 Vegas November 2019 |
| Day 5 - Here we go again... |
| Last Updated: 2019-11-26 21:19:05 |
| Starbucks off the strip for breakfast partly to complete something in the loyalty program I mentioned in a previous BLOG, a little shopping to get something I wished I'd bought when Joann and I were here last October, a couple slices for lunch and it was time for poker!
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| The tournament starts at 1PM Monday through Thursday so lots of time to kill in the morning, even so I didn't buy in until about 2:30 and sat down right about the start of level 4. Won a few pots here and there and got my stack close to 15K from a 12K start.
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| I wasn't involved in either of them, but in that one 30 minute level I saw two set-over-set hands!
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| 108 players paying 11 places, largest tournament at Aria I've seen on the trip!
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| I was sitting in the 9-seat (where I've been often, incidentally) and I pick up aces. It appeared to me that it folded around after my 2K, early to act raise (the dealer was making change for blinds and totally blocking my view of the far end of the table) and I exposed and tried to muck my aces...only to find out that the 2-seat had called me but I was blocked by the dealer and I didn't see the call!!! GRR!
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| As it turned out he wasn't calling any flop bet anyway (he totally missed) so it probably didn't cost me anything. Still, tho, Duh!! Rookie!
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| Set over set again! Damn! 3 times in about an hour! All went in pre-flop this time and the bigger set hit first so no drama, but all the chips were going in the middle on it one way or another!
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| I had gotten up to about double a starting stack playing pretty much ABC poker, at the next break I had fallen back down to about 20K. For a while I was winning most pots I got involved in, certainly almost any pot I put significant chips in, but then had a card dead stretch where I was just getting blinded down or folding post-flop when I whiffed.
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| Aside from winning one 9K pot couldn't really get much of anything going the rest of the way. I did manage to navigate my way through the lack of cards and lasted quite a while with very little to work with.
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| We were down to 23 players with our table being the table of 7 and I'm well under 20 big blinds. My first few all-ins get through but when I tried with 2-2 second to act I ran into KK and that was the end of that.
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| Over to Tom's Urban for dinner, and as a side note I've been almost completely shunning alcohol on this trip and this was no exception. I've had one small cup of beer with pizza twice because it's cheaper to get a beer than even a bottle of water at my favorite pizza shop at NYNY, and that's it! Who else comes to Vegas to dry out! :-)
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| Of course I did stock up on gin at Total Wine and picked up a new Irish Whisky from a very new brand, only been around since 2017 (so how do they have a "10-year" version??? but that's not what I got this time) so I am prepping for when the trip is over :-)
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| Got off to a great start in the 7PM!
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| I get there just as the first level is ending. If you've been following along this trip you know that I've been much happier jumping in around the start of level 4, so I almost walked away to buy in later.
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| If you want to be successful at poker, you have to be honest with yourself. A couple of years ago the light came on that for these kinds of tournaments sitting down at the beginning with 120-200 big blinds along with everyone else is just not my wheelhouse. I used to always be there right at the start every single time.
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| But over these last couple of years since I figured it out, with the exception of the WSOP (where play is just different), I've been more and more often making a point of buying in late. And on this trip it's pretty much been 100%, at least at Aria.
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| I would not in any way compare myself to Phil Helmuth who anyone who follows poker has to admit is at least in the GOAT conversation, but I get why he does it and I fully realize it works for me too.
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| The variance is so much higher when you're at a table with 8 other people all trying to throw chips around and hit the lottery every stinkin' hand. For someone like me it's much better to jump in after a bunch of those people have self-eliminated and you can get on with real poker...
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| You gotta know what your strengths are, but you also gotta know what your weaknesses are. It's easy to overcome my biggest one by just waiting a little while.
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| So all that said, I decide to buy in at the start of level 2 anyway and dive right in. But ... it turned out was a wise decision! I was alternate 24 and they had seated like 3 to that point!
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| I pretty much was getting what I wanted anyway.
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| There were two problems. Of course they only set aside 4 tables again, but there should have been 5. The massive field in the 1pm I busted out of meant that they still had two tables for that tournament.
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| That said, like the last time they had a huge alternate list and only four tables they quickly made a cash table a "must move" table (which, for those who don't know, means that if you are sitting at the table and a seat for the same game, same stakes opens up at a different table someone "must move" to fill the other open seat. It's how they consolidate cash tables...).
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| A few people got seated, a few people gave up and got refunds, the 1pm started eliminating people, the cash table was clearing out...
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| They were in the high teens on the alternate list when the cash table finally got emptied and I sat down with a new group of players all with the same stacks more than halfway through level 3. I got exactly what I wanted anyway!
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| And shortly after that the entire alternate list cleared when the 1pm went to final table.
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| Didn't take long for my first double-up! In a blind vs blind hand I raised out to 900 pre-flop (blinds had just gone to 200/300/300) with A-9, the big blind called and the flop came 8-9-4. I lead out for 1700, he calls. 3 on the turn, I go 2600 or 2700, he calls again. River a Q, I push all-in, he thinks a while and calls and shows 5-5.
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| And just like that we're on break and I'm at 22,300 from the 12k start.
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| Not sure if it was late level 5 or early level 6 but I lead out with pocket rockets and get one caller, I'm pretty sure I was UTG and she was in the big blind.
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| Flop comes J-X-J, she leads into me and I call. Turn a 9, she bets again and I call. River a blank and she checks.
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| I don't know what she has, but I don't think there's any chance she's not firing away if she has a jack so I'm all in. She calls fairly quickly but only has pocket 10s. I think she had a little more than me so I got a full double-up! I'm at 39K or so.
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| 76 players to start, 42 left, paying 8 places.
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| 6 more eliminated in the next 20 minutes (or they were behind on the player count, which I'd notice in later rounds they usually were) and we consolidate.
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| I go from being the table chip leader to 3rd in chips. And a guy who was at my previous table who had only slightly less than me also came over to the same table. This was seriously the "big boy table". No problem there, lots of chips for me to win :-)
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| I'm fairly card dead for a while, but on the button I raise out with A-5 and get one caller in a blind. I bet every street on an 8-8-4-2-5 board including a thin value bet (or turning my hand into a bluff?) on the river and pick up the pot when he folds talking about his missed flush draw. I might have mumbled something about bluffing with the best hand, gotta keep that to myself! :-)
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| I get very little out of kings but between those two hands I'm back up around 45K and we get another table break as we're down to 27. 34K is the average at that point so still in very good shape.
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| Exactly 46,000 at the next break, three more out, 38K average. Make that 46,500! I win the race with one chip!
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| Then things go a little south for me. I double a very short stack with K-Q vs A-9. That guy ended up being a "9-lives" kinda guy and I was his first key double-up.
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| Then lead out late to act with pocket 7s and have to give up when a very tight short stack immediately to my left goes over the top. I'm down to 25K with blinds 1000/1500/1500. Make that 1000/2000/2000 minutes later.
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| But people are dropping out. Another table gets consolidated (not mine) and we're 9 from the money. I'm sitting on 15 big blinds.
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| Had a guy at my table who was a complete asshole. Definitely reminded you of the kind of guy who would be an over-the-top agent in a movie or Entourage. Total type A, earpiece phone, the whole caricature. He was warned by a couple of dealers and eventually a dealer asked a floor person to observe the table a while, he was that bad.
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| He raises out under the gun, folds around to me in the small blind and I go all in with 33. Figure maybe he'll fold, hopefully I'll be in a flip if he calls.
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| He's pissed, doesn't take too long for him to call and roll over 66. Ugh!
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| 3 on the river! Ship it! I get a Helmuth-like beratement for my horrible play. Nice!!! He only had a little more than me and busted shortly after (and wasn't happy about that either).
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| Win another couple of pots and just like that I'm back up to 90K and I think I'm the chip leader again. Wow! Average 60K. And 7 from the money. Starting to count those Benjamins in my head...
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| But I double up another tiny stack. Don't remember the hand but I am sure I was probably a 60/40 ahead and lost. 6 to the money and I'm dead average at 65K.
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| 5 from the money we've got an average stack of 70,000 and blinds are 2000/4000/4000. When the average stack is less than 20 big blinds it's push-and-pray time for about everyone.
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| 4 from the money. Look down at 10-10 either on the button or in the small blind and shove, tight woman who had gone over the top of my 7s earlier was again very short and calls with A-J, flops an ace, I double her up.
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| Grrr. I'm very short stacked now...
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| AA on the button, everyone folds to me, I limp just hoping one of the two short stacks (the tight woman and the other tiny stack I had doubled up above) will shove over the top.
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| Nope! She calls, he checks. Flop an ace and he leads into me for only 4500. I try smooth calling, can't get another chip out of him. GRRRR! I'm only at 47K. I check out the other table, there are actually 4 stacks smaller than me between the two tables!
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| We're on the final table bubble and I take out a one-chip player with an A-3 after I flop an ace.
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| We're final table, one from the official money. Someone immediately asks about $20 for the bubble. I point out that if we all make it $30 each we're almost paying the same as 8th place ($270 vs $293), everyone loves the idea and quickly agrees. We're in the unofficial money!
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| I'm sitting on 63,500, average is 101K. There are two massive stacks, one very tiny stack, and everyone else in the 55K-65K with me. Blinds now 3000/6000/6000 so all but two people are 11 big blinds or less.
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| A 57K stack takes out a 55K stack and we're in the official money!!!
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| I'm in the small blind, massive stack on the button, folds around to him and he bets half my stack. I look down at A-2. I don't know why I didn't pull the trigger, it was so obvious...but I didn't, I folded. He rolls over 2-3 and twists the knife. Dammit. 15K in blinds gone.
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| Then...the micro stack I doubled up once and couldn't get to pay me with the aces is still a micro-stack scratching and clawing. I get all in with him with 66 vs I think 8-7, he flops a pair and I double him again.
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| I get no action on shove with A-J, hand or two later I get all in with A-3 and it folds around to ...
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| Remember the guy above I said became a 9-lives kinda guy? He had doubled several times, built a big stack, was up and down since.
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| He snap called me with K-Q. K-3-X on the flop, no help, done in 8th place. Proofreading this I just realized the irony. I lost to him to keep him alive with K-Q against his A-X and lost to him again to bust with my A-X against his K-Q. Damn!
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| I sure did my part to help other people get more money than me!!!
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| But ... that said ... what a run!!! 3 cashes in 9 tournaments. More money going in the bank!
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| EN FUEGO!!!
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| I've got two more chances today to make some more money. As I'm finishing this up it's about time to go make my last quick shopping and photo excursion of the trip: To Bellagio to get pictures for Joann of the conservatory, a couple of things for the Xmas tree Joann wishes she'd bought and lunch while I'm there. |
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