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
Does the Vdara pool still have the Death Ray issue?
Could have caught a ten too.
maybe see how you feel when you get out of Vegas for a few days? How much was left on your schedule?
maybe see how you feel when you get out of Vegas for a few days? How much was left on your schedule?
I'm pretty sure I was bluffing. Will 99% be back on Tuesday to finish out the schedule with potentially 8 tournaments still left to play, but looking forward to a couple of days away.
WSOP
Day 19 - Thursday June 26th
Only one thing to do when you fall off the horse; get back on it again, which we did today, literally, by playing the $600 HORSE tournament downtown at the Golden Nugget.
Not sure what’s going on with their NLH tournaments and guarantees, I can only speak to the mixed game tournaments, which from the two I’ve played now, seem well run with good structures and dealers.
I didn’t make any notes today so the tournament summary will be brief.
We made it to this point:
With this stack:
About 240k and above average. Not bad, but not as good as the chip leader who was on our direct left with heaps:
I had no idea how he got those chips as this is the first time we’re playing with him today after the 3 table re-draw.
So coming back to 10k - 20k limits we tangled with him and I found out how he got all his chips. He puts the money in bad but ends up good. He got us a couple of times to decimate our stack. He pretty much got everyone he played a pot with, which allowed us to squeak into the money.
So another cash but not the sort of cash we were looking for. We’ve actually cashed 4 out of 15 tournaments this trip which isn’t bad. We’ve also only fired 2nd bullets in 5 of those tournaments which also isn’t bad, it’s just that they we’re in the expensive ones which is why we’re looking at these numbers as we get ready to make a flying visit back home.
Tournaments Played: 15 (including 1 satellite)
Bullets Fired: 20
Total Entries: $26,900
Cashes: 4
Total Prize Money: $16,287
Net: -$10,613
At least we had a winning sports bet today which helps.
Had a wander around Fremont Street after I busted. Thick stench of weed everywhere [emoji1785]
A couple of bands playing on grandstands, but I liked it how it was years ago when all the casino lights would go dark for the shows on the roof canopy.
Took a few random shots:
I stayed at Jackie Gaughan’s Plaza on my first ever trip to Las Vegas.
As I’m flying home on Saturday I’ll be skipping the WSOP 8-Game tournament tomorrow so will just look to play cash if I can find a good game.
I'm pretty sure I was bluffing. Will 99% be back on Tuesday to finish out the schedule with potentially 8 tournaments still left to play, but looking forward to a couple of days away.
Bracelets don’t win themselves
WSOP
Day 20 - Friday June 27th
They all know me as a small-timer, but that’s about to change.
So with no tournament on my schedule today the plan was to try and grind some of the tournament entries back in a cash game, but where and what game?
The $50-$100 O.E and the $5-$5-$10 Big O have both dried up at Paris. And I’m not a huge fan of the $5-$5-$10-$20 PLO games at Aria or Wynn. Play $1-$2-$5 PLO somewhere?
Or, take a shot at the one Mix game that I know runs every day at Bellagio.
No, not the one in Bobby’s Room. We’re not quite ready for that yet! How about the $80-$160 Mix in the high limit section? Let’s do it!
I think it’s the same mix every day of these 15 games. The big bet games are played with a cap of $1,600.
So we’re at Bellagio at 12pm which is when the game starts but we’re not among the first 8 for the main game. We do try to start a 2nd must move table but it doesn’t go, so we go back to Vdara and relax by the pool until we get called for a seat.
Even I have to seek some shade today. The midday sun is just too hot.
We get a call just before 3pm to say that a seat will be opening up in 10 minutes so off we go.
This will be the biggest fixed limit game I’ve played in. The key to moving up in limits is to not think about the actual monetary amounts you’re betting. It’s just 4 and 8 chips, just the same as 4 and 8 chips at $40-$80 and the same 4 and 8 chips if we were playing $4-$8.
(Most fixed limit games are played with just one denomination chip to make it quicker and easier. The $40-$80 at Wynn for example is played with sky-blue $10 chips. The $80-$160 we’re playing today uses orange $20 chips.)
We buy-in for 4 racks. $8,000 cash value, good for 50 big bets but from now on in our mind it’s just 400 chips.
We sit down to 2-7 triple draw and make an 8-6 after the first change on our first hand dealt. Villain makes a 7 on the last change and we’re down 36 chips after just 1 hand!
The game is good though and I like the mix. The only game I don’t know and choose to sit out and watch when it comes around is this one:
Seems like an interesting and action game but it’s not a good idea for me to be learning it at these limits.
A couple of players leave and are replaced by Jeff Lisandro and Mori Eskandani. There’s also a young Japanese pro on the table whose name I don’t know but he plays good. It’s not all pro’s though, there are some recreational players as well.
The main thing is we feel comfortable at the table and are more than holding our own.
This hand helps in Drawmaha 2-7:
I started 2-6-7 with two hearts.
The flop was pretty good: 2-4-8 with two hearts.
We draw two and get 9-5
The turn is a favorable 6
So we have the nut straight and a 9-7 low
The river didn’t change anything and we get 3/4 of what was a big 3-way pot.
I don’t give myself the luxury of taking a dinner break, there’s work to be done, but we do order from Prime and eat at the table while playing.
A short while later we play another big 3-way pot, this time in A-5:
The 3rd player is out of picture to the left.
We started A-2-5 and made the wheel on the first change.
As the initial betting round was 3-bet and 3-ways they were both priced in to continue drawing and they both made hands after the 3rd change as we were able to get a raise in on the end and get paid off. I suspect they both had sixes.
We allow ourselves a couple of cocktails in the last hour before racking up at midnight.
In for $8,000 out for $11,000. +$3,000 after 9 hours.
I have an early flight back to Medellin in the morning but will return on Tuesday to finish the rest of the trip.
Great cash session.
Enjoy the trip home. I'm glad to hear that you will make it back out to finish the summer adventure.
I also have to commend you on the consistent quality of your pics. With respect to other TR writers, I think you might be the nut TR photographer.
I looked up the score as well. I did not have checking the score of Medellin-Santa Fe on my bingo card of things I thought I'd do this week.
WSOP - Intermission
Days 21 - 23
Saturday June 28th - Monday June 30th
Who else here is old enough to remember watching movies in the cinema with an intermission or double features?
Well we took an unscheduled intermission to go back home to watch Medellin in the Colombian League Soccer Final.
We flew home with United via Houston on Saturday morning leaving Las Vegas at 8:15am and arriving in Medellin at 9:10pm
Unfortunately we didn’t get the result we wanted. They lost 1-2 at home to Santa Fe in a distinctly average performance and have now lost 4 finals since we last won the league in 2016-1 (there are two league seasons every year in Colombia)
Some random pics I took yesterday. As ever the atmosphere was off the charts. The team doesn’t deserve such a loyal and passionate fan base.
Setting aside the result I still think it was a good thing to come back and see the family and have a little break. Now I can go hard again for the last part.
We’re flying back on the red-eye tonight with United via Houston again leaving Medellin at 12:15am and arriving in Las Vegas at 8:52am.
As long as I’m able to get some sleep on the plane the plan is still to play the $600 Orleans Eight Game Championship tomorrow.
Too bad on the match. Now I'm interested though: why two seasons?
My guess is weather. Maybe too hot or rainy in-between?
Great pics!
Too bad on the match. Now I'm interested though: why two seasons?
My guess is weather. Maybe too hot or rainy in-between?
Nothing to do with the weather. I guess money, TV, more meaningful games.
There’s only really 7 big clubs and maybe 2 or 3 medium sized ones, then the rest are pretty small.
A long 40 game season would maybe be anti-climatic so they play 2 x 20 game seasons with playoffs. I actually quite like it.
The opening season (apertura) which started in February just finished. They’ll have about a 3 week break now and start up again late July for the closing season (clausura) until the beginning of December.
I’ve read that it can be very dangerous for Americans to use dating apps in Colombia.
Have you heard about anything like that?
WSOP
Day 4 - Tuesday July 1st
We’re back!
Landed around 8am and was checked into Harrah’s by 9am.
Valley tower again, but with a king bed this time.
I did sleep on the plane but was still tired so got a couple more hours sleep in before heading to the Orleans for the $600 Eight Game tournament.
We entered in level 4 and had navigated the 30k starting stack up to 75k at dinner break.
There was no sbarro sponsored post dinner run good this time though as it was downhill from there.
We did bust in time to play the 8-game landmark satellite at the Horseshoe but never really got going in that.
Was surprised to find the satellite being played in the Horseshoe ballroom and not upstairs in Provence.
Also in the Horseshoe ballroom Martin Kabrhel was chip leader and had quite the rail as the mini main was down to the last three tables. I observed a little on break but didn’t see any of his antics while I was watching.
On deck for tomorrow
$1,000 Eight Game Championship at Golden Nugget
