The Summer Wind - A WSOP Trip Report …… and beyond!
Don’t ask me why I chose the title of an old Sinatra song to be the title for this year’s trip report, i have no idea, i
What was the stack depth and the play like at 5-5-10 PLO?
I feel like there’s a clear skill delineation between 1/2 PLO and 5/5+… trying to decide what a comfortable amount would be to sit in a game like that.
Historically the Royal Tower have been the best one to book at Excalibur, but the Resort Tower actually seems to be the play now. They have gotten the old furniture from MGM Grand, which makes the rooms look way more inviting. Probably still stuck with the loud AC though 😀Regarding WSOP+ app, is it easy to find the correct cage for verification and what kind of documentation d
I asked someone which was the main cage and they pointed me in the right direction. It’s at the base of one of the Eiffel Tower columns.
They took both my passport and drivers license.
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What was the stack depth and the play like at 5-5-10 PLO?
I feel like there’s a clear skill delineation between 1/2 PLO and 5/5+… trying to decide what a comfortable amount would be to sit in a game like that.
The must move was shallow as we opened a new table. The main game most people had between $3-$5k but I’ve seen it play deeper. They try to tell you the $20 straddle is mandatory but it isn’t.
Play was a good standard in both games. More than half the players were Asian and they all knew exactly what they were doing.
I didn’t look at the 1-2-5 game as it had a very long list but for sure would have been softer.
Wynn Summer Classic
Day Three - Thursday May 22nd
We got a little more sleep overnight, not waking up until 6am today.
Pool time again in the morning. This is the bigger pool which is still closed. Maybe they only open it at weekends?
$1,100 HORSE on deck today and we draw the exact same seat as yesterday - Table 75, Seat 1 - and start in the same fashion, losing every hand we play. We’re soon down to 20k from 35k starting stack but recover back to 35k at the first break.
The 2nd session goes exactly the same way, before we finally get our nose in front during the 3rd session to sit on 44k at the end of late reg and the 1 hour dinner break. First time in almost two days we’ve had more than a starting stack.
Chicken parm in Allegro which was really, really good. (The spaghetti is hidden underneath)
This is what we came back from dinner to:
We did get up to 65k before crashing down losing set over set in O8 with no low, and then losing a big Razz pot making an 8 which was no good against villain’s 7 and we bust shortly after.
Two really rough tournament days. Continually battling against the tide. Hopefully it will turn our way tomorrow.
After busting I headed straight to South Point as they were playing 5-10-20 Big O tonight.
It looked like it had been a really good game. One guy was sat with more than $10k and two others had more than $5k.
I sat down with $2k but the best of the game was gone. We played 6 handed and then 5 handed until it broke.
I played 1 medium sized pot against a shorter stack. We get it in on the flop with very similar hands. I don’t remember exactly but we both had a wrap and a pair on a high flop.
We go twice and both make broadway on top but my pair turns into trips on the bottom to give me 3/4.
The game breaks not long after and I rack up $2,400 for a $400 profit after 3 hours.
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Wynn Summer Classic
Day Four - Friday May 23rd
These 12pm starts mean that I need to have military timing in the mornings. No minute is wasted.
The pool opens at 9am so I allow myself 90 minutes pool time, 30 minutes to get back up to the room, shower and get ready, then 1 hour to walk up to the Wynn.
On deck today $1,100 TORSE
The mixed games tournament area is as always in the Encore sportsbook space. It’s hard to focus on the game today with all the eye candy passing by on the way to encore beach club. Concentrate Tony!
Thankfully we draw a different seat today but start in a similar fashion.
Starting 2-5 | A in Razz we catch A-A for trips which is not good in this game.
Still on Razz and something you don’t often see. A three is the bring-in!
We’re hovering around starting stack playing 800-1,600 limits when we play the following hand in Stud.
My hand on 7th is ?-? | K-T-Q-8 | ?
I had the highest up-card and bet on every street against one opponent. What’s the minimum you would call with?
Well villain thought it was a good idea to call with just a pair of sevens ………… and unfortunately he was right. WTF ? Are these cards marked? Can’t bluff the donkeys [emoji30]
So that started a downward spiral that led to us firing another bullet.
The 2nd bullet starts better and we end late reg and go to dinner on 63k
We opt for the pizza in Allegro tonight.
Resuming play after the break and we lose a huge Razz hand.
On 6th we have a made 8 and a draw to a 6. Villain has a made 9 and a draw to a 7.
Needless to say villain improves and we don’t and we’re down to 15k and hating life.
Somehow we mange to crawl, grind, beg, borrow and steal our way back up to a starting stack and then play another big Razz hand.
Hard to lose with a 6-4 [emoji3] We win some more hands and sit on an above average 150k at the last break of the day.
Last session of the day now. We’ve earned a cocktail. Could it be a run-good kamikaze?
It doesn’t seem to be.
Despite having a 7-5 in Razz the all-in villain squeezes out a 4 here on 7th to beat me.
We get round to triple draw and get dealt this pat UTG. We of course raise but get two callers. Can we hold?
This is a stay and pray hand. What would you do if we get raised here? Can’t break and draw. Pay-off or fold.
Thankfully that doesn’t happen. We check it after the 3rd draw in case one of them hit but when they both check back we know we’re good.
Bags on table 85. Maybe they were run-good kamikaze’s after all.
We bag 308k with 15 players remaining. It’s only paying 11 spots so still not ITM.
Looks like we’re a top 3, or at worst top 5 stack. Hani Awad, who I’ve played with in the $40 OE cash game, and who we had dinner with last night is chip leader with a monster stack of over 500k
Re-start tomorrow at 11am
LFG! Way to hang in there and battle. Today is KamikazePhuckingSaturday.
Great job!
If in the middle of a hand, my opponent in triple draw took a picture of his hand with his phone, then pat three times, I might interpret that as a tell
Wynn Summer Classic
Day Five - Saturday May 24th
An overcast day today as we make the walk up to the Wynn. My normal route is to take the walkway to NYNY then cross over to MGM and continue up that side of the strip.
Even more eye candy continuously walking past us on their way to the beach club today.
We were actually 2nd in the overnight chip counts and started well increasing from 300k to 500k but then just got hammered at the 12k-24k level.
Firstly played a big O8 pot where villain hit a 3-outer on the river to scoop.
Analysed the hand after. On the turn it should be a split 73% of the time and I should scoop 20% of the time with villain only scooping 7% of the time. [emoji30]
Then I lost a big Razz pot having 8-4 vs 8-5 going into 7th and villain makes the wheel. [emoji30]
And finally I had queens up going into 7th in Stud vs only a pair of sixes. Villain makes Kings up. [emoji22]
I’m still a bit numb writing this hours later. I thought I had a really good chance to win today and started well, but then the poker gods dealt me 3 huge body blows.
One I could recover from, maybe even two, but three? I was down for the count.
A 9th place finish for $2,573 was not what I envisioned when the day started.
I jumped into the 2-7 tournament at the first break a little while later but in hindsight it was not a good idea. Should have given it a miss. Didn’t play well and busted just before the end of late reg. At least I realized I wasn’t playing well and didn’t fire another bullet.
Wanting to get out of the Wynn I spill out onto the strip like a punch drunk fighter with no real plan what to do for the rest of the day as it’s only 4pm.
Walking across the bridge from Wynn to Palazzo I decide to go inside and see a sign for the poker room so I follow it to have a look-see at the new location.
It’s a nice room but I really don’t understand the thinking behind the location. It’s nowhere near the casino floor.
I wasn’t really intending to play but when I hear them announce open seating $1-$2 PLO I can’t resist.
I buy-in for $1,000
Even if I’m not playing my best it soon becomes apparent that my B game will be more than enough for this table.
There’s a couple of players who half know what they’re doing but the rest are newbies and tourists short stacking it for minimum buy-ins ($200)
Out for $2,200 and a profit of $1,200 four hours later with minimal fuss.
Feeling like a burger I try Grand Lux Cafe.
Not great, was a bit dry.
I think about having some drinks somewhere after but I’m not really dressed for it and am a little tired so decide to head back to Excalibur to rest up and be fresh for tomorrow.
It’s the last day of the English Premier League season tomorrow and the Champions League qualification places are still up for grabs but I can’t find anything I like to bet.
I do however like Ben Griffen to win the golf tomorrow.
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Sorry to read about those 3 unlucky hands and the earlier than expected exit. But still congrats on the top 10 finish!
How did you learn and practice these other mixed games as, outside of PLO, they don’t seem to be spread at most casinos? Do you like them more than hold em because your edge is that much greater or another reason(s)?
Good luck on the next tournament!
Tough break with those runouts at the final table. You played great to get there!
Very encouraged to hear about the 1/2 PLO results. Sounds like that game is 200-1k cap? That sounds GREATto me, and highly relevant to my interests.
Sorry to read about those 3 unlucky hands and the earlier than expected exit. But still congrats on the top 10 finish!
How did you learn and practice these other mixed games as, outside of PLO, they don’t seem to be spread at most casinos? Do you like them more than hold em because your edge is that much greater or another reason(s)?
Good luck on the next tournament!
When I first started playing in the north-west of England the regular cash game that we would play was dealers choice. So I’ve always been used to playing all the games and found them more interesting than just hold’em.
I learnt initially by losing my money and learning from my mistakes [emoji23]
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Tough break with those runouts at the final table. You played great to get there!
Very encouraged to hear about the 1/2 PLO results. Sounds like that game is 200-1k cap? That sounds GREATto me, and highly relevant to my interests.
Yes the buy-in range is 200-1,000. Although I only have a sample size of 1 session it was way softer than Aria or Wynn. You should definitely check it out.
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Wynn Summer Classic
Day Six - Sunday May 26th
I must have been more tired than I thought last night as it was after 9am when I woke up this morning.
I skipped the pool today to watch a bit of the golf. It’s always nice when the guy you backed (and advised ITT last night) starts eagle-birdie. He was 5 clear at one point and just about managed to hang on to win by a single stroke.
Breakfast (brunch) of champions at chick-fil-a on the way down to Wynn.
The less said about today’s Omaha 8 tournament the better. I won exactly 2 hands in 6 hours of play. With the exception of a glitz in the matrix for a few hours in the TORSE event which allowed me to accumulate chips, the tournaments this week have been absolutely brutal.
Cash game wait lists were loooooooong at Wynn so I headed out onto the strip in search of a game.
Just a shot taken in passing. Didn’t go into the V today but instead opted for the B.
My plan was to take a shot at the 80-160 Mix at Bellagio but when I got there and took a look at the line-up I thought better of it. Did not look good.
So I ended up watching the 2nd half of the game in the sports book and it wasn’t long before I got involved live.
The Pacers had been up by 20 but the Knicks were mounting a comeback and you could see the momentum had clearly shifted.
A couple of smaller bets on the kiosks and a larger one at the counter. Knicks +5.5, +4.5 and moneyline. What we’re losing in the tournaments we’re recouping on sports.
It was still early when the game finished (around 8pm) and I didn’t feel like playing poker so had a look online to see if I could find a show that started late.
I found a comedy show in the miracle mile shops at PH that started at 9pm and bought a ticket on Vegas.com for only $36. The show was here:
Which is next to this place:
The main act was a Mexican comic called Julio Gonzalez who was actually pretty funny.
Last day and tournament of this first mini-trip tomorrow. Maybe we can have a big finish in the Big O?
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LFG, David!!!
Wynn Summer Classic
Day Seven - Monday May 27th
Normal pool time in the morning and then the walk up to Wynn for the last time this trip.
Stopped off in Panda Express for a little brunch.
How do you know the WSOP starts tomorrow? A distinctly pro-heavy field greets us at the Wynn for today’s Big O tournament.
I find it funny that No Limit Hold’em has evolved to a standard 2x opening bet size and 1/4, 1/3 or 1/2 pot continuations but the only word in most PLO or in this case Big O players vocabulary is POT!
It forces us to gamble with them more than we’d like and the first bullet misses the mark. So we load up the 2nd and final bullet for this tournament and this trip.
64k from 30k starting at the end of late reg.
We drop to 25k when we get quartered but then in the space of about 10 hands we go double, double, double, including this one all-in on the flop.
To leave us with this stack:
Hand for hand now on the last 3 tables with 16 players left. My table includes Adam Friedman, Tyler Brown and Ben Miner. Friedman has the button to my big blind. Needless to say I never get a walk as Friedman bullies shamelessly and relentlessly applies the pressure to the short stacks. On the rare occasion he doesn’t, Miner who is the other big stack does.
We survive the bubble but have now become short as we didn’t have anything to take on the bullies with. I’m relieved to get moved tables to balance, only to find Adam Owen on the immediate left at my new table. Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire!
Last two tables now and we find a much needed double:
And the final table is set shortly after.
We’re still short and Miner has the big chip lead but the double through him set over set all-in on the turn:
4 left now. We have about 500k which is half average.
It’s Friedman, Miner, myself, and a guy called Noah who I don’t know.
What ensues is a roller coaster 2 hours which sees all 4 of us all-in and at risk several times, but staying alive as chips stacks and the chip lead change hands multiple times.
No quarter asked or given. No deals. It’s a fight to the last man standing and any one of the four of us would be a worthy champion at this stage.
I have Friedman all-in. Aces vs Aces. Mine are better than his but we chop.
A few hands later I have him all-in again pre-flop with the better hand but he flops gin to double and leave me short.
Now I’m all-in against Friedman but looking good for a double or at least 3/4:
But he wriggles out of it for a chop:
I do find the double against Noah in a see-saw runout. I’m better pre and on the flop but he turns a set of tens to take the lead, but wait, what’s that? A beautiful Lady GaGa on the river [emoji44]
I knock Noah out a couple of hands later to lock up at least a podium finish.
Adam then knocks Ben out to leave us heads-up. The chip stacks are almost identical. I have about 100k more. 1.9 million to 1.8 million.
Adam min-raises and c-bets the first couple of hands and I let them go. Now he has the slight chip lead.
So my thinking was I don’t really want to play small ball poker with one of the best players in the world. My best chance of winning is to try and make him play a big pot for all the chips.
He again raises from the button and I defend the BB.
I check the flop knowing he’ll continue.
He does.
I have an un-counterfitable low draw, a gutshot straight draw and two backdoor flush draws. Let’s see if he wants to play a big pot.
I raise the pot.
Okay let’s go he says, and we get it in:
BOOM we hit the gutshot to scoop
He’s left with crumbs, although he does immediately double we finish the job 2 hands later:
Come to papa
Will do the accounting when I get home. Heading to the airport for my 8am flight.
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First of all congrats!!
Did you play any cash game at Horseshoe during your March trip? I am 99% sure I sat next to you briefly.
BOOM, what a finish (that's what she said!) - congratulations 😀
So impressive to keep your wits about you as you ride the run bad rollercoaster, face these killers at your tables, adjust your strategy as the dynamics change, and never back down. Congratulations on an incredible showing.
Congratulations!!!
Those Wynn trophies are more desirable to me than a gaudy, jeweled bracelet I could never wear anywhere, there I said it.
That is amazing!!! Congratulations on the win, trophy and 1st place prize money!!! LFG!!!
