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.
Nearing the Main Event money bubble (1,693 left, 1,517 will cash)
John Hennigan 705,000
Arthur Morris 740,000
Jonathan Little 560,000
Aram Zobian 240,000
Ben Yu 213,000
Daniel Negreanu 100,000
NeighborhoodGal 102,500 (not updated all day)
Hennigan, Morris and Little on the rise. Zobian has recovered a bit. Yu slightly better than treading water. Negreanu is nearing the danger zone.
NeighborhoodGal has not had her chip stack count changed all day. I suspect she busted, but I guess I won't know for sure until official end of the day chip counts are posted
Official end of Day 3 chip counts (just short of the money bubble)
1524 remaining, 1,517 will cash. Blinds will be 4,000/8,000/8,000 (ante) to start Day 4
Arthur Morris 974,000
Aram Zobian 714,000
John Hennigan 579,000
Jonathan Little 320,000
Ben Yu 307,000
Daniel Negreanu 74,000
NeighborhoodGal Busted
Morris continues his impressive, uninterrupted ascent.
Zobian was on a large downward swing much of Day 3 but then recovered very strongly.
Yu improved nicely late in day.
Hennigan and Little dipped late in Day 3.
Negreanu is hanging on for dear life as the money bubble is so near.
Interesting Day 4 table seating:
Negreanu's table does not have any enormous chip stacks. The table chip leader has "only" 635,000 chips. The same holds true for Ben Yu whose table chip leader has 636,000 chips.
Zobian is almost chip leader at his table. He has 714,000 chips, a mere 8,000 chips behind the table leader.
Morris is second in chips at his table. His 974,000 chips are second to the 1,310,000 chips of Alexandros Kolonias. Morris is in seat 5, while Kolonias is in seat 9 so they don't necessarily have to tangle a ton.
Hennigan is sixth in chips at his table. Two players are above 1,200,000 and a third player is approaching 1,000,000 so there are a ton of chips in play at his table.
Little, despite having "only" 320,000 chips has the third biggest stack at his table.
Shortly after the money bubble burst:
Arthur Morris 974,000 (no updates so far today)
Aram Zobian 850,000 (on the rise a fair amount)
John Hennigan 579,000 (no updates so far today)
Jonathan Little 480,000 (after an early decline has rebounded today)
Ben Yu 307,000 (no updates so far today)
Daniel Negreanu: Busted. Got to the money bubble on fumes and busted (Ks-10d lost to Qh-Qd) shortly after it burst, $15,000 min cash
It’s cool that you have a personal connection and rooting interest in the biggest poker spectacle of the year!
Current chip counts followed by some recent key hands:
John Hennigan: 1,400,000
Jonathan Little: 1,325,000
Arthur Morris: 820,000
Aram Zobian 700,000
Ben Yu: 100,000
…..
Kay Calls it Off vs Little
Action came in on the river with a completed board showing 9♠5♠3♣8♥8♣. The pot had around 135,000 in it. From the big blind, Jonathan Little put in a stack of big chips to force Josh Kay all in.
Kay, who was on the button, thought it out for several moments with his tournament life on the line. Eventually he called.
Little tabled the J♠8♠ for trips which crushed the 6X6X of Kay who was eliminated.
Jonathan Little 1,580,000
………
Hennigan wins back-to-back pots
Action went three-ways to the flop of 3♣K♣J♣ in a hand between John Hennigan in early position, the player on the button and the player in the big blind.
It checked through to the 5♦ turn, where the big blind checked, Hennigan bet 35,000, the button folded, as did the big blind.
The next hand, Hennigan raised to 20,000 from under the gun, and got called by the players in the cutoff, button, and big blind.
The 3♦5♠5♦ flop checked through to the 5♣ turn. The big blind checked, Hennigan bet 35,000, the cutoff and button got out of the way, as did the big blind.
John Hennigan 1,400,000
…
Zobian’s jacks run into aces
After a raise from a player in early position to 20,000, Aram Zobian called on the button before Taylor von Kriegenbergh three-bet to 82,000 from the small blind. The initial raiser folded but Zobian reraised all in and von Kriegenbergh quickly called for 297,000 effective.
Taylor von Kriegenbergh: A♠A♣
Aram Zobian: J♠J♣
A preflop cooler in von Kriegenbergh's favor, the board ran out 7♥9♥2♣K♠A♥ and he doubled up.
(Fortunately for Zobian, he had his opponent easily covered so it wasn’t catastrophic. He still had 715,000 chips afterward)
Late Day 4 in the rppoker trip report Main Event sweat
John Hennigan: 2,150,000 chips (24th place)
Arthur Morris: 1,725,000 chips (42nd place)
Jonathan Little: 1,100,000 chips (117th place)
Ben Yu: 100,000 chips (hasn’t been updated in forever, so it’s unclear if he is still alive or not)
Aram Zobian: Busted in 765th place. Paid $25,000.
Ben Yu: Busted. 940th place. Paid $22,500.
End of Day 4
It is unclear the status of John Hennigan. On the end of Day 4 recap, Pokernews writes that he bagged. However, when I do a search in the chip count section it shows he busted. I'll have to check once play starts up again. He also is not listed at any of the Day 5 table assignments, so it's not looking good for Johnny World.
Arthur Morris has 2,085,000 chips and is currently in 83rd place. He is second in chips at his Day 5 table in which the huge stack is crusher Stephen Song (4,745,000 chips). Song is currently the Main Event chip leader. Morris is in seat 1, while Song is in seat 5 so there is distance between them. There are two other players with approximately 1,500,000 chips.
Jonathan Little took a hit and is down to 535,000 chips, which puts him in 370th place. His day 5 table draw has only one huge stack (4,335,000 chips), one decent stack (1,255,000 chips) and then everyone else at the table has a similar amount of chips as Little.
I can't find any evidence of John Hennigan. I can't find him in the chip counts, and I can't find him in the payouts section of Pokernews. It certainly seems that he has been knocked out, but he appears to be floating about somewhere in the Main Event netherworld. Plus, he is currently in the $10,000 Eight Game Mixed Championship, so ...
Arthur Morris still has his starting day chip total of 2,085,000 listed so I suspect his total has not been updated today.
Jonathan Little appears to be treading water, as his chip stack is only slightly lower (500,000) than his starting stack today of 535,000. With the blinds at 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante he is not in the danger zone, but he is approaching the mildly uncomfortable zone.
Jonathan Little is out. I spent roughly five months of 6-7 night a week watching of Little's tournament Masterclass in my WSOP prep. Well done, professor Little. And then there was one (Arthur Morris) for me to sweat..
Nagami's Bigger Ace Takes Out Little
Jonathan Little was on the button and got his last 500,000 in the middle against Kyosuke Nagami in the small blind.
Jonathan Little: Ax-Qx All in
Kyosuke Nagami: A♣-K♠
Little was dominated as the 9♦8♠8♣ flop left open the possibility of a chop. The 6♥ turn was no help, while the 2♣ fell on the river to mark the end of Little's Main Event.
..........
Meanwhile, Arthur Morris has slipped to 1,650,000 chips (currently sitting in 148th place)
Good news-bad news.
The good news is Arthur Morris just doubled up. The bad news is his chip stack had dwindled considerably before this hand took place.
Morris doubles through Song
Stephen Song raised to 100,000 from under the gun and action folded to Arthur Morris, who shoved for his last 390,000. Song verified the amount and called to put Morris at risk.
Arthur Morris: A♠Q♠All in
Stephen Song: Q♣J♥
Song found himself dominated, and the 6♦6♠8♥Q♥A♦ runout needlessly improved Morris to aces-up for the double up.
Stephen Song 7,300,000
Arthur Morris 900,000
(Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante)
The rppoker one degree of separation sweat remains alive, but just barely.
Main Event end of day 5 chip count and Day 6 preview:
Arthur Morris 2,110,000 (116 of 160). This trip report still has a player to sweat.
A nice late surge has Morris out of the danger zone. He's not flush with chips, but he has enough chips (26 BB) to be able to maneuver. Day 6 will start with the blinds at 40,000/80,000, 80,000 BB ante.
The players at his Day 6 table are Ma Li, Biao Ding, Toby Gibson, Oren Haziza, Eduard Burd, Nazar Buhaiov and Manuel Machado. Most noteworthy, Ding (66 BB) has almost $11 million in career earnings and is to Morris' immediate left. Morris is seventh in chips at this table. The chip leader at this table is Machado (110 BB) who has career earnings of $777,513.
I have had something on my mind the last couple of days relating to the money bubble. I have seen vlogs, media coverage and X tweets about people mega tanking on the Main Event bubble. To be clear, I am not here to criticize, judge or flame what some people did. I am, however, interested in applying it to an experience I had at this year's WSOP, and I'd like to get people's feedback.
In the $500 WSOP freezeout that I min cashed in, I was really low on chips as the money bubble got near. Total players paid was 523. With 540 players left I only had 37,000 chips. With only 527 players left I was UTG+1 and I folded A-10. Next hand I was UTG and I folded K-10. In the big blind I folded J-9 to someone's bet. Next hand I was in the small blind and I folded. I now had 17,000 chips and the bubble broke almost immediately thereafter.
My question is not whether I should have folded the above hands. I am comfortable that from early position I was not going to get it in with those hands. Getting my first WSOP cash was way more important to me.
My question has to do with the fact that I insta mucked those hands on the bubble. I did not tank. I did not mega tank. I made my decision and then folded without delay.
My reasoning had to do with a concept from my ultimate frisbee playing days when I played on the University of Michigan team. Back then there were no referees during games/tournaments. The players on the field made their own calls. This was driven by a philosophy known as "Spirit of the Game," which was defined as, "Spirit encourages players to assume good intentions of their opponent, and respect the dignity of their opponent both during play and when addressing calls." Spirit of the Game was deeply ingrained in every college team's moral fabric. It was hugely important and taken incredibly seriously. I never saw a single instance where anything less than Spirit of the Game was invoked on the playing field. Players consistently called things fairly, and arguments never took place.
Spirit of the Game was what I invoked on the bubble. I felt that tanking and mega tanking on the bubble would have gone against the Spirit of the Game. I know that not everyone in poker follows Spirit of the Game, but I do. Spirit of the Game remains my code in life. Thus, I did not tank to try to improve my chances of making the money. I felt that tanking/mega tanking unnecessarily was unfair to the rest of the players at the table.
My question to 2+2 is whether you think I was being naive and stupid by playing at my normal quick speed (the speed everyone else was playing at) on the bubble, or was it the right thing to do even though it went against my own self (selfish) interests?
I guess when it comes to ethics and poker, you have to decide for yourself whether your honor is worth more than your pure self-interest. If the guy next to me is constantly exposing his hand when checking his cards, I'll usually warn him one time instead of just capitalizing on the free information. I don't need to do that, but I play this game for the competition and not purely to win at all costs. If I were a pro and my livelihood depended on my win rate, maybe I'd act differently.
Most WSOP events do not use time banks, so tanking is within the scope of the rules, even if pushing the boundaries. I can't fault someone too much for stalling on a bubble or pay jump if the money or milestone is significant for them. On the other hand, if you're trying to win the tournament and you think you have an edge over the table, it's generally in your best interest to see as many hands as possible.
I've had some tankers at my tables in the past and usually let it slide, but I did call the clock on someone for the first time this summer. There's a point where it's very obvious what they're doing and detrimental to the people who are actually trying to play poker. I think most of us have a pretty good innate feel for that boundary. I feel fine calling the clock on someone who is abusing the system for their own benefit at everyone else's expense if the stalling is flagrant and excessive.
I'd equate it to something like foul-baiting in soccer or basketball. You expect almost everyone to do it under the right circumstances, but there's a point beyond which it can become flagrant and excessive. So I guess I don't think the behavior is inherently unethical. It's a matter of degrees. There's a degree beyond which I start to have a big problem with it.
Arthur Morris dancing through the raindrops and surviving one foot in the grave, and the rppoker one degree of separation sweat continues.
All reporting by Pokernews from most recent to oldest:
……
Morris drills the river to double through Serock
Arthur Morris raised to 240,000 from middle position and was three-bet to 600,000 by Joe Serock in the hijack. It was folded back around to Morris, who announced he was all in for approximately 2,700,000 total. Serock snap-called to put Morris at risk and hands were revealed.
Arthur Morris: Q♥Q♠
Joe Serock: A♣A♥
The J♣10♣8♦ flop gave Morris additional outs to a straight, but the 3♥ turn changed nothing.
Morris stood up from his seat and the dealer brought the 9♠ on the river. — filling Morris' gutshot to award him the double up.
"Lets go! Holy shi**!" Morris said. "Biggest suck-out of my life, probably."
Arthur Morris 5,600,000 as he goes from last in chips up to 45th
……………………..
Morris dodges the river to leave Dibernardi on fumes
David Dibernardi moved all in for 1,315,000 in early position and Arthur Morris called for 1,190,000 on the button.
Arthur Morris: A♣K♠
David Dibernardi: A♦J♥
Morris hit two pair on the K♦2♦2♣ flop to take a big lead in the pot, but Dibernardi picked up straight and flush draws on the Q♦ turn.
The river was the 4♠ and Dibernardi missed everything as he handed over most of his stack to Morris.
Arthur Morris 2,300,000
………
Dishongh triples while Nezhoda busts to Morris
Rene Nezhoda moved all-in for 1,465,000 from under the gun and Arthur Morris then called with a few chips behind. Gary Dishongh in the big blind declared that he was all-in and the dealer announced a three-way all-in as the media and camera crews rushed towards the table to see what was happening.
Morris asked for the stack size of Dishongh, who happened to have called all-in for 1,135,000, and the showdown then proceeded.
Gary Dishongh: A♦A♣
Rene Nezhoda: A♥K♥
Arthur Morris: 8♥8♣
The board ran out Q♥10♠4♠Q♠Q♣ and the jovial Nezhoda was eliminated in the side pot whereas Dishongh tripled up. Morris took a hit to his stack and dropped to ten big blinds.
Arthur Morris 990,000
………
Ding sends Morris deep into the tank
Biao Ding and Arthur Morris were heads-up on a flop of K♠9♣8♠ when Ding bet 500,000 from middle position. Morris called in early position.
The turn was the 2♣ and Ding moved all in, having Morris' remaining 1,200,000 covered.
"Wow," Morris said as he spent several minutes muttering to himself the different possibilities of what Ding could have.
"Punish me, sir," he eventually said, tossing A♠K♥ into the muck. Ding didn't show as he took in the pot.
My man Arthur Morris will not die
In my last post I went from most recent to oldest, but that does not make sense from a story telling order of things. This post goes in chronological order (oldest up top, most recent at the bottom).
This post: overcoming a bad beat, but then fireworks, absolute mind-blowing fireworks!
……………
Rosenblum waits for a bustout, then comes from behind
Arthur Morris raised to 300,000 under the gun before Russell Rosenblum reraised to 3,700,000 in the cutoff, leaving 125,000 behind. "I'm going to jam, I'm just doing this for you to make the pay jump," Morris said.
He eventually moved all in and Rosenblum tanked for several minutes as he waited for someone to bust on another table. He finally heard the shout of "payout" and committed his last chips.
Russell Rosenblum: A♠Q♠
Arthur Morris: A♥K♣
Rosenblum was dominated by Morris until the flop brought Q♦8♥6♦, giving him the lead with a pair of queens. The rest of the board ran out 6♣7♣ and Rosenblum doubled up, leaving Morris on a short stack.
Arthur Morris 1,500,000. 70th/70
………..
Morris nearly quadruples up
Brian Kim opened to 400,000 from early position and was three-bet to 1,100,000 by Giovanni Zanette in middle position. Arthur Morris went all in for his last 550,000 in the cutoff and Kim folded.
Arthur Morris: 9♦7♦
Giovanni Zanette: A♦A♣
Morris was in rough shape against Zanette's aces, but the 10♦6♣3♦ gave Morris a bevy of outs.
The 5♦ turn improved Morris to a flush and the 9♥ river bricked out for Zanette to award Morris the pot.
Arthur Morris 2,000,000
……………
Morris hits the turn to double again
Action folded to Jordan Griff in the small blind who moved all in. Arthur Morris then called for his last 1,900,000 in the big blind.
Arthur Morris: A♦J♦
Jordan Griff: K♥7♥
Morris made a pair on the K♦J♠2♠ flop, but Griff hit a pair of kings to take the lead. The turn, though, was the J♣ and Morris spiked trips to move back in front.
The 5♦ completed the board on the river and Morris stayed alive yet again.
Arthur Morris 4,000,000 (56th/67)
……….
The Morris comeback show continues
Following a cutoff raise by Arthur Morris and a big blind defend by Xuejun Huang, the board showed J♦10♠5♣Q♥ and Huang had checked. Morris pushed all-in and Huang was sent into the tank.
"You cover me?" he asked and Morris shook his head, then counted his remaining 2,600,000. Huang pondered about it for another half a minute and called.
Arthur Morris: K♣Q♦
Xuejun Huang: Q♠9♠
Both had top pair and a straight draw, but Morris was ahead. The river was the 10♣ and Morris doubled once more, then jumped to his nearby rail to celebrate.
Arthus Morris 7,300,000 (32nd/66)
For those of you who are late to this trip report, my posts about Arthur Morris when I was at the same table as him in an earlier tournament can be found on page 17 of this thread in post numbers 412-416. I referred to him at the time as KingArthur.
Much like Al Pacino in the movie The Recruit saying, "You've got to give me one thing, I'm a scary judge of talent," I wrote the following about Arthur Morris on June 30 (post 571 of this trip report, days before the start of the Main Event):
"The player I had not heard of before that I played against this WSOP whose game really impressed me is Arthur Morris. He was one of those tricky players who minted a ton of chips while rarely having to turn over his cards at showdown. He won a ton of hands when I suspect he did not have “it,” and he got a ton of action when he did have “it.” Since playing against him, I have been watching for him on WSOP.com chip stacks coverage, and he seems to consistently build up very healthy chip stacks early in tourneys. He has 11 cashes so far in this WSOP, but hasn’t had a breakthrough Final Table run this year to date. He seems like he plays a wide range of different games. In the 2023 WSOP he had a second-place finish in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $809,167. He is nearing $2,000,000 in lifetime WSOP earnings. So he is accomplished, but I think the best is yet to come for him. My one prediction in this post is that I think he will be a player that has a big breakthrough and becomes very well-known during the next 2-3 years. He also has a very nice table demeanor and personality which I think would be well-received if he were to get TV time."
End of Day 6 Main Event official chip count
Arthur Morris 5,925,000 chips. Currently in 40th place with 59 players remaining.
When Day 7 play starts back up, blinds will be 125,000/250,000, 250,000 BB ante. He'll have almost 24 big blinds, still plenty of room to maneuver.
Arthur Morris Day 7 Main Event
Grinding a short stack, grinding a short stack, making a straight flush, grinding a short stack, grinding a short stack and finally he’s out in 34th place, good for $300,000.
Our sweat has reached its conclusion. It was tremendously fun while it lasted.
………
Edward Pak eliminated in 47th place when Morris makes a straight flush
Edward Pak was all in from the small blind against under-the-gun player Arthur Morris, who had him covered.
Edward Pak: A♦4♦
Arthur Morris: J♥10♥
The flop of Q♥4♠9♥ gave Morris an open-ended straight flush draw, and the 8♦ turn gave him the straight to leave Pak drawing dead before Morris improved to a straight flush on the 8♥ river for added emphasis. Pak finished in 47th place and earned $200,000 for his deep run.
Arthur Morris 9,000,000
………
Nick Jivkov eliminated in 43rd place in three-way pot, Morris loses but still has chips
Arthur Morris opened to 600,000 in middle position and Diogo Coelho three-bet to 1,850,000 in the small blind. Nick Jivkov had just 200,000 behind and moved all in from the big blind, while Morris called.
The flop of 8♥9♠J♦ checked through and the same action took place on the K♣ turn and Q♣ river. Coelho showed A♠9♦ for a pair of nines, which was good to beat the 8♣2♥ of Jivkov and the 5♠5♦ of Morris as Jivkov hit the rail in 43rd place.
Arthur Morris 5,600,000
…..
Morris limps to victory
Arthur Morris was under the gun and limped in. The rest of the table folded around and Giovanni Zanette checked his option.
The flop came Q♣4♥4♦ and Morris bet 400,000. Zanette called and the 10♠ fell on the turn.
Morris then bet another 400,000 and Zanette folded this time.
Arthur Morris 3,300,000
…..
Morris, Latinois chop up Coelho
Diogo Coelho raised to 800,000 in the hijack before Arthur Morris moved all in for 2,650,000 in the small blind. Malo Latinois called in the big blind, as did Coelho.
Latinois and Coelho checked down the 9♠5♦4♣4♠10♥ board. Latinois and Morris both turned over king-queen and chopped the pot after Coelho mucked K♠J♦.
Arthur Morris 4,100,000
……
Arthur Morris eliminated in 34th place ($300,000)
Brian Rast raised to 800,000 in the hijack, Arthur Morris moved all in for 4,075,000 on the button, and Rast snap-called.
Arthur Morris: 10♠10♥
Brian Rast: K♦K♥
Rast had picked up kings and Morris was left looking for a miracle to keep his Main Event hope alive. The board ran out 8♦5♠4♣2♦4♦ and Morris couldn't catch up as he was sent to the rail in 34th place.
One of the best players I played against in the WSOP was a French player whose name I never got at that time. I named him FrenchPro in my trip report. He said he travels the world playing poker and this is his third WSOP. I just came across his picture while looking for something else on the Internet. A review of this player's Hendon Mob page confirmed that he a) does in fact travel the world playing poker, b) this was his third WSOP, and c) he min cashed the event (Mystery Millions) we shared a table at.
His name is Safwane Bahri. Career earnings $1,015,475.00, good for 97th on France's all-time money list.
He was another player who excelled at post-flop play, earning lots of chips frequently without getting to showdown. He was also a really good guy at the table. Kind, humble, understated, a real gentleman.
Perhaps most interestingly, the day after we shared a table he got knocked out of that Mystery Millions tournament for a nominal cash and then went on to play later that day in the Venetian Deepstack Championship Poker Series $1,600 No Limit Hold'em where he came in second place for $117,054.
I think it's nice to see good guys at the table have great results (although preferably not against me).
Further evidence that I will return to the WSOP in 2025:
1) This past weekend I was hanging out with my good friend IlliniArt, and we were discussing my 2024 WSOP. At one point he asked, "Are you going to play in it again next year?" I answered, "Definitely."
2) After taking five weeks off since the end of my WSOP, I returned to my poker training site (pokercoaching.com) last night for the first time since leaving Las Vegas and watched/studied a 70-minute video on common player tendencies and how to exploit them. For the near future I don't plan to grind nightly. I will burn out if I do that for an entire year. I will study an amount that is enjoyable. Maybe when the college football season ends I will pick up the poker studying pace, but that is a ways off. The fact of the matter is even if I study every night for a year, I will still be way behind the best players I faced.
I am content to be a recreational player at the 2025 WSOP who is there for the love of the game. I will try to improve, but this is a hobby for me and not a profession. A hobby that will be further enhanced by the fun I derive writing about it for 2+2.
As Danny says to Rusty in the movie Oceans 13, "See you when I see you."
I've really enjoyed your reports and thoughts on your WSOP experience. I do have one suggestion. Studying can get you a long way in terms of theoretical strategy but i really think you need to mix that with more live poker experience.
I know you see WSOP as the ultimate but it might be helpful to mix in playing some local tourneys during the next year. There are a few poker rooms not that far from you in Chicago that must have occasional tourneys you could work into your schedule just for live practice.
If you do anything like that we'd love to hear about it.
Incidentally I did not suggest grinding on-line tourneys - doubt it would fit your lifestyle.
