 Vegas July 2025 (WSOP Part Deux) |
| Day 8 - PLO weekly |
| Last Updated: 2025-07-10 02:13:27 |
| After two straight utterly card dead tournaments it was fun to actually play poker today!
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| Brunch at Primrose at Park MGM since we've heard Salt and Ivy is now closed for renovation for the rest of our trip. That's a real bummer!
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| Buy in a little late, find my seat for the weekly PLO tournament, sit down and the third hand in I flop trips and run into a rivered straight. I had two sevens and I don't remember the other cards, but the flop was K-9-7. I bet, he called, turn a 4, I bet again and he calls, river a queen that also brought three to the flush. We check it down and he showed me his J-10.
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| At first I was surprised I was called down by a gutshot, rarely on PLO do you see people call down bets that light, but I think I then saw an 8 which meant he had a wrap with the 7 and 9 on the board (if he had 8-T-J in his hand, any 6,8,J,T or Q would give him a straight which you would never fold to any bet on the flop and turn).
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| For a while after that it was rough. Every hand I played ended up being second best. I'd flop two pair, someone would draw out a straight. I'd flop straight and flush draws and whiff the turn and river.
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| I'm thinking "here we go again..."
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| At least win a small pot when an iffy two pair holds up 4 handed against three other single pairs. It was a start!
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| But after that ... for a while every other starting hand is 3 of a kind (which is not good when you can only use two of them) or 3 or 4 of the same suit. Actually had consecutive hands that were four clubs and then four hearts. Again ... not good when you can only use two of them.
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| But finally something went my way.
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| I double up when I turn a king high flush and someone called me down almost all in with a queen high flush. With other dead money in the pot it added up to roughly a double.
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| He knew I had it, and even told me I bet the perfect amount on the river to get paid. That at least feels good for a change...
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| That got me to 31k or so, but nothing else worked out on me and I was at 27.400 from a start of 25,000 at the first break.
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| After the break tho things went well, and it was good to actually play some poker. Good starting hands caught small pieces on the flop here and there, but I made well-timed bluffs and semi-bluffs to take down some good sized pots.
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| The biggest one being when someone made it 4500 to go at 1000/1500/1500 and we saw a flop 5-handed with me having A-Q-J-J with clubs and diamonds. The flop came K-Q-3 and it checked around, I turned a flush draw with the 4 of clubs on the turn and led out getting rid of all but one player. When a 9 on the river completed a possible straight he quickly checked and I bet out my second pair and he thought and folded.
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| Had "bad" kings two hands in a row. A hand like KKQJ or KKAT are good kings when you have at least one suit. A hand like KK83 are bad kings - with the first hands you have lots of possibilities, with the third hand you either flop a king (which is still 1 in 8 like Hold'Em) or you are done.
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| First ones I was under the gun and quickly folded. As the hand played out they probably would have been good.
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| Second one I was in the blind, a few people limped ... and my kings were the best hand on a checked down board on the flop, turn and river.
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| Two hands later I almost took a major risk. I probably should have, you need to get lucky now and then...
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| I'm on the button and there is a middle position raise to 5500 (I think pot would have been 7500) and a late position player calls.
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| I look down at T-A-A-A wit A-T of clubs.
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| Three of a kind is not good in Omaha. You can only use two.
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| BUT ... there is only one ace left, and nobody else can have two of them. No chance.
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| I seriously, seriously thought about making a pot sized bet that would have been probably 3/4 of my stack. At least 2/3.
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| Ultimately I decided that the other two players were loose enough that they may have both called, which would be really bad. I would be ahead heads up against almost any hand, but only a little ahead. But not at all in great shape against any two hands.
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| Ultimately I folded. It was the correct decision at the time, but as the hand played out I'm confident I would have won the pot against either of the other two hands.
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| If I was highly confident at least one would have folded to my huge bet it would have been worth a shot.
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| 35,500 at the next break. I'm sitting back down at the table with only 18BB after the break. Less than ideal.
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| Shortly after the break guy just before me made a pot-sized raise. I'm confident he's not too strong and I look down at KKQ5 with a suit. Not the best kings, but if I'm right he's not that strong a re-pot will get rid of him.
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| I was right about that part...
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| But the guy who acted two after me woke up with aces and put me all-in. Original raiser quickly folded.
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| I did flop a queen for a bunch of additional outs (any K, Q or 5) but no love on the turn or river and I was done.
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| Roughly 125th out of 364 people. Not a bad run, not good enough.
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| But ... it was fun finally being able to play some cards in that second two-hour stretch and find opportunities to make some moves.
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| Just didn't work out.
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| This will be the last BLOG for several days, unless something changes. We have a cabana all day Thursday, there will definitely be no poker.
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| We have dinner plans Friday, Saturday and Monday so Sunday is the one day I could expect to play, I think we're unlikely to cancel any of the dinner plans. Feel free to check back, but Monday morning is probably the soonest I'll do one.
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| I may not play again until Tuesday when I will take another shot at the weekly HORSE, and after that the trip will start to get short.
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| That said ... I am serious about looking into that 40/80 7-game mix at Bellagio, which I can do any time for a few hours if I can get a seat. So ... you never know! |
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