Vegas June 2017 (WSOP)

Day 13 - Rio Deepstack

Last Updated: 2017-06-27 13:36:17

Ooops!... I did it again. Another day, another cash.

I'm done with bracelet events for this trip. I probably should have played in one or two fewer than I did. In hindsight, as well as this trip is going for me: A) At some point I have to stop plowing the money back in and take a profit; B) I've concluded that I do have a hole in my game when it comes specifically to "everyone is deep stacked" No Limit Hold'em. Until/unless I can plug that hole I should be able to continue to kill daily type tournaments but surrounded by serious NLH professionals I would be much better off registering late and confidently playing a short stack game or playing a big stack when there is a mix of short, medium and deep stacks instead of playing in the early deep stacked rounds. Next years trip will be based around PLO and mixed game tournaments rather than NLH.

That said, I think all of us together out here are a little surprised I had the willpower to skip 6-handed PLO on Sunday after I busted out of the Monster Stack. :-)

Anyway...

We had plenty of time to kill waiting for the 2pm tournament to start so Patrick, Dyan, Joann and myself headed to the outlets. Another successful visit, Joann bought a couple of things she had kinda wished she had bought on the first trip and Dyan was carrying a bag or three by the end of the day. We walk past a luggage shop, Dyan asks us to hold on so she can go in there for a second...and Joann and I walk out with new luggage. Our current luggage is awfully beat up, it was time, and the prices seemed very reasonable.

Joann and Dyan drop off Patrick and I at the Rio.

I should just fold every hand that contains a queen early on. No, having a queen in my hand isn't the hole I'm referring to, but it does seem that early in tournaments on this trip queens have cost me chips.

Pocket queens. Flop an ace, down a grand.

Play Q-10 a few times. Catch flush draw and gutshot once, lose some chips when I miss everything. Finally after about 5 tries I fold it preflop and would have caught top pair and rivered trips in a big pot. Ugh.

Overall a nothing first two rounds. Into break at 10775 in spite of being rather card dead (started with 15K).

Not long after the break I just call a raise preflop with aces because we're almost certainly going to be heads up. We end up getting all the chips in on a board of 8Q4K and I run into (...dramatic pause...) aces! Ugh.

Guy to my right says he can't believe I didn't reraise preflop to protect my aces. I wasn't trying to win a small pot, I was trying to stack the guy...

Not too long after that I slow play kings and double up. As it turned out I didn't need to slow play them, he had QQ and if I'd shoved preflop that guy was never folding QQ.

Still, tho, it served a purpose.

Folks I'm going to try to help you out with your poker game again. When you're playing with your friends in a home game talk about poker a lot. Learn from your friends, let them tell you if they think you're doing something wrong and help them out if they're doing something wrong.

But when you are in a casino, shut the hell up about poker when you are at a poker table. Seriously. Talk about the weather, talk about how the Rockies are suddenly in a tailspin, talk about your favorite female pop artists but DO NOT TALK ABOUT POKER.

After slow playing Kings and Aces two guys at the other end of the table started quietly, they thought, talking about how afraid they were of being in pots with me. "Man, I was really worried he had 6-7" on that board of 5-8-4-X-X (I actually did have a 7 and was floating with a gutshot). Guess how that went for them. Guess whose blinds I started stealing. Guess who I floated now and then until they eventually busted.

Stop talking about poker at the poker table away from friends. Really. Just stop. It is never going to help you out telling people around you how you play, what you think is the right thing to do in a certain spot, who you don't want to be in a hand with. Just. Shut. Up.

37600 at the next break, a comfortable stack at the time.

Blinds are starting to get big, I raise out with A-K. A short stack shoves for less than my total bet and a guy who had a pretty big stack called. Flop all small, check, check. 9 on the turn, other guy bets out, I go away and he rolls over A9. Ugh.

This guy with the A9 liked to see flops and could be counted on to bet if he caught anything at all. He also liked to overbet preflop. I think the blinds were either 600/1200 or 800/1600 and he raises out to 6000. I look down at AA, a chance to double up! I just call. Flop comes A-5-4. I check hoping he'll bet, nope. 5 on the turn. I probably should have bet here but I wanted to give him another chance to hang himself so I checked and he checked behind. Argh. Jack on the river. I lead out for 6K, I don't think he'll call much more...and he does very reluctantly make the call.

Patrick unfortunately busts out a little before 7pm. He had had a rough tournament, the ladies are going to run him over to Aria to play in the 7pm. I'm planning to join him if things don't work out here. And it's short stack poker time so I can be out at any time...

Raise out with AJ, short stack to my right shoves and guy immediately after him reshoves for a bigger stack. No question I'm calling the first guy even for what would have been half my stack but AJ can't be good here, right? Fold.

Whew! I would have been up against KK and AK. Except I would have rivered a flush...I hate when I do the right thing like that :-) Down to 31K.

I get away with a few more all-ins and I'm building my stack. Folded to me in the small blind I shove with T2 and guy to my right folds an ace face up. Nice! Thanks for letting me know you're that tight and you're worried about me.

Then the countdown begins. 1141 players paying 172 places. Tables busting fast and furious. Clock says 310 remaining so 140 or so from the money. 110. 90. 80.

But I'm still on the short side. Can't just sit out. I look down at one ace and go all in. One guy goes all in for a little less than me, guy I was talking about earlier (A9 v AK and slow played aces) goes in the tank a little. I take a moment to look at my other card...and baby one more time I see an ace!

He calls. I'm against AK and KJ, I about triple up. 103K.

And before I know it we're just 18 from the money.

I get word that Patrick lost a race at Aria and was out there too.

No hands of interest to talk about from here on out. When we get down to hand for hand 3 from the money I did fold a pair of 2s preflop. In the money that's a shove, but one from the money it would be foolish. I also folded an ace (a small ace) in the big blind when it folded around to the small blind who went all in into me. He claimed QQ and from talking to him to that point I have no reason not to believe him.

Takes 5-6 hands to get into the money, but with 20 tables it's about half an hour. I'm down to 82K with blinds 4000/8000/1000. Obviously I'm looking to get in now.

As expected once the bubble bursts bustouts happen fast and furious. My table breaks, I go all in with the first ace I see (A4 of clubs) at my new table. Monster stack reluctantly calls and turns over 77.

I pick up two clubs on the flop to get me into at least a coin flip but no more love on the turn and river. Took half an hour to bust out 3 hand for hand, 15 minutes after we get into the money I'm the 23rd bustout. 149th place, I got a $15 money bump from bottom money.

Over to NYNY for some late beer and pizza and we called it a night.

For our last day in town we've decided I'm going to just play the 7pm at Aria to give me a better chance to add to the profit. Don't know what we're going to do all day but I think we can manage to find something to pass the time.

By the way, if you got certain references in this BLOG you must immediately go listen to some Tool, Slipknot, Breaking Benjamin...something like that. Just sayin'. My excuse is we're staying across the street from where a certain someone performs and there are massive reminders for us to stare at. What's yours?