Vegas June 2024 (WSOP)

Days 1-2 - Drive, Nugget 8-Game Mix

Last Updated: 2024-06-07 16:31:06

The easiest drive out I can remember in a long time, maybe ever. Some traffic through Colorado that just meant at or a little below the limit in a few spots instead of my normal pace all the way through. Two small left lane closures in the middle of nowhere in Utah, otherwise no construction other than some lane shifts.

And ... they're done with the bridge on I-15 in Arizona! Been at least two years of down to one lane that would at times back up for miles on end. Trucks over a certain weight had to take a 3 hour detour around it. Finally two wide open lanes in both directions!

Left the house around 2:30 PM, got to the hotel around midnight. Most of the usual stops for gas and In-N-Out. Skipped our Avon, CO Starbucks stop.

Didn't sleep great and hadn't slept great the night before, but somehow was up and wide awake by 7am. Plenty of time to get to 8-Game Mix at the Golden Nugget for 11am.

I would need to go real deep into my BLOGs to find the last time I played at the Nugget! Been a real long time. But they are set up in the same room I remember from all those years ago. Had to sign up for their rewards program, but at least they validated my parking in the poker room to save me $25!

(NOTE: After I was done writing this up I did look, June 2013 was the last time I played at the Nugget and from the first sentence I read it apparently didn't go well... :-))

$340 8-Game Mix to start out my poker grind for 2024.

First thing I'll say is, for those who play in our game on PokerStars the format was a lot more like that than the standard 8-Game Mix used for live games. All the games grouped by type, even moreso! And no random game to start (tho they did randomly pick later, and that statement is a hint at how my day went...).

No Limit Hold'Em, Limit Hold'Em, Razz, Stud, Stud 8/b, PLO, O8, 2-7 Triple Draw was the game order and we started with NLH, no random draw for that. Somewhat disappointing.

The other nice thing for me was that there were a lot of not very good players, and some players didn't really know some of the games (some of the dealers also, but as usual in these mixed game events the overwhelming majority of the players are both friendly and patient, unlike your typical NLH crowd that are mostly the opposite...). It's nice to know within 15-20 minutes you're going to have an edge on your table!

Won most of the pots through both hold'em games, including catching a river flush on a hand where I flopped a small middle pair and a flush draw, turned a straight draw and had one of the draws come in to beat pocket jacks at the end. The other pots were small (raise and take it or raise, get called, lead out and take it).

Then barely played a hand through Razz and Stud.

Won half of a pretty good sized pot in stud 8/b starting with split jacks (one showing, one not) and an ace, three handed, trip jacks on 4th street, bet and called every remaining street. They were both going for low hands, one caught his, but one of the two I think was surprised at my trips.

I'm trying to get away from explaining things so much, but this right here is how I knew my level of competition.

First rule of of stud games: Beware the paired door card!

First rule of split pot games: Don't play for half!

Both of these guys broke both cardinal rules. As soon as I was showing two jacks they should have known I probably had three of them, they were both clearly on low draws. They were competing with each other almost certainly for only half the pot and only one of them was going to get that half. They both should have considered folding, whoever had the worst low draw definitely should have!

Couldn't get anything going in PLO or O8, so on to 2-7 Triple Draw. I was crushing it in this game overall all day, tho it did let me down in the end...

Took down two big pots when I hit an eighty-six and a seventy-six, when we finished our first run through all the games I was around 24K from a 20K starting stack.

Not much going on the next run through NLH and LH, one decent pot on top-two vs just top pair. Also mostly in neutral through the stud games. I did lose my first sizeable pot in Stud when I caught kings up on 5th street against a guy showing two queens, but he caught a 3rd queen on 6th and I was drawing to just two outs as it turned out that already gave him queens full (I did not make the crying call on the river but he showed).

But then going into the first 10 minute break I won a massive pot in PLO.

I think I was small blind, after three limpers I called with 8-T-K-Q with a suit (I think diamonds) and the big blind made it 600 to go. Everyone called, 5-handed flop.

Flop came 6-7-9 with two clubs. I flopped the nuts with a chance to make better nuts. I pot it for 3000, big blind thinks a while and calls, everyone folds.

Turn an offsuit queen, I pot it for 9000, she thinks a long while and calls. River an offsuit jack, I improve to a better nut straight, I go all in, she folds A-A-K-X with two clubs face up.

With that hand I'm at 39,600 in chips, effectively double a starting stack!

But it only left me a 6 minute break so quick trip to the bathroom and I had time to eat four cashews with clean hands before having cards thrown at me again.

The next two hours until the next break I was mostly in neutral. Lose some in O8 when I get a decent flop (pair and nut low draw) and don't improve, pick up a couple small pots in 2-7TD, couple small pots in NLH, have a couple hands not work out in fucking Razz (and yes, we almost always refer to Razz as "fucking Razz" as it's the most miserable poker game you can play).

Card dead the rest of the way through the stud games, get some back in PLO and O8. Started an O8 hand with A-A-T-4 two suits, of course raise out and get two callers ... but terrible board for everyone, checked all the way down, my AA holds up for high and my second nut low is good enough to scoop. It happens sometimes...

43,400 at the next break. More than the last break and well above average stack.

Registration closes. 101 buyins, 84 players remain. Paying 12 places. Bottom money $650, top prize almost $8500.

Card dead for a while, steal some blinds and antes here and there. Didn't play a single hand in a round of stud 8, then took the first big hit to my stack in PLO when I turned sevens full of fours but a nine on the river gave the other guy sevens full of nines. I don't remember the hand, but the next hand I got most of it back from the same guy. I had dropped to 28k on the hand I lost, but back up to 41k very next hand.

Not much going on through O8, 2-7 or the hold'ems. But for the first time all day I have a nice run through the stud games. Take antes and bring ins a couple times in fucking Razz, but then take down a 3-handed stud pot when I river a straight (I had probably the biggest pair but was getting cards to give me straight and flush draws, one came in!).

Up to 56,200 chips, going on triple a starting stack, at the next break. Average stack 56,111. Sweet!

36 players remain, one in three will cash and I'm feeling good about my chances.

Our table breaks up when we get down to 30 players. One of the problems with the stud games all being back to back is that you have 18 consecutive hands of paying a big ante, if you don't win some pots at this point in the tournament it can be crushing to your stack. And I got screwed with the move, we had just finished stud rounds at our table and I moved right into them being only halfway through fucking Razz.

But it definitely worked out. We get to stud 8 and I'm in a 3-way pot and start with 2-4-6 and I clearly have the only low draw. I catch a 5 on 4th street, I'm never going away now ... bets and calls on every street ... and I catch a magic three on the river AND get in a raise and scoop the pot!

I'm up to 90k in chips.

We get down to 23 players, 11 from the money, average stack 67K.

Things start to go south. Nothing working out, I fall down to 58K at 10 from the money at the next break. I have a 40 minute break and get a burnt chicken quesadilla for dinner.

Miss two draws in 2-7 triple draw and I'm down to just over 20k in chips with 9 left. But bustouts are now coming fast, in 10 minutes we're 6 from the money. I win a small pot here and there to maintain my small stack, and at 6 from the money we get a full table redraw. They do randomly pick the game we will start with this time.

Get a full double-up in NLH with A-K vs A-10 early at my new table! Back up over 50k.

Scoop a couple of stud 8 hands, one started with split kings and caught a 3rd king, I got in bets and calls on every street! Second one started with hidden 10s with a face card showing but nobody improved and they held up.

Just like that back up around 80k.

20 minutes later we're down to 14 players paying 12.

Crush it for a round of 2-7 TD, against one guy in back to back hands and he actually said out loud "you are seriously outplaying me in this game!" Up to 118k, 134k average.

Bubble time!

Someone busted on the second hand of "hand-for-hand" and we're down to two tables and in the money!!!

Two shorts stacks gone just a couple minutes later, already a money bump!

$738 now the min-cash for those remaining.

Took a hit in stud, by 6th street I had 4-5-6-7 showing and I had a pair ... but only picked up two pair on the river and lost to a better 2-pair. I was betting every street trying to scare them out, but they wouldn't go away.

Two more gone and min-cash is now $978. Almost triple buyin!

Get short again, double up again, trying to hang on.

Work my way back up to almost 160k, but then in stud 8 started with a big pair against high cards also, bet every street and they rivered a straight to beat what ended up two-pair for me. Argh!

Next break around 79,500 and definitely the shortest remaining stack.

I pick up some chips in O8, but then my 2-7 Triple Draw dominance finally ran out. Two hands I miss draws and I went from around 80k to around 120k to around 50k between O8 and 2-7. But there is a bustout at the other table and we are final table of 7!!!

If I can hang on for one more bustout we go up to around $1350.

We're starting with PLO. Second hand in I have A-K-T-X with two suits, I pot it, one caller leaves me with just 2k chips which we get in before even looking at the flop since I was first to act. I run out a flush and double up.

Very next hand almost the same starting hand. A-K-9-7 with two suits, I pot it and get called. I flop bottom pair of 7s, a nut diamond flush draw and running straight draw. Rest of the chips go in, quick call, he's got a worse diamond draw, also a running straight draw and a better pair of 10s.

Turn is a 10, river is a 7, flush doesn't come in and I'm done in 7th place.

Very good start to the poker part of out trip! Always good to cash in the first thing you play in!

Friday we are seeing a concert so no poker.

Saturday our plans are up in the air. Joann really wants to see a free concert on Freemont Street, but for those who know she's having serious sciatica problems right now (MRI as soon as we get back home!). We are trying to work out lunch with my cousin Heather and then depending on lunch and whether Joann thinks she can make the show I might play in an afternoon Big-O tournament at the Nugget if we're not seeing the concert.

I am absolutely playing in the WSOP BigO on Sunday for a bracelet.

So ... probably no BLOG Saturday, 50-50 a BLOG on Sunday morning, definitely one Monday morning. We'll see!