Bracelet Hunting - A WSOP 2026 Trip Report
Time for a new thread!
Credit to rppoker (who made the suggestion in my previous thread) for the title of this years’ tri
57k on 2nd break going back to 1,500 - 3,000 limits.
Went all the way down to 15k before hitting an upswing.
Table a lot tougher now (due to players being high-carded off to open new tables and being replaced) and includes Kevin Gerhart who I know well from the $80 Mix, Lawrence Brandt and Brian Breck who plays really crazy.
Same 57k on 3rd break, going back to 2,000 - 4,000 limits. (We just played 1,500 - 3,000 for 2 hours. It’s a slow structure) Pretty card dead that session. Had it up to 65k before ante’ing and blinding back down.
Koji Fujimoto joined the table. $10k 2-7 champ who plays in the $150-$300 Mix at Bellagio and teaches some of the Japanese kids who play in our $80 game.
Let’s go!
59k on last break of the night and the end of late reg. Going back to 2,500 - 5,000 limits.
Had it up to 80k but lost a big Stud pot last hand before break.
Got moved tables to balance which I wasn’t too unhappy about, but no easy tables in this one. At least two or three very good players on every table that I can see.
A late night rush would be nice. [emoji1696]
Bust. Last level of the night.
Day 47
Saturday July 11th
I wake up almost relieved in a way that I don’t have any more tournaments left to play. An example from the last level last night perfectly sums up my series:
I grinded away all day to get the 40k stack up to 80k, then playing O8 I defend my BB against SB raise with AJ35
Flop: J-J-Q
Villain bets, we raise, he calls.
Turn: A (we now have jacks full of aces)
Villain checks, we bet, he calls.
River: Q
Villain leads out. I call out of sheer frustration because I don’t need him to turn his hand over to know he has AQxx for a bigger full house.
And that’s how my summer has gone in tournaments. Played hard every day but just no co-operation from the cards.
I’ll do a full accounting when I get home. For those that took pieces of the packages there will be some money coming back as I didn’t use all the re-entry budget.
As usual I find solace at the pool.
Until it’s time to watch the England game at the Paris sportsbook. The place is packed with lots of my fellow countrymen and it’s standing room only. I have a little action on England pk and to advance.
They do eventually get the job done, but needed extra time to do it so I only win the to advance bet and push the 90 minutes bet.
I meet GolfPro after the game and we take the bus up to Wynn for something to eat as I’m going to see a show there later and he will be playing a tournament at Venetian. I would normally walk of course but GolfPro swears by the bus and wants to show me the benefits of the Duece.
It’s not that easy for a vegetarian and a carnivore to find a restaurant that has something for both of us. We finally settle on Wazuzu which is one of his favorites. There’s not much on the menu that I like but I do find a piece of fish that I can eat.
GolfPro heads to Venetian to play the tournament and I watch the Argentina game in the sportsbook until it’s time to go in for the show.
My favorite comedian. Jimmy Carr.
It’s my first time seeing him live and he was very funny with a lot of audience interaction.
I had thoughts of playing a cash session after the show but was just too tired and headed back to Horseshoe for an early night.
Last day tomorrow.
Sorry the tournament results have not been ideal, but many thanks for your commitment to the Trip Report. It's been a fascinating read.
Sorry it didn't go better in the tournaments, but it sounds like your focus and effort never waned. That bodes well.
I experienced something very similar last year where I was doomed no matter what I did. Nature of the beast sometimes.
I hope you're taking some well deserved time off at home after this. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride.
Day 48
Sunday July 12th
Last day and i’m ready for home, although not unhappy with my decision to stay the whole series.
Went shopping in the morning for some presents to take back home.
Then took a last day shot in the $150 - $300 game.
Pictured is the round of $1,500 flips. I think I won a little on flips the two times we played them but not much. By the 2nd time round they had increased to $2,000 flips.
I got ahead about $4k early and had thoughts of a 5 figure win, but in keeping with how the summer has gone the cards had other ideas. Missed a lot of premium draws in the draw games and ended up with a +$1k win after 7 hours.
The last supper for this trip.
Don’t really have any hand histories from the session. Don’t want to talk about poker, think about poker, or play poker for a while now lol. Although that will probably only last about a week.
Writing this at the airport as I wait for my flight. Vegas - Panama - Medellin. Sometime early tomorrow afternoon I will see the green mountains of Medallo and home.
Will do a full wrap-up in a couple of days.
Leaving Las Vegas
Many thanks for the detailed and long poker-heavy trip report. Despite me being a recreational NLHE tournament player, your thread gave me a good sense of the sights, psychology, and feelings of grinding the mixed games during the Series for 7 long weeks.
Great report as always! Thanks for sharing Sorry we didn't get a chance to cross paths but I spent most of my time away from the Horsehoe.
Whew! I'm exhausted.
Happy traveling!
Have a safe trip home, and thanks for taking us along for the ride. A lot of rungood saved up for next series.
Safe travels. Sincere thanks for the TR, especially doing updates when it wasn't going so well.
Thanks for sharing the tr — and congrats on making it through a full summer grind regardless of results.
