Gray-haired poker TRs: Living the WSOP dream
At the age of 62 (AARP members unite!), I have decided that I will write a trip report for my 2024 trek to the World Series of Poker. Not exactly “Stop the Presses” news, although maybe an old-man poker TR from a former sportswriter turned entrepreneur/investor is somewhat unique.
This trip report proclamation and five nickels will get me a quarter. I get it. Lots of people promise/start trip reports and then never follow through (blasted). You don’t know me, so there is no reason for you to believe I will actually deliver.
So, I will put some skin in the game to show I can be trusted to deliver on my promise. Before I start my 2024 trip report in this thread, I will do a trip report on my first ever 2019 12-day trip to the WSOP (when I was 57 years old and a bit less gray than I am today) based upon old notes I have kept and memories I recall (memory loss is not an issue for me so far, wait, did I already say that?).
I did not write a trip report at the time, so this is new content. Call my 2019 long-after-the-fact walk down memory lane on 2+2 a down payment from me in return for your anticipation of and attention to my 2024 trip report.
She’s a legendary dealer.
If I recall correctly, she’s dealt multiple WSOP ME final tables, and runs her own dealer school.
Edit: of course it mentions all that once I actually clicked the link, lol
After giving it a lot of thought based on the discussions we've had in this thread after my WSOP ended, I am definitely going to embrace late reg next year.
My question for you guys is, how do I late reg a tournament?
Do I have to register/pay first and get a ticket (step #1) and THEN go to the late reg line (step #2) where you get assigned a table?
Or do I simply go in the late reg line and pay and they give you a seat assignment (just a single step for everything)?
Also, how do you determine where the late reg line is since I suspect there might be late reg going on for more than one tournament?
Thanks in advance for being my 2+2oogle.
IIRC, when you late reg, your ticket just says something like HORSESHOE LATE and then you have to go wait in the line for your seat assignment.
Hi BigWhale, thanks for the advice. I very much appreciate it. Here you have picked up on one of my biggest areas of weakness at this years WSOP, which is bet sizing when there are a decent amount of chips in the pot. Typically the dealer puts all of the chips into a messy pile. You can't really accurately count the chips this way (i.e. big chips may be hidden under a bunch of smaller chips). I don't think I was very adept at recreating/adding up the betting action in my head in real time and th
You can ask the dealer to spread the pot, but even better is to keep track as the bets go in.
I'd suggest looking at the schedule next time for the (super) Seniors event. From my limited experience and your writing, I think you'd be competitive in that field. I think it fits your "fun" needs well, as well.
At least, I assume from the title you qualify for those events.
Just be aware there are few guys playing suited one-gappers. If you're getting action, there's a real hand there.
IIRC, when you late reg, your ticket just says something like HORSESHOE LATE and then you have to go wait in the line for your seat assignment.
Then you have to ask 5 times were late reg is, because they don't make it obvious. There will be a sign just inside of the ballroom saying "LATE REGISTRATION" with an arrow that points into the room.
You can ask the dealer to spread the pot, but even better is to keep track as the bets go in.
Yep, this is at the very top of my list of things to get better at. Rather than try to tally what is in the messy pot, I need to a) keep track as bets are made, and b) if I have lost track of the amounts, it's really not that difficult to recreate the betting action to come up with a count as long as I slow down and take my time rather than being too quick to make my decision. And no, this does not mean I will become an annoying tanker.
From 2019 to 2024 one of my biggest improvements was the ability to discern playing styles, betting patterns, etc. for every player at the table in 2024 versus just doing so for the four players closest to me as was the case in 2019. I expect that in 2025 I will be much better at keeping the count of chips in the middle than was the case in 2024.
It's kind of like when I first started playing in an adult soccer league in my late 30s (where the average player age was early to mid 20s). Initially when I would try to dribble the soccer ball I had to do so with my eyes down on the ball. This meant I missed so much of what was going on throughout the field (defender placement, pressure on the ball from an opponent, open passing lanes to teammates). As I practiced more and more I was able to pick up my head while dribbling and I increasingly saw more of the field, which made it so I could make much better decisions with the ball.
This is what I am sensing at the poker tables. The more I have played at the WSOP the more I am able to take in all of the different things going on around me. I'm a long, long, long way from mastery, but I see a difference in how much I was able to take in during the 2024 WSOP as compared to my 2019 WSOP experience. Still room for a lot of improvement in 2025.
Fantastic trip report. Really enjoyed it. Arthur Morris is a crusher. Have played some PLO cash with him and he is a winner for sure.
Fantastic trip report. Really enjoyed it. Arthur Morris is a crusher. Have played some PLO cash with him and he is a winner for sure.
He was one of those players at the WSOP at my tables who had the ability to win a lot of chips without ever getting to showdown. And when he did get in a big coin flip against someone else he flopped the world at my table. That's a daunting combination.
Interestingly enough he did not seem to want to tangle with me (although it was an incredibly small sample size and I don't know what cards he had). I came over the top with 3-bets or jams against him several times and showed aggression against him on the turn once when I had a flush draw, and he folded every time. Other than that we weren't in hands against one another.
When we clashed my guess is he didn't have much, and given that I had not gotten out of line as far as anyone knew when I got to showdown on hands, he probably put me on strong ranges. I certainly am not inferring I outplayed him. He was not someone I wanted to get in hands with very often, but, when I "had it" or I had a ton of outs to make a huge hand, I played aggressively and he went away.
Fortunately, he was at the other end of the table from me so I only was in a handful of hands against him, and I had a ton of equity each time. I would not have wanted him sitting next to me or two away from me. I respected the game he was playing. And that was before I even realized who he was.
He was also an enjoyable talker at the table. Very entertaining.
Speaking of Arthur Morris, he is on the Main Event Day 1C featured table with Phil Hellmuth:
At the 21:30 spot the announcer says, "I'd like to make a bet, I'm not sure if our team can track this, but I have Arthur Morris to speak more words at this featured table than all of the other players combined. ... He is a talkative guy. But I'll tell you what though, one of the nicest guys in poker."
I am really serious when I say, after playing at his table for quite a while earlier in the WSOP, if he ever gets a breakthrough win or two (which he seems to have the game to do), he has the personality to become a transcendent star.
Speaking of Arthur Morris, he is on the Main Event Day 1C featured table with Phil Hellmuth:
At the 21:30 spot the announcer says, "I'd like to make a bet, I'm not sure if our team can track this, but I have Arthur Morris to speak more words at this featured table than all of the other players combined. ... He is a talkative guy. But I'll tell you what though, one of the nicest guys in poker."
I am really serious when I say, after playing at his table for
He bagged a huge stack as well:
"Among the top stacks was Arthur Morris who had bagged an impressive 211,800 chips by the culmination of Day 1c. Morris has a WSOP ring on his poker resume but a bracelet still eludes the American player who is approaching $3,000,000 in live tournament earnings, and would surpass that with a deep run in the Main Event."
Morris-Hellmuth clash, Part 2 of Day 1C coverage
Three consecutive hands:
Hellmuth bluffs Morris
59:00-1:02:30
Hellmuth Jc-5s
Morris 9h-9c
Hellmuth 3-bets pre, Morris calls. 25,000 chips in the middle.
Flop 4c-6d-8c
Morris bets 10,500. Hellmuth calls with a gutshot.
Turn: 4h
Hellmuth bets 24,000. Morris folds
Next hand: Morris outflops Hellmuth
1:02:30-1:04:54
Morris Qc-Jd
Hellmuth 10h-10d
Flop Jh-9s-4d
Turn 5h
River As check-check
Morris wins a 11,700 chip pot
Next hand: Morris hits a 2-outer to win a massive pot
1:04:55-1:10:05
Morris 8d-8c
Hellmuth Js-jh
5-way to the flop with 6,800 chips in the middle.
Flop: 6d-10c-4s
Hellmuth bets 4,000. Morris calls. Everyone else folds.
Turn 8s
Jackpot for Morris who hits a two-outer.
Hellmuth bets 8,000. Morris pops it to 22,000. Hellmuth calls.
River Kh
Morris bets 35,000. Hellmuth calls and sees the bad news. 128,800 chip pot gets slid to Morris. Hellmuth steams a bit out loud but not a full-blown tirade. Morris says, "You had me, you really did" at the 1:10:05 mark.
Morris now has 173,000 chips. Hellmuth has 57,200 chips.
All of the Day 1s of the 2024 WSOP Main Event are in the books. Here are people still alive who have made appearances in my trip report and their current chip stacks:
Day 1D
Aram Zobian (creator of 12-part training video at poker training web site I watched in my 2024 WSOP prep) 233,000 chips
Asher Conniff (same table 2019 WSOP) 18,000 chips
Heather Alcorn (dealer multiple times at my 2019 WSOP tables) 43,000 chips
Maurice Hawkins (same table Day 2, 2019 WSOP) 0 chips
Day 1C
Arthur Morris (same table 2024 WSOP) 221,800 chips
Mike Matusow (almost ran me over on his scooter 2024 WSOP) 121,500 chips
Eric Baldwin (same table 2024 WSOP) 88,600 chips
Day 1B
Ben Yu (same table in two different tourneys 2024 WSOP) 125,600 chips
Day 1A
Jonathan Little (owner of poker training site I studied and creator of massive Masterclass content I studied for five months in my 2024 WSOP prep) 81,400 chips
Day 1A
Jonathan Little (owner of poker training site I studied and creator of massive Masterclass content I studied for five months in my 2024 WSOP prep) 81,400 chips
Jonathan Little has a lot of good material. His books (!) 'Secret of Professional Tournament Poker' was the material that really opened my eyes to actually having a structured plan when playing, instead of just clicking buttons at random.
I still remember the first tournament I played after consuming the above, where I could do nothing wrong and came into FT of the biggest weekly tournament here in Malta with 30% of the chips in play... only to butcher it with some way too light call against local nits and finishing 4th :(
Jonathan Little has a lot of good material. His books (!) 'Secret of Professional Tournament Poker' was the material that really opened my eyes to actually having a structured plan when playing, instead of just clicking buttons at random.
I still remember the first tournament I played after consuming the above, where I could do nothing wrong and came into FT of the biggest weekly tournament here in Malta with 30% of the chips in play... only to butcher it with some way too light call against loca
I also read Jonathan Little's "Secret of Professional Tournament Poker." That's what convinced me to choose Little's poker training site to prep for my 2024 WSOP. His videos are very digestible. They were at exactly the level I desired.
The tournament Masterclass is especially well produced, organized and builds brick by brick in a very well done manner.
I completely missed the fact that John Hennigan is alive and (very) well on Day 2abc of the Main Event. He was another pro that was at one of my 2024 WSOP tables. He currently has 390,000 chips, good for 19th place at the moment in the Main.
Other players that have made appearances in this trip report with their current Day 2abc chip totals:
Ben Yu: 230,000 chips
Arthur Morris: 210,000 chips
Eric Baldwin: 115,000 chips
Jonathan Little: 105,000 chips
And sort of Mike Matusow (for almost running me over with his scooter): 205,000 chips
(chip totals per Pokernews)
Morris Wins Monster Pot
Charlie Reed and Arthur Morris were battling over a 50,000-chip pot when Reed bet 21,000 from under the gun. Morris snap called in the hijack and bet 42,000 chips when Reed checked to him on the 10♦ turn.
The 4♦river then fell and Reed checked again, prompting Morris to bet 105,000 chips. Reed grabbed the required chips for a call and put them in the middle.
Morris tabled J♣10♣ for jacks full, causing Reed to toss his cards into the muck after a slight delay.
Arthur Morris 386,000 +191,000
Charlie Reed 170,000 -251,000
.................
Meanwhile, John Hennigan continues to ascend with 470,000 chips
Main Event final end-of-day Day 2abc chip counts of people who have appeared in this trip report:
John Hennigan: 461,500
Arthur Morris: 435,500
Jonathan Little: 405,500
Mike Matusow: 192,000
Ben Yu: 181,500
Daniel Negreanu: 93,000
Eric Baldwin: 68,000
Main Event Day 2d starting chip counts of people who have appeared in this trip report:
Aram Zobian: 231,400
Heather Alcorn: 71,200
Jonathan Little: How you build a huge chip stack all in one level
9:47-15:00
Little Q-Q
Jerry Yang 8-8
Little wins a 107,000 chip pot
Little K-K
Yang A-K
Little wins a 180,000 chip pot
Little flops a straight flush and gets a ton of value when his opponent improves on the turn and improves again on the river but obviously can't beat a straight flush. Little wins a $204,500 chip pot.
This all happened in the same level. What a rush of cards against opponents who kept making big but not big enough hands.
It's a small world.
I was just reading through the Pokernews reporting. And I saw the name of a girl I grew up a block away from and am the same age as. We went to school together but were never in the same social crowd. My parents were friends with her parents. I knew she plays a fair amount of tournament poker but I am surprised that she is playing in a $10,000 event. Her Hendon Mob page would indicate she is mostly a smaller buy-in tournament player ($200-$600). In any event she is playing in the Main Event. I'll call her NeighborhoodGal. She doesn't have a ton of chips though (yet it's still 50 bbs at $500/$1,000), but for now she is one more player that I can follow.
My former poker dealer, a girl I grew up with, and one of my poker training site teachers walk into the WSOP ...
It sounds like the start of a joke, but instead these are the friends of the rppoker trip report toward the very end of Day 2D of the Main Event.
I'm ready to call it a night, so here are their chip counts with a little bit of time still left to play.
Heather Alcorn (my former poker dealer): 71,200 chips.
NeighborhoodGal (a girl I grew up with): 93,000 chips.
Aram Zobian (one of my poker training site teachers): 470,000 chips.
Add in the friends of the rppoker trip report who survived Day 2ABC, and we have lots of players to sweat during Day 3 tomorrow.
Odds and ends:
I ran into one of my office building tenants today for the first time since I returned from the WSOP. We exchanged some pleasantries and then she asked, "How did you do in your blackjack tournament?"
.....
rppoker Trip Report member Heather Alcorn has been knocked out of the Main Event. It appears to have been sometime late last night.
.....
NeighborhoodGal has an interesting table dynamic for today's Day 3 of the Main. The three players to her right have career earnings of (rounded) $1 million, $1 million, and $2 million. The three players to her left have career earnings of $0, $0 and $34,000. Dollar amounts per Hendon Mob.
Players with ties to this trip report that we will be following today on Day 3 of the Main Event:
John Hennigan 461,500
Arthur Morris 435,500
Jonathan Little 405,500
Aram Zobian 401,500
Mike Matusow 192,000
Ben Yu 181,500
NeighborhoodGal 102,500
Daniel Negreanu 93,000
Eric Baldwin 68,000
Day 3, Level 13
Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
John Hennigan 550,000
Arthur Morris 435,500 (not updated)
Jonathan Little 405,500 (not updated)
Aram Zobian 225,000
Mike Matusow busted
Ben Yu 181,500 (not updated)
NeighborhoodGal 102,500 (not updated)
Daniel Negreanu 211,000
Eric Baldwin Busted
Negreanu and Hennigan on the rise. Zobian's stack takes a big hit. Matusow and Baldwin are out.
Dinner break
John Hennigan 550,000 (not updated recently)
Arthur Morris 435,500 (not updated all day)
Jonathan Little 325,000 (A bit of a decline recently)
Aram Zobian 130,000 (A steady decline throughout the day)
Ben Yu 181,500 (not updated all day)
NeighborhoodGal 102,500 (not updated all day)
Daniel Negreanu 198,000 (very slight decline recently)
I don't know how you solve this, but it is frustrating not being able to get a single update on someone you want to follow all day long. I wonder if sometime in the future (as in 10-to-30 years from now) technology solves this issue. I'm not a proponent of an electronic table without real chips to handle as a solution. Maybe something like smart chips with sensors being able to read them much like the card cam makes it so TV can see what everyone is playing at a Final Table. Probably not going to happen, but I like futurist thinking. For example, I have been pounding the table for 20 years saying that the technology should exist in which you put some sort of electronic gizmo inside a football so it can be scientifically determined whether or not the ball has crossed the goalline for a touchdown when it is impossible to see when there is a huge scrum of players on a QB sneak.
