Gray-haired poker TRs: Living the WSOP dream
At the age of 62 (AARP members unite!), I have decided that I will write a trip report for my 2024 trek to the World Ser
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 4 of 14)
A-A versus K-K versus K-Q, and K-Q wins the hand which leads to angry chaos between Dodgers (K-K) and a player (Man Purse) not even in the hand ... The Floor gets called ... Dodgers unloads on Man Purse with an epic insult ... The Floor warns Dodgers ... I get a chance to target the way-too-active Thumper with aggression and he blinks
Level 6
400/800/800
I have J-J. Thumper folds pre flop before it is my turn to act. C’mon! This is one of the 10% of hands that he folds? I open the betting and everyone folds.
It folds to me on the BTN. I have K-J. I bet. Both of the blinds fold.
Next comes the fireworks! Pre flop Welcome Wagon is all-in with K-Q, a new player wearing a hat that says “Papa” on it who doesn’t have a ton of chips is all-in with A-A, and Dodgers has them both covered with K-K. Papa’s A-A is not that significant because he doesn’t have a whole lot of chips. Not enough to really matter. The pot that really matters is Welcome Wagon’s K-Q versus Dodgers K-K since there are a lot more chips in play for this side pot. It is kind of baffling that Welcome Wagon got it all in with K-Q given the betting firepower that took place.
The board runs out Q-2-Q-8-3. Despite only having a bit under 6% equity pre flop, Welcome Wagon has inexplicably won this enormous pot. Papa is out. Dodgers still has chips, but he has taken quite a hit.
Then things really get crazy. Wait, K-Q delivering bad beats to both A-A and K-K isn’t the crazy part? Well, the double bad beat was crazy. But what happens seconds after the river is shown is the really, really, really crazy part.
It has been common for players to self-police and help out on complicated pots given the overwhelmingly inexperienced dealers we have been getting. The fact that there is a main pot and an even bigger side pot qualifies as the kind of happening in which players have been guiding/helping/doing the job of the dealer. I’m not sure what Dodgers did, but he does something that I believe was meant to assist in this manner. Man Purse, who was not even in the hand, gets really bent out of shape and objects to Dodgers putting his hand into the pot.
Dodgers says, “Can you relax. I just ran K-K into K-Q.”
An agitated Man Purse goes from 0 to 100 intensity in a fraction of a second and calls loudly, adamantly, angrily for the floor. The floor arrives, and when Man Purse describes the perceived crime against humanity, Dodgers explodes and says of Man Purse, “F**cking hall monitor over here!!!!!!”
I fight hard to stifle my laughter. It’s a pretty epic comment in the heat of the moment. The floor obviously doesn’t find the humor, and gets angry with Dodgers and says, “I know tempers are hot. You (Dodgers) keep your hand out of the pot and watch your language.”
Above the surface, everything calms down, but below the surface you can see the blood boiling among the combatants. Names have been taken. Vendettas have been created. Enemies have been made. This .... is ... not ... over!
OK, for now, back to poker. UTG I have Ac-10h, and I open the betting and get two calls. The flop is Qc-7c-4c. I bet my nut flush draw and the other players both fold.
Thumper opens 4,000 from the BTN. I am in the small blind with A-J suited. I make it 15,000. Against an UTG bet by a tight player I don’t get so aggressive with A-J suited. But against a BTN steal by a player who is playing 90% of hands, I figure I am massively ahead of his range. Thumper, who hates folding, folds. Thumper glares at me. He seems pissed off and aggrieved. How dare I stand up to him! How dare I raise him!!! He glares at me some more. I’m not impressed.
The players at this table are very much on edge. At some point, something or someone is going to light the fuse, and then look out.
End of level 6: 116,200 chips.
On break I run into Welcome Wagon in the bathroom. He is about to leave and I am waiting in line. He sees me and says, “How did you like that K-Q?” He is referring to the hand when he got lucky against A-A and K-K.
I refrain from saying it was a bad play that massively sucked out, and instead I say, “It was good to be you.”
Welcome Wagon says, “I was excited. That never happens to me.” Well, at least someone from the incendiary table is happy.
See, this is the part when I say something like, "No, it's not never. 6% of the time that works for you."
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 5 of 14)
Man Purse suffers a runner-runner bad beat and busts out against Thumper ... Dodgers can’t help himself and hurls one more epic insult at Man Purse ... Welcome Wagon is sun running ... Man Purse is replaced at the table by Man Purse 2 ... Dodgers lays down A-A
Level 7
500/1,000/1,000
There is a new player in Seat 7 who is wearing a t-shirt that says, “Basketball Intramural Champion.” We’ll call him “Hoops.”
Man Purse -- who by the way has 68 WSOP cashes -- is all-in with A-K against Thumper’s A-J. There is a King on the flop, and Man Purse surely is about to double up. Instead, runner-runner cards give Thumper the improbable straight.
No sooner does the unlikely river card hit sealing Man Purse’s demise than a still seething Dodgers taunts him and yells, “Seat Open!”
While I am not a trash talker and don’t condone it, it takes every bit of self control for me not to laugh at what is a pretty epic poker needle. To his credit, Man Purse leaves quietly. Dodgers now starts to vent about the earlier dust up between him and Man Purse. On the one hand, Man Purse started the original dust up when in my opinion it was completely unnecessary. On the other hand, Man Purse just suffered a pretty terrible bad beat and some empathy was warranted. After the fact, I would say that Man Purse was deserving of much more criticism than was Dodgers. There was no need for Man Purse to create and then escalate an issue that was totally unnecessary in the first place. Dodgers had reason to be pissed. Could Dodgers have taken the high road after Man Purse’s bad beat? Certainly, but I also understand the bad blood.
From a personal perspective, I would have preferred that Man Purse won the hand, because the mega active Thumper being to my immediate right is making it difficult for me to find spots to manufacture chips when I am not getting cards.
Welcome Wagon is sun running. Earlier his K-Q beat A-A and K-K. Now he busts Cuba who goes all-in with 5-5 and runs into Welcome Wagon’s A-A. A set is flopped, but it is Welcome Wagon who has three of a kind when there is an Ace on the flop. Welcome Wagon has heaps of chips.
Seat 3 is two to my left. It is vacant after Man Purse’s exit. Ideally, a weak player takes this seat. Instead, a tough opponent fills this seat. He is an older Chinese man who has ... a man purse. So Man Purse leaves and gets replace by ... I guess he needs to be called ... Man Purse 2.
I am the BTN and it folds to me. I have K-Q and open the betting. Military Coin is in the small blind and calls. The flop is A-7-6. Military Coin checks. I bet, and Military Coin open folds 10-10.
On the very next hand, the flop is 10-8-6. Military Coin complains to me that he didn’t get this flop last hand, when it would have given him a set. Again, this type of thinking can only lead to madness.
Man Purse 2 doubles up at Thumper’s expense when Man Purse 2 flops a set of 2s against Thumper’s top pair.
Man Purse 2 is in a hand against Dodgers. The board reads 4h-Qs-8d-Jh-10h. Everything got there (flushes, a variety of straights, two pairs). Man Purse 2 bets pot. Dodgers doesn’t like it. He open folds A-A and laments, “I’m running so bad this week.”
A new player from Detroit arrives in Seat 6. From his stories, he seems to be very much a part of the tournament scene and he name drops famous poker friends. He’ll simply be “Detroit.”
I ask the guy wearing the Dodgers hat a question about two-way baseball superstar Shohei Otani that he can’t answer. I say, “Aren’t you a Dodgers fan?” He says, “Nah, it’s just a hat.”
From late position, it folds to me, and I open the betting with Kc-9c. Paris calls from the big blind. He has not been as active lately as he was earlier when he had a big stack. The flop is A-7-4. No clubs. He checks. I bet. He folds.
Man, a lot has happened the last two levels. Drama, hostility and interesting stuff happening nonstop. Meanwhile, I continue accumulating chips.
End of level 7: 121,200 chips.
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 6 of 14)
I make a simple, respectful request of Thumper, and he takes offense ... Thumper is out of line with his actions ... I let it go, but I hatch a plan to put Thumper on tilt if the cards cooperate ... Dealer unintentionally needles Military Coin
Level 8
600/1,200/1,200
Man Purse 2 opens from UTG. Thumper calls. I have 10-10 in the small blind. This doesn’t seem like a raising hand to me against an UTG open. I just call. Is this too passive? Hands like 9-9 and 10-10 are very challenging for me. The flop is 5-6-3. From out of position, I just check. Is this too passive? I think it is too passive. Man Purse 2 and Thumper both check, which surprises me. The flop is a King. I check, Man Purse 2 bets. Thumper rips. I fold. Man Purse 2 folds.
Man Purse 2 has built up a really big stack. Thumper doubles up against him on an A-2-3-4-5 board. All the money goes in after the river, and Thumper has 6-6.
For quite a while now, I have not been able to see all of Thumper’s chips. He is in the 9 seat. I am in the 1 seat. Thumper has a couple of bottles to the side of his chips, which is why I can only see a small fraction of his chips. I consider saying something to the dealer, but instead I think it will be more respectful to take the direct route. I get Thumper’s attention, and I say, “Can you please move the bottles to the left of your chips, because I can’t see your chips.”
Instead of moving the bottles, Thumper moves his chips way forward in a very agitated, aggressive manner. He is pissed. Then he angrily says, “And I can’t see your chips.” Unlike him, I have nothing on the table other than my chips, but I calmly move my chips forward and I say, “I’m glad to do so.”
A couple of hands later he moves the bottles forward so I again can’t see his chips. A couple of hands after that he moves both the chips and the bottle back where they were in the first place.
I don’t say anything, but I hatch a plan. If there is a hand Thumper is in and it is my turn to act and I have a big hand I will complain to the dealer at that time that Thumper has again hidden his chips behind the bottles despite me saying something earlier. Actually, I will bypass the dealer and simply ask for the floor, who I will present my grievance to. I am certain that this will absolutely enrage the hot-headed Thumper, and he seems like the type to tilt go all-in. Unfortunately, I never get the cards I needed in a hand he is in to pull off this course of action. It would have been glorious. One of my great disappointments this trip is that a situation did not present itself for me to pull off this gambit.
When I am UTG, I have A-J suited. I open the betting. Both the small blind (Welcome Wagon) and the big blind (Thumper) call. Might this be the hand to run the gambit I described in the above paragraph? If the flop is either Ace or Jack high, then I think so. Instead, the flop is 8-4-7. This smashes both players’ ranges. They both check, and I do so as well. The turn is a 5. Again, this surely smashes one of their ranges. Welcome Wagon bets, and both Thumper and I fold.
Military Coin is down to crumbs. Detroit opens for 3,000. Military Coin goes all-in for 7,000. The dealer tosses the all-in circle, sees the paltry number of chips and says, “That’s all?” Ouch. Detroit calls. Military Coin, who has been moaning to me about his run bad since he joined the table gets it in good with A-7 off suit, but loses to Detroit’s Q-8 suited. Military Coin heads off with one more story to tell about getting it in good and losing.
End of level 8: 107,300 chips.
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 7 of 14)
Thumper is 0-for-15 cashing in The Main Event ... Almost the entire poker room mocks a player at a nearby table ... I meet on a break LVL’s Pucks32
Level 9
1,000/1,500/1,500
Thumper says that he has played in 15 Main Events. When asked the obvious follow-up question, he admits he has never cashed. That’s not a story I would choose to tell. I quietly enjoy hearing this 0-for-15 stat about my nemesis.
The tricky, hard-to-put-on-a-hand Man Purse 2 busts Hoops. Man Purse 2 has 4-5 which has somehow turned into a full house.
I have been dealt one card when the dealer says there is a misdeal. I look at my card. It is an Ace.
Detroit opens for 3,000. I call with K-Q off suit. Man Purse 2 raises huge and I fold.
At the other end of the table there is a discussion regarding Thumper’s experiences in the Main Event. I catch a piece of a story in which Thumper claims to have put a player in the Main Event, that player won $460,000 and Thumper got half. I quietly don’t enjoy hearing this story about my nemesis.
Main Event talk continues. Dodgers says he played in it once and made Day 3. Detroit says the deepest he’s gone is Day 5.
There is a player at a nearby table who much earlier in the day went crazy when he won a hand as though he just won the tournament. Now, still Day 1, this same player freaks out at losing a hand, groans and then screams, “Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!” The entire room then expresses its mockery as tons of people start groaning while a whole bunch of others yell “Oh my goodness!!!!!” over and over and over again.
End of level 9: 96,300 chips.
We go on break. First things first. A bathroom stop. Then I go to get a WSOP overpriced hot dog only to find out that they have run out of hot dogs. How the heck do you run out of hot dogs during a scheduled tournament break? This reminds me of some early season Michigan football games I have attended where it is blazing hot, and by halftime the concession stands have run out of bottled water. How is that possible? You know the weather report. You know 110,000 people will be at the game. How do you not have enough water? Talk about leaving money on the table.
In any event, I’m not starving, so I am fine waiting until the next break to get something to eat.
Next on the agenda is a meetup with LVL’s Pucks32. We have agreed to meet just up the stairs leading to the Horseshoe Event Center. We find one another. Pucks is a journalist/writer, and I am a former journalist/writer so we have lots to talk about. Good to put yet another face with a LVL member. I’m really enjoying the social component I am experiencing this WSOP by meeting with so many LVL regulars.
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 8 of 14)
K-K wins me a nice pot ... Dodgers and Thumper have a mini spat ... Dodgers sniffs out a bluff of mine ... Man Purse 2 busts Thumper ... I have A-8 in the big blind in a 4-player hand, the flop is A-7-2, and I don’t know what to do ... I feel overmatched by two players at my table
Level 10
1,000/2,000/2,000
I write in my notes, “I still have 48 BBs. Be patient.”
Seat 7 has a new player who is wearing a Wrestlemania t-shirt. Almost immediately, he and I tangle. He opens for 5,000. I have K-K, and I bump it to 15,000. He calls. The flop is J-10-5 and I bet and he calls. The turn is a harmless 6. I bet enough to put him all-in, and he folds. I have 131,000 chips.
Dodgers and Thumper get after it. Following the river bet and call, it’s Dodgers who is supposed to show first. Dodgers says, “You’re good” as in he is mucking, but he hasn’t actually mucked his cards yet. He is still holding them. Thumper wants him to show and says, “I’ll wait.” Dodgers shows Ace high. Thumper has fourth pair. Dodgers is annoyed that Thumper forced him to show his hand. Dodgers also thinks it is foolish on Thumper’s part, saying, “What if 1 in a 1,000 you misread your cards and end up losing the pot?” Things are getting spicy.
I try unsuccessfully to run a bluff on Dodgers. I have K-10 (my notes do not say what position each of us was in or what the pre flop action was). The flop is 6-7-8. I bet. He raises. I fold. I have 122,000 chips. It’s like he knew exactly what I had. I write in my notes, “Next time against Dodgers, have it.”
Man Purse 2 busts Thumper when Man Purse 2 has A-K against Thumper’s A-Q. I won’t miss Thumper. It’s rare for me to dislike someone at a poker table, but I think Thumper is a jerk. Earlier Dodgers yelled “Seat Open” to celebrate his nemesis being eliminated. I’m sure it felt good. Do I go down the same path? What I want to say is, “Finally I can see how many chips he has.” Certainly, Thumper has it coming. He has been a jerk to me. He has been intentionally hiding his chips from me. But turning the needle does not line up with my Spirit of the Game approach to life (which I have described a couple of times in this thread, and which translates to Do the Right Thing). The devil on my shoulder wants me to Feel Wrath and say, “F**k it, he pissed me off!!!!” The angel on my other shoulder reminds me of a picture I have scanned and on my laptop, which is ...
Be Kind. While noble, this doesn’t sound very exciting right now. Be kind. Sigh.
Time is running out. Thumper has collected his things and has just started storming off from the table. He is, however, still within earshot.
It’s now or never ... I’m torn ... it’s 50-50 ... a coin flip ... a different type of poker coin flip ...
... say it ... say it ... I take a deep breath ...
... and I say ...
... nothing.
I show restraint and I don’t say it. I choose to be a grownup. It would have felt good -- really, really, really good -- in the moment to needle Thumper, who has been a total lowlife to me (I’ve left out a couple of other minor incivilities on his part directed toward me for no good reason), but it’s not my style to hit below the belt. I choose not to hit a man (even an unpleasant man) when he is down. The high road does not overlap with the fun road in this instance, but good has won out over evil in this miniscule battle for my soul.
And yet ... I feel so ... unsatisfied.
I move on.
I get involved in a hand in which I find myself lost what to do. Dodgers opens, two other players call, and I call with A-8 in the big blind. The flop is A-7-2. I check, Dodgers bets, the other two players fold, and I fold. Dodgers showed a lot of strength betting into three opponents. I have top pair, but my kicker is mediocre. But there was no sense calling pre flop if I’m going to fold on this type of flop. Does this mean I should have folded pre flop? That seems too tight. Does this mean I should have called the post flop raise? That doesn’t feel great, but I think it’s probably what I should have done. I’m really unsure what the correct response should have been. Help?
I write in my notes that I feel overmatched against Dodgers and Man Purse 2. They both battle like crazy to win a pot. You have to be really committed to win a pot against them. They keep putting me (and really all of the other players at the table) to tests I don’t know the answers to.
Increasingly, Dodgers is really turning up the heat on everybody at the table. Everyone else seems to be baffled by him except for Man Purse 2.
Dodgers flops a set and wins a huge hand versus Welcome Wagon. So not only is Dodgers playing exceptionally well, but he is getting hit by the deck.
Detroit and I end up in a conversation even though we are at opposite ends of the table. With me being from Illinois, we discuss Chicago versus Detroit style pizza. We also talk Michigan football and hoops.
[B]WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 8 of 14)I get involved in a hand in which I find myself lost what to do. Dodgers opens, two other players call, and I call with A-8 in the big blind. The flop is A-7-2. I check, Dodgers bets, the other two players fold, and I fold. Dodgers showed a lot of strength betting into three opponents. I have top pair, but my kick
The position Dodgers opened from could provide more context but I don’t like the fold here, especially as you’re last to act. Seems like he’s playing more than his fair share of hands. Either call or raise would have been better imo.
Agree that we should continue there if we think Dodgers is a tricky/competent opponent. There's a weird leveling dynamic with the multi-way component where since everybody knows you need a stronger hand to bet into multiple opponents, it incentivizes bluffing because it makes your bluff look more credible. A very good player can leverage that dynamic to continue with all kinds of air. I find that Axx flops are underbluffed most of the time, but the same dynamic applies. The early aggressor knows he has range advantage on this board, and since there was no pre-flop three-bet, he also knows that AK/AQ are somewhat unlikely. He has a license to get out of line when the ace hits.
I've folded Ax on boards like this to a single bet against nits, but if we respect our opposition then we should probably keep him honest by peeling a card. Sometimes he's full of it and he shuts down. Sometimes we make two pair on the turn and it doesn't matter what he has. Sometimes we might have to make a tough turn or river decision.
Agree that we should continue there if we think Dodgers is a tricky/competent opponent. There's a weird leveling dynamic with the multi-way component where since everybody knows you need a stronger hand to bet into multiple opponents, it incentivizes bluffing because it makes your bluff look more credible. A very good player can leverage that dynamic to continue with all kinds
I actually think we can save ourselves some trouble and just fold pre from BB when we are going 4-ways to the flop. Heads-up it should be a slam-dunk call, but 4-ways I would just ditch a trouble hand like A8o.
I am perhaps a bit overly cautious from BB in multiway-spots, and I am not 100% sure if that is correct or not. But I would much rather have 54o in this spot most of the time, compared to a weak off-suit Ace.
That said, I agree with DogFace that good players can probably find some light continues with hands that have one backdoor, just because they know they will rarely get raised on those textures and they know it looks strong.
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 9 of 14)
I have A-K versus villain’s A-Q for 200,000 chips ... In a different hand, I fold pre flop what would have made quads ... The aggression at this table has become massive
Next comes one of the most critical hands of the tournament for me. Two players limp, a new late reg guy to the table goes all-in, I go all-in, the original limpers fold. I have A-K. The new player who is from Brazil has A-Q. If my hand holds up, I think I will have around 200,000 chips.
The board runs out ...
... 2-A-7-Q-Q.
Not only do I lose this hand, but the guy hits runner-runner to make a full house, as if the first Queen on the turn wasn’t enough. I am down to 82,000 chips. Weren’t yesterday’s back-to-back bad beats enough pain for one trip? I am getting it in great for heaps, and I am getting punished. Apparently, the evil Poker God of Variance did not move on to his next victim. Apparently, he has been hanging around all day just waiting to inflict max pain to me..
This is devastating. It’s difficult enough competing against players who are way more seasoned and, let’s be honest, way better than me. But for me to keep getting it in way ahead and losing over and over and over again in the critical hands so far this WSOP feels like an impossible mountain to climb.
I write down in my notes, “I still have 41 big blinds. Get over the bad beat.”
It folds to me in the small blind. I have A-9. The big blind only has 32,000. I put him all-in, and he folds. I was not on tilt when I did this. I simply figured that given the smallish chip stack villain had, plus the fact that A-9 was way ahead of any two random cards, the best approach was to shove.
Dodgers and Man Purse 2 continue to go to war against each other as well as versus the rest of the table. Dodgers and Man Purse 2 play a huge pot with tons of betting. When it is time to turn cards over, Dodgers has fourth pair while Man Purse 2 has fifth pair. Bluffing against these two players seems like a suicide mission.
Man Purse 2 has K-4, makes two pair on the turn and busts a new late reg player who has A-A. And now Man Purse 2 is getting hit by the deck.
Dodgers opens to 5,000. Welcome Wagon calls. I have K-Q, and I call. The flop is Q-7-3. I can’t tell from my notes if either of them bet first, but I put a hefty bet in and both of them folded.
Next comes a soul-crushing hand. Welcome Wagon is UTG and raises, someone else calls. I have 2-2 with numerous players still to act. I figure this is way too deep into the tournament to be set mining. Now is not the time to be playing speculative hands. I am sure 2-2 is way behind. I fold. The board run out is Q-A-2-2-7. I would have flopped a set and turned quads. Poker is taunting me. Making matters worse, Welcome Wagon had K-K, although the Ace on the flop would have diminished his desire to stack off.
I am dealt Q-Q. I bet. Everyone folds.
There is a new woman in Seat 4. She is wearing a pink hoodie. We’ll call her Pinky. She comes out guns blazing the first two hands she is dealt. The aggression at this table is massive.
End of level 11: 97,000 chips.
Agreed. If you're going to play A8o, you have to be prepared to bet it when you hit an Ace.
Thought about that as well. The trade off is that the pot is laying us a much better price when there are many people involved, though I agree that we'd rather have something like 78 to go multi-way than A8. We never love A8 after the flop unless we make two pair or better, and that's going to be difficult. In a big bet game like NLHE, the ability to make a durable hand may be more important than the pot odds of the moment, which is an argument for playing these middling hands like A7-A9 very cautiously in multi-way situations. If folding pre-flop is a mistake, it can't be a very big mistake. In general, playing very polarized ranges is a good approach in NLHE when we want to avoid thin spots.
Now I have talked myself into thinking we sometimes want to bluff pre-flop here too! Dead money in the pot with an ace blocker and a hand that plays terribly post-flop. It wouldn't be the worst opportunity to get spicy, though I don't find myself making a play like that very often in practice.
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 10 of 14)
A new kid shows the bluff ... Bluff Shower pushes me off a hand ... I take aim at Bluff Shower ... Bluff Shower lives very near my hometown
Level 12
1,500/3,000/3,000
I write in my notes, “33 BBs. Patience.”
Every hand is fought for deep into the board. Commit or die.
A new late reg player who is very young arrives at the table. He gets in a hand against Man Purse 2 and Pinky. On the river he makes a big bet, and Man Purse 2 and Pinky both fold. New Kid then says, “Was King high good?” He shows the bluff. Everyone has machine guns at this table. I guess we call the new kid “Bluff Shower.”
Detroit busts.
I have K-Q UTG. This is a hand that always seems to get me in trouble from UTG. Still, I can’t fold. I open the betting. Bluff Shower and someone else call. The flop is 8-9-10. I stab at it. Bluff Shower goes all-in. I don’t really believe him, but I am probably losing to his bluffs, much less if he actually smashed the flop. I fold. I have 78,000 chips. Still 26 BBs.
Bluff Shower opens from the BTN. I have Ad-10d. I jam it in his eye, and he folds.
It comes up in conversation that Bluff Shower lives just a few towns over from where I live. The dealer then says he lives 25 minutes from where I live. I don’t say it, but I can’t think of anything less important to me at the moment than playing Chicagoland geography.
I have A-J, and I open the betting. Pinky calls. The flop is J-7-9. I bet, and she calls. The turn is a 3. I bet and Pinky folds. I have 111,000 chips.
On the A-8 hand, I'm still uncertain as to what I should have done.
I called pre flop because of the great pot odds given there has been an opening bet and two calls. There were three options, and I think I chose the worst one:
Option 1: Call. Getting great odds to make the call since I close the action. The problem is there is almost no potential flop that A-8 off will be happy with four way.
Option 2: Fold. It's almost never going to flop well, so even though I'm getting great odds to call and close the action it's a problem hand that can get me in a lot of trouble. Maybe it's nitty and maybe it's a mistake but at worst it is a very small mistake.
Option 3: Squeeze/raise. Dodgers plays a well above average (but not insane) number of hands as we have gotten deeper into the day. If I raise I either take down the hand immediately or I likely find myself heads up against Dodgers.
The problem with all of these options is I am certain Dodgers will three barrel. He is going to put me in jail trying to decide I should do after the Ace hits on the flop and I have top pair problem kicker. Do I really want to play for my stack with top pair problem kicker?
None of the options thrill me. Option 1 (call) is not good because even when I flop the Ace I have no idea where I am. Knowing that Dodgers will very likely three barrel makes me think I should fold pre and fold post flop and wait for a better spot. Option 2 (fold pre flop) is nitty, but given that flopping really well is almost impossible maybe it is best to simply muck the problem child that is A-8 off suit. Option 3 (squeeze/raise) is intriguing, but Dodgers has shown that he doesn't back down. An argument can be made that top pair problem kicker after the flop, while not the nuts, is ahead of a lot of the hands that Dodgers has played in situations like this. But do I want to play for stacks with this hand? I think there will be better opportunities.
In retrospect, the option I chose (option 1: call) was the worst choice. I think there are better choices between fold pre flop and squeeze/raise pre flop. Maybe ...
10% for Option 1 call pre flop
55% for Option 2 fold pre flop
35% for option 3 squeeze/raise pre flop
If Dodgers had opened and it had folded to me, then I'd feel better about raising and if he comes back with a re-raise then I just fold.
As played on an Ace high flop, I needed to call the bet by Dodgers. The problem is I am sure he would have bet on both the turn and river. Do I really want to make this commitment? Yes, he is very capable of doing so light. I'm not that capable of playing for my stack fairly light. Maybe that is a leak/weakness of mine, but I just felt there would be much better spots against the aggressive style of so many players currently at the table.
You forgot option 4. Also flop an eight. Good skill to groom.
If you don't fold the best hand once in while, you're playing too loose; OTOH, if you're not caught bluffing once in a while, you're too tight. It's OK to pitch the best sometimes.
I kinda look at marginal spots as "what am I hoping to do with this hand?" Once that's accomplished, I should be interested. If I can't answer that, give up.
I would fold A6-A9 there pre unless it was suited & then play A2-A5 for 2pair or straight value & be very careful with A10 & AJo
As played though you have to continue for one street at least
Also, you don't give positions of the two villains on the KQ utg hand but that's a horrible board to c bet. You can check/give up or check/call one street given you're drawing to the nuts.
This seems like the proper point in the trip report where I -- again -- acknowledge that certain rppoker poker decisions can give you heartburn and an upset tummy. On the bright side, perhaps this leads to a sponsorship opportunity.
we all make bad decisions every time we play. you are just posting far more spots than any of us.
also most of them are marginal so w/e. you're playing well
we all make bad decisions every time we play. you are just posting far more spots than any of us.
also most of them are marginal so w/e. you're playing well
they are rarely "bad decisions". poker is a game where you try to do the best with limited information against people who are actively trying to beat you. and each street the situation can change.
they are rarely "bad decisions". poker is a game where you try to do the best with limited information against people who are actively trying to beat you. and each street the situation can change.
You do you but I think there are plenty.
And IMO, recognising and learning from them is how we get better. I made a mistake on Sat in a cash game that I’m still angry about 2 days later and I’m still regretting bad decisions from my wsop runs.
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WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 11 of 14)
Man Purse 2 puts his entire tournament on the line going all-in on the river, and he gets the fold ... I feel confident that Man Purse 2 is turning up the heat with mostly bluffs, and it’s working ... I have A-K on a K-9-7 flop against Man Purse 2
Man Purse 2 wins a massive pot against Welcome Wagon. Absolutely massive. They both start the hand with tons of chips. There is heavy betting on every street. After the river card is shown, the board reads 9-9-8-K-7. Man Purse 2 goes all-in. Welcome Wagon tanks and tries to talk the hand through out loud, and he says, “The only thing I can beat is A-Q and A-J.” I can see that Welcome Wagon wants to call. Comes close to making the call. Can’t make the call. Folds. Man Purse 2 shows the bluff: A-Q. Put his entire tournament at risk with just Ace high. Played for stacks with just Ace high. I have been convinced for a while that Man Purse 2 has been bluffing a ton. I write down in my notes, “This is not a one-time bluff. He is bluffing like crazy. Remember this if I get in a hand with Man Purse 2.”
Keep what just happened in mind when I describe the very next hand. The ... very ... next ... hand. This is the last hand before dinner break. I am dealt A-K. I bet. Man Purse 2 calls from the blinds. The flop is K-9-7 rainbow. A seemingly ideal flop for me. This is what you dream of against a serial bluffer. He bets (of course he does), I raise, he calls. The turn is a Jack. Man Purse 2 checks, I go all-in (if he has it, he has it), and he snap calls (he has it). He has 10-8 and made a straight on the turn. I’m out. At the hands of the bluff happy guy who just went all in for heaps with only Ace high the prior hand, and now just saw his 10-8 make a straight on the turn after my A-K had hit big on the flop. I just went from feeling certain I was about to surpass 200,000 chips to being out of the tournament.
Man Purse 2, who does not speak great English, sheepishly says to me, “Sorry.”
I say, ”It’s OK.”
Man Purse 2 is undeterred. He seems to feel genuinely bad, and he repeats himself, saying, “Sorry.”
I smile at him and say, “That’s poker. Good luck the rest of the tournament.”
I mean, I’m crushed, but the guy didn’t do anything wrong. He’s been bluffing his ass off for hours. Very successfully, I might add. His strategy as best I could tell was to get to the river when the board gets scary and then bluff his foes off their hand. This was just yet another aggressive move on his part that was initially looking bad/overly ambitious (though he did have equity) and then he got there.
Tournament poker is not for the faint of heart.
The evil God of Poker Variance is still hyper focused on me. Another double dip of crazy variance. Just like yesterday. Today it was my A-K losing to A-Q, and then my A-K that flopped great getting cracked by 8-10 that turned better.
I have no regrets. Should I have slowed down after the turn? Not against THIS opponent. If I were to play scared after the turn against this bluff heavy (and I mean HEAVY) foe then I probably need to quit playing poker. Right or wrong, I decided my hand was ride or die.
Still two more Day 1s of the Colossus. I need to pick myself up off the ground, dust myself off and prepare myself to start anew tomorrow. At some point the evil Poker God of Variance has got to get bored tormenting the likes of me. I mean, there are ballrooms full of potential victims for him to choose from.
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 7 of 14)Thumper is 0-for-15 cashing in The Main Event ... Almost the entire poker room mocks a player at a nearby table ... I meet on a break LVL’s Pucks32Level 91,000/1,500/1,500Thumper says that he has played in 15 Main Events. When asked the obvious follow-up question, he admits he has never cashed. That’s not a story I w
Great to meet you and glad we were able to make it happen! I busted right after this break…hope you made a deep run! Looking forward to reading the rest of the TR.
WSOP 2026: (June 11) $500 Colossus NLHE, Day 1B (Part 12 of 14)
I meet up with TonySoprano9 who just busted his mixed game tourney ... Battista’s has too long a wait, so we go elsewhere to hang while he waits for the Colossus to come out of a break at which time he’ll max late reg ... He will either double up or bust quickly, so I wait to see what happens.
I text TonySoprano9 to see if he is around. Turns out he just busted his mixed game tournament. He wants to get something to eat and then he is going to late, late, late reg the Colossus post dinner break. We agree to meet at Battista’s. We get there, but it’s a 30-minute wait and there are no seats available. Well, actually there is one seat available at the bar. I tell Tony he should take it and I’ll call it a day. He says no, let’s just get a coffee and he’ll eat later since he’s not overly hungry. We head back to the Horseshoe. I’m not sure where. I’m still a bit dazed by how bad I am running in crucial, massive hands where I go from way ahead to massively unlucky, so I just follow Tony. We go ... wherever ... and Tony orders a Cappuccino. We just sit and kind of veg. I mention to Tony that this feels like the first time since I got to Las Vegas that I sat down and just took a deep breath.
In the aftermath of my bust-out hand I have not considered a certain possibility. Do I supermax late reg? My itinerary allows for two bullets on every Day 1 of the Colossus.
It is in the budget ... Nah, I don’t have it in me to do so after battling the entire day. All of the other max late reg players will be showing up fresh. My brain feels fried. Just because I can max late reg doesn’t mean I should max late reg. I’m still trying to process the way I just busted. Still feeling numb.
I decide to take a pass.
Eventually it is time for Tony to head over to the Colossus in the Horseshoe Ballroom. He asks me if I’ll stick around briefly. He says that with his starting stack at 50,000 and the blinds at 2,000/4,000/4,000 he will only have 12.5 big blinds. He’s either going to bust out or double up quickly. He says that if he busts, we can go to dinner. If he doubles up, he’ll text me and I will head out. Sounds like a plan.
I walk with Tony toward his table, and then I take a seat at a vacant poker table within eyesight.
