Vegas November 2019

Day 3 - FINALLY...

Last Updated: 2019-11-24 14:10:20

What a day...

For those who aren't Starbucks junkies, they have a pretty good loyalty program. I get A LOT of free food and drink. There's a Starbucks just on the other side of I-15, and there was a deal where if I bought a certain amount of hot teas between now and Monday I'd get a bunch of bonus stars.

Thing is, Starbucks in hotels and airports (and sometimes in stores like Target) don't adhere to the loyalty program. And charge a lot more for stuff. So I decided to hang out in the Starbucks off the strip instead of the one in the hotel for the morning Saturday and buy the teas I would have bought anyway.

And...when I'm out here I'm terrible about hydrating so an extra tea for just over half what I'd pay in hotel is a good thing for me, taking the time to go there caused me to rebuy at the Starbucks counter.

Bought into the 11am at Aria only a little late, 3 hands in I pick up pocket aces in I think the big blind and 3-bet an early position raiser. Board comes TT4, fairly safe. I lead out, he stands up to see the board better and calls. Turn another rag, I lead out again and he more than tripled my bet with a raise.

Obviously I have to go away. Older guy, and later he would show he only did that with big hands as I figured.

3 hands and down almost 1/3 of my stack with aces. Ugh!

Little while later lead out with QJ off and flop trips of my own, get a little back but not a huge pot. But then lead out with T9 of clubs, flop comes 6-7-9 rainbow, I bet two streets, check the river when my gutshot doesn't come in and I'm outkicked. Down to 9500 from my 20k starting stack.

Naturally can't get any action with KK and go into the break at 9300.

Things didn't get any better, eventually I stuck my chips in with A-J suited, ran into A-K off and got no help on the board. Done about 2 hours after I started.

As a side note, something was going on with Verizon at Aria. I had no signal at all on my phone, had to connect to the free wifi. That persisted for most of the day.

With lots of time to kill I decided to have Javier's for lunch. Love that roasted tomatilla salsa!!!

Went for a walk up to the fashion show mall to try and shop for something for Joann but came away empty handed. Did a little video chatting with Joann in the room and headed back to Aria for the 7pm. With a gelato stop in Eataly along the way since I couldn't believe it was day 3 and I hadn't had any yet.

I'm pretty drug naive, to my knowledge nobody in my circle of friends growing up got into them even a little bit and we were a very tight-nit group. But dude in the 9 seat was seriously hopped up on something. Overly hyper, overly chatty, dark sunglasses, constantly sniffing his nose. Even I can figure this one out...

In the first round he raised 100% of hands folded to him from every position, had a 50% 3-bet frequency and just called the other 50% of the time there was a raise into him.

I raised out with 10-9 of clubs, three callers including him. Flop comes 6-8-9 rainbow (no clubs), he check/calls me on every street. My gutshot doesn't come in, but this time I'm not outkicked and win the pot. Forgot until just now how remarkably similar the hand was to the early tournament hand until just now! Little better outcome though.

For the rest of the first 6 20-minute rounds before the first break life was good! Had some cards, spent the whole time stack building and when we got to break I was sitting on 39,200. Almost double a starting stack!

Poker is way more fun when you actually get to play a little poker!

Only 3 levels until the next break and I was basically in neutral. Not a lot of hands, only won two pots but enough to maintain my stack for that hour and go into the next break at 38,100. Make that 38,000 as I didn't win the chip race with my one chip. The two hands I did win were raising out preflop with double-infinity (8-8) and getting a 9-high board (last time I took chips off the hyper guy before he departed) and an ace high flop raising out with A-8 of diamonds.

Also note that they cut off buyins at the end of the first break, but if you buy in and they don't have a seat for you they will seat you whenever enough seats become available. It was middle of the 8th level when the last alternate was finally seated, the final tally was 72 runners paying 8 places.

Again just 3 levels to the next break, I win about the minimum with kings but it was a much better stretch. Nothing else remarkable but I go into the next break at 59,000.

Then...finally...I get paid with kings! This is the one hand I don't really remember well aside from the fact that when the other guy shoved I beat him into the pot and someone smiled and joked about me slow-rolling the guy. I'm not positive but I think it was a guy who was two seats to my right (so betting into me) and was a very good player. Played a high percentage of hands, really liked to see flops, and had a remarkable ability to raise in my blinds when I had total junk and fold or only limp whenever I actually had something playable. His chip stack had been swinging up and down a lot playing so many hands, at this time he had a big stack. A thorn in my side all night. Until...

So my kings hold up and I double up to the table chip lead over 130K. And we're 9 from the money.

3 minutes later another bustout.

Miss a flop, give a few chips back, another bustout. 7 from money and I think we're the table with 8 players.

I'm under the gun with JJ and make it I think 20,000 at 3000/6000/6000 blinds. It folds around to the thorn in my side in a blind and he calls.

Flop comes 7-3-2, he quickly goes all in and again I beat him into the pot. He has 66, he gets no love, thorn in my side gone and I'm over 200K!

We get a player from the other table, someone else busts a hand or two later and we're 5 from the money.

3-way all in not involving me, big stack wins, 3 from the money but I'm still at the top of my table in chips.

We get down to two tables of 5, and as a quick aside there have been some rule changes approved by the TDA at a conference over the summer held at Aria.

Naturally Aria poker having hosted the conference feels obligated to abide by the new rules and I will summarize them on my news feed some time soon.

One of the new rules is that a 9 handed tournament never goes above 9 at a table! So no more 10-handed unofficial final tables! I'm very curious to see if the WSOP adopts this new rule...

As often happens on the effective bubble (10 players left, two not getting in the money) things bogged down badly. It takes over 30 minutes for another bustout. And it's tough with blinds coming around every 5th hand!

There is a proposal from the other table to pay two bubbles. Our table laughs it off. We keep playing.

Unfortunately for me, tho, that was a bad half hour. Nothing worked for me and I'm back down around 100K. Below average for the first time in a while. I'm in OK shape, but certainly not comfortable.

Finally someone else busts and we move to the final table of 9 with one more person going home empty handed. There are only two stacks shorter than me.

This time we all agree to donate $20 for the bubble for $180. In hindsight I wish I'd spoken up and suggested $30 because 8th place was $277. We would have basically been paying a full 9th place that way.

No matter, it wasn't me :-)

I was in the small blind, it folded around to the shortest stack just to my right on the button and he goes all in. I snap shove with pocket 10s, big blind folds. He has 9-7 suited. He flops a gutshot but 10s hold up. I bust the bubble, I'm in the real money and I'm back up to 166K with a 180K average.

I'll take it!

Minutes later I'm under the gun or second to act and I look down at aces. I make it 22,000 to go at 4000/8000/8000 blinds.

I'm in the 9-seat. The 1-seat with a similar stack goes all in. It folds around to a middle position player I think in the big blind and one of the bigger stacks at the table (I think he was last person to act) also goes all in. I snap call.

1-seat has A-Q, other guy has J-J.

Board runs out 8-K-K-8-6. A full triple up well over 500K. 1.4 million chips in play.

NEXT HAND...

Folds around to the guy immediately to my right and he makes it about 35K to go.

I look down at pocket aces

I 3-bet to 80,000.

He looks at me and says, you can't make this up, "Well, I hope you don't have aces again. I'm all in"

I snap call, flip over my aces, table erupts.

He has A-K off. No card comes bigger than a 10.

I have about 730,000. Over half the chips in play.

Someone jokes about how I'm probably not willing to chop. I say "look, I have half the chips in play, if you're willing to concede first place to me you can all have close to 3rd place money among the other 5 of you." They all start to talk about it, but the shortest stack balks and says he wants to play it out.

He busts next. Talk starts up again.

First place is 2850, lead negotiator asks if I'd take 2500. He had taken out the short stack and wasn't so willing to maybe an even-ish split any more for everyone else. I suggest 2600 for me, start dishing out numbers for what the various stacks could take and probably be happy.

Negotiator asks the floor for ICM chop numbers.

Came back with me getting 2610 and pretty much everyone else at the numbers I was throwing out. I've done this once or twice before. :-)

Everyone is happy with their numbers. We chop, I get a little under first place.

Winner!

FINALLY!

Been a while...

With this, assuming I don't rebuy in any tournament the rest of the way and I only play in what I plan to play in I've already made a profit for this trip after setting aside the rest of my buyins. Every cash from here out is more profit and I'm only on my 5th of 11 planned tournaments.

It's always a good feeling playing from ahead!

I'm watching some Eagles football as I type this up. The 11am starts soon but I've already decided I'm probably going to wait until 12:45 to buy in (after the first break, start of 4th level). I'm probably going to try and grab a little lunch first.