WSOP 2025: 6/5 - 6/9 TR

Took a bit of a hit and sitting around 30k going into break two. First lost 10k on a missed flush draw, then more after making a bit of a mistake. At 400/800 raise to 2k from LJ with AKo. Get 3 bet to 6000 by the button (who's running pretty hot) and opt to just flat instead of 4 bet, which isn't good OOP. The flop comes AQJ which isn't great for me, and I check call a small bet. Turn blank is checked, and I check the river, then make a thin call for 15k and get shown AQ. Lesson learned. 30BB is still plenty to work with though.

I think it would save a LOT of trouble, and everyone would be much better off, if they thought that AJ, AQ, KQ, KJ, and QJ were auto-snap-folds when facing a 3bet OOP.

It just leads to too many tough spots where you make a pair, and can’t tell if you’re good.

Unfortunately I am out on a flip. Look down at TT in the BB (25k stack), button and SB limp, and I raise to 4k at 500/1000 blinds. Both call and we go to a 934hh flop, SB leads for 3k, I raise to 10k, and get it in as a slight dog to KQhh. Instead of the flush the turn queen knocks me out. It's a fun event though so I guess I'll try again tomorrow!

Fun anecdote: Joe and another player get into a big pot after a 3 bet preflop. Joe wins the hand on the river and someone else at the table asks him to show his hand for $20! He obliges and turns over a flopped top set with JJ (which unfortunately couldn't get value on a scary river)

Anyway going to have some chill (maybe pool?) time, potentially play some cash, and have dinner at the Wynn buffet.

Unlucky. Better luck tomorrow. Pics of the Wynn buffet please [emoji120]

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love the Wynn buffet. totally worth it

The Wynn buffet was ****ing absurd and is absolutely worth a visit. It didn't feel like I ate that much but I was completely stuffed walking out of there and now kinda regret committing to the Bacchanal buffet tonight. Not sure if my stomach can handle all of that again, hopefully we can make a nice Colossus run instead. Here's a photo dump:

We are not in good shape going into the first break, down to about half the starting stack. It's been mostly folding and missing flops. In the main hand of note an active player from Guatemala raises to 1200 at 300/600. He has been playing and showing a lot of connectors (suited and not) so it's an easy 3 bet on the button to 3500 with AQo. He calls quickly though and we go to an 874r flop, which I really do not love given the context. He checks, I bet 2500, and he calls. The jack turn is checked through, and the river comes a queen to which he bets 7000. It's a bit of a polarizing bet, as he has been caught bombing the river as a bluff a few times already, so I have to make the call and pray. Lo and behold he shows down T9o for the turned straight. Tough break on that 3 bet call OOP. Hoping to bounce back in these next few levels.

After 2 full levels of folding I got some life back shortly before the break. Manage to get some value on the flop and river from the sticky guy after flopping a set of nines, getting called by second pair. Then the next hand I flop TPTK with AQs on Q22, and get value from all three streets, with a bet fold from the opponent when the queen river comes. Back to the starting stack of 50k going into 500/1000.

Strong finish into the dinner break, sitting at almost 150k (slightly above average) with 2k/4k blinds approaching. I've chipped up from 50k almost without showing down a single hand! It appears I've cultivated a tight image and the table is taking notice. Looking to keep up the momentum and grab that bag!

Go get 'em!

Gogogogo!

And I'm out - with about 90k left, jam over a button raise at 3k/5k with KK. This time I get on the right side against AK but a turn ace seals my fate. Whether against it or now holding it, kings have not been kind to me in these TR writeups. That's the nature of tournaments though, just have to ride out the beats and keep going.

Today is my last full day here, and my friend had a bit of free time before leaving for a late flight home, so opted not to play any more tournaments. Last night I needed to decompress a little bit from the Colossus and walked all the way back to the Westgate, stopping to get a glance at both the Venetian and Wynn poker rooms. Both were completely packed and it would have been hard to play even if I wanted to, with double digit waiting lists on almost all game types and 30+ at 1/3!

I did have some free time to spare in the early afternoon so checked out of the Westgate, dropped bags at the Flamingo and walked over to try and get in at the Venetian. Like many, I'm not entirely happy casinos are moving these rooms to weird areas, but the new room is super nice. There was even an airport lounge type waiting area where I grabbed a diet coke from the self serve machine and sat waiting for the game to start. After seeing someone else order it, was able to get two glasses of champagne during the game which was great. Not sure if that was available in the old room or is at other properties.

I finally feel like I'm getting over my KK woes after a new player buys the button, then 3 bets me to 40 after two limps and my 15 open. We 4 bet to 120, get called, but get a fold after leading 100 on a KJ9 flop. He says it was a bad flop, seems like QQ or even AQ? Not sure if we should just check there. Unfortunately, we take a bit of a hit after flopping a set with 77 on a KJ7 board, losing to KK on the river after getting raised all in from a shorter stack. Stack a shorty for about 75 after rivering the nut broadway straight, but go card dead after for a loss of -$62.

Unfortunately, we can't capitalize on any of the bomb pots, I don't think my hand could have even chopped on a single one. Almost everyone at the table save for one guy played them all, and it was kind of shocking to see what people tried to draw to. Only 2 of the 7-8 played were scooped as it seemed focus was generally to securing only one of the two boards instead of both. People also had trouble reading their hands, and one guy almost folded a chop without realizing he had the nut straight! If you play/understand PLO I'd highly recommend visiting for these alone, would definitely love to come back and play more. I am curious though what it will look like when people inevitably wise up on how to play these, or if they will become even more popular and drive further action going forward.

I didn't realize the new rules were so hard core that you can't even take photos in the ballroom. I thought it was just video you couldn't take if you don't have a media pass. Nuts.

To be honest I'm not sure what exactly the rules are, maybe I wasn't paying attention but I didn't see any signs saying not to take pictures. I see rppoker was able to easily get a picture of the final table and someone else was using their phone in one of the photos also. Maybe it was just that particular set of tables?

After playing at the Venetian I met up with my friend and had a few drinks at the Beer Park. It was a good place to hang out and catch up as we didn't have much time to do so previously. Showed him around the WSOP area and managed to see Erik Seidel at the feature table of the 25k high roller! Then had a light dinner at Alexxas as he was craving Italian but didn't have much time to venture somewhere better. The portion sizes were pretty small but had a nice smoky Negroni and the pasta and garlic bread were good too. After he left I was too tired to do much else and just stayed in and relaxed in the hotel room. Had it not been for this forum I might have never known about the Strip shooting last night!

That concludes the trip, as unfortunately I have a full day of work from 9-5 Central time before flying out. It was a fairly short time and would have loved to play another few tournaments, but took 3 weeks off in Nepal last month (also lowering potential bankroll a bit) and have to get back. Just a few days in Vegas is generally more than enough for me, but perhaps next year I can leave and come back for more than one weekend. It would be nice to vary things up and play other lower buyin events both in and out of the WSOP.

Anyway it was a bit disappointing monetarily with an overall result of about -$1500 (including some light table game play during downtime), but I was very happy with my play during the second entry of the Colossus and made it slightly further than last year. It was pretty cool playing with a main event winner for a few hours as well. With a bit of study and online practice, I think my play has improved significantly since a year ago. I don't have a car so access to live poker is limited, but after this trip I've already identified a few areas to work on for future play. For those who have been following and are playing upcoming events, best of luck!

After playing at the Venetian I met up with my friend and had a few drinks at the Beer Park. It was a good place to hang out and catch up as we didn't have much time to do so previously. Showed him around the WSOP area and managed to see Erik Seidel at the feature table of the 25k high roller! Then had a light dinner at Alexxas as he was craving Italian but didn't have much time to venture somewhere better. The portion sizes were pretty small but had a nice smoky Negroni and the pasta and garlic bread were good too. After he left I was too tired to do much else and just stayed in and relaxed in the hotel room. Had it not been for this forum I might have never known about the Strip shooting last night!

That concludes the trip, as unfortunately I have a full day of work from 9-5 Central time before flying out. It was a fairly short time and would have loved to play another few tournaments, but took 3 weeks off in Nepal last month (also lowering potential bankroll a bit) and have to get back. Just a few days in Vegas is generally more than enough for me, but perhaps next year I can leave and come back for more than one weekend. It would be nice to vary things up and play other lower buyin events both in and out of the WSOP.

Anyway it was a bit disappointing monetarily with an overall result of about -$1500 (including some light table game play during downtime), but I was very happy with my play during the second entry of the Colossus and made it slightly further than last year. It was pretty cool playing with a main event winner for a few hours as well. With a bit of study and online practice, I think my play has improved significantly since a year ago. I don't have a car so access to live poker is limited, but after this trip I've already identified a few areas to work on for future play. For those who have been following and are playing upcoming events, best of luck!

Glad you had a fun trip! Thanks for writing

I second that. I wouldn't stress too much about the results.

I think we all have a tendency to feel somewhat entitled to make runs in events and cash, but during the cold streaks, it's easy to remember that finishing top 10-15% in the field is actually very hard. Getting that far typically requires many things to go right in a session. Usually that won't happen.

A few pulls of the lever is not enough to guarantee anything. Even as a winning player on PokerStars, I had an 0-for-30 streak at one point.

Tournaments are brutal!

I sat next to George Danzer for a 12 hour poker day at wsop apac a decade ago. He had just won his 3rd bracelet of the year and locked up Player of the Year.

Really lovely fella and we talked a lot about his life in poker. He told me that he was still on a stake after a decade as a pro, because he had been busto 3 times and once had a 13 month spell as a full time touring mtt pro when he only cashed once. He thought it was most likely over 100 events during that period and he was paying for travel and accomodation as well as buy ins

Yeah, I know, certainly didn't expect to cash on any of the tournament buy ins especially given the large Colossus field. Had hoped to make some of that up with cash game play but again limited sample size there too. Time goes by quick when you're playing these long tournaments! All the more reason to extend next time.