Final Round

So all day they claimed that the tournament was spaced out properly and that we would reach the money tomorrow... but, if worst case scenario, we got down to a certain number of people left today, they would end early to make sure that the money was tomorrow (For ESPN - Day Three is not ESPN worthy, but Day Four, The Money Day evidently is).

At any rate, round four ended up being the final round for today,  which was nice because i got out early and can get a decent nights sleep tonight.  On the other hand,  it was a brutal and unforgiving round. 

So i fold for awhile until i get pocket tens in a middle position and raise for antes and blinds. 

Then i folded.

For awhile.

A lot of folding. 

Then i called a raise with king jack suited in one of the blinds.  Flop comes K 7 5... with two diamonds.  So i bet it...  and he calls.  The turn is a 3... and not a diamond.  So i bet 16,000... a good size bet.  And he calls.  The river is the 9 of diamonds and he's giddy.

I didn't want to show too much weakness on the river,  but i didn't want to spend any more money on the hand... and I didn't want to have to fold,  so i laid out a little 6,000 bet hoping he might call and not raise.

 

He raised me to 35,000. 

Ugh.  He's got the diamonds.  

So i folded.  Top pair.  i folded.  

Because there were three diamonds on the board and he made a big bet. 

But you know what?  He had it.  He chased straights and flushes all night and even said that he had both a straight and flush draw and wasn't going anywhere when he said he had it three hands later.  So losing the 30k is awful,  but at least i didn't compound it by calling and losing 60k.

Moral victory aside, I'm down under 100k.

So i fold for awhile,  just hemorrhaging chips,  and get pocket sevens in the big blind that i played to a raise.  Flop came 2 Q 8 and we both checked.  Turn was another 2 and i bet,  he called.  The river was a 9, i checked,  he bet,  i folded. 

Ugh.

More folding.

More chip bleeding.

A10 off in the blinds with a raise and a call...  i call.  5 6 7. Check around.  K. I put seat four on KQ and he leads out betting it.  Ugh,  if i'm right about his pair of kings, i need one of three aces in the deck on the river to win... sigh,  fold.

River was an ace. 

Dammit.

They showed..  seat four had KJ, i knew he had the kings.  

Still,  that hurt...  i lost 10,000 instead of picking up 50,000 (More betting after the river)

Tilting... kid draws a flush...  KA instead of it coming AK. Folding.  Losing chips.

Then...  jacks!  First time all tournament!  So i raise...  everyone folds... and i win antes and blinds.

Winning one round of antes and blinds every three or four rounds is no longer cutting it because I'm losing more chips in the other 2 or 3 rounds than I take in and I'm running out of chips.  

But then i limped from the small blind with A5 and wound up betting the turn of a paired board...  but he called... bet me on the river and i folded away the 10k my jacks got me in one hand. 

And then,  with about forty five minutes left in the level,  seat four raises my big blind.  Everyone else folds.

Kings.

I've played with this guy all day...  i just called his hand on the pair of kings...  I know this guy... and he has almost 600,000 in chips...  this is it... this is my chance. 

I'm down to about 65,000 in chips,  a M Ratio of high seven for the current level,  low six for the next level.  I have to find a way to double up here...  antes and blinds aren't going to do it.

I've got this guy...

So i call and the flop comes 4h 8h Jc. I'm first to act and i want to bet it and either get more money in the pot or take down the 20k or so already in there. 

But i don't,  the hard part is over,  i missed an ace on the flop.  So i check to let him bet it,  which he does. 

Now i want to move all in. If i call his 10k and move down to basically 50k or less, I'm pot committed anyway... why let him draw? 

Because i need it all...  

So i call... after a nice rendition of "I'm going to agonize over calling to chase this flush" act. 

The turn was the 5c... excellent,  i don't want a third heart to spook him (or give him a flush)

So now i really want to bet,  but i don't...  i check.  And he bets 15,000.

I make a showing of counting my chips and realizing that if i call,  i might as well move all in...  so i shove,  and he calls.

He has AJ... a pair of jacks,  no flush or straight draw.  

He's shocked by my kings,  i played them perfectly and got every last dime in on them.  Doubling up gives me over 140,000 and a M Ratio of 15 heading into the final round before the money day tomorrow. 

As long as he doesn't get one of three aces in the deck on the river, of course. 

I mean...  that wouldn't happen,  right?

And the river was...

An ace!  Just kidding,  you should know me better than that - i never get knocked out by the things i see coming,  it's the ones i don't even think of... like the Jack he spiked on the river to hit a set and knock me out of the tournament for the second year in a row on a hand that i was over 88% to win when i got my money in. 

Yeah, so that happened.

Again.

Ugh. 

So round four was my final round.  Two to three rounds away from the money.  The board said 902 people left out of the 6,683 that started when i left... 690 got paid. 

I was 88.6% to win going into that river.  88.6% for 140,000 in chips and a M Ratio of 15 with a couple more levels until the money.

And one card later, i was one of the 210 people that were between everyone else and the money. 

That's poker. 

Quick Update

Everyone at the table has at least 100,000 and I'm 7th or 8th in chip stack.

Also,  they are now filming my table because of seat four.

After Dinner

I have 140,000 in chips, which is great, but the blinds and antes will be relentless now - 9,000 around the table. A preflop raise will probably be to 8,000...a three bet could be 15 - 20,000. Poker just got expensive.

So, I think the last two rounds of the evening are going to be a challenge, especially since some of the stacks at the table have gotten quite large. Seat seven has 350,000. Seat four has 550,000. The new guy in seat two has at least two hundred thousand I think. I'm probably 6th or 7th out of 9 in chip count. Maybe 5th, but doubtful.

But, if I can pull through tonight, then it's only a round or two until the money tomorrow. 13 rounds and 26 hours are down, 3 or 4 more until the money and a field of less than ten percent. Only twenty or so more rounds until the final table - about the time we hit the money tomorrow, we'll be halfway there!

Anyway, strategy for after dinner is to just keep on playing my game, be mindful of M Ratio instead of everyone else's chip stacks, and see what the poker gods have in store for me. And try not to do anything incredibly boneheaded.

Incidentally, I did spend some time on dinner break trying to appease the poker gods for my earlier comments about being sick of poker - it's not true!

Day Three, Round Three

I folded for about twenty minutes before raising with sevens under the gun to pick up some blinds and antes. That's how desperate i was for a hand,  i raised with pocket sevens under the gun,  i usually fold them. 

Then i folded for another forty minutes.  Each time around the table costs me 7,400, so my chip stack has been decimated by blinds and antes.

After an hour,  I'm at 76,000 and approaching a M Ratio of ten for the current round.  And next round,  antes go up yet again and i need at least 90,000 for a M Ratio of ten.  And that's in an hour.  Ugh.

At just under an hour,  everyone folded to my small blind so the big blind and i limped to a flop.  My J 9 caught a pair with a 9 8 4 flop,  i bet it,  and won some antes and blinds.

A couple hands later i had A 10 off and was one off the button when i raised to win some antes and blinds. 

So those two hands are nowhere near what i need,  but at least stopped the bleeding a bit.

There's been a ton of action this round,  i just haven't been involved with it...  i get raised and seemingly have A3 off on every hand...  just enough to tease me that i can get an ace,  just not a good enough one to play.

I did get AJ off in a late position and raised,  but it only bought me antes and blinds.  I'm somewhat concerned that when i do get a good ace that everyone folds... but the last two times it has been with the same big blind and he's short stacked. 

With about thirty minutes to go,  those last two aces that bought me antes and blinds were about all i played and i was wondering if i was playing too conservatively and wouldn't be able to get calls.  Then i got AQ suited under the gun,  raised,  and watched everyone fold and i was assured that i would need to change my style of play because i can't get anyone to call a decent hand. 

Except not everyone folded,  the big blind three bet me big.  So i call and the flop comes 8 2 7 with a single spade. Ugh,  i missed and missed bad.  So he bets big and i have to call the continuation bet.  I'm certainly under 60,000 in chips now.  Turn was a two and ruled out a possible flush.  He checked.

I can't win this hand.  I have like 20,000 chips in the pot,  and my only prayer to win is hitting an ace or maybe a queen on the river.  When i lose,  my M Ratio will be a 6 or 7.

So i shoved.  100% full on bluff...  my first and only of the tournament like this.  If he calls,  with anything,  I'm done.  I couldn't afford to lose the hand and,  quite frankly,  smelled weakness on his check,  so i just shoved.

He folded and i took down a much needed big pot. 

Three hands later,  I'm on the button and everyone folds - I've got AQ off. Small blind folds, but big blind,  perhaps sensing a position raise,  three bets me to like 15,000. So i call and the flop comes 9 4 Q... top pair,  top kicker. 

He leads out with a 18k bet and i dumped on him raising to 35,000. He folded and i won another big hand. 

On one of the last hands of the round,  i had AJ off in a late position to a raise and i folded it.  I'm still not sure why,  other than there was a Jack exposed during the deal and it freaked me out knowing there was one less Jack out there.

Anyway,  i have 141,200 at dinner break,  good for a M Ratio of 15.7 heading into the next round.

Coincidentally, there are 1,053 players left,  or 15.7% of the field...

Third Day, Second Round

Well,  seat six continues to be the life of the table.  Now that seat three is gone,  seat six has decided everyone needs a nickname and that it's his responsibility to give them out.  Seat two is now "Rock "... or,  more precisely,  "Rok"... as in,  right of killer.  Get it?  The new seat three is simply "new guy".

So,  at any rate,  my second round started about as well as this guys humor...

Oh,  before we get into some hands - antes jump again at the end of the level and i need to be at least at 72,000 heading into the next level for a M Ratio of 10... yikes.

So i start with AJ off in a late position,  raise and get big blind to call.  Flop comes  3 4 A, i bet it,  he folds, i got a nice little pot.

I had fives on the button and raised from position,  but big blind defended his blind and we went to the flop - Q J 10. Ugh.  We both check.  Turn was a 7, he bet,  i folded.

You know,  none of my position raises are working out.  And many of my bets and raises are getting raised.  And seat eight continues to position raise my big blind every time.  I'm most unhappy with my stature at this table.  Yesterday i had a lot more respect...  although today i did pick up a new nickname - Legend.  Thanks seat six.

Anyway,  i had tens in a late position and three bet seat eight.  The blinds folded,  as did seat eight,  and i picked up about 10k in blinds, antes, and seat eights bet.  About 101,000 forty five minutes in...

With an hour left,  i picked up antes and blinds raising with A5 suited...  so finally a bit of a position raise finally paid off. 

And Tiffany booked a church for a May 2, 2015 wedding,  so we are making progress on that front... which is nice because trading emails with wedding planners and reception venues from the poker table hasn't been ideal.  And we may be able to get cheaper hotel rates on that day because unlike June 13, it's not the Chicago neo-con convention.

Seat seven just knocked out seat six with aces over kings preflop,  so i won't have the pleasure of his company anymore,  pity. 

With about twenty minutes left,  my chip stack continues to dwindle...  i haven't gotten any hands,  i just keep folding.  A stretch like this was always inevitable,  but i hope it ends soon...  I'm down under 90k and feel like there is no depth i can't hit.

I'm also a little sick of playing poker.  We're coming up on twenty four hours at the table and about thirty total hours invested since Monday at noon.  i don't think oversleeping helped - i didn't have any time this morning to decompress before starting up again. 

Only 1,332 people left out of 6,683 with fifteen minutes left,  so we have officially hit the top twenty percent!  I wish the top twenty percent got paid instead of the top ten :)

I just folded sixes under the gun...  which was probably the right move,  but they looked like such a great hand compared to all my 6 4 and 8 2 hands.  A 6 hit the flop too  - ugh, my inner Greg Rydz is so upset.

With less than ten minutes left,  i got a couple chances to lose more chips! 

A5 suited in the big blind so i called a raise.  Flop came 3 3 9, and we both checked.  He bet tiny on a 6 on the turn,  but there was no reason to call...  i wasn't even drawing to anything.  He showed pocket nines,  he had flopped the boat.  Phew.

Next hand,  A7 suited in the small blind,  so i called a raise from the button.  5 4 2 flop.  Three players check.  K. We all check.  Q. Seat two bets,  seat nine calls,  i fold.  Seat two was playing A6, seat nine AQ.

Then with five minutes left,  AJ off one off the button.  So i raise,  the button calls,  and so does big blind.  Flop was A 2 3 so i bet it and took down the pot. 

And on the very last hand of the round,  i got pocket kings i over bet because i wanted to get to break and took down blinds and antes.

95,000 exactly at the break,  M Ratio of 13 heading into the last round before dinner.

First Round, Third Day

Ok, so i woke up,  cursed whoever would allow screaming children in the hallway of a Vegas hotel so early in the morning,  and checked what time it actually was - 10:47.

Egad! I like to be out of the hotel by 10:30 usually.  So this morning was a bit of a cluster.  As i went to bed after 2am last night i thought about getting a wakeup call but decided who needs one,  I'm 36, how late could i actually sleep?

Now we know.  For those of you on the east coast,  think about what you were doing at 1:30 today and the day you had up until that point...  yeah,  i was still sleeping.
Anyway,  mad rush to get ready and get out here...  thanks to Hacker for doing some internet recon for me on my table during the drive over. 

So i did get here on time,  but it's been a brutal start.

On one of the first hands i had A8 off one off the button so i raised,  but big blind called and led out on a flop i missed,  so i folded. 

But a couple hands later i got queens in the big blind.  i got raised,  so i three bet and two of us went to the flop.

7 7 A. An ace?  Ugh. So i bet it with a continuation bet,  which he called.  A 10 on the turn didn't help me,  and we both checked it.  I led out with a little 4,000 bet after an 8 on the river (i tried to confuse him with such a little bet so he wouldn't bet more and my queens could see his cards). He called and showed A4 and i lost a big one...  down under 90.

I stole some blinds and antes raising A10 off.

I had AJ off in a later position and called a raise.  Flop came K 4 5. We all checked.  The turn was an ace,  first to act bet it,  i called,  third guy folded.  We both checked a nine on the river and i won a good pot  - up to 110 again.

But then came A10 suited in a late position,  i called a raise,  but missed a KQ7 rainbow flop that he bet and i folded to.

I tried a position raise with J5 suited on the button,  but seat two three bet me and i had to fold.  That's two failed position raises thus far.

Anyway,  blinds and antes are getting to be killers,  I'm  down under 100k.

Seat three is a handicap guy without a good range of motion and has to nudge all of his bets with his knuckles as he leans over from his wheelchair.  Seat four has been helping him stack his chips and put bets out,  which is nice and speeds things along,  but seat six is this gruff,  new york /new jersey guy who thinks he is the coolest guy ever.  Anyway,  everytime seat three wins a pot (Which is a lot since he's hyper aggressive and bluffs a lot), seat six has to congratulate him and call him killer... which is a quickly emerging table ritual i find both annoying and patronizing. But i digress...

Oh,  and seat three is pretty funny...  we all folded to his big blind and he feigned pure joy and said he doesn't get to walk a lot. Seat six laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard...  for five minutes.  "That's a good one killer...  ha ha ha"

Anyway,  out of the 6,683 that started,  1,638 are left... so i made the top quarter. 

Plus one,  there goes seat 3... seat 4 just knocked him out with kings over queens. 

On the very next hand,  i raised with KJ off under the gun,  seat four called,  and i threw in a continuation bet with a A 5 7 flop.  He raised,  i folded,  he showed an ace. Ugh.  Chips dwindling again,  blinds and antes are hurting, as are my losses ... down to about 85,000.

For my last hand of the round,  i had QJ suited in the big blind,  which i defended to a raise from the button.  The flop came 2 3 6... i checked,  he bet,  i called.  The turn was an ace,  which we both checked.  The river was a queen,  i bet,  he called,  and mucked his hand.  Got lucky catching that river and picked up a much needed pot.

So,  I'm at 98,300 on break,  which gives me a M Ratio of 17.2 headed into the next round - antes just went up again...  the pace of the tournament is quickening.

Final Round

About twenty minutes in,  I'm in a late position with A 10 suited and seat five raises...  shocking.  So i call and we go to the flop. 

5 7 8. He bets big...  but he always bets large continuation bets and i have two overs so i call.  Ace on the turn!  And he bets it huge - 18k or so? And I've already got 12 or so in...  and i call.  Maybe i should have come back over the top, but i didn't know where i was in the hand, so i called. 

Queen on the river and he puts me all in for 54,000... i have about 30k in the pot.

Ugh.

How do i fold top pair with a decent kicker to a guy that i know plays loose when i have over a third of my chips in the pot?

Conversely,  how do i call and go home by calling with a single pair,  without a top kicker? A set.  Two pair.  A higher kicker.  There are a ton of hands that beat me. 

So i agonize forever.  Forever.  I'm shocked no one called clock,  but it was a monster hand.  Twice i decided to make a hero call and buck the odds to take down the monster pot.

Hero call! 

But i just couldn't do it.  I folded.  I kept my tournament run alive. Albeit on life support as my M Ratio dropped down under 15.

He said i was way behind and he should have bet less to get a call,  but he didn't show,  so who knows.  Maybe he'll tell me before the night is out... maybe i will believe him.

Tilting with an hour and a half to go...

Still tilting fifteen minutes later.  The Russian in seat one just made a huge all in bluff that seat six made an amazing call on and he's going home..  much to the chagrin and dismay of Kentucky. 

So,  anyway,  i asked seat five if that's what he did...  a big all in bluff.  He said he had AQ. When that queen hit the board,  my gut screamed he hit two pair,  although i dismissed it as paranoia at the time.  And he could have been full of it,  poker players usually are,  but i mentioned the queen on the turn and he corrected me that the queen hit the river...  remembering the order it hit twenty minutes ago lends some credence that he at least had a queen... maybe.  But we did bond because I'm wearing an Illini hat and he's from Springfield and a die hard illini fan.

So who knows, but I'm going to have to stop dwelling on it soon though because i need some chips back,  I'm hurting. 

So i get AK in an early position,  which is great because i can make it all back on this hand.  Right here, one hand. So i raise and seat nine calls.  Flop comes 8 J 10. Turn wasn't any help,  it was a 3. I can't remember if i bet and he raised me to 6,000,  or if he just bet it..  but with two overs,  a gut shot straight draw,  and a need to win this hand,  i called to see the river. 

A nine.  That gave him three nines and i lost another ten thousand. 

Is there a bottom?

The guy to my right raised when i had AQ so we went to a flop - A 7 Q. I checked it, as did he.  The turn was a ten,  he bet,  i called.  The river was a 2 and guaranteed no flush...  he bet,  i raised,  he folded.

Bleeding momentarily stopped as i climb back to 44,000... a shell of my former self when this miserable round started. 

I got AJ suited from a late position,  raised,  and won some much needed antes and blinds to bring me up to 48,000. Yay - 48,000.

Beats being busted i suppose. 

Anyway,  then i don't see another hand for seemingly forever...  just keep watching my stack dwindle to antes and blinds.

With about fifteen minutes left,  I'm in a late position with about 40,000 in chips left realizing that I'm going to start day three with a M Ratio of about nine if the last fifteen minutes are anything like the first 105.

So seat 3 raises and i call with AJ off.  Flop comes 4 6 K... i missed it.  Ugh.  So he bets...  and i call because he is a continuation bet champion.  Ace came on the turn,  he bet,  i raised big,  he folded.  I showed him what i had because it was the end of the night and he said he had me on the flop. 

Whatever,  I'm up to 50,000!!! And a couple hands later,  they announce that we will play three more hands and be done.

If i fold all three hands ,  i will make day three and do so with a M Ratio of just over eleven...  certainly not good,  but in the clear. 

So with three hands to go,  seat six raises,  seat seven calls,  and i look down at queens. So much for folding my last three hands.

So their bet was 3,000... i raised to 8,000... and seat six thought about it for a while and put me all in.  Seat seven folds.

End of the night for day two,  pocket queens,  where have i seen this movie before?  Oh yeah,  the exact scenario i got knocked out on last year.  Awesome. 

So,  with my last 42,000 i called his all in. He had pocket jacks,  i had queens.  Now I'm all in with queens as an overpair and really getting deja vu.

No Jack,  i double up,  over 100k with two hands to go.

Now i just need to fold these last two hands... no reason to play them...

Next hand,  9 2. Fold.  Great. 

Last hand,  seat six raises.  I look down at big slick.  Ugh. Sigh...  I've got to play this.  So i call and hope to miss the flop and fold. Nope,  K 10 7.

Dammit... top pair top kicker.  And he bets into me!  I came back over the top to end it,  which that did,  and took down the last pot of the evening.

So,  heading into Day Three,  119,100 in chips, a M Ratio of  28.

Ok,  gotta try to get to bed,  no day off tomorrow - i start at noon pt.

Round Four

So,  for once,  not a lot happened with me early.  But there was a ton of action. 

Seat five is new in the last round or two and has taken over betting every hand from seat six. 

Well he and seat six got into it preflop...  raise,  three bet,  four bet,  all in,  call.  Kings and aces of course.  Seat six is now gone and the new seat five,  that likes to bully the table,  now has almost 300,000 in chips.

Shortly thereafter,  seat seven to my right knocked out seat one.  We now have four new people at the table and i don't know how they play. 

And then i got into it...

Seat five raises,  new seat six calls,  and I'm on the button with pocket tens. I thought about raising,  but with an initial raiser and a caller,  i didn't feel confident in the tens, i wanted to see a flop.

So the flop comes 4 5 Q and seat 5 bets 6,200 and new seat six calls.  I figure seat five for a continuation bet and am not terribly scared of the queen,  so i call.  The turn is a Jack. 

Seat five checks and seat six bets 13,000. Ugh. So i decide to put on a Jay Cutler machismo show.

And then thought better of it and folded.  It cost me 10,000 in chips,  but he showed QJ, so i guess i got out cheap?

A little while later i called a raise from seat seven,  the guy to my right,  with A10 off.  Flop came 10 8 4 and i bet it and took it down. 

And that was the first hour...  i was at about 85,000 one hour in.

With about forty minutes to go,  the resurgent seat two raised and seat six (the new one,  who is quite the aggressive player in his own right) three bet him.  I was in the small blind with aces.

I thought about calling to hide my hand and price seat two in,  but i didn't want another player...  aces are hard enough to win one on one I've always thought. 

So i raise to 7,500 and four bet seat six.  Seat two folds as expected and seat six calls.  The flop is a benign J 5 4 rainbow,  but he didn't call my continuation bet and i wasn't going to let him draw cards for free when i had pocket aces on a hand with almost 20K in the pot.

I had A9 off in a late position and raised trying to steal antes and blinds,  but seat two defended his big blind with a call.  The flop was K 10 9, so i hit bottom pair!  He checked to me,  i offered a continuation bet,  seat two predictably folded.  That brought me up just over a hundred thousand before the antes brought me down below again a couple hands later. 

Seat five raised my small blind and seat six called.  I had AQ suited so i three bet him to 6,500... to which he raised me to 18,000 and seat six folded.  Ugh,  why didn't i just call and see a flop?

On the one hand,  i can't fold AQ suited with almost 7,000 in the pot. On the other hand,  if i call,  i am out of position and if neither the queen nor the ace hit on the flop,  or i don't get three clubs,  this guy is going to dump on me and I'm going to have to fold or spend a very large portion of my chip stack chasing or bluffing this hand.

Ugh. 

Inner Jay Cutler is screaming for a call.

So i mucked it.  Ugh. I hated doing it,  but i think it may have been the right play...  that guy has almost 300,000 in chips,  position,  and just four bet me... i was going to be behind in that hand in just about every conceivable way if i didn't hit that flop... and maybe even if i did.

Russo will tell me what i should have done in the morning I'm sure... thanks Russo! 

So that hurt,  but i can handle 7,000 i suppose... 18k would have been a lot more concerning. 

We lost seat two with about fifteen minutes left in the round,  which was unfortunate because he was fairly predictable and easy to read.  But kudos to him,  he started the day with 18k and made it until now. 

And,  actually,  now it will be four new people and four i started with.  When i counted earlier,  i thought the guy to my right was new...  but as it turns out,  he's been here the whole time!  I'm not going to lie,  it was a little bit of an uncomfortable conversation as i insisted he didn't start at the table and he explained that he has been sitting next to me,  right next to me,  for the past ten and a half hours.

Huh. Well what do you know?

The new seat one is a Russian kid telling everyone how they should play.  Seat 3 is from Kentucky,  northeastern Kentucky,  "in the sticks" he says,  and has not taken kindly to the Russian kid critiquing his play. If you know anyone from Kentucky,  you know what I mean.  Anyway,  they continue to jaw at each other on the other side of the table as i patiently wait to drop an Ivan Drago joke and be the funniest guy here. 

With less than five minutes to go,  i got A10 suited in a middle position and raised.  The fairly conservative seat nine three bet me to 6,000 and everyone else folded.  I was out of position so i mucked it...  and he showed AK suited.  Phew. 

85,600 at the last break of the night with one round to go.  M Ratio of 23.7 heading into this round's blinds...  antes just doubled and i went from 2,400 around the table to 3,600 which caused my M Ratio to plummet ... yikes!

I was here last year,  made it an hour and forty minutes into the last round of day two before that kid caught a two outer on the turn and ended my dream run.  Better luck this year i hope!

Round Three

So i got a wild start again...  sheesh.

I had pocket tens in the small blind and seat six raised me,  so i three bet him and big blind dropped.

He called and the flop came A 9 8 rainbow.  Great,  an ace.  I bet it big anyway,  6,000. He called.  The turn was a 6. So i bet 6,000 again and get another call. 

The river is a stupid king.  A and K on board.  And he didn't fold preflop three bet.  Nor my bet after the flop.  Nor after the turn,  so i check...  and he bets 13,000.

Ugh.  There was over 30,000 in the pot,  i have 33,000 left if i fold (M Ratio of 15), but if i call and lose,  I'm down to 20,000 and a M Ratio of about 10... into the danger zone.  He raised preflop, he called everything all the way,  and is now betting huge with AK on the board.  Ugh. Misery.

Safe play is to fold it...  but i just couldn't.  I couldn't.  I wanted to,  but he had been so loose all day and i just wasn't buying that he had the ace.  So i gambled and called.

He had 67 and had been chasing an open ended straight draw and hit a small pair on the turn.  I win.  Up over 80,000!

Phew... what a call.

And then...

KQ off early...  i raise,  seat one calls,  everyone else folds. Flop comes J 5 4, so i make a continuation bet - he's been folding to them all day.  And he calls.  I checked a 2 on the turn,  he dumped on me,  i folded.

Then queens in the big blind.  I three bet seat 3 to 4,500 and led out 7,500 into a 10,000 chip pot when the flop came J 8 3 with a couple hearts and he folded.  Made the 5,000 back from the KQ hand. 

Then we lost our second player of the day,  seat five..  who was either the number one or number two chip leader coming into the day. 

I was in the small blind with A J off and seat six raised (shocking). So i three bet him because this is what i do to seat six when he raises my blinds with a position raise and i have even a marginal hand.

So the flop comes 10 10 9... so i continuation bet and he called.  The turn was a king we both checked and the river a six we both checked.  He was playing A2 and i had him out-kicked with a pair of tens, AK high...  my Jack played,  which was awesome because i ever so briefly hit 90,000.

So the first hour of round 3 was pretty good...

And then i didn't play a hand for fifty minutes...  just a lot of folding.  But hey,  if you're going to run poorly for an hour,  best to do it when you've just won a bunch of chips.

Anyway,  with about ten minutes to go,  the button raised my small blind,  which was A10 off. 

So i call and the flop comes A 10 4 with a pair of spades and i checked it...  but so did he.  Ugh. 

The turn was a king,  which i wasn't ecstatic about since i no longer had top two pair,  but at least it wasn't a spade,  so i bet 3,500 that he called.  The river was the three of spades and i fearlessly bet into him for another 3,500 that he called.  He mucked when i showed two pair,  so who knows what he had,  but i got the chips,  which is all that matters i suppose.

Shortly thereafter seat nine got knocked out and replaced with a short stack,  which is less than ideal with him on my left.

And finally,  with about three hands left in the round,  i got pocket queens in the big blind and three bet the new guy to my left...  who then folded.

So,  I'm on dinner break now and have 98,200 in chips...  600 off my tournament high...  which is good for a M Ratio of  40.9!

For those not keeping track at home,  there are a total of 6,683 players in the Main Event.  I've played eight levels, or sixteen hours,  and am almost halfway to the money...  i bet another ten rounds or so,  sometime Friday afternoon. 

And so far,  knock on wood,  I'm playing and doing ok,  although that was the story heading into round three yesterday,  so...

Second Round, Second Day

What an interesting round that started so well...

I had pocket nines on one of the first hands and called a seat six raise.

Flop came 9h 4d 5d. So a set of nines,  but a couple diamonds i worry about someone chasing.  We had five players and about 7,000 in the pot after the flop.  So seat six bets a couple thousand and i raise to 5,500... everyone but him folds. The turn came 10c, he checked,  and there was just shy of 20k in the pot and i had 32,000 left...  so i bet it all. 

I figured 10k wouldn't be enough to keep him from chasing anything and any bet that was large enough to make him think twice would have me so pot committed that i might as well do it myself and possibly win 20k with just the bet. He thought about calling me for forever and finally folded,  letting me get into the round with over 54,000 in chips.

Of course,  then i get AJ suited early,  raise it,  and get two callers behind me.  I continuation bet the flop,  but got raised.  I foolishly called the raise,  missed the turn and folded after he bet the turn big.  Didn't need that hand,  down to 44,000.

I raised with A6 off in a late position and won some blinds and antes.

I limped from the big blind with Q3 and two other players,  but was in trouble when the flop came A Q 7 and i hit middle pair.  We all checked the flop and i bet a king on the turn that got one guy out and a call from the small blind.  He bet the river and i called to see his ace. Ugh. Under 40,000 now...

I did win a hand with KJ off...  got a K on the flop,  raised the initial bet,  and he folded to my bet  on the turn.

I got kings,  seat one called a raise,  and then folded to my continuation bet after no ace hit the flop.  Up over 53,000...

I called a raise with KQ off,  hit a king on the flop,  and when everyone folded,  i took down a pot that brought me up over 55,000!

But let's not get too excited,  I'm sure I'll find a way to give those chips back.

So i called a raise with QJ suited from a late position and the flop came 4 3 J. The pro bet,  two guys folded,  and i raised the pro.  I was not excited to see a K on the turn,  but he checked the turn due to my raise,  presumably.  A 9 on the river was no help for me,  but i couldn't stop myself from calling his river bet to see his KJ... i was out kicked from the beginning and his top two pair guaranteed a good win for him.  Back down to 43,000.

KJ off under the gun won me some blinds and antes.

And then i got nines again,  which have treated me so well so far.  So i call a raise from seat six and the pro calls.  Flop comes 9 4 3 and the pro bets 2,500. Seat six folds, i call,  and seat nine folds. The turn came an ace and he bet 3,000... which i raised to 8,000. He thought for a while and folded... i probably should have kept letting him bet into me and shouldn't have raised on the ace,  which i think scared him off more so than my bet.

Then we raced off the green chips and i won 100!!!

So 55,100 at the end of a pretty active round two.  M Ratio of 26.2 heading into the next round...  all that work,  up and down,  increasing my chip count from last round... all to basically stay even with where i was last round compared to the blinds and antes.

Well,  at least it's one more round down...

Day Two, Round One

Well,  the day started with a flurry of activity...

On the second or third hand i had AQ off and raised to 1300. I was quickly three bet to 4500 by seat one.  I reluctantly called,  missed the flop,  and he led out with a 6,000 chip bet i promptly folded to. 

I had kings on the button a couple hands later.  Seat four raised to 1,100. Seat 6, who spends a lot of time playing hands and raising,  three bet to 3,000 and i raised him to 5,500... original raiser and he both folded.

I had AK in a middle position and raised it to get one caller behind me from seat one.  Flop came AK9 with two spades and i was first to act.  I didn't want  him drawing for free so i threw out a continuation bet,  but he folded...  and i have subsequently learned that he folds to most continuation bets. 

I defended my big blind to seat six with 87 off and flopped a set of 8's i checked.  he end up with a pair,  so i took down a nice 5,000 chip pot and was at about 45,000 almost halfway through the level.

I had AQ off in the small blind i called a raise with.  We both checked the flop,  i took a stab at it with a bet on the turn, and ended up with nothing to his pocket nines after the river.

I actually had pocket nines on the next hand i played and took down a pot with my nines over his eights...  another victory over aggressive seat six!  (Hey,  whatever helps encourage him to stop raising my blinds)

I had fours on the button with a min raise and a caller,  so i called.  i predictably folded when i didn't hit a set on the flop and was reminded of why i don't play small pocket pairs,  hands because of position,  or hands i wouldn't normally play because i like the pot odds. 

I raised with sevens on the button when everyone else folded,  but both blinds called.  I laid out a continuation bet when the flop came 10 9 3, but both called...  which was a rarity for seat one.  A king on the turn was no help and got checked,  and a queen on the river with a 3,000 bet meant there were four over cards and a possible straight so i got out.  good thing too,  seat one hit a straight on the turn.

I raised with Q 10 suited from a late position to pick up some blinds and antes to stop the bleeding,  but I've had far too many good starting hands this round to have not picked up many chips.

I ended the round with 40,800 in chips...  so i did pick up a couple thousand instead of losing some,  which is great,  but i was hoping for a little more with some of those starting hands. 

M Ratio of 25.9 heading into the next round and I'm one off the button...

The bathroom situation remains dreadful - lines of dozens,  if not over a hundred, of  people at every break for the men's room.

Oh,  and i added a gadget at the top of the page...  if you put your email in,  you may get notified when there is a new post.  Still testing it out though... 

Checking Out the Competition

So table assignments for Day Two are up - I'm in Brasilia again, table 21, seat 8... with 38,600 in chips.

The table consists of:

Seat 1 - Edward Betlow: 35,900

Edward has over $100,000 in lifetime winnings, including 114th place in the 2007 WSOP Main Event.

Seat 2 - Mitchell Shuter: 18,225

It appears he is from Canada, I couldn't find much on him - the less I can find, the more of an amateur they are... or an online player.

Seat 3 - Justin Truesdell: 39,850

I don't actually watch a lot of poker or read any of the magazines, so I don't know who the famous people are... but when I typed this guy into Google, I got a whole lot of poker hits. Highlights include:

• Cashed in the Main Event in 2006, 2008, and 2013 (130th place).
• Won the Main Event on the New Orleans Circuit Tour - $204,000.
• $629,000 in career winnings.
• 1,064 on the United States All Time Money List (6th in Kentucky).

And the list of Circuit Events he plays and cashes in is long (11 cashes this year). The first website I wanted to go to for him to get consolidated information was his Wikipedia page, but in spite of a ton of poker websites, at least he didn't have a Wikipedia page... so that's something.

Seat 4 - Dewey Tomko: 49,900

First Google result - his Wikipedia page.

Dammit.

Ummm...

• Winner of 3 WSOP Bracelets
• 2 second place finishes in the WSOP Main Event - 1982 and 2001
• He's played in every WSOP Main Event since 1974, currently the longest active streak
• 76th on the All Time US Money List with $4.9M in lifetime winnings... he once had first place on the list

So there's that.

Oh, and he was a 2008 inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Seat 5 - Frank Katana: 90,200

I couldn't find a whole lot of information about him... he appears to be Canadian and has once cashed in a World Poker Tour tournament.

Seat 6 - Raymond Dandrea: 102,300

The chip leader has $69K in lifetime winnings and cashed at the Main Event last year.

Seat 7 - Roman Loibl: 31,450

I couldn't find anything on this guy, he could be Austrian. And possibly ranked 2,221 on the Austrian All Time Money List... but I don't even know what that means.

Seat 8 - Me! 38,600

Seat 9 - Arturo Diaz: 50,000

Almost $300K in lifetime winnings and he got 10th in the Main Event in 2001.


... So that's my table - 2 big stacks, 2 pros, 1 hall of famer, 2 short stacks I couldn't find any information on, me, and a guy kind of like me but much better.

Well... tomorrow should be fun :)

Final Round

All night I folded QJ... primarily because it was always offsuited and I was in a bad position... and it's not really a great hand... but I kicked off round 5 with QJ suited one off the button and I called a raise with it. Then I called a reraise from the conservative woman. Then the flop came 8, 9, 4 rainbow, she bet big, and I had to fold.

Now I remember why I don't play QJ.

So I'm in the Big Blind and find myself facing a raise and KQ... so I call. Flop comes K, little, little rainbow. I bet, he calls. The turn is an Ace, which scares me, so I check... as does he. I then checked whatever the river was, he bet, and I check-raised and got a call - he had K 10.

And that's why you don't play bad hands, you get out-kicked on pairs you can't fold. Anyway, it was a much needed little pick me up fairly early on.

And then not a lot of action until... it came.

AK... big slick... my baby. Pair of diamonds.

So I get a raise from my right, I raise him one off the button, and the button raises me. The initial raiser folded, I obviously had to call. Flop comes J diamonds, 10 diamonds, Q hearts.

Yep, I flopped the nut straight... and had a runner runner diamond draw to my ace.

So I bet and he raises me. He raised me. I said I flopped the nut straight, right? So there's a good 20,000 in the pot now and I think about coming back over the top and shoving... I mean, I'm not going anywhere on this hand and if I can take down 20,000 and not let him draw to a third diamond, that's a good plan.

So I call, trying to lure him into putting more chips in the pot... in essence, I gamble a little because I'm greedy - a strategy that's worked terribly well for me all day. The turn is a queen. Hmmm... I could have actually handled a diamond because then I would be drawing to the nut flush on the river... but pairing the board? Well all that does is open him up to a full house and it does nothing for me. But it would be a long shot for him to have a boat here... right?

So I decide to trap him - I check.

He bets 10,000 and I shove all-in with 20,000 and I wait the longest 3 seconds of my life. If he had the boat, that's an insta-call for him and the longest it takes him to call is three seconds... but if he takes time to think about it, he doesn't have the boat.

One, two, three - no boat!!!

So now I'm counting the chips in the pot... nevermind that there's still a river to go, or that the second queen ruined my runner runner flush draw, and ignoring that he's debating whether or not to call me, I want to know how many chips I'm going to get.

This pot has obviously already been decided, I flopped the straight and it was the best hand after the flop. I figure he's got an over pair (Aces or Kings) - if he folds, I get $50K. If he doesn't fold, then there's a chance he hits a boat on the river and I'm knocked out, but otherwise I get $60K.

I'm rooting for the $50K option when he calls.

Ok, $60K it is.

He has Ace King.

Wait.

That's my hand.

Dammit... he has my hand! We both have the straight and we split the pot. All of that for nothing - we took our money back. My ace high straight, matched by his. Ugh... at the time he called, there was $61,400 in my pot... which left me with $30,700 after we split it.

If I would have shoved $20,000 on the turn without him first betting the $10,000, he might have folded - he said he was debating because of the second queen, but that I didn't have a big enough raise to chase him off. And interestingly enough, the river was a third queen, so if he actually had the big pair like I thought, he would have hit the full house and knocked me out. So... yay split I guess.

Anyway, that was some excitement with an hour and a half to go.

And then... nothing for like an hour. Just fold after fold, chips melting away through antes and blinds.

I was actually thinking that I hadn't had Aces or Kings the entire day and that the end of the final round might be a good time for them when I got... Big Slick suited. Hey, I'll take it.

So I three bet the guy that chased runner runner for his 5 high flush and scare everyone else out, he calls and we go to the flop. A 9 3 rainbow. Normally I'd be happy about a rainbow, but this guy turned a rainbow flop into a flush, so I wasn't taking any chances and bet $4,500 into a $7,000 pot and he folded.

Then, with about 20 or 30 minutes left, I got my aces! I three bet the guy to my right, everyone else folded, then he did too. How anti-climatic for the aces I waited nine and a half hours for.

I tried to defend my big blind with 10 8 offsuit and called a decent sized raise... the most likely outcome was also the actual outcome, a fold after I didn't hit a full house on the flop. At least I gave back half of what I got from my Aces defending my second to last blind of the evening from a group of players I'll never see again. Great, great move.

With about 12 minutes left, I got AK offsuit in a middle position and three bet someone's raise. He called and I got an A A 5 flop - a set of aces! So we both checked, I bet the 7 on the turn, he folded.

With 10 minutes left, they told us to play 6 more hands and call it a night. With 2 hands left, I was the small blind and announced before the hand was dealt that I would only play aces. So one of the guys that raised all night raises and I find kings. Sweet. I think. But I have to play in a big hand with only 2 hands to go in the night?

Ugh. If I don't play any hands I can be sure to make Day Two. But it's kings, so I raise. He folds, I win a couple thousand and fold the last hand.

Anyway, I finished Day One at 38,600. So... yay! It's not the greatest chip stack by any means, but it's enough... and I'm now 4 for 4 in getting out of Day One of the Main Event.

I'll start Wednesday at noon PT with a M Ratio of  32, and if I don't gain or lose any chips, would have an M Ratio of 24 heading into the second round, and 18 into the third round. So, basically, I'm probably going to be one of the shorter stacks at the table, but I'll be ok for the morning as long as I don't lose any big hands.

Day off tomorrow!

Round Four

It was a quick start to round four...

I got A J off in a middle position on one of the first two hands and raised,  but two people behind me called and i was stuck out of position when i missed the flop so i folded to a bet.

I limped with K2 from the big blind,  but folded when i missed the flop. 

AK suited was a welcome sight and i bet it with a continuation bet after i missed the flop and only got one spade.  He called and we both checked the turn,  another spade. i picked up another spade on the river and got him to call a four thousand bet into my nut flush.

I got to limp twice in a row from my big blind,  but folded to a bet when my magnificent 9 3 off failed to hit.

I had A J in the small blind,  but when the button three bet,  i folded in a hurry - especially since the button was short stacked and could shove.  A Jack hit on the flop and there was a ton of action resulting in an all in and fold,  so i don't know what everyone had...  but i was out of position and am glad i wasn't in that raise reraise battle. 

I raised with A10 off and won some antes and blinds. 

About an hour in after dinner,  the table settled down a bit...  not as much aggressive raising on every hand.  Plus,  we hadn't knocked many people out,  so we didn't have many new chips at the table,  so there were no monster stacks. 

We had a couple small stacks,  a couple larger stacks,  and mostly middle stacks like mine... 

So i was feeling good and about to get my third big blind limp when small blind raised me.  So i defended my blind with A5 off and the flop came 2 4 5... top pair!  So i bet it and he called.  And i bet the 8 on the turn and he called.  And we both checked the ten on the river.  And i won!  Like 6,000! Awesome,  I'm over 36,000!!!

Two hands later,  AK on the button.  So this guy raises and i reraise... everyone else folds, he calls.  Flop comes K J 4, rainbow.  Beautiful.  So i bet it good and he calls.  Then a second club and i again bet it good.  Third club on the river, he checks,  i bet huge,  he calls with two clubs, the five and the two.  He raised preflop with five high.  He called my bet after the flop needing runner runner clubs...  and got them. 

I'm destroyed and back down to 24,000... why did i bet the river?!

Oh yeah,  because who chases runner runner for a five high flush?!!! Ugh,  donkey. He did acknowledge,  however,  that he had a good feeling about it. 

Ugh,  donkey. 

I don't know if I'm more angry or despondent...  i didn't deserve that. For anyone wondering,  i was 90 percent to win after the flop.  Miserable. 

So top pair top kicker hasn't exactly worked out great for me... but pocket tens have.

So I'm small blind and get a raise and a call in front of me...  i look at my pocket tens and three bet to 2500... both called,  flop came Q 5 6, i led out with a 4,000 bet and thankfully neither of them had a queen because they both folded and i picked up 5,000 in chips to stop the bleeding. 

A raise with A10 under the gun with seven minutes left bought me blinds and antes,  which was nice.  I love everyone folding to A10 off so i don't have to play it. 

I finished the level on that,  with 29,700. All day,  i get up,  i get down, i end up back with 30,000.

I guess i would be ok with that continuing for the final round...  whatever gets me through it the fastest,  I'm exhausted.

Anyway,  M Ratio of 28 heading into the final round.  Day twos starting blinds give me a 20 if i finish at 24,000... a M Ratio of 25 if i can finish at 30,000... but first i need to finish.

Ok,  one more level... battery power now at 8% :)

After Dinner

Ok,  dinner break it's about over and I'm  still dwelling on round three. 

When i make a large bet,  and it's raised all in by a conservative player,  then that bet is called for half the remaining stack of another conservative player,  i have to accept top pair,  top kicker isn't good there.  i just have to accept.

And if i am going to foolishly play along because i won't fold my hand,  then i really don't need to raise the remaining player all in.  Who knows,  maybe we both check the turn and i get out with 15k more when the shove comes on the river with the third club.

But i wanted it all...  and i decided to gamble it all on a wing and a prayer for no reason other than i was ahead and wanted to gamble.  Damn you inner Jay Cutler. 

But now halftime is over,  I've confirmed i have  29,925... a M Ratio of about 44. I've sufficiently vented about round three,  and it's about time to move on... right back where i started eight hours ago - 3 stacks of high society. 

Two more rounds to go...  making day two with at least 24,000 is the bare minimum goal...  and it should be doable.  Hopefully with more :)

Third Round, When the Train Comes Off the Wheels

Ugh,  so the third round didn't start so well. 

I folded sevens to a preflop raise and the flop came 6 2 6... which my sevens would have been awesome for.  The turn was a 2 and the river a four,  so my sevens would have been great.  Except i folded them,  which actually turned out to be a good thing since the winning hand had eights.  Folding that hand was about the only thing that went right...

I had eights and called a raise to see a A 6 6 flop.  As last to act,  i almost bet,  but played it safe.  The turn was another 6, so i had a boat,  but was worried about the ace...  out of four original callers,  someone had to have an ace.  First to act bets, two guys fold,  and i call.  We both,  thankfully, checked a two on the river and he showed an ace.  Ugh.

Then things got downright ugly.

I had AQ offsuit one off the button and had a raise and a call in front of me...  and almost folded.  But you can't fold AQ preflop,  right?  So flop comes 3c 9c Qs with like five people. I have top pair with top kicker.  i honestly don't remember the exact betting,  but i bet 4,500 into like a 6 or 7k pot.  Big blind shoved for 10k and small blind called with 15k behind...  and it's on me, the other two folded.  Ugh.  I don't know what to do...  surely one is chasing a club flush and maybe i have the other beat.  I consider folding top pair, top kicker because i don't know what to do and i can walk away from this hand with 45,000.

But i don't and instead i raise all in...  i figure maybe i get both but hopefully get at least one...  even if he wins the main pot,  i can take 15k from her and recover some.

He had a set of nines,  she had AQ clubs...  so same hand as me,  but chasing a club draw.  She hit the club on the river when he got a boat and i lost it all...  down to about 25,000. I lost over half my stack on that hand.

And i wanted to cry,  but didn't have time...  i had more chips to lose.

I got big slick suited,  one of the best starting hands possible.  So i raise with a couple callers. Flop comes Q Q 3 with two hearts.  So we all check and the turn is no help.  It's on me so i bet big...  not a total bluff since my bet could win,  i had two overs,  and the nut flush draw,  but my bluff got called.  I missed the river and had to fold when i checked it and he bet big.  Ugh.

Then,  a couple hands later,  AQ off.  I raised with no callers and won the blinds.  Yay. I'm now down to like 21,000.

Then i get big slick and bet it hard.  Flop comes 6 K 7... finally!  Top pair,  top kicker.  So i bet it down to the river and he calls me the whole way with pocket sevens,  he hit a set on the flop.  15,000 and plummeting...  nothing can go right.

Pocket tens under the gun.  Raise and big blind calls.  Hit a set on the flop,  he checked,  i checked.  The turn brought nothing of note and he bet 1,600 which i raised to 4,000. He called that raise,  but not my bet on the river and i stopped the bleeding briefly.

Of course,  then i limped with J2 suited and got two hearts on the flop,  but i had to fold to a bet.

And that was how i went from 56,000 to 16,000 and back up up to 20,000 in one miserable hour. 

Ugh. I'm still tilting a bit, but am trying to keep it under control.  I almost tried to get it all back in one shot with pocket fives,  but thankfully folded them.  I feel like Jay Cutler after a third interception...  no logic or rationale left,  just a burning desire to make it all better with one miracle play.

I got A 10 off in the big blind and called a raise,  but missed the flop and didn't chase his bet out of position.  Everything is going very poorly.

And what's kind of funny is that there are people out there that read my second blog post that think things are going well right now. 

That's not the case.

And i just keep replaying it all in my head.  If i just would have folded.  If she wouldn't have hit that stupid club and we would have chopped,  I'd have 15k more just from chopping.  Nope.  That's not what happened.

I need to get out of this round and to dinner ASAP so i can get off tilt and refocus...  I'm still ok compared to the blinds,  which is most important, but I'm in a bad place in my head.  And I'm short stack at the table. 

AJ off got me no callers and i picked up blinds with about fifteen minutes to go. Which...  does nothing to placate me.

For my last trick of the round,  i called a raise with K J off from the button. Flop came 5 J 3. He checks,  i bet,  he raised me big.  Other guy folded,  i called his check raise.  Turn was a 6. He checks,  I'm confused because you don't normally follow a check raise with a check.  So i bet a decent amount figuring this is the hand i go down on,  six minutes before dinner break. He thinks for awhile and calls. The river pairs the board,  he checks,  and so do i. He was chasing a straight draw and missed,  i actually won a decent sized hand.

Anyway,  I'm running to dinner and didn't have time to double check my count,  but it looked to be about 29,925. That would be a M Ratio of about 37 heading into the next level.  If i didn't over count in a hurry. 

Christmas Ideas

Also,  if anyone is looking ahead for potential Christmas presents for me,  I'd like to point out that they have full on...  whatever these adult onesies are - that evidently even come in an Uncle Sam medley!

If i don't win this tournament,  it's because i wasn't playing in this ensemble... which i feel could work equally as well at big data conferences as poker tournaments.

I'm just saying...

Round Two

We started by honoring a bracelet winner by playing the Ukrainian national anthem,  which was interesting.  Fear not patriots, the American flag was still up in stage,  although well hidden behind the giant "Vaping Zone" advertisement for e cigarettes.  Chuck Tabaka would be so proud.

So i got started pretty early in round two with pocket tens in a middle position.  I raised and got big blind to call.  Flop comes A J 7... two overs,  ugh.

He checks,  i check.  Turn is a nine,  i picked up a gut shot straight draw and bet it...  he calls.  The river is an eight,  which gives me a straight,  but puts three clubs on the board.  And after two straight checks,  he bets...  600. Which is nothing,  there's 2,500 in the pot. Why so little? 

I want to raise,  but if i raise and he comes back over the top,  i don't know what i will do,  so i called.  When in doubt,  best not to raise I've found.

The eight on the river gave him a set and me a straight...  so i won,  but a very small pot considering i had a straight and he a set,  but I'm playing cautiously on day one and trying not to walk into any traps. 

Shortly thereafter,  the guy on my right won a huge pot when he sucked out on the river hitting a straight for the 8 9 off hand he played...  now he's got well over 20k.

So he and i get into it...  it's my big blind and i limp in with just the two of us with J 2 off.  i hit my two on the flop and he bets.  I called because i had a pair,  but folded after the turn because he kept betting and my hand didn't improve.  Maybe it was a bluff, but I'm not in day one to try and find bluffs to call,  just to play conservatively. 

Or at least that was the plan... 

I've got AQ off in a middle position with a raise and a call in front of me and several players with better position and the blinds behind me.  So i reraise from 600 to 1600 because i didn't want to call and price anyone else in.  The initial raiser and the guy to my right call. 

Flop comes Q55, with a couple hearts.  They check to me and i bet 3,200 on a 5,100 pot...  i didn't want anyone chasing without paying for it.  The initial raiser then raised to 7,200 and the guy to my right folds.

Ugh,  i did not want to play a big hand with this...  but i call.  Turn is a queen,  my boat! And he leads out with an 8k bet...  what does he have?! So it's decision time - 18k in the pot, plus his 8k makes it 26k in the pot...  I've got about 21k left. 

So i shoved.  I mean,  no matter what the river was,  i wasn't getting away from this hand and since mine wasn't going to improve,  i was going to find out real quick if he was playing a pair of 5's. Guess not because he mucked.  Maybe i should have just called and try to get him to bet the river for more,  but with the possibility of winning 20k this early,  i didn't want him drawing to anything for free. 

Then like four hands later, i had 56 suited in the big blind and everyone except the small blind folded (hyper aggressive guy to my right). So he raises and i call to defend my big blind.  Flop comes A 5 something.  He bets,  i call...  i mean,  i had a pair and figured him for nothing.  Turn is a six,  my two pair. So he bets 1,000 on a 2,400 pot and i raise to 3,000. He calls. Ugh, lots of middle cards for sets,  better two pairs,  or a straight.  On the river,  he bets 5,000!

I figured i just won the other hand,  so why not donate...  but he was bluffing after missing his straight draw and i took down another nice pot.

I had 8's in a middle position and raised,  but folded when i was three bet by the small blind. 

I had K4 suited in the small blind and limped,  but i wouldn't call a raise after the flop, even when i hit my four.

Then i got queens!  But everyone folded to my raise..  booo...

So a pretty active first hour... and the guy to my right is now fully on tilt - he thought me calling his bet after the flop with just a five was somehow a bit of a donkey move.

Speaking of donkey moves,  however,  that guy is now officially knocked out of the ten day tournament 3 hours into day one. 

Wow. Actually just short of three hours,  he only made it 59 minutes into the second round.

I got stuck with K5 suited in the big blind,  but everyone limped,  so i got a free flop and hit my five!  But it was a scary flop with 2 3 5 on board and none of my clubs.  The new guy replacing the guy who got knocked out bet as first to act,  i called,  and two people folded.  The turn was a four and when he bet again,  i folded to an ugly board for me. 

Shortly after that,  i had AJ off in a late position and called a raise.  It was a scary flop with J 5 2 clubs,  but he folded after i bet when he checked...  phew,  my ace was not a club,  but i couldn't check mid hand,  i just knew it was black.

The new guy to my right is short stacked with about 10,000... and is...  you guessed it...  super aggressive.  At least these guys are on my right...

I got A10 off in an early position and raised,  but got 3 bet by a guy with better position so i tossed it.  Perhaps too conservative?  Or just smart poker?

The guy to my right raises,  shocking,  and I've got KQ off and I'm one off the button,  so i call 500. So does the button.  Then the small blind raises to 5,200. Yes,  two and a half times the entire pot and over 25 times the big blind.  A massive, massive over bet.  Naturally we all fold and she shows aces. Duh. She's down to about 15,000 and will not be going far in this tournament...  but at least she's easy to read!

The last guy to show up just went all in and won a monster from the guy in seat one,  who also was not going far in this tournament... even before he lost that monster.  Anyway his straight was to the 5 the last to show up had a straight to the 6. Which he got playing 4 6 suited under the gun... which is just a little more aggressive than I've been.  Wow.  This guy belongs at a Rydz family poker game...

With about five minutes left in the round,  the table next to us started screaming and with us mid shuffle,  a couple of us went over to see what the fuss was about.  All in kings versus aces...  with a king on the turn...  and an ace on the river.  Anyway,  the lady from seat two was in the big blind and too slow to get back after the cards were dealt,  so the dealer folded her.  I was one off the button and with a dead big blind,  i raised and stole 300 chips that the small blind wasn't about to defend.  Heads up play me :)

So,  round two is done and I'm at 56,100... which is a little under my peak of 57,800.

Heading into round three, blinds of 150/300 give me a M Ratio of about 120, which is simply glorious.  But it's early, and far too early to get chip drunk...  gotta play my day one game.

First Round, First Day

So my plan lasted all of one hand before i got pocket fours in a late position with only seven people at the table.

After raising with them, i got three bet by the small blind and folded them pre flop...  but it was a nice reminder to fold my 3's on subsequent hands. 

The first twenty minutes is so hard because you're so excited and want to both play every hand and try to remember it's a marathon.

I actually thought of Simpson and how hard doing an Iron Man must be in the beginning...  you're totally jacked up,  but have twelve hours of swimming,  biking,  and running in front of you - not burning that excited energy early has got to be hard.

But enough about non poker things...

During the first hour,  i continued to lose,  but not too bad.

I played Q3 from the small blind and folded after the flop.  I raised with KJ suited from a late position but folded to a three bet from the big blind.

I had 5 7 suited in the big blind and called a small raise with four other callers and flopped 3c 4s 6s... that's a flopped straight with a gut shot straight flush draw.  I checked it but couldn't get anyone else to bet it.  After a 7 on the turn,  i bet it and all four of them folded...  pity.

Our ninth player finally showed up with about forty five minutes left in the round.  I've got a very aggressive raiser on my right,  he plays about every hand.  The guy to my left doesn't speak English,  but evidently raises with K10 off,  so there's that.

A little over halfway through the round,  I played my pocket eights to a raise from the guy on my right and flopped a set!  He checked,  i bet,  he called...  great.  I turned a boat,  he checked,  i bet,  he called...  even better.  He checked the river,  i bet it,  he folded. 

Then a couple hands later,  i played A5 suited from second to act...  i limped after under the gun limped and was hoping for a cheap flop...  which i got!  2c 2d 3c... a gut shot straight flush draw with a nut flush draw! Except he made me pay for chasing it and after the river i didn't have an Ace,  a four,  or another club.  He did have pocket sevens though and i gave back everything i made after flopping the set of eights...  easy come,  easy go i guess.

I limped with 9 5 off from the small blind and hit a five on the flop that i bet after the turn for a min win.

I had 5 6 suited in the big blind so i called a raise to protect my blind and while i got four clubs on the flop,  i had to fold instead of chasing.

I had K J in a late position that i played to a raise,  but folded after an ace on the flop and two other cards i missed.

At one point in time i folded K 8 in the big blind to a raise with a call and the flop came A K 8, which probably would have paid me off.  But if you let what would have happened if you had only played that bad hand affect you,  you'll drive yourself crazy...  i call it the Greg Rydz syndrome.

The guy to my right has lost over 13,000 of his initial 30,000 in the first hour and a half...  and continues to play every hand.  

He raised me in a late position when i found A 10 off so i called and hit an ace on the flop. He checked,  i bet,  he called.  There was a third heart on the turn so i checked his check and we both checked the board pairing on the river.  I actually thought it was going to be a split pot because there was a king and a pair on board,  but i won a little pot being conservative. Maybe i could have squeezed an extra 500 out of him with a bet on the turn,  but I'm trying to stay conservative on day one...  checking let me see what he would do on the river.  Probably should have value bet the river though. 

And that was round one...  i have 30,275 chips,  i increased my chip count by almost a full one percent!  But hey,  at least I'm not the hyper aggressive guy next to me...  at the end of the first round of the eight day tournament,  he has just over 12,000 in chips.  Of course,  this tournament goes so slow that he would actually be ok as long as he doesn't go on tilt,  continue playing every hand,  and donk off the rest of his chips.  I actually see the later scenario as most likely,  so hopefully i get some of those chips before they're gone!

Anyway,  with blinds moving to 100/200, i have a M Ratio of about 100 heading into round two.  Not too bad for not seeing any premium hands in the first two hours...

The M Ratio

I think I've touched on this concept before, but I want to give it a name, a number, and make it easy for Tiffany to follow along with how I'm doing in the poker tournament :)

But first, a word from Hacker. He says that if you want to easily follow the blog via e-mail, go here:

http://blogger-hints-and-tips.blogspot.com/2011/03/follow-by-email-gadget-easy-way-to-add.html

Now, back to poker. 

The M Ratio is a number that will basically tell you how I am doing compared to the pace of the tournament... other people may have more or less chips than me, but my number one concern needs to be keeping up with the pace of the tournament. Which, thankfully, is very slow for the Main Event. 

If I have a M Ratio of greater than 10, I'm doing great. The higher the better, but ultimately I need my M Ratio to be higher than 10. 

If my M Ratio drops to 10 or below, I'm entering the danger zone. 

One my M Ratio hits 5, I will shove all my chips in with any two cards and have a 30 - 35% chance of winning and coming back. 

So, for anyone that doesn't want to keep track of blind levels, chip counts, or anything else - my M Ratio will tell you how I'm doing. 

So what is the M Ratio? Well, it's simply the number of times around the table I have chips for, accounting for blinds and antes. It was publicized as part of a successful poker strategy by Dan Harrington, and Russo has been pushing me to pay more attention to it. 

So if blinds are 2,000/1,000/100, then I am paying a $100 ante every 9 hands, a $2,000 big blind every 9 hands, and a $1,000 small blind every 9 hands... or $3,900 every 9 hands. 

If I have $39,000 in chips, I have an M Ratio of 10... I could play 90 hands (10 times around the table) before I ran out of chips. If I had $19,500 in cihps, I would have an M Ratio of 5 and $78,000 chips would give me a M Ratio of 20.

In terms of game play, if I'm over 10, that's easy, I just play. It's when I start getting to 6, 5, 4, etc. that things become tricky - at what point are my chips too low? 

5 is actually a really good number... many players will let their chip stack dwindle to a M Ratio of 2 or 3 waiting for the best possible hand they can shove their chips in on. Shoving on a terrible hand at a M Ratio of 5 is actually a better strategy, even though it's really hard to put your tournament life at stake on a 7 - 2. 

The problem is that if you let your M Ratio get down to a 2, even if you win, you're still in the danger zone. Moreover, with an all in bet and a M Ratio of 2 or 3, you're more likely to get more callers because it's not enough chips to chase people out.. even one caller begins to price other players in. 

If you shove on a M Ratio of 5, even on 7 - 2, then if you win, you're back up to a M Ratio of 10 and can play 40 more hands before the danger zone. And the reality is that if I get called by AK, 7-2 is 50% more likely to win than AQ.  

And against AQ, 7-2 wins 32% of the time... KJ wins 37% - if I get that low, it's not worth losing a round or two's worth of chips (20 - 40% of my remaining stack) trying to pick up an extra 5% chance of winning. Needing a miracle is still needing a miracle - I want to make my miracles count if I get them. 

The key is to be the first person in the pot, which, with a bet of 4 - 5 times the bet, all but guarantees that I'm only getting called by a premium hand, which is less likely to be dealt that round than simply a strong hand. If someone else is in the pot first, then I know they have a strong hand they're attached to and they're already financially committed to the pot making my raise less effective. 

If I have a 50% chance of winning just with my bet because everyone folds, and a 33% chance of winning with my bad hand, I'm going to win almost two thirds of the time with that move... which aren't great odds, but when you have a M Ratio of 5, there's nothing great about anything. 

So that's my strategy heading in - only play premium hands, don't chase or bluff, and keep an eye on my M Ratio... no matter what else is happening, as long as my M Ratio is above 10, I'm doing just fine. 

Thankfully, I head into Round 1 with a M Ratio of 200... I love the WSOP Main Event!!!

I'm Back!

Well, I'm back at it again. Last year was my last year of playing with the house's money, so I had to buck up this year. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to do that since Tiffany and I are now engaged and we have weddings and honeymoons to pay for... but I'm going to worry about 2015 in 2015.

In 2014, I've got my seat assignment - Brasilia Silver, Table 40, Seat 8... 12pm PT, Monday July 7th. I'm a little nervous, I've always started in Amazon before... and they aren't using Brasilia for Days 1A or 1B, so it's probably going to be the first to be broken.

No matter. I have no work. No wedding planning. No letting the dog out. No responsibilities other than making it to the next day...  I love the WSOP!

So I've been running pretty well lately - I cashed in the only event I played in for the Chicago Poker Classic in May... then followed that up with a big cash at the Wynn weekly Saturday tournament.

At the Wynn, we started with one hundred and twenty some people at noon and by 1:30am, there were seven of us left. I agreed to a chop since I was getting the second most money (Half my entry fee for the Main), but not playing down to the glory of the win or the bitter agony of defeat still pains me. But hey, it got me to the Main Event.

Tiffany and I have been out here since Thursday - we saw a couple shows and did a lot of relaxing until she left this morning. Then I got myself a massage, will be getting a steak dinner, and I'm just nervously passing time for the next 20 hours or so.

Anyway, as with the past couple of years, I will try to blog about what's happening on break between the rounds... so about every 2 hours. Hopefully there shouldn't be too much to blog about, I'm hoping to start nice and slow tomorrow. Day 1 Strategy - Don't Get Knocked Out.