Vegas November 2018

Day 4 - A long day (part 2)

Last Updated: 2018-11-20 13:52:04

When we last left our hero he was dejectedly walking out of the Aria poker room having been slayed in brutal fashion yet again...

Tom's Urban for late lunch, up to the room for a few minutes and back over to Aria for the 7pm.

Once again it was nice having playable hands early on. 3 hands in there was a 3-way all-in not involving me after the flop. It would be my turn later. Overpair vs nut flush draw vs made straight. Straight held up. The guy who won it was a very, very tight player and he made that triple stack last a very long time.

Not long after that hand I raised out on the button with just 10-4 trying to steal blinds, tight guy was the only caller in the big blind. I flopped trip 10s, but I could't get much out of him.

"Story of my weekend" I texted to Joann...

I did flop the Devil's hand not too long after that (666) and did get paid some for that but it could have been more. Other guy had two pair, since he wanted to bet into me I was letting him...but by the river the board was A-5-6-8-9 and with that scary board there was only so much I could extract.

Little while later similar scenario to the 10-4 hand, raised out early to act really hoping to steal some blinds with A-3 suited and ended up rivering a flush. That one I did get paid off on!

All said and done 44,500 at the first break! Once again more than double a starting stack at the first break, and actually built it for a change instead of hitting one big double-up hand.

Once we start back up there are 107 entries and 70 players, paying 11 places. They announce that there are still five alternates that will be allowed in since they bought in before the end of the break. They get eventually all do seated and I see that they are paying 12 places now.

But here we go again...

In between the first and second breaks things fall apart. Lose a chunk to a better ace, then get all in with QQ...and run into a shorter stack that woke up with KK.

I'm down to 11,000 or so chips.

Pick up pocket kings myself, nothing but blinds.

Gotta say my mood was not great at that moment! I get Qs and run into Ks, I get Ks and get nothing. But as always I shrugged it off and stayed focused on playing the stack I had...

Pick up blinds again with 88, then a big stack goes all in into me and I wake up with AK. He had 88, A on the flop, I double up to around 30K. 31,500 at the second break. 51 remaining paying 12 places.

I lost some chips but then doubled up again with JJ vs 10-10. Nothing else interesting in the rest of the hour and a half til the next break.

So now 12 levels in I'm at 54,000. 28 players remaining so a little under 50-50 chance of getting into the money in theory. Average stack was exactly 20 big blinds (80K average, 2000/4000 blinds) when we returned from break. So i'm sitting on 13.5 bigs...but this is now a short-ish stack tournament the rest of the way.

I've said it before, the "average" stack number really means that you're in the top 1/3. Usually about 2/3 of the stacks are below average because usually there are 2-3 monster stacks and "everyone else". So that means that roughly 2/3 of the players are sitting on less than 20BB.

This is what's known as an "all-in-fest" at this point. Most people have no other move.

We get down to 21 paying 12, so 9 from money, and I'm still sitting on 56K. Haven't gone up, haven't gone down...until...

A big stack raises out. A stack roughly the same size as mine (turned out to be a hair less) goes all-in. I look down at pocket 10s. Given our stack sizes there are a lot of hands I can beat this guy goes all in with ... so I'm all in too.

Big stack thinks it over, he can afford it, he calls.

They both roll over A-Q. I'm a 65-35 favorite. 10's hold up, I take someone out and triple up.

I get moved to a new table and it looks like I'm the table chip leader. Can't make it up! And we're down to two tables of 9 paying 12 places.

6 from the money!

Blinds are huge tho, and between blinds and having to give up on a hand I raised out on I blow through 40-50K of my 150-175K stack. Get most of it back on another hand. We're losing players. And then comes the announcement...

Dealers complete the hand you're on and stop. We're going hand-for-hand.

We play a few hands and then there's another announcement. We are on the money bubble, there is a proposal to take $10 from each player to create a 14th place. If we do that, we will no longer be hand-for-hand if everyone agrees.

Wait... a 14th place? I don't know how I missed it but they added a 13th place to the payouts! Everyone agrees, we're in the money. Takes all of 2-3 hands at the other table for someone to bust out and get the $140.

We're in the official money!!!

The minimum payout is just a little less than double the original buyin. Bottom 4 places (10-13) pay that, then every bustout after that is a money bump.

So a guy raises out first to act, I'm small blind. I peek at my cards, I have KK. There's a fold and then a short stack goes all in. I try to maintain composure.

There's a fold, then the guy immediately to my right goes all in.

No more composure, I beat him into the pot saying "all in". Big blind folds, original raiser says something about having to be way behind and folds.

Short stack was trying to steal with K-7, guy to my right woke up with QQ.

Of course by the turn the board contained 9-T-J for a straight draw, but he only had one king and 4 8s to draw to...and none of them came!!!

I basically triple up again with the original raise and the blind and ante added to the short stack, take one out and cripple another. I'm at 275,000 chips and again the chip leader at the table.

Eventually we get down to 10-handed, I just maintain my stack, and we're all at one table.

Then 9, more money.

Then 8, more money.

I take a nice pot when I call a raise with A-Q from a stack about the same size as mine. I think he made it 20-25K preflop.

Flop comes Q-J-9 with two clubs. I have no clubs. I decide to make a rare donk-bet and lead out for 35K. He thinks a long while and calls.

Turn is 8 of clubs. I look at my stack and go all in.

He hates this bet. He thinks for a really long while and folds. Whew! I'm at 350K. Average is 280K. I'm in real good shape.

But I go a little card dead and there is a ton of battling going on among the big stacks. Best thing I can do is bide my time and let them pound at each other.

I drop down to 265K we we lose another player.

Eventually it folds to me and I look down at K-Q on the button, only two players to get past, I go all in, big blind wakes up with A-J, flops two pair.

Done in 6th place.

Finally!

As you can imagine I'm pretty wired at that point so I went to the 24-hr sandwich/dessert/quick breakfast place at Aria and brought something back to my room to eat while I typed. My pizza place was supposed to be open until 3am on Sundays, I got there at 2:52 am and it had clearly been closed for a while.

False advertising!!!

But the sandwich was good.

Monday tournaments don't start until 1, which is good because I slept as late as I've slept in a long time!

Time to shower and get my ass in gear...