WSOP Trip Report Day 4
DAY 4 – Sunday
I was seated upstairs this time for the 1.5 K Limit event, right underneath the big clock in the corner. I found that out when I walked around to have a look before heading outside for a last smoke on Fremont. While I was out there, I saw Phil Ivey leaning by himself against the main entrance of the casino, looking comparatively subtle in a t-shirt instead of the usual basketball jersey. I thought maybe he was trying to get into a zone, but I went up to talk to him anyways. I really admire his play, like most people do, and I wanted him to sign the back of my tournament entry card. I called him ‘Mr. Ivey’, which I think he got a kick out of. I just meant to be respectful, but we may be around the same age. I’m not sure how old he is, but I’m 29. He was easy-going when I asked him for his autograph, and smiled when I congratulated him on his finish in the 2K NL event. I think he placed in the teens, and I’m pretty sure he made about 10K in profit—I had just read the results sheet.
I realize now that he probably got a kick out of the fact that it was a sincere congratulation. 10K to him is nothing. The guy plays in a 2K/4K cash game 10K is less than two rounds of folding blinds. For all I know he feels like he lost money on the day, if he knew about a good cash game happening at the same time. But, he was nice, and asked if I was playing, I told him I was, we wished each other luck and I went on my way.
I’m not going to say too much about the Sunday WSOP Limit tournament, because I don’t like the way I played. I got unlucky, I lasted a few hours (again.), but unlike the NL tourney, I felt I could have kept myself out of trouble if I’d avoided more hands. I got caught playing trouble hands and losing money when my two pair paid off a flush. In another hand, I had AK lose to a rivered flush on a board with two kings. He raised preflop with 6 3 diamonds, so I didn’t really see it coming. He actually checked to me on the river when he made the baby flush, but I bet it because I thought I had the best hand. He of course called. I then took my pocket jacks to war against pocket queens when no overcards came on the board; I bet and he called me down the whole way. I finally went all-in with A K against someone else’s pocket jacks—we got all our money in preflop—and got no ace or king on the board. That was it.
However, I would have had chips left after those hands if I’d avoided playing too many hands I didn’t mention in small, but slowly destructive pots. I blame only myself for that tournament. Note to self: it’s a long day. Play tight, even if there’s a lot of limping.
There were no celebrities at my table, although Daniel Negreanu was at the one next to me, and he apparently knew someone at mine. He walked over and said that he’d had aces twice, kings twice, etc…. apparently on some bizarre rush of cards. I wonder if he was saying this because it was true and he’d had to show down a lot of big hands, or if it was bullshit because he didn’t have to show down a lot of hands, and he wanted his table to hear him. He’s a good poker player, I wouldn’t put it past him.
After returning to my room, looking in the mirror, and confirming that I was indeed on tilt, I called around and found a tournament for that night at the Mirage. I didn’t have much time to get there. I hopped in a cab and walked into the Mirage for the first time. It’s nice, but the Bellagio is more impressive. The Mirage had nice lighting on the warm rich colours on the walls, though. The tables were unfortunately cramped—people got bumped a lot. I didn’t encounter one bad dealer, and the tournament entry receipt was cool. It had a little map of the entire poker room on it, and it highlighted your table. I had some time to kill, and the Leafs game was coming on shortly in the sports book there.
When I first got to Vegas, I thought that maybe the California was one of few sports books in Vegas. Well, they’re everywhere, and the Mirage has a really nice one. The Leafs weren’t exactly the priority, but they’d achieved better status than they had at the California: they were on a big screen, one of eight. No sound, because there was basketball. A lot of people were watching the Leafs game though. I could tell, because they cheered whenever Philly scored. A solid dinner at the pizza restaurant near the sports book, and I was ready to play.
The event was a $220 buy-in multi-table NL tournament, with cheaper rebuys for half price and an add-on. Like the 1K event at the Bellagio, I thought I played well, but didn’t make the money. Eventually, after playing a solid game for a long time, I blew it at around 20th again, of 80. I get a free look at the flop with the J 7 offsuit, at the 50/100 level. 2 people limped and the small blind completed, so with four of us in, the pot is 400. The flop comes jack high with no straight draws and two spades. SB checks, and I bet the pot. Only the button calls. Hmmm. We both have decent stacks; he has a slight lead on me. I didn’t know enough about him to decide whether or not he’d pay 400 for a flush draw. The turn was another jack, no flush yet. I bet 800, and he moves in on me. Here’s where I should have folded. This was the only time in the trip that I called all-in on a hand I wasn’t trying to get all-in with, and it didn’t feel good. Sure enough, he flips over JT suited, no help for me on the river, and I’m out.
If not for my good win on my first night and my 20/40 results, I would have been feeling pretty bummed out. Hell, I was feeling bummed out. I wasn’t on tilt, I was just dejected. But it’s hard to stay dejected for long in Vegas; there are too many funny things happening on the street. A mini-van went full speed down the strip with its side door open and a guy leaning out of it. He was trying to give his phone number to the girls driving in the convertible next to him. There was an old Chinese guy standing alone outside the Horseshoe doing what looked a lot like an Irish Stepdance kind of jig with no music. He was trying to stretch his legs, I think he was a tournament player. There was a car show during the day, and next to a wheel well of one of the display cars there was what appeared to be a small child half-looking/half-caught in the well. As I noticed this from across the street, a couple of ladies who were next to the car noticed it as well. They did exactly what I did; which is to watch this child for signs of movement to tell if it’s a child or a doll. After seeing no movement, but seeing what was a very realistic-looking child in possible distress, they did what I was about to do: walk over and tap the kid on the shoulder to see if he was real and frozen somehow, or fake.
They tapped him on the shoulder, and he was fake and fell over. They laughed, and I had to laugh too. They put it back to where it was, arm caught in the wheel and all, so someone else could walk by and wonder what the hell was wrong with that kid. There was also a place on the street that you could get your picture taken with live parrots on your head, shoulders, and arms. And there were people always trying to hand you flyers for girls. Aggressively. Like, they’d thump the roll of flyers in their hands every time someone walked by to get their attention, and then walk alongside you with the flyer held 3 inches from your stomach. After 2 seconds, they’d go and do it to the next person.
Since I was in a good mood, I decided to try a Golden Nugget single-table tournament back downtown. When I arrived, they were selling seats for one with a $225 buy-in. I made my first and only deal in Vegas at this tournament. Within forty-five minutes, one guy at our table got the better end of some close all-in pots no less than six times. He was getting dealt some huge hands when other people were getting slightly worse ones. He was massive, and I was just getting started. It got down to where there were three of us left. We’d all started with 1500, and me and another guy only had about 1800 each, with the big stack at 11,400 or so. The big stack, for some reason, wanted to offer us a deal. I could take or leave the $225 buy-in, so usually I’d say no and play on. In this case, however, I had so few chips comparatively, and this guy was on such a rush of cards, that I’d have been happy to get my buy-in back, plus maybe a little more. I forgot to mention that he was a good player, too.
I immediately said I’d be interested in a deal, but the other short stack axed it before the terms were discussed. I don’t blame the guy; I just knew what my objective was now. Outlast him and look for a deal. So, that’s what I did. We were both getting bullied around—like I said, the big stack was a good player—and our stacks dwindled some more. Finally, the other short stack moved in on me from the small blind after the big stack folded. I called with K T offsuit, and I was right, as my opponent showed the Q 6 offsuit. No help for him, and I was heads-up with the Great Wall of China. I had about 2000, he had about 13,000. He asked if I wanted to make a deal, and I asked for the clock to be paused.
I kind of wanted to keep going. But, I decided to settle for my buy-in and a bit of cash. Possibly bad judgment in retrospect, but that’s what I did. I played some 20/40, won a bit more, and went to bed with no idea what I was going to do on my last day in Vegas.
I was seated upstairs this time for the 1.5 K Limit event, right underneath the big clock in the corner. I found that out when I walked around to have a look before heading outside for a last smoke on Fremont. While I was out there, I saw Phil Ivey leaning by himself against the main entrance of the casino, looking comparatively subtle in a t-shirt instead of the usual basketball jersey. I thought maybe he was trying to get into a zone, but I went up to talk to him anyways. I really admire his play, like most people do, and I wanted him to sign the back of my tournament entry card. I called him ‘Mr. Ivey’, which I think he got a kick out of. I just meant to be respectful, but we may be around the same age. I’m not sure how old he is, but I’m 29. He was easy-going when I asked him for his autograph, and smiled when I congratulated him on his finish in the 2K NL event. I think he placed in the teens, and I’m pretty sure he made about 10K in profit—I had just read the results sheet.
I realize now that he probably got a kick out of the fact that it was a sincere congratulation. 10K to him is nothing. The guy plays in a 2K/4K cash game 10K is less than two rounds of folding blinds. For all I know he feels like he lost money on the day, if he knew about a good cash game happening at the same time. But, he was nice, and asked if I was playing, I told him I was, we wished each other luck and I went on my way.
I’m not going to say too much about the Sunday WSOP Limit tournament, because I don’t like the way I played. I got unlucky, I lasted a few hours (again.), but unlike the NL tourney, I felt I could have kept myself out of trouble if I’d avoided more hands. I got caught playing trouble hands and losing money when my two pair paid off a flush. In another hand, I had AK lose to a rivered flush on a board with two kings. He raised preflop with 6 3 diamonds, so I didn’t really see it coming. He actually checked to me on the river when he made the baby flush, but I bet it because I thought I had the best hand. He of course called. I then took my pocket jacks to war against pocket queens when no overcards came on the board; I bet and he called me down the whole way. I finally went all-in with A K against someone else’s pocket jacks—we got all our money in preflop—and got no ace or king on the board. That was it.
However, I would have had chips left after those hands if I’d avoided playing too many hands I didn’t mention in small, but slowly destructive pots. I blame only myself for that tournament. Note to self: it’s a long day. Play tight, even if there’s a lot of limping.
There were no celebrities at my table, although Daniel Negreanu was at the one next to me, and he apparently knew someone at mine. He walked over and said that he’d had aces twice, kings twice, etc…. apparently on some bizarre rush of cards. I wonder if he was saying this because it was true and he’d had to show down a lot of big hands, or if it was bullshit because he didn’t have to show down a lot of hands, and he wanted his table to hear him. He’s a good poker player, I wouldn’t put it past him.
After returning to my room, looking in the mirror, and confirming that I was indeed on tilt, I called around and found a tournament for that night at the Mirage. I didn’t have much time to get there. I hopped in a cab and walked into the Mirage for the first time. It’s nice, but the Bellagio is more impressive. The Mirage had nice lighting on the warm rich colours on the walls, though. The tables were unfortunately cramped—people got bumped a lot. I didn’t encounter one bad dealer, and the tournament entry receipt was cool. It had a little map of the entire poker room on it, and it highlighted your table. I had some time to kill, and the Leafs game was coming on shortly in the sports book there.
When I first got to Vegas, I thought that maybe the California was one of few sports books in Vegas. Well, they’re everywhere, and the Mirage has a really nice one. The Leafs weren’t exactly the priority, but they’d achieved better status than they had at the California: they were on a big screen, one of eight. No sound, because there was basketball. A lot of people were watching the Leafs game though. I could tell, because they cheered whenever Philly scored. A solid dinner at the pizza restaurant near the sports book, and I was ready to play.
The event was a $220 buy-in multi-table NL tournament, with cheaper rebuys for half price and an add-on. Like the 1K event at the Bellagio, I thought I played well, but didn’t make the money. Eventually, after playing a solid game for a long time, I blew it at around 20th again, of 80. I get a free look at the flop with the J 7 offsuit, at the 50/100 level. 2 people limped and the small blind completed, so with four of us in, the pot is 400. The flop comes jack high with no straight draws and two spades. SB checks, and I bet the pot. Only the button calls. Hmmm. We both have decent stacks; he has a slight lead on me. I didn’t know enough about him to decide whether or not he’d pay 400 for a flush draw. The turn was another jack, no flush yet. I bet 800, and he moves in on me. Here’s where I should have folded. This was the only time in the trip that I called all-in on a hand I wasn’t trying to get all-in with, and it didn’t feel good. Sure enough, he flips over JT suited, no help for me on the river, and I’m out.
If not for my good win on my first night and my 20/40 results, I would have been feeling pretty bummed out. Hell, I was feeling bummed out. I wasn’t on tilt, I was just dejected. But it’s hard to stay dejected for long in Vegas; there are too many funny things happening on the street. A mini-van went full speed down the strip with its side door open and a guy leaning out of it. He was trying to give his phone number to the girls driving in the convertible next to him. There was an old Chinese guy standing alone outside the Horseshoe doing what looked a lot like an Irish Stepdance kind of jig with no music. He was trying to stretch his legs, I think he was a tournament player. There was a car show during the day, and next to a wheel well of one of the display cars there was what appeared to be a small child half-looking/half-caught in the well. As I noticed this from across the street, a couple of ladies who were next to the car noticed it as well. They did exactly what I did; which is to watch this child for signs of movement to tell if it’s a child or a doll. After seeing no movement, but seeing what was a very realistic-looking child in possible distress, they did what I was about to do: walk over and tap the kid on the shoulder to see if he was real and frozen somehow, or fake.
They tapped him on the shoulder, and he was fake and fell over. They laughed, and I had to laugh too. They put it back to where it was, arm caught in the wheel and all, so someone else could walk by and wonder what the hell was wrong with that kid. There was also a place on the street that you could get your picture taken with live parrots on your head, shoulders, and arms. And there were people always trying to hand you flyers for girls. Aggressively. Like, they’d thump the roll of flyers in their hands every time someone walked by to get their attention, and then walk alongside you with the flyer held 3 inches from your stomach. After 2 seconds, they’d go and do it to the next person.
Since I was in a good mood, I decided to try a Golden Nugget single-table tournament back downtown. When I arrived, they were selling seats for one with a $225 buy-in. I made my first and only deal in Vegas at this tournament. Within forty-five minutes, one guy at our table got the better end of some close all-in pots no less than six times. He was getting dealt some huge hands when other people were getting slightly worse ones. He was massive, and I was just getting started. It got down to where there were three of us left. We’d all started with 1500, and me and another guy only had about 1800 each, with the big stack at 11,400 or so. The big stack, for some reason, wanted to offer us a deal. I could take or leave the $225 buy-in, so usually I’d say no and play on. In this case, however, I had so few chips comparatively, and this guy was on such a rush of cards, that I’d have been happy to get my buy-in back, plus maybe a little more. I forgot to mention that he was a good player, too.
I immediately said I’d be interested in a deal, but the other short stack axed it before the terms were discussed. I don’t blame the guy; I just knew what my objective was now. Outlast him and look for a deal. So, that’s what I did. We were both getting bullied around—like I said, the big stack was a good player—and our stacks dwindled some more. Finally, the other short stack moved in on me from the small blind after the big stack folded. I called with K T offsuit, and I was right, as my opponent showed the Q 6 offsuit. No help for him, and I was heads-up with the Great Wall of China. I had about 2000, he had about 13,000. He asked if I wanted to make a deal, and I asked for the clock to be paused.
I kind of wanted to keep going. But, I decided to settle for my buy-in and a bit of cash. Possibly bad judgment in retrospect, but that’s what I did. I played some 20/40, won a bit more, and went to bed with no idea what I was going to do on my last day in Vegas.
Comments
gonna read this again
thx all_aces