**** TJ's 2026 WSOP Trip! ...And Continued Sundry Poker Adventures ****
Hello again, friends!
I’ll start this thread by channeling my inner karaoke DJ, and invoking the timeless lyrics from the
Seems as if it just takes a little while for Moby to get his arms around others' chips. Now it's going!
There are probably others more fundamentally sound than me who may disagree, but IMO, I would have gone bigger on the turn with 12K (2/3 to 3/4 Pot) with intention to call off a jam on the turn, and if not, to set us up to jam the river ourselves for like 36K into what would then be a pot of I believe about 40K (like you leave yourself almost a pot size bet). IMO, this is bette
Yeah. In retrospect I really wish I had sized up on the turn, then shoved river. If I was beat, I could have lived with that.
Seated for the $500 Freezeout! Only one bullet for this one (obviously).
Different red chips for this event. Hope they run better!
25k starting stack, let’s goooooooo!
I’m on my way over to late reg right after the first break - save some chips for me - hoping for a long day ahead of us!
First break, on 13.8k from the 25k starting stack. That actually represents an improvement from how low it got.
Two interesting hands I wanna write up. At 100/100, fresh off the start, everyone’s completely unknown and all at a starting stack. Folds to me in the button with AKo, I raise to 400, bb calls.
It comes A-6-2 with two diamonds, I have none. He checks, I go 700, he raises to 2600. Hmmmm. I guess I call.
Turn is an offsuit jack, and he checks again. I think I’m generally ahead, but I don’t wanna fall for the dreaded double checkraise, so I check back.
River is an offsuit 7, now he leads for a meager 700. Now I think he’s just clicking buttons, so I raise to 4700. He calls fairly quickly, with A6s, for a flopped two pair.
I guess that river is a flat, but I’m a big believer in going for thin value at all times.
The next hand of consequence, there’s an EP open for 700, two calls, and I have Kh9h in the CO. Considered squeezing, and in retrospect I kinda wish I did, but I call, and 5 of us see a K-Q-4 two spade flop.
The PFR checks, the hijack leads out 1200. I have position, and I want to thin the field, so I go to 3800. Everyone else folds, he calls. The turn is another K, and he checks.
I had planned to check back most turns, and play for showdown, but on THAT turn, and with so many draws, I think I need to charge. I go 6100, he calls.
River is the third spade 3, and he snap ships into me.
Hate hate hate that… but a pretty straightforward read for me, and I fold. He said later he had it, so good decision to barrel the turn, and good lay down by me.
I was pretty card dead the next two levels, but I got a key double to get off life support by winning my first flip, 88 > AKo.
Now I’m only another double away from a starting stack, so I’m gonna keep picking my spots.
Second break, it was a good 4 levels for me, and I’m sitting on about 55k now.
I picked off a bluff in a multiway spot, with very wide ranges. I rivered the 2nd pair, probably wouldn’t have called if I just had the one pair.
Then an unknown player limps, I isolate to 2.2k with 8d7d, SB and limper call. We see an above average flop of 8-8-5 rainbow, and I downbet to 2k. They both call. Turn is an ace, that puts two spades out. I shove when checked to, SB calls with AQo, and I fade the river 2-outer.
I’ve been playing really tight, while captaining a short stack, but feeling really engaged, and observing the table. I have a better idea of who has wide ranges, and who’s playing snug.
And I got to say hi to Daniel Negreanu, so that was cool.
Feeling good, ready to get back at it!
I guess he just does it for love of the game!
Third break, went in the wrong direction at 29k.
A shortstack shoves less than 5 bb, and I have A6o in the big blind. I call, he has AKo, and I don’t improve. Still seems like a straightforward call.
Other than that, a few of my opens have been 3bet, and I’ve had to fold. Don’t think I showed anything down in the last two levels.
Closing registration after this break. Interested to see what the prize pool gets up to.
4 more levels, then dinner.
remind me the last time you paused to catch a couple of purposeful deep breaths?
there are ways you can adjust speed on the tournament conveyor belt
Busto, about 25 minutes before dinner break.
I won another flip, with 44 against AQo from the CO, vs a hijack open, that got me into a workable stack range.
Then an orbit later, EP opens to 6k, folds to the SB who 3bets to 22k, and I have AKo. I get about 75k in, SB calls with QQ, and I lose that flip.
Win one flip, lose one flip vs the same guy. I guess that’s how flips work.
Thought I played well today. Don’t regret any of my decisions. It could have all been over from my first flip for my tournament life way back in level 3.
Grabbing a bite in the food court with rppoker now.
Had dinner with rppoker in the Horseshoe food court.
I didn’t eat breakfast today before playing, so I was pretty hungry. I had a chili cheese dog, AND a cheesesteak, and fries.
Plus a starry, it was $46.
I felt funny and slowed my pace towards the end, but I DID finish it all. Guess I was hungrier than I thought.
After that, I headed back to the Paris cash room to play more PLO. Unfortunately, I didn’t play very well, nor run well.
I got a guy’s stack in on the turn with him drawing to just four outs, but he spiked it on me.
Went through a pretty cold stretch of unplayable hands after that, or, missing when I DID play. I wasn’t focused, and checking up with browsing on my phone, while the table was mostly silent, and not very interactive.
Then I got my stack in bad, in a spot that was not fundamentally sound. I flopped trips, but was already drawing dead when he check/raised me on the flip. I paid off on the turn when I improved to a 2nd place full house, and got the rest of it in drawing completely dead. That’s not where you want to be.
After that, I said out loud that I’m playing bad, so I picked up the rest of it, instead of busting it, and called it a night, -940.
There’s a $600 NLH/PLO event tomorrow I’m gonna try. Seems like an intriguing format, so we’ll see!
Slept pretty good, woke up, had my caffeine.
Didn’t feel like walking to sit down for breakfast, but I didn’t want to skip breakfast entirely like I did yesterday. I just grabbed a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant from the little cafe Nosh outside the Normandy ballroom.
Definitely better than a drive through breakfast sandwich.
Plus a large coffee, it was $29.
Now I’m seated for the $600 NLH/PLO event!
30k starting chips.
Omaha is a format that lends itself towards big, sometimes multiway, stack confrontations. If it’s the right format, I could easily dust off a huge stack if I don’t run well in the right spot. So I could play fine, well even, and still have a very early day.
Up to two re-entries for this event. But for a Monday, I don’t know how big the prize pool will get for this event.
We’ll see how it goes, and evaluate. But first, let’s give this first bullet our best shot!
Good luck!
First break, on 41k.
I was playing looser than usual early, and establishing a LAGgy image, winning several small pots early. The exception was one guy who’d swoop in and take a red chip from me, in the hold’em rounds.
I made a bad river payoff in NLH that I shouldn’t have. I hate it when I make river calls for fat value. I’m not tilted by it, but it makes me feel like my reads and my instincts aren’t keenly sharp.
Then I open AKo to 1k in 200/300, and a recreational player makes a very unbalanced 3bet, to 6k. I call, and make the plan to stack off if I hit an ace or a king, but it comes J-5-3, and I fold to his open shove. Two red chips down.
Tightened up, then in level 4 I made my score. I check/shoved middle set in a multiway PLO spot, and got it in three ways vs AAxx and a wrap, and filled up on the river.
Right back in this thing, feeling good! This is definitely a fun tournament format, suited to my strengths. We lost two players in the first 4 levels. I think the pace of knockouts will be faster than a usual, more tight/passive hold’em only format.
Hope I can continue to run well in the big ones!
Moby wants Mo' Chips and Mo' Money!
Play well and earn the respect of Moby!
Busted in level 8.
In hold’em I defended a 3bet in position and flopped a K-high flush draw with two overcards. I elected to play it passively, call/call/folding when it missed. Pretty sure I would have gotten it all if it had hit.
I took my stand in PLO, somehow managing to miss 17 outs twice in a 3way all in. I had JJTx with spades on a K-9-7 two spade flop. I was up against just Kx, and just AAxx, but the aces backdoored a flush.
Ah well. It was a fun tournament, I’d definitely play another one with this format. Not gonna fire another bullet, though. It’s already at 500/1k, and another bullet for just 30 bigs doesn’t seem like a good value proposition, for a Monday prize pool that would be nice, but won’t get massive.
Still feeling good, let’s try some cash games now.
Definitely better than a drive through breakfast sandwich.
Plus a large coffee, it was $29.
This made my brain hurt.
You are gonna have to cash something soon if you want to continue eating. 🙂
First cash PLO session of the day is a modest winner, +690.
Got very unlucky in a bomb pot that could have been huge. I had KQJ9, the top was J-9-2, the bottom was K-T-4, and I’m facing a lot lead and a call once it gets to me.
I have EVERYTHING working, so I pot to commit stacks. A shortstack calls all in for less, and a guy the covers me calls.
Catch nut/nut on the turns, J-9-2-T, and K-T-4-A, and I’m dreaming of Vegas and the ****in Mirage as I shove the rest, and get called.
That frown turns back upside down on the rivers, J-9-2-T-J, and K-T-4-A-Q. Still, 2nd nut boat up top, and the broadway 1-liner on the bottom. My opponent rolls over just KJTx… for the NUT boat on top, same straight on bottom.
So I go from nut/nut to getting quartered for my stack. About a 3k pot.
Bomb pots, man.
Stayed disciplined, topped off, and made a score check/shoving AKJ4 and a nut spade draw on A-K-Q two spades. My opponent had AQ and worse spades, and I held.
I’m developing into a nice routine here in Vegas. Play the tournament, play some cash games, keep it under 4 hours, get something to eat, play more cash games, then get to bed at a reasonable hour for tomorrow.
Decidedly NOT nice that I keep busting tournaments early. But it is nice that I’m doing a much better job pacing myself, and staying fresh, than I have on past Vegas trips.
