WSOP TR: Third Time's the Charm! 6/11-6/15
After my March trip, I didn't think I would be back for the summer. Turns out I had a free weekend during the Colossus after all, and with sufficient time off and extra bankroll to spare, why not? I've had enough fun that I think the WSOP will be a yearly staple going forward. It truly is like a poker summer camp and there is a certain type of unique energy bringing people from all over the world to play. Now that I've got my first official cash, time to try and get a Day 2 bag!
This year, we will be bucking Caesar's to take advantage of the significantly cheaper rates of MGM. First, going to spend Thursday and Friday night at Aria, utilizing some free Chase credit while getting early check in and $100 dining credit in the process. The early checkin will be sorely needed since I'll be arriving at 9am before immediately hopping right into the Colossus. Then, we will be slumming it at the Castle for the other two nights for just the $50 resort fee per day.
The low stakes (sub $500) tournament schedule isn't quite as plentiful as my previous trip, but there is still plenty to do:
- 6/11: $500 WSOP Colossus
-- Potential $600 PM Venetian Bounty OR $300 PM Aria turbo - 6/12: $400 MGM Mystery Bounty OR PM Orleans Monster Stack
- 6/13: $500 WSOP Colossus (bullet 2) AND/OR $600 Venetian PM Bounty
- 6/14: $800 WSOP Deepstack OR $300 Orleans 100k Gtd
There is a $300 MGM PLO DBBP tournament 6/13 which sounds intriguing, but seems like a terrible tournament format.
In addition, now that I am soon to have the new Chicago Bally's casino within walking distance, am looking to try and hone my skills on the cash game front a little bit. In particular, I'd like to take the plunge and finally try some 1/2 live PLO. Going to try and take it easy on the free table drinks this trip and play my best in a more serious manner.
Wheels up on Thursday, let's go!
Schedules looks great, let’s goooooo!!
Here for it, literally and figuratively. I'll even be at the castle myself for some of those days.
Hope you have a blast. Colossus is always a great one to play.
glgl
I'm in!
We have arrived!
It was an early wake up time and the airport was fairly busy, but made it just in time to grab a quick bite to eat and stroll right into boarding. Got a nice window seat on the plane. Had forgotten how green (northern) New Mexico actually was:
Got a Lyft almost immediately at the airport and was automatically upgraded to a black car all for under $20. The hotel room was ready almost immediately after walking into the Aria at 10am. Hope we can keep the good vibes going and the Colossus will treat me this well!
good luck
Well, we're still alive at the Colossus going into the dinner break with ~80k with the 2/4k level coming up.
After checking into the room, I start the day with a quick $10 bet on black at roulette (unfortunately, it is red). Then a quick lunch at the classic Earl of Sandwich before hopping into the tournament late in level 2.
We start in the Normandy room and the table is a bit tougher than your average Colossus, with no limping and a decent amount of 3 betting. The guy to my left though open ships AQo for 50bb and is called. "Parking lot" he announces as he is called by AKo and doesn't improve. Indeed. He is then replaced by a French guy with a "Partouche poker club" (local club in Paris) pro patch, fresh off a 6 figure score in this year's Monster Stack. Great.
Thankfully all the tables are emptied out of the Normandy room shortly after and we all get new assignments in the ballroom in level 5. This one is much better and more indicative of the softer play in this tournament.
We had not been involved in many hands up into this point, and get into a spot at 300/600 where we open UTG+1 with AQo and are 3 bet by the player two to my left. I don't love playing this out of position and consider a 4 bet since we are deep enough, but opt to call instead. The flop is a decent A73 and we check call a 2k bet. The turn is a blank and he bets again weirdly small for 1500. This is bizarrely weak looking (Bart Hanson/BigWhale "same bet" theory) but I somehow wonder if this is some sort of trap where he's hoping I raise? A raise to 4k gets him to fold so I guess it was weak after all.
Between the next two levels, we start building a nice stack. On one hand we open KQo, get three callers, flop trips, and get some value on flop and river. Then pull off a successful checkraise bluff pre from the SB with A4o against the French player to my right. Cards start coming in hot and I am able to get more chips with JJ and then AA.
Then the Rollercoaster comes down at 1/2k when we have built up a 100k+ stack. We call a shortstack shove with AKs against a jovial German guy two to my right, but unfortunately he has Kings. Shortly after, we three bet the French guy with AKo and he 4 bet jams for 35k with... KTs? We cannot find the ace again after a ten hits the flop. The German guy then likens AK to Anna Kournikova "Beautiful, but dangerous". There is yet another AK vs KK all in but thankfully it does not involve me.
We are on life support now with around 25k, but get back on our feet after winning a flip with 99 against German guy's JTs. They are apparently called the German Virgins: "All they do is say Nein, Nein!" After that we're off to the races again with 77 against AQo and nail gin with a 997 flop! Get KK shortly before break but sadly no takers on an open.
For dinner I head over to the Linq to try and avoid the crowds and get some cheap In and Out Burger. $10 for a double cheeseburger and fries is as good as it gets these days. Only two more hours and three more levels to go before the Day 2 bag, let's do this!
Out in the final few hands before bagging for the night. It was a wild last few levels, with a bunch of high pocket pairs and AK/AQ flying around. However, I was mostly card dead and had limited opportunity to get involved.
We bleed down to 6BB and are forced to shove 22 UTG, but get two callers and manage to hold vs A8o and KQo to get a much needed triple up! Blinds are going up fast though as we go through a few more orbits. There are only 7 minutes left and all of a sudden the clock stops as I have shoved Jacks UTG for 10BB. Everyone folds and then they announce there will be a set amount of hands (7) before ending for the day. The next hand I have AJs in the big blind and we have an easy squeeze shove spot after an MP raise and SB call. Initial raiser gets out of the way and our German friend calls with QJo, thinking I am pulling a move. "Give me a queen!", he says. I ask for an ace, and we are in good shape with an ATT flop. He nails his gutshot on the river though and I lose a good opportunity to move on and double.
Sucks to lose in that way, but was fairly happy to be in contention after treading water for so long. Still would have had a lot of work to do with a small stack on Day 2 anyway. Am quite tired so we'll get some good sleep and try again tomorrow.
Earl of Sandwich, In-N-Out, and bricking the Colossus.
I regret to inform you that we are soulmates.
Sounds like you played well and got the money in smart. Here's hoping for better luck in the next flight.
Dang, sounds like you played well all day!
Better luck in the next one!
Earl of Sandwich, In-N-Out, and bricking the Colossus.
I regret to inform you that we are soulmates.
Sounds like you played well and got the money in smart. Here's hoping for better luck in the next flight.
Ha, especially with both of us moving to the Castle later. Maybe I can get a big score this trip too?
Anyway thanks guys, on to the next! I think I'm actually going to stick to the original plan and do the MGM Mystery Bounty today. The Colossus is a ton of fun, but have realized it's a lot of work grinding for likely just a mincash. Can come back in later if I bust early today, or otherwise go again tomorrow when the largest amount of recs will be in the field.
Start off the day by walking over to Cosmo to try and grab some Eggslut for breakfast, but sadly the line was long and I didn't feel like waiting. Got an Earl Grey from Starbucks on the way out - $8.50 with tip is just criminal.
On the walk over to the MGM I get tempted by Cane's, guess we're having an early lunch! On the way in a shirtless bum walks out, apparently he just went in behind the counter and started filling up fountain drinks into bottles from his backpack! The other customers and employee at the register were stunned.
After registering for the tournament we have about 40 minutes to spare. There is a 1/3 game going on, but it doesn't look great and the poker room is otherwise empty so I pass on it. Stay occupied by playing 50 cent spins on video poker, losing $10. I'm sure I made a fair bit of mistakes, will have to practice a bit on Wizard of Odds.
Tournament is quite fishy so far and I'm happy to be here:
Good luck!
I really like those MGM tournaments.
Out in the MGM Mystery Bounty, but ended up lasting a lot longer than initially thought. The tournament started on a really bad note and it was looking like an early exit.
In the first level, we open JTs UTG and get 3 bet 3.5x by a middle aged guy in the CO. It's early, we are deep, and (perhaps arrogantly) I figured should be able to navigate postflop easy enough against the opponent. The flop is above average, Q8xss. Check call two decent sized bets but can't get there and am forced to fold river.
Next level (200/400), UTG raises to 900 and SB calls and I look down on JJ in the BB. Probably should have been a bit bigger but 3 bet to 4k and both call. Flop comes AKT all spades, which is not great (though we do have a spade). Figure I'm beat but have potential outs if called and bet 3k but get jammed on, fold, and shown ATo.
After a number of hands where I can't catch anything, we are down to 9BB and ready to bust and hop back into the Colossus while still in the earlier levels. However, fate had other plans and we reverse some of the bad luck I've had in this and previous trips and put the screws on some people.
We receive JJ UTG which is a no brainer shove. Another Chicagoan two to my left reraise isos and then the action player in BB to my right shoves. Look to be in very bad shape against KK and AA, but the flop comes JTT to give me the much needed triple up! The very next hand there is a CO limp, BTN raise, and call by SB and we wake up with KK and shove that. Action player calls off 16BB with 87o and we bust him to add more to the stack! Still below starting but room to work with.
In the 400/800 level, an English guy replacing the one on my right raises UTG and we look down at 88 with 12BB. This is a shove, but I don't like it and am called by QQ. Again the flop has other plans, containing an 8, and we double up again! Two more sets are flopped after that, and while we can only get minor value are holding steady for a while.
We are hanging tight the next few levels, staying in the 20-30BB area and are pleased to have luck on our side... until it catches back up with me. With a little over 20BB at the 1k/2k level a fish limps CO, BTN raises to 4500 and we call with Q9o. The flop is JTx to give us the open ender, which is checked through. The button bets 5k on a blank turn, and we call and hit our king on the river! A backdoor flush draw has missed and I lead out for 15k to try and get value from some two pair and hands like KQo. He asks how much I have and shoves. Am basically pot committed so snap, but know deep down a cooler is coming. Sure enough it's AQo for the nut straight and that is it.
Would rather have just gone out on one of the dominated pair hands instead of that, but more or less happy to have stuck around on some run good. Was hoping to potentially play the Orleans 6PM tournament but levels are fast and I was looking to have a nicer dinner at the Aria to use my credit. Kinda want to chill out, be done with poker for the day, and then watch the US World Cup game at the Irish bar near NYNY. On the other hand, since I'm not here often, feel like I should maybe play the $200 nightly WSOP deepstack or some 1/3 later.
Catching heat in ANY tournament is a fun way to spend an afternoon!
Good luck!
After the tournament I go and change into some nicer clothes and try to get in somewhere quick for dinner. Was able to get a seat at the bar right away at Carbone, and am greeted with this complementary spread of bites:
I order a whiskey/Aperol based cocktail (and a glass of Chianti after), the Spanish octopus, and Oriecchete:
All delicious. It didn't seem like a lot of food on the surface but I was quite satisfied. However, they were able to rope me into ordering dessert as well:
The lemon cheesecake was also very good, but getting it was a terrible mistake as the piece was huge and couldn't finish it. There were also a few small American flag type cookies with the bill which would have been enough. The main dishes and drinks were $180 with tip, which was a bit pricey, but not a bad deal with $100 deducted from my free credit.
I was so stuffed from dinner that I had to relax in the room and digest a bit after. Was a bit surprised to see that the US was up on Paraguay 3-0 at the half, and watched some of the second in the room. Didn't take long to feel better and decided to fire in the $200 WSOP nightly deepstack!
Starting stack was 20k, and in the second level (100/200), we get into a spot where the table fish limps (a guy who had trouble understanding when to post the blinds and how much they were) and a younger guy isos to 900. We have AKo in the blinds and reraise to 3600, limper folds, and then basically get minclicked back to 7k+. This is a bit gross with the slightly inflated raises due to the limper. Is it fine to just jam the 90-100BB? Thought it was quite nitty but have run AK into KK a bit in these live events and felt like he had it, ended up folding to find a less marginal spot.
Get a bit of that back in 200/300 where we open QQ pre, and then the limper from previous hand minraises our c bet on an 874cc flop. The turn is a 6 of clubs which is not great, but surprisingly he checks that back. Normally that might be considered trappy, but am able to get a 2k value bet on a river jack vs a weirdly played TT.
On the next level, the guy from the AQ hand at the Colossus yesterday shows up at the table! He had cashed today and busted out earlier, and is much more talkative and active than before. At one point when UTG, he puts in a blind raise like a straddle as the cards are being dealt! It happened more than once, never seen that in a tournament before. Then there is a Euro pro type who 4 bet bluffs KTo, flops a king, and is able to have the AK hand guy from before pay off his shove with JJ. Unfortunately he does not try the same when we 3 bet him with AA.
Then we are at 300/600 and there is one level more until the next break and end of 2 hour late reg. Only have about 15-20BB and get into a 4 way pot with QJs in later position. We have an open ender on T97dd and face a bet of 2700 after the other two fold. It is a bit steep, but going to need some luck to go far in the tournament and decide to peel one. Turn is a blank and have to fold to a jam.
After break I have 9500 and need to start doubling going into 500/1000. A9s looks good, but the HJ shoves a similar stack right before me. Ended up folding and would doubled or tripled vs QJo and a later caller with 55. Turns out that is the bottom range of calling from a solver perspective - whoops. Next hand we have JTs, which does get shoved and the Euro (whose stack got wrecked with QQ < TT right before the break) calls with A9s of the same suit. There is a ten on the flop but also an ace to knock me out.
Probably not my best effort tonight as I was a little tired, but that's fine, these nightlies move very quickly. Onto the final flight of the Colossus tomorrow!
The Colossus is a ton of fun, but have realized it's a lot of work grinding for likely just a mincash. Can come back in later if I bust early today, or otherwise go again tomorrow when the largest amount of recs will be in the field.
It's actually not that bad a grind. The bubble is early in Day 2. I know because they were in the same room as the Daily Seniors Deepstack.
Poor showing in the Colossus today, could just not get anything going and missed a lot of flops along with being card dead late. Lasted 7 levels but had to go with KTo under 10 bigs and ran into KQo, GG. BigWhale's post inspired me to get into the $250 deepstack, so we'll give that a try! 1 hour of late reg remaining there.
Poor showing in the Colossus today, could just not get anything going and missed a lot of flops along with being card dead late. Lasted 7 levels but had to go with KTo under 10 bigs and ran into KQo, GG. BigWhale's post inspired me to get into the $250 deepstack, so we'll give that a try! 1 hour of late reg remaining there.
GL! Which table?
Likewise, DMd you
Starting stack was 20k, and in the second level (100/200), we get into a spot where the table fish limps (a guy who had trouble understanding when to post the blinds and how much they were) and a younger guy isos to 900. We have AKo in the blinds and reraise to 3600, limper folds, and then basically get minclicked back to 7k+. This is a bit gross with the slightly inflated rais
Seems good to fold AK this deep when we think the range is exactly AA/KK/QQ/AK. Hurts, but better than going out.
In theory combinations of AA and KK are reduced when we have AK ourselves, but that doesn't mean nobody ever has those hands.
Someone just folded to an all in with broadway on the board (no flush possible). Apparently this is the second time it's happened at the table, different people. Holy ****ing ****.
