Vegas October 2021 (WSOP)

Day 7 - Hold'Em at Aria

Last Updated: 2021-10-19 01:34:02

What the hell? Why did you only give us two cards???

For the last day of week one I finally played that two card game.

Starbucks to proofread yesterday's entry that I had plenty of time to write up the night before, then the two of us went to Salt and Ivy for breakfast (restaurant near the shuttered Aria Buffet that's been renamed several times, currently only serving breakfast and lunch) and it was on to the Aria Poker Room for some Texas Hold'Em.

Started out 4-handed with two dead stacks, and it seemed like I had an ace almost every hand. I was stealing blinds left and right, especially the dead ones from the empty chairs, sometimes getting a call but then a fold post-flop. Also had Kings once, that was one where I got a caller preflop but no further action.

But ... all that got me was a big stack of black 100 value chips. Don't get me wrong, I'll take what I'm given. But when you have a run of cards like I did you want a significant chunk of chips added to your stack and I didn't get that.

Naturally the cards dried up, to the point where I called a raise with 2-3 of clubs in the small blind. Because they're suited and connected, right? Flop 2-T-6, it checks around, 4 on the turn gives me a gutshot to go with my monster pair. I lead out for 700, get two callers, river a 7, no help, checks around, quack, quack, ducks are good.

Earlier in the morning I had checked email and saw that Shinedown was going to be in Vegas in February. This is on Joann's short list of bands she's never seen but badly wants to, so of course I show her the email to let her know they're doing a tour. Right about this time in the tournament Joann finds the Denver date and tickets are on sale in about an hour and a half as I'm typing these words. I'd better type fast...

Card dead.

An hour after that hand with the 2s I finally have a hand of note, now an hour and 45 into the tournament.

A rare pair for me on the day (second one so far!) I look down at QQ on the button. It folds to me, I make it 1300 at 300/500/500. Big blind calls.

Flop comes 8-7-3, he checks, I make it 2100 to go, he calls.

Turn is a 5 that might have been a 3rd diamond, not sure. I did not have Qd.

He checks, I make it 5500, he quickly goes all in, I snap call. He bet too fast... I say it all the time... Never strong...

He rolls over 10-7, no diamonds for him either, no help for him on the river, I nearly double up.

Highlight of my day!

36,600 at the first break.

The one part of my hold'em game I really need to work on in these situations is 3-betting preflop. I don't do it enough, I've been studying GTO 3-bet charts, I'm pretty sure this was such a spot. The lojack seat (3 before the button) makes a 2.5 big blind raise (forget the blinds at that point) and I just call when I get my 3rd pair, 9s, in the cutoff (one behind the button).

I really need to 3-bet most of the time there, especially when I've been fairly card dead. Looking like a very tight player my raise will be respected. As the hand played out we flopped an ace and he made small flop and turn bets. He probably had a crappy ace and was worried he was up against a bigger one. Or a pair under aces and was feeling me out.

If I 3-bet preflop I look really strong, even if he calls to see a flop he surely checks the flop and I can represent a big ace with a c-bet. One way or another I probably win some chips in that hand instead of having to give up on the turn because my weak play to that point doesn't put me in a great position to try and steal it.

I need to work on this...

That said, I was picking great spots to steal now and then on scary rivers. I had no cards, I couldn't hit the cards I had, draws weren't coming in. But ... that third club also pairs the board on the river, got no chance of winning at showdown, looks scary...

That was pretty much the only way I was winning pots for a while but I won enough to keep my stack in the 35-40k range. Exactly 40,000 at the next break and I don't win the chip race.

My float/steal game is on point even if my preflop 3-bet game isn't.

15 minutes after the break I tell Joann she should start to ponder dinner options since the blinds are going up and my stack isn't...

Blinds now 1000/1500/1500 so I'm losing 4k per orbit with a stack now just over 20 bigs. I'm looking to shove a raise from someone who plays too many hands.

And I get a perfect spot!

The big blind left the table so his blind and ante are both dead money, under the gun plus one makes it 4000 to go and I look down at my 4th pair of the night (I had had jacks during one of the card dead stretches, raise, call, good flop, c-bet, take it), pocket 6s.

I go all in, one less player to get through with the BB absent, raiser thinks a while and folds.

Two hands later I look down at A-J off with that same guy in the big blind now. I make it 4000, he calls. Flop 9-6-9, that's a 100% c-bet flop, he check/folds to my c-bet.

Last hand of the orbit, same guy again makes it 4K under the gun now, folds to me and I peer down at another A-J off and call. Two other callers.

Flop J-5-5. He leads out for 5000, I make it 12,500 and he folds and everyone else folds.

Blinds go up to 1000/2000/2000.

3-5 hands later I look down at Big Slick (first time of the day! How many hours in?), make it 6000 to go early to act, only the big blind calls. Flop is jack high, check to me, I c-bet, take it down.

Next hand A-J off with the ace of clubs. UTG makes it 4000, cutoff calls, I call in the small blind and we see a flop.

K-Q-T with two clubs. Sweet!

I check hoping for a c-bet, it checks around. Grrrr.

Turn is the 8 of clubs, I try leading out, don't remember the bet size but everyone folds. Flop the nuts, can't get paid.

But...

In the space of about an orbit and a half or two orbits I go from 32k to 82,500. Not bad!

At this point entries have been cut off, we're down to 99 players out of a little over 300 entries. Paying 35 places.

Blinds up to 1500/2500/2500, there is a 7k bet into me and I pick up queens for a second time. I make it 21K, everyone folds.

Lose a chunk on a flush vs flush hand, I actually led out with the worst of it and he just called. I probably should have checked there, my diamond was not good enough to bet.

After my good run I didn't have a lot going on, I'm down around 60k and blinds go up to 1500/3000/3000 so I'm back in the 20BB mode again looking for a spot...

Button raises to 7k, I look down at 33. No need to look at the chart for this one, any pair is an automatic shove with a 20-ish big blind stack against a button raise from a competent player.

I go all in, he asks for a count, thinks it over and calls. With just A-9 off.

My shove was correct, his call for most of his stack was not. But ... 9 on the river and I'm the one going back to his room.

I definitely need to work on preflop 3-betting, but overall I feel like I got really deep with little to play with. The only pair I had that I didn't talk about above was 2-2 when I was in that 25-30 big blind range, too big a stack to go over the top of the raise in front of me but too small to just call and see a flop. Only had A-K the one time, probably a second time that I'm forgetting (but still...) had A-Q once, and that was it. But I managed to get through 6 hours of poker with little to work with and get to within a 50-50 shot of the money. I was just one flip away from having a real shot at a cash.

On to Tom's Urban to watch the Iggles lose to the Bucs. At least they made a game of it! And I should say, since most folks reading this BLOG also read my June BLOG, we have not had a single problem at Tom's on this trip. Some might recall we seemed to have issues every time we went 4 months ago, but no such problems this time.

Friday is a day off, we're seeing System of a Down with special guest Korn at T-Mobile Arena tonight so no BLOG Saturday. Then...

I've decided I'm taking the plunge and playing in Event #32, $3K HORSE event Saturday instead of $1500 2-7 Triple Draw Sunday. The thought process is this: I didn't play in 8-game Mix, so if I put together that buyin plus the 27TD buyin I already had budgeted I'm still spending what I planned to spend, and I've already won back more than half my total budget for the trip with the 30th place. And just a min-cash in HORSE would insure me no worse than a break-even trip as long as I don't add anything else unplanned.

Ordinarily I would say 2 shots are better than one, and I could play 2-7TD and plan on Razz later in the trip. But ... I really want to play in this, I've done it before and held my own, and I actually do think high level HORSE is a better opportunity than those other two one-game tournaments.

So ... HORSE on Saturday it is after a day off today.

Oh and Shinedown tickets have been purchased!