*** 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:
Like I said, they added a fifth Day 1 flight to this tournament. The guaranteed prize pool is $1M, (which they usually SMASH), so that means they’re expecting over 3,000 entries. We got over 3,200 in 4 flights last time, 3 months ago. …Three of which were mine, but I came out ahead 
Flight A is happening now, and they got 338 entries. Flight A should be the smallest, by FAR.
Two flights Friday, then two more Saturday, starting at 11 and 4. Interestingly, the 11 am flights have 30 minute levels, and the 4 pm flights only have 25 minute levels.
So I most definitely prefer to play the morning flights. But I’m HERE, so I’m willing to fire up to 3 or 4 bullets, to find that Day 2 bag!
GL TJ
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
GL TJ!
unsolicited poker advice:
1. Trust your gut.
2. Don't call 3! OOP unless it's truly beneficial to do so.
3. Win them flips!
GL
You already know where I’m starting MY day.
Things are starting to get real around here.
What’s this world coming to?
Went with the go-to breakfast. I’m a simple creature.
Next up: head over to the casino to buy into Flight B, then a short session of 1/3 to practice folding!
Good luck. Run good
1/3 got us off to a good start.
New game just starting, I’m in for $300, and the guy to my left is in for $100, announces he’s going all in the first hand, and is trying to order a double tequila, at 10:15 am.
Okey dokey then.
UTG, playing $200 and apparently oblivious to all this, raises to $10, and I’m next, with TT. I don’t know if the guy to my left will follow through, and I don’t really want to declare the strength of my hand just yet, so I just flat.
Guy to my left does shove for $100, and it folds to the small blind, playing $300, who puts out $10. Dealer says he’s all in, are you calling? Small blind verbally says yes. Dealer says ok it’s a hundred, guy says no wait I thought it was $10. Dealer says you put out a chip, AND verbally binded, so it’s 100. Guy reluctantly puts it out, now UTG calls the 100 also.
I decide this is a great time to get the rest of my 300 in. SB grumbles at the dealer, then eventually mucks. UTG calls. I flop a set, and hold to scoop a pretty nice pot, for the first hand of the trip!
Mr. Double Tequila stays, and reloads for $100 a few more times. I snap him off on a river with bottom pair, and get him again all in pre with 77 > K3o.
I feel like the Pareto Principle is in play here. You get the top 80% of your results from your worst 20% of opponents.
In for 300, out in under an hour with:
Feeling good, running good to start!
Noice!
May this only be the beginning of the rungood!
Now it’s time for the tournament.
Lucky Day 1 shirt is LOCKED AND LOADED.
Let’s gooooo!
The power of Waffle House!
Guy to my left does shove for $100, and it folds to the small blind, playing $300, who puts out $10. Dealer says he’s all in, are you calling? Small blind verbally says yes. Dealer says ok it’s a hundred, guy says no wait I thought it was $10. Dealer says you put out a chip, AND verbally binded, so it’s 100. Guy reluctantly puts it out,
SB grumbles at the dealer, then eventually mucks.
LOLOLOLOL
Thanks for the donation sir.
The best nation is donation!
First break, call me Devin Hester because I’m just back here receiving PUNTS.
On about 134k, from a 30k starting stack.
I isolate a loose/passive limper with KQo, he calls, and check calls my value c-bet on K-T-2 rainbow. Turn’s a Queen, now he wakes up and leads out.
My MUBS-iness has me considering AJ or J9, but I shove. He snaps with K5o like it’s the nuts, all in drawing dead.
Next I have the button in a big multi-way spot with Jc6c. UTG opens, three calls, I consider squeezing but just flat. Flop J-J-7 rainbow, original raiser checks, MP1 leads about 20% pot. I raise him 5x, he calls, and checks the 3 turn to me. I still think I’m value betting, so I go 7.5k, and now he shoves for 24k.
Well hmmm. I have exactly what I’m repping, but now I really don’t love my kicker. I’m thinking about it for about 90 literal seconds, really considering laying it down. Then a player not in the hand calls the clock on me. That focuses my attention. It’s before the first break in a $400, I can’t know anyone well enough to lay this down here, so I call before the floor even comes over.
He turns up 66 (!), and is drawing dead. He says “Oh, I thought you were just trying to REP the jack, not actually HAVE the Jack.” I apologize to the table for the nit-roll.
Little later, UTG opens to 1k, and I have AA from UTG+1. I hate 3betting here from this position, but the table wasn’t overly squeeze-y, so I didn’t think I could count on going for the backraise. I make it 3800, UTG says “I have J6 beat, you know,” and calls.
Flop seems pretty innocuous, J-9-5 rainbow, and I continue to 5600. He calls, then donk rips the 3 turn. I shrug and call, and he says “Oh, guess I need help” when he sees the aces. He turns up, wait for it, 5h2h. I fade the river, and think to myself YOU sir, are a liar, you did NOT have J6 beat.
Last hand of the level, a guy loses about 60k of his 80k stack, then opens from the CO with steam coming out of his ears. I call from BB with J7o, banking on hilarity that’s about to ensue this hand. I check call the J-5-2 flop, turn is another deuce. I check again, he rips, and I tell myself you’re gonna have to beat me by turning your cards over, sir. He had 97s for just a turned back door flush draw, and I hold.
So yeah! Feeling good, running good, making straightforward decisions so far.
Gonna resist the temptation to be a table captain. No leaking loose chips. Let’s press this advantage, and settle in for a long day.
Nice start. I see an over-flowing bag in your future.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Second break, on 174k. Average is 64k, so we’re still sitting quite pretty, for the moment.
Played pretty tight, and cautiously the last four levels. Made some folds in medium-sized pots where I might have had a bluff catcher, but now we’ll never know.
One interesting spot, UTG playing about 70k who’d been fairly active raises to 3k, then MP2 shoves for 21k, and I look down at AQs from CO. I wasn’t sure how tight UTG’s range was, and there was a stack behind me that had me covered. I don’t think AQs is strong enough to just rip it in there, and I REALLY didn’t want to flat and be priced in to call off if UTG shoved too.
So I folded.
UTG had QTs, MP2 had QJs, and now I’m feeling a little silly.
If we want to be results oriented, I would have lost anyway, as MP2 got there.
Still. The whole point of passing up marginal spots is that I can afford to wait for spots I feel good about. So I can live with it.
The guy to my direct left has me covered, but he’s been here from the start, so I have an idea how he plays.
Let’s find more good spots the next 4 levels!
Third break, stuck in neutral, on 154k coming back to 2k/4k. Average is 135k.
Won some small ones, lost some small ones. Not playing perfectly, I made a bad call down when I triple check/called a three barrel with top pair of aces, 6 kicker. The hands that bet the turn and ALSO bet the river aren’t enough that I’m beating.
Another hand, I open QJs from late position, heads up vs a blind. He check calls me on Qs-2s-2x. The turn makes the third spade, and also gives me three pair, the Js. I try to get to showdown, and check back. River is a 4th spade, the king, and I call a laughably small value bet on the river, when I’m beating precisely nothing, and Ad9s is WAY good.
I open AA to 6k UTG and get three callers. Flop A-4-5 rainbow, and I try downbetting just 5k at 20something, but they all fold. 4way to the flop, I still think betting is better than not betting, oh well.
Later I open JJ to 7k, one call, and an aggro tilty guy makes it 22k, playing about 80k. I think a minute, and 4bet shove… they fold fairly quickly.
So the field and the stacks have caught up to me. Playing from ahead for as long as I have today is definitely the preferred way, I highly recommend it.
Gonna focus on my observations, and process, and keep making good decisions.
Registration closed, and prize pool announced.
733 entries this flight, 162 left, bubble at 110 players left.
Cashing would be nice, but I’m aiming for 8 more good levels and a bag!
In the money
I still have about 150k, average is 200k.
Now let’s navigate this stack to a BAG.
right now is exactly the time to pause for an extra second before every decision you make moving forward
may you run like the sun TJ
4th and final break of the night, before 4 more levels, then bag.
I have 175k, coming back to 5k/10k.
It’s been very swingy since we got in the money.
Made one huge fold before the bubble, in a pretty interesting spot. I open AJo from MP2, 3 calls and it comes Ac Tc 5d. I continue for a little less than a half pot cbet, late position (who has me covered) flats, a blind flats. Turn is the 7d, blind checks, I check, LP bets 65k, I’m playing about 140k total. Blind folds, and I go into the tank.
My read on the guy was that he had played both tight and solid. If he had out-flopped me, I thought I would have heard from him on the flop. If he had a bigger ace, I thought he would have 3bet preflop.
That leaves exactly A7, unlikely slowplayed flopped monsters, or more likely, a turned semi bluff. I think my AJ might actually be ahead, here… but it’ll take my stack to find out.
Best case, I’m ahead, but up against a pair plus diamonds or clubs, and fading 9-15 outs. Worst case, I’m not ahead, and drawing to 3 or zero outs.
So I angrily fold, and show the ace. He shows the ace of diamonds.
I think I probably was ahead… but fading lots of rivers. This is me trying to grow as a player, passing up marginal spots, to avoid game ending damage and preserve my edge for better spots that I could find later.
So naturally, (after we were in the money), I splashed around in some marginal preflop spots.
At 8/16 playing about 170k, open A2s to 17k. A loose, aggro player who’d shown up light in some preflop all ins (shoving 87s, raise/calling QTs) moves in for 76k. I don’t love it, but I think my ace is ahead often enough. This time he has A9o, and holds.
A little later, a tight, desperate shortstack moves in for 14k UTG+1, my buddy min-clicks it to 28k, and I look down at KJs, with about 84k. I reshove, and my buddy doesn’t look jazzed about it but eventually calls.
Short stack has AJs, my buddy has ATo, but I flop a flush draw, and turn a king to scoop.
I’ll take it.
Not really feeling fatigued yet, just trying to keep my focus up.
Lucky Day 1 shirt: check.
Waffle House hashbrowns rungood: check.
And that’s a BAG, of an above average stack, on ONE bullet!
I bagged 570k, average (for the moment) is 524k. That average may creep up as the bigger, later flights play through tomorrow. No matter what, though, I’ll be coming back with enough on Sunday that it won’t really limit my options.
The last 4 levels were a whirlwind to close the night, and I ran very well.
The first big hand, a big stack opens to 25k from CO, then a very tight player shoves 190k from SB. I’m in BB with 99. I didn’t love that it was HIM that shoved, but I thought he was restealing wide enough that I couldn’t fold, so I call all in for less at 149k. Big stack folds, my opponent sheepishly turns up 66 and I hold.
Get moved to a new table, lose some non showdown medium sized pots when I shouldn’t have been speculating without reads. I did get a resteal through, shoving 180k with A8s over a raise to 30k from a big stack.
Get moved to another new table, and the dynamics were completely different. The guy to my right takes at least 10-15 seconds to decide what he’s gonna do preflop once it’s on him. I try not to give away any telegraphing tells, but I’ve always already looked, and usually snap fold once it’s on me. He commented that it was funny how fast I fold, that maybe he should be stealing more.
Anyway, I make some raises and miss, lose some more small non showdown pots, but the blinds are getting so big that they’re kind of meaningful pots.
Then it folds to the guy to my right first in from the CO, and he limps for 15k. With only 150k, the button, and maybe some fold equity, I send it in with QTs. Blinds fold, and the limper snaps with AA (?!?) …Oops.
It was kinda funny watching the jubilant, triumphant smile drain from his face in real time as the flop comes T-T-2, and then a Q turn to twist the knife a little more. He gets very tilted, saying he set me up, trapped me, and played it PERFECTLY (lol ok bro), how could he lose?
I don’t needle or say anything, just shrug and take it like a card player. As I’m stacking my new chips, the very next hand, I pick up the AA. UTG+1 makes it 35k, MP1 flats. I figure my image after that will never be better, so I rip it in again. UTG+1 makes a pained fold, but MP1 calls with KJs, and I hold to score the knockout.
Guy to my right says oh, I guess THAT’S how you’re supposed to play aces. Sure.
Now I have some room to maneuver. Fold for an orbit, then on my next button, a looser player opens to 40k from UTG, and I’m the only caller with Kc6c from the button.
Flop is an interesting K-J-6, all diamonds. She continues for 40k again. There could be lots of turn cards I don’t want to see, and if she’ll stack a pair plus a lone diamond, I’d rather get it in on a safe turn, with her equity cut in half. I call to evaluate the next card.
I get a great one, the 5h. She stays in the lead, and goes 120k, with about another 200k behind it. Well, I got what I wished for, so I move in, and cover. I didn’t think she’d be able to fold by this point, but that’s what exactly what she did, and I muck without showing.
From there I mostly folded to the bag.
Never underestimate the power of the hash brown.
Stud call with 99 vs a SB shove.
Next I went to have a victory dinner at the Noodle Bar.
Went with the pork egg rolls (not pictured) and the drunken noodles with chicken this time.
I think I liked it better with beef.
Still good though.
Plus a Starry, it was $41, which I was able to cover on my player’s card.
I was deeply tempted to sit in a Friday night PLO game, but after playing 11 hours in the tourney, plus another hour of 1/3 to start my day, kicking it up to 5/5 PLO seemed an inadvisable choice.
With my bag already locked up for Sunday, now I can play cash all day tomorrow!
So that’s what we’ll do.
It’s been a GREAT day.
Great work - first bullet plus being in the money means you’ve won twice already, then with the cash win…it’s a trifecta!
One question - what’s the food item on top of the hash brown in the breakfast shot?
