Two Cards Are Not Enough - A WSOP Trip Report 6/3/24 - 6/13/24
j Back to Las Vegas Lifestyle

Two Cards Are Not Enough - A WSOP Trip Report 6/3/24 - 6/13/24

D
TonySoprano9OP
8mo ago

Introduction

As the title suggests we’ll be playing anything but Texas Hold’em with the exception of the H round in the HORSE tournament!

I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since I was last in Las Vegas in 2019. Little things like life and family and work and of course the whole Covid nonsense got in the way.

Despite playing poker since I was 18 (now 46) I fall in and out of love with the game and can sometimes go long periods without playing which is what happened over the last few years.

I started playing again about two months ago after I finished a work contract and found myself with some time on my hands.

My favorite game is Pot Limit Omaha so I was pleasantly surprised when I ventured back into the casinos here in Medellin to find a regular 5 card PLO game which is what I have been playing with some success for the last couple of months.
And to put the icing on the cake, double board bomb pots are now a thing it seems and are included in the game once an orbit and on every dealer change. Well thats right up my alley. [emoji39]

For this trip we’ll be playing some non-Hold’em bracelet events sprinkled in with some PLO or mixed game cash action. And they’ll surely be some sports bets here and there as well.

Our home away from home for 11 nights will be the Flamingo which was the cheapest option I could find close to where I wanted to be.

We’ll be flying Medellin - Miami - Las Vegas with American Airlines.

I think that’s set the scene. Let’s get started.


Shoes and roll pics when I arrive.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

) 1 View 1
03 June 2024 at 11:35 AM
Show posts by Original Poster
Show most liked posts
Reply...

144 Replies

Search in Thread

Reply...
X 9 u
x

About OP

D
TonySoprano9
adept

Top Posts

TonySoprano9
6mo ago

Part Two - Day Eight - Saturday July 13th continued

Where was I?

Oh yes on the table with all the short stacks.
Unfortunately I keep doubling them up [emoji30]

I guess that’s the danger as a big stack against short stacks. You want to bully them and put pressure on, but it’s a fine line as you want to try to avoid doubling them up.

We hit the first break of the day with 14 players remaining and I note my chip stack as 1,655,000

I had already doubled Travis Trail up and Paul Campbell twice but I finally got Paul when I made two pair in Stud and he missed a straight draw.

We hit the unofficial final table of 9 shortly after and it seems I’ll start it as chip leader.

I don’t find any playable hands or spots early on and after about an hour of play and a lot of sparring no-one has been eliminated and amazingly we all have roughly the same chips with about 1.7 million each.

Now I’m trying not to think about the money or pay jumps but with everyone having roughly the same chips it does make it quite precarious as one mistake could send any one of us to the rail in 9th and a payout of only $14k

I’m still completely card dead and the first interesting hand I note is in Holdem against Jeremy.

He opens and it’s folded to me in the BB
I defend with 56s
Flop 4-7-Q
I check, he bets, I call.
Turn J
I check, he bets. He doesn’t necessarily have to have anything here. Maybe Ax I consider a raise but elect just to call.
River 9
We whiff. Now what do we do? Just give it up?
We bet

This seems to perplex him and I admit it may look like a strange line but the longer he thinks, and he is taking quite a while over the decision, the more we start to think it might get through.

He folds. [emoji123]

This is the situation on the dinner break with 7 left going back to 150,000 - 300,000 limits.
Travis had some hands early but really played great to take control of the table.

I grab Rob and we go for a Shwarma at the Mediterranean place.

Back from dinner and we’re still not seeing any hands or steal opportunities.
I do play some Stud 8 hands but catch nothing but bricks and now I’m short.

Meanwhile Gary Bolden has wrestled control of the table from Travis, knocking out 2 other players and is the big chip leader as we are down to the final 4

So with Gary and Travis the big stacks it looks like it’s between me and John Racener for 3rd and 4th place.
I tangle with him in one of the aforementioned Stud 8 hands as reported by PokerNews.

This now leaves me on fumes with only 1,200,000 at break going back to 250,000 - 500,000 limits.

After the break we’re playing Omaha 8 and I find a hand to make my stand with AAQ4.
I get a double through Gary as A4 is good for the low and a pair of Aces good for the high and I scoop.

A couple of hands later I have AAK4 and we play a big 3 way pot as reported by PokerNews

This was a huge hand with almost 6 million chips in the middle. (40% of the chips in play) I was behind but I could still have scooped it with any Ten, Jack, Queen or Three but it wasn’t to be.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TonySoprano9
6mo ago

Part Two - Day Seven - Friday July 12th

Day two of the $3k Horse and we restart in the Horseshoe events center at 1pm playing alongside the main event.

But only after we’ve had our favorite lunch option to keep us going all day:

Chicken Parm from Cafe American in the Paris. We box half up to go to eat later.

We start the day with 141 players, of which 54 will make the money so we have a ways to go.

The only really eventful hand that I noted in the first two levels was when I got scooped in a Stud 8 hand by the Korean Cho. He had 6-3-2 up and checked 5th having previously completed on 3rd and bet out on 4th. I had 6-7-3 up with A-2 down. I assumed he’d paired his 2 and bet which was a mistake as he check raised. I don’t improve my low and made a pair of Aces so had to pay him off. He showed down 6-5-4-3-2 to scoop, costing me about 50,000 chips.

Nevertheless I recovered and picked up small pots here and there to note 180,000 chips at the first break of day 2.

I take my day 2 media ID number of 66 to be a good omen. It’s the year England won the World Cup.

For the next two levels I’m pretty card dead until I look down to see a lovely rolled up 2-2-2 in Stud shortly before the 2nd break.
Villain completes with a 10 up and I just call.
He bets out on 4th again and I just call.
He still leads on 5th and now I raise which he calls.
He check calls 6th with a board of 10-9-9-6 with two hearts. I also have caught a 9 so I rule out him having trip nines and out him on two pair.
He checks 7th and although I haven’t improved I value bet hoping for a call from two pair.
Instead I get a check raise [emoji30]
I know I’m beat but can’t find a fold. His down cards are all hearts and we lose to the flush.

That leaves us on fumes at the break with only 39,000 going back to 10,000 - 20,000 with 63 players left and still 9 from the money.

My friend Robert is on the rail. He’s a traveling poker dealer from Salzburg (not working the WSOP) who even when he’s not traveling for work continues to globe trot and we meet in odd places.
He sees I’m a bit down so gives me a pep talk to stay positive and reminds me of one of those times when we met by chance in Atlantic City when I was playing a circuit tournament. He came to see me in the casino while I was playing and I ended up shipping it.
He tells me he brings me good luck.
I tell him we’ll go get a drink after I bust.
He says no, I’ll be in the tournament for a while yet and goes off to bring me a milkshake.

We resume after the break. 9 players is a lot to lose in a limit tournament so there’s no chance of me folding into the money, and we’re still playing Stud so I’m going to get ante’d away if I don’t play a hand.

The 2nd hand I have the highest up card with the Queen of clubs. I don’t have another underneath to match but I do have two more clubs. Not the ones I would have liked as they are the 5 and 3 but beggars can’t be choosers.

I complete and get one caller with a 9 up.
4th street doesn’t help either of us but I’m committed and bet out. He raises to put me all in. I’m behind to his pair of Nines.
I don’t remember the exact runout but I make two pair and he doesn’t improve so I get a much needed double up.

We move into the Hold’em round, now only 2 from the money.

Cho, my Korean friend from earlier raises the button. I’m in the big blind and find KK.
I 3 bet, he calls
I’m in the 1 seat so I’m the first to see the window card as the dealer turns over the flop.
It’s a King! The full flop is K-10-2
I bet out, he raises and I 3 bet all in.
He turns over his hand first as he thinks he has me. 2-2 for a flopped set.
Not so fast my friend. I have the real set [emoji3]
There’s some gasps and laughs and I fade the 1 outer to give us some breathing room back up to 160k

Soon after 2 players get eliminated on the same hand at other tables and we’re in the money. [emoji383] I give a little fist pump to Rob on the rail.
I honestly did not think I would make it a short while ago so anything more now is a bonus.

The table breaks and I move to a new table where I’m steadily chipping up when the following hand occurs in Stud:

I have split Queens with a 9 and complete.
Villain is a guy with an Eastern European accent that I can’t quite place. He’s been very active and aggressive and continues on the same vain here raising me with an Ace up. I call. Heads up.
10 for us on 4th x for him. He bets we call.
On 5th it’s a King for us and x for him. Bet call.
Now on 6th it gets interesting as he catches another Ace and we catch a 9. So he has open aces and we have split two pair queens up.
He bets him improved hand of course and now we need to make a decision. If we call this street we’re calling 7th as well. Big bets now are expensive if you lose them.
I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have another Ace in his down cards and think we’re good right now. Even if he does we can still improve to a full house or make a straight with a gutshot Jack. We’re committed. Call.
He checks 7th.
I should value bet here but I remember how that went with my rolled up 222 and chicken out. This guy can also be tricky and I wouldn’t put a check raise past him so we opt for caution and check behind.

Dinner break comes shortly after and I note I have 407k with 39 players remaining going back to 15,000 - 30,000.

Not hungry after the big lunch I grab Rob and we go for a cold one at beer park with a view of the Bellagio fountains.

Still at the same table after dinner I’m enjoying talking to an old guy called Tom on my left while at the same time making the Italian guy in the 8 seat who we’ll call Mario my bitch in the Stud round. I win 3 nice hands off him in the same Stud round and he’s crying like a baby. He busts soon after and our table breaks when we hit 32 players left.

I like my new table far less as it contains David ODB Baker and Jeremy Ausmus. It’s tough work but I hold my own. I’m happy there will be a redraw for the last three tables.

Good news - We reach 24 players and the re-draw.
Bad news - we draw the same table as ODB and Ausmus again.

As I said we’re playing alongside the main event and it’s getting pretty raucous. Our last 24 table is right on the rail with the main on the other side. The supporters are going crazy for their friends in the main and it’s hard for us to concentrate. We request our table is moved and the TB obliges.

The last interesting hand I noted happened towards the end of the last level of the night.
We’re playing Stud, and it seems most of my key hands have been in Stud today.
I have the highest up card with a Queen showing and complete with air against all very low cards for the rest of the table. I get one caller with a 6 up.
I don’t remember the exact cards but I got an open pair of twos somewhere along the way and villains board didn’t look like it helped him much.
I’m betting every street and he’s just calling.
On 7th that’s all I have, a pair of twos. Pretty sure villain has sixes so there’s only one way we can win this. We bet again and he goes into the tank.
We have about 240k (roughly a third of our stack) invested in this pot on a 5 barrel bluff and our heart is pounding.
After what seems like an age villain scoops up his board and mucks and we breathe a huge sigh of relief.

We can’t lose the last player we need to re-draw for the last 2 tables before the end of the night so we’re left with 17 players coming back tomorrow in the exact same tables and seats.

We bag 940k to be in 6th position overnight coming back to 40,000 - 80,000 limits.
The top 5 stacks are all over 1 million and led by Cho who has closer to 2 million.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Contact Us • Privacy • Terms of Use ©2008-2024 Hand2Note Interactive LTD