*** TJ's 2024 WSOP Trip! ...That Might Turn Into A Move?
“They all know me as a small-timer. But that’s about to change.”
It’s that time of year again!
This will be my 5th long trip to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. You can read about my trip last year, plus a couple bonus Harrah’s Cherokee trips, right here.
This will also be my longest trip yet, a massive 18 days! I’ll be in town June 14 - July 2. On the agenda: some WSOP bracelet events, lots of low stakes NLHE and PLO cash games, great food, and as much poker as I can possibly handle!
Tournaments I’m definitely playing:
6/15 $1,500 Monster Stack (Flight B)
6/19 $340 8-Game Mix, at the Golden Nugget
6/25 $600 Pokernews Deepstack Championship
6/28 $400 …Up to several bullets in the Colossus
Tournaments I’m possibly playing:
6/21 $1,500 Millionaire Maker (depending on how the Monster Stack, and my first week, goes)
6/18 $1,000 WSOP PLO event (If I bag, I’ll pass on the 8-game tournament)
6/26 $600 WSOP Deepstack Event (If I don’t bag in the Pokernews Deepstack Championship)
…And the Daily Deepstack Tournaments at the WSOP are always an option.
On my last two trips, I stayed at an Airbnb in the Arts District. This year, I’ll be staying at an Airbnb downtown. The factors that are most important to me are: walkable food options, on-site laundry facilities, and affordable cost. This year, a 1 bedroom studio condo downtown wins on all three, coming in at just under $84 a night, after all fees. I’ll be able to walk to Fremont Street, and the uncapped games at the Golden Nugget!
For cash games, I’ll be playing 1-3, 2-5, and 1-2-5 PLO in rooms around town. I’ve played in all the marquee, flagship Vegas card rooms, and that’s where I expect to spend most of my cash game hours. However, I’ve never been to Mandalay Bay, South Point, or the Orleans, so it’d be nice to pick up a chip for my collection.
In all likelihood, I’ll also do a bit of eating, while I’m in town. ‘Tis the season for Vegas trip reports, and we’ve got a lot of great ones going right now. If we want to cross the streams, combine our powers, and get a fantastic meal together, PM me! Here’s what I wrote last year, updated to be current for this year:
What a rollercoaster TJ!
Have one of those nice breakfasts tomorrow and slay a few AI's. Congrats on making Day 2 and GL for Day 2.
So what’s for dinner, when you make the dinner break at the World Series? ...Go out the front door, cross over Flamingo, and you’ll find yourself in a shopping center...
Thought you were going for the $3 Michelob and hot dog over at the Stage Door!
Congratulations on the bag, run well now.
Wheeeeeeeeeeee
A while back there was a good discussion of retiring to Vegas. I realize you are still in your prime work years, but I thought there was some interesting insights about living in Vegas in general that might be relevant for you.
Hell yea! Gogogogogo
LFG TJ!
Woke up, took a nice dump, had a shower, and got a shave. …In case my photograph finds its way on PokerNews today, of course.
Walked to Siegel’s 1941 again, in the El Cortez. Had the country fried steak and eggs again, with a side of bacon, OJ, and coffee, which came to $39.
Hopped in an Uber, and headed over to the Horseshoe, where we’re playing today.
According to the PokerNews chip count updates, we officially start day 2 at 324/767. Slightly below average stack, but slightly above the median stack, which is more meaningful.
Scored two knockouts already on the first two hands of Day 2! A6o holds for less than 1bb vs the dirty diaper, 23o, that was all in dark.
Then 77 holds vs A6o for 37k.
Feeling good, let’s gooooooo!!!
There’s been a frenzy of knockouts, from the moment they turned the clock on. It’s so crazy they’re having to stop play to get it sorted.
I’m at about 320k now, in great shape.
Every hand I fold, someone somewhere else is getting knocked out.
Fold 'em into oblivion if that's what it takes!
Checkmate your opponents by the river! Either get them to resign early by folding or checkmate them at showdown!
Go TJ!!!!
I'm rooting for you!
Well, I made it to the first break, but it’ll be time to activate my pushbot when I get back. I have 131k coming back to 8k/16k.
The board says there’s 388 left, and average is about 350k. I don’t think I went to a single showdown after scoring those first couple of knockouts, and the blinds are definitely steep.
Saw some amusing confrontations, like KJo > AKo for like 500k, ouch. I have a good idea of who’s raising light, and calling light.
Just looking for my spot.
Why not you TJ !!!
DEEP RUNS HAPPEN TO PEOPLE ALL THE TIME! Why not our good buddy TJ !
GL GL GL !
Here, spot!
GL TJ!
Run silent! Run deep!
Finished 253rd out of over 5100 entries, for $1,743, less a $3 toke for the dealers.
I was in pushbot mode for an hour and a half, between 8 and 14 bigs the entire time. When you’re in pushbot mode for that long, just surviving is an accomplishment. You’re always just one misstep away from going splat, or even any completely standard preflop setup.
I played tight, and got about 5 preflop shoves through uncontested from late position over the first hour, to stay ahead of the blinds. I had just enough chips that I wasn’t getting called light, and had a tight image.
Won another flip when it got desperate, JsTs > 88 for 6 bb.
My eventual bust out hand played itself… so there’s no second guessing, or regrets, which is a blessing in tournament poker.
Folds to a big stack on the button, who raises. SB has just a bit more than my 13 bb, and shoves, I wake up with black tens in the BB. I call for less, button laughs and says can I have my raise back? and folds.
SB had JJ, Jack in the flop. I turned open-ended, so a little sweat, but he filled up on the river.
I absolutely won’t complain about how I ran in this tournament. I got it in 70/30 bad way back in level 8, and survived. I had 1.3 big blinds left on Day 1, and made the comeback. And I can think of at least 6 flips that I won, any of which would have crippled me or eliminated me had I lost. That’s what it takes to win these things.
And now, this is officially my largest ever recorded live cash, and will go on my Hendon Mob for all to see… just barely edging my $1,404 score in the $800 Deepstack from last year. Any trip where you can book a new largest ever official cash, it’s gotta be a great trip.
Thanks to absolutely everyone for all the support! It means a lot, and keeps encouraging me to stay focused, and play my best. Even if it’s just because I don’t want to come back to this thread to talk about how I donked off doing something stupid. You all motivate me.
Onward and upward. I’m FIRED UP to play the Colossus this weekend! I may still be way down on the trip, but it’s been a great couple of days of poker.
congrats on the cash
Fantastic run. Congratulations!
Nice run!
Grats on the cash, but you may take a tumble in the Pay Per Fold rankings.
Congratulations on the cash, good luck in the Colossus!
I think your game is really well suited to tourneys TJ.
GL in the Colossus and remember win them flipz boy!
Thanks, everybody!!
After getting paid in the Deepstack Championship, I went to play some 2/5 in the Paris ballroom.
I was up about +500 or so, at around the 3 hour mark, and contemplated leaving. There were a few weaker players still at the table, that I wanted to take money from, and it didn’t feel like a big enough win, so I stayed.
Over the next hour, I lost a bit trying to play with those players, then they promptly left once they got up. I wasn’t feeling focused, so I picked up +128 instead.
More food for thought, that I need to make better quits. When I’m in town this long, and playing hours this long every day, I need to stop falling into the trap of being up or down in one session. It’s all one loooong session. More important than where my stack is at relative to when I arbitrarily started that particular day, I need to focus on my reasons for being at each table, and how sharp I’m feeling.
And remember, nobody ever went broke taking profits.
