Taking My Shot At The 2011 World Series Of Poker

The dream of almost every poker player is to play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which takes place every summer in Las Vegas. Due to the ESPN television coverage of the WSOP Main Event each year, many people mistakenly believe that it is just one tournament, but in actuality, it is a series of between 55-60 different events, featuring varying buy-in amounts and different poker games. The series culminates in the Main Event, usually around the first week of July.

The first time I ever played in the WSOP was in 2007 when I played a $1500 No-Limit Hold ‘Em Event. There were over 3,000 people in the tournament, and I missed making the money by under an hour. I played two events in 2009, both $1500 No-Limit Hold ‘Em, both around 3,000 people again. In each of those Events, I made it into Day 2, and cashed in one of them (finishing in 217th place), missing the money in the other one by only half an hour. Three Events, three deep runs, and one WSOP cash.

This year I played in my 4th WSOP Tournament, Event #56, which was once again a $1500 No Limit Hold ‘Em Event, with a record field of 3,389 players. 342 players would make it into the money, with a first-place prize of $777,928 and the coveted WSOP Bracelet. (Look, I know I’m Italian, but the only reason I would ever wear a gold bracelet is from the WSOP!)

I started off in the Pavilion Room, at Table 81, Seat 7. As I was sitting there before the tournament, I ran into a friend from my home casino in Brantford, a player who I have played with there named Marcus, who was also in the same tournament (That story on Jeff X is still coming for you, Marcus. I promise.) My table was right on the rail, so my girlfriend Devena would be able to watch the action from up close, when she wasn’t being accosted by Costa Rican Poker Pro and resident “dirty old man” Humberto Brenes. As I was sitting there preparing for the cards to hit the air, Brenes strolled by and sized up Devena, saying hello as he passed.

I chuckled until I found out that he later approached her in the hallway, asking if she remembered him saying hello to her in the other room, and asking if she would like a picture with him. A lot of players/spectators get star-struck at the WSOP, walking the halls next to Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, and all of the players you would see on TV, and quite often you see people (myself included) asking for a picture. But when have you ever heard of the poker player asking YOU if you want the picture?

Brenes even asked her if he could give her his little shark, and THANK GOD that’s not code for anything, since his trademark is a tiny shark with a light that he uses as his card marker. Devena graciously said no, and suggested that he instead give the shark to a young girl who was nearby waiting for an autograph. But enough of that dirty old Costa Rican, back to my table…

My table started off less than half full, with only 4 of the 9 seats filled when the cards hit the air, and both blinds not at the table. In the first hand, the blinds were 25/25, it was folded to me, and I had pocket 5’s, so I raised to 75. The French guy to my left either took offense to me apparently stealing the empty blinds, or had a real hand, and re-raised to 275. It was folded back to me, and I briefly considered folding (starting stack was 4500), but I didn’t want to advertise that I would fold to a re-raise on the very first hand, so I called. Odds are 55 was the best hand right now, anyways.

We went to the flop heads-up, which was Ace-Ace-5. Flopping a full house on the very first hand? I’m praying now that this French guy has Ace-King or some sort of Ace, so I checked. He checked behind, which still could have meant he had an Ace. The turn was a 7, and I bet 300 into a pot of 625. He thought for a moment and then folded. Unfortunate I couldn’t make a big pot out of that first hand.

The table gradually filled over the next half hour, so let’s go over the players in each seat, so you have some context for the hands I will be detailing. I’m disheartened that the WSOP Photo Site did not include pictures from my table, even though the photographer came to our table and took shots of all of us. It would have been nice to have photos of the other players at my table (as I included in my last WSOP report in 2009). Nonetheless, the players at my table were as follows:

Seat 1 – Tall, lanky kid who looked like he should have been on a Junior Varsity Basketball team, and appeared to have just woken up.
Seat 2 – 30-something guy who looked exactly like my friend Schumy.
Seat 3 – 40-something guy with a sleeveless black T-shirt and a goatee, who looked like he just rolled in from a Bob Seger concert.
Seat 4 – Old Guy who was wearing 2 pairs of glasses: silver mirrored sunglasses underneath his regular prescription glasses.
Seat 5 – Portugese girl who looked like Nelly Furtado and wore WAY too much perfume. Seemed more interested in making sure everyone could see her breasts and Everest Poker badge than actually playing poker.
Seat 6 – If Harold Ramis was from India, this is what he would look like.
Seat 7 – Me.
Seat 8 – New Jersey Kid who looked like he could be Tyler Hansborough’s brother, and was watching The Wire on his iPad.
Seat 9 – French Euro-Donk who looked like a turtle and was wearing man-pris.
Seat 10 – 40-ish guy who looked like Phil Mickelson and was wearing a bright lemon yellow shirt.

On the fourth hand, I found KdTd (King-Ten of diamonds, for those of you not used to poker terminology in text), and raised from Middle Position (MP) to 75. Junior Varsity and Bob Seger Concert both called me and we saw a flop of 4-6-7 with one diamond. Seger Concert’s eyes widened on the flop and he fired a bet of 125. I folded, as did Junior Varsity.

A few hands later, I was under the gun (UTG) and raised to 75 with Ac9c (Ace-Nine of clubs). Junior Varsity re-raised me to 275, and I was contemplating what to do when it got around to me, whether his raise was legit or not…but Indian Harold Ramis re-raised from the Big Blind to 825, so it was an easy fold for me. I ditched my cards and when it got back to Junior Varsity, he folded as well, with a disgusted, embarrassed smirk that made it clear that he was busted.

Only a few hands later, I found pocket Jacks in MP, and raised to 100. Seger Concert called from the small blind, and we saw a flop of KdJc9d. I flopped a set of Jacks on a board that was pretty scary because it could have hit a lot of hands, making a number of different draws. Seger Concert bet 150 into a pot of 225, and I had to figure out what exactly was the right move here.

Trying to figure out what he had, I ruled out KK because I thought he would have re-raised preflop and NOT bet out on the flop. Ten-Queen for a flopped straight was possible, as was 99, AK, KQ, KJ, KT, JT, or TT. I’m beating every one of those hands except Ten-Queen, so I felt the right move was to raise, only because the board was so draw-heavy and contained 2 diamonds. I raised to 350, and he called.

The turn was the 7 of hearts, which didn’t change anything if he had any of the hands I suspected. He checked, and I bet 400 into a pot of 925. If I bet more, I think he would have folded all of his one pair hands, even with a gutshot straight draw, and I was willing to risk it and get that 400 into the pot.

The river was the 8 of clubs, which I didn’t like one bit, because now two of the hands I suspected (KT, JT) have made a straight. But when he checked to me, I was still pretty sure I was good. With 1725 in the pot, I contemplated betting 700-850 in the hopes of getting paid, but now hands like AK or 99, that would have paid me off, may fold because he is suspicious of ME having the straight. Plus, what do I do if he checkraises me? I have to fold. So I felt like checking behind was the right move, which would also allow me to see his hand since he had to show first. I checked, he showed AK, and my JJ took down the pot. Unfortunate river, because I could have gotten more chips from him, but after flopping two sets in the first half hour, I wasn’t going to complain.

The next orbit around the table, Lemon Mickelson in Seat 10 was UTG and raised to 75. It was folded to me on the button and I had a garbage hand, but I raised to 275 to test what a UTG raise meant from him. He folded relatively quickly and I won a small pot, but learned that Lemon Mickelson raising UTG doesn’t always mean strength.

9 hands later, Indian Harold Ramis raised to 75 in LP (Late Position), and I re-raised to 300 immediately after him in the cutoff with pocket Jacks. It was folded back to him, and he called. The flop was 6-8-2 with 2 diamonds, he checked, and I bet 400 into a pot of 675. He thought for a while and then called. The turn was another 6, he checked, and I contemplated betting, but again, I didn’t feel like my hand could withstand a checkraise. Plus, if he was on a draw and missed, checking the turn may induce him to bluff the river. I checked.

The river was another 6, so the board read 6-8-2-6-6, and I was positive I was good, unless he had a 6 for quads. When he checked the river, I knew I was good. If he had 99, 77, or 55, I felt like he would have bet the river, so there’s really nothing that can call me on the river. I decided to check and see his cards since he had to show first. He showed Ad7d for a missed flush draw and I took the pot. I was pretty surprised that he had called 300 out of position preflop vs me with Ace-Seven, especially since no one had seen a bad hand from me. I won the pot, but I don’t really like how I played this hand. I feel like I was too timid on the turn, and possibly even on the river. I definitely should have bet the turn. My stack was now up to $6225.

A while later, the blinds had gone up to 25/50 (levels were one hour long), and I got into a pot with Junior Varsity in Seat 1. He had raised to 150 in EP (Early Position), and I called with 9dTd (Nine-Ten of diamonds) from the button. The flop was 8c8d10s, he made a standard continuation-bet of 200, and I called. The turn was a third 8, and he checked. I checked quickly behind to hopefully make him think I was on a draw so he would bet the river. The river was a 2, he checked, I bet 300 into a pot of 875, and he folded. Some may think I should have bet the turn, but I think it’s worth the risk to check quickly there and hope he bets the river. If an Ace or some other high card hits the river, I’m not sure what I do if he bets. Stack is now $6775.

Next hand I played was KdTh, which I raised to 175 after Double Glasses limped into the pot. Seger Concert called from the big blind, and Double Glasses (who only had 1500 behind after losing a big pot) called as well. The flop was K-6-3, they both checked, I bet 375, and they both folded. Stack is now $7100.

Later in the level, I was in the big blind with King-Jack offsuit (KJo), and Lemon Mickelson raised from EP to 150. It was folded to me and I called to go heads-up with him. The flop was 8d6c2c, and I checked. He checked behind and I assumed that meant he had two big cards that completely missed. The turn was a 3 of hearts, and with me being in the big blind, I figured I could take it down with a bet, so I fired 225 into a pot of 325. He called, which made me think he just didn’t believe me, and was calling with two big cards, or possibly a flush draw.

The river was the 8 of clubs, which paired the board, and completed a flush draw. I thought if I checked, I was resigning to losing the pot since he would bet and win, so I fired again, hoping he thought I made trip 8’s or made a flush, and would fold. I fired 550 into a pot of 775, which made sense for either scenario, and he thought for a long time before calling. I turned over my hand, a total bluff (which was actually leading until the river…little did I know!), and he tabled his cards: Qc9c for a rivered flush. I like my play on this hand, and it would have worked if he didn’t make a flush. I was unhappy that I had to show my hand since this was the first bluff I had to show, and would undoubtedly lose me some credibility with the rest of the table. I had interpreted Lemon Mickelson’s pause on the river as considering folding, but he told me later (and correctly so) that he was never folding, and only deciding whether to call or raise. Lesson learned in this hand that Lemon Mickelson raises in Early Position with weak hands like Q9 suited. Stack is down to $6200.

Nothing eventful happened until the blinds had gone up and we had returned from our first break with blinds at 50/100. I had AcKc in LP and raised to 325. The French Turtle (who had been raising almost every hand to steal blinds) called me, along with Schumy in the Big Blind. The flop was As10c4c, and with top pair, top kicker, and the nut flush draw, I’m thinking to myself “I will happily shove all my chips in this pot with anyone.” Schumy checked to me, and I bet 525 into a pot of 1025. The French Turtle called and Schumy folded.

The turn was the 3 of spades, and I bet 1000 into a pot of 2075. The French Turtle tanked for quite some time after I bet, and I could tell that he was considering shoving all-in (I had him covered), which I would have called instantly. If he had AT, A4, A3, 33, 44, TT, or 25, then I still had plenty of outs (although I had pretty much ruled out A4, A3, and 25 since he called a raise to 325 pre-flop.) Other than that, I was good. He thought so long that I could tell others at the table were getting frustrated and considering calling a clock on him (which would give him one minute to act), but I wasn’t going to call it on him. Finally, he called, and I put him on AQ or a flush draw. I was praying for a club on the river.

The river was the 2 of spades, which made the board As10c4c3h2s. I didn’t like the river, because if he had a flush draw, he may have also had the 5 of clubs, which now made a straight. It was highly unlikely, but still possible. I decided that checking was the best move, because if he missed a flush draw, he may bet to try and steal the pot, and I had already decided to call anything he bet, up to and including an All-In. He checked behind, I tabled my hand, and his jaw dropped. He said “thank god a club didn’t hit.” I never saw his cards, but it was clearly a flush draw, I believed that statement. In retrospect, checking the river was indeed the correct move, in case he decided to try and steal the pot with a bluff. Stack up to $8025.

Nothing more eventful really happened at my table: Hansborough-lookalike bluffed pre-flop, on the flop, and on the turn, to double up with a gutshot on the river on his very first hand vs. Double Glasses; Indian Harold Ramis disappeared for an hour; Smelly Nelly Furtado had her set of aces cracked by the French Turtle’s flush draw; and Schumy built up a big stack. Our table broke partway through Level 3, and I was shipped off to Table 65, Seat 2. My stack was $7850.

My new table was very serious, very quiet. Tobey Maguire was sitting just two tables away, and poker legend Barry Johnson was playing at the next table. A quick survey of the table saw three big stacks immediately to my left. First impressions of my new table (this time with pictures!):

Seat 1 – Nervous French guy, who could barely speak or understand English.

Seat 2 – Me.

Seat 3 – Wanna-be pro with a ponytail, mirrored sunglasses, and huge cans (earphones) over his Flat Cap (aka Old Man Hat). Had seemingly been trying to gather all the green 25 chips since he had a stack nearly to his chin.

Seat 4 – Black guy, grey hoodie, dark sunglasses, sporting 2 WSOP rings.

Seat 5 – Young pro, looked like Howdy Doody.

Seat 6 – Young Indian kid with Starsky and Hutch sunglasses and a popped collar.

Seat 7 – Big guy wearing a Chicago Bears hat and Chicago Cubs shirt. (No Bulls wristband?)

Seat 8 – Shortstacked guy who looked like he had already given up.

Seat 9 – Older guy who looked like Ed Helms in 20 years.

Seat 10 – Quiet kid who looked like my friend Matt.

The dynamic of this table was very different than my first table, so I resigned myself to watch for a full orbit and only play premium hands until I got a sense of the atmosphere. I even went so far as to fold Ace-Queen (unsuited) in a pot that no one had entered yet. Turned out it was the right decision, too, as two players behind me played a big pot with TT and AK. After a few hands, I could tell where the aggression was coming from and how almost everyone was playing.

The first hand I played was against the shortstacked guy in Seat 8, who only had slightly over $2000 left. The blinds were still 50/100, and he raised to 250. I was in the big blind with 4d5d, so I decided to see a flop for 150 more. The flop was Q-2-6 with 1 diamond, and with a gutshot straight draw and a backdoor diamond draw, I checked. He bet 250 again, and I decided to call, knowing that if he missed, and this was just a continuation bet, he would shut it down on the turn with a short stack. However, as soon as I called the 250, he looked crestfallen, so I decided to fire out on any scare card on the turn.

The turn was the 2 of spades, and I asked him how much he had left. He counted and responded “$1700.” I knew he didn’t like me calling the flop, and couldn’t possibly like that turn with me in the blinds, so I counted out 800 in chips and bet it, sending the message that I was not folding if he went all in. He fired his cards into the muck and folded instantly, and I raked in the pot. Stack up to $8175.

Then I took my notebook out and started logging what had happened in the hand (you didn’t think I write this all from memory, did you?), and a couple of people made comments about it, asking what I was doing. “Recipe Ideas”, I answered, which elicited a few laughs. A couple of players kept on me, and I wouldn’t tell them what I was writing. It was a topic of conversation for a few hands, with some good-natured banter back and forth.

About 10 hands later, the blinds had gone up in Level 4 to 75/150, and I was in the small blind. The guy with the two WSOP rings raised to 400 UTG, and when it was folded to me, I found Ace-King. I knew I couldn’t just call here, so I re-raised to 1525. The big blind folded, and the original raiser looked over to see how many chips I had. I moved my hands to show him my stack, which was still over $6000 after my raise was put into the pot. He thought for a few moments before grabbing a stack of yellow chips (worth $1000 each) and dropping them in, enough to put me all in if I called.

Now, a lot of people can’t get their chips in fast enough with Ace-King, and maybe in my regular home game, I ship it in here too. But I felt sick about calling away all my chips with Ace-high here. I struggled with the decision, and once I didn’t instantly call him, he said aggressively, “Oh? You wanted ME to make the decision, did you?” (At this point, I didn’t know that the hooded figure with the sunglasses was Dwyte Pilgrim, 3-time WSOP Circuit winner, and WPT winner, but I don’t think that knowledge at this point changes anything.)

I can’t think that he was shoving with anything that I was beating, and I didn’t want to race for all of my chips, considering I still have 40 Big Blinds left if I fold (plenty to still play comfortably with). After about two minutes, I reluctantly folded and said “nice hand”, as I pulled my notebook out to log the pertinent details. Suddenly, the shortstacked guy in Seat 8 (now down to about $1100) decides to pipe up and say “He’s writing ‘Just folded Queens to a 4-bet’ ”, and snickers. It took all I had not to fire back, “No, but if I go back a page, I’ll read you how I took 1/3 of your stack with 5-high.” Stack was now down to $6175.

I took a walk after that hand over to my friend Gabe’s table (in another section), and saw him a couple of tables away from his own, chatting with NBA Champion Shawn Marion (Suck It LeBron!), who was playing in the same tournament as us. I told Gabe a bit about the hand, and pointed out where my new table was, so he could drop by later.

Back at my table, I was in the big blind once again, and Ponytail Flat Cap to my left raised to 400 UTG. Everyone folded and I found pocket 6’s. I considered re-raising, but decided to just call. The flop was 945, I checked, and he bet 500. I called. The turn was another 5. I checked and he checked, so I knew my 66 was good at this point. The river was a 3, and unless he had Ace-2, 67, or 22, then nothing had changed if my read was that I was good on the turn. I checked with the intention of calling any bet, but he checked behind, I showed my 66, and took in the pot.

The very next hand, I was in the small blind and it was folded to Quiet Matt in Seat 10, who raised to $375 from the cutoff. I looked down and saw pocket tens, and since I hadn’t seen Quiet Matt play a pot yet, I just called. The big blind folded, and we saw the flop heads-up, which was a flop of Jack-Ten-Three. He bet $450 into a pot of $850, I check-raised him to $1400 with my set of 10s, and he folded. Stack up to $8200.

With 66 and 10-10 in back-to-back hands, many people would have re-raised on one or both of those previous two hands. But keep in mind that only one orbit earlier, I had re-raised for the first (and only) time, and then folded to a raise. I didn’t want to risk that again, especially since neither 66 nor 10-10 could have called a re-raise or All-In.

The conversation at the table continued…anyone who plays with me knows that I can be a yappy bitch at the tables (I’m wondering how many dealers at Brantford are laughing at THAT one!)…and Gabe dropped by the table and recognized the guy with the rings as Dwyte Pilgrim. I hadn’t actually looked closely enough since his hood was up most of the time, but now I could clearly see that it was him, and I was pissed at myself for not noticing before, especially since I noticed the rings when I initially sat down. So now, Dwyte and I, and Howdy Doody Pro are all talking quite a bit, and Dwyte says to us: “You two have changed the whole table since you got here. Nobody was talking before.”

That’s what I do.

The next hand I played started with the Shortstacked Wise Guy (who had since doubled up off the Indian Starsky) raising to 375 in EP. I called with QhKh in the cutoff, Ponytail Flat Cap called from the button, Dwyte folded his small blind and Howdy Doody Pro called from the big blind. $1125 in the pot going to the flop.

The flop was Q-J-7 with 2 spades. Howdy Doody Pro checked, Shortstack checked, and I was getting ready to bet, but I saw that Ponytail Flat Cap (who hadn’t won a pot since I sat down) was reaching for chips already, so I decided to check. Sure enough, he bet $725, Howdy Doody and Shortstack folded, and it was up to me. I think this is 100% a button steal, maybe a draw, and I have the best hand here, so I eyed his stack to see that he had just over $4000 back. I cut out the $725 as if I was just calling…then just before putting them in the pot, added $2500 and tossed the chips in.

The message was clear. I’m calling if you go All-in. After about 30 seconds, he took his glasses off, shrugged and said “Good luck, sir” and shoved All-In. I called and he turned over As9s for the nut flush draw. I had him outchipped but I had to dodge a spade or an Ace to win the pot. The turn and river were both blanks and I shook his hand after eliminating him. I looked over at Devena on the rail (we were two tables in from the rail now) and she had a panicked look on her face since she couldn’t see the cards…just that I was in a pot with someone and one of us was all in. I gave her the thumbs-up so she knew I won, and she exhaled. Stack was now $14,700.

We were nearing the second break, and I found pocket 5’s in MP. I raised to $400. A new guy who had replaced Ponytail Flat Cap (older guy with a Super-Bling Diamond Bracelet) called, Dwyte called, and Howdy Doody Pro re-raised. I folded, as did the other two.

Very next hand, I have pocket 9’s. I raise again to $375, and get called by the Senior Ed Helms in Seat 9, who was in the big blind. The flop is Qd8c2d, and I fire $600 into a pot of $975. He calls. The turn is the 5 of diamonds. I check, he bets $1200, and I fold. Stack is now down to $12,475. I fold the last few hands before the break and go into the break with that total.

During the second break, I spoke to Dwyte about the hand we played earlier, and he told me that he had Pocket Queens, so I told him I folded AK to his re-raise. I think we both played that hand right. I went to the Poker Kitchen and had a bite to eat with Devena, Gabe, and Marcus (who had both been eliminated), and tried to get ready for the next levels. They had some food waiting for me, so it was good to be able to get something in my stomach. When we came back from the break at Level 5, the blinds had gone up to 100/200. With a couple minutes to go in the break, I saw the Quiet French guy from seat 1 posing for a picture with Dwyte…now that he knew he was a famous pro, he was starstruck. As we sat down, presumably since I had been talking with Dwyte for the half hour before the break, he asked me “You are a pro, too?”

I’ll wait a moment while you stop laughing at that one.

I didn’t have a playable hand for the entirety of Level 5, and folded for nearly an hour…until the very last hand of the level. I had pocket 5’s and raised to 525. The only caller was Dwyte, who was acting after me, and had lost about half of his stack over the course of Level 5. I could tell he was steaming and wanted chips back. The flop was 2-3-4 rainbow (3 different suits) and I checked to him. He bet $525, and I asked how much he had back. He had only about 4K remaining, so I did the same move he did to me a couple of hours earlier, I grabbed enough yellow chips to put him all-in, and dropped them in the pot. He folded. Stack back up to $13,300.

The blinds had gone up to 100/200 with a $25 ante, so there was $550 out there every hand, and now people were clearly trying to raise regularly to take the blinds and antes. The shortstacked Wise Guy had busted and was replaced by a guy from Wyoming named Josh (I didn’t know his name at the time, but ran into him later in the trip and talked at length). He raised in EP to $450, and I was in the cutoff with Qc9c (the same hand that Lemon Mickelson made his flush with at my first table!) I hadn’t played a hand other than the one with Dwyte for over 90 minutes, and the only time I re-raised preflop was 3 hours ago (when I ended up folding Ace-King), so I thought that this would be a good time to use my tight table image to my advantage.

I popped it to $1300, and it was folded back to Wyoming Josh, who took a long time thinking. I was sure he was going to fold, but he ended up calling the $1300. So much for that table image, huh? The flop was 10-3-3, and he checked. I took some time before firing a bet of $1800 into the $3150 pot. He thought for a while and then folded. I took the pot, and my stack was now $14,650. (Josh told me later that he folded JJ and put me on a higher pair.)

I think it’s important to note here that even though I had been at this table for over 3 hours now, the players at this table had seen only 2 of my hands. I had been relatively active, but in terms of cards they had seen from me, all they had seen so far were the pocket 6’s where I won the pot from Ponytail Flat Cap, and the QhKh when I busted him. They didn’t see the AK I folded, they didn’t see any of the hands I checkraised with, nor the hand that I just 3-bet Wyoming Josh with.

The last hand before the dinner break (after Level 6) was being dealt with just 30 seconds left on the clock, so once people folded, many of them got up to leave. This perceived disinterest in the last hand is something that I remembered from my last WSOP experience, so when it was folded to me in LP, I raised with garbage cards (Queen-2 offsuit), and it was quickly folded to Johnny Chicago in the Big Blind. He smiled and showed me King-Jack offsuit, and said “If it wasn’t the dinner break, I would call you.” Mission accomplished. 6 levels complete, into the dinner break with $14,550 in chips, with only 1380 players remaining from the 3389 that started.

After our 90-minute dinner break, we came back at Level 7, with blinds at 150/300 and a $25 ante. Nothing eventful happened during Level 7, I stole the blinds and antes ($700) 3 times, with QQ, TJs, and pocket 2’s, but other than that, I didn’t play a hand. Quiet Matt in Seat 10 got busted, and was replaced by a guy that looked like a young John Juanda. Super-Bling Bracelet beside me got busted, replaced by a tall Euro-Donk who looked like Where’s Waldo (complete with striped sweater), Indian Starsky busted after losing twice with Pocket Kings, Dwyte bluffed his chips away to Senior Ed Helms in Seat 9 and was replaced by a tall guy who was gone for almost an hour because he was feeling sick to his stomach, and Howdy Doody Pro took over the table, stealing blinds and antes at will and building a huge stack.

Level 8 had blinds of 200/400 and an ante of $50. Early in the level, it was folded to me in the cutoff, and I raised Howdy Doody’s big blind to $1025 with Ace-Ten offsuit. Euro-Waldo was on the button on my left, and re-raised to $3100. It was folded back to me and I folded as well.

Later in the level, Wyoming Josh raised to $1000 preflop. I was in the big blind with Ace-Queen (a hand I hate re-raising with, especially playing out of position), so I just called. The flop was A-Q-6 rainbow, and I checked with the intention of checkraising. Wyoming Josh checked as well. The turn was a 3 (there were now 4 suits on the board), and I bet out $1400 into a $2450 pot. Josh called. The river was a 7, so the board was AQ637. I’m sure I’m good, but I want him to pay me off, so I can’t bet big. Even though the pot was $4250 at this point, I only bet $1500, slightly higher than my turn bet. He looked disgusted because it was so small, thought for a while, then called. I showed my hand (only the third hand this table had seen) and raked in the pot. Stack is now $17,000 even. (When I ran into Josh later in the week, watching the Final Table of the $50,000 Player’s Championship, he told me that he had KK on that hand, and probably wouldn’t have paid off a bigger bet on the river.)

Then I saw one of the oddest things I’ve seen at a poker table. Mini-Juanda had been at our table for almost 2 hours now, and had yet to play a hand. Not one single hand. Like I had mentioned, Howdy Doody Pro was raising almost every hand, stealing the blinds and antes ($1100 to steal each hand now), and the mood of the table was that we all wanted someone to stand up to him. Personally, I never had a hand to make a stand, but any time someone did, and 3-bet him, he would almost always fold. But he had the stack to take the risk.

Anyway, Mini-Juanda had been folding and folding…he had come to the table with about $6000 I think, but it had whittled away to $3200. He was in the big blind for $400, and when Howdy Doody Pro raised to $975, he shoved his whole stack. Howdy Doody had over $30K at the time, so he called the extra $2400 with Queen-Ten. The whole table expected to see a big hand from Mini-Juanda, but he turned over 3-4 of diamonds. Really? You fold for 2 hours, losing half your stack, then make your stand against the big stack with 4 high? What the hell? (No help came, he was eliminated.)

I played a hand with Howdy Doody Pro later in Level 8. I had raised to $1025 with Ace-Eight of spades in MP and he called me in position. The flop was 3s-10d-10c, and I checked to him, he checked behind. The turn was a King of clubs, which I thought was a good card for me to bet, since AK made sense for me to raise preflop, check the flop, and bet the turn. I fired $1550 into the pot of $3150, and he called. I didn’t like that one bit. The river was a blank, and I checked to him.

He bet $4000, which screamed bluff to me, but I didn’t have anything to call him with. I can’t really call him down with Ace-high for $4000, especially when I only have $13,000 left. I tried to think of hands that could have made sense, and a club draw, or JQ missing the straight both made sense, but it also made sense that he could have a ten…checking a harmless flop for me to catch up, and just calling the turn hoping I go nuts with one pair. He might have had a king, but I don’t think he bets that much on the river with just a K. My gut tells me it was a ten, or a missed draw…but I still couldn’t call. Down to $13,000 after this hand.

Level 8 ended with my stack at $12,550 and under 700 players remaining. Just under half of the players remaining would make the money, and almost 2700 had been eliminated. I had some work to do, I was well below average stack (about $22,000), and had some big stacks at my table. Wyoming Josh busted shortly after my AQ hand vs. him, and was replaced by a young guy with a massive stack of chips…when he sat down, he was the big stack at the table. I was rapidly becoming one of the short stacks, even though I had over 20 big blinds. With the blinds in Level 9 going to $300/$600 with a $75 ante, it would cost me $1650 each orbit, so I didn’t have long to turn it around. If I let myself get too low, I would have no fold equity, and with the sizes of the stacks at my table, any all-in for a small amount was sure to get called.

I remembered how exhausted I felt in the final two levels of Day One the last time I was at the WSOP. It was so mentally exhausting, and I was starting to feel it again, so in the break between Level 8 and 9, I had a banana and a fruit smoothie to try and revitalize my brain, instead of just pounding back another Red Bull.

If I was going to have a chance, I had to pick my spots and steal some blinds. I stole $1650 raising with 10-8 and taking it down, and then a few hands later, found pocket 8’s UTG. I raised to $1325 and it was quickly folded to the Quiet French Guy in Seat 1, who had recently won 2 big pots and was accumulating a rather nice stack. He and I had been very friendly (despite the language barrier), and I knew he respected my game. He was in the big blind, and was the last hurdle for me to get past. At first he looked like he was going to raise, but then he just called.

The flop was 10-6-6, and he went all in for over $20K. With him considering re-raising preflop and now shoving, I had to think he had a pair higher than the board. I thought for a minute, then shrugged and showed him my pocket 8’s, and folded. He nodded and showed me his pocket Jacks. Bullet dodged.

I folded for another half hour, never able to pick up a hand vs. Howdy Doody, who was still constantly raising, and now had a mountain of black and green chips ($100s and $25s) that he had formed into a giant pyramid. Every time he raised, I prayed for a hand to shove all-in on him, but all I kept seeing were hands like 9-4, and 7-3, and 6-2. It was painful, and it was getting very frustrating. That’s when the hood goes up.

By now there were four big stacks at the table (Howdy Doody, Euro-Waldo, Johnny Chicago, and The New Guy), and the other 6 players all below average stack. What this resulted in, was that now instead of raising to $1300-$2000 pre-flop, everyone was just shoving all-in for 10-13K in chips. It had been happening for about 30 minutes now. Plus, the tall guy in Seat 4 had returned, talking about how upset his stomach was, and how he wasn’t sure he would make it to the end of the night without another extended trip to the restroom. (I know, nice image.)

With $10,550 remaining in my stack, over halfway through Level 9, I looked down and found AcTs. I couldn’t make a standard raise with my stack, and the New Guy with the giant stack was in the Big Blind. With only 5 trips around the table left in my stack, I felt like I had to shove with Ace-Ten, which I did. Mr. Weak Stomach in Seat 4 then went all-in for a similar stack to mine, and the New Guy in the Big Blind called both of us.

Me – AcTs
Weak Stomach – AsQd
Big Stack – AdKh

Not a really good time to shove, apparently. The board came Queen high, and eventually filled with 4 spades, so that Weak Stomach made a flush and tripled up. He had about $1000 more than me, so I was eliminated in the mid-600’s. The last update on the tournament screen had 680 players remaining, and the next update—10 minutes later—had 620 remaining, so I’m guessing it was somewhere around 640. That means I had outlasted 2750 players, or 81% of the field. But it still didn’t pay anything.

I suppose I could have made a standard raise on the last hand, and folded to an all-in, but I can’t be raising 20% of my stack at that point, at that table, and still envisioning folding as an option. I’m still confident that the shove was the right move there. What frustrates me was that Mr. Weak Stomach could have logically folded Ace-Queen in that position with an all-in in front (although if I was him, I may have shoved too), and if I play it heads-up with Ace-King, I make a 10-high flush and double up to average stack. Maybe if his stomach acted up a bit more, he's not at the table to call my all-in...who knows?

That last hand was the first time I had been All-In and at risk for the entire tournament.

I feel like I played the best I could, dodged some bullets, and made the best out of most of my strong hands. Perhaps I could have extracted more in spots, but I’m very happy with how I played, including laying down that AK to Dwyte Pilgrim pre-flop. It was great having Devena there cheering me on for the whole day, Gabe on the rail at the beginning of the day, and my friend Chris, who showed up partway through the day and stayed with Devena for the last few hours cheering me on. Thanks to all of you for the support, as well as those of you who texted or tweeted your support during the tournament. It meant a lot.

It’s a frustrating game, and I was extremely disappointed after being eliminated so deep in Day 1…and the salt in the wounds of my elimination came only moments after as I walked out in the hallway with Devena…and heard Rush playing in the halls. What a nasty way to go out.

It wasn’t to be this year…maybe next year.

Las Vegas, Nevada
July 5, 2011

June 25, 2010: Happy Anniversary

Today is an anniversary of sorts. Yes, I know that I generally do a lot of "Two years ago today" or "Five years ago today" posts. Damn, even the last post before this one was a "16 years ago today" post, but I have to acknowledge June 25th.

Last year at this time, I was sitting on a tarmac in Colorado Springs, Colorado for FIVE HOURS in an effort to get to Las Vegas with my friends for the World Series of Poker. It was a nightmare, to say the least, and if you haven't read my in-depth post on the incident, check out this post from last year.

The thing that made it worse, was that all anyone could talk about was the fact that Michael Jackson had died...so now, every time someone commemorates the death of The King of Pop (like today), I'm taken back to that horrible time on the plane in Colorado Springs...Dave and Jeremy and I playing 300 hands of Chinese Poker; Tony, Meagan, and Melanie ready to snap since they were in desperate need of a cigarette. No food, no drink, no water...it was horrible.

Happy Anniversary. Wish I was in Vegas right now with the rest of the gang.

April 18, 2010: Odds and Ends

I looked at the posts for April here on my blog, and I realized that all I've really done so far this month is TV recaps for the shows I write on. That was kind of shocking to me as I usually write on a lot of different topics other than TV shows, and in general, I try to write 5-10 posts a week.

To be fair, I was in Las Vegas for a week, but I was still kind of surprised that I hadn't been updating in general. The last thing I want to be is the cliche blog writer who starts every post with "I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote my last post", so you'll be seeing more regular updates from me in the coming weeks...things will be getting back to normal.

You'll be hearing a lot about my Vegas trip, along with some pictures; you'll definitely get a tribute to my 2010 NCAA Champion Duke Blue Devils; it's been a really fun time with Lucas lately; so there's a lot to write about.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying writing the TV recaps, which has evolved over the past 18 months from "Random Thoughts" to the form they take now. I'm especially enjoying writing on Lost, and the response it has been getting. For years I've been reading at DarkUFO for all of my Lost-related interests, and when I started writing my own recaps, it was suggested to me that I submit them to DarkUFO.

I didn't really think that my stuff was the caliber of what DarkUFO readers are used to in terms of recaps, but one of my friends (and regular readers) pressed me to just send it in. And when I did, and it was published, the response has been a little overwhelming (but in a good way). Now, only a few short weeks later, I'm seeing my name listed alongside what I feel are the top Lost recappers in the world (Erika Olsen, Vozzek, and Robz888), and it's a little humbling, to say the least.

So, thanks to Mark M. for pushing me to send my recap in, thanks to DarkUFO for publishing them, and giving me this unbelievable new audience, and thanks to the astounding number of new readers over the past few weeks. I'm glad you found my little hole in the universe, and I hope I can keep you coming back for more.

Now, with that little pre-amble out of the way, let's go old-school on some Random Thoughts:

- You may have noticed a slight change in my posts. Instead of just the date in the title of the posts, I've been including a Title Line as well. This should make things easier for you to find on the sidebar instead of just searching the tags. I hope it helps.

- The OHL playoffs have been pretty awesome if you're a Kitchener Rangers fan. Lucas had a chance to go to Game 2 of the Western Final last night against Windsor, and got a game puck given to him, which he was very excited about. For all of those people out there who insisted that this was going to be a Windsor sweep, the Rangers sure are opening a lot of eyes with a 2-0 series lead.

- Roll Up The Rim is winding down, and for those of you wondering what my stats were like this year after starting 0-for-43 last year (detailed in an earlier post), the final numbers for 2010 are 8-for-51. Much better.

- An angry and vindictive bully tried to use his intimidation tactics on me earlier this weekend, and when I didn't back down from him, he embarrassingly stumbled all over his words, muttering and searching for a verbal insult to use. The best he could come up with was, "Go write a blog!", which was pretty laughable. I find the only way to handle a malicious bully is to not allow their scare tactics to intimidate you. Then they invariably become like a whiny child throwing a tantrum, like that kid that "took his ball and went home" when he didn't get what he wanted.

- HPA is winding down after 11 months, and it's not looking like I'm going to repeat as league champion in Season 4. There's still an outside shot if I win next month, but I also need the top 4 players to have a bad showing. Stranger things have happened, but it's not looking good. Regardless, it's been another fun season, as always. Whether I win the trip to Vegas or not, I imagine I'll join the boys there for the WSOP to cheer them on and maybe play an event.

That's it for now...looking forward to getting back to normal in the next week or so. And as always, thanks for reading!

April 7, 2010: Goodbye Las Vegas

So, I'm sitting here in McCarron Airport in Las Vegas, looking out at our plane, and the mountains off in the distance. We'll be boarding in about an hour or so and heading home. It's been a fantastic trip, to say the least, and you can expect to hear a fair bit about it in the coming week or so.

Tonight when we get home, I'll be watching last night's episode of Lost, and trying to get my recvap up as soon as possible. For all of those new readers out there that have found their way here from DarkUFO--first of all, Welcome!--and I'm sorry to keep you waiting on my recap, but Vegas with your girlfriend vs. one episode of Lost is a pretty easy decision.

I'll also have to catch up on Survivor and Amazing Race, and while there will be no full recaps, I will still compile my thoughts into one post. PLUS you can expect to hear a lot about the 201o NCAA Champion Duke Blue Devils! Woo-hoo!

I'll be home soon...

August 3, 2009

I have some more pictures from Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker, so I've gone back into the old posts and added some where they belong, but here's a few more, along with a funny story that somehow didn't make it into one of my Vegas posts.

It was the second day of Event 54, and we were all getting ready to head over to the Rio. Dave had already left to play at a tournament at Caesar's Palace, so it was just me getting ready in our room and Tony and Jer across the hall. Generally what we had done for the week was to just prop the 2 doors open to our rooms and walk back and forth across the hall when we were all there.

I had just finished my shower and was getting dressed. As I was putting my shirt on, I thought that I should pack a second shirt to change into later in the day because it can get pretty hot with my Gryphons sweater overtop. So I grabbed a shirt and was bringing it across the hall to ask Jer to put into his knapsack, and as I walked out into the hall, I heard the door click behind me. I hadn't propped it open.

"Yeah, yeah, Sean." you're all saying, "We've all locked ourselves out of our hotel room before. Great story....yawn."

Except that I wasn't wearing any pants.

So Tony jumps up as soon as he realizes what's happened and points "No Pants!" and (rightfully) can't stop laughing. I just had on a T-shirt and boxer shorts. The boys give me some grief as I beg for a pair of shorts to go down and get a new key. Finally they give me one, and I head down to the front desk. I'm explaining what happened to the clerk, and I have no I.D. either, and she tells me that she can't give me a new key. This is Las Vegas. I can't be the first guy to lock myself out of my room with no pants. She ends up getting security to come up to my room and let me in, and then I have to get my I.D. to show him that it really is my room.

Here's some more pics from Vegas.

July 10, 2009

Las Vegas Part 5 - Wrapping Up

Well, you can only talk so much on one topic, so I’ll wrap up my Las Vegas posts with this final entry, in traditional ‘Random Thoughts’ format…

I love Las Vegas. I really do. I could go back 2-3 times a year. But there are a few things I just can’t stand:

The first and foremost is the unbearable heat. I wish the World Series of Poker was at a different time of year, because going to Las Vegas in June and July is a bad idea if you’re not comfortable with extreme heat. 40+ degrees every day, and 30 degrees at night when it’s dark…it’s just so disheartening to walk out of a casino at 1:00 am and still be punched in the face by the thickness of the sweltering heat. And everyone says “It’s a dry heat.” So what? It’s a HOT heat! It’s just too damn hot…why did they have to build such a glorious place in the middle of the desert?

And the dryness is another factor. It’s like clockwork every time I go to Vegas, that within 2-3 days, I’m getting nosebleeds from the dry air. It’s like going to Alberta, only with less cows.

When it’s so hot and so dry, I need to keep the liquids flowing to stay hydrated. What is my one addiction, as most of you know…Coke. Well, I’ll be damned if I can find a can, bottle, or glass of Coca-Cola anywhere! Pepsi owns the whole friggin’ town! It may seem petty to some of you, but I’m a Coke guy. I’m the guy who goes into a restaurant and has the following conversation:

Server: “…and to drink?”
Sean: “I’ll have a Coke.”
Server: “Is Pepsi ok?”
Sean: “I’ll have an iced tea.”
On top of that, one of the things I always look forward to when I go to the U.S., is that I get to drink one of my favourite beers, Rolling Rock.
Again, no place in town that I could find has Rolling Rock! I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer to drink what I like. (with apologies to The Most Interesting Man In The World.) I was very disappointed not to be able to find Rolling Rock anywhere. Even the bartender at the Bellagio expressed to me that “I wish we had the sweet nectar from Latrobe here.”

Also, if you ever see a bank of Wheel of Fortune slot machines…just keep walking. Do not stop. Do not be tempted. Do not…under any circumstances…believe the hype. Tony, Dave, and Jeremy will confirm this.
The tournaments at Planet Hollywood were a blast, and I cashed in two of the four I played. In one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen, Jeremy played in 3 tournaments at PH, and made a straight flush in all three! Given, one was on board and all three players in the hand ‘officially’ got it…but it still counts.

In Event 54, when I was moved to my fifth table, I was only a couple of tables away from Nenad Medic, who was in another tournament and into the cash in the final 8 tables. Spoke to him briefly on the break. A long time has passed since we both used to play $40 tournaments on Monday nights with the UW Basketball team.

It was really great knowing everyone was following along on Twitter and on Facebook. The text messages of support were always great to receive, and it’s a feeling of buoyancy knowing your friends and peers are supporting you. I was really happy to have my ‘other’ poker group in town at the same time, and it was great to meet up with Teach, Jer, Natalie, Kevin, Damien, Brigitte, and Ming. Getting together at Caesar’s the night I made the money was a good visit for me to see the gang, and to watch Teach play in the Caesar’s tournament while completely hammered was entertaining. I met this group years ago, and they initially knew me only as a dealer, and then progressively as a player…so it was a good feeling to ‘come into my own’ with them after cashing in the WSOP. And it was fantastic to see Ming again, for the first time in over two years.
I met up with them again a couple of days later when I was at the Wynn, and I went up to their room on the 56th floor of the new Encore Tower. Words can’t even describe the view, so here’s an actual picture from their window, looking North. I walked in and was pleasantly surprised to hear them listening to my new favourite album—Feed The Animals by Girl Talk—as they were playing Hearts. I wish I could have spent more time with them while I was in Vegas, because it looked they were always having a blast.
The food was great, even though we didn’t really get to go out for a nice meal, like we had planned. Still amazing to me how fresh everything is, considering it all has to be imported daily. The last two trips in a row now, I have planned to go to Il Mullino, but haven’t had the time. Next time, for sure.

I wish I was still in Vegas today, only because Duran Duran is playing the Palms tonight.

Still hard to believe Phil Laak was playing $3-$6 limit H.O.R.S.E. at Bally’s.

Listened to a lot of Danny Michel on my iPod during the WSOP. It was really good to have a little slice of home.

I will definitely be going back for the WSOP next year. Hopefully we can get 10-15 guys for the trip this time. And we will definitely be staying at The Wynn.

Adios for 2009, Las Vegas…thanks for the memories.

July 9, 2009

Las Vegas Part 4 - WSOP Event #54

Cashing in Event 51 was a great experience, but it really opened my eyes as to what a grind it is to go deep in these tournaments. I made sure I was back at the hotel and in bed at a reasonable time (1:00 am is ‘a reasonable time’ in Las Vegas) before Event 54 so that I got a good night’s sleep and was well rested. It was all going according to plan until I was woken up at 4:00 am by the boys returning from a night out at the Hard Rock Café. They took great pride in coming into my room, and piling on top of me in the bed. I wasn’t that bothered by it…we were in Vegas and all having a good time, but I was rather troubled by some…shall we say…’unfortunate placement’ when Jeremy jumped on me. Let’s just leave it at that.

I got up and put the same T-shirt on I had worn for the first Event, grabbed my Gryphons sweater, and headed over to the Rio early. I got myself a nice breakfast and settled in to my table.

Tony was just a few tables over from me as we were both in the Amazon room today. Jeremy was there with us well, twittering from the rail and taking pictures. My first table, table 65, was quite a cast of characters (forgive the ‘proof’ across each picture…I’ve taken them from the WSOP photo site to add dramatic context):

the pimped-out Asian guy in seat 1 who never played a hand
the quiet Canadian guy in seat 2
the nervous German in seat 3 whose hands shook whenever he raised
the ornery Texan in seat 4 with the handlebar moustache who always raised ridiculously high
the poker book-smart Brit in seat 5
the aggressive guy from Kentucky in seat 6 (who I’m sure I’ve seen somewhere before, but can’t remember his name)
the donkey elderly calling station in seat 7 (I don't know what he's doing in the picture)
the guy in seat 8 who looked mean, never said a word, and had both hands bandaged up and scarred. (Ultimate fighter?) Very intimidating.
the loud Canadian guy in seat 9
and the wanna-be Table Captain in seat 10 (who cashed #4 in a previous WSOP Event this year)
After a few hands, it was very evident that seat 6 and seat 10 were going to tangle a lot, seat 4 was going to be stubborn, and seat 5 would be playing total vanilla poker. I didn’t like being caught between the two tanglers, but I could adjust.

My first hand that I played was against the intimidating guy with the bandaged hands to my right. He had raised a couple of times already, and this time when he raised to 175, I called with pocket 4’s. One other player, the timid guy in seat 2, called behind me. The flop was K-T-7 and he checked. I checked, and seat 2 checked. The turn was a 5, and the raiser bet 400. I couldn’t put him on a king checking the flop, nor could I put the guy behind me on a big hand, so my fours were likely best. I figured I was up against AQ and AJ. I just called, and seat 2 folded. The river was a 2, and he checked. I checked behind, he said “no pair”. I showed my 44 and scooped the pot.
About 90 minutes in, the Brit in seat 5 had been shaved down to only 1300 in chips. With blinds 50/100, he raised my BB to 350 and I called with Queen-Jack of hearts. The flop was J-7-4, and he went all in. I though for a while, thinking he must have an overpair, but would have to make the same move with his chip stack if he had AK or AQ. I reluctantly called and he showed KK. No help came and I doubled him up. I was down to 2900 in chips.
The nervous German in seat 3 raised for the first time a few hands later, and I called in position with pocket tens. I almost folded, thinking he must have a big pair, but I called 300. The flop was 7-3-2, and when he bet $1000 into a $750 pot, I knew it was a bad call preflop. Maybe he had AK, but I’m pretty sure it was a big pair. I folded.

About 5 hands later, I have JJ and raised to $550. The ornery Texan was in the small blind and re-raised to $1100. Now, I wasn’t too concerned about the red-flag minimum re-raise, because he had been min. re-raising already, but I only had $1475 back after the re-raise, and I figured I’d try to get it in on the flop if I was leading. The flop was J-8-2, so when he shoved on the flop, it was a pretty easy call for me to make. He turned over AK and I knew that he needed to hit two cards to make a straight. Being a 98% favourite is a good feeling. The turn was an ace, and he pumped his fist without realizing that he was now drawing dead. The river was a blank and I doubled up.

Just before the first break, I found pocket tens again and raised UTG. The Moustache and Kentucky both called. The flop was Q-3-4. Kentucky checked, I checked, and the Moustache checked. I had to be good with my 10’s, I thought. The turn was a 6, and Kentucky checked. I was about to bet, but the Moustache started reaching for chips already, so I waited and watched him count out 600. Hmmmmm. I checked, and sure enough, he bet 600. Did he catch a set? Is he bluffing? He can’t have a straight, because I can’t put him on 2-5 or 5-7 calling my raise. He only has $1425 behind, so I figure I’ll call the $600 and see what happens on the river. BUT…Kentucky calls the $600. What the hell? Does he have a queen? Would he really check it twice? Does he have the straight, or is he open-ended? I was very confused, and after thinking for about two minutes, I folded.

Imagine my disgust when the river came a 10. Kentucky checked and the Moustache went all-in for $1425. Kentucky called and the Moustache showed 66 for a set of sixes. Kentucky mucked his hand and I was furious that I would have busted the Moustache, and possibly won a pot of about $6000. Even though it was a good fold…and the right fold…when I made it, I was not happy. That was the last hand before the first break.
I came back from break having shaken off the potential pot I would have won. It was uneventful at my table except for the fact that the guy to my right got a massage from a ridiculously hot massage therapist (see picture above), which was very distracting. My table got broken up, and I got moved into the red section, 2 tables over from Phil Hellmuth. The new table was a quick study, one solid player with headphones on a couple of seats to my left, and a couple of Euro-donks decked out in Everest Poker gear who were acting like they were on TV. (you can see them both in the picture below.) Not a lot of threats at the table, except for the guy with the headphones.
I planned on trying to advertise somehow that I was a loose and weak player to try and get action from these guys, so I limped for $150 UTG with pocket 2’s. 4 players saw the flop of J-4-9, and I fired $450. When everyone folded, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to create that image, so I showed the 22.

A few hands later, I’m on the button and 3 players have limped in for $200. I have Jack-Ten of diamonds, so I call the $200, and 6 of us see the flop. The flop is J-2-2 with 2 spades. All 5 players check to me and I bet a tiny bet of $300 to see if the blinds call. Both blinds call, and everyone else folds, so I’m wary of a 2, or possibly a flush draw. The turn is the 3 of spades, and the Euro-donk in the small blind now bets out $1000. The big blind folds and I instantly fold my J-T face-up. He happily shows his flush and exhales as he scoops the pot. This table is awesome…everything is going according to plan.
On my next big blind, it gets folded to me and I get a walk with….10-5 of clubs! The irony. But after that pot, I couldn’t get a hand. Seriously…I folded every single hand for over 2 hours. I couldn’t get a playable hand at all. All that work to cultivate an image to this table, and now I can’t capitalize on it. The only exciting thing during my fold-fest was the rotating carousel of players who kept coming into the seat to my right and busting. I saw 4 or 5 different players come in to that seat and bust. After a European woman (in Everest Poker gear!) lasted 3 hands there, another Euro-donk pretty boy with a popped collar came and sat down.
The very first hand he played, the blinds were $100/$200 and he threw a $500 chip in. The dealer said ‘call’, and he said, “No, I said $500.” The dealer said he didn’t hear it, and Johnny Collar-Popper looks at the guy on his right and asks if he heard it. The player says no, and then he asks me if I heard him, and I say no. Now, I have my iPod in, and he says angrily in his German-or-Austrian-or-whatever-the-hell-it-was accent, “But…but…you haff muu-sic in your earssss.” So I take my earphones out and say, ‘It’s not my responsibility to hear what you said. You have to make sure he hears it”, indicating the dealer. He’s nice and riled up, so when I look at my cards and see Ace-8 of clubs, I almost called, but he’s so upset, that I have to be crushed with a bigger ace or a big pair, so I fold. Now he’s still going on and on about how I should have confirmed his raise, and he’s pissed at me, so I say to him, aggressively, “Listen, it’s not my job. It’s your job. I didn’t hear you. I’m not going to lie for you just so you can have your raise. Now get over it!” He backs off and ends up winning with JJ on a board of QA2KQ…a hand that I would have won with my Ace-8. He apologized to me 2 hands later.
That was the only excitement for over 2 hours, as I continued folding and folding, unable to pick up a hand. I raised once with J-9 of spades when it was folded to me on the button, and I stole the blinds and antes, but that was it. That picture above is what it looks like after you fold for 3 hours.

My table got broken again, and I got moved to another table, in seat 4. There were 2 very aggressive players in Seat 1 and 2, obvious internet players who kept chatting with each other. Both had big stacks and they were raising constantly. My dry run continued and I folded for over an hour at this table. I was down to 2200 in chips, and it was not looking good. I raised all-in from the cutoff seat with 77, and stole the blinds and antes, moving up to $2725.

The aggressive guy in seat 1 had raised my Big Blind every hand since I was just folding every time (I would have too), and the next time, he had raised to $525 and I had Ace-9. I know this is beating his raising range here, plus I have the image of a rock at this table, so I shove for my whole stack. He has over $20K, but he’s thinking for a while. He asks if I’m the type of guy who would just re-raise to steal. I responded “What about the last hour would make you believe I’m that ‘type of guy?’” He shows an ace and folds. Up to $3400.

More folding…no hands. And this table gets broken up, so I’m off to my fourth table. I’m down to $2500 in chips, and the blinds are $150/$300. My big blind gets raised AGAIN, and I find pocket 5’s, which might as well be pocket aces since it’s been so long since I’ve had a playable hand. I shove for my stack and get called by Ace-King. I win the race and double up.

The very next hand, there’s a raise to $825, and I find QQ in the small blind. I re-raise for my whole stack of just over $5500.
(this is what it looks like when you’re all-in with pocket queens and waiting to see if he calls you)

He folds, and I’m up to about $7000.

The very next hand, I’m on the button and one player limps for $300. I look down and find KK. A standard raise is probably the right move here, but I’m hoping someone will get stubborn if I raise all-in 3 hands in a row…so I shove. Both blinds fold, and the limper thinks for a long time before folding. I’ve only been at this table for about 10 minutes, and I don’t want them to think I’m a maniac, so I decide to show the kings. Up to about $8000 in chips.

Next hand, I have 99 in the cutoff, and one player has limped in front of me. 4 pairs in a row? 3 straight pots? Let’s not push my luck…I just call the $300. Flop comes J-Q-4 and I fold to a bet.

So, I settle in at this table for the next hour or so, and I’m chatting with the guy to my right, who is from Toronto. We’re talking about where we play in Ontario and I mention that I regularly play at the casino in Brantford. (Props to the OLG Brantford crew! How many of you are reading here?) There’s a guy in seat one who is all surly and sulky, and he’s wearing a Red Hot Poker Tour T-shirt. Now, for those of you who don’t know what the Red Hot Poker Tour is, it’s a free tour (in Ontario) that travels around to bars where you don’t have to pay to get in, but you get points, and if you get like a billion points, you can win something. This is relevant to know for the next couple of hands, which took place right before the dinner break.

I’m in the Small Blind and Mr. Red Hot Poker Tour just limps for $400. It’s folded to me in the small blind, and I have King-Jack. I call, and the big blind checks. The flop is K-8-2, I check, the BB checks, and Mr. Red Hot Poker Tour bets $1100. I just call to see what the BB will do, and I plan on shoving on any turn that isn’t an ace. Time for the old ‘Stop-and-Go’. The BB folds as expected, and the turn is a 7. I shove for over $5000, and he’s visibly angry. He says “They only have limit in Brantford. Where did you learn THAT move?” It was all I could do not to burst out laughing, like this guy is Phil Hellmuth and I’m some newbie who has never played before. So...as much as I wanted to respond “I learned it in a poker tournament that I actually had to pay to get into”, I chose not to go full-asshole-mode, and instead just smiled and said “On the Red Hot Poker Tour.” He disgustedly folded and I raked in a pot, bringing me up to $8400.

The very next hand is the last hand before the dinner break, and this old Greek guy who hadn’t played a hand since I’ve been at this table, raises in early position. I fold and walk over to the rail to talk to Jeremy (our table is right on the rail, so he was standing right behind seat 2), so I’m standing behind Mr. Red Hot Poker Tour, still furious, when he decides to get stubborn and defend his big blind against an obviously strong hand. The flop is K-5-3 and Angry Man shoves all-in, and the Greek happily calls with Pocket Kings. Mr. Red Hot Poker Tour is furious, and ranting, and swearing, because he’s drawing dead on the turn, and eliminated from the tournament. “How can this guy be so f*cking lucky? Jesus!” he screams…and it was all I could do, not to lean over his shoulder and gently ask, “Gee, where did you learn THAT move?”

At the dinner break with $8350.

Went for dinner with Jer and Tony. Tony was up and down, but still healthy. He had a pro at his table (I will leave the name out of the post) who was twittering his hands at the table, so Tony looked up his twitter account and was finding out what he had and what he was folding, or when he was bluffing. Good information to have. We’re both under average stack, so there’s work to do.
Now, just a quick note: from this point forward I stopped taking notes, and tried to just focus on the game, so there will obviously be less details going forward since I’m working from memory instead of from logged information.

After the dinner break, I came back to my table and found Ace-Queen on the 2nd hand. I raised to $1350, and was re-raised by the small blind to $4600. I folded.

My table got broken up about 30 minutes later, and I was off to my 5th table of the day. This was a great table. The people were good, everyone was getting along, the chips were flying back and forth, and we were all having a good time. I doubled one kid up after being priced in, and then went totally card dead again. I folded…and folded…and folded…and folded…then folded some more…and folded…and kept folding…you get the idea.

But while it was mentally defeating earlier, it wasn’t as bad now because I was having a good time. Don’t get me wrong, it was still dire and I needed big time help to get back into the tournament, but psychologically it wasn’t as bad as it was before just folding and folding silently. We were having a blast…I was the jester, the class clown, and my table loved me. I know…I know…you guys reading this who play with me regularly are having a really tough time believing that…I would too. But it was a great table. My master plan, as I explained it to them, was for our table to get broken up (which was going to happen soon anyway) and for us all to reconvene at the final table for some great television. I was chatting with a guy to my right, Shane, and we were getting along really well. I was folding constantly and losing antes and blinds…getting whittled away. And the guys at the table kept asking, “Sean, when are you gonna move? You gotta do it soon…you have no chips.” And with under $4000 chips and the blinds at $300/$600, they were right, but I wasn’t going to shove with a crappy hand in the WSOP.

So the dealer at our table now is named Steve, and he was the dealer in Event 51 when I busted Mike Watson. I recognize him as he’s coming, but he mentions it when he sits down and sees me. I’m down to $3000 in chips, and I’m 2 away from paying my next Big Blind. This will be the last hand before the break, and the blinds will be going up to $400/$800 when we get back. I look down and find Ace-King of spades. Shane is first to act and he asks me, “Sean, is this the hand?” And I honestly tell him, “This is 100% the hand.” He says, “Ok, I’ll just call then, and then I’ll double you up”, and he calls the $600. I go all-in for my last $3000, and everyone folds to the small blind, a friendly guy from Quebec named Phil. Phil has about 30K in chips and has to call $2700. He smiles at me and folds. The Big Blind is a nice guy from Oklahoma with an orange shirt and a wide-brimmed hat. He has about 25K in chips and has to call $2400. He smiles and folds. So now it’s just up to Shane, who has just under 40K in chips and is already in for $600. He counts out the $2400 and is about to call when the kid in seat 8 says “Shane! Just fold…let him have it. We don’t want him to go!”

What the F*&$ ?

So Shane looks at him, looks at me, and then goes “Ok man…it’s yours.” I show the Ace-King and everyone has a good laugh. Everyone takes off for break as I’m stacking my chips and I’m the only one at the table when Steve the dealer looks at me and says “How the F*ck did you get them to do that?” and I said, “I don’t know!”

I'm at 5600 chips on the break. I saw Shane outside and commended him for the good karma he had coming his way for the rest of the tournament.

We come back from break and in my Big Blind, the guy from Oklahoma raises to $2500, and I find AK again. I go all in for just over $5000 and he calls with 99. He actually says to me "I don't mind losing if it's to you" and Steve just smirks and shakes his head. I flop an ace and double up.

A couple of hands later, a German guy at our table raises to $2100, and I find 99, and go all in for just under $10,000. He folds, and I have $13,000 as our table breaks.

Off to my sixth table of the day, Blue Table #2, right by the Pit Stand for the Tournament directors. Early on at this table, not knowing how everyone plays, and with a raise and a call in front of me, I folded pocket 8's and was livid when an 8 hit the flop. But that shortly changed to relief when I saw the initial raiser make a straight on the turn. Bullet dodged.

Then, this kid who had been bluffing for a couple of hands and lost about 3/4 of his stack, shoved all-in for about $7,500 on my big blind. I found those pocket 8's again, and called. He had Ace-Ten, and no help came for him as I eliminated him and moved up over $20,000. Steve then happened to be walking by my table and saw my stack. He patted me on the back and said "I still can't believe they folded to you, but nice comeback." We're now about 30 minutes from the end of Day One.

2 hands later, it's folded to me on the button and I have King-Jack. I have an aggressive guy in the small blind with a big stack, and a timid kid in the big blind who has been folding every hand and only has about 7K left. I played scared at the end of Day One yesterday, and I don't think I should be folding this hand here in this position. Blinds are $500/$1000 and I raise to $3,200. The small blind folds and the kid goes all in for $7100. I'm priced in, so I call, and he has Ace-7. He hits an ace and I double him up. Easy come, easy go. Back down to $13,000.

I didn't play another hand for the final 30 minutes, but lost blinds and antes to bring me down to only $8,500 in chips. Not a good start for Day 2.

For Event 51, with 10 minutes left in Day One, they stopped the clock and announced that we would be playing 7 more hands. The guy beside me today asked how they determine that. I said I didn't know, and then suddenly, one of the tournament directors taps him on the shoulder and holds out 5 cards face down. "Pick one" he says, and the guy picks a card, which the TD shows to be a 4. "Good choice, he says" and picks up a microphone and announces to the room that we will be playing 4 more hands and then bagging our chips. This is the high-tech operation they have to determine the number of hands? Funny...

So I bag my chips and get my table assignment for day 2. I find out that Tony surged up and ended the day with $20,500, so that was good news. The fact that we were both into day 2 was great news. There were 376 players left, so we were only 79 away from the money.

The three of us grabbed some food and a few beers, then hit the sack. Day 2, we woke up and went online to see our starting tables. Tony was in good shape proportionate to his chip stack, but I was surrounded by big stacks, including WPT winner Alex Bolotin (who also went on to win the Ante Up For Africa Charity Event a few days later), and 2007 WSOP Main Event phenomenon Hevad 'Rain' Khan.

I was dealt some decent hands, like A8 and A9, but with raises in front of me, I wasn't ready to commit all of my chips calling them away. Finally it was folded to me on Hevad Khan's big blind and I shoved for $6,000 with Ace-7, fully expecting him to call with a stack over $20,000, but he smiled and showed me 8-2, and said "you live another day, my friend." I pointed at him and said "you're my best friend in the world right now!"
A few hands later, I'm under the gun with $8,500 and about to lose another $1,800 in blinds, when I find King-Jack of spades, so I push all-in, and Khan goes all-in behind me. Before the cards get flipped up, I say, "I don't know if you're my best friend anymore." Then we flip our cards and I see he has pocket 10's...which is pretty much the best thing for me, meaning it's a coin flip. "Actually, we're still good." I said, and we both laughed.

No help came, 10-10 beats K-J, handshakes all around, and I was out in 359th place. So close.
I promptly went over to Tony's table and pulled up a chair and rooted him on to make it into the money, which he did about 40 minutes later. He ended up finishing 261st. Great showing.

So, to summarize...2 tournaments with 2,800 players, and I finished 217th and 359th. I'm pretty proud of that. Can't wait until next year.