Dave's WSOP adventure -- UPDATE #5 (The Day I Played)
UPDATE #4 – The Big Day
Here are the details of the tournament.
The “Coles Notes†version is that I made one bad play for a loss of $3000K. On top of that I had WAY more than my share of small/medium pair and I lost at least $2K trying to flop a set. That got me short to about $5K and I busted ramming T-T through a raiser and a caller.
Level 1 – Blinds 25-50
The room was REALLY hot. I started the day in my Planet Poker hockey jersey. That lasted for the first level. I actually cut out of level one ten minutes before the break because I was WAY too hot and I needed to change my clothes. I changed into a lighter weight Planet Poker shirt but that didn’t last either. After level two I changed into a running t-shirt. That’s as little clothes as I can wear without playing in my swimsuit. The dealer, though, mentioned that some tables were COLD. I guess it all depends upon where one is sitting relative to the air conditioning outlets.
I arrive at my table at 12:05. Five minutes late but these things NEVER start on time. Amazingly, I walk it to hear, “Dealers, shuffle up and deal.†Wow. 2000 players and they got it off 5 minutes late.
One funny thing… Team Planet consists of five players. Me, Randy Blumer, and three players that qualified at Planet. Out of four different day ones and 8400 players… I have a Planet qualifier at my table. With apologies I didn’t catch his name. I think his Planet name is KK222. But, I am not sure.
How big is the internet influence on the WSOP? Here is the lineup:
Seat 1: Planet Poker
Seat 2: Poker Room
Seat 3: Poker Stars
Seat 4: Nothing
Seat 5: Paradise
Seat 6: Nothing
Seat 7 Planet (me)
Seat 8: Poker Stars
Seat 9: Poker Stars
Seat 10: Poker Stars.
Sheesh… a lot of internet players.
Hand #1
I am in the BB with K-9o. There are four limpers. I check. The flop is K-J-7 two diamonds. It checks to a middle position player who bets. This player is the ONLY active player at the table. Folded to me. I check raise. Action player calls and folds on the turn when another king appears and I bet ½ pot. So far so good, I am slightly ahead of my $10K starting stack.
Hand #2
I make it 150 in middle position with K-Qo. Late position player makes is 350. All others fold. The pot is 575 and I have to call 200. I call. The flop is K-J-x. I bet 400 into a pot of almost 800. Pre-flop raiser raises and I fold. Ringing in my years is my advice to myself in my 2006 WSOP Manifesto: “Do not be shy about folding top pair.â€
Hand #3
This hand is typical of many hands that bled away about $3K of my chips. In retrospect I definitely played a higher variance style than I intended to play. But I cannot particularly fault my play.
I am the small-blind with 8-5s. There are three limpers. I call. The big-blind makes it 300 to go. All limpers call. So, I call another 250 into a pot of 1200. The flop is 9-7-A. I have a gutshot and a backdoor flush draw. It is checked to the player immediately on my right. He bets 300 into 1500. I am not getting the odds to call but he is the weakest player at the table and I am convinced his is a top pair pilot (will lose his whole stack with top pair). I decided that a 6 will win my his whole stack, I call. The big-blind now check raises. The player on my right calls and I fold. 600 chips gone.
With 47 minute lefts in level one I have 8900 chips.
I am still playing tight but I am starting to form my strategy. The four players on my left are weak tight. I do not believe that they have re-steal in the arsenal. This bodes well for level 4 when antes kick in. The weakest play is on my immediate right. And I am convinced that I should play a lot of hands against him if possible. I decide that starting with level two I will play any two cards against him provided that (1) there are no other players in the pot and (2) I am in late position.
Hand #4
I have A-A in late position. There are three limpers. I make a pot sized raise and get the perfect result – one caller only AND it’s the action player. I am confident that I can win some chips in this spot. The flop is 4-4-4. Almost certainly a great flop for me. He is the action player so I check. He checks. The river and turn were inconsequential. I check and call both streets and win about 2000 in the pot bringing me back to even.
Level 2 – I start with 9975 chips Blinds 50-100
Hand #5
A weak player raises. I call on the button with 5-3s. The flop is K-Q-J. He checks which feels suspicious to me. I check. The turn is a 5. He checks, I check. I doubtful that I have the best hand and am interested in the river for free. The river is a 3. Excellent. Two pair. Weak player now bets. Hmmm…. I am not comfortable. I flat call. He has A-T for the nuts. Good news… didn’t lose too much. Bad news, I did lose about 900 more chips.
Hand #6
This is the only hand that I really regret.
There is a late position player who makes a minimum raise. I call in the BB with 3-2o. The flop is T-7-2 with two clubs. I bet out 200 into 450. He raises to 600. I call 400 into 1250. I am convinced that he has an overpair and I am convinced that I can make a BIG score if I hit a 3 or a 2. The turn is an inconsequential 4. I check. He bets 400 into a pot of 1650. I must call 400 into 2050. Clearly I do not have the odds to make this call but I think his bet is too small (this player had made several “too small†bets in previous hands and did not seem to understand the need to offer a mistake to one’s opponent). I called again. The river was another blank for my hand but it completed the flush. I bet out $2.5K into 2450 representing the flush. It was a hard call for him… but he called.
The BAD part of my play is that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. EITHER calling the turn with a 3-2o is a good play because he will pay you off (implied odds) OR it’s a good play because you can bluff the flush if it hits (bluff odds). BUT YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. On the turn I had this player “in the book†as a player who would pay my two pair off. If that is the case then what made me think that he would fold the river? I changed my thinking. Ugh. Bad Dave, bad. The club on the river made me imagine a situation what did not exist. I had it right on the turn – the weapon to use against this player is getting the best hand paid off, not bluffing. Damn. Not the end of the word, but not good.
I have at least four small/middle pair after this hand none of which click. They do, however, bleed me down to about $6K.
Level 3 – I start with $5.5K chips. Blinds 100-200
This give me an M of 18.3. I am still if great shape. There is no need to panic. It does, however, remove certain weapons. I agree with Harrington that, at this point, I need to remove “pre-flop implied odds†hands from the quiver and look for a good opportunity to get me money in with an edge.
Hand #7
The player who earlier called my ill-conceived river flush bluff raised three to my left. I got an almost immediate adrenaline tell that told me that he was not that strong. It’s hard to explain exactly what I saw. Basically, he was distracted by a floor man walking by. He glanced away from the game for a brief second. A couple of things stood out: (1) The floorman wasn’t doing anything significant meaning that this player was EASILY distracted and (2) The player in question raises frequently with hands that he felt were worth a raise.
The player immediately on this left called the raise (now 1500 in the pot). The player was very weak with a BIG stack. He earlier got all of his money in the pot on a flop of 9-9-7-4 while holding 8-8 against an aggressive over pair. He his an 8 on the river to build a big stack. I felt that his call indicated a hand that “wanted to see the flop†but was not strong enough to warrant a re-raise. In the 8-8 hand just indicated he had limped 8-8. He was capable of raising though as I had seen him do it. I felt he has a small pair T-T to 2-2 or a “two big card†hand like K-J.
I was the button with T-T. I decided to win it pre-flop and I made is 2500 to go. The original better sneered (I think he though I was bluffing again) and folded. The caller now moved all in. Hmmm…. I didn’t think long. I really felt he has a pair below mine. I called my last 3000 into a pot of 5900. He turned over A-Ks which surprised me. Nonetheless, it was not a bad thing since I had a small edge (54%) with too much money in the pot.
Sadly the flop was A-x-x on the flop with two of his suite. I failed to hit my two-outer and I was eliminated with 1:22 minutes left in level three.
There is a supper break? Cool. I only need to kill an hour and half until supper.
Phil Hellmuth
Phil was eliminated about 20 minutes before I was. It was announced overhead, “Attention players the 1989 World Champion Phil Hellmuth has been eliminated.†The room burst into applause. Must be nice to be liked… Wait, maybe that’s not what the applause meant.
Without a doubt, however, Phil is a GREAT tournament player. He did, after all, win his 10th bracelet this WSOP.
Supper and beyond
I have supper with Bob and Teri Jarrett. Spent the evening drinking, gambling, and trying not to get depressed. It did not work, of course, and I added another $1,000 loss at the craps table to add to my depression the next morning.
Here are the details of the tournament.
The “Coles Notes†version is that I made one bad play for a loss of $3000K. On top of that I had WAY more than my share of small/medium pair and I lost at least $2K trying to flop a set. That got me short to about $5K and I busted ramming T-T through a raiser and a caller.
Level 1 – Blinds 25-50
The room was REALLY hot. I started the day in my Planet Poker hockey jersey. That lasted for the first level. I actually cut out of level one ten minutes before the break because I was WAY too hot and I needed to change my clothes. I changed into a lighter weight Planet Poker shirt but that didn’t last either. After level two I changed into a running t-shirt. That’s as little clothes as I can wear without playing in my swimsuit. The dealer, though, mentioned that some tables were COLD. I guess it all depends upon where one is sitting relative to the air conditioning outlets.
I arrive at my table at 12:05. Five minutes late but these things NEVER start on time. Amazingly, I walk it to hear, “Dealers, shuffle up and deal.†Wow. 2000 players and they got it off 5 minutes late.
One funny thing… Team Planet consists of five players. Me, Randy Blumer, and three players that qualified at Planet. Out of four different day ones and 8400 players… I have a Planet qualifier at my table. With apologies I didn’t catch his name. I think his Planet name is KK222. But, I am not sure.
How big is the internet influence on the WSOP? Here is the lineup:
Seat 1: Planet Poker
Seat 2: Poker Room
Seat 3: Poker Stars
Seat 4: Nothing
Seat 5: Paradise
Seat 6: Nothing
Seat 7 Planet (me)
Seat 8: Poker Stars
Seat 9: Poker Stars
Seat 10: Poker Stars.
Sheesh… a lot of internet players.
Hand #1
I am in the BB with K-9o. There are four limpers. I check. The flop is K-J-7 two diamonds. It checks to a middle position player who bets. This player is the ONLY active player at the table. Folded to me. I check raise. Action player calls and folds on the turn when another king appears and I bet ½ pot. So far so good, I am slightly ahead of my $10K starting stack.
Hand #2
I make it 150 in middle position with K-Qo. Late position player makes is 350. All others fold. The pot is 575 and I have to call 200. I call. The flop is K-J-x. I bet 400 into a pot of almost 800. Pre-flop raiser raises and I fold. Ringing in my years is my advice to myself in my 2006 WSOP Manifesto: “Do not be shy about folding top pair.â€
Hand #3
This hand is typical of many hands that bled away about $3K of my chips. In retrospect I definitely played a higher variance style than I intended to play. But I cannot particularly fault my play.
I am the small-blind with 8-5s. There are three limpers. I call. The big-blind makes it 300 to go. All limpers call. So, I call another 250 into a pot of 1200. The flop is 9-7-A. I have a gutshot and a backdoor flush draw. It is checked to the player immediately on my right. He bets 300 into 1500. I am not getting the odds to call but he is the weakest player at the table and I am convinced his is a top pair pilot (will lose his whole stack with top pair). I decided that a 6 will win my his whole stack, I call. The big-blind now check raises. The player on my right calls and I fold. 600 chips gone.
With 47 minute lefts in level one I have 8900 chips.
I am still playing tight but I am starting to form my strategy. The four players on my left are weak tight. I do not believe that they have re-steal in the arsenal. This bodes well for level 4 when antes kick in. The weakest play is on my immediate right. And I am convinced that I should play a lot of hands against him if possible. I decide that starting with level two I will play any two cards against him provided that (1) there are no other players in the pot and (2) I am in late position.
Hand #4
I have A-A in late position. There are three limpers. I make a pot sized raise and get the perfect result – one caller only AND it’s the action player. I am confident that I can win some chips in this spot. The flop is 4-4-4. Almost certainly a great flop for me. He is the action player so I check. He checks. The river and turn were inconsequential. I check and call both streets and win about 2000 in the pot bringing me back to even.
Level 2 – I start with 9975 chips Blinds 50-100
Hand #5
A weak player raises. I call on the button with 5-3s. The flop is K-Q-J. He checks which feels suspicious to me. I check. The turn is a 5. He checks, I check. I doubtful that I have the best hand and am interested in the river for free. The river is a 3. Excellent. Two pair. Weak player now bets. Hmmm…. I am not comfortable. I flat call. He has A-T for the nuts. Good news… didn’t lose too much. Bad news, I did lose about 900 more chips.
Hand #6
This is the only hand that I really regret.
There is a late position player who makes a minimum raise. I call in the BB with 3-2o. The flop is T-7-2 with two clubs. I bet out 200 into 450. He raises to 600. I call 400 into 1250. I am convinced that he has an overpair and I am convinced that I can make a BIG score if I hit a 3 or a 2. The turn is an inconsequential 4. I check. He bets 400 into a pot of 1650. I must call 400 into 2050. Clearly I do not have the odds to make this call but I think his bet is too small (this player had made several “too small†bets in previous hands and did not seem to understand the need to offer a mistake to one’s opponent). I called again. The river was another blank for my hand but it completed the flush. I bet out $2.5K into 2450 representing the flush. It was a hard call for him… but he called.
The BAD part of my play is that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. EITHER calling the turn with a 3-2o is a good play because he will pay you off (implied odds) OR it’s a good play because you can bluff the flush if it hits (bluff odds). BUT YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. On the turn I had this player “in the book†as a player who would pay my two pair off. If that is the case then what made me think that he would fold the river? I changed my thinking. Ugh. Bad Dave, bad. The club on the river made me imagine a situation what did not exist. I had it right on the turn – the weapon to use against this player is getting the best hand paid off, not bluffing. Damn. Not the end of the word, but not good.
I have at least four small/middle pair after this hand none of which click. They do, however, bleed me down to about $6K.
Level 3 – I start with $5.5K chips. Blinds 100-200
This give me an M of 18.3. I am still if great shape. There is no need to panic. It does, however, remove certain weapons. I agree with Harrington that, at this point, I need to remove “pre-flop implied odds†hands from the quiver and look for a good opportunity to get me money in with an edge.
Hand #7
The player who earlier called my ill-conceived river flush bluff raised three to my left. I got an almost immediate adrenaline tell that told me that he was not that strong. It’s hard to explain exactly what I saw. Basically, he was distracted by a floor man walking by. He glanced away from the game for a brief second. A couple of things stood out: (1) The floorman wasn’t doing anything significant meaning that this player was EASILY distracted and (2) The player in question raises frequently with hands that he felt were worth a raise.
The player immediately on this left called the raise (now 1500 in the pot). The player was very weak with a BIG stack. He earlier got all of his money in the pot on a flop of 9-9-7-4 while holding 8-8 against an aggressive over pair. He his an 8 on the river to build a big stack. I felt that his call indicated a hand that “wanted to see the flop†but was not strong enough to warrant a re-raise. In the 8-8 hand just indicated he had limped 8-8. He was capable of raising though as I had seen him do it. I felt he has a small pair T-T to 2-2 or a “two big card†hand like K-J.
I was the button with T-T. I decided to win it pre-flop and I made is 2500 to go. The original better sneered (I think he though I was bluffing again) and folded. The caller now moved all in. Hmmm…. I didn’t think long. I really felt he has a pair below mine. I called my last 3000 into a pot of 5900. He turned over A-Ks which surprised me. Nonetheless, it was not a bad thing since I had a small edge (54%) with too much money in the pot.
Sadly the flop was A-x-x on the flop with two of his suite. I failed to hit my two-outer and I was eliminated with 1:22 minutes left in level three.
There is a supper break? Cool. I only need to kill an hour and half until supper.
Phil Hellmuth
Phil was eliminated about 20 minutes before I was. It was announced overhead, “Attention players the 1989 World Champion Phil Hellmuth has been eliminated.†The room burst into applause. Must be nice to be liked… Wait, maybe that’s not what the applause meant.
Without a doubt, however, Phil is a GREAT tournament player. He did, after all, win his 10th bracelet this WSOP.
Supper and beyond
I have supper with Bob and Teri Jarrett. Spent the evening drinking, gambling, and trying not to get depressed. It did not work, of course, and I added another $1,000 loss at the craps table to add to my depression the next morning.
Comments
It is and it usually means "weak is strong" so watch out. In this case, however, it wasn't looking away. It was a "lack of focus" which I attribute to a lack of adrenaline.