Vegas July 2016 (WSOP Tag Team)

Day 5 - Aria, WSOP DS pt II

Last Updated: 2016-07-11 17:15:22

On the last day of the trip I had both my deepest run of the trip and possibly the shortest run I've ever had in a paid tournament in a casino. And THAT was one of the wildest rides in a short amount of time I've ever been on...

With the early start at Aria, no time for anything but Starbucks for breakfast. Patrick and I get downstairs to head over there when I realize I forgot something in the room. We are on the 4th floor, room 429. I get on the elevator, hit 4, another couple gets on, they hit 7. Elevator goes up, doors open, I get out and go to the room.

Funny...the key won't work. I try three times. I'm in a hurry, WTF???

Wait...329??? Dammit! The elevator had one job, take me to the 4th floor and it stopped at 3. Note that I couldn't have possibly mistaken the second floor for mine because it's the NYNY Coney Island area, not rooms. Nobody was getting on when it stopped...not for a moment did I consider the possibility it stopped anywhere but my floor...sigh...

There, I told the story Patrick. Happy? :-)

If you've been following along, this might sound familiar. Only took until the second hand of the tournament for me to flop top pair with AQ and run into pocket aces. I lost the absolute minimum. If I take one thing away from this trip it was that my post-flop reads were impeccable. Unfortunately I had a lot more opportunities to realize I had to let go than chances to realize I was ahead...I texted Patrick and Joann what happened and that I was laughing inside...what else can you do?

Not long after that I get KK in small blind, folds around to me, I raise, big blind calls, all small flop, I get nothing more for them. Again this should sound familiar if you've been reading all week.

But...then...pocket 5s, flop a set, get paid.

Raise out with A-10 suited, two callers but not blinds so I have two behind me post-flop. Flop one card of my suit, checks around, turn a flush draw, I bet, get called, hit flush on the river, bet, call. I get paid for two big hands! This is fun for a change!

Later flopped two pair but had to give up when both straight and flush draws hit the turn. Still, above starting stack at the first break. That in and of itself was progress!

But then back to what has been a frustratingly familiar pattern for me on this trip. All kinds of action with raises on hands where I need to hit the flop if I can't just take the blinds and no action with big hands where I want it.

Raise out with KQ off late to act. Two callers including a blind. Miss the flop, blind leads out, fold.

3 hands later QQ. No callers.

Hand immediately after that A-Q off, 2 callers, both have position on me. Miss flop, check around, turn gutshot straight draw with an over, check/call one bet (3rd player out), river blank, check around, he had paired the turn with Q-10.

Orbit or so later someone goes all in ahead of me and I look down at 88, can't play.

Couple hands later JJ, no action.

I will say this, it wasn't just me :-) While we were driving home Patrick read me a tweet from Greg Raymer playing in the main event with the exact same lament! No action with two big hands, tons of action every other time.

Down to 10k at the next break.

Then up and down for a while. 10 minutes after second break I was back up to 24k, some preflop all-ins that got no callers and took out a short stack with AK suited vs A6 off (he flopped a 6, but I flopped 2 flush cards, plenty of outs, hit the king). But then dropped to 12K, got back up to 16 or 17k when this hand happened...

I'm in the big blind, looked at my cards as soon as I got them and see KK.

Under the gun player just calls. A short stack goes all-in for about 6k. Then a middle position player, who was a very good player and was really dominating the table to that point, just called. I suppose in hindsight that was a bit of a red flag, but he did just call in similar spots earlier in the tournament. Folds to me, and I pause a few seconds and go all in. Limper calls, good player can't call fast enough.

UTG limper: AQ diamonds (10% to win)

Short stack: A8 spades (11% to win)

Good player: AA (59% to win)

Me: KK (19% to win - remaining 1% tie odds)

I think to myself "Well, aces are dead if I can spike a King"

Flop comes Q-X-K with a diamond and a spade

I spiked a king, but none of them were dead! All three have a runner, runner straight draw and two have running flush draws.

Turn is a blank and I about quadruple up. Wow.

Unfortunately Patrick busted out not long after that hand, he flopped a straight but the other player turned a full house and he was done.

Now I'm over 60k, a very comfortable stack. Things go very well from there for a while. I picked off a river bluff to get above 80k. I had top pair, the board was quite scary but I suspected it was more likely I had him outkicked than he had actually hit a big hand. Turned out he had a busted straight draw.

Then picked up Queens and finally got something for a big pair. Over 90k. And 10 from the money.

Tables start breaking and a monster stack well over 200k sits down to my right. If a stack that big had to show up, betting directly into me is where I want him instead of the other way around.

Or at least that's what I thought.

He was, as he should have been, stealing left and right whenever action folded to him. And we're getting closer and closer to the money. I have no opportunities to pick up pots myself, my stack is slowly shrinking and blinds are going up. At the same time, we're getting closer and closer to money as well.

In hindsight, I do regret one hand during this time period. In my defense, he hadn't been there a long time yet so I didn't have a lot of evidence yet...but being honest I knew what was going on.

I'm in the small blind. Folds around to the big stack in the button and he raises out. I look down at K-J off.

Every bone in my body says I should go all-in here. But I'm close to the money, I'm still 15-17 big blinds I think. Argh. I think for a while and muck.

Big blind goes all in with a short stack. Probably half what I have. I think I dodged a bullet.

Big stack has his hand in the cookie jar, says he has to call (math did say he had to call...) and he rolls over 7-2 suited. Big bling rolls over...K-J off. ARGH!!!

If I shove, big blind probably folds and I steal everything because my stack was easily big enough for the monster stack to fold his 7-2 to what my raise would have been.

Worst case big blind calls anyway and we chop the pot, but I would have taken half of all the antes and his initial raise at that point.

Blinds go up again, I'm down at 11BB two from the money, blinds not to far from going up again and we're 7 handed at our table. I can't keep folding...

I look down at an ace, I go all in, it folds all the way around to the big blind who had just a little less than me and he says "best hand I've seen in a while, I know I'm behind but I have to call". Rolls over K-J off.

Flop is K-X-6, no help on turn and river. I'm crippled, I at least get two live cards next hand with my tiny stack but no help and I'm out 2 from the money.

Meanwhile, Patrick had gone over to Rio for the 5pm and I head over to join him.

I buy in just before the first break. Wish I'd stopped for a quick bite and bought in after the break. But what are you gonna do...

So buying in that late, no question I'm going to have to gamble a little. For one hand I have a 33 big blind stack and go on break. If I just fold, I have a 25 big blind stack after break. If I have exactly the same stack 30 minutes later I'm down to 16 bigs. Risks will have to be taken...

Here is every hand I played in the 5pm tournament:

Hand 1: Second to act raises out to 700. Next person folds, I look down at A-K of diamonds. I decide to just call. Awkward stack time! I have too many chips to go all in, but a reraise is 20% of my stack. Not terrible, but with a lot left to act I want to see what happens and I also wouldn't mind having a disguised hand if I hit the flop. But I would not argue with someone telling me I should have reraised and/or jammed all-in here. I think any of those is acceptable...

A couple of folds and another call. Another fold and an all-in from about half a starting stack. It folds around to me. This seems perfect, NOW I make the obvious play and jam all in. Other guy who had called says "well I'm getting great odds, I guess I have to call".

I am up against 5-6 hearts from the "I guess I have to call" guy, A-J w/ Jh from the all in.

Flop comes 10-6-X, two hearts.

Heart on the turn.

Heart on the river.

I'm left with 550 chips from my 10k starting stack and go on break.

Hand 2: Next hand after the break, a fold and a limp, I had paid an ante of 50 so I say "all in" and toss out my 500 chip. I do not look at my cards. There are 4-5 callers.

Flop comes 9-9-9, checks around.

Turn is a 4, checks around

River is a 6, while it's checking around I finally decide to look, maybe I hit a 4 or a 6.

The first card I see is the 9 of diamonds. Can't make it up.

I have 3000 chips. 7.5 big blinds.

Hand 3: First to act folds. I look down at 6-7 of diamonds. I am seriously tempted to just go all in here. I think for a bit and decide to wait until the next hand and hope for a card bigger than 7 in one of the next two hands. Two all ins after I fold. One AJ, I think the other AK or AQ.

Flop comes 6-4-10 with two diamonds, diamond on the river. I would have at least doubled if not tripled up there.

Hand 4: Under the gun I look down at A9 off. I go all in. Called by A-K. Board does pair, but no 9 and no board 2-pair to save me. 4 hands and done.

Patrick lasted longer than me but not into the money. We celebrated the trip with some black and tans over a late dinner, got some gelato at Aria and called it a trip.

The drive home was easy, tho we did see the smoke from a wildfire in Utah, saw all the flames on one around the dinosaur lots in Golden (north side of the highway, I-70 closed westbound only), and Patrick saw a whole bunch of smoke on the way home down in Castle Rock.

Obviously it was not a monetary success for me, Patrick cashed in 2 of 9 so good for him! First time he played in the WSOP and first time he experienced what it's like to grind out poker for 5 straight days.

I'm reminded that when we were planning the trip Patrick asked me if we were planning to just play poker every day or if we were going to do anything else...clearly at the time hoping "the latter" would be the answer.

Now I suspect I will have to council him on the benefits of a day off when you do trips that are a full week or more, someone will probably have to drag him away and make him take one :-) :-)

The Tag Team event was a blast even tho it didn't work out for us. The buzz around it was fantastic. I really hope for two things:

1) That the folks at the WSOP look past the smallish field for a $1000 event to all of the fantastic buzz it generated around the room and do it again next year. From killer teams like "Team Negraneau" (David Williams, Maria Ho and Vanessa Selbst was all he could manage I guess :-) ) and Esfandiari/Rast/Gross to the fantastic story of "Team Little/Little/Little" (Jonathan with his mom and dad...dad got all in against quads on a flush draw and caught a straight flush, took out a couple more and was monster stack in the first few rounds!!! Then they make final table...ok Jonathan played 100% after day 1 I think...) it really was a fun event and a great experience. It would be a shame if the small field stopped them from giving it at least one more chance.

2) If they do have it again next year, I don't know if I would support going as far as Jeff Gross tweeted (he said do it every weekend with escalating buy-ins 2K up to 10K), but I do hope they jack it up to at least a 2K buyin to give folks more starting chips. I would be willing to bet you would get a similar size field, but give folks a lot more play for their money.

My summer of poker is at an end. I do not have any definite plans yet, but I would say I will more likely than not do a fall trip in November or December. I know Patrick will badly have the itch by then so hopefully I will have a traveling companion!

And, as always, thanks for reading!