 Vegas October 2021 (WSOP) |
| Day 4 - WSOP Event #21 Day 2 |
| Last Updated: 2021-10-13 02:49:49 |
| I slept for all of 3.5 hours Monday morning after bagging up my chips, heading back to the hotel and getting paninis for Joann and myself at the Aria patisserie somewhere around 2:30 AM. Didn't get to bed until 3:30, was up at 7:00.
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| Wrote up the Day 3 BLOG entry at the Starbucks in Aria over tea and coffee cake again, spent some time in the room, had lunch at the burger place next to the Aria Poker Room and it was on to the Rio for Day 2.
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| So remember I said in yesterday's BLOG that Jeremy Ausmus was sitting two seats over from me and Paul Volpe would be at my table for Event #21 Day 2? I get to my seat, unbag my chips, and who walks over and sits in Paul Volpe's seat and starts counting Paul Volpe's chips but the guy who was sitting between me and Ausmus the night before! I had Ausmus and Volpe betting into me for a couple of hours and had no idea that was him. Talking about how he was from the west side of Philly was a clue I missed...
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| It was nice sitting down in a Day 2 with a comfortable chip stack at 77,500 and being in the top half instead of the bottom half of chip counts. Especially nice sitting down second in chips at my table!
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| The first couple of rounds couldn't have been much better. I didn't win any massive hands, but I slowly built my stack over time, rarely lost a pot I entered and was nearly double what I started with at the end of the round.
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| Couldn't get any callers with A-A-2-3-7 with A-2 of clubs preflop in Big O. Next hand A-2-4-J-K again with the ace suited in clubs, I'm late to act with already a couple of limpers so I just limp. Flop comes 3-4-Q two clubs, I bet out for 6K (blinds 1000/2000/2000 for pot limit this level) and everyone folds.
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| Playing "Limit" (blinds 2000/4000) I raise out with A-2-5-Q (ace not suited) and only the big blind calls. Flop A-2-T, not a great flop for me but he checks so I decide to throw a bet at my 2-pair and he calls. We check around on the 7 turn, 2 on the river. I bet 8000, he calls and isn't happy about that 2. He had A-3-9-T for a better flopped 2-pair. Sometimes you get lucky :-)
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| Neither of us can make a low with all our low cards counterfeited by the board so that's a scoop and I'm around 100k.
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| Volpe raises preflop in my big blind, still playing limit, and I call with A-T-8-5. Not a great hand but good enough to defend. I flop 3-pair A-T-8, I bet, Volpe calls, don't recall the turn but I bet again and he folded.
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| High level, A-2 is always a playable hand and is almost always a "raise first in" with about any other two cards. Always if your ace is suited. A-3 is usually a raise, more "usually" if the ace is suited but you want your other two cards to somehow be helpful. But when you get down to A-4 and A-5 hands there is a big dropoff in value because you are inevitably setting yourself up for trouble. You tend to get in situations where your low hand is only useful when you have a very strong high hand and just hope to eke out a scoop or half the low pot. Folks who don't play a lot of 8/b games way too often overvalue a low with A-4/5 and trap themselves with second-best low hands and bleed chips because of it.
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| Couple of hands later playing Big-O it folds around to me on the button and I look down at A-A-A-K-T with at least one of the aces suited. Any time you are dealt trips in Omaha it is an awful hand that should be immediately folded. If you have any sense anyway.
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| But ...
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| Aces are "king" in this game. If I have three of them, it occurs to me, the blinds probably have none! Right? So naturally I say "pot" and push out my raise. They fold, I show off the aces and say "I had 'em all". Just letting them know I'm here to play :-)
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| I try really hard never to talk strategy to never let people know how I think at the table, but I couldn't help myself. Someone said something about whether I knew I couldn't play all three and I smiled and said "look, if I have 'em they don't. Either I take the blinds or I give up if I don't flop perfect." Not exactly a secret plan, but still I need to shut up. And stop showing cards :-)
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| Stack now 117K after the first hour long round of the day.
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| One guy limps when I'm in the small blind and I look at A-K-2-3-8 with a suited ace. I make it 7500 to go, limper calls.
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| Flop comes Q-9-4 rainbow, checks around.
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| Turn is an ace, I make it 7K with my wheel draw and top pair, he calls. River a blank, check around, AK beats his AJ, ship it! 130K.
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| And now just 65 from money.
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| I double up a micro stack when he goes all in under the gun in my big blind of 5000 and it's just another 1500 for me to call. As it turns out we both had good hands under the circumstances, my ATT5 vs his AQQ3. Flop comes A-Q-X and he doubles.
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| Very next hand tho I get almost all of it back as he's in the big blind in Big-O, where he has a 2500 BB and 2500 ante. Someone makes it 6500 to go and I call with A26JK and micro-stack folds.
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| The board runs out 6-8-T-2-A with four hearts (there was an 8k bet and call on the flop) I have two pair but no low. I decide this is a good spot to try and steal a pot, the other guy probably raised out with an A-2 or A-3 hand which means his low is also counterfeited and it's a scary board. I bet out for 15K and he folds.
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| 140k and probably the chip leader at the table.
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| I've got A56J in the big blind, Volpe raises out, the small blind calls and I call. Not a great starting hand but good enough to defend. Long story, short the board runs out with me getting a flush and betting, we get Volpe all in and the small blind calls me down. The small blind made a better low, my flush is good, Volpe is done for the day.
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| I peaked out at 151k, close to double my starting stack, but dropped to 142,500 at the next break.
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| You can't get too enamored with pocket aces in this game, it's what goes with them that also counts.
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| Chop a pot with AA47 when I draw out a nut flush but my A-4 loses to A-3 for the low. Then playing limit I pick up a better AA45 with a suit, I make it 12k, someone actually goes over the top and makes it 18K and I hit it again to 24k. Flop 5-4-5! I lead out for 6k and he calls. Turn is a 6, I quickly bet 12K with only a high hand. He thinks for a while, says "you must have A-2-3" and folds. I show him the 4 and the 5, muck the aces. I gotta stop doing that...
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| That was a big pot, and at the time I had no low.
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| 177K now.
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| 23 from the money.
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| Couple hands later take more chips from the same guy when he raises and I just call in the small blind with A2JQ. I probably should have raised but I would be out of position.
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| Flop 2 jacks, I bet, he folds.
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| 186K, 21 from money.
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| Average stack 137k, I'm in really good shape. Could probably fold my way to the money, but I'm not looking just to cash...
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| Hate when I fold quads...
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| I don't remember my whole hand but I know I had two queens and two not great low cards. I was probably in a blind. Flop comes out A-Q-small and there is a bet and a raise. I have to fold my second set, it can't be good.
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| Q on the turn. GRRR. I was right tho, the one guy showed pocket aces for a set-over-set and I was right at the time to get away on the flop.
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| 20 from the money.
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| AAT8 is in the "not so great aces" category, I call a preflop raise and a 10k bet on the J-K-5 flop thinking maybe it was just a continuation bet, give up on a bigger bet after a 7 comes on the turn.
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| 13 from the money.
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| Someone limps in my small blind playing limit, I call with a not great 45JQ ("two hold'em hands" is a thing in Omaha, you're not supposed to play hands like that) but they were both suited (clubs and spades) so what the heck. Big blind knocks.
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| Flop comes 2-9-T with two clubs, I call a bet with the open ender and lousy club draw. Turn a 3 giving me two open ended straight draws and a nut low draw to boot. It checks around, I probably missed a bet there. River is an 8 giving me the nut straight. I lead out, one caller, 4-5 is also good for low and I scoop!
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| 218k, 7 from the money.
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| "Take it down to 102, Andy"
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| (that's the remaining players on the clock, they're paying 96, 6 from the money)
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| "Dealers: If you lose a player we must know immediately!"
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| 15 minutes to lose another player. 5 away.
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| It's always gonna slow down when you get near the bubble...
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| Guy sitting to my right is down to 15k. He gets in and doubles up.
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| 10 minutes later 3 from the money.
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| I take out that micro stack. My hand was a lousy 9-7-5-5, but there was no chance I was folding with my stack size and his tiny stack. I don't remember his hand or the board, but he ended up with a pair of 2s and a counterfeited low, my 55 won the high and 7-5 took the low.
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| 2...
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| "Dealers: When you complete the hand you are on, do not deal another one. Stand up when the hand is over."
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| We are hand-for-hand on the bubble.
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| Standard hand-for-hand instructions. When someone is all-in, DO NOT deal the hand. Call the floor. This is in case two people are all in at the same time, if two people bust out they split the bottom prize rather than having some way to choose which one gets it. Unless they're at the same table, then it's the bigger stack.
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| I believe we played 6 hands hand-for-hand before someone busted. At our table every hand went one person raised out and everyone folded so there was no drama.
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| MONEY!
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| Now it's all about building a stack for a run at the final table. 20 people need to bust out before there's a small increase in the prize from $2400-something to $2600-something, not even a $200 bump. Next 7 out don't even get another $200 on top of that. Need to get to 63rd to double your buyin, in the 30s to triple it. Then the jumps start to get big.
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| So now that you're in the money it doesn't matter all that much if you're 96th or 66th.
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| The other dynamic is that now all the short stacks are released to get their chips in. They've made the money, it's about trying to double or bust out and go do something else. Heard several people talk about what they were going to go buy into if they busted.
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| And I'm at 222,500 with the average stack 165k. I'm in great shape!
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| Not much going on for about a half hour until I blew 50K on a big drawing hand that didn't come in. A-2-4-K with spades, I just call a raise (probably should have reraised, that's a big hand) and the big blind also calls so already a nice sized pot. Flop 557 with a spade, I have to call a bet in a 3-way pot with a strong low draw. Then a ten of spades comes on the turn so really have to call a bet here 3-handed ... but miss everything and fold to the river bet.
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| But I make up that 50k just picking up a few small pots here and there.
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| Then get a nice chunk of change when I call a raise with A-3-3-6 in the small blind and call a 10k bet on a 2-8-Q flop. 6 on the turn gives me a nut low and with 2 threes I'm feeling good I'm the only one with it, so I lead out for 20k on that turn and 25k on the second 6 on the river and both call. One guy had a flush, neither had A-3 so even half a pot is a nice haul! 268K!
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| I "raise and take it" with two consecutive A-2/A-3 hands, both suited aces, and the "players remaining" tally drops to 77. I just earned almost another $200.
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| About 25 minutes later not much happening for me but 7 more are out and a little less than another $200 in my pocket.
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| Lemme be clear. I am watching how many people are busting out, well, incessantly because I literally cannot help myself. It's my OCD tendencies, I have to know. I can assure you there is not a moment of thought of playing any hand differently to make a few more bucks. I'm playing to win...
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| But if you were sitting at the table with me you'd be seeing me looking at that count after every hand. Maybe sometimes during a hand if someone is taking too damn long to make probably an easy decision.
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| I fold A-A-6-8 rainbow under the gun. There is such a thing as bad aces. This is an example, really don't want to play this hand out of position. Easy fold. Maybe, just maybe, if I'm on the button and I can limp. But not UTG and OOP.
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| Card dead and can't get help for the next 30-40 mins. Call a raise with A227, flop all high. Miss another flop with another A-2 hand.
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| But I can win with a crappy AA89 hand. Remember bad aces?
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| What can I say, it folded to me on the button so I raise out hoping nobody else has aces and the small blind calls.
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| Flop comes 7-8-8. Ooooops. Sometimes you get lucky...
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| I bet the flop, get a call, but not a call when I bet the king turn.
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| Next hand AKT4 double suited, I raise and only the big blind calls. Don't remember the whole board but it was lousy and checked down all the way, I caught a ten and it was good against his pair of 7s at showdown.
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| 305k 20 minutes to dinner break. Which is significant for a different reason. The tournament I wanted to play in more than any was the 8-game mix. But this was a "business decision". Omaha 8/b is the game I play better than any other. I originally built the trip around the 8-game tournament, but after a lot of thought I decided that if there was one tournament I wanted to play in it was 8-game but if there was one tournament I should play in it was this one. So we added a night to the hotel reservation for no reason other than for me to be here for this tournament.
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| Registration for 8-game closes at 9:45. My one-hour dinner break starts at 8:41. If I make the dinner break, I'm not playing 8-game.
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| Good business decision, wouldn't you say?
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| Make that 309k, dirty stack. Pink in with the yellows.
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| Lose some blinds, 296k at the dinner break. 8-game will have to wait for June 2022.
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| We were one player from a bump at the dinner break, 4 bustouts in the first 10 minutes after the break so another bump. Oh and our table was the next one to break up and redistribute. I get moved to a table that will not break up the rest of the night no matter what.
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| Half hour later another bump, I'm card dead. We are now double the buyin and bumps get a little more significant.
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| Blinds are now 8000/15000 for limit games and 4000/8000/8000 for pot limit.
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| Someone makes it 21k to go in Big O and I look down at A2345. That's a strong hand preflop. One other caller.
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| Flop comes 2-6-K rainbow. Outside of flopping the nuts that's about the best flop I could ask for. It's a massive draw for me.
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| Original raiser leads out for 75k. This is about 1/4 of my stack. Arguably I should have just went all in, but even tho it's a huge chunk out of my stack if it doesn't work out I can still have a serviceable stack if I don't like the turn and fold so I just call.
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| Turn is a 5. BINGO!. Nut/nut. I have the nut straight, I have a nut low, and even if an ace or 3 comes, I still have the nut low.
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| All the chips go in, he has A-3, no A or 3 on the river to give me a scoop and I quarter him.
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| 392k.
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| Give 25k back calling preflop and giving up on the flop next hand.
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| Few hands later blow 100k with A-3-9-T double suited, flop 4-7-J with two hearts but miss everything on the turn and river.
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| Then a hand that almost set me up to really go deep. Not great 5-3-8-8 in the small blind, it folds to me so I limp, the big blind raises and I call. Flop A-8-T, I lead out and he calls. Turn a 10, I bet a big chunk of my remaining stack, he calls. River a 7, bet again, almost my whole remaining stack, he calls. He rolls over 4-2 for a slightly better low and we chop it up. Any card bigger than 7 on the river and I scoop a huge pot.
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| Another bump and I'm guaranteed $4k.
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| 218k at the next and final break. We're going to play 2 more rounds and call it a night and bag 'em up again.
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| Back from break, A-3-5-T in the big blind. Under the gun makes it 50K to play in limit. I call.
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| Flop 8-2-2 so I have a nut low draw. He bets 25K, I call.
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| 9 of clubs on the turn to go with the 2 of clubs. Checks around. River the 8 of clubs.
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| I decide that this is literally the scariest scare card ever. Flush came in. Second 8 came in. What could I have called with on the flop? And it's Omaha. People hit running flushes all the time because they catch some piece of the flop that's enough to call a bet and a random flush comes in. And what if I had a hand like A-3-8-X and called the flop to river a set?
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| I lead out for most of the rest of my stack. He asks to see my stack to see where I'm at and can see I'm crippling myself if I lose the hand. I have to be strong right?
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| Stone cold bluff, he chuckles assuming I hit something and folds.
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| You gotta have some stones sometimes.
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| Back up to 293K
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| And I have three of the recently introduced 25K chips now!
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| I've NEVER had a 25k chip before at the WSOP!
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| I quarter someone and have 7 of them! My A236J vs his A2344. He raised and I called preflop, flop came A58, all the chips go in and we both have nut low but I have the better pair of aces. Ace on the turn, blank on the river, I take half his stack.
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| Another money bump. I've more than tripled my buyin.
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| Alas that's the high point for me.
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| I chop a monster pot with a monster stack blind vs blind when we both have A-3 on a 2-4-5 flop. All the chips went in, 5 pairs on the turn and if a 5 had come on the river I quarter him with a full house but no such luck.
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| Case ace also would have done it, so 3 card freeroll.
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| Blow 125K on another hand where I flopped a huge draw but missed a million outs. AKJ7 with a flop of 3QT (so a big wrap, any 9, jack, king or ace plus running low as a backup) but 5 turn and paired ten on river miss everything for me.
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| Then the guy I quartered above on nut low, better ace kicker returned the favor and this was the hand that was the real beginning of the end for me.
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| In the end all the chips went in when I had the nut low and a straight on the river, but he had the nut low and a better straight. I get quartered and give him half my stack. Down to just over 100k.
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| In the big blind for 40% of my stack I look down at 4-4-9-4. Wow. I'm playing almost any four cards with 40% of my stack in the pot, but I have to fold.
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| Down to 72k I get in with A-4-7-Q, as good as I can ask for in that situation, against A-2-3-8. Board ran out 9-4-5-X-6 giving him a straight and the nut low.
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| Done in 30th place out of 641. A little over triple my $1500 buyin, 2 from another money bump for about another $900, but no pity party here.
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| What a run. One or two more hands go my way in that last round (that guy doesn't suck out a low on the river for example) and I'm bagging up for Day 3.
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| Joann expected me to either be pissed that I busted out or elated at 30th place and was surprised I wasn't either of those. She told me as much and asked me how I was feeling.
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| I told her "I'm feeling 'On to the next one'".
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| At the time I felt like I'd played about perfect poker for almost 20 hours of playing time.
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| As I typed this up I can find a nit here and there and maybe I missed a bet now and then, but over all I honestly think I played as good a 19.5 hours as I could play. That nut low/straight vs straight cooler was what did me in. I can't help that, I couldn't have done anything different. That guy hit his low when I had 8s full of tens. Either of those hands goes my way and it's a different ending.
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| That's poker, folks.
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| I've put in a lot of work, I finally got that deep run. Could have been better, I was willing to risk it being worse to make it be better.
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| So ... on to the next one.
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| If you've been following along til now you know about the Weller bottles Glenn has been holding for me. Well, I cracked open a Weller 12 to celebrate my deep run. I think that was as good an excuse as ever.
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| From a bankroll perspective, tho, this is huge. I effectively saved $1500 in my budget by not playing in 8-game, I've covered this one plus my next two planned bracelet events. So the WSOP for 2021 is a freeroll for me now. What I'm planning to play in outside the WSOP is only 1/3 at most of the budget.
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| The plan was to play HORSE at Orleans on Tuesday, but I'm finishing this up before going to bed Tuesday night having taken the day off. Instead I'm sticking with PLO Wednesday at Aria and then NLH Thursday also at Aria instead of a day off Thursday. Then the concert on Friday.
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| So this is a VERY late Day 4 BLOG, but there will be no Day 5. Joann and I had a day of shopping at the outlets and Smith and Wollensky for dinner.
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| If you made it this far sorry for the length but this was a big day for me, thanks for staying with me. Talk to you after Day 6... |
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