Revisionist's second WSOP trip (June 4-10)
In four days, I’m heading to Vegas for my second ever trip to the WSOP. My first trip was in 2024, and after missi
It's been three weeks since I got back from Vegas, and I feel like I have some unfinished business. Some of that is with Vegas itself, as I am still looking for my first FT or really deep run on a Vegas trip. That will have to wait until next year.
But I also feel like I have some unfinished business with my trip report. I wrote fairly in-depth reports for five of the bullets that I busted, but for the tournament that I cashed, I only posted a few chip stack updates on breaks. Now that the LVL trip report frenzy has slowed down, I thought it might be a good time to write a more detailed report of making it to the final two tables at an Orleans $300.
Tuesday, June 9 -- Orleans $300 Monster Stack (Part 1 of 2)
In Level 1 (100/200) with around our 30k starting stack, we open K4dd in CO to 600, SB 3bets to 1.7k, we call. GTOW says this is one pip too wide to call a 3bet, but I opened bigger (3bb vs 2.3bb) than GTO and SB 3bet smaller (8.5bb vs 10.5bb), and the sim is 100bb deep instead of 150bb, so I think it's fine. On T87ssd he bets 1.something, we float with the overcard + bdfd and position, which might also be a touch too loose, but whatever. On a Kx turn SB bets 2.something, we call again. SB slows down and checks the brick river, we bet 3.5k for thin value, he calls and we're good.
Our next significant hand is in Level 2 (200/300). We're up to around 45k, HJ opens off ~35k, and I 3bet Q6ss. GTOW says this would be fine BTN vs CO, but a couple pips too wide CO vs HJ. But we've been chipping up nicely and feeling in control of the table, so let's go for it. HJ calls the 3bet and we see a K75 flop with one spade. We have backdoor straight and flush draws, and a Q could also be good, so our hand has some potential, and this is basically a range bet anyway. We cbet 1.3k into 5.8k and he calls. We pick up an open-ender on the off-suit 8 turn, so we barrel 6k. HJ surprises us with a x/r to 14k. There's 28.4k in the pot already, so while we don't love it, we have no option but to call against such a small raise. We drill the off-suit 4 river and villain bets ~12k, leaving himself one 5k chip back. I pause for a few beats and jam. He says "****" but throws in the 5k chip, and we're good vs K8 for a turned two pair. I thought I saw K8o, but that would be really wild, so I might not have seen his suits correctly. We're running good and up to 80.5k.
The next few levels are fairly uneventful, and we start Level 6 (400/800) with 76.1k. We wish this level had continued to be uneventful, as we run two pair into a straight to bring us down to 39k, and then lose another 7k in a 3bet pot where we squeezed with KJo. We finish the level with 29.8k, almost exactly where we started the day.
Level 7 (500/1k) goes much better, as we get nearly a full double with AA > TT to bring us to 58.4k. Our good fortune continues when we flop the world on an 86xhhd board six ways with T9hh, and we get it in against a guy with 30-something k. We assume we need help and are really hoping he doesn't have bigger hearts, but we're actually in amazing shape against 97dd. Neither of us improve and we bust him with T-high to get over 100k.
We start Level 8 (600/1.2k) with 100.2k. We lose a couple small pots and then get a nice river bluff through. I open QJss in MP, two people IP and the BB call. All four of us check the all-red KTx flop. On a blank turn the BB bets 3.5k into 11.8k, I call with the open-ender, everyone else folds. The river pairs the T and the BB checks. There is 18.8k in the pot, and BB looks to have around 20k in his stack, maybe just a little more. This is a pretty great opportunity to represent trips. I jam, he makes me sweat for a little bit, but eventually folds. We finish the level shortly after and head to break with 104.5k and the chip lead at our table.
In Level 9 (1k/1.5k) the run-good continues and we bust another player in a blind vs blind hand. I don't have the action in my notes other than that with Q7o in the BB, we flopped two pair, turned a full house, and rivered quads on a Q87QQ board, and the SB x/c my overbet jam on the river with A7. I think he just open completed pre, but maybe he raised, otherwise I'm not sure how the pot got big enough to get all of the money in. And someone bet on each street -- I think he bet flop, I called, and he x/c turn. We finish the hand with 159.5k, win a few more small pots, and finish the level with somewhere in the neighborhood of 200k.
In Level 10 (1k/2k), we keep chipping up steadily, playing well and running well. We call a UTG open IP with AJdd, float his cbet on the T76ssd flop with backdoor straight and flush draws + two overs + an Ace high that might already be good, and bet to take it down after the checks the brick turn. In another hand we cbet IP with AJ on Qxx, get called, check behind the J turn, and then get value on the J river. We bust another player with a huge cooler when we defend our BB with KQo. We x/c the KKQ flop, get the opener all-in on the blank turn, and hold vs his AK. We're up to 317k after that hand.
Level 11 (1.5k/2.5k) is fairly uneventful, and we head to dinner break at the end of the level with 303k. There are only 6 or 7 tables left, and I eyeball the rest of the stacks as I leave the poker room. I don't see any stacks bigger than mine.
Just read the whole thread by the pool. So many TR's this time of year. Thanks for sharing. Congrats on the cash at Orleans although I'm sure you're probably disappointed with the Monster Stack after making day two. Sums up perfectly how fickle tournaments are and the love/hate relationship we all have with them. Safe journey home.
Thanks! Yeah, tournaments can bring so many different levels of disappointment.
Great report. I enjoyed the writing and the analytical thought process. Anticipating good things from you in the future.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, and I hope you're right about the future.
Always something I wrestle with. The large field NLHE stuff is fun, but the numbers don't look great when you think about reaching the meaningful payouts. There might be nothing harder to win at the WSOP than a large field NLHE bracelet. It is likely even more difficult than winning any type of high roller, regardless of what people say about how difficult it is to play against
My situation sounds a little different than yours, as I have fairly regular access to tournaments with 1,000+ runners (although certainly not on the level of the Monster Stack), so Vegas in the summer actually gives me better opportunities to fire a bunch of smaller fields than I usually have. But the WSOP still holds a ton of appeal for me, at least in part based on nostalgia and since it's still a relatively new experience to me of actually being able to play it. It will be interesting to see if that holds if I get to the point where I'm coming several years in a row, or at least most years.
I typically fire 1, maybe 2 WSOP events MAX when I come, and honestly, I think your comments are spot on. A perfect example was on Wednesday, while I a lot of folks were trying to beat 20,000 entrants in the Col. at WSOP, there was an awesome $800 dollar tournament going on at Aria with about 300-400 players and 50K up top. 30 minute levels, and rebuys being over at a somewhat
I still haven't made it to Aria yet but probably would have played that $800 if my trip was a day longer. I hope it works out to play there next year.
