Vegas October 2021 (WSOP)

Day 3 - WSOP Event #21 Omaha 8/b mix

Last Updated: 2021-10-11 14:42:13

Sunday was a good day on several fronts, including one important one. I'll apologize in advance for it being a hair long :-)

Starbucks at Aria to write most of the day 1/2 BLOG while Joann slept a little later instead of going out to the one off strip because saving time was more important than being cheap and earning rewards.

Finished up the BLOG in the room once Joann was up, we got ready and it was off to Tom's Urban at New York, New York to watch some football.

Not exactly enamored with the Eagles chances this season, do like how things are going with the Packers so if I can only be set up to watch one game on the screen when they both play at the same time it's going to be the Pack this trip. But fear not! I brought my "tablet the size of a laptop", sat it on the table and brought up the Eagles game on it. Got several compliments on my setup!

The Eagles looked like toast for most of the game, but somehow managed an impressive comeback against the Carolina Panthers.

Meanwhile, the Packers seemed to be on cruise control through the 3rd quarter until they let the Bengals back into the game, and had their kicker miss an extra point and break a 27 for 27 streak of made FGs to miss THREE IN A ROW in the 4th quarter and OT with chances to win the game. Oh, by the way, the Bengals kicker also missed two field goals with a chance to win the game, I believe I saw a stat on the screen saying that there haven't been 5 straight missed FGs in a game since like 1991. One of the craziest finishes I've seen in a long time.

We had one quick errand to run, Joann took a half hour "post-bottomless-mimosa nap" and then over to Rio to register for Event #21, Omaha 8/b mix.

2 from your hand, 3 from the board. Qualifying low hand gets half the pot if there is one. 5 unpaired cards 8 or lower to qualify (hence "8 or better"), ace is low, straights and flushes are ignored, A2345 (the wheel) is the best possible low, can but don't have to use the same two cards for high and low hands.

Played 3 different ways in rotation, 7-max tables, game changes every 7 hands even if the table is short players.

"Pot-Limit" (PL), "Limit" (L), and "Big-O" (BO) which is 5 cards dealt instead of 4 but otherwise same rules and played "Pot Limit".

Sat down at about 4:40, midway through level 3. Since the two PL games "play bigger" they actually play two structures with the blinds for L rounds being somewhere around twice the size of the blinds are for the PL rounds. But they had some very odd blind numbers partly because they don't use 25 denomination chips any more.

Also, another new trend with the "big blind ante" is that all the Omaha PL tournaments nowadays use it as well. Traditionally "PL" games never had an ante to make it easier to figure out what a pot-sized bet was. Now they just don't include the ante for the calculation of a "pot bet" preflop.

40 minute levels, 15 minute break every 3rd level, I'm sitting down 20 minutes before the first break.

Got all that? Not gonna repeat myself :-)

Nothing interesting before the break, I was about 10 minutes into the 4th level when the first hand of note came up.

Off the top of my head it does seem to me that Big-O, which I've only played once before, was the variety where most of my significant hands occurred.

I look down at A-J-T-4-8 playing BO in the big blind with I think spades. Not really a great starting hand unless the board comes all "high" or I flop exactly 2-3-something, but at 100/200/200 (small/big/ante) I can certainly just knock when a few people limp in ahead of me.

Flop comes Q-4-T with my suit, so I flop 2-pair, a gutshot and a flush draw. I check, someone bets 1-k, one caller, I call. Turn is a ten for a full house, I check/call a bet of 2k and I'm the only caller.

You have to be a little paranoid in Omaha, especially when out of position. "Under-full" vs "Over-full" is how soooo many people bust out. My plan is to just check/call again on the river because it's quite simple: if I lead out and I'm raised, I've got an incredibly tough decision to make; however, if I assume my opponent is competent the list of hands he's going to call my bet with on a paired board when I lead out after checking the flop and turn is a very, very small list. So if I bet in that spot the most likely outcome is that I'm probably only getting called, and possibly raised, if I'm beat.

I check, he checks behind, tens full of fours is good.

Two hands later, now PL, same guy involved in the hand. A-T-T-J double suited in clubs and hearts. Another hand only good on a high board but what the hell I'm on the button and I'm double-suited.

Flop comes Q-4-7 with two clubs. Not the board I'm really looking for but with the nut flush draw and one of my "gap cards" (the queen fills the gap for a straight in my starting hand) it checks around.

Turn is a ten giving me a set of 10s and a gutshot to go with my flush draw, the guy leads out for 800 and I call, everyone else folds. River is a queen. He leads out for 1500, once again I have a full house but not the "nut" full house (QQ and QT beat me) so I just call the 1500. He shows two 7s for 7s full of queens, tens full of queens is better. That's one of the few hands I could have gotten paid for a small raise on, you could argue I missed a little value there but if he overvalued his full house and reraised me it would have been a problem so I'm good with my play.

Finally get my first A-2 of the night a little over an hour since I first sat down. But I just win half a small pot on a board of 3-8-3-4-Q. I did do some betting to get some chips in the pot with my nut low since nobody else was showing any interest but were willing to call.

Back to BO, folds around to me in the small blind and I "pot" it with A-3-3-6-7 and a suited ace in diamonds. Flop comes A-7-Q with two hearts. I check the two pair I'm not super thrilled with, big blind can't wait to get a pot sized bet in. I fold with the wrong suit and a lousy low draw when out of position (OOP). These are the kinds of hands people who don't play this game a lot get into a lot of trouble with...

Then the kind of hand you hope for in this game.

I have A-3-6-X (a face card I forget) playing limit and I call a raise preflop, we're 3 or 4 handed. Flop comes 2-5-5 rainbow, so I have nut low draw and a gutshot to a straight. One guy leads out, one caller, I call.

Turn is a 4. GIN. I have the wheel for low, can't lose that, and a 6-high straight.

It checks to me so nobody has a full house, I lead out, two callers.

River a very safe 9, they check to me, I bet again, they both call. One guy has A-3, the other guy has 3-6. I get half the pot, they each only get a quarter of a very nice sized pot!

Give a chunk back with another A-3 hand, A-J-T-3 with two clubs. On the turn the board is 2-Q-4-K with two clubs, so I have a broadway "wrap" (any A, 9, T or J gives me a nut straight) a gutshot to a wheel (5) and a nut flush draw! But a blank on the river. Grr.

Go a little card dead, lose some blinds, at 6:49 I message Joann that I could have waited until then to buy in and had the same chip stack! But what fun would that be... :-)

Look down at A-A-K-5-2, can't ask for a much better starting hand! I pot it to 700 preflop and get two callers.

Flop comes A-T-3, I pot it again to 2300, one caller.

Turn is a 2 which is the worst possible card for my hand because I go from top set with a second nut low draw to a board with a possible made nut low/nut straight that I have neither of. Not good! At that point I'm only playing for the high hand if I can catch a full house or a 4 for a chop, it gets potted into me and I have to give it up. Never play for half the pot heads up, recipe for disaster.

But I get some back with A-Q-J-T-4 and a suit, I pot it preflop and get three callers. Flop is 2-3-6 so I have a made nut low, I pot it again and get one caller. Turn is a perfect 5, I pot again. Guy thinks for a while and folds.

It's very possible this guy had exactly the same hand, an A-4. But on that board he has to worry that I might also have A-4 but also have a card that gives me a better straight. If for example I have a 7 and he calls a pot bet on the turn and river he's only going to get 1/4 of the pot back and I'm going to get 3/4. If I'm right, that's a quality fold given the circumstances on his part even tho I did only have the bottom straight.

28,900 at the break from a starting stack of 25,000.

A-3-7-T, second to act pots, one call and I call in position on both of them. Flop comes 3-T-4, checks around, turn a ten, I pot my boat, no callers. Win similar small pots here and there to build my stack a little.

Then a rough patch. I lose 5k over three hands. The tough one was A-2-2-3-3 with two suits, tho we're not thrilled if we have to try and play a flush holding 2-3 :-) There was a preflop raise to 800 followed by a pot to 2K that I called down because I have a great possible low that can't be counterfeited if I hit. But the flop came all high cards and not my suit so I had to fold on the flop. Ugh.

Then a card dead stretch, can't hit a flop on the rare occasion I have cards.

As registration closes around 9:45PM I'm just around starting stack again. 27400 at the second to last break.

Final tally was 641 players paying 96 places.

Just after that break tho, finally a big hand.

A-A-3-9-Q with diamonds. I just call a bet of 1500 preflop because I'm going to be out of position in a blind. If the 9 had been any wheel card I'm raising! But I'm really playing a 4-card hand in a 5-card game here.

Flop is 4-6-J with two diamonds! So nut flush draw, a "gap card" for broadway and second nut low draw. It checks around.

King of spades on the turn giving me a gutshot to go with my other draws, someone bets 3k, one caller, I call.

River is a 9. Ugh. Miss everything.

It checks around, we reveal...ACES GOOD! Everyone missed everything!

A little over 40k now, my biggest stack of the day to that point.

But ... dust off 7K on back-to-back A-2 hands with suited aces that don't work out. First one I flop a nut low draw but no high and the turn counterfeits my 2 and have to give up, second one A-2-3-5 to start but the flop comes 6-7-K and someone pots into me for 1/3 of my stack. Can't just play for low and a gutshot, give it up. Down to 31k after some other blinds.

Then two of the three hands that set me up for the rest of the day. I look down at A-A-K-4-9 with two suited aces and pot it. Someone repots, I repot, all the chips go in. He rolls over A-A-Q-3-6. My high possibilities a hair better, his low a hair better. He's really in better shape with the better low draw, I'm at definite risk of being quartered.

Flop is 9-8-K.

Turn is a 9!!!!

River doesn't matter, he's drawing dead, I scoop for a full double-up with trip 9s!!! 57k!

Hand or two later I look at A-2-T-Q-6. The board runs out 2-6-J-4-2, my trip 2s are good for high and nobody has a low!

66K!

65,500 at the final break. 2 hours to day 2.

Shortly after the break I pot it with A-2-3-5-5, a guy with about 20k repots it and I put him all in. He shows A-4 and three big cards. He need a high flop, I need a low one.

Flop is 3-4-face, turn is a 7 to earn me half the pot, river is a 2 to give me a scoop with a wheel. I'm up over 80k.

Not much going on for the next half hour before we get our table broken up as people are busting out.

I get moved to a new table where I'm looking straight at Maria Ho at the next table over every time I pick my head up, and oh by the way I'm in the 4-seat with one Jeremy Ausmus sitting in the 2 seat.

That's #122 on the all time tournament money list.

Card dead for a little while, win some small pots to get back over 80k as we start the last 40-minute level of the evening.

But I'm not there just to make Day 2. I'm still playing to win.

We get the announcement with 10 minutes left in level 15. "Finish the hand you're on and deal three more hands".

All I have to do to come back on Day 2 with a good stack is fold three hands...

I can just get up, go for a walk, be happy with my stack, come back tomorrow.

I'm on the button at 1000/1500/1500 blinds in PL. Someone makes it 4000 to go, almost a pot bet. I look down at A-A-2-8 with two suited aces. Uh oh...

Pot.

Folds back to original raiser, he thinks for a long time, counts and recounts his chips ... and just calls.

Flop 3-4-5 rainbow. You cannot make this up. All the chips go in...he rolls over 2-3-6-X.

I have the wheel, nut low. He has a 6-high straight for high. We both have freerolls on each other. My worst case is I lose half my stack if one of the two remaining aces come and the board does not pair.

His worst case is that the board goes running 3-3, 4-4 or 5-5 to give me a scoop with a full house and a nut low and he's out.

His second worst case is that the board pairs and we get an ace and he loses half his stack chopping the low but giving me a different full house.

Board runs out blank blank, chop it up. A lot of stress for a 1500 chip profit for each of us from the blinds.

I fold the rest of my hands, bag up 77,500 and get my seat assignment for Day 2.

I am 88th in chips out of 199 remaining. Probably my highest start to a Day 2.

I will be second in chips at my table, a guy has 117K, next biggest stack is 67K. One Paul Volpe will be at my table. That's 125th on the all time money list.

2PM, Amazon Room table 451, seat 5.