Vegas June 2019 (WSOP)

Day 6 - Patrick and I get close

Last Updated: 2019-06-11 14:10:25

This is probably going to be short, not because I don't have anything to say but because I just don't have a lot of time.

Bought into the 11am at Aria just after the start of round 3. Right off the bat flop a flush draw, turn top pair and river two pair. Always nice to win the first hand.

Alas it was not the "tone setter" I was hoping for. Couldn't win a pot for a while after that mainly because I couldn't get in one. I had nothing to work with as my stack dropped down to under 15K in chips, starting stack was 25K. But then I got lucky...

In the small blind I call a cutoff raise to 1200 or so with KQ off, we are 3-handed. Flop comes K9J rainbow. Check, check, original raiser leads out for 2300, I check-raise to 5600, he calls. Turn is a Q giving me two pair, I lead out all-in.

He thinks a while so he doesn't have a 10. Eventually he calls and turns over 99, he flopped a set. Ouch! Two pair no good!

King on the river, I double up.

After that I spent a while stack building, worked my way up close to 60K but then lost a chunk of that on several pairs that didn't work out and went into the second break around 45K from the 25K start, still above average at the time. Downward trend continues after break, tho, fall to 39K with blinds at 600/1200/1200. Or so I thought.

I raise out to 3000 with KQ off in the cutoff thinking I'm making a 2.5 BB raise, but they had gone up to 1600! Duh! So I'm min-raising to 3200 and both blinds call.

Worked out OK, I flop a Q and bet, one caller who then gave up on a blank turn.

Back up to 46,500 at the next break after winning a decent pot with AJ and flopping an A.

But...lose a few chips here and there, eventually get all in with AJ and run into AK. Done around 60th out of over 200 paying 21 places.

It's 5:20 so I run to the cage and buy in to the 7:00 so I don't end up wait-listed, but with an hour and a half to kill Joann and I get dinner at Tom's Urban.

Joann really likes the food there, but they keep screwing up her meals. In this case she got fried chicken on a cornbread pancake. The chicken comes in "crispy" and "hot and spicy". She ordered "crispy" and got "hot and spicy". She sends it back.

Little while later (remember, I have poker to get to...) the waitress comes over to let Joann know they screwed it up again in the kitchen and are making a 3rd one. Joann tells her we're on a time crunch, we have someplace to be!

But within about 2 minutes Joann's food comes out, I help her a little with the cornbread pancake because, well, it's cornbread...

Patrick, Dave and I all are in the 7pm.

Didn't start out great for me, right out of the gate I river two pair and run into a straight. It quickly became clear that my opponent in the hand considered any connecting cards raising hands and would call down any draw to any straight every time. His stack went up and down like a yo-yo because he was hitting his straights more often than was statistically probable...but not all of them. Then some table drama that didn't involve me.

Folks, this is why you keep the burn cards separate!

Four handed pot sees a flop of 8-9-3 two diamonds. First to act bets 600, two callers. Dealer pulls the chips in the pot, burns and turns a 2 of clubs. Except the button had his hands over his cards and hadn't acted.

FLOOR!

Floor did 90% of this right :-)

He informed the table that the 2 of clubs would NOT be the turn card, but it could be the river card (correct).

He then allowed the button to act, who raised to 2000.

They finally push the bets of 600 back out. Original bettor then reraises to something like 5000-6000. Fold, fold. Button moves all-in, original bettor calls. Original bettor has 33 for a set, button has Q-J diamonds for a gutshot straight flush draw.

Floor has the dealer burn and use what would have been the river card as the new turn card (correct!) which was an 8, giving the one guy a full house and leaving the other guy with only a one out straight flush draw.

He then pulls the 2c back into the remaining deck (none of the discarded cards) and shuffles it for the dealer. Mostly correct! He's supposed to pull in the burn cards to maintain the odds of the 2c coming back out. It's now more likely, if only slightly, to come out again. THAT is why you keep the burn cards separate...new river was NOT the ten of diamonds.

I'm down to half a starting stack at just 10K. Patrick meanwhile has quite a stack as he picks up aces several times, three bets them all and gets paid on all of them. Dave unfortunately lasted only about an hour losing most of his stack set-over-set and the rest AK running into AA. Ouch.

I crack aces with KJ suited to double-up. Dude limped under the gun in my big blind, got 4 callers, I shoved hoping to steal, he went over the top. He got what he wanted, a sucker to raise. Didn't work out for him.

Very next hand he's only got 4k left, he's BB and I'm small. Folds around to straight-draw guy who leads out for probably 1000 and I call with AQ suited. Aces goes all-in for his 4k, straight-draw guy reluctantly calls, I go over the top all-in to isolate, other guy folds.

I table my AQ, he shows A4, flop a 4, he triples up back close to where he was before I cracked his aces and I'm already back down under starting stack. But more than I had two hands earlier!

I get moved to even up tables, and quickly win a flip with 77 vs AQ, give back a few on some hands that didn't work out and then FINALLY pick up aces of my own, get all in again QQ and AA holds up! Now I'm sitting around 40k all of a sudden!

Worth noting that in both of those hands there was a monotone flop, all clubs, and in both cases my opponent had a club and I didn't. But neither flush came in...

Time to cut this short, I have poker to get to. And those are the only really notable hands from here on out, most of the rest was ABC poker.

Call a short stack all in with 77, he only has A2 but flops an A, back down to 30k.

Make some big semi-bluffs, work my way back up to 65K. The big one was when I flopped a nut flush draw, called a c-bet, then made a big bet on a blank turn and he went away. Take down a few more pots and peak out at 80k with 47 remaining in the tournament. 79K was average so a hair over that, paying 21 places.

Usually if I am average chips with just under half the field getting into the money I expect to get into the money. But, unfortunately, not much worked out for me after that.

Dropped back down in the 60K range with blinds 2000/4000/4000 so 15 bigs, it's pretty much an all-in-or-fold game for most of the field. I get all in with A8, run into AJ. Turn pairs my 8 but river give him a straight and I'm done. 10 from the money in 31st place.

Patrick busted out 27th, 6 from money. Close for both of us!

So Tuesday Patrick and I are playing PLO at Aria, Dave is taking a day off because PLO isn't his thing and he's had a rough few days.