Vegas June/July 2022 (WSOP)

Days 4 and 5 - A day off, Tag Team

Last Updated: 2022-06-27 14:33:06

As promised I took a much needed day off from poker Saturday.

Starbucks for me for breakfast, Joann and I got a quick lunch, Joann bought a pretty Movado watch and a wallet at the outlets, I bought some liquor at Lee's, steak dinner at Smith and Wollensky. That was pretty much it for Saturday. Didn't need to BLOG for Friday's brutal day at Orleans Saturday morning because I wrote it Friday night before I went to bed.

'Cuz, you know, I had lots of spare time Friday night...

Sunday morning Starbucks in the hotel again, bought a bottle of liquor on Facebook, hit the pool, picked up Matt G at the airport and dropped him off at the Linq (which apparently still has that same good, old Imperial Palace quality to it!) and dropped the car back at Vdara.

I'll tell the bottle story at the bottom, if you're more interested in bourbon than poker scroll down, this should be a long one :-)

Joann, Matt and I had lunch at Cafe Americana in Paris (which used to be Cafe St Louis if it's been a while since you've been in Paris) and it was on to the buyin cage for Event #55, Tag Team.

I had scouted out the line at the buyin cage before lunch and it was relatively short, but while we ate lunch it more than doubled. We probably spent over an hour in line, but we did get an actual seat assignment rather than a "go see a guy at a table for a seat card". Turned out they delayed the start of the tournament by half an hour so we weren't nearly as late as we expected to be.

Sat down probably around 3:15, but still in the second hour-long level.

Matt was up first because I was going to make damn sure Matt got a chance to sit down for his first ever World Series of Poker experience. Flat out told him if I got aces or kings on the first hand and someone shoved into me pre-flop I was never folding and I expected the same of him, don't worry about making sure I sit down...

Our seat was right on the rail with our backs facing it, so sometimes standing directly behind Matt I could catch a peek at his cards. 4th or 5th hand in Matt gets kings! Can't make it up!

All he got out of them was a call of his raise from one of the blinds, no action on a continuation bet after a flop of all under cards.

Then our table got weird. A group of guys came over to the table with a portable carnival wheel, at least one of them sporting media credentials, and them having white claws and a bottle of Angel's Envy bourbon in a backpack.

The carnival wheel has all kinds of whacky stuff on it like must raise out 3-2, have to play standing up for an orbit, etc. Apparently these guys are known streamers and they're going to spin the wheel every time they tag out every other orbit. And take a swig of the Angel's Envy.

Every other orbit is also what Matt and I are doing.

They also start inviting other people to spin the wheel with the expectation that those people are going to play along. And every time someone agrees to spin the wheel the camera starts rolling to shame them into playing along.

First hand I got into was flopping a flush draw after raising out to 800 with A-K offsuit with the king of clubs but getting two callers, one with position on me. Checked around the all club flop, I called a 1500 bet from a blank turn but no help on the river.

We're in the 9 seat, the guys with the carnival wheel are in the 10 seat. Naturally they tag out and the new guy lands on "must straddle". Oh, great, in my big blind.

He dutifully bets 2 times the blind in the dark as soon as he gets his first card when the big blind gets to me. I was going to go after it if it folded to me with 10-7 in spades but someone beat me to it and I went away.

Two limpers into me at 200/400/400 so I made it 2000 to go with pocket queens. Both limpers called, flop was all under cards, they check to me and then fold to my 4500 continuation bet. An easy 5K with blinds and antes, our first substantial pot!

Matt picks up Kings again and raised out, 2 callers including a blind. But an ace high flop, he did try a continuation bet but had to give up as the board ran out a straight and the person who was first to act led out for I think 6100. Matt quickly folded, the other person in the hand showed A-K face up so Matt was crushed after the flop.

Then another Ace high flop when Matt picked up Jacks, had to give up on that one too. Argh.

Then it gets fun...

Under the gun (UTG) raises out, I don't remember which level but it was a 2.5 times BB raise, I look down at pocket 10s and call. Loose-ish player in one of the blinds (probably big) also calls.

Flop 10-4-2 with two spades.

Original raiser leads out for something like 2/3 of the pot. I smooth call. The blind thinks it over and moves all in. Original raiser thinks a bit and folds, I snap call. He has 8-5 of spades.

No spade on the turn, river 4 gives me a full house to twist the knife a little and I almost triple up!

45900 chips from our 20k starting stack.

I give the streamer a walk with 9-5 off, he flips over pocket 10s. Yes, folks, it really is OK to fold the small blind in those spots sometimes :-)

I haven't mentioned that Adam Hendrix is in the 8 seat. I didn't recognize him, Joann actually did (!! She tries hard to pretend she's not watching when I stream poker :-) ) but my first clue he was "somebody" was when David Peters came by to chat with him while he was taking a turn on the rail. That and when the Poker News people came to talk to his partner and ask who's the better poker player... :-)

My new buddy Adam raised out to 1000 preflop and I called with 7-6 of clubs. I think one other caller. Flop came 3-5-3 with two clubs. A gutshot straight flush draw for me!

Flop checks around, I thought about a donk-bet but the play here really is to make sure I'm the one doing the raising with this hand if anyone is, not leading out.

Turn brings a 2, Adam leads out for 2200, I'm not going away, other person folds.

River is an Ace. Adam checks, I make it 3800 to go. Adam grumbles quite a bit and folds, unhappy with the river card. I do not show off my air to a guy with $3 million in career earnings...

46300

Raise out with 9-8 suited in diamonds, two callers. Flop 7-8-3 with one diamond and two clubs. Check to me, I c-bet to 2200, 3rd person folds, the one in the blinds makes it 7500 to go for about half his stack. Top pair, backdoor straight and flush draws ... this was tough. I think he would have shoved over my preflop raise if he had a big pair, at least reraised. I don't think I'm wrong to fold here, I don't think I'm wrong to call or put him all in either. I reluctantly opt to fold instead of risking 1/3 of our stack.

41600 end of level 5.

Trying to decide if I should talk about the next hand as me the spectator or as Matt the player. Going with spectator...

Matt looks at his cards in the big blind, I can tell both of them are in the 7-9 range but not sure exactly. He defends a raise and a call.

Flop comes Q-7-9 rainbow. Matt donks out for 2100. I'm wondering if Matt has pocket 7s. Original raiser makes it 5600 to go. 3rd guy in hand smooth calls. Oh, I hope Matt has a set of 7s...

Matt pauses a moment and goes all in. I'm positive now he has 7s. I know it ain't queens.

Original raiser thinks a minute and folds.

Smooth caller snap calls and rolls over...

Pocket 7s. WTF???

Matt rolls over pocket 9s.

Set over set.

Blanks on turn and river, Matt takes down a huge pot.

After trying twice Matt gives me two different chip stack totals. It's soon my turn, I count the chips and Matt leans over and says "you know now that I think about it, I think it was 96000 chips" which is what I came up with :-)

Oh and he had also taken out the guy left with a short stack who had folded from that hand.

I get asked for the first of a few times if we're a father/son team. Similar haircuts, ages could be right...

Jamie Kerstetter sits down next to me. For all of 3 hands. She mostly chats with friends, plays exactly big blind, small blind, button (folding all) and leaves having satisfied her tag team requirement. Her partner is nowhere to be found, nobody playing (big) stack for almost two orbits.

I give some up with QQ on a K high flop, 87600 end of level 6. Playing 11.

Raise into my big blind, I defend and just call with A-Q. Flop comes Q-8-X all spades and me with the ace of spades. I check-raise the original raiser, he calls. Turn is a blank, I lead out, he goes all in, I snap call but he shows pocket kings with the king of spades.

I don't see any way I get away from this hand, just a cooler. None of my 13 outs come in, I double him up.

Matt gives some back also when pocket 2s flop a set against his 77. Soon after that our table breaks up.

49300 start of level 8.

I give up another chunk defending with A-4 and flopping ace high but have to fold when I'm check-raised.

Down around 30k.

Matt gets us back up over 40K, but I can't see the hands due to our new table spot. No longer on the rail, can't hang right behind him.

I get a walk with 7-5. I'll take it. 45100 15 minutes into level 9.

I raise out with 77 to 2500 I think at 500/1000/1000. Guy who was short stacked and shoving often shoves again. I snapped him off ... and run into aces. Of course this time he has a hand ...

7s and 8s are right on the edge of this being a correct call. The math is right, but if Matt and I don't get to the money this one will gnaw at me. Call and fold both correct, but now we're down to 24700.

913 teams, 320 left paying 137 places.

Matt takes over, raises out with AK, gets called, misses flop, folds. Sitting around 19k, one move now.

Matt's first all in gets through stealing blinds.

74k for first place, 802 min cash, now 143 from money.

I get shoves through with QT off and 55.

15 minute break just to color up then one more level. We don't win the chip race.

93 from money.

Matt gets all in with A8, runs into AK ... 8 on the turn, we double up.

I sit in with 36500.

83 ... 73 ... 63 to money. Hanging on...

10 minutes to bagging chips and the clock stops.

Play five more hands and bag up.

5th hand I look down at KT of clubs. This is right on the bare edge of the shove fold chart. I am so tempted but I decide not to take the edge case and bag up chips. As the hand played out it would have almost certainly gotten through, but we're not results oriented.

31,500 chips is officially 169th of 183 stack sizes, but almost certainly 170th as there was one chip count that was illegible or not given at all so reported as "1" at the bottom of the list.

At our table will be the 8th largest stack, 3 more in the 100k-ish range and four in the 50-60k range. All we gotta do is double up once without paying more than one orbit of blinds and we'll be OK.

Cards in the air at noon in the room with the final tables.

Wish us luck!!!

As far as that bourbon. EH Taylor and Weller are the two brands I'm buy some expensive bottles on the secondary market. Without too much detail, I have access to a marketplace that speaks in code so they're not shut down on a well known social media site. I've gotten some really cool but pricey bottles on this marketplace.

A couple of months ago someone put up a couple bottles in lets say a "middle-expensive" price range. I'm forcing myself not to buy "backup bottles" of the really, really expensive ones and wait until I'm out or almost out to even think about it.

But this is one, EH Taylor Barrel Proof, that's around the top of my "I'd buy a backup" price range. So two bottles go up for sale and I want to buy them but I'm on the edge of if I should spend the money or not. Someone steps in and makes what I thought was a lowball offer ... and it's quickly accepted.

Well hell, if I knew I could get it at that price...

So I vowed I wouldn't miss another one in that range. And I talk to my buddy Patrick when we leave for vacation and he says yeah, if I buy something and I'm away (local pickup, gotta pay and pick up reasonably fast not in 3 weeks, that's the rules) he'll be my "mule".

So Saturday night I see two bottle up for sale, and a little higher than the last person. Message Patrick if he's still willing, yes he is, I make the offer but a little bit higher offer than the price I saw before because I'm only taking one (if I was taking both it would have been the lower number per). Offer quickly accepted, later in the day Patrick messages me a picture of my bottle.

I tell Joann about it and she says "you mean you only bought one???". Sigh. Enabler. But no, I didn't go back and buy the other one, I let it go.