*** 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:
For today, I didn’t want to play the $500 Salute to Warriors tournament, because day 2 is tomorrow, and I’ve already bought into Flight A of the Colossus.
So I thought I’d head over to WSOP, and try the $250 Daily Deepstack again. My first table when I played it last week seemed like all very passive amateur recs (not that it did me any good that day).
I got there about 11:30, plenty of time to buy in early and beat the line. But when I got upstairs, I was surprised to see the room completely full, with people playing at every table.
Apparently, there was a 9 am seniors event being held here today, AND overflow from the Salute to Warriors tournament. Consequently, they only had a few seats to sell for the 1 pm Deepstack, so we had to wait until more tables and seats became available. No word on when that would be.
The only thing that was certain, however, was that the line would only be getting longer as we got closer to 1.
So I stood in line, only about 6 people away from the front, while we all waited for more seats to open up.
Welcome to the World Series of Standing In Line!
If I’d known I’d be waiting until the tournament actually started at 1, I’d have gone and done something else for the day. But for as long as I’d already waited, and as close as I was to the front, I figured I’d stay.
I think that same mindset has me staying in meh, boring cash games for too long.
Anyway, I got my seat right as the tournament started, and I’m playing now. The line was out the door, wrapped around the room by the time I left.
Hopefully the daily will still do good entry numbers today, even if it’ll be mostly late regs. It’s been getting 600-800 runners on weekdays, and over 1000 on the weekend, but I don’t know how much the logjam in the Normandy Room today will impact that.
Guess we’ll see! For now, we’re sitting in, feeling good, and unimpressed by my opponents at the table thus far.
Let’s spin!
Spin Spin and Win.
LFG TJ ! GL ! Win them flipz boy now ya hear!
The only thing that was certain, however, was that the line would only be getting longer as we got closer to 1.
So I stood in line, only about 6 people away from the front, while we all waited for more seats to open up.
Welcome to the World Series of Standing In Line!
Wait a minute, there's a World Series of Standing In Line? No one told me that. I think I'd have a major edge against all of the poker professionals in this event. Major. Enormous. Huge.
I need to hop on a plane and late reg that event!
Can you earn a bracelet by winning the World Series of Standing In Line? This is enormously exciting!
Sick thing is, I consider myself a veteran of playing WSOP events around here, and make conscious decisions based on experience to minimize standing in line, but there you go.
First break, at 20k from a 25k starting stack.
I’m falling into the same traps I fell for the other day I played this daily. My opponents are generally loose, passive, and bad, but I can’t beat them if I overrep my hand and don’t make anything.
Cbetting just overcards with 3 opponents is not likely to get through. Or, I’ll call raises with floptimistic hands like Ks6s from the big blind getting a great price, now I’m out of position with meh one pair hands facing aggression from the only players at the table approaching TAGs.
My chips are not for calling other people’s bets, when I’m out of position. They’re for MAKING big bets and raises, when I’m IN position, starting with better cards than my opponents.
So that’s my focus for the next 4 levels.
…And, after that meditative, contemplative, refocusing and recentering break I took, I proceed to go broke the 4th hand after I got back, with 55 vs 66 on A-6-5.
But I WAS in position, and shoved!
Ah well.
Think I’ll head over to Paris and try some PLO.
Not really sure what you are supposed to do other than get it all in there.
Nice run! Keep it up!
Oh I’m completely at peace with it.
I’ve just accepted that if I get oversetted on the flop, it’s all going in, at any point in the tournament, at any stack depth… and my whole tournament goes bust with me getting it in drawing to one out.
I can be thankful that it happened in level 5 and not a few hours later… and that it happened today in a daily, and not tomorrow in a much bigger event.
As this Vegas trip enters its twilight, heading into my final weekend here, I realize I may have made a strategic mistake, by allocating as many hours as I have to NL cash, instead of PLO.
The game was fine, and I probably stayed too long, winning a modest +400 over 6 and a half hours. People don’t seem to realize that preflop equity edges in PLO are razor thin compared to NL, especially multiway. There’s 70+ VPIP guys, and 4 or 5 way flops for $50+ each. Not to mention, the HILARIOUS choices some people make in double board bomb pots every down.
You just don’t see that kind of action and gamble at NL, in 2024. I played a pretty tight, nitty, boring game, and still got paid off. In fact, some of my biggest wins were where I missed the nut draws I was aiming for, but because I always had 4 cards working, I still held up.
I saw three separate players run up stacks over 2k (in a 500 cap game) in a matter of hours, while I was there. Just by making hands.
Something to consider.
Anyway, we have Flight A of the Colossus tomorrow! I’m willing to fire one bullet a day, to find that second bag of the trip. And for the rest of my cash game time, I think I’ll be playing PLO.
live PLO is great, just play nutted hands and stay away from pretty trash like T866 double suited.
FACTS.
Yeah that Aria 1/2 PLO game is a freaking gold mine. The amount of $ going into pots with non-nut draws and bottom full houses is insane.
GL in the Colossus! I will be raising vicariously through you.
Got a great night’s sleep, a good breakfast, and enough caffeine, let’s get this day started!
Checked in by 10:15, currently 6-handed, plus one stack getting blinded off.
First impression is that this table is tighter than an average table in a $400 event.
Feeling great and ready for a loooong day, let’s get it!
Got a great night’s sleep, a good breakfast, and enough caffeine, let’s get this day started!
Checked in by 10:15, currently 6-handed, plus one stack getting blinded off.
First impression is that this table is tighter than an average table in a $400 event.
Feeling great and ready for a loooong day, let’s get it!
Good luck!
GL TJ !!!
When in doubt ask yourself WWMcMD!
What Would McMuffin Do!
First break, scored the only knockout at our table so I’m right on schedule, at 84k from a 40k starting stack.
When I first sat in, we were 6 handed and I was the youngest person at the table. It played tight, with everyone looking to play small ball. No limps, all minraises or 2.5x opens, half pot cbets, and very rare showdowns.
Ok then, I guess that gives me even more of a reason to play tight.
Then our 7th guy arrives, and he proceeds to limp/call 40-50% of his hands.
I get a nice squeeze in from the button, when UTG minclicks it to 400, 3 calls, and I make it 3400 with Jd3d. Only one caller, and he folds to my cbet on an ace high, all spade flop. These are the spots I want to be trying to find.
In level 3, the loose player limps for 400, I make it 1400 with red tens, he calls. Flop J-J-7, and he confidently and demonstratively donks 2000. Hmmm. I just call.
Turn is an offsuit ten, well hello there. He stays in the lead, and bets 5k. I guess I want to keep him in the lead, not blow him off any of his bluffs, and make the plan to call, and ship any river. PLEASE don’t hit your kicker or double pair the board, sir!
River’s a 5, and he says “Well if you got a better kicker, you got it” and shoves. I snapcall and fastroll my tens full, even though I called. He tries to muck and walk away, then another player (correctly) says he has to show. He gets angry and butthurt when the dealer retrieves his hand from the muck, and shows 76o (lol).
So yeah, feeling great, and ready to settle in for a long day! Not gonna get too high or too low, and DEFINITELY not gonna leak loose chips with my advantage. Just gonna keep steadily accumulating, and finding good spots.
Looks like we’re gonna get some action players late reg’ing, that’s a welcome sight.
Let’s gooooo!
GO TJ GO GO GO TJ!
GO GO GADGET!!! COLLECT THOSE CHIPS LIKE POKEMON! PIKA PIKA!
Second break, peacefully grinding and just rolling merrily along, at 107k. Nobody else even has a full 2x starting stack.
No big hands, no interesting spots, no tough decisions. That’s fine by me.
One semi tough player two to my left with almost 70k. Not hard to avoid, when I get any resistance.
Let’s make it another great three levels!
Gogogogogogogo
Nice start TJ, keep it going!
Good luck and go well
Total dick move by the player to ask a guy who just bust out to show the hand
