*** 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:
It’s been a long, exhilarating day. As much as it pains me to walk away from a Saturday night cash game, no PLO for me tonight. I’m gonna grab a bite, try to decompress, and get a great night’s sleep for tomorrow.
this is probably the most +EV call you made all day
can't wait to see the morning hash brown pic
I’ve heard good things about the Noodle Bar in the casino, but I’ve never been there because it’s not upstairs with the other restaurants. Plus, they’re open til 3 am on Saturday nights.
Got the pork egg rolls, and drunken noodles with beef (pad khee mao). Plus a Starry, it was $44.
It tasted like victory.
this is probably the most +EV call you made all day
can't wait to see the morning hash brown pic
Good grief! He went with Bert's chili today. How much more explosiveness is possible?
Get after 'em, TJ!
Nice run TJ! Always thrilling to return on day 2 with the looming possibility of a mega bink.
Good luck.
Cashing is always great but we need to take these chances and get a big one
Hope you can run deep
nice bag!
Seems like a decent table draw, other than being covered by the guy to your direct left. No big crushers and the two biggest hendons appear to be volume-based with low buyin events. Good luck!
Spoiler
Once again, Brian, you’re the MVP of this thread.
I have the lowest Hendon!
…I think it’s time to change that.
Just my way to say thanks for the effort you put into the thread. This way I get to live vicariously through you!
I enjoy geeking out on the day 2 research. When I made day 2 of a circuit main last year I looked up everyone’s results - not just my table- and had available for when tables broke. Then I freaked a guy out to my left at my first table when I asked him about his saving the lives of some people by pulling them out of a burning car. It’s so easy to google people. At NAPT in Vegas a few weeks ago I figured out that one of the guys at my table was the founding chairman of my son’s boarding school. That one felt a little stalker ish!
There are definitely some crushers left in the field. I recognize one name of a guy who shipped this event a couple stops ago, he bagged like 1.4M for today.
The guy to my right at the end of day 1… nice enough guy, seemed solid from his play, yet quiet and unassuming. I found out he has three rings 😮
Bagged 650k even.
Average for our flight when it ended was 434k. BUT, our flight was the largest of the 4, so we should have the highest average. By any measure, I’ll be in good shape to start day 2 tomorrow. Flight D is finishing up now, which is when they’ll publish the prize pool and chip counts.
It’s been a long, exhilarating day. As much as it pains me to walk away from a Saturday night cash game, no PLO for me tonight. I’m gonna grab a bite, try to decompress, and get a great night’s s
Well done, and good luck for day 2 😀
Sadly my day 2 ended quickly. KK vs JJ on 5-5-2 when all the chips get in the middle, and he goes runner runner flush.
88th place for €600 EUR.
Do you have an entourage at the Waffle House, like in Tin Cup?
GL today, go get 'em!
Well done, and good luck for day 2 😀
Sadly my day 2 ended quickly. KK vs JJ on 5-5-2 when all the chips get in the middle, and he goes runner runner flush.
88th place for €600 EUR.
That’s tough.
We put so much analysis into reads, ranges, and tendencies, and we can get it completely right, and still lose.
Went back to exactly the same breakfast I had yesterday, since it worked so well.
Tipped $1 more than yesterday (I left a GOOD tip yesterday).
The lucky day 1 shirt went 0-2 in flights A and B. For day 2, we’re trying out the shirt that set my newest personal best session yet at the underground card game two weeks ago, +4280.
I got up early, got my shower and breakfast, and I still have an hour to kill before the restart. So I’m sitting in a 1/3 game to warm up, calm my nerves, get in the zone, and practice folding.
Well I’ll say one thing, this shirt runs pure for cash games.
In for 300, out in under an hour with:
Hopefully that continues for today.
If it doesn’t, we’ll DEFINITELY try it out for PLO later.
We’ve restarted, and already scored a knockout on a flip: 99 vs AQo, ace in the window, 9 on the river.
So that’s encouraging.
Let’s gooooooo!
zoom zoom zoom!!!
Sigh.
77th place, out of 3,215 entries, for $1,998.
Went broke the very last hand of Level 23, before the first break.
(I DEFINITELY gave the cage two singles to get 20 bills back).
After seeing some of the hands that led to stack confrontations on day 2, I thought, what HUBRIS to think this is purely a skill game. If the universe wants you to run bad, or walk into a setup, there’s NOTHING you can do about it.
Anyway, I had some very interesting, thought provoking spots. I made some mistakes and bad decisions, which I hope won’t haunt me for the next three months, until I can play this tourney again.
Just sat in, fold my small blind, then it folds to me on the button with T9o. I raise to 55k at 10/25, the small blind flats. As Brian noted, the only stack at this table who has me covered.
Flop Ah Jh 3c, I don’t have a heart, and he checks to me. To cbet or not cbet? If I had marginal showdown value or any kind of weak draw, I’d consider checking back. Since I didn’t, I didn’t see any harm in continuing my story, which contains all the strong holdings in my range, so I bet 60k. Even though my range here contains all my strong hands, sure, but also a LOT of air. He announces “raise,” and I snap muck before he puts anything out there… and just like that, I’m down like 150k from where I started the day.
As mentioned above, I get some back the next orbit when the hijack open rips for 300ish, I reship 99, and win the flip vs AQo, to be sitting on about 800k.
Then I played a hand I now hate, looking back. I open Ah4h to 55k from UTG, (way too loose, at this stack depth) and MP1, playing about 600k, 3bets to 150k. For the price, I throw good money after bad, and call, and flop As 8c 3h, to make top pair and back door hearts.
I check, and he downbets 65k. I consider raising, but any raise would commit us. I think a little longer and just call. Turn is the 5s, so I pick up a wheel draw, and check again. He thinks a minute and checks back.
River is the Kc, I check again, and now he bets 250k. I thought for a long time. Could he have pot controlled a better ace on the turn? Would he turn a big pair into a bluff?
He wears a wedding ring, and talked about coaching one of his three kids. That means he’s dependable, and he keeps his word. All that should have added up to a fold, but on the felt I clicked call, and got shown KK. Which makes PERFECT sense, with the clarity of hindsight.
That got me short, to about 9 bb. Fold some more, then a shortstack opens first in from the hijack, and I ship AQo, and pleased to be in great shape when he calls the rest of it for less with just A2o, and I hold.
Then I get short, down to 260k at 20/40, and went broke on the last hand of level 23 before the first break. Folds to the button who makes it 90k, and I see a lonely little ace in the big blind, to go with an off suit deuce, but I get it in anyway. I didn’t have enough to make him fold two napkins, as he calls with 96o, makes two pair, and that’s a wrap for Hero.
At least I got it in ahead.
Still, I’m thinking about that OOP 3bet pot with a suited ace. That was always one of my biggest leaks as a cash player, and it came back to bite me.
Oh well. So it goes. If I had to look at all the decisions I made over my 13 hours of play, on balance, it’d have to be a pretty good grade. Plus I ran well in some big spots.
So on balance, I’m happy with how it turned out.
…AND, I have a new official best recorded live cash ever!
That’ll make my Hendon mob results $2k more intimidating 
Spoiler
…Almost. $1,998 more intimidating, anyway
Simultaneous congratulations and condolences.
Thanks for the ride!
Nice run, sorry wasn’t longer.
Can you give Hendon $2 as well, to list that as a $2K cash?
Congratulations on the nice run!
For REAL.
I’ll Venmo them $2 right now lol
