Dancing with the Old Lady, the Journey continues...

glgl in Vegas bro

Liking those life plans ... a little less variance than the poker.

WSOP Day 0 : Checklist

- Laundry done 1.4kms away in the Vegas midday (overstated 😉) heat : Check

- Groceries purchased after walking around for a good 5kms : Checking blind yo

- Buying 2 x 15 lbs dumbbells in order to train everyday within the comfort of my Super 8 room, as there is no gym here : ehhhh am desperately checking here 😊

- Dinner with a buddy, getting the WSOP app verified and registering for the PLO Championship : Check da out bro 😃

Yup, I was initially tilted when figuring out that the Strat hotel, which was at relatively the same price and is a couple of bus stops south of here/closer to the Paris Hotel, has a gym. Ehhh, I have to walk 10 minutes from my hotel room to the bus stop just to hop on the Deuce that takes 35-40 minutes to get to the Strip. Oh well, live and learn : we got this yo

Gracias hermano ♥

Ohhh for sure! I should of specified that I want to rent out both places when not being used, and that C is also purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in the richer Miraflores area (on top of her first apartment), so we plan on simply staying together most of the time, renting out the non-used flats and sharing the passive income yo

Run good all

WSOP Day 1 : Shoot Me in the Damn Foot 😡😡😡

Tough day at the office, as the table, on first glance, did not seem ripe for the pickings, as everyone and their Mom had a Hendon Mob of 800k+. And then, the cherry on top : Richard Gryko sat to my left, the guy that I have been studying the art of PLO MTTs for the past couple of years on RIO, fml :(. But then I happily found out that a 7 digit HM apparently does not mean shyt, as each and every single one of these mama-frackers at my table had leaks the size of rat sewages yo 😃. And that in fact, I was comfortably the 2nd best player at the table... Except... Richard mama-fracking Gryko, of course, against whom my bluff-reraise on the river vs his weak lead was looked up... against whom I got pot-reraised on the river when the board paired (after a checked turn and my rivered nut flush)... and who finally won a flip vs me for my tournament life (and a bit more than a starting stack size pot) after I had turned the nuts (and also had the T♦ x♦ blockers to his J♦x♦ redraw :(). So yeah, a fracking tilting day :p

If I find the motivation tomorrow, I will hop in a 1k PLO at the Venetian. I should definitely do so, as there are not many attractive tournaments this week until the Main starts, tbh.

Peace

WSOP Day 2 : Picking Oneself Up from Dust

I woke up without much fight, energy nor might. But sat up regardless in my hotel bed at 10:30am, meditated for an hour, jumped on the wooden floor and exercised for 40 minutes while reminding myself that "this is Sunday and that many recs are going to be found on the felt!!!". I also had to remind myself that this is only day2 of the series, even if does feel, after dropping 10k on my first bullet, like a BURDEN to pull myself out of the red 🙄

So after showering, spraying some grinding cologne on my neck and whatnot, I hopped in an Uber direction The Venetian to play the 1.1k DS PLO. I was playing my A+ game. Pouncing on every spot and getting away with murder more frequently than fracking Jack the Ripper could/would of 😉. And lo and behold : in no time I had 5+ starting stacks yo Except... shyt ultimately hit the fan after registration period was over, I started running like death and losing 5 subsequent middling and BIG pots, fml 😊. Even my last hand of limping (bad) AAxx, getting raised pot and called twice before backjamming and getting the IR to overjam iso was alas for naught, but... we still have Day 1B tomorrow, a day during which I plan on firing multiple bullets yo

The How I got Away with Murder Hand of the Day : After flatting an UTG open-raise of 2.5bbs in the CO with 67♠8♠9♠ - I know it seems loose and passive af, but BB was BUY FAR the weakest player at the table and also the chip leader - ; SB calls, as does BB

Flop (11bbs) : 3♣3♠T♥

Meh, absolutely nothing to write home about, but when it is checked to me, I usually take a good 3-7 seconds to contemplate the reactions of villains, to pay attention if they awareness is directed towards me or if they stopped caring about the hand all together... I check back.

Turn (11bs) : 3♣3♠T♥ J♠

After the SB checks, things become spicy when the BB bets 2bbs - a CLEAR sizing tell!!! -, UTG makes it 6bbs - wtf!?! - and I think about conquering the world, its Solar System and fracking Galaxy... After all, when the first player exploitatively chooses rock and the 2nd player sneezes it out and opts for paper, all I have to do is select the Nuclear Bomb and fracking BLOW them out of the Stratosphere, right!?! 😆😃😉 ; I make it 13bbs to go ; BB snaps-mucks before UTG tanks for about 10 seconds and aggressively mucks his hand in disgust

We got this yo

Peace y'all

Much appreciated HH: lots of feel good in the fold equity.

Just seeing the interior of the Venetian triggers me (I can still hear the soundtrack of that place in my head).

WSOP Day 3 : The Breaking the Ice

Cashed in the 1k PLO Venetian DS, am going back tomorrow to (a mere) 10bbs stack, but played my A+ game/had to get (almost(literally!)) with murder a couple of times just to get there. HHs and update to come tomorrow, as it is now 1:26 and must get up in 8h.

WSOP Day 4 : A bit of Light

I went on a bit of a rush to start off the day as after seeing 2 limpers and waking up with AK25ss in the SB in the very second of the day, I potted most of my 11.5bbs and happily got folds The very next hand, I woke up with KKT6ds in the BB, ripped it over an open-raise (from one of the previous limpers/weaker player) ; seemingly annoyed, he tilt-snap-shoved JJT9ss. But I held

The following 2-3h was much of the same as had been during the whole tournament where I just ran bad, probably in the bottom 20-30 percentile and eventually busted with AKxx < TTxx after laddering up 3 levels of times to the tune of 3.1k. I'll take it. In fact, if it wasn't for 2 MASSIVE well timed bluffs, I would of never cashed yo 😀

The How I got Away with Murder Hand History of the Day :

After an UTG open-raise to 2.5bbs from a weaker maniac player and a bottom call from a passive push-around fellow, I happily make the call in the BB with the A♦T♦T♣9♠

Flop (9bbs) : 9♣8♣2♠

I tank for about 5-8 seconds, thinking how hitting top pair is a great blocker to have and how having the TT immensely increases my fold equity, but given that the initial raiser is sticky af, I elect to check instead and to evaluate henceforth... Both villains rapidly check.

Turn (9bbs) : 9♣8♣2♠ 8♥

Really not a great card for my specific hand, but it does hit my range and I can easily get way with repping it : I take about 5 seconds before betting 4.5bbs only to see both villains rapidly call... Okay... 😊

River (22.5bbs) : 9♣8♣2♠ 8♥ A♣

Hummmm, interesting river... First of all, having an A definitely helps blocking a potential AA holding from the first villain and any A8 from either. Secondly, the A♣ negates anyone from having the nut flush draw on the turn, thus making them potentially less sticky on the river with the nut flush, even if there are potential full houses out there. So having the A and 9 blocker (the T♣ is not really relevant, tbh, as I am only repping FHs), I take about 10 seconds before potting it ; the first villain snap-folds while the 2nd moans and groans, now saying that he has a decision... He tanks for about 20-30 seconds before flashing the 8♣6♣ and mocking it while meanwhile saying that he has no fh blockers to make the call 😮:shocked:😃. Easy game yo

Tomorrow is day 1A of the 3k PLO Mystery Bounty at the Wynn ; we got this yo

I just realized that I shared the wrong HH, or at least not the one I intended to...

The Actual Getting Away with Murder Hand History of the Day :

Weak villain from previous HH open-raises button to 3.5bbs ; SB folds and I defend the BB with the A♣Q♠T♠2♦

Flop (8.5bbs) : Q♣T♥9♠

I contemplate a few seconds the merits of leading out, which I would almost always do on such a board, but knowing that villain has a tendency overcbet, I decide to let him hang himself... Villain cbets 6bbs and I call.

Turn (20.5bbs) : Q♣T♥9♠ 9♦

I take 3-4 seconds before checking and villain pretty rapidly bets a tentative 8bbs. The question is : is he betting small because he has a full-house or does he want to extract thin value/protect his apparent str8 and is thus loving less life... I decide that it is more so the latter, but because I have a mere 28bbs left behind and don't want to be out of the tournament if I happen to be wrong, I min-click it to 16bbs, hence leaving myself with 12bbs of cushion if villain happens to be nutted... Villain takes a few seconds before muttering "your bet was weird" and tossing his hand in the muck yo

WSOP Day 5 : Down the Toilet

Meh, ran bad today. At my first table, I had mainly (weak) pros, which even with their ton of leaks, were prompt to 3-4bet/increase the variance immensely. And sure their games is FAR from being fine tune, but it is not as if they will bleed EV like recs neither... And I really despise running bad vs a weak reg that has just binked a mid 6 digit tournament, has ALL the confidence in the world, and for some reason, the Poker Gods keep shining them with this invincible Sunrun Halo 😡😡😡

My 2nd BI/table was actually pretty fracking golden yo There was not one pro at the table 😮 :shocked: 😃, a fellow was potting/3betting literally 60% of his hands preflop. But, even if I did manage to run up 2.5 starting stacks, the variance of the table was such that I need to at least run at median levels... 😊

Back at it tomorrow for day 1b ; we got this yo

Run good all

WSOP Day 6-7 : Lulls (Notepad Vegas Style yo)

Upon waking up @ 6:00 after a terrible 3h of sleep and a stressed-induced nightmares, I sat up in bed, meditated for an hour, laid back down to sleep... But when the snoozes failed to come, I left myself with the open option of taking the day off…. After all, I am not obliged by any means - except my own enforced expectations - of firing another bullet in the 3k PLO!!! We are not even halfway into the series and I am tired. Tilted. And need a fracking day off!!!

@ 9:10, just when I had started snoozing again, I hear the maid knock on the door. Once. I let it go. Twice. Frack no, I was not getting out of bed!!! Thrice. Jeezus fracking Murphy!!!. Four. And five times. At that point, I stood up, threw on some pants, went to open the door, only to realize that she walked away, but had left her cleaning cart in front of my door. I left my door halfway open, went to brush my teeth, and when she came back to offer her “house keeping!” Services, I stared at her with a lonnnnggg fracking face, angry, and retorted a dry and loud “NO!!!”, suddenly saw her facial expression sadden up, and walk away. Thankfully I got back to myself, searched for 2 x dollar bills in my wallet, could only find one, so gave her a 5$ dollar bill, said “thank you for taking care of my room ♥”, noticed her face brighten up ♥ I went back inside, hopped back into bed, and felt really good with myself. After all, despite being tilted and in a fracking bad mood, I avoided being a complete arsehole and managed to share a bit of love (and money) instead to a person that was in a role of being helplessly passive/never going to react either way. Sometimes it takes effort and going out of our way to be a good person.

Anyhow, a few random thoughts on Vegas, the series and whatnot :

- The area surrounding the Super 8 is not as bad as initially thought. In fact, after exploring a bit more the neighbourhood, I would say that most of it is upper middle class with sure, some rough patches. But the thing is, this is Sin City. AKA home of the vices. With a TON of junkies walking around and chasing their addictions like zombies. Anyhow, while I would never stay again at the Super 8 - ohhhh how I can be cheap at times just to save a few dollars 🙄 -, The Strat with a bus stop directly by it (and thus saving myself 15 minutes per ride), would definitely be an option (along with the Rio, like last year, or somewhere on The Strip, of course).

- Speaking of which : it does not cease to be shocking to me how The Strip gathers, within the confines of its 5 blocks per 5 blocks limits (?), the best and the worst that the American Dream/capitalism has to offer. Think about a myriad of elite shows, distractions, GOAT restaurants, the best that money can buy, really, and the freedom to indulge, and then the complete liberty of free falling, living in the streets with nothing but empty dreams, engaging in a multitude of addictions, be dead to the world in broad daylight, basically…. What an odd fracking place 😊

- And here are some odd things/contradictions that this place offers : selling booze and cigarettes in a pharmacy (Walgreen), is beyond understanding to me!!! In Canada, pharmacies act as stores where products are intrinsically associated with “health”, outside of perhaps soft drinks and energy drinks. Sure, one could argue that drugs or antibiotics, are not the must salubrious, but at least it would be debatable discussion as opposed to str8 up booze and fracking tobacco!!! Furthermore, in English Canada, one needs to go to a liquor store to buy booze and cannot do so in a grocery store (unlike Quebec and the rest of the World). Anyhow…

- If I initially thought that this would be my last summer in Vegas, as I no longer believe in the brand that is the WSOP and no longer would want to encourage these greedy f**ks, there is a world where I can imagine coming back, grinding exclusively the PLO events outside of the WSOP and only playing the Main Event and PLO Championship there. That being said, probably not, and it will depend on if C could join me for a few days or not…. I am 85-15% on coming to WPT Wynn this December though

- Speaking of travel destinations, C and I have talked about going back to Brazil (BSOP or KSOP), of course, for a small vacation/MTT series, of Aruba (WSOPC), Ecuador (a small stakes series), Punta del Este, and in Europe (perhaps EPT Paris…?).

- Poker players are interesting, tilting, multi-faceted, intriguing, repulsive… you name it, as you can find of everything at the tables!!! But the single must-tilting table talk in midstakes tournaments, is the f***king luxury watch talk, ffs (emojis). Where players start comparing brands, pricetags, and everyone that is seeking social status around the table, chimes in 😡😡😡

- I have been training 30-40 minutes most days in my room with the help of dumbbells that I purchased (for arms and upper body), while also working the abs with pushups, a TON of pull-ups/sit-ups/Russion Roulette etc. and some shadow boxing/Muay Thai ; with the latter, I have been practicing mainly my footing, defense and general spacing. I am looking forward to getting back to punching on a bag and Muay Thai courses though

Alright folks, tomorrow is the last flight for the Main, Day 1D; we got this yo

Peace

You certainly bring back some memories of Vegas for me (i.e. the zombification of a global entertainment district). I can still picture the same homeless person, asleep on a walkway, that I'd pass in the early mornings when returning from the Aria (where I usually got smashed in the 2-5 PLO). In the end, it's a place of extremes, an endless source of ambivalence. If you feel like reading a great book about the place, especially its contradictions, written by an English poet, Al Alvarez's The Biggest Game in Town is sublime. I'm having a quiet laugh about you choosing to stay in a Super 8, buying weights etc. and then having to tip the cleaner a single $5 because she temporarily put you in un-Zen land, but tbh I greatly admire your choice --- I stayed in a pretty decent condo at the MGM grand way back then and lost many $ (leading me to purchase a few bottles of single malt from the um ... chemist down the road). It's all about focusing on what matters, as you know (like pulling off the mega-bluffs in those PLO MTTs).

unless I misread the list it looks like you finished 1-D with above average chips - if so GL day 2 and then go all the way

WSOP Day 8 : Da Main Event Yo

I am not a live tournament pro. Hence why I still struggle sleeping in the evening after a lonnnggg day's grind. Unlike my balanced routine of when I am playing online, that is, where many breaks are taken throughout the day to meditate here and there, train, go out for a Muay Thai session, out at dinner for some fresh air and delicious food, before continuing the grind. Live is nothing like that, at least for me. Thank God I have established the healthier habit of training 40 minutes daily after my standard hour of meditation, to eating a light dinner, but ffs, I still cannot fix my somewhat frequent sleepless nights 😮:shocked:😊. After 12h of grinding live, of mainting that robotic stoic posture for a few minutes while villain stares you down in the midst of a bluff for half of your stack, it just pumps that fracking adrenaline up!!! So anyhow, given that the melatonin has been failing to do its work lately, I purchased Diphenhydramine sleeping pills sold across the counter. Ok.. Why not!?! But here's the thing : your standard cold medicine with Diphenhydramine in it, always give me a f**king headache upon waking up and that heavy cloudy and drowsy feeling, ehhhhh 😊. And such was the case yesterday morning, even if I did manage to get snoozes for 7h... :(

So anyhow, even after the meditation and the ghost Muay Thai training, I still had not fully brushed away the drowsiness. About 80% of it sure, give or take, but it was (very) nonchalantly that I showed up at my table at the Horseshoe, toke my seat, prepared myself some mates, received my very first cards and opened J♠T♣ to 2.5bbs UTG - which I regretted not limping for table image purposes, but then remembered that everyone knows my name with the app, and with it my alrightish 225k Hendon Mob record), have BB defend, see a J56 flop, cbet 35%, get called, double barrelled 70% on the 8 turn - debatable... -, get X-R, fold (to what villain later admitted being a set), and somehow, unbeknownst to me in the moment, get short-changed 4bbs by the lol dealer 😮:shocked:😡😡😡 3 minutes later when I replayed the hand in my head, I became fracking aggravated!!! For the dealer f**king up. For villain taking advantage of a mere 4bbs at the first level - disclaimer : even if I thought better then to bring up the issue after the cause, I would go on to bust him set-over-set in an absolute 80bbs cooler that really seemed Karmic, to tell you the truth, as I had the inner premonition that him knowingly f**king me over 4 fracking bbs at the first level was going to come back and byte him yo 😃

Anyhow, that first hand as well as a nasty run bad in the first level woke me the frack up and it wasn't until the third and fourth level that I would go on to get a bit more then two starting stacks and will be returning to day 2D tomorrow with 152bbs yo

The contradictions keep on striking me about this place ; as an example, it is very refreshing to see that their several crossways where pedestrians can cross and actually have the cars stop and let them pass ♥, which is the polar opposite of LATAM, but then they are is very little recycling bins, even on the strip, as opposed to a green country like Canada :(. Anyhow...

As far as staying at the Super 8, it is manageable, perhaps a 5/10, I have grown accustomed of my neighbourhood, am actually enjoying being on the 2nd floor of the Deuce bus and even if I will never stay here again, I can definitely see myself staying at The Strat, for a similar 100CAD$/nightly price tag, which would be a small upgrade to the Super8 as far as having a gym, access to restaurants 24/7, and to be surrounded by action at all times yo But yeah, I definitely cut back on expenses when I am not on vacation with my gf, as an example, where all I really need is a bed to crash on and that's it yo 🙄

I loved The Biggest Game in Town, which was one of my favorite fiction poker books along with King of a Small World

Not a great table for day 2, but a very good seat with my stack yo

Run good all

Note : I know my name is fairly obvious at this point and I have disclosed it 2-3 times over the years itt, but please nobody type it out outright as to not trigger a Google result that would lead to this thread -even though it is not hard to put 2 + 2 together and figure it out, I would still rather not have a direct link upon engine searches, thx!!!

Yup, that is correct : I finished with 1.5x avg stack, mainly because of solid levels 3-4, but went card dead in the last level, was exhausted af, so I opted to not take standard/light 3bet spots vs the tougher/more active players at the table (namely Ari Engel), as I was lacking wit/sharpness at the point in the evening. So overall, I perhaps played a B- game, but mission accomplished thus far yo

Glad you're finally able to explore the shitshow that is Las Vegas. The Strip is the natural starting point for an exploration, although, if you decide to keep coming back, I think you'll find that off-Strip Vegas is much less tawdry and has a lot to offer (food, hiking, nightlife). If you get a chance, you should walk Fremont (which I think isn't far from Super 8) and pop into the Golden Nugget, which has the only cardroom on the Old Strip. There's also some cool art down there and some cool bookstores/coffee shops:

Container Park
The Gambler's Bookstore
The Writer's Block
PublicUS
Mothership Coffee

+1

Hope you don't have a chance to explore for a while because of your deep run in the Main. GL!

^ You're very lucky to have a non-degen Vegas vet in your thread here (smiley face). There's is some culture in the middle of the desert after all!

2:20am here, I barely just got back, meditated for a bit and jumped in for a quick shower ; I need to get up in less than 7h, @ 9:15 for my standard pre-tourney preparations. Am going back to 37bbs. I just survived because of well timed bluffs (one all-in with A high after 3betting and double barreling) and some creative moves. But if not, I ran pretty bad 😊 Will post more extensively when I have time - hopefully not any day soon... 😉

Going back to day 4 with 46bbs, just below average, 15 off from the bubble. Twice I was the chip leader at my table and twice I lost 50-60% of my stack (HHs to come...). A top 10 chip leader in the tournament, Chad Power, showed up on my direct left 3h off from the bubble 😊

We got this yo

WSOP Day 11 : The Tournament of All Tournaments

Somehow, I didn't think much of the Main Event last year... It felt perhaps a bit teensy-weeny overrated at the time, much like Paris, me thinks, the good ole City of Lights that everyone dreams to visit : beautiful in its halo, but tainted with a parcel of glitter that cannot match the expectations invested in it, mayhaps... Am not sure, but this year, as I stepped out into the afternoon streets of The Strip looking up at the Surreal appeal of facade of The Paris Hotel, the Bellagio Fountains and the mad pedestrian traffic extending itself onto the Las Vegas Boulvard and the Flamingo Road, that deep yet high baritone voice of that fellow that spontaneously started singing deep into day 3 of the Main Event came back to me, as the shuffling of the chips accompanied his chanting and the action on the tables continued as warranted, yet the collective energy suddenly surged with each individual voice vibrantly chirping as the whole tournament area came to fracking life : THIS IS THE MAIN EVENT!!! THIS IS IT!!! WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF CASHING IN THE MOST SPECIAL TOURNAMENT WITH OUR DREAMS OF BINKING IT STILL LIVE AS NO ONE IS DRAWING DEAD!!!

I cashed for 17.5k and will take it, even if I failed to capitulate on the chip advantage I had at my table that was very short lived as a top 10 chip stack in the tournament, AKA Chad Power, took a sit to my direct left with plans to conquer the world. One of us was going to come out the victor and be the chip leader of the whole tournament during the bubble early on Day 4 and perhaps next time I will be dictating the terms... (HH to come...). I gave it my best shot and won many battles along the way, even as the dust settles, the end chapter is left unwritten...

Peace y'all

WSOP Day 12 : Funk

Meh, the 4 card game variance can be frustrating af when you have 7 digit HB peeps at your table that have leaks the size of the Grand Canyon and even a Dnegs - with a HM of 56+ mils if I remember correctly - not understanding obvious fundamentals and yet... the fracking 67% fail to hold against fracking regs, ggrrrrr 😡😡😡 So anyhow, bubbled 2 bullets into the 1k today and will probably take tomorrow off (from live) to rest a little/grind online and perahaps...

Thx bro ♥ I should check out Fremont and am thinking of having a semi-day off tomorrow, but I might check out the NBA summer league though instead... We shall see 😉

For sure! It is unfortunate that I have to meet Ben or you, Dr, despite being virtual friends on here for a decade+ now. Peace ♥

WSOP Day 13 : Rest

So there remains 2 tournaments left that I will fire in : the 1.1k PLO 6 handed at the Wynn tomorrow and the 3k PLO 6 handed at the WSOP on Sunday ; while I am content with my performance in Vegas thus far despite being a little down, I feel that I will not walk away with a smile unless I get another cash. And hopefully a good one. We got this yo

WSOP Day 14 : A Misfired Shot

I failed again to capitulate after building a stack, this time 4x BIs+ :(. I mean, this was a 1k and whatnot, but it is impressive to what extent peeps, like most pros, have their PLO fundaments WAY off 😮:shocked: Unfortunately, the 4 card variance is such that one cannot just play solid and expect to scoop pot, after pot, after pot... Tomorrow will be our last MTT, the PLO 3k 6 handed and I got a good feeling about this one, folks 😃

So weird to have a couple chapels by the Super 8 and seeing newly wedded couples that go-in-and-out, slap on a couple or rings, a couple of snapshoots, smiles, and that's it folks!!! I guess my own sister got wedded in Vegas, so... Am not judging, but it just seems like an express-kind-of-way to get something that was originally meant to be sacred, no... Then again, I would probably do it the same way, if I felt the need to get married for visa reasons... 🙄

Peace

Wow, I have a strong presentiment that it is going to happen tomorrow... here's to seeing if intuition is foolish - as it should rationally be the GRAN majority of the time -, or if this intense level of synchronicity will once again be confirmed... tbd 😉