When it Rains, it Pours

I have had a rough go of it so far in the WSOP.

I got here Thursday night and spent about four hours waiting in line to buy into the first event, the $1500 NL. First it looked like I was not going to get in, then it looked like I was going to be an alternate, and finally they decided to make all the tables 11-handed at the start and I wound up getting a seat. I then went to bed and had sort of a hard time sleeping because of nerves.

The Rio and especially the Convention Center where the WSOP is being held is an absolute zoo. Every time I walk over to the playing area my head starts spinning from all the activity. Pretty much every big name in poker is here and they all congregate in the playing area. Before the tournaments, all the veteran players socialize and the cliques of younger tournament circuit players huddle around. It's actually fairly highschoolish. And I'm the new kid (along with about 700 others). There are a ton of players in their young 20s here, as well as a lot of old timers. I've been much more impressed by the play of the youngsters. In fact, the winner of the $1500 limit yesterday is only 21 and 3 months (meaning my dream of being the youngest-ever bracelet winner is now over).

The $1500 NL finally got started about half an hour late with over 2500 players. The structures of these tournaments are very fast at the beginning before they start to slow down. As the event got started I talked to the guy to my right, Dimitri, and it calmed me down. He had won a big Bellagio event two months ago and after talking to him I realized we play similar stakes online and I felt like I could compete at this level. The first big hand I played was at the 25-25 level (we started with 1500 chips). Dimitri raised to 100 on the button and I decided to reraise to 400 with 99 in the SB. He thought for a while and called. The flop was 673 with two hearts and I felt I really had no choice but to move all in for about 900. Dimitri thought for a while muttering "fifty-fifty" before calling with Q-J of hearts. He's actually a small favorite in this spot but I was lucky to hold him off and I was up to 2600.

In the 50-100 level I lost most of my chips when the cutoff opened for 400 and I pushed him in with AQ. He called with AK, it held up, and I was down to around 600. Just a couple hands later though I called all-in with A8 against the same player's A6 and doubled up. Not too long after that I doubled up with JJ against 99 and was up to around 3k.

I then got moved to a new table that I felt very comfortable at. I raised the first two hands and won both times to get to 3500. Then the button raised and I moved all in with AK in the BB. He immediately called, all-in, with AQ, for a pot of over 6k. The flop was QJJ, the turn a J, the river a 5, and I was decimated, down to 600 with the blinds at 100-200. I moved all-in the next two hands with Q3s in the SB and QTs on the button and both times the blinds couldn't call. I then got moved again.

After a couple more uncalled moveins I was up to 2500. After folding a few blinds I was at 2200 with the blinds at 100-200 and a 25 ante. With over 500 in the pot preflop and my short stack, I was not afraid to take some risks to go after the blinds. A weird situation then developed. One player was talking on a cell and his hand was declared dead. Another player was gone. UTG folded and I decided to move in with K8, knowing I only had 6 players to get through and enough of a stack to get them to fold marginal hands. A Denver player named Tom Lee who has been on television a couple times then stuck 600 into the pot. He didn't realize I had already moved in before him. Normally I think he is required to leave money in the pot but I decided to keep my mouth shut since I had a meager K8 and did not want a call. He ended up folding and getting all his chips back. However the BB called with AQ. I flopped an 8 but the river was an ace and that was the end of my first WSOP tournament.

DB Larson aka Felonious, Dave Majzler, and two guys I hadn't known before stayed with me at the Rio Thursday until Saturday morning. Most of the time I was too mentally fatigued or focused on the next day's tournament to do much with them but they're all great guys and it was nice having some company. However I think their recent run of badbeatitis was contagious and I got infected.

The next day was the $1500 NL. My table had four players I recognized including Todd Brunson (Doyle's son). One hand Todd raised the minimum and I called with KQ in the BB (what hand do you not call a raise with?) The flop was J43 with two diamonds and a heart. I checked and he quickly checked behind me. The turn was a jack and I bet out 100. He quickly raised to 250. I started thinking and thought that he was making a common pro move (check the flop with nothing, then raise the turn). This move is especially common against weak players, and I had no doubt Todd thought of me as a weak player. I also thought if I reraised Todd would have to put me on at least a jack and would have to fold unless he had a monster (which I doubted). Thus I raised 200 more. He thought for a bit and then reraised. Now I obviously had to fold and was down below 1k in chips. After mulling the hand over extensively I am almost certain he flopped a set and turned a boat. Todd (and everyone else) was betting every flop after they raised preflop and therefore I should have known he flopped a monster since he checked the flop against the blind who he certainly thought was a weak player.

I also called several raises with hands like J9s, JTs, 97s, and AQ, and missed every time. Eventually down to 700 with the blinds at 25-50 I limped UTG with TT. A middle position player announced that he wanted to raise the maximum. The way he did it made me think he did not have KK or AA, though I was concerned about QQ and JJ. I thought AQ and AK were most likely. When it got back to me I decided with my short stack I really had no choice but to play this hand and I moved all-in. In retrospect I could have flat-called and then moved in no matter what the flop was. It's possible that's a better play; I'm not sure right now. Anyways he reluctantly called with 88 and rivered a flush.

At night I played some $5-$10 NL. I saw nothing decent at all until I limped in second position with KTs after UTG limped. The flop was a dreamy AQJ and UTG bet $40. I made it $100. When it got back to him he made it $300. I thought for a bit and then moved all in. He reluctantly called $350 more with AQ and rivered a queen.

I was almost back up to even after winning a few pots before losing most of my stack with AK on a A457K board. My opponent slowplayed 44 masterfully and extracted maximum value.

The next night at the Palms I made two bad plays to get knocked out of their nightly $200 w/ $200 rebuy tourney. I then found a seat in a $2-$5 NL game. Eventually I got it all in on the turn with 89 against TT on a 789Q board for an $800 pot and the river was a queen. Not that bad a beat but just discouraging because I played the hand very well and very courageously.

The Bag got here Sunday night. He made a nice run in the Palms tourney (without having to rebuy) before losing a huge pot with QQc against JJ on a Jxx all club flop. He has also become a dangerous blackjack player capable of beating the game and has logged several hours already.

Yesterday morning we were awakened around 9 AM by a noise Sanders described as "a woodpecker on acid." It sounded like someone was jackhammering in the room right above us. It subsided, but then we were reawakened by security around 10 AM. There was some confusion over my payment for the room which I had to take care of. Shortly after the extremely loud noise returned and I called the front desk in disgust. There was some sort of construction happening 3 floors above us. After being told that this construction would continue throughout the week I demanded to be moved to a new room as well as compensation for a "ruined night of sleep." I was given a $50 voucher which we used on the fabulous buffet here. In addition housekeeping had robbed us of towels without replacement. "When it rains, it pours," Sanders said.

The Bag is now playing in the $2500 NL shorthanded event. I bought 50% of his action so obviously I am hoping for a bigtime result. At 1:00 I received two text messages from the Bag. The first said "my table is insane" and the second said "get down here right now." His starting table consisted of Alan Goehring, Raja Kattamuri (top 20 in Cardplayer of the Year right now), Howard Lederer, Sanders, Allen Cunningham, and "an Asian guy I've seen on WPT." The rail surrounding the table was pretty thick. So far the Bag has been holding his own, calling down a huge bluff by Goehring and bluffing Chad Layne (who replaced Cunningham) out of a nice pot. After he called Goehring's bluff Lederer looked at him and said "nice call sir."

I'm going back down there to check on him now.