*** 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!
Th
I feel like throwing up.
Two knockouts before bagging.
UTG minclicks it, and I have 6 bigs with AJs from MP2.
It’s a clear shove. It doesn’t get any better with 6 bb. I’m playing to put myself in the best spot to return to the final table on Sunday, and that’s a lot easier if I have double those chips going into it.
KK woke up behind me and reshipped. He flopped top full, wasn’t even a sweat.
As I was all in watching the runout, the last player on another table busted, too.
Two $400 bullets, one $1,057 cash, about 15 hours of play today.
I mean, I made money today. I got to play poker allllllll day, something I truly enjoy. It beats working. And there’s still two flights tomorrow.
I really wanted to have an off day just to play cash PLO, though.
That’s poker.
Going to bed, we’ll see what tomorrow brings. And if I can’t find a bag again, I can play PLO all day Sunday.
Damn. Sorry for the jinx.
How many entries in this flight to bag 22? Not all bags are created equal and this seems like a tough one to obtain if they are playing day 1 well past the money bubble.
There's a certain dreadful quality to marathon-y tournaments that bag up day 1 prior to the money bubble because you can make day 2 and still win zero money, but these faster tournaments that pop the bubble on day 1 and then make you keep playing are tough in a different sense because such a thin slice of the field advances. You're aiming at a small target. I think the Venetian might have found the sweet spot with their multi-days by bagging up 12.5% as soon as the bubble is popped. It merges the joy of cashing and bagging into a blissful unity.
Cashing and missing the bag creates the upstuck sensation, but is still a positive outcome. If we forget what-might-have-been, you'll wake up tomorrow with ~$250 of found money in your pockets. Not the worst outcome after a day of poker. Sounds like you played very well and can be at peace with your effort. Hopefully the momentum carries into other events and entries.
How many entries in this flight to bag 22? Not all bags are created equal and this seems like a tough one to obtain if they are playing day 1 well past the money bubble.
There were a little over 400 entries into Flight C yesterday. It’s the first time I’ve seen them bag at the 5% remaining threshold, rather than playing the scheduled number of levels.
I agree, making the top 5% of a large field is not an easy task.
Got a good night’s sleep, ready to get back at it today!
Breakfast this morning was Burger King. No pictures, because we all know what that looks like.
Moby and I are looking for redemption.
But we’re not going to force anything. There’s no skipping ahead to the end.
I got to the end last night with patience, discipline, and my observations and process.
So that’s what we’re going to focus on today.
Congratulations on the cash. Put Moby to work today!
Need some details on breakfast though: did you get hash browns at BK? We need to study those vs WH's!
In fact I did.
Guess we’ll find out today!
Busto near the end of level 4, five minutes before the first break.
I won a nice one, when I raised in late position with a nut flush draw over a cbet. Checked back the missed turn, then got a healthy value bet when it came in on the river, and he couldn’t fold his overpair.
Then I lost a medium one when I opened AQ, three calls, and I continued on the A-7-4 flop. One short stack caller, and I stayed in the lead betting the effective stack on the J turn. Unfortunately for me, he had AJ.
I opened KJo, and got called by two looser players. Flop A-T-3 all diamonds, with me holding the Jd. I cbet, small blind calls. Turn is the Qs, giving me broadway with the Jd redraw. I bet again, get check/shoved on, and I’m all in drawing dead vs Qd4d.
I’m leaning against firing the 4th bullet at 4 pm, that’s just too long a day. I wanna see how some cash PLO works out. I can quit that whenever I want.
So I’m on the list for 5/5 PLO, and we’ll reevaluate how I’m feeling as it gets closer to 4.
But we’re not going to force anything. There’s no skipping ahead to the end.
I got to the end last night with patience, discipline, and my observations and process.
So that’s what we’re going to focus on today.
Focusing on process over results will serve you well over the long run. It seems like you really have the emotional intelligence to do well long term.
I decided against the 4th bullet in the tourney. Now I guess it’s going to be all cash games from here on out… gonna try to bring home as much as I can.
PLO started out fine.
I raised a turn bet with both flush draws working, (one to the nuts), plus a nut gutshot. The river completely bricked, but my river bluff got through.
Then I flopped top and bottom two pair, and turned the second nut boat. I got it in with another player, and he had bottom full so I won a nice pot.
I was about +1k when I got involved in yet another gross deepstacked cooler. Flopped top set, turned top full, but ran into quads in what ended up being about a 4.5k pot.
I picked up right after that, to book the session at -1065. Went to take a walk, and go get some food.
Ouch sick cooler. Good idea to pick up and do something else.
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After my walk, I went upstairs and got a pepperoni pizza at the Gordon Ramsay food court. It was fine… the garlic oil brush and fresh mozzarella were a tasty touch. The 12 inch pizza was $22, and I ate it ALL.
My mind reset, I sat back in to more PLO, and it continued to go poorly for me.
First big hand, I stack off flopping all three pairs vs a loose player. He had a wrap, and got there. Got it in ahead, but close to flipping. These things happen in PLO.
I kept my stack topped up, and the next noteworthy hand I remember was a clear mistake and poor decision by me. I check/called two streets with just a king high flush, and the board was already paired for both those streets. That’s just poor PLO fundamentals. They’re ALWAYS going to show you a better hand there.
Then I went pretty card dead for a while. I folded a lot, not getting many coordinated, playable starting hands. When I did play, I didn’t get much action, presumably due to how tight my image was.
Meanwhile, the guy to my right ran a stack up from 1k to over 7k, just by getting hit with the deck. He got stacks in with set over set TWICE, and dragged huge pots both times.
I’ll note that it is not a constructive observation for me to make… that HE faded the nut boat vs quads cooler, when he got set over set (…twice). The universe doesn’t care how you run. All you can do is observe tendencies, think critically, adapt, and focus on what you can control. Which is making the best decision in the next spot.
After a long slog of being card dead, the last hand I played was missing a 15 outer in a three way all in pot on the turn. I had Ad4dK7, and the board was 3d-6d-T-J. So any Q, 5, or diamond makes me the nuts. I definitely have more than 33% equity in this three way all in. And the river is… another 3. Sigh.
I lose to QQKA (with worse, dominated diamonds). So he had a bunch of my outs… but I still have enough equity to get it in there, with a third player too. Just gotta work on “not missing” for next time.
I picked up the rest of it after that to book the 2nd session at -2107.
It’s still the WSOP weekend in Cherokee, and the games are still good. I’ve made big comebacks before. We’ll get good rest tonight, and give it another go tomorrow.
Loving the updates, keep it up and gl TJ!
Pro tip: if you want to eat at Brio, the Italian place at Cherokee, either make a reservation, or drop in at an off peak hour. You aren’t walking in and getting a table at 7 pm on a Saturday.
But I was able to get a seat at the bar for lunch on a Sunday. I got the pasta allá vodka with chicken, which is ricotta-stuffed pasta with chicken in a tasty tomato cream sauce. It was very good!
Plus a Caesar salad, it was $46. I spent my entire comp balance of $19 to knock down the price a little.
Now I’m headed back to the poker room, to see if we can turn this weekend back around. I had my caffeine, a shower, a shave, and a great lunch. I can’t think of anything more I can do to maintain my positive frame of mind!
Let’s spin.
catching up on the thread this morning and it reads like you got caught pushing too hard in a few high leverage spots without long enough fulcrums in the cookie jar
as absurd as this might physicslly sound, slow down and let it come to you tj
wonder if the highs from buzzardly picking clean that tourist and his carry on created a particular mindset that should have been trimmed during later flights at upper altitudes
motto of the undertaker: patients come to those who wait
as absurd as this might physicslly sound, slow down and let it come to you tj
This is good advice.
I slowed down, and let the game come to me. …Running much better helped. I booked a solid +3020 session.
It wounds my soul that 1k chips here are orange, instead of the traditional yellow. They sure look pretty in my stack, though!
I have my lucky Day 1 shirt, which has had more bags and day 1 cashes than any other shirt. But I ALSO have a shirt that runs pure for cash games. I was wearing it for my biggest live score at the underground card game, and I was wearing it for my final table run.
And you can be CERTAIN I brought it this trip, and saved it for championship Sunday. …Just in case.
I can’t wear it every time I go play poker, of course. That would use up all the rungood.
But it really is crazy how pure this shirt runs.
Then I went to have dinner at the Noodle Bar.
Got the lo mein with chicken this time, it was pretty good! I think I liked the drunken noodles more, though.
Plus some pork egg rolls, it was $38.
Now I’m gonna head back to the poker room for a nightcap session… to see if we can turn this trip fully into the positive!
Yessss! This is the update we wanted.
Glad the graph curved back in the right direction.
The after dinner nightcap session went well.
…This shirt, man.
In for $1500, out with:
New best live cash session ever, at +6173! Almost a +10k in 24 hours ROBUSTO kind of day today.
It was my turn to get hit with the deck.
Some hands: raise pot over the $25 straddle in late position with AA73 with spades, several callers. Flop Ah Jh 4s, checks to me, I pot nearly a committing amount, two calls. Turn is the Qs, giving me back door nut spades, but completing broadway wraps. Checks to me, and I decide with top set and nut spades working, I can’t go anywhere even if they told me they had KT. I shove, one guy tank calls. River bricks everything, and I turn up, expecting to lose, but he had a set of jacks with jack high spades working. So about a 2k pot, with my opponent drawing to one out.
Another time, I flop top set of 8’s on an 8-6-5 flop. A pot lead, one call, I raise to 500, small blind cold flats the bet and raise, other two players fold. Turn is a 7, checks to me, I check back. River is another 5, checks to me, I pot it to $1550, and he makes the crying call with 6’s full.
Another big one, $25 straddle UTG, 4 calls to me and I pot it on the button with KK64 with clubs. EVERYBODY calls, about $700 in the pot on the flop of 8c 6d 4c. So I have bottom two, an overpair, and the king high flush draw. And, crucially, I have The Initiative. Checks to me, I go $500 again, and a guy check shoves for $850 total. Next to act asks if that reopens the betting for me, dealer says it doesn’t. Now he calls also, with about another 1k behind it. I call, and the 2c rolls off on the turn, right on schedule. The live player check folds to my shove, and the all in player is dead with just 75, and no redraws.
Another large raised, straddled pot, I have AQT9 with clubs, flop T-9-8 with one club. I check, a guy continued for $200, button calls, I decide to peel. Turn makes my nuts with another T, so I wake up and lead out $600, bettor fold, button calls. PLEASE keep me having the nuts on the river! …and it’s a 5. I shove, and credit to the guy for actually folding, saying he had QJ88. Also, thanks for not re-potting the flop.
So my night went like that. And it was GLORIOUS.
Basking in the afterglow in my room at the Econo Lodge, now I’m reflecting on how card dead I was for long stretches this weekend. I think about the individual run bad, like losing to the 1 outer when I had a guy set over set for deep stacks.
The inescapable conclusion I’m making… swongs are REAL. And you need to be rolled enough to ride out the bad, if you want to stay in action long enough to capture the upside. Also, SO much is out of your control.
Just keep making good decisions.
That closes the book on Leg 1 of this Cherokee trip.
Drove here with 60 bills. After all of it, I’m driving home tomorrow with 117.
Very happy with this result. Especially considering where I was at mentally being down over $3k as I went to bed Saturday night.
I’m FIRED UP to play in the Main Event on Friday! …And hopefully Sunday, and Monday as well. Yet if it doesn’t go well, you can find me in the PLO game 
I'd lose my 2+2 street cred if I didn't ask for a pic of you rubbing hundies on your titties.
Oh wait, you're supposed to pick up a hooker and post a pic of her rubbing hundies on her titties.
😆
Damn, that's TWO pics of 6-color chip stacks! There are worse ways to finish a trip. 😀
Very nice, but we need a pic of this magic shirt!
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congrats on the comeback!
Way to go, TJ!
Plus what Tony wrote. Except both shirts.
Link to purchase lucky shirt?
😃
Nice job dude
Catching up from the weekend, what a roller-coaster ride! Thanks again for taking us along! Really looking forward to next weekend's installment.
