better, but I don't want to see an ace or king come down there either...) She fairly quickly raised me to 20k. I have around 50k chips, and so she's basically putting me all in because I mean it's the point of commitment here.. I though for a bit and I don't know.. I kept putting her on 10's or better here.. I didn't think she'd make the move w/a lower pair, and ahh but then after I think 8's or better too.. either way. 88, or 10-10 got there.. if she had 9's I'm of course ahead.. JJ (very unlikely) we tie, and any other hand in that range aside from a bluff I'm way behind... so I told her.. I have an over pair (giving her a lot of info, but just trying to get a reaction.. she didn't flinch.. I said "you know what I have right?" .. no reaction... bleh.. I finally folded, and was still like .. upset a little not knowing where I was at in the hand and if I was correct or not..)..
Two hands later I'm in cutoff with AJ and make a standard raise after it's folded to me.. BB who recently doubled up stop and thinks for a bit, and I see him thinking heh, and he raises all in. He recently doubled up and he seemed like a fairly good player.. He still had (6k) less chips than me. I was still a little flustered from a couple hands prior.. And told him -- "My range is huge right?" knowing he knew I raised the last couple of times in late position it was folded to me... and also knowing he just saw me make a very big fold. I muttered I call, I call., and he flipped Q-10.. I was still just in a bad feeling/state, and didn't really want to get in a spot like this just yet, but knew it was correct if I wanted to win this thing, and I knew I needed to keep chipping up and this table had been slow... So I flop two pair.. AQJ flop... turn is the King, crushing me and leaving me with only 3 bb. Next hand I go all in w/K9 and it folds around, I fold like 9-4, and another trash hand, and in UTG I push with 6-7 and it folds all the way around to the button who calls with KQ and sends me home. :/.. 207th. I collect 2854$ and out.
Works doneeee.. peaaace.
