The Summer Wind - A WSOP Trip Report …… and beyond!

WSOP Europe
Day Five - Saturday April 4th

I wasn’t able to spin up my stack in the PLO Bounty unfortunately. Another cash that doesn’t really make a dent in the bullets fired column.

It’s a lot easier when you don’t have to pay for your own bullets:

All the big vloggers like Frankie, Lexy, Abby and others are all on subsidized buy-ins from the WSOP.

Guys please subscribe and like my channel [emoji120] @DonDavidPoker on YouTube lol. [emoji23]

I did look at the cash games after but the rake is high here, although I guess standard for Europe. The €5 / €5 PLO was 5% up to €25 plus they take out €2 for dealer tip every hand. I watched the game for a little bit and the pots weren’t nearly big enough to overcome the rake so I passed. In the higher stakes they take even more!

I decided instead to do a little sightseeing as it was my last day but then it started raining so I retreated back to the hotel.

So a trip of what might have been. Lost a key flip late on day one of the mystery bounty so didn’t get the chance to pull any big bounties. Went deep in the Colossus but not deep enough as things didn’t go our way on day two, and didn’t get lucky in the PLO All-In bingo, but hey that’s tournaments and that’s what I signed up for.

Still I think I can take some positives away. I put myself in positions where good things can happen and I’m happy with the way I’m playing.

Plus it’s always good to visit a new place, although I didn’t get to see much of the city. The tournaments were well run, the European dealers were excellent as usual and the venue was nice. I wouldn’t rule out a return trip if they hold it here next year.

Numbers for transparency:

Tournaments Played: 4
Bullets Fired: 11
Hours Played: 38
Cashes: 3
Total Prize Money: $5,050*
Profit / Loss: -$9,055*

*Converted to USD

It’s hard to make a profit when you cash the €500’s and blank the €3k.
A little spewy on the bullets but they were gambling it up in the €500’s like you wouldn’t believe.

Those are the 100% numbers and as usual I sold some of my action (the bigger the buy-in the more % I sell) so my personal loss was -$5,400 with no cash game winnings to offset it this time.

Even after this bad trip my investors YTD are still showing a 72% profit.

So that’ll do it from Prague. I’m flying to Tenerife tomorrow to visit family then back home to Medellin a week later.

The early finish today and the rain did give me time to finish editing the 2nd part of the Vegas vlog:

As usual all feedback welcomed.

Have you settled on your WSOP schedule yet?

I have hotels booked May 31 - July 13. I haven’t booked the flight yet as I may arrive a couple of days earlier than that, not sure yet.

Tournament schedule pencilled in. Won’t be playing around town this year. I’m not going to the Nugget or Orleans. Will be nearly all WSOP and maybe 1 or 2 at Wynn. Cash at Bellagio on non tournament days.

I don’t mind your raise when Eli leads out but really don’t like the 4 bet. Once he 3 bets you there is almost no world in which you scoop him. At best it’s a chop and a decent chance you are being scooped. You have a great hand of course but it’s not a lock in either direction. His 3 bet signals he has at least one of those beat and sometimes both. Just my 2 cents.

The variance of the mixed game drawing games seems huge. In your video, Eli drawing and then drawing some more all the while you kept patting with a monster, only to see him get there for half the pot seems like it could turn a player's hair prematurely gray. Stressful. I suspect emotional self control in order to not go on tilt must be extremely important.

The fight at the hockey game was more outright brawl than fight. And to think we poker players get all worked up by opponents that tank too much or waste our time with nonstop verbal nonsense. Imagine if it was accepted practice in poker to simply drop the gloves and go at it with our fists. (Just don't do it against MMA star Mackenzie Dern who you mentioned in a poker tournament in either a LVL post or one of your vlogs recently).

Some additional thoughts on the vlogs looking forward:

How much time and effort are you planning on giving to vlogs at this summer's WSOP? I ask this because, based upon the results you have been having in the last year+, it seems to me that you are on the verge of a major breakthrough as a tournament player, but I wonder if the vlog might take away from your focus on the tournaments at a series as long as the WSOP (i.e. is having to hold the camerastick with one hand and look at your cards with only one hand distracting? Is doing the editing at the WSOP going to take so much time that you aren't fully rested when playing?).

As a frame of reference, Daniel Negreanu isn't taking videos while playing in hands. He is instead using the selfie stick/camera on breaks during which time he reconstructs critical hands. Also, Negreanu has editors to take his selfie videos and turn them into a polished product. Inside the Mind of a Pro has camera people to shoot the footage, and the editing is done months later. Right now you are a one-man crew for your vlogs. I enjoy watching your videos, but I'm simply asking the question of whether or not the vlogs might negatively impact your actual poker results?

And now that I've mentioned both Negreanu and Inside the Mind of a Pro, it might me worth asking yourself which type of vlog style you aspire to be. Do you want to go the Negreanu route and just show snippets of the day's poker tournament life with an emphasis on being a big personality? Or do you want to go the thinking player route of Inside the Mind of a Pro and really dig deep into the poker strategy and thought process (which really takes a team)?

I think you are trending toward something in between where you want to show some strategy, some emphasis of the under attention to the mixed game streets, some peak behind the curtain of tournament poker and also show the sites and sounds of the places you play, which is not a bad piece of poker/video real estate to take up residence. It's an underserved niche. The point I'm making is are you simply going to do the videos and see where it takes you, or do you have a plan and a road map in mind of where you want to go and what you want to accomplish? Not saying either is superior, just suggesting you have somewhat of an idea of where you are heading with this concept.

Hope some of this is helpful.

I think there’s far more chance of me scooping than getting scooped and don’t want to miss a value bet. I had discarded an extra ace and a 4 don’t forget.

To further analyze the spot though, Eli’s lead out is actually bad as we lose the 3rd player (Grant) in the hand.

He should have gone for the check raise in which case we get Grant trapped in the middle for at least a bet.

If he checks, I bet and I’m pretty sure Grant who patted the last draw calls then Eli can raise and in that scenario I do just call which doesn’t look as strong so Grant might call again.

I'm playing a ton of mixed these days. In my limited experience, I guess it depends on what you mean by variance. In split pot games, it's shockingly common for someone to get there for half the pot. So personally I don't think that event is high variance, it's more the norm. It's more irritating than anything else when you've got a pat monster, but there are also a lot of times when you'll have a pat mediocre hand and you just fasten your seatbelt and hope they don't get there. If you manage to win half the pot with those hands, you're actually pretty happy.

As an example, suppose you have a 9 perfect badugi (A239 mixed suits) and your opponent is drawing at a perfect A23- he actually only has 5 outs to beat you, 1 more to tie. Think of all the times in hold em where your opponent has a 4 flush, open ended, +/- overcards etc- they get there A LOT in hold 'em.

I'll let Tony comment but what I find tilting is when your first 4 cards are amazing (any game, 2-7, stud 8 or better, etc) and you catch three bricks in a row. It's almost harder to MISS sometimes with these games. That part sucks.

Variance was a poor choice of word on my part. I couldn't come up with the precise word for the point I was trying to make. What I was getting at is it would frustrate me to be dealt a great pat hand and watch my opponent call bets while drawing two, drawing two again, then drawing one and villains gets there on the end. But I suppose that is no different than NLHE where you are way ahead on the flop, and then your opponent hits runner-runner to come from way behind (other than the fact that in NLHE you can punish an opponent more with bet sizing early in the hand than is the case with limit sized bets).

P.S. Now that you are working on your mixed game poker play, I hope there is a Las Vegas trip report in your future with you doing battle in the mixed game streets.

Keep in mind Tony drew two to start as well. He happened to catch great. Drawing two in that game is often correct.

We'll see as far as Vegas/mixed. I'm now playing in a 10/20 mixed game that D (and then myself) were invited to at some of the local casinos. It's basically a bunch of mixed enthusiasts trying to keep their game going/maybe expand? There's not really a weak spot in the game, and with the rake I'm convinced it's not worth my time from a money perspective. I'm sure I could beat the game, but 10/20 is too small and if I beat it it won't be for much. So I've been playing purely from a fun perspective. My home game with my family is far more fun but obv it's not about the money there at all.

I thought about joining Tony at the Bellagio on a prior trip, but ultimately decided I didn't know all the games well enough (no longer true) and I wouldn't be a favorite whatsoever. 80/160 is big enough from a money perspective but definitely TOO BIG to just have fun in. I don't see that changing any time soon. I'd definitely be the mark in that game for a long time. So, I don't see a context in which I'm playing much mixed, if any, in Vegas. I'm mostly posting on the topic of mixed to check/enhance my own thinking, if anything.

Going to play the WSOP? Most bracelet events are a fraction of what you shovel through a ten-minute period on a vp machine.

Your thoughts are always helpful. The vlogging is a work in progress at the moment.

I agree it is a little distracting. The snippets that have appeared so far from my cash game play I tend to record for just an hour rather than the whole session as I don't want it to intefere with my play too much.

In Prague I did have a vlogger credential so I could film at the table but I didn't do it a lot as again I wanted to be 100% focused on playing rather than vlogging. I just grabbed the phone and started recording some all-in spots.

Players like Kabrhel had a dedicated camera person following them all the time and Negreanu as you say has a professional editing team doing the work for him.

At the moment I have the spare time to do the editing myself and I'm enjoying learning a new skill. During the WSOP with a full schedule we'll have to see how that works out.

As for the content I think a mix of poker and lifestyle. Some poker action and strategy along with travel, hotels, sports and food. With the poker content focusing on mixed games which I don't think anyone else is really doing at the moment.

I was pleasantly surprised when I looked today and my latest vlog had over 900 views. I'm not exactly sure how the algorithm works, as I said I'm still learning all this, but maybe I put in a good SEO keyword or something.

In split pot games it's very normal to only get half the pot. One or more players are usually drawing against someone who is pat and more often than not someone will get there for half, so I would say no that's not tilting at all, it's expected, and even if you only get half you're still making money. In fact I would say you probably only scoop in these games less than 10% of the time.

It can be frustrating In the one winner games like 2-7 or Badugi because then when someone gets there you lose all the pot, but again that's normal. If every time you had a pat hand everyone folded you wouldn't win very much.

But if every time I patted everyone folded I would print!

1st Vlog from Prague:

I think you may have considered this series and decided to pass because you will be playing elsewhere at the same time. But just in case your plans have changed, here is a link to a mixed game series at my favorite poker room that I have played in, which is Talking Stick Resort Casino in Scottsdale, Arizona:

https://www.pokernews.com/news/2026/04/arizona-s-talking-stick-2026-king-of-mix-tournament-series-51033.htm

pokernews

Arizona’s Talking Stick Gearing Up for ‘King of Mix’ Tournament Series at End of Month

Congrats on venturing into a new area, vlogs. Like the first installment.

Nice coverage of the city of Prague and giving us a glimpse of the city. You look like you are dressed like you did for the coldest WSOP room!

2nd part of the Prague vlog:

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I didn't have the phone recording at the table on day two of the colossus as I didn't want to be distracted so there's not that much video to tell the story of my day two which hurts the vlog.

I like the fun sound effects (gun shooting bullets this video, clock going tick, tick, tick in a prior video).

WSOP-C TCH Austin
Pre-Game

Last trip before summer camp upcoming and it’s a new venue for me. Excited to be going to Texas Card House in Austin for the very first WSOP circuit stop in the state of Texas.

When I saw that they’d got a circuit stop I honestly thought they’d go the way most stops go with all NLH and a couple of PLO’s but was pleasantly surprised when I saw the schedule.

All tournament organizers should take note, this is how to do it. It’s a really fun schedule with something for everyone. Most notably for us there’s a Big O, a HORSE, an Eight Game, and a very rare one indeed, a standalone no-limit deuce to seven single draw.

So well done TCH Austin, you won my patronage in an ever crowded marketplace with this schedule and hopefully those pesky feds won’t spoil the party.

Just looking at the calendar and it seems there’s a lot of other tournaments taking place at the same time which should keep some of the traveling pros away and maybe make for softer fields?

From a mixed games perspective Allen Kessler is having another Chainsaw series at Caesars in Las Vegas which should keep the LA and Vegas mixed games players occupied. There’s also a mixed games series going-on in Arizona. Then on the other side of the country Hard Rock Hollywood is in the middle of their Poker Showdown series which is a WPT stop and will likewise keep the Florida pros busy.

With circuit stops also going on in Tunica and Lake Tahoe that just leaves me with the good ol’ boys in Texas. Or at least that’s the idea.

Wheels up on Thursday.

Run pure, have fun, and watch out for federales!

welcoming any and all into space on the rail next to me
as well as what TJ emphasized

matrix this one home

Thinking about coming down to say hi. I think the main issue you're going to have is the lack of mixed cash games. You're probably going to have NLH or PLO as your only options between tourneys. Maybe you'll be able to get a Congress game running? Or hopefully all the guys that usually get the big mix fired up here in Dallas will come down for that series.

Yeah, that would have been the big draw of Casino AZ over Austin is the ability to play 30/60 up to 200/400 mixed games.