Vegas June/July 2022 (WSOP)

Day 16 - WSOP 8/b mix

Last Updated: 2022-07-09 13:34:13

I had a good 9 hours of poker on Thursday at Event #72, the Omaha 8/b mix.

Unfortunately to make Day 2 you need to have a good 10 hours of poker...

I explained the games and the tournament format in my Day 15 BLOG so I'd refer back to that if what I'm talking about doesn't make sense. The only difference is that MGM played 8-handed and the WSOP plays 7-handed due to the inclusion of Big O.

Playing Big O the first nice pot came for me when I started with K-K-Q-J-J, and when playing high only hands you have to smash the flop or give up.

Flop came K-J-10 with one spade, so I have two different sets but it does limit my full house outs. And there's a straight already on the board. I check/call a bet of 1500 on the flop, then check/call a 4800 bet on a Q of spades turn. The river was a 6 of spades giving me second nut flush, I lead out, the guy tanked for a very long time before folding.

A few hands later I give most of it back when I flop two pair and an open ended straight draw and don't improve. I believe a flush became possible and also a low and I couldn't make a low hand.

In the small blind I call a min-raise with K-K-K-J-J. Yes you see that correctly, and yes it's an awful hand. But, hey, I had two suits so what the heck.

Flop comes K-9-3 with two spades. I pot it, the big blind calls. Turn is an 8 of clubs, I pot it again, he calls again.

River is the 8 of spades giving me a full house. I believe the bets were 1000 after the flop, 3000 after the turn and then 7000 on the river and he called me down with a flush, no low possible so I scoop a big pot with my full house.

In a blink I'm at 41k from my 25k starting stack. Can't ask for much better...

Win a couple other smaller pots and go into the first break at 43,300. Sweet!

After the first break David Williams joins the table. The guy sitting directly to my right was obviously a pro, I didn't know him but he and David clearly knew each other. Then joining the table was "Not Maria Ho" who also knew the guy to my right.

I've said many times, I do like to talk about who I'm playing against just because I do think it's one of the best things about being a poker player, but don't ever think it affects my play in any way.

When Matt and I were in the Tag Team event I thought Maria Ho was sitting at the table next to ours. Asian woman, about the same size, did her hair exactly the same way (same curls, same little bit of highlights...). I mentioned this to Joann, and the fact that Loni Harwood had been chatting with this woman (which implies she's a pro and thus more evidence it's Maria), but eventually she turned enough that I could see more of her face and realized it wasn't Maria. So I messaged Joann it's not Maria Ho.

The next day when we made day two, I unbagged the chips for Matt because I had bagged them and they were in my name, but he was going first. And who sits down at the table but "Not Maria Ho" (which is exactly what I said to Joann).

So what are the odds that "Not Maria Ho" sits at my table in the 8/b mix! Crazy! And I did confirm she played in Day 2 of the Tag Team at the table.

Not a great second 2 hours. Flop a set of 7s with A-3-3-7-7 in Big O so I bet and get called, but an otherwise high board and had to go away when the turn brought a possible made straight as well as two flush draws I didn't have on top of leaving no possibility of me hitting a low ... and a sizeable bet was made into me.

Then pick up A-A-7-7, raise out, flop three face cards, give up quickly.

Raise out with A-2-4-7 with a suited ace ... flop 2 high cards, bet into me, done with another one.

I did chop a 3-way pot with David with A-4-4-Q when I caught the nut low but only called a bet just in case I might get quartered at the end.

David then blows all his chips to the guy on my right with a very crappy hand.

I fall under 35k, but then take out a short stack with A-2-4-7-9 I think with two suits but definitely the ace. Suits didn't end up mattering tho, all the chips end up going in on a board of 2-4-9-9 and all he had was a nut low draw that missed on the river.

A-A-3-8-X (don't remember the 5th card, didn't matter) with both aces suited I raise out preflop, two callers and it comes K-4-7. I lead out, both call. Turn is another King, from that point the hand gets checked down on a river 3 and aces hold up as the high hand and A-8 is actually good for a chop for low! I get 3/4!

Back up around 43k into the second break.

I see a flop with K-K-J-7-7 two suits but in particular I have the K-J-7 of clubs. Flop comes 6-9-10 with the 9-10 of clubs. Not only do I have second nut flush draw, I have a double-gutshot straight flush draw if I can hit either the 8 of clubs or the queen of clubs!

I call a 2k bet, then when the turn is an offsuit king giving me top set I lead out for 4k and get called. River was a small club, we check it down, my second nut flush is good!

47,200 at that point.

I do pick up a scoop with the "nut low" flush, my 2-3 of hearts was somehow good on a board of A-10-10-6-9 with three hearts by the river.

Preflop there's a raise and a reraise into me. This means someone almost certainly has aces, and someone else if not both of them have A-2. They can't both have two aces because I have A-3-4-7 with clubs but the 3-7 of clubs, not the ace. I mutter that I'm gonna wish I'd called but I make the correct fold...

Flop comes 4-5-7 rainbow. I'm thinking to myself "this is why I folded, because I'd have to call a bet and a raise here when I'd almost certainly have the second best low and probably run 2-pair into a straight for high..."

King on the turn, 7 on the river. HUGE 3-way pot, I would have taken half of it with a full house. But ... my read was correct. One person flipped over A-2-X-X and "Not Maria Ho" flipped over A-A-2-X.

I correctly read the situation, I made the right decision, hate it making the right decision sometimes tho ... reality was I was going to have to risk crippling myself or busting to see that river card and I would have been in bad shape the whole way doing it.

Get quartered a couple of times with some good starting hands that hit me but also hit other people. In both cases had the same low as someone else, 3rd person took the high half and we split the low half.

Into the 3rd break at 39,300.

Registration closes, I see Mr Williams at the late reg table.

We were told before the break our table would be the first to be broken up, but it was quite a while before the break and then quite a while after. Seems that the parade of late entries filled all those empty seats.

But eventually they do break up our table with me down another 3000 from blinds and hands that didn't work out.

Numbers come in. 771 entries paying 116 places with $195K as the top prize. 455 remain.

With A-5-6-7-X and a suit I call preflop, then lead out on an A-4-3 board and get one caller. I turn the nuts both ways when a 2 hits but can't get paid.

Pick up a small pot here and there, again get aces but have to check down a scary board after raising preflop and getting called as well as a continuation bet, once again aces are good on a paired board with all kinds of straights possible that I didn't have. But neither did the other guy :-)

Back up to 47,500 at the final break of the day.

Two hours to bagging up chips...

I lose 10k in three hands shortly after the break. Twice I raise out with A-3-X-X hands with a suited ace only to flop 2-3 face cards each time (one I remember specifically was K-Q-J with 2 diamonds), then I called some limps with A-5-9-9 and a suited ace (admittedly not a great hand) on the button but completely whiff on that one as well.

With A-2-3-8-9 I call a preflop raise in my blind from a very aggressive player, flop A-9-9, I check raise his small continuation bet and he goes away. Guess I could have slow-played but he likely had nothing.

Playing pot limit there is a limp into me and I look down at A-2-5-K with two suits and make it 4500 to go (blinds 1000/1000/1000, not a typo). Flop 8-3-K, it checks around. Turn is a 5, short stack goes all in, I snap call, everyone else folds. He has literally nothing, A-Q-J-T with no suits and can't beat either my made low or my made two pair. I scoop and that gets me up to 54K, my biggest stack of the day and double a starting stack! Almost average stack!

Sweet!

But a couple of good starting hands don't work out, and at a high level this was my problem in the tournament. After those two early back-to-back big pots I never could put together two or three decent pots in a row, it was always win some chips but then give them back on solid starting hands that didn't work out.

Defend with a junky 2-5-9-Q, flop two pair and lead out only to get potted on and basically face a decision for my tournament life against what's probably a great drawing hand I'm behind ... if not worse! I fold.

Lose a few more chips on hands that don't work out, and then...

I'm down around 26k, just above starting stack and now with blinds for "limit" at 1500/3000/3000. Less than ideal.

I look down in Big O at A-A-4-4-7. Aggressive guy from earlier (who's also monster stack) raises out and I reraise for almost half my stack. I'm literally not folding on any flop...

The flop comes A-2-8. Couldn't ask for anything more. All the chips go in and he has A-2-4-5-6. He has a low that can't be counterfeited unless the board comes exactly 5-6 (if it comes 4-5 or 4-6 he's still better than my "live 7").

Well it doesn't come 5-6.

It does, however, come diamond, diamond without pairing the board giving him a baby flush and a scoop.

Done.

30 minutes from bagging chips, somewhere around 250th out of 771.

Gotta admit, that was a rough one to take. I was sure I was at least making Day 2 with a shot at a decent cash.

Because Joann is going home before me we changed hotels Friday so I could stay in less expensive accommodations by myself. Between that and what was a pretty difficult couple of days I decided a day off wouldn't be the worst thing.

I am 100% playing Saturday after dropping Joann off at the airport. Not sure if I'm going to leave Sunday or Monday - leaning strongly to Monday - so there will be at least one more BLOG and possibly two.