 Vegas July 2025 (WSOP Part Deux) |
| Days 9-14 - Time off, HORSE |
| Last Updated: 2025-07-16 17:50:22 |
| Took a longer break from poker than I expected.
|
| Yes, Patrick, I've been talking about playing in cash games on this trip. And, no, I haven't.
|
| I expected to play 1-3 No-Limit at Aria on some non-tournament days, but during their entire summer series they had no 1-3 no-limit during the day. I think they started them up around dinner time. Before that nothing but 2-5 NL if I wanted hold'em (they also had some PLO).
|
| I was very intrigued by the idea of a high limit cash game at Bellagio, "40-80 7-Game Mix" however the first time I went by the poker room every table was full with some game, and they had one table for this mixed game and a waiting list long enough for another full table. The second time I went by they had no table and not a very long "interest list". So that wasn't an option either time.
|
| I did find out that they actually have a list of 15 games they pick seven from and it's all up to the players what to play. They did not tell me what the 15 games are.
|
| That said, I also had played three days in a row and the plan was always for me to spend a lot of days not playing poker on this trip. So ... a quick recap ...
|
| Thursday last week Joann and I spent the entire day in a cabana at the Vdara pool. Tom and Drew flew in that day and they joined us in the afternoon, we all got a bite late at Tom's Urban.
|
| Friday the four of us plus Heather and Glenn had dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen, otherwise Joann and I mostly spent time in the room.
|
| Saturday Joann and I had italian for dinner at Il Fornaio's, Sunday we did Gallagher's Steak House ... which is on my "never go there again" list at the moment. They give me a whisky list with prices for each whisky ... what we didn't see until after we paid was that the fuckers added a $3.00 "neat drink" charge per drink. Is this some kind of joke? If you hand me a whisky list with prices, I expect that to be the price I pay for a whisky. Period.
|
| Monday we had Emeril's New Orleans Fish House with Tom and Drew, they had done a cabana for the day and we joined them around lunch time.
|
| Along the way we went for some walks, did some shopping and spent a little time on financial stuff. One nice thing about a long trip like this is you can spend some time concentrating on things you need to catch up on without the inevitable distractions of being at home!
|
| Now that we're caught up on the days I skipped playing poker ... WSOP "daily deepstack" HORSE on Tuesday!
|
| This was the total opposite of my last attempt at this weekly tournament. They have it under the banner of all of the "daily" deepstack tournaments they run, but HORSE is only once a week.
|
| The last Tuesday I was as card dead as can be. Without looking back at the BLOG for it I probably dragged three pots my entire run in it.
|
| This time it was a lot of fun actually having cards and playing some poker!
|
| Although I also had a very weird day. I played poker for 5 hours in a tournament where you rotate 5 games every 8th hand ... and I never played a single hand of Limit Hold'Em!
|
| Not one hand!
|
| They randomly pick which of the 5 you start with, then you play all the games in order (Hold'em, Omaha eight or better, Razz, seven card Stud and stud Eight or better (all "limit" games)).
|
| All tables start with the same game, O8 was drawn to be first.
|
| Don't think I played a hand of O8, but I did get away with a nice bluff in Razz (more commonly known as "fucking Razz", but I'll get to that...). I couldn't have started out better, dealt A24, there was a limp before I completed the bet to 400 (first round already starts out at 200/400 blinds, 400/800 limits and only 20 minute levels) and got one caller with I think a 5.
|
| I pick up a 3 to give me A-2-3-4, the best possible 4-card starting hand in Razz while he picks up a face card. I bet, he calls. I get another 3 and he gets a 9, I still bet and he calls.
|
| 4 on 6th street (so A24334 ... pairs are bad ...) for me and another face card for him ... but with no actual made hand yet I check and he checks behind.
|
| River for me is another 4. I have a full house ... I almost certainly cannot win at showdown ... so what else to do but bet out?
|
| I had been acting very strong to that point, he thought a while and folded.
|
| You can bluff in limit poker!
|
| Then I got a little lucky. Now playing Stud I started out with 9-7-K and my king was the biggest card on the board. A few folds to me and this is a fairly automatic spot to try and steal antes with the best card showing so I completed and got one caller.
|
| Not really a great starting hand, but having tried to steal I pick up a jack with the other person showing 5-2. Automatic bet with that board ... he calls.
|
| I pick up a queen giving me a gutshot and three face cards showing against his now 5-2-6. I bet again, he calls again.
|
| I get an ace, so I'm showing KJQA and he pairs his 2. I decide I'm just going to keep acting strong and bet again.
|
| 10 on the river! Bet and a call, turned out he had three twos and picked up an inferior straight at the end.
|
| Whew! Sometimes you need to get a little lucky!
|
| I immediately get moved to form a new table. And we start again with Omaha 8/b because it's a brand new table.
|
| I wasn't there very long. I won one decent pot but we barely got into Razz when I got randomly picked to move again for another new table ... and back to Omaha 8/b again.
|
| Not a great start at the new table. Nothing working in O8 this time, and I went through an entire round of Razz not having a single starting hand that didn't involve at least one face card, or a pair ... or even a face card and a pair. Ugh.
|
| I had built up to 35k from my starting stack of 25k, but back down to 29k at the first break.
|
| First break meant registration was closed ... which in turn meant that instead of adding new tables we'd start breaking down tables!
|
| Shortly after we get going again I take out a short-ish stack in Stud when I get him all in on 6th street with two pair JJQQ and him only having a pair of 7s and a flush draw and no kings or aces to hope for a better two pair that could beat me. He bricks out to send me a nice pot.
|
| I finally get to play Stud 8 for the first time over two hours into the tournament!
|
| We're playing 8-handed, at close of registration there were 46 of 52 still alive. Play a couple hands of stud 8 and we're down to 40 left so it's time to break up my table to make it only 5 tables.
|
| My new table was a few hands into O8, I'm back to the beginning again! Still not one hand of Hold'Em.
|
| Big blind special in O8 right off the bat, catch a full house because I'm in the BB and play a hand I would otherwise fold - K743 with I think diamonds, flop a K and a 3, turn another K, bet/call every street, other guy said he had the case K with an ace kicker.
|
| People dropping like flies, already down to 34 players and I'm at a nice 55k stack. It's announced they're paying 8 places. And I'm at the table that's obviously breaking next...
|
| Fucking razz. Start out with four low cards, brick out and lose 12k.
|
| Next hand same thing, start with A762 three handed and them all showing at least one face card. I brick out again, they both end up with better hands and an 8 wins the pot. Any 3,4 or 5 was all I needed (and they were all pretty live!).
|
| Two hands later start with 273, then a 10 then a Q and done with another one.
|
| Fucking Razz.
|
| I've gone from comfortable to quite short. Blinds are now so high any hand I play will have me all in if there is a bet on every street.
|
| Playing stud 8 I start with 456 and decide this is about as good as it gets for me to get my chips in unless horrible cards come. There is a complete and I reraise, we play 3 handed.
|
| I catch a 10, not great but I call a bet. I catch a 6 of spades, now 4-5-6 of spades and a pair. I actually lead out, get rid of one person and we're heads up. They've got two face cards, they are not going low.
|
| 2 of spades on 6th street. I am four to a straight flush, four to a low and will have the only low, and I have a pair.
|
| I'm all in.
|
| He calls, and all he has is a flush draw, even my pair is good at the moment!
|
| I spike a 3 of clubs for a straight, he bricks, I about triple up with the other dead money in the pot!
|
| Very next hand I start out 4 to another low straight flush - 3-5-6-7 of diamonds! In the end tho I only get the low half as all my draws miss and he called me down with just a bare pair of twos! Insane call on his part!
|
| If he folds, as he should have, or I catch anything at all I've got a huge stack.
|
| And just like that we're down to 23. My table breaks up again before we get to play Hold'Em, and my new table had just played their first hand of O8. Again I'm back to the beginning!
|
| We lose 7 players in 20 minutes and my table breaks again. But down to two tables we do a complete redraw to scramble everyone up. And pick a new starting game.
|
| We're going to start with fucking Razz.
|
| Just the ante is 1500 chips and I'm sitting down with 40,000 chips. I go through an entire round of fucking Razz not playing a single hand, like earlier every starting hand had at least one face card or a pair. I'm down to 28,000 just from antes at the next break.
|
| We come back to Stud.
|
| I've got 2-J-A (ace showing) and decide that I'm going to try and steal antes or take my chances with an ace-jack.
|
| I complete, folds around to the last person who could have called and he goes back over the top. Bring-in folds, I re-raise, he looks at my stack and puts me all in. He has A-3-4. I'm ahead!
|
| I catch a Jack, never improve but he doesn't improve either until he catches a small pair on the river. I about triple up with the bring-in and antes.
|
| 14 left, 6 from money.
|
| I steal antes with a king showing. Simultaneous bustouts at each table, 4 from money.
|
| On stud 8 I am in a freeroll with the guy from the previous hand. I am all-in again with with K-K-8-8, he has no pair and no draw except a low draw so I'm guaranteed half the pot and just need him to miss ... and spikes an 8 to give him a low.
|
| That hand would have set me up to be in the money.
|
| 3 from the money.
|
| I get another freeroll with a shorter stack than me. This time I have the made low, he has only a high hand but I have outs for the high ... and miss again. I would have knocked someone out and been in decent shape for the money.
|
| Start out with a pair of queens and complete, there are two kings out, all the people who may have been playing for low fold and the two kings call. I figure QQ is probably in decent shape with two kings showing ...
|
| Well I get all in, it turned out one of the guys had a second king, he improved to two pair, I never improved and the other guy got one of my queens so three of a kind not really in the cards (as it were) for me and I was done three from the money.
|
| So close, three freerolls late that all would have set me up if they'd come in for me and you all know I love a good freeroll!
|
| And 5 hours in a mixed game tournament and I never played one of the games! Hard to believe!
|
| We have plans for Thursday, we go home Saturday.
|
| I wanted to play the weekly PLO in the daily deepstacks today ... but the WSOP has completely shut down aside from everything still going on is ending today so there are no more daily deepstacks.
|
| So ... there is a decent chance I will finally, finally play some cash one or both of today or Friday. But Joann and I have some finance stuff we want to finish up and my guess is we'll get that done today. There is also a daily tournament at Aria I could jump into, they're back to a normal schedule with their summer classic over so that's an option as well. |
| Post a comment |