Gray-haired poker TRs: Living the WSOP dream
At the age of 62 (AARP members unite!), I have decided that I will write a trip report for my 2024 trek to the World Series of Poker. Not exactly “Stop the Presses” news, although maybe an old-man poker TR from a former sportswriter turned entrepreneur/investor is somewhat unique.
This trip report proclamation and five nickels will get me a quarter. I get it. Lots of people promise/start trip reports and then never follow through (blasted). You don’t know me, so there is no reason for you to believe I will actually deliver.
So, I will put some skin in the game to show I can be trusted to deliver on my promise. Before I start my 2024 trip report in this thread, I will do a trip report on my first ever 2019 12-day trip to the WSOP (when I was 57 years old and a bit less gray than I am today) based upon old notes I have kept and memories I recall (memory loss is not an issue for me so far, wait, did I already say that?).
I did not write a trip report at the time, so this is new content. Call my 2019 long-after-the-fact walk down memory lane on 2+2 a down payment from me in return for your anticipation of and attention to my 2024 trip report.
Looking forward to this report! Don’t worry about the details of the hands, most of us reading it are in it for the stories and pictures. Hope you had a winning trip!
2024 WSOP: May 29 (Event #3 $500 freezeout NLHE) (part 1 of 4)
A-A right away … “It took me longer to register than I got to play.” … Lady luck
I take a cab to the Paris. I’m not going to risk the 0.7 mile walk given the way various parts of my legs felt late last night. I didn’t have cabs in the budget, but this is not a close call. If I go a little bit over budget, it’s not the end of the world. Driver, take me to the World Series of Poker.
I am limping into the WSOP. Which is bad. I know I am supposed to be betting/raising or folding as much as possible. Limping is to be avoided/limited as much as possible. Oh, wait, different kind of limping. Well, they’re both bad.
Trying to put my aches and pains aside, I give myself a much-needed pep talk. My approach this year is very different. The lucky rock that wasn’t lucky in 2019 has been left at home. I am not counting on the Poker Gods, who did me dirty in 2019, to come through for me.
It’s me against the world. On my own. All by my lonesome. Going solo. I’m counting on me and me alone.
I’m all I’ve got, I’m all I need.
I’m all I’ve got, I’m all I need!!!!!!!!
I’M ALL I’VE GOT, I’M ALL I NEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Inspired by:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT7X0EG3...
OK, maybe I need to rachet down the adrenaline juuuuuuuuuust a tiny bit.
Patience and well-placed aggression. Cars have breaks and gas pedals both for a reason. As I step into The Arena I think of an exchange I recently had that shows how you can’t be all gas, no breaks from the jump. A hard-charging acquaintance of mine asked me before I left what my goals are for the WSOP. I said I want to enjoy the experience. He said, don’t you want to win a tournament? I said of course, but I added that I don’t have to win anything for this to be a success. He told me this is the wrong attitude and that I should go for the win. He said that I have to be gunning for the win if I want to achieve the win. He said from the opening hand I should have a mindset to dominate. He said he didn’t see how anything else could be considered success.
This exchange reminded me of a poster one of my daughters used to have up on her bedroom wall: “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
That is what I want out of this experience. I want to be happy. I want to be the best version of my poker self that I can be. I have put in a lot of training session work in leading up to the WSOP. This doesn’t make me a leading contender to win a bracelet. This makes me a leading contender to play better in 2024 than I did in 2019 at the WSOP.
My approach is summed up very well by a quote from long ago golf champion Ken Venturi: “I don’t believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be.”
One last quote, this one by Martin Luther King Jr., pops into my head: “You don’t need to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
I take my first step into the Paris ballroom and head to table 144, seat 3. So it begins.
The adrenaline rush is palpable. When I would cover Super Bowls back in the day, it was not uncommon to see quarterbacks throw wild high early in the game because of the immensity of the event. I remind myself not to overcook my early betting. You can’t win a tournament in the early hands, but you can certainly lose it (yeah, people can rebuy, but I’m trying to make a point; plus, today’s tournament actually is a freezeout).
Level 1 (starting stacks 25,000 chips):
The first hand I play is with J-9 suited. I completely whiff the flop. It goes check-check. There is a 10 on the turn has me drawing to an inside straight. I bet and my opponent calls. The turn completely misses my hand, but I bet and take it. Always good to win your first hand.
Not long after, I am dealt A-A. I bet and everyone folds. Well, that is unfortunate.
In the small blind I have 9-8 suited. It folds to me. I bet and the big blind calls. The flop is 10-4-3. I bet and take it.
End of Level 1: 26,100 chips.
Level 2:
I get in a big hand with a player wearing a shirt made by a bicycle company. We’ll call him LanceArmstrong. Lance bets from early position and I call with Ad-Qh. The flop is Q-J-8 two hearts. Lance bets, I raise, he calls. The turn is the 4h and I now have a flush draw to go with top pair top kicker. More betting ensues. The river is the 8c. I can’t read my notes for what happened on the river betting wise, but I write down that it is easily the biggest pot of the day so far at our table. Lance turns over an A-Q no hearts and we chop. Disappointing.
Next, I have A-K offsuit. A guy wearing a hat with the Nike swoosh logo on it (we’ll call him Swoosh) limps for 200. I raise to 800. Swoosh calls. The flop is J-10-4 rainbow. Swoosh checks, I bet, and he calls. The turn is a Q giving me a straight. Swoosh checks, and I try to get cute (maybe too cute) and check back hoping to induce on the river.
The river is an A. Swoosh checks, I bet half pot and he folds.
The next hand I play, my opponent limps. I have A-4 suited in the big blind and I just check. The flop in A-8-4 rainbow. I bet and get called. The turn is a 2 and it goes check-check. The river is a blank. My opponent checks, I bet and he calls. His A-8 flopped top two pair beats my A-4 flopped worse two pair.
A new guy then joins our table. He is also gray-haired poker and appears to be my age. It comes out that he is from Hawaii, so we’ll call him GrayAloha. I have A-Q and raise. GrayAloha calls. The flop is A-4-2. I check, GrayAloha bets, I check raise, and he calls. The turn is an 8 and it goes check-check. The river is a K. I bet, he calls with K-Q and my pair of aces beats his pair of kings. A hand or two later GrayAloha busts when his Q-Q runs into K-K. He was only at our table for five minutes. As he is leaving the table he says, “You know, it took me longer to register than I got to play.”
End of Level 2: 29,900 chips.
Level 3:
I am in the big blind with K-J suited. The small blind raises and I call. The flop completely misses me, the small blind bets and I fold.
It is worth noting that we have been six handed this entire time. Six of us are playing, there is a chip stack being blinded off to my immediate left and two seats have been unfilled.
The next hand I play, I am in the big blind with Q-Q. Middle position bets 800, the button raises to 2,000. I then take a figurative deep breath and raise to 6,000. Both opponents fold and my chip stack is now at 33,000.
Then comes moment of truth for me in this tournament. My notes were hard to read because of the way it played out. Probably because I was somewhat incoherent as to what took place. I had Q-Q. My opponent was wearing a camouflage shirt and I think was military, so I’ll call him GI Joe, had K-K. My notes say there was a bet and a call preflop, although it seems hard to believe there weren’t more fireworks preflop. My notes say I didn’t get all-in (he had me covered) until after the turn where it finally became apparent that I was drawing to a two-outer. Prior to the river the runout of cards had been 9-5-7-J. I was barely paying attention to the river since I was coming to terms with the fact that a cooler was going to end my day.
And then it happened:
Q
I had hit a river miracle. In 2019 I got absolutely decimated by river miracle cards in my opponents’ favor over and over and over again. Finally, I was the recipient of a river miracle card in my favor. I have 63,300 chips.
“Sorry,” I said to GI Joe. He takes it in good stride.
Very soon thereafter I raise with A-Q. GI Joe calls.
The flop is K-10-3 rainbow. He bets, I call. The turn is a J giving me the nut straight. He bets, I raise, he folds. He walks away from the table for a moment, I suspect to calm himself.
It appears that I have finally mastered the poker skill of “getting there.”
End of level 3: 70,000 chips.
2024 WSOP: May 29 (Event #3 $500 freezeout NLHE) (part 2 of 4)
Introducing the entertaining DoubleVodka
Level 4:
As I previously mentioned, the seat to my immediate left has sat empty all this time and the stack has been blinding off. Finally, the owner of the chips shows up, and he asks, “What time did this tournament start?”
He then immediately starts trying to find some because he wants cocktails. A server shows up and he orders a double vodka with diet Coke. We’ll call him DoubleVodka for later in the action.
Soon after I am dealt Ac-4c in the big blind and I call a bet. I miss the flop and it goes check-check. I also miss the turn and I fold to a bet.
Two more players have been added and we are finally up to eight handed after playing so much of the day six- and seven-handed. We have never been nine-handed.
After a bit, I am dealt 5s-5c and I limp hoping to set mine. The flop is Kh-10h-7d and I fold to a bet.
Next, I get involved in a hand from the small blind versus the big blind. I have Q-6 and I just call. The big blind checks and we see a flop, which is 7-5-2 and it goes check-check. The turn is a 9. I bet and the big blind calls. The river is a blank, I bet with only Q high and my opponent folds.
End of level 4: 67,500 chips.
We go on break. My breaks are different than other player breaks in that I often have to return work related calls at that time. Today is no different. My co-owner in a strip center has left me a message to call him. When I get back to him, he asks me how I am doing in my tournament. I tell him. Then he shares some very promising news on our real estate property, and we talk it through what the next steps/negotiations should be. What is left of my break time is spent eating the lunch I made in the morning and brought with me (roast beef and cheese sandwich and a Dr Pepper). When I am done eating, I go to the bathroom and there is no line. I am a well-oiled machine getting everything done with a minute to spare on the break.
Level 5:
I am dealt Jc-Kc. I bet and the small blind calls. The flop is Ac-Qc-3d. I still have not made my hand, but there are tons of cards that can help me, so I bet and the small blind folds. I have 70,000 chips.
It is right about now that DoubleVodka is down to 12,500 chips. He flags down a server and orders another double vodka and diet coke. He says, “For if I’m still here.”
When I am in the small blind, I have Q-5 suited. I call and we see a flop three-way. I miss the flop, there’s a raise, and I fold.
We are back to seven-handed. We haven’t had a full table the entire day. Someone at the table figures out that one of the dealers did not take out the card for the 2 and 7 seats for the floor to pick up and fill the seats with new players. It takes a while but we finally get a floor to come over and realize this. When I am in the big blind, I am dealt Kh-Jh. LanceArmstrong bets from middle position and both the small blind and I just call. I completely miss the flop, Lance goes all-in and I fold.
End of level 5: 66,000 chips.
Level 6:
Finally, our table is nine-handed for the first time all day.
Swoosh is the button and he limps. I have Ac-4c and I check. I miss the flop, but I bet and Swoosh folds.
DoubleVodka orders yet another double vodka and diet coke. He and a guy at the other end of the table who has been ordering repeated tequila concoctions have started to bond.
Meanwhile, a new player to my right arrives at the table. He is heavily tatted up, is from the UK, calls everyone “mate” and either has a few drinks in him or just has a big personality. I’m not sure which.
End of level 6: 66,000 chips.
WSOP: May 29 (Event #3 $500 freezeout NLHE) (part 3 of 4)
A hand that really did me dirty … A coin flip turned dire turned miraculous … I throw away some chips … The money bubble looms and I am low on chips
Level 7:
It is around this time that I feel that I have been relatively card dead for a while and pretty much stay that way (no premium hands) for the next five levels.
I do get a couple of good (but not great hands this level).
From the cutoff I am dealt Kd-10d. I bet and get called. The flop is K-Q-4 rainbow, I bet and get called. The turn is another Q. I check, my opponent raises, I call. The river is a 2 and it goes check-check and I win the pot.
Around this time, the cocktail server proactively asks DoubleVodka if he wants another drink. He still hasn’t started on the most recent drink she brought him. He says she needs to slow down. I say the rest of the table should be asking her to keep bringing him more drinks. He laughs and I then say, “In fact, I should probably be the one tipping her moving forward.” DoubleVodka thinks this is hilarious.
I then get dealt K-Q in the big blind. We go three-way to a flop which comes Q-10-10. One opponent bets, my other opponent raises. While the flop hits me, there is just too much betting heat. The way the betting has gone, I am convinced one of them has a 10 (it ends up I was right). I fold. The turn comes another Q. I would have made a full house. Damn.
Next up is a hand that really did me dirty.
I am dealt Ah-4d in the big blind. It folds to Swoosh who limps. I just check and we see a flop. A magnificent flop. A flop that I swear causes angels to start singing from above. The flop is 2-3-5 with two spades. I have flopped the world. Plus, I am up against Swoosh who can be a bit sticky when players bet into him. Amazingly, Swoosh bets. I just call since I don’t want to blow him off of whatever hand he has. The turn brings 4s. There are now three spades on the board, but I’m not willing to slow down just yet. Swoosh checks, I bet, and he calls. The river brings 10s, and there are now four spades on the board. I have gone from flopping the world to perhaps only having a bluff catcher after the river. Swoosh checks, and I am happy to just show it down. Swoosh has A-2, no spades. Because Swoosh got a miracle turn card, we just chop the pot, as we both have the wheel. After the flop, I was convinced I was going to win a really big pot. The cards chose not to cooperate. I have 72,500 chips.
I then proceed to lose some chips with 10-10 in a three-way hand that includes UK Guy. Three undercards (including two spades) to my 10-10 come on the flop. I bet and get two calls. That bet certainly didn’t scare anyone. The turn brings an A no spade and it goes check, check, check. The river brings a third spade. There is a raise and a call before it is my turn to act. With an ace and three to a flush on the board, I am convinced that this latest betting action means I am behind. I fold. One player’s flush draw got there on the river.
End of level 7: 67,000 chips.
Level 8:
I am starting to feel that I am getting fairly card dead. I only play in two minor hands this level. The first is when I have 8c-9c in the big blind. We are three players to the flop, which brings two over cards and three hearts. It goes check-check-check. The turn brings a fourth heart. Check-check-check. The river is a blank, and one of the other players bets and I fold. The other hand this level sees me limp with 8-8 hoping to set mine. I have enough chips that I see no reason to get into a big pot with a medium pair. The flop comes 10-10-9. My opponent bets, and I just fold. Our table is broken up just as level 8 is about to end. I am moved to a new table and we then go on break.
End of level 8: 59,300 chips.
During the break I am feeling frustrated. After a rush of good cards early in the tournament I have been very card dead of late and the blinds keep going up. I am especially frustrated by the hand where I flopped the wheel only to see terrible turn and river cards follow that allowed my opponent to catch up and chop the pot with me. To make matters worse, I have just been moved to a new table, and now I have to take the time to figure out what kind of game each of them are playing. Changing tables is obviously no big deal, but I am feeling pity for myself, which I have to get over.
I actually get over it pretty quickly, when I am in the bathroom and I hear someone say to what must be a friend, “How are you doing?” The other guy says, “I have 10 big blinds.” I hear this and I smile. I have almost 60 big blinds. I tell myself this means in a poker sense I have rich people problems given my stack size (which is very good but hardly top of the charts). Pity party over.
I still have time left on the break and see that my accountant and my attorney are corresponding about a new filing requirement in Illinois for all of the various entities in my business and in my family’s portfolio. I am aware of what they are working on. They seem to be working things out amongst themselves without my help, so I am not needed for them to keep making progress.
Level 9:
The first thing I notice about my new table is that it has a lot more chips than my old table.
I continue to be card dead and there are absolutely no hands that I can even consider playing, assuming I am a sane person. The only interesting thing about this level is that one of the players at the table lets us know that he is a former pro tennis player. He says he was ranked around 80th in the world sometime in the 1980s.
End of level 9: 56,300 chips.
Level 10:
In this level, we have a very inexperienced dealer (it won’t be the last). It’s his second day ever dealing. The table has to tell him what to do on every hand. The table has to tell him who won a pot and move the chips to that person in an effort to keep the game moving.
TennisPro is watching both his mini laptop and his phone constantly. I don’t know what it is that he is watching.
In the small blind I bet with Q-8 suited and win the blinds.
Soon after that, near the end of this level) UTG is a player who has not played a single hand since I got to this new table. He raises 2.5 times the big blind. Given that he is playing his first hand in two orbits and is betting from UTG, I look at my A-J offsuit and decide it is likely not good and I fold from middle position.
End of level 10: 53,300 chips.
Level 11:
I’m still not getting any premium hands, but I find a couple of marginal hands to battle with. With K-10 suited from early position I bet and am called by the super tight player I described in the last level. The flop is A-A-3. I bet and SupertightSam folds.
Our table is seven-handed and has been short players for a while. I have A-10 offsuit when I am second to act and I raise. The big stack and the table just calls. The flop is A-A-4. I bet, and the big stack folds. I have 62,300 chips. From there the blinds nibble away a little at my chip stack as I continue to not get much in the way of playable hands in good spots. When this level ends we go on a break.
End of level 11: 58,000 chips.
I check my voicemail, and it turns out my accountant does need to talk to me about the project he is working on with my attorney. I call him, but he is not in the office. Meanwhile, my Achilles is acting up a bit. It is not lost on me that my nephew blew out his Achilles playing pickle ball recently. I hope Achilles injuries are not contagious. My other issue is I forgot to take my allergy medicine this morning, and my allergies are acting up a bit as a result. I’m something of a mess.
Level 12:
I appear to have lost the chip race for $100 chips during the break. When I am in the big blind there is a bet, an all-in and another all-in before it is my turn to act. I have 8-8. This is as good of a hand as I have seen in a while, but I am certain I am behind and I fold as does the initial raiser. Cards are turned over and it is A-7 versus J-J. The jacks hold. It’s a good thing I folded.
Otherwise, I get nothing playable in this level.
End of level 12: 46,000 chips.
Level 13:
A critical hand develops. And by critical, I mean, please let me win a flip. I have not historically been good at winning flips. In this instance I win the flip, but it takes a river miracle for it to happen. I get it all-in in a raising skirmish when I have A-Q. Best hand I’ve seen in a long time. My opponent has J-J. All the chips go in pre flop. The flop and turn are 3-3-2-4. I need either an A or a 5. The river is a 5. I have made my straight. Now I’ve got 102,500 chips to play with, although with the blinds and BB antes at 1,500/3,000/3,000, it’s not like I can go crazy.
Very soon after that I am dealt A-K in the big blind. OK, I am getting some cards! The table big stack bets $6,500. I raise to $21,000 and big stack folds. I have 109,000 chips.
End of level 13: 101,500 chips.
Level 14:
The blinds and big blind ante are 2,000/4,000/4,000. I have 25 big blinds. This is reasonably healthy, but I can’t go crazy. So, what do I do? I go a little bit crazy. It happens in a three-way pot where a small stack went all-in, There is a caller and I am in the BB and it’s not much to call so I do with Q-9 suited. The flop gives me middle pair, and the caller and I go check-check. The turn is a blank. Check-check. The river brings in a flush possibility. My opponent checks, and for reasons I cannot explain I ignore the fact that I have some showdown value, I raise something like 15,000 chips. My opponent snap calls and he has the flush. My description of this hand is on the vague side because I was really upset with myself and didn’t take very good notes after the hand. I just threw away 15,000 chips. Threw ‘em away.
End of level 14: 63,500
Level 15:
I don’t get dealt a single playable hand. I patiently fold.
End of level 15: 52,000 chips.
We now go on dinner break. I am still livid at myself for throwing away the 15,000 chips. Meanwhile, my foot is still sore, so I decide I should not try to venture far for dinner. I go to the Horseshoe food court and eat my feelings (or maybe just continue to degen eat this trip as I have vowed to do if truth be told). I get a chili cheese hot dog, which is good, and the crumb cake, which is surprisingly ordinary. My punishment for throwing away the 15,000 chips is I get water to drink rather than something from the soda fountain.
I go online and see that of the 3,485 original entrants, I am one of only 657 remaining. I calculate that 523 players will make the money. However, I am well below the average chip stack of 132,610. When I talk to Mrs. rppoker on the phone I tell her that unless I get dealt a big hand or two, I think I am going to have a hard time getting into the money. She tells me she is sending good vibes my way.
As dinner break continues, I feel like it is taking too long. I am a bit tired. I never felt tired at the WSOP in 2019. A nap would be nice.
I go on WSOP.com and read that Eric Baldwin (with a stack similar to my size) tripled up just before the dinner break to 165,000 when his all-in Qd-Qs held up against 10d-Kc and 9s-9d. I need to do that. Does this constitute a plan?
Also, Eric Baldwin, foreshadowing (in a future tournament).
Level 16:
Blinds and BB ante are 3,000/6,000/6,000.
I am closely following the monitors to see how many players are remaining. It goes from 657 to 585 to 567 very quickly. People are dropping like flies. The blinds keep eating away at my pathetic stack of chips. It’s not looking good until I am dealt A-Q in middle position and go all-in for 37,000 chips. Everyone folds. I now have 55,000 chips, and the speed at which people are being eliminated makes me think I just might be able to limp my way to the money.
There are 554 remaining… then 548 … then 540. The magic number is 523.
End of level 16: 37,000 chips.
Nice! I didn't see a single person drink during the two bullets I fired. At the Horseshoe, there weren't even cocktail servers. They had water, coffee, and tea. OTOH, I was out long before the sun set, too.
2024 WSOP: May 29 (Event #3 $500 freezeout NLHE) (part 4 of 4)
The money bubble is so close and I’m on fumes … Do I make it? You have to read on …
Level 17:
The blinds and BB ante are 4,000/8,000/8,000. I have a mere 37,000 chips.
The number of players left keeps dwindling … 533 … 528 …
With 527 remaining (remember 523 cash) I am dealt A-10 offsuit in early position and I fold.
UTG I am dealt K-10 and I fold.
From the BB I am dealt 9-J and I fold.
There are 525 players left. I have 21,000 chips.
Play is paused and every table is told not to deal a new hand until existing hands are completed.
524 players left. The stone bubble. I am about to be in the small blind for 4,000 and I have 17,000 remaining after that.
While we wait for all of the other tables to finish their hands, the big stack (a confident young gun with a ton of confidence in a nice way) two to my left asks what I’ll do if I get dealt two aces. I smile and don’t answer, but in my head I know the answer is I should fold. I am so short that even if I double up I’m probably not going to last long after the money bubble bursts, whereas if I play A-A and get two callers it is definitely possible the aces don’t hold up and I bust on the bubble. Given my negligible stack size the EV is in limping into the money, not trying to double up a pittance into a slightly larger pittance.
There is a commotion at a table far away from where we are sitting. People are ringing the table to watch. Obviously, somebody who is covered is all-in. Eventually it sounds as if the bubble has burst, but there is no announcement. We wait long enough that I think maybe the bubble did not burst. Finally, an announcement is made where they bury the lead by saying that dealers can deal a new hand and (oh by the way) everyone who is left is in the money.
I have made the money. I have my first WSOP cash. I feel a wave of enormous accomplishment.
Meanwhile, I think about how I just made the money, and the thought that fills my head is that of a broken-down jalopy that has been running on fumes, seemingly has next to no gas left, sputters and wheezes and just as it is about to consume its last drop of gas coasts down a hill to where a gas station sits.
OK, enough of that. Cards are back in the air. I know there is no point in being overly patient at this point since the money bumps are virtually nonexistent for quite some time. However, the blinds won’t come my way for a while so I don’t have to play junk right away.
I get dealt junk. 2-7 … 4-9 … 3-5 … 5-8 … all off suit.
End of level 17: 17,000 chips.
Level 18:
The blinds and BB ante are 5,000/10,000/10,000.
Finally, I get dealt a playable 10-J suited. I go all-in and three people call. At first, I think this is a bad thing, since what are the odds I beat all three players. After the flop (I didn’t write it down) I have both a straight and flush draw. At this point I don’t know what the other players have since they are still in the hand against each other. But if I make my straight or flush I could win the hand and have 68,000 chips, which could make things interesting. I actually have a sweat. Or to quote the movie Dumb and Dumber, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance. YEAH!”
Alas, I don’t get there on either the turn or river. And I am out. The table tells the dealer that she needs to call out payout. She does not understand. They tell her again. She seems too shy to do so. Finally, the big stack turns to me and tells me to yell payout. I do and someone official scurries over and tells me to stay standing by my seat for a minute while he starts typing who knows what into an ipad. From there it’s all a blur. Somewhere along the line I am given a card that says what place I came in. A staffer walks me over too a very long line of people. I ask the staffer what the line is for. She says it is to get paid out. I look over to the tabletops with computers where the line finally ends, and that doesn’t look like someplace where you get handed money. I say to the staffer. “Is this the line where we get paid, or is this the line where they take our information and send us to a second line where we’ll get paid.” She says, “I think it’s the second one.”
Everyone in the line seems very happy. The player next to me is brought a beer by his wife. This is the line of people who are happy to make the money. I suspect that when players last much longer and get knocked out it becomes the line of people who are upset to have been knocked out.
I get to the front of the line where a staffer behind a computer asks me for, I think, ID and maybe my player card. Like I said, it was a blur and I was relieved/tired. From there I am directed to another room where there is a short line. At the end of this line, there is another staffer behind a computer who gets my ID and players card and does I don’t know what else. She prints out a sheet of paper, and I am directed to yet another line, which is maybe 30 players deep. This is the line where you see a person and actually get paid your money.
Now I have to make a decision. I am very tired. I’ve been all achy in my legs the last 24 hours. And my allergies are acting up. I pass the room for registration and there is no line. I have already previously registered for tomorrow’s 5A Mystery Millions bounty tournament. I have the tickets with me for that event just in case I decide I want a refund so I can take the day off.
I keep walking. I’ll play poker tomorrow.
Everyone in the line seems very happy. The player next to me is brought a beer by his wife. This is the line of people who are happy to make the money. I suspect that when players last much longer and get knocked out it becomes the line of people who are upset to have been knocked out.
Hah. Yes, this seems accurate, but congrats on the cash.
When I cashed a WSOP event last year, I’m pretty sure there was a hooker scoping out the guys all in line to get paid, making eye contact and smiling at everyone.
So watch out for that!
…congrats on the cash!
What does all of this mean?
By the time I get back to my hotel room, with the time difference between Nevada and Illinois, I am certain Mrs. rppoker is sound asleep. I don’t care. This is something I want to wake her for. This is something she’d want me to wake her for. I wake her. We share the excitement. She may not know poker, but she knows what a min cash means to me.
I’m not going to lie. Min cashing means a lot to me. After going 0 for my 2019 WSOP, it feels great to make the money for the first time. It’s a massive accomplishment for me.
Why?
Consider how inexperienced I am at live NLHE poker. I have played in a grand total six non-WSOP live events at various casinos across the country through the years. I am pretty sure the competition at those events was not WSOP caliber. Other than that, my live experience consists of 12 days at the WSOP in 2019. If I’m not the least experienced poker player in every WSOP event I play in, I have to be pretty damn close. So, yes, I am very proud to now be able to say I cashed in an event at the most prestigious poker series in the world. It’s not the money. The cash of twice the entry fee is insignificant. It’s the accomplishment of cashing that fills me with pride.
I now will have a Hendon mob entry from the WSOP. That’s worth way more to me than the money I won. That is spectacular. That is so, so, so very validating. My Hendon Mob page has a line with the WSOP logo on it!
I feel like I have beaten the odds. Think about it, given my inexperience, what odds would have been posted on me cashing? I don’t think I would have wanted to know what those odds were.
The odds against me are huge because, let’s be honest, the only thing that qualifies me to be here is the fact that I have the audacity to show up and take my shot. This makes me think of a passage from the book – “Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People” -- I am currently reading, The passage in Slim’s autobiography that I am thinking of is about a dirt poor 19-year-old named Matt Helreich, who decided he had to go see star actress Betty Grable perform in Atlantic City.
Slim writes: “On August 16, 1939, Helreich hopped on a bus to see Grable, whose beautiful legs were later insured for $1 million by Lloyds of London. After she performed, the sign ABSOLUTELY NO ADMITTANCE wasn’t gonna stop Matt from going backstage, and, just like it was nothing, the two got to talking. Betty told him that she would be performing at the Earle Theatre in Philadelphia in two weeks and asked him to be her guess backstage. In less than a year, they were engaged. Now, you want to talk about cojones – Matt was my kind guy.”
This passage resonates with me because: 1) like Matt showing up unannounced in Atlantic City, I have shown more poker cojones than poker brains by showing up at the WSOP, 2) like Matt, I have taken my shot and against all odds have something to show for it, and 3) neither of us actually closed the deal since while Matt got engaged to Betty Grable they never married, and while I have min cashed I did not win the whole shootin’ match.
Doesn’t matter that I didn’t win the tournament. Doesn’t matter that I didn’t make the Final Table. Doesn’t matter that the financial score is not huge. I have my min cash. I have a result. I am off the schneid. Going 0 for a second WSOP would have been very dispiriting. Having cashed once already makes me feel like I will be playing with house money (emotionally, not financially) the rest of this series.
My World Series of Poker is already a guaranteed smashing success to me, and it’s just begun. I can crash out of every WSOP tourney in level 1 the rest of this trip, and I will still consider the trip to be a rousing success.
For the rest of my life, I won’t just be the guy who played in the WSOP. For the rest of my life, I will be the guy who cashed in the WSOP. In professional poker circles this may not sound like all that much. In the “civilian” poker community this means a lot.
Does this make me sound silly to professional poker players? I’m sure it does. I’m sure they may read this, want to pat me on the head and say condescendingly, “Nice min cash, rookie.” I don’t care. I am filled with pride. I am filled with a sense of accomplishment. An accomplishment I wasn’t sure was attainable.
I entered this year’s WSOP as a man on an improbable mission.
Mission accomplished.
Cashing at all in any WSOP event is an accomplishment. The field are huge, the pressure and tension is high, and you are not only going up against pros, semi-pros, grinders etc, you are going up against staked players and deep bankrolls who do not feel the pressure of a planned once in a year, or once in a lifetime trip to do what you were trying to do. It makes a huge difference. Also, the structures are generally decent, but it's a minefield out there. One bad beat a few levels in if you haven't been able to build at all and that's pretty much it for your chance of cashing or making a Day 2 so feel good about it. I've played for over 20 years and since those of us with large sample sizes know you only are in the money 17%-25% (roughly) it's always a good feeling. remember pro MTT grinders only have about a 20% ROI (if they are good) so a pro who plays I dunno know like 250K worth of buy ins this summer will maybe profit 50K-75K on average (big one-off scores aside/that's the smoothed out expectation) - pretty humbling for even the most seasoned vets.
Congratulations on the cash!
2024 WSOP: May 30, Event 5A Mystery Millions Bounty NLHE (Part 1 of 3)
We meet the man known as The Cliché, but only briefly … O Canada gets a massage and is free rolling … Q-Q versus set of eights carnage
I wake up half an hour later than I did yesterday since I now know where I am going at the Paris. Today I am playing in the $1,000 Mystery Millions Bounty, flight 5A.
As I get ready, I find myself moving slow. Not so much sleepy as physically fatigued. I shower. I remember to take my allergy meds (I forgot yesterday morning and it was noticeable). I pack a lunch. I can’t find my phone. I find it eventually. I take my entry tickets and my ID. As I leave my hotel room, I have a sense that I am forgetting something.
I go outside the hotel lobby, go to the hail-a-cab contraption where I scan a barcode, enter my information, and five minutes later my cab appears. Like magic. This is another win for me on the technology front. Yesterday I needed a bellman to do this for me. Today I do it by myself.
During the cab ride to the Paris, I remember what I forgot. My water bottle. This is survivable. Once I get to the ballroom I will be playing in, I see that I have some time to kill so I again try to call my accountant, who needs to speak to me. Once again, he is not in.
I still have time to kill, so I go online to see if anyone I have come across in the past is making a deep run yet. Asher Conniff, who I played next to for half a day in a 2019 WSOP tournament, is in fifth place out of 10 remaining in the WSOP $5,000 Champions Reunion. I also see that a couple of the instructors from my current poker tournament training site (Michael Acevedo and Aram Zobian) are in sixth and eighth place of the same tournament. (Editor’s note: Asher Conniff ended up winning his first bracelet in the $5,000 Champions Reunion).
Level 1
40,000 chips to start. Initially there are only five players at the table. I fold rags for a while before I look down at J-10 suited from the button and I raise to $600. Both the small blind and big blind call. The flop is A-K-4 rainbow. It goes check-check-check. I think that a Q for the straight would be fantastic. Instead, the dealer turns over a 9. The blinds go check-check and I bet 1,200 chips and win the pot.
Sitting two players to my right is a player who fits a certain poker cliché. He is wearing black sweats, a black hoodie, sunglasses and giant headphones. The hoodie is worn over his head and covers his headphones. He is in a hand with a guy wearing a fancy, expensive watch. It is only the ninth hand of the tournament. All of a sudden after the river a betting frenzy takes place. The Cliché goes all-in. FancyWatch calls. The Cliché has, wait for it, ace high. FancyWatch has, wait for it, a full house. Talk about a seismic implosion. The Cliché leaves the table, apparently in a hurry to get who knows where. Based upon what I just saw, he should be in a hurry to get out of town. Once The Cliché has left and is out of earshot, FancyWatch has a puzzled look on his face and says he appreciates the gift.
The room is freezing. I don’t even get out of level one before I have to take a sweat top out of my backpack and put it on.
End of level 1: 40,400 chips.
Level 2
We are still six-handed. The blinds and BB ante are 200/300/300. I get dealt A-6 suited in the big blind. The small blind raises it to 900. I call. I whiff the flop. The small blind raises and I fold.
Later on, I am dealt Jc-8c and I raise to 900. The big blind calls. The flop is A-J-x all red cards. I bet 1,200 and the big blind folds.
Finally seat 6 arrives at our table and immediately orders green tea, so we’ll call him GreenTea. Seat 9 arrives to my left. He is from California and has all kinds of jewelry on his fingers and wrists, so we’ll call him CaliforniaBling.
End of level 2: 39,000 chips
Level 3
A massive raising war breaks out between GreenTea and a player at the other end of the table. They get it all-in preflop. Both turn over K-K. By the turn, there are three diamonds on the board. GreenTea does not have the king of diamonds, so disaster may be imminent. There is no fourth diamond on the river and they chop the pot. GreenTea happily says, “That was fun.”
The player in seat 7 to my right shows up. He is from Montreal so we’ll call him O Canada. He quickly orders coffee. When the coffee arrives, he hails a massage girl to the table. While he is getting a massage, drinking his coffee, putting his sunglasses and earbuds on the felt by his chips, O Canada gets a call from a friend and he tells said friend what table he is at. Around this time the dealer tells O Canada that he has too much stuff on the felt and it is making it difficult for other players to see his chips. The massage stops, O Canada moves his sunglasses and ear buds and everything is hunk dory. Things take a turn for the better when O Canada’s friend shows up and pays off their $1,000 last longer bet. O Canada is now freerolling this event.
OK, back to the tournament. FancyWatch bets 800 before the flop. I have Q-Q and bump it to 2,000. A player at the other end of the table who has been fairly active is wearing a Raiders jersey and has a Raiders card protector of a football player with a jersey number of 00. The Raider player who famously wore 00 was Jim Otto in the 1960s and 1970s. JimOtto calls my bet as does FancyWatch.
The flop is K-J-8. I bet, JimOtto min raises, FancyWatch folds, and I call. The turn is a harmless 2. JimOtto has been playing way too many hands early on for me to believe that he always has it. I take one more shot at finding out if he is full of it, and I bet. JimOtto raises and I now reluctantly believe he has the goods. He turns over two 8s. He flopped a set of 8s to run down my Q-Q. Damn. That really sucked. I am down to 23,800 chips
End of level 3: 23,000 chips.
I did not realize I was using the wrong terminology. My inexperience shows through. Thanks for pointing this out.
I have good news and bad news regarding this.
The bad news: I have already written all of my daily reports for what has happened between now and the start of the WSOP. I don't want to change them for fear that I don't catch all of the wrong terms (bet versus raise) causing inconsistency in the post, so I am going to leave them as is. There is only one more tournament remaining in my pr
Kind sir,
I'm late to the table on this thread, and slowly making my way through it, but want you to know that I am loving it. Both your passion for tournament poker and your amazing writing abilities shine through. If you are so inclined, you could turn this material into a book. What's that, you say? You don't believe me? Well, check out a book titled "The Fine Green Line (My Year of Adventure on the Pro-Golf Mini-tours)" by John Paul Newport published in 2000. Newport was a freelance journalist and 3-handicapper who decided to dedicate a year of his life to getting as good as he could at golf, then compete in golf's minor-leagues, and chronicle his journey. It's a great read, and in many ways similar to your journey, although there's a bit of an age difference at the time of the writing between you and Newport.
I'm looking forward to see how your journey plays/played out as I read the remaining pages. It's getting me excited for my own journey, as I leave in a week, and plan to compete in the Senior and the Super Senior WSOP events, as you and I are just about the same age.I'm sorry that we won't be across the table from each other, but fully respect the reasons you have for not playing them. I could definitely resonate with several of the comments made earlier in this thread about these events. There's a cameraderie at many of the tables, and you still encounter some top players from time to time. Two years ago in the Seniors, I played the second half of Day 1 with the eventual winner, & he was uber-aggressive. The same year in the Super Senior, I played a few hours on Day 2 with the prior year's winner, who then busted me a few hours into Day 3. These weren't the recognizable names like Hellmuth, Negreanu, Seidel, or Raymer, but it was still fun.
Congrats on Big Blue's national title. As a Purdue alum, I was hoping that the Boilers could make it a Big Ten clean sweep this year, but UConn was just too good. I hope by the thread's end I have more congrats to offer. And if you end up writing that book, just drop a mention in the Acknowledgements! 😉
Thank you, thank you, thank you
I don't respond every time someone makes a comment, gives a compliment, or offers congratulations, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. This is me trying to keep the thread uncluttered. That said, thank you to all who have chimed in recently.
Loden Pants and TopGun in VA, it's very flattering that you think this is worthy of a book. Maybe six years ago I wrote a book length piece of fiction. I thought it was very good. The problem was, I must have sent a cover letter and whatever submission guidelines that were called for (i.e. the first page or one chapter, etc.) to maybe 50-75 literary agents. I could not get a single one willing to ask for the entire manuscript for their review. It seems almost impossible as a first-time novelist to get your foot in the door with an agent if you don't have a connection. And that's just the first step, since the agent would still have to get a publishing house to show interest.
TJ, you don't have to worry about me succumbing to the come-hither look of a hooker outside the payout room. I feel fairly certain that such an activity is not Mrs. rppoker approved.
Pardog, golddog, TJ and Dogface, thanks for the congratulations on my min cash.
If I have forgotten anyone else, thank you as well.
2024 WSOP: May 30, Event 5A Mystery Millions Bounty NLHE (Part 2 of 3)
I don’t notice the player in Seat 1 is in the hand and pay for it … My J-J does not go bust versus A-A … a limp, a bet and I have A-A
Level 4
Blinds and BB ante are 300/500/500.
I screw up in a hand. FancyWatch, who is in almost every hand, raises to 1,000. I have 8-8 on the button and I just call.
I am in seat 8, and I do not notice that Seat 1 (a very skinny guy) has also called. The dealer was kind of leaning forward when she dealt and Skinny Guy does not put his bets really far into the felt, but this is entirely my fault for not paying more attention.
The flop is K-K-4 rainbow. FancyWatch bets 1,000. Given that he is playing in an incredibly high percentage of hands and does so with aggressive and relentless betting, I think there is a good chance he is more likely to have missed this flop than hit it, so I call. Skinny Guys now pops it to 3,500. This is the first time I noticed he was in the hand. He, I believe, has the goods. He has struck me as a very measured player. FancyWatch folds as do I. If I had seen that Seat 1 was in the hand, I would have played it very differently. This is entirely on me. I have to be more aware. I have 20,700 chips.
I remind myself that while my starting chip stack has been almost cut in half, I still have over 40 big blinds. No reason to panic or do anything stupid.
I have 2-2 in the big blind. There is a bet and a call ahead of me, and I just call to set mine. The flop is 3h-Qh-5s. There is a bet and a call. I obviously fold.
End of level 4: 18,700 chips.
We go on break.
I check my voice mails. There is a message from a wealth manager at a bank in which my business has some bank accounts. This guy cold calls me every six months asking for a meeting. I have repeatedly told him that I have long standing (almost 40 years in one case) relationships with a couple of wealth managers, and I’m not interested in leaving either of them. Yet still this guy keeps calling every six months like clockwork. I have to admire the persistence, but this phone call does not need to be returned. Instead, I eat the salami and cheese sandwich I made for myself this morning.
As I eat, I lament how I haven’t been able to get anything going so far today. The one premium preflop hand I had was Q-Q and that ran into an opponent’s set of eights. Any of the aces I’ve been dealt have been accompanied by a rag, and it has always happened in early position. I have seen almost no paint on my cards. I’ve had one small pair and one medium pair and neither hit a set on bad boards for them.
The table I’m at is extremely aggressive. There is always a preflop bet (no walks for anyone), and I would say that more than 50% of the time there is also a 3-bet. If you want to get in a hand, you better be prepared to go fairly far with it. There are two players (FancyWatch and a heavyset guy who for some reason I have not yet nicknamed) who are extremely LAG, and when they are in a pot they are playing for large amounts of chips. They are calling and raising a ton, utilizing relentless pressure. Given how aggressive this table is, I feel the counter measure is to get a hand and go with it against these guys. The other problem with these guys is when they have weak starting hands, by the time it gets to showdown they somehow seem to “get there” in a big way with them.
On break I finally reach my accountant, and we talk through the matters he wants to discuss, so that is one less thing to deal with on future breaks.
Level 5
O Canada and the massage woman return. The massage continues.
Blinds and BB ante are 300/600/600.
I finally get a hand. It is J-J. I bet 1,800 and get three callers. The flop is Ac-5s-9s. With three other people in the hand, someone has to have an ace. I fold to a bet. Two players go to showdown, and I was wrong about someone having “an ace.” It turns out that someone had A-A preflop. Given my dwindling chip stack, I’m surprised A-A didn’t get it all-in preflop against me. I am fortunate to still be alive in the tournament after this hand. The ace on the flop saved me. If the flop had been three under cards to my J-J, I suspect I would have gotten it in bad against A-A, and I'd be in the registration line right now.
End of level 5: 13,800 chips.
Level 6
Blinds and BB ante are 400/800/800.
GreenTea, who had a lot of chips at one time, and who has pretty much been the player I ask for change when I need to put in blinds, busts out of the tournament.
I am dealt A-A. There is a limp. O Canada raises to 2,200. Hallelujah! Now I just need one of my opponents to lose their mind. I raise to 5,000. Everyone folds. Mutter! Groan! Grrrrrrr! I have 19,000 chips. I wanted more! But 19,000 is almost 24 big blinds, which is workable.
I have 5-5 in the big blind. There is a bet and a raise ahead of me, and I fold.
End of level 6: 15,000 chips.
2024 WSOP: May 30, Event 5A Mystery Millions Bounty NLHE (Part 3 of 3)
The J-J-J flop happens three different times … A-A versus K-K carnage … The Daniel Negreanu Show
Level 7
Blinds and BB ante are 500/1,000/1,000.
For the third time today at our table there is a J-J-J flop. Not J-J-J and Q-Q-Q and K-K-K, although that would be very rare. But we have seen exactly J-J-J three times. This seems like a massive statistical anomaly. The table talks about it for a while.
There is an OMC (Old Man Coffee who is much older than me) who has been added to our table, and he has been very, very aggressive and playing in a lot of hands. He bets, gets a call and I go all-in with 4-4. I don’t think I have much fold equity against OMC, but I need chips and hope for a coin flip. OMC calls and the other player in the hand folds. OMC has K-Q. I hit a set of fours on the flop, and I win the hand decisively. I now have 30,000 chips.
End of level 7: 28,800 chips.
Level 8:
Blinds and BB ante are 600/1,200/1,200.
CaliforniaBling, who had a pretty decent chip stack for a while, is out. On the turn his K-2 made two pair, but one of the mega LAGs flopped two pairs with his A-J. I think the flop went A-K-J and the 2 hit on the turn. This got CaliforniaBling fairly short, and then he went all-in with Q-5 suited and lost.
I get dealt A-Q UTG and bet 3,000. Everyone folds. I have 31,500 chips.
Shortly thereafter I am dealt A-A. OMC bets, O Canada raises, I go all-in, and then SkinnyGuy goes all-in with K-K. OMC and O Canada fold. If I win this hand I will have the chips to play poker as opposed to just going all-in every time while short.
The flop is completely harmless. I just have to fade a king.
Then comes the turn: K.
(artwork by rppoker)
I drop my head in frustration, while a groan can be heard from several players not in the hand.
I don’t improve on the river. I am out.
I look at Skinny Guy and tap the table two times. He looks at me and also taps the table two times. Good game. Sh*t happens sometimes.
If my aces had held up, I think I would have had around 70,000-75,000 chips. That’s around 60 big blinds. Enough to be dangerous to the rest of the table. Who knows how far I could have gotten with that many chips. I would have liked to find out.
As I walk outside the ballroom, I notice something. Unlike in 2019 when this would have been gut wrenching to me, I am not devastated. Disappointed sure. But I dealt with Q-Q getting run down by 8-8 early. I had J-J against someone else’s A-A and did not go bust. I grinded the hell out of a short stack, staying patient and waiting for my moment. When the moment came, I was in position to have close to the amount of chips of the big stacks at my table before suffering a really bad beat on the turn.
I think I navigated a really active, really tough table as well as I could have hoped. Plus, I took the bad beat completely in stride. I wasn’t angry or upset. Rather than take tomorrow off as I was considering when I woke up, I call an audible and sign up for flight B of the same tournament for tomorrow. I feel really good about where I am right now. I feel poker rejuvenated.
Since I am not going to be playing deep into the night, I decide to walk over to the Horseshoe to find the WSOP poker rooms there just in case I ever end up there. When I get there, I see there are 30 players left in the event I cashed in yesterday (Have I mentioned that I cashed in that event? Yesiree, I cashed in that event. OK, I’ll stop mentioning that I cashed in that event. Unless you have questions about how I cashed in that event. In which case I will be more than happy to provide answers about how I cashed in that event.).
Daniel Negreanu is second in chips, and obviously the spectators are congregating around his table. A middle-aged man walks up next to me and says in barely a whisper, “Oh my gosh, it’s Daniel Negreanu.” He is actually overcome with emotion. I suspect it is the way people once reacted to a chance encounter with Elvis or The Beatles. Less than five minutes later this man builds up his courage, gets Negreanu’s attention while the tournament is going on and asks if they can pose for a picture. Negreanu is not in the current hand in play, so he gets up and happily plays to the crowd saying, “Sure, it’s not like I’m doing anything.” This gets a big laugh. Daniel goes to the rail and poses for the picture. Another happy customer. Negreanu truly is a man of the people and a terrific poker ambassador.
The hand that Negreanu is not involved in lasts for quite a bit. Negreanu notices the t-shirt that the guy to the right of me is wearing. Daniel asks about it, and the response is that it is about bowling.
Negreanu asks, “Are you any good.”
The guy says, “Not at all.”
Negreanu: “I bowl about 290.”
One of the other players at the table says, “Over three games?”
Negreanu: “Yes, I bowl for three to four hours, and when I get to 290, I stop.”
The entire rail laughs. Happy customers everywhere.
Once I get back to my hotel room, I have lots of time on my hands. I work on finishing up my rough draft of my first event when I cashed (have I mentioned that I cashed?), because I only got half way through it the previous night. I also write up my rough draft from today’s tournament.
Somewhere along the line I speak to Mrs. rppoker. She asks me how I did today. I tell her my bad beat story (she’s my wife, I get to tell a bad beat story to her without being judged). She is mad when she hears the outcome. I tell her it’s fine, these things happen.
Once she is done hearing my bad beat story, she proceeds to tell me her bad beat story. Our dog Astro is not feeling well. He has been throwing up and having pooping accidents. The working theory is the fact that he has been eating so many cicadas, which is causing the problem. His doctor prescribed an antibiotic, but Astro won’t eat it. Lathering it in peanut butter does not work. Wrapping it in cheese does not work. Mrs. rppoker is not happy that I am not home to help her deal with it. I tell her I’m sorry she is having to deal with this alone. It’s not especially helpful, but I’m not really sure what else there is to say. Thankfully, Mrs. rppoker does not ask me to cut my trip short and come home to help with Astro.
Around 9:30 p.m. I start to get hungry. With my leg still acting up a bit, I have two options. I can drive somewhere, but dealing with the chaos of the roads near the strip is not something I’m gung-ho to do. The other option is to walk somewhere really close. Nacho Daddy is one of my favorite late-night haunts from my 2019 WSOP trip and it is just down the road, so that is the clear-cut choice.
I get there without incident (walking very slowly and carefully) and order my usual, the white queso dip with fresh jalapeno and ground beef along with a basket of chips. It hits the spot.
When I leave, I think to myself that I walked to the restaurant pain free, so maybe I can take a very short walk on the strip. I get maybe half a block when I feel a slight twinge in my right heel. Nope, time to get back to the hotel and take it easy.
unlucky re the king. cruel game man
in hand 1 when you open and there's an AK4 flop. Have to bet that. And then barrel turn if they call. you have such a range advantage there
unlucky re the king. cruel game man
in hand 1 when you open and there's an AK4 flop. Have to bet that. And then barrel turn if they call. you have such a range advantage there
You are right. Looking back at it now, I agree this was a mistake on my part. One thing I am doing with this trip report is including every hand I played, including the ones that I misplayed. I'm not hiding the hands that I played badly. You are getting the good, the bad, and the ugly of how I played my events.
Perfect poker? Not even close.
An authentic tale? Absolutely. That I promise you.
Thanks for the poker advice.
Nice report so far - details of hands well reported and love to hear about the experience. Sorry about the AA
That is one big difference between tournaments and cash - in a cash game just pull out another buy in but not usually in tourneys (with re-entry tourneys these days it is different).
Hope Astro is ok.
Nice report so far - details of hands well reported and love to hear about the experience. Sorry about the AA
That is one big difference between tournaments and cash - in a cash game just pull out another buy in but not usually in tourneys (with re-entry tourneys these days it is different).
Hope Astro is ok.
Thanks for asking. Astro is good as new. As I type, he is playing in the backyard with our neighbor's dog Finn (who eats 20 times as many cicadas as Astro does, yet Finn never gets sick).
Congrats on the cash and go the rest of the trip.
Nacho Daddy - good choice!
I am dealt A-A. There is a limp. O Canada raises to 2,200. Hallelujah! Now I just need one of my opponents to lose their mind. I raise to 5,000. Everyone folds. Mutter! Groan! Grrrrrrr! I have 19,000 chips. I wanted more! But 19,000 is almost 24 big blinds, which is workable.
Just go all-in here. People are going to profile you because of your age, so if you make an action that makes it blatantly look like you have a monster (as you did), you will actually get more folds than you would have on a jam.
Brutal with the AA vs KK later though :( If it makes you feel better, Phil Ivey encountered the exact same bad beat with 22 players left in the $25k High Roller last night.
[QUOTE=rppoker]For the third time today at our table there is a J-J-J flop. Not J-J-J and Q-Q-Q and K-K-K, although that would be very rare. But we have seen exactly J-J-J three times. This seems like a massive statistical anomaly. The table talks about it for a while.[/QUOTE]
In our little bar-poker league, the bar makes shots for players interested when this happens. Not something nice, I guess it's a kamikaze (not interested), but it's free and fun.
Just go all-in here. People are going to profile you because of your age, so if you make an action that makes it blatantly look like you have a monster (as you did), you will actually get more folds than you would have on a jam.
Brutal with the AA vs KK later though :( If it makes you feel better, Phil Ivey encountered the exact same bad beat with 22 players left in the $25k High Roller last night.
What I just read from you is ... Phil Ivey and I were mentioned in the same sentence. 😀
2024 WSOP: May 31, Event 5B Mystery Millions Bounty NLHE (part 1 of 5)
A player goes bust on first hand of the tournament … I have a full house, kings over aces, and I get a surprising result … “The Table of Death”
We start all over again. Same tournament as yesterday. Back to step one. I suspect it’s kind of like flunking a class in high school and having to retake it during summer school. The only difference being, I am happy to be here for flight 5B.
I get to the Paris, see that I have 15 minutes before we begin, so I check my work e-mail. Absolutely nothing that requires my attention. We are off to a good start.
Level 1
100/200/200 (40,000 chip starting stacks)
Let’s introduce a few players who are involved in a hand at the opening gun:
There is a player wearing a shirt with sparkly beads in the shape of an eagle, and the player also has a diamond earring. We’ll call him Sparkly.
There is a player two to my left who later on tells me that he is a recent retiree and is planning on playing in the entire seven weeks of the WSOP. We’ll call him RecentRetiree.
There is a player wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers shirt and a New York Yankees hat. How do you end up rooting for teams in two separate towns. We’ll call him SportsConfused.
These are the characters in the first hand of the day – THE FIRST HAND. I have J-Q suited and I bet to 500. RecentRetiree raises. SportsConfused re-raises. Sparkly calls. I fold.
The runout of cards is 5h-6h-10h … 5s …9s.
SportsConfused and Sparkly get all of their chips in the middle by the turn. On the first hand of the day. THE FIRST HAND. SportsConfused has J-J for an overpair to the board when the chips were all-in. Sparkly has 10-10 for a full house when they got all-in on the turn.
SportsConfused is out in one hand. SportsConfused, we hardly knew ye.
We are now three-handed because some stacks of chips on the table have not yet been claimed and two seats remain unsold.
Now we introduce a player wearing an outdoorsy shirt, so we’ll call him Outdoorsman.
On the next hand, Sparkly and Outdoorsman do battle. Sparkly has K-Q, while Outdoorsman has 7-7. The flop is 10-10-J and Sparkly has an open-ended straight draw, while Outdoorsman has an underpair to the board. The turn is a 4 and the river is a 7. More chips go into the middle and we see that Outdoorsman rivered a full house, while Sparkly has a busted straight draw.
Shortly thereafter a player joins the table. He is wearing a hoodie that I thought said Ninja Poker on it (although when I later go online, I think it might have been Ininja Poker instead). Regardless, we’ll call him Ninja.
In Ninja’s first hand, he bets. I 3-bet. Ninja 4-bets. I 5-bet. If he pops it again, I will be concerned. Instead, Ninja folds and asks if I’ll show if he does. I normally don’t show, but I took mercy on him. Plus, I figure I am both getting information and giving information. He showed J-J. I showed Q-Q. I don’t mind the rest of the table seeing that I won’t be pushed around (at least on this one hand).
Right after that a new player joins the table. He looks like former college basketball coaching icon Roy Williams, so we’ll call him RoyWilliams. After a couple of hands, he has to take a call from work and he leaves the table for a while. There are hardly any players at our table, yet monster hands and coolers keep happening. For two orbits epic collisions of big hand versus big hand keep happening. For example, Sparkly plays 10s-2s and makes a flush against someone’s big over pair.
End of level 1: 41,600 chips.
Level 2
200/300/300
There is an early position bet that gets three calls, including me with 7-7 in the big blind. The flop is 5-J-Q and I fold to early position bettor’s bet.
Next, Ninja bets 700 from early position, and I call with A-J. The flop is K-K-4, Ninja bets and I fold.
Next comes what at first appears to be an epic hand. Ninja bets preflop, I 3-bet, someone else 4-bets (I can’t read my notes as to who), I think Ninja calls, I 5-bet thinking I may have to fold if someone jams but it goes call-call with UnknownOpponent and Ninja. I have A-K.
The flop comes 10-K-K. Jackpot. It’s good to be me. UnknownOpponent (I think it might have been Outdoorsman but I’m not certain) and I end up being all-in (Sparkly folded Q-Q at some point pre flop we later learn). I may not have everything correct given the pre-flop chaos.
I am already counting the massive heaps of chips coming my way. We turn over our cards and we both have A-K. The unnecessary turn and river are 3 … A. We both have the same full house and we chop the pot. Disappointing.
At this point we are still only six-handed, yet the monster hands have shown no signs of slowing down. Virtually every hand that gets to showdown sees enormous holdings get turned over.
Ninja declares that this is “The Table of Death.”
Soon after, I have K-Q no clubs against both Outdoorsman and Sparkly (I can’t read my notes as to the preflop action). The flop comes K-rag-rag two clubs. I bet, Outdoorsman folds and Sparkly calls. The turn is a third club. It goes check-check. After an inconsequential river I bet and Sparkly folds.
At this stage I write in my notes that I think Sparkly, after getting the first hand of the tournament double up, has been playing way too many speculative hands and is often calling off raises with very light holdings.
End of level 2: 45,200 chips.